i'm very neutral on justin roiland, i don't find him super funny but this game convinced me his humor just isn't for me, and i shouldn't play anymore squanch games. i will say, i find it weird how many people absolutely fucking despise him and his humor, and then played this game/reviewed it when it was pretty clear what this game was gonna be. i didn't like it either but i didn't go in expecting to have an awful time because i hate roiland so much, that's a very weird angle to come at this game from.

that's all to say, i didn't like this game, LOL. if you're like me and don't give a shit about how unfunny it is and just want to play a creative looking FPS game, it's not very good at that. it has some interesting ideas, but they're all kind of ripped from various other games and implemented worse. the grapple hook isn't particularly satisfying, none of the guns feel amazing (the shotgun feels awful especially), and the worlds aren't interesting enough to have the desire to return to old areas and use your wacky new abilities. there are very few small moments where a lot is going on, and you're chaining abilities together and it starts to click but that happened like 2 times in the entire game and lasted for about 5 seconds total.

if you're a fan of justin roiland and his humor, i'm sure this game will be a blast for you! i'm not, so i didn't get a kick out of that, which clearly is by far the main appeal. the only positive i can give in that regard is there's a solid voice cast, people like andy daly, psychicpebbles, and especially tim robinson were fun to hear from. even beyond that though, i was hoping for a decent FPS and while it's not anything god awful, it's an aggressively mediocre and uninteresting FPS that graphically looks terrible and is in no way worth a $60 price tag. we're in an age where a brand new industry defining FPS game is coming out every other week, so even with game pass this one isn't particularly worth your time if the writing isn't your style.

tim robinson was awesome though. i'll never shit talk tim robinson.

Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device was a cornerstone in gaming like no other in its release decade.

Its masterful juggling between a gripping narrative that explores deep, psychological themes like the heart of darkness, or where does malice and war come from and the effects they can have on a nation, and a surprisingly deep gameplay that thrives in the philosophy of "easy to learn, hard to master" while also coming full circle with core mechanics that tie themselves to the central themes of the story is something that just hadn't been done up until that point.

It's easy to see how the game industry ballooned like it did thanks to this atemporal gem.

Simply a must play for anyone with even the slightest interest in this hobby.