BOY

spoiler warning

That ending tho. I was underwhelmed. I was expecting something more revealing but it was just like "ah what's this name? Oh so I'm Loki"

-Ratchet & Clank (2016)
It's a re-imagining of the first game and is based on the 2016 movie of the same name. So basically it's a game that's based on a movie that's based on the game.

I love how self-aware the characters are that it's a reboot. I don't like the AutoHack feature in the trespasser segments although atleast it doesn't let you get any trophies if you use the AutoHack feature. I appreciate the small R1 hint along gaps that can be long jumped.

Also I finished the game on Hard difficulty so either I've improved throughout the years or maybe they made the game slightly easier. It may also be because they made the gameplay tighter and more polished.

Bottom line, this is how a remake should be, the same crazy fun but with improvements and gorgeous graphics. Although in my opinion I think this remake is for gamers who already know who R&C are. It could've been a bit more funny, I feel that if this were a person's first introduction to R&C they wouldn't feel the charm that R&C usually bring.

Three Fourths Home is basically a phone call simulator. It's a very short game. I liked the story "the drunkard". You can choose if your partner is a boy or a girl because of the pronoun used, nice touch on the game.

This game is not for everyone. Why is it you ask? it's a walking simulator without walking. Just kidding. I stated that because a lot of quote unquote walking simulators are narrative heavy games. And I can say the same for this game. The whole game happens in a span of one phone call. While the character and I guess, 'you' as the player is driving through a storm. So perhaps it's a phone call simulator? I played on the Nintendo Switch and you had to hold down the ZR button the whole time to progress the conversation. It was cool at first but it got annoying it just felt off, I guess they were going for realism. Coming from Firewatch which is a legit walking simulator game, just wanna point out the controls. In Firewatch it felt more natural. In this game it did not, and the whole game depended on conversations and the control and button scheme made me kinda press the wrong button thus making me skip a dialogue that I haven't read yet. Anyway that was just a tiny nitpick for me. I really like the art style of this game, it's very minimalistic. Also it has a knack for tiny details like let's say while you're talking you mentioned something like a building you passed by and then suddenly that is reflected in your drive, you see that very building in the background as you drive past by. Really cute. Since it's a narrative driven game of course the focus here is the story. I mentioned it isn't for everyone because of this very reason. Kudos to them delivering quite a heavy story in just a very short time. I think that's impressive. Short synopsis no spoilers. You play as Kelly as she just moved back to her parent's house, she's driving home as a storm picks up. And she's talking to her family as she is doing so.. I won't spoil it here but lemme just say I personally wasn't able to relate but I was still able to feel it and get emotionally invested. So yeh I enjoyed the writing of the game. Also play with earphones, you'll feel it more. I say give this game a try if you got curious.

This game has one of the best intro segments in my opinion. It got me invested with the character. Other games would go to the easy route and just show you the backstory through a cutscene or give an amnesia. This game let's you live it. I've always been a fan of choose your own adventure games. And that's what FireWatch for the first few mins. You were basically living the life of Henry. So it narrates how Henry and his wife Julia first met, how they fell in love, and how slowly Julia got sick with Alzheimers. It was super touching and short but sweet. It's not some huge text block or word vomit. It's not overwhelming. It's straight to the point and effective. I appreciate good story writing.

In between the text story are the quote un quote tutorial level. You are pitted into the forest and shows you the basic controls. That's the other point, essentially this is a walkathon game walking simulator. Most of the games in this style has some questionable control schemes and just feels off. In this game the controls feel natural. Although I'll admit it took some time to get used to the controls but once I got it everything just clicked. Now it's like 2nd nature. For example the radio, you use the ZR ZL buttons. It became like an extension of my own hand, felt like I was really using an actual radio as weird as it may sound.

Ok now let's go to the bulk of the game. The story itself, playing this game is like reading a great book. Brilliant story, gripping and even mysterious. You are in the Wyoming woods as a solitary fire lookout, and there are several days which serve as your chapters. Your only primary human contact is Dahlia which is Henry's boss. The beauty of this is that they only communicate via radio thus there are no like facial cues and such BUT their relationship is so very convincing. And that's really hard to pull off, it just goes to show how great the writing of the game is. Talking to her is very realistic, like I noticed how she would use humor or sarcasm to mask the nitty gritty things of her personal life. It's an escape from the outside world, I really felt the isolation.

For me this is a hidden gem on the Switch. Very story heavy game with a few puzzles thrown into the mix. It caught my attention cause of its premise and gameplay quote unquote gimmik. This game records and takes note of the time you're AWAY from the game. Also the time spent in game of course but recording time away is weird because of course why do that? More on that later. Lemme pour you guys some background info about the game. The main character of the game is Quinn. A therapist who woke up locked in a mysterious basement and the only thing there is, is a computer logged into a chat group. And the person that is in the chat room is... you. well not you as in you. I mean like us. The player. You become the only contact he has on the outside world.

Going back to the previously mentioned recording of your time away from the game. It kinda guilts you on leaving Quinn alone because really the moment you started the game his time will never stop. You the player can put down and quit the game but Quinn will still remain there all alone. He'll just wait for you because really you're the only hope he has. Also the more time you're away the less likely Quinn will trust you. Which leads us to my next point.

As you spend time with Quinn you can build a bond with him. You can check this when you pause and just a tiny trivia there are four moods namely Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Melancholic, and Choleric. And these four moods are actually derived from the 4 temperament theory of Hippocrates. Yay learning!

This time aspect actually propelled me to finish the game in only 2 seatings hahaha. But luckily I think the length of the game is just right. It's around 6-7 hours to complete. I finished my playthrough TIME 6hrs 48mins 59sec. and then my Time 'away' 14hrs 22mins 22sec

Anyway I think I've discussed enough to pique your interest and not spoil too much. The game is mysterious and short but the pay off is good. Try it out!