Rezlo
BACKER
1996
This review contains spoilers
What an odd, quirky little game this one is. With a FMV presentation, a plot straight out of a fever dream, hyper violence, surprisingly mature sexual themes, all atop a satirical pastiche of the American Dream, it’s like this game was made for me. I can’t decide what I like more, the game or the idea of it. Harvester came out in what I consider to be one of the first virtual Wild Wests of the gaming-sphere. When games were really starting to push the envelope, both in maturity and in complexity of themes.
And that definitely becomes apparent when you see what sticks here and what doesn’t. For anyone out of the loop, I’ll give a quick rundown so we’re up to date on the game’s story. You’re Steve Mason, an 18 year old teenager that has suddenly woken up in Harvest, a small rural town unfamiliar to him. Family, neighbors, and fellow residents are all as equally strange to him as the locale. Giving cryptic answers, seemingly coached responses, and having darkly twisted morals, all given as if perfectly normal. Courtesy of a nasty case of amnesia, you’re tasked with figuring out what’s going on in this strange place, and why everyone is acting so weird. More specifically, you need to enter the city’s “lodge”, a special exclusive group that claims to have answers to your questions. But first you have to perform increasingly immoral tasks around town before they let you in. Along the way you meet Stephanie, another amnesiac teenager who shared your confusion. For this part of the game you have an unlimited amount of freedom to walk around town and talk to the locals. And for that and others reasons, it is the best part of Harvester.
With a population of just 50 people you wouldn’t think claustrophobia would be the name of the game here, but you’d be wrong. Everyone is just so off, and there’s no off-ramp for the insanity. From a sexually depraved mother, to a hyper-violence obsessed brother, to a cannibalistic butcher, there’s all manners of degeneracy represented. What really sets it apart is how well it straddles the line of being genuinely disturbing but also intensely funny at points. The absurdity of characters acting like nuking characters at the drop of a hat is normal, or having a kid who opens fire on you with a piece with ruthless efficiency for not giving him the newspaper that day just hits that sweet spot that every absurdist satire hopes to reach.
Conversely, the underlying themes of torture, cannibalism, incest, and sexual assault are all thoroughly sickening. There were times where I sincerely felt like putting some of these animals down. Altogether I found the juxtaposition of a 50’s era small-town and a band of vile caricatures so damn intriguing. Like I said, free exploration is allowed, which is both a curse and a blessing. You can talk to, bribe, extort, or even fight just about anyone in the game. Be wary because they fight back, sometimes leaving you dead, arrested, or just plain traumatized. My only complaint with this design is how easy it is to make a mistake and have to start over, and how optional some interactions are. For example the wasp lady and nuke guy were entirely plotless interactions who were kill-y than killer. And the nuke guy especially is the embodiment of a hair trigger red scare fanatic. A fun archetype, just ultimately not one that has any bearing on anything.
At its heart Harvester is a deconstruction. Specifically of the increasing prevalence of violence and sexual imagery in media. Ironically enough in a way Harvester is even a commentary critical of itself, echoing worries now long familiar with gamers everywhere. The concept of games corrupting the youth and the moral foundation of society. It does make use of its setting and time period, critiquing a thinly veiled caricature of the Red Ryder mascot just as quickly as it critiques video games and TV shows. Granted that doesn't mean every attempt is seamlessly crafted. Particularly the latter half lays it on reeeeeal thick with the paranoia. Though to be fair it can be hard to tell at times when the game is making fun of the satanic panic or actively supplying arguments it’s advocates would use. Beyond that it’s a take on the very real culture shift that’s taken place over the years. It’s not nuanced, and it’s not complete, but the root point demands some deeper examination, just not here. I mean having to increasingly perform worse and worse tasks to court membership in the lodge and figure out what’s going on provides a good dilemma, even if the consequences are mostly incidental. And having Stephanie as a peer with a sane perspective is a good grounding device. I only wish she played a bigger part in the game, instead of the after-thought she often felt like.
Now let’s skip to the latter half of the game’s narrative, after you’ve gained entry into the lodge. After Stephanie’s apparent murder just before you get accepted you’re all the more desperate to find answers to your questions. And it’s in the lodge where two major changes occur the the formula of the game. One, the game becomes much, much more combat focused. Whereas before you may have killed one or two people at most directly, during this part you’ll become a full-fledged killing machine. With insane humans, fleshly monsters, and eldritch creatures all forcing you to kill or be killed. This is where I’m less sure if I'd call it a good meta-commentary, as you’re not given much of a choice for most of these combat decisions, at least until you get to the trial rooms. And you can’t really make a good argument for sparing these demonic beasts and demons either. On top of that what was before small buildings and clearings has now been replaced by winding hallways, confusing corridors, and an utterly non-Euclidean architectural design pattern. It honestly felt a bit over designed and slightly tedious. Not to mention tough.
These beasts aren’t giving you an easy fight, and you’re far from a natural fighter. Picking up food items, secret weapons, and occasional restarts are all a natural consequence of this design. The trials near the end in the lodge were much more my speed. Short, succinct metaphors for life. Perhaps the most overt instances of parody in the game, these I could tell let the game designers go truly hog-wild with dialogue and horror. The most nonsensical commentaries mind you, but they gave us some cool, dreary vignettes. After all that, once you’ve cleaved and bargained your way to the final confrontation with the sergeant-at-arms, you’re finally given an answer for all the weirdness going on. Plus, you find out Stephanie is actually still alive! Turns out the spine from earlier was just a fake…..or somebody else's? Now, up until this point we understand clearly there’s something beyond a case of the crazies in this small town. Beyond your everyday case of moral degeneration, these FMV people are frequently seen portraying multiple characters. So what’s really going on? I had narrowed my suspicions down to three possibilities, with my prime theory being that the player character Steve was in some sort of coma, imagining people he knew in real life in a bizarre horror world that mirrored his anguish at being locked in his own body. So not too far from the truth.
You’re in a virtual world, created to test if a person can be driven to homicide by a matter of circumstances. Everything had been a test to get you closer and closer to shedding your own morality. The same is true for Stephanie. You two are the only real people in this simulation. And the sergeant-at-arms gives you a final choice. Kill Stephanie and return to the real world, or let yourself be killed with the consolation of experiencing a virtual simulation that makes you feel as though you’ve lived a full life with Stephanie before they pull the plug on you.
So what exactly are the choices here? Rise above your desire for freedom and temptation to shed the sanctity of life, or give in to a primal gratification of the body. This seems like a pretty easy choice, and it is in-game too unless you’re someone who likes to see the crazy endings in video games. It’s not like the player has actually been made deranged by the events in the story, however this does touch on an interesting choice that everyone must make in real life. Not a conscious choice, nor is it so grand and convoluted, but the idea that nurture reigns supreme over nature is still a hotly debated topic, and one that demands inspection. As hard as it is to quantity, it can’t be debated that upbringing and repeated traumatic events can permanently alter your behavior, values, and beliefs. In typical Harvester fashion it dials that up to 11. Good thing I’m not forming serious foundational beliefs from this silly game.
I know some people think the satire is tired and low-hanging fruit, but I can consume this stuff for days. I think the underlying mystery and creepiness is what makes it so captivating to me. On its own I might agree the game is a one-trick pony, and I’ll admit I have an unexplainable soft spot for Harvester, but the bizarre circumstances coupled with the active threats to your life give it a legitimately fun spin to your typical over-the-top fares. It lost me a bit on the tail-end with how it dragged, yet it’s still a fun romp highly accessible despite its age.
And that definitely becomes apparent when you see what sticks here and what doesn’t. For anyone out of the loop, I’ll give a quick rundown so we’re up to date on the game’s story. You’re Steve Mason, an 18 year old teenager that has suddenly woken up in Harvest, a small rural town unfamiliar to him. Family, neighbors, and fellow residents are all as equally strange to him as the locale. Giving cryptic answers, seemingly coached responses, and having darkly twisted morals, all given as if perfectly normal. Courtesy of a nasty case of amnesia, you’re tasked with figuring out what’s going on in this strange place, and why everyone is acting so weird. More specifically, you need to enter the city’s “lodge”, a special exclusive group that claims to have answers to your questions. But first you have to perform increasingly immoral tasks around town before they let you in. Along the way you meet Stephanie, another amnesiac teenager who shared your confusion. For this part of the game you have an unlimited amount of freedom to walk around town and talk to the locals. And for that and others reasons, it is the best part of Harvester.
With a population of just 50 people you wouldn’t think claustrophobia would be the name of the game here, but you’d be wrong. Everyone is just so off, and there’s no off-ramp for the insanity. From a sexually depraved mother, to a hyper-violence obsessed brother, to a cannibalistic butcher, there’s all manners of degeneracy represented. What really sets it apart is how well it straddles the line of being genuinely disturbing but also intensely funny at points. The absurdity of characters acting like nuking characters at the drop of a hat is normal, or having a kid who opens fire on you with a piece with ruthless efficiency for not giving him the newspaper that day just hits that sweet spot that every absurdist satire hopes to reach.
Conversely, the underlying themes of torture, cannibalism, incest, and sexual assault are all thoroughly sickening. There were times where I sincerely felt like putting some of these animals down. Altogether I found the juxtaposition of a 50’s era small-town and a band of vile caricatures so damn intriguing. Like I said, free exploration is allowed, which is both a curse and a blessing. You can talk to, bribe, extort, or even fight just about anyone in the game. Be wary because they fight back, sometimes leaving you dead, arrested, or just plain traumatized. My only complaint with this design is how easy it is to make a mistake and have to start over, and how optional some interactions are. For example the wasp lady and nuke guy were entirely plotless interactions who were kill-y than killer. And the nuke guy especially is the embodiment of a hair trigger red scare fanatic. A fun archetype, just ultimately not one that has any bearing on anything.
At its heart Harvester is a deconstruction. Specifically of the increasing prevalence of violence and sexual imagery in media. Ironically enough in a way Harvester is even a commentary critical of itself, echoing worries now long familiar with gamers everywhere. The concept of games corrupting the youth and the moral foundation of society. It does make use of its setting and time period, critiquing a thinly veiled caricature of the Red Ryder mascot just as quickly as it critiques video games and TV shows. Granted that doesn't mean every attempt is seamlessly crafted. Particularly the latter half lays it on reeeeeal thick with the paranoia. Though to be fair it can be hard to tell at times when the game is making fun of the satanic panic or actively supplying arguments it’s advocates would use. Beyond that it’s a take on the very real culture shift that’s taken place over the years. It’s not nuanced, and it’s not complete, but the root point demands some deeper examination, just not here. I mean having to increasingly perform worse and worse tasks to court membership in the lodge and figure out what’s going on provides a good dilemma, even if the consequences are mostly incidental. And having Stephanie as a peer with a sane perspective is a good grounding device. I only wish she played a bigger part in the game, instead of the after-thought she often felt like.
Now let’s skip to the latter half of the game’s narrative, after you’ve gained entry into the lodge. After Stephanie’s apparent murder just before you get accepted you’re all the more desperate to find answers to your questions. And it’s in the lodge where two major changes occur the the formula of the game. One, the game becomes much, much more combat focused. Whereas before you may have killed one or two people at most directly, during this part you’ll become a full-fledged killing machine. With insane humans, fleshly monsters, and eldritch creatures all forcing you to kill or be killed. This is where I’m less sure if I'd call it a good meta-commentary, as you’re not given much of a choice for most of these combat decisions, at least until you get to the trial rooms. And you can’t really make a good argument for sparing these demonic beasts and demons either. On top of that what was before small buildings and clearings has now been replaced by winding hallways, confusing corridors, and an utterly non-Euclidean architectural design pattern. It honestly felt a bit over designed and slightly tedious. Not to mention tough.
These beasts aren’t giving you an easy fight, and you’re far from a natural fighter. Picking up food items, secret weapons, and occasional restarts are all a natural consequence of this design. The trials near the end in the lodge were much more my speed. Short, succinct metaphors for life. Perhaps the most overt instances of parody in the game, these I could tell let the game designers go truly hog-wild with dialogue and horror. The most nonsensical commentaries mind you, but they gave us some cool, dreary vignettes. After all that, once you’ve cleaved and bargained your way to the final confrontation with the sergeant-at-arms, you’re finally given an answer for all the weirdness going on. Plus, you find out Stephanie is actually still alive! Turns out the spine from earlier was just a fake…..or somebody else's? Now, up until this point we understand clearly there’s something beyond a case of the crazies in this small town. Beyond your everyday case of moral degeneration, these FMV people are frequently seen portraying multiple characters. So what’s really going on? I had narrowed my suspicions down to three possibilities, with my prime theory being that the player character Steve was in some sort of coma, imagining people he knew in real life in a bizarre horror world that mirrored his anguish at being locked in his own body. So not too far from the truth.
You’re in a virtual world, created to test if a person can be driven to homicide by a matter of circumstances. Everything had been a test to get you closer and closer to shedding your own morality. The same is true for Stephanie. You two are the only real people in this simulation. And the sergeant-at-arms gives you a final choice. Kill Stephanie and return to the real world, or let yourself be killed with the consolation of experiencing a virtual simulation that makes you feel as though you’ve lived a full life with Stephanie before they pull the plug on you.
So what exactly are the choices here? Rise above your desire for freedom and temptation to shed the sanctity of life, or give in to a primal gratification of the body. This seems like a pretty easy choice, and it is in-game too unless you’re someone who likes to see the crazy endings in video games. It’s not like the player has actually been made deranged by the events in the story, however this does touch on an interesting choice that everyone must make in real life. Not a conscious choice, nor is it so grand and convoluted, but the idea that nurture reigns supreme over nature is still a hotly debated topic, and one that demands inspection. As hard as it is to quantity, it can’t be debated that upbringing and repeated traumatic events can permanently alter your behavior, values, and beliefs. In typical Harvester fashion it dials that up to 11. Good thing I’m not forming serious foundational beliefs from this silly game.
I know some people think the satire is tired and low-hanging fruit, but I can consume this stuff for days. I think the underlying mystery and creepiness is what makes it so captivating to me. On its own I might agree the game is a one-trick pony, and I’ll admit I have an unexplainable soft spot for Harvester, but the bizarre circumstances coupled with the active threats to your life give it a legitimately fun spin to your typical over-the-top fares. It lost me a bit on the tail-end with how it dragged, yet it’s still a fun romp highly accessible despite its age.
The first Zelda game I’ve played and a classic 2D adventure that holds up startlingly well for its age. A lot of older games fall into two basic categories. The ones that need a guide to enjoy it or even complete it, or ones that are too straightforward and plain to even have a guide. I would argue A Link to the Past falls somewhere within the middle.
In actually completing the game it’s perfectly feasible without a guide. You’ll be at a great disadvantage without certain sword or bow upgrades, but it’s definitely possible. Personally, I don’t mind looking up a guide to make sure I get all the upgrades for a game like this. Not only does it give me an edge in the fight, it lets me see all there is to the game. Some items and extra heart pieces could be discovered by tinkering around with the magic mirror at hinted points, though other puzzles were definitely a touch too esoteric. Truthfully, compared to its peers A Link to the Past is perhaps superior for its time when it comes to hints. I know that compared to the first game this one improved their in-game clues when something special was nearby, such as with discolored walls hinting at secrets beyond.
Needless to say the game can get pretty demanding, so I’d strongly recommend getting every secret you can, guide or not. Even at full health and armor enemies can take a quarter of your health in one hit. And for some reason they also added bottomless pits PLUS knockback, the bane of my existence and super out of place here. Some enemies can be more annoying than others but my real frustration was with the hit detection. It was very inconsistent and made hitting certain enemies at an angle a chore. There’s a spin attack but that hardly helps hitting further than 2 inches away from you. More often than not it’s better to keep a distance or position yourself so enemies walk into your slashes. Fortunately you do get more acclimated to it. As you conquer more dungeons you get used to the idiosyncrasies of the combat and it even approaches charming, knockback notwithstanding.
Much like Mario, the story here is recycled and barebones. Save the girl, kill the baddie. Okie doke. I refused to pay attention further than that except when it made me. I’ll wait for future installments to get invested in the story of Hyrule and its kingdom. What I will say is this: the ‘do you understand?’ prompts the game gave me after childishly explaining basic fantasy concepts over and over again started to get pretty damn funny. It was probably the most joy I got out of anything related to the story.
One important point is the inclusion of the dark world. Using a magic mirror you can traverse to a dark, desolate version of the overworld. To return you have to go back to a shimmer at the place you last traversed from. Some set points like the castle gates act as a guaranteed way back for when your shimmer gets stuck or inaccessible, a necessary addition I can confirm.The dark world itself makes for some extra puzzles and is required to get to certain sections blocked off in the main world. While not perfectly intuitive It’s a neat gimmick that works because the quick back-and-forth between worlds gives you a reference point for where you’ll end up. Some side puzzles are obtuse, but by and large the main objectives are clear.
Overall, A Link to the Past is a solid retro title that not only marks when the franchise first finds its footings, but also serves as a terrific starting point for inquisitive gamers who wish to start the long journey that is the Zelda franchise.
In actually completing the game it’s perfectly feasible without a guide. You’ll be at a great disadvantage without certain sword or bow upgrades, but it’s definitely possible. Personally, I don’t mind looking up a guide to make sure I get all the upgrades for a game like this. Not only does it give me an edge in the fight, it lets me see all there is to the game. Some items and extra heart pieces could be discovered by tinkering around with the magic mirror at hinted points, though other puzzles were definitely a touch too esoteric. Truthfully, compared to its peers A Link to the Past is perhaps superior for its time when it comes to hints. I know that compared to the first game this one improved their in-game clues when something special was nearby, such as with discolored walls hinting at secrets beyond.
Needless to say the game can get pretty demanding, so I’d strongly recommend getting every secret you can, guide or not. Even at full health and armor enemies can take a quarter of your health in one hit. And for some reason they also added bottomless pits PLUS knockback, the bane of my existence and super out of place here. Some enemies can be more annoying than others but my real frustration was with the hit detection. It was very inconsistent and made hitting certain enemies at an angle a chore. There’s a spin attack but that hardly helps hitting further than 2 inches away from you. More often than not it’s better to keep a distance or position yourself so enemies walk into your slashes. Fortunately you do get more acclimated to it. As you conquer more dungeons you get used to the idiosyncrasies of the combat and it even approaches charming, knockback notwithstanding.
Much like Mario, the story here is recycled and barebones. Save the girl, kill the baddie. Okie doke. I refused to pay attention further than that except when it made me. I’ll wait for future installments to get invested in the story of Hyrule and its kingdom. What I will say is this: the ‘do you understand?’ prompts the game gave me after childishly explaining basic fantasy concepts over and over again started to get pretty damn funny. It was probably the most joy I got out of anything related to the story.
One important point is the inclusion of the dark world. Using a magic mirror you can traverse to a dark, desolate version of the overworld. To return you have to go back to a shimmer at the place you last traversed from. Some set points like the castle gates act as a guaranteed way back for when your shimmer gets stuck or inaccessible, a necessary addition I can confirm.The dark world itself makes for some extra puzzles and is required to get to certain sections blocked off in the main world. While not perfectly intuitive It’s a neat gimmick that works because the quick back-and-forth between worlds gives you a reference point for where you’ll end up. Some side puzzles are obtuse, but by and large the main objectives are clear.
Overall, A Link to the Past is a solid retro title that not only marks when the franchise first finds its footings, but also serves as a terrific starting point for inquisitive gamers who wish to start the long journey that is the Zelda franchise.
Monument Valley is an extremely short geometry-based puzzle game originally released for mobile devices before eventually being ported to PC. After playing it it’s easy to see its humble roots. You can finish this game in around the time it takes to watch a movie. Luckily for us it goes above and beyond the expectation of a typical mobile port. Sure some levels are a little too brief even for a mobile game. The first two levels take a combined two minutes to complete, but the rest of the levels make up for that, steadily increasing in complexity by adding a central mechanic that’s the focus of that level. The beloved totem being my favorite of the bunch.
The fixed camera points and vibrant colors make for a painting-like beauty in almost every shot. It reminds me a lot of Gris, with monochrome being the focal point instead of color bleed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that each frame is fit for wallpaper status. Monument Valley’s style is a prime example of less can be more, both in visual style and challenge design. With a focus on moving walls, bridges, structures to take advantage of impossible angles and make it to the end, it helps that they simplified the process at key points. Some structures will move at a single pivot point fully whereas others will lock in place, limiting the amount of movement and thus possible combinations.
Not to say the game doesn’t challenge you to think outside the box, the designs themself distinctly ask you to throw away everything you learned from high school geometry class. You’re just never gonna throw your head back in frustration and look up a guide after getting stuck for 10 minutes. If anything the game left me wanting more. With so few levels I’m at least glad they expanded with the Forgotten Shores and Ida’s Red Dream DLCs, which comes along with the Panoramic edition of the game. And with a second game already existing and a third one apparently on the way I have few worries for the future of the franchise. Monument Valley is a short, soothing title that’s more a small, serene burst than a long marathon. It knows what it wants to be and doesn’t try to be anything else. For such a straightforward game it does exceedingly well in giving some hearty competition to its indie peers.
The fixed camera points and vibrant colors make for a painting-like beauty in almost every shot. It reminds me a lot of Gris, with monochrome being the focal point instead of color bleed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that each frame is fit for wallpaper status. Monument Valley’s style is a prime example of less can be more, both in visual style and challenge design. With a focus on moving walls, bridges, structures to take advantage of impossible angles and make it to the end, it helps that they simplified the process at key points. Some structures will move at a single pivot point fully whereas others will lock in place, limiting the amount of movement and thus possible combinations.
Not to say the game doesn’t challenge you to think outside the box, the designs themself distinctly ask you to throw away everything you learned from high school geometry class. You’re just never gonna throw your head back in frustration and look up a guide after getting stuck for 10 minutes. If anything the game left me wanting more. With so few levels I’m at least glad they expanded with the Forgotten Shores and Ida’s Red Dream DLCs, which comes along with the Panoramic edition of the game. And with a second game already existing and a third one apparently on the way I have few worries for the future of the franchise. Monument Valley is a short, soothing title that’s more a small, serene burst than a long marathon. It knows what it wants to be and doesn’t try to be anything else. For such a straightforward game it does exceedingly well in giving some hearty competition to its indie peers.
1985
As the franchise that established foundational game design as we know it, it goes without saying that the original Super Mario Bros is paramount in permanently shaping the gaming landscape. I’d go so far to say that it was the bridge that gapped the distance between arcade ventures and modern home consoles, ushering the start of the multi-billion dollar video games industry. More on that at a later date. For now let’s focus on the actual game itself. By now mostly everyone should be familiar with the iconic Mario blueprint. What many people might not realize is how much of the franchise was established in the first game. Enemy types that would become mainstays like the Goombas and Koopas, powerups like the Fire Flower and Starman, and long-time mechanics like using flagstaffs to end levels.
The original Super Mario Bros is naturally a very pick-up-and-play game, being split up into 8 different worlds with 4 stages each. Along the way to save the Mushroom Kingdom Princess from Bowser you have to platform across basic structures, avoid projectiles, fight enemies, and gain powerups to boost your abilities and health. The four primary level types are underground, castle, underwater, and aboveground levels. Add in some warp pipes that let you skip certain stages and that’s really all there is to it. Not just owing to its age, Super Mario Bros is the fundamental distillation of what a platformer is. Part of what makes it so successful is the ability for anyone to jump in, understand, and have some fun with the decently challenging game. And don’t be fooled, it can be quite challenging.
This leads us to my one real gripe with the game. The limited lives is fine, but It feels like Mario is walking on ice the entire time. It’s way too hard to control for precise jumps or while you’re in the air at all. If you can somehow overcome that, the game is actually pretty easy otherwise. But man, I lost way too many lives by Mario getting a mind of his own and walking off the map. In light of that I’d advise you to just take it a bit slower than you would normally. It’s not a long game after all, don’t sweat taking your time with certain platform sections. Past that not much more can be said. The original Mario often gets overshadowed by future titles, and probably rightfully so. It’s an OG classic that holds up fantastically compared to its age, but beyond nostalgic or historic value there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better or more in-depth in later games.
The original Super Mario Bros is naturally a very pick-up-and-play game, being split up into 8 different worlds with 4 stages each. Along the way to save the Mushroom Kingdom Princess from Bowser you have to platform across basic structures, avoid projectiles, fight enemies, and gain powerups to boost your abilities and health. The four primary level types are underground, castle, underwater, and aboveground levels. Add in some warp pipes that let you skip certain stages and that’s really all there is to it. Not just owing to its age, Super Mario Bros is the fundamental distillation of what a platformer is. Part of what makes it so successful is the ability for anyone to jump in, understand, and have some fun with the decently challenging game. And don’t be fooled, it can be quite challenging.
This leads us to my one real gripe with the game. The limited lives is fine, but It feels like Mario is walking on ice the entire time. It’s way too hard to control for precise jumps or while you’re in the air at all. If you can somehow overcome that, the game is actually pretty easy otherwise. But man, I lost way too many lives by Mario getting a mind of his own and walking off the map. In light of that I’d advise you to just take it a bit slower than you would normally. It’s not a long game after all, don’t sweat taking your time with certain platform sections. Past that not much more can be said. The original Mario often gets overshadowed by future titles, and probably rightfully so. It’s an OG classic that holds up fantastically compared to its age, but beyond nostalgic or historic value there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better or more in-depth in later games.
It’s a shame to me that the most well-known SCP video game is a buggy, antiquated mess of a game. Yes it’s free, and yes it was only made by one guy, but no that does not make this one worth playing more than once. Congrats to Joonas Rikkonen for making something that’s as it good as it is with only some cheap assets and a low-grade engine he had on hand. Aaaaaand that’s as far as my good will goes on that front.
The ultra-basic graphics and gameplay is perfectly acceptable. I’m not even close to expecting anything above that, nor do I really care for it. I understand where SCP lies in terms of Creative Commons. I get you can’t monetize a lot of what makes SCP, well… SCP. And with friends in the multiplayer mod that’s the last thing your paying attention to. No, my problem lies in two major factors.
One, the map design. For the life of me I can’t fathom why Rikkonen would make the game procedurally generated. I don’t mind the concept, however it doesn’t work here at all. While I don’t hate the simple graphics and laboratory design on their own — though some differentiation between rooms wouldn’t hurt —, coupled with the different level generation every time you start a new seed, the game quickly becomes a hell of endless labyrinthian boring white walls and hallways. A labyrinth without of ounce of fun to walk around in. And your stamina blows, so be prepared to do a lot of 3 second sprints, stops, sprints, stops for HOURS as you backtrack trying to remember the order of the rooms you just passed was. The archaic navigation device you can find is only an incremental improvement, providing the most basic of map information. Not a fun time let me say, and completely up to chance as to whether you’ll get a good seed or not.
My second problem is with the progression overall. It’s so terribly unclear where to go, what order to do it in, and for that matter what I’m even trying to do. An hour in and I started using a guide. Even without that it wasn’t a walk in the park. The enemy kiting in this game is awful. Dead end? you’re dead. Two seconds of stamina ran out? Deader than dead. Trying to have more than five seconds alone without some creature chasing you endlessly? Sorry but that doesn’t compute. Near the end I got so frustrated I just turned on God mode and tried to beat the game anyway. As I was getting gutted by invisible creatures while a plague doctor infinitely choked me out for the 10 time I realized it was just not worth it anymore. For as much of a time sink as this is, it’s not nearly intuitive or exciting enough. If I really wanna see the ending one day I’ll get a hold of my good friend Unregistered HyperCam 2 and see what they got on YouTube. Until then, I’m content to leave this game on the shelf.
Look, I love SCP. And I know it’s a long shot to wait for a home-run game that checks every box of mine, but this game just doesn’t cut it for me. The integration of lore, items, and enemies is awesome. The execution of everything else? Not so much. Who knows, somebody taking another crack at this formula may very well give us the quintessential SCP one day. Just not today.
The ultra-basic graphics and gameplay is perfectly acceptable. I’m not even close to expecting anything above that, nor do I really care for it. I understand where SCP lies in terms of Creative Commons. I get you can’t monetize a lot of what makes SCP, well… SCP. And with friends in the multiplayer mod that’s the last thing your paying attention to. No, my problem lies in two major factors.
One, the map design. For the life of me I can’t fathom why Rikkonen would make the game procedurally generated. I don’t mind the concept, however it doesn’t work here at all. While I don’t hate the simple graphics and laboratory design on their own — though some differentiation between rooms wouldn’t hurt —, coupled with the different level generation every time you start a new seed, the game quickly becomes a hell of endless labyrinthian boring white walls and hallways. A labyrinth without of ounce of fun to walk around in. And your stamina blows, so be prepared to do a lot of 3 second sprints, stops, sprints, stops for HOURS as you backtrack trying to remember the order of the rooms you just passed was. The archaic navigation device you can find is only an incremental improvement, providing the most basic of map information. Not a fun time let me say, and completely up to chance as to whether you’ll get a good seed or not.
My second problem is with the progression overall. It’s so terribly unclear where to go, what order to do it in, and for that matter what I’m even trying to do. An hour in and I started using a guide. Even without that it wasn’t a walk in the park. The enemy kiting in this game is awful. Dead end? you’re dead. Two seconds of stamina ran out? Deader than dead. Trying to have more than five seconds alone without some creature chasing you endlessly? Sorry but that doesn’t compute. Near the end I got so frustrated I just turned on God mode and tried to beat the game anyway. As I was getting gutted by invisible creatures while a plague doctor infinitely choked me out for the 10 time I realized it was just not worth it anymore. For as much of a time sink as this is, it’s not nearly intuitive or exciting enough. If I really wanna see the ending one day I’ll get a hold of my good friend Unregistered HyperCam 2 and see what they got on YouTube. Until then, I’m content to leave this game on the shelf.
Look, I love SCP. And I know it’s a long shot to wait for a home-run game that checks every box of mine, but this game just doesn’t cut it for me. The integration of lore, items, and enemies is awesome. The execution of everything else? Not so much. Who knows, somebody taking another crack at this formula may very well give us the quintessential SCP one day. Just not today.
2023
Rest easy Outlast-heads, it’s finally here. It's been a long journey from first-look to release for this game, but the game is finally out, and it’s here to turn the formula on its head. Not only is it multiplayer now, your character remembers they can throw mad hands with the crazies! Outlast Trials is definitely a trial by fire game in that upon first bootup you’ll be running around like a chicken with your head cut off, with naked giants, gas happy lunatics, and banshee impersonators that will have you scream-laughing hysterically at your friends to come help you.
Don’t sweat it for a moment though, a few hours in and you’ll be a certified escape artist. Getting to know enemy behaviors, pathing patterns, and map layouts through repetition all help in making the game a slow simmer process. But that’s really the best way to learn. I was lucky enough to early on find a wise Trials elder in the wild who helped me get the fundamentals down, though really that can be supplemented with some simple experience and occasional web searches if it’s really not clicking fully with you. Remember, it’s not called Outlast Trials for nothing, as it is a definite trial and error game to begin with. Fortunately everything here is crafted expertly to immerse you in the world. The chest-mounted rigs that allow you to fight back minimally with smoke-bombs and stun nades do little to make you a terminator but it’s a good, logical step in the franchise’s evolution that I think works wonders here. Like in all multiplayer games, it can get a bit silly with perfect cooperation with friends that allow you to stunlock enemies for 30 seconds straight, but that’s the exception, not the rule, and it’s all temporary anyway. No permanent removal of enemies here.
To complement this change of pace, the thematic missions and villains, the sterile hub, and even the god forsaken arm-wrestling minigame all fit into the hellish Outlast world fantastically. On top of that the sound design and art direction is killer, with night vision lighting distinct from its predecessors but no less sublime. It’s clear the Red Barrels team has a vision and a passion with Outlast Trials. Perhaps the highest compliment I can give to Trials is that it is the one game that comes closest to maintaining a high “oh-crap” level even after throwing in a couple dozen hours into the game. It’s just so relentlessly suffocating and devoid of hope. Pair that with a cold-war setting and I’m hooked like it’s phonics.
But like all things, there’s two sides to every coin, and this game is no exception. Outlast Trials is a horror game in more than one way. It has committed the cardinal sin of being…… Early Access! And there’s two issues that come with that. Let’s start with the more minor one. Being an Early Access, multiplayer focused game, Trials doesn’t really have a continuous, sustained narrative or conclusion. It supplements this by having documents interspersed throughout trials randomly that you can pick up and helps you discover more about the history of the site, major players, and the world itself. It also has a pseudo-finale in its Program X, an amalgamation of the 3 other programs with increasingly difficult modifiers. Completing these unlocks the unique “escape” mission where you replay the introduction level but backwards. Naturally it’s not permanent nor particularly revelatory, nevertheless it gives you something to work towards.
The first half of these Program X trials find the perfect balance of fun and challenging. Given the nature of how you’re replaying the same trials over and over again, it can get easy faster than you’d think. So upping the stakes with extra lethal enemies and similar modifiers is more than welcome to me. It’s the second half of these missions I take umbrage with. It gets exponentially more difficult, with some nasty modifier stacking that I’m really not a fan of (looking at you no items + more enemies + no fun). You can technically beat the missions solo but you couldn’t pay me to be that patient, which sucks because the only real endgame as of now is locked behind beating that program. And you can’t just get anyone to beat it with. You need some great, coordinated players, no casual tomfoolery allowed. I’m not really sure why it’s that hard to begin with, considering how quickly they added Program Omega, another mission collection that’s just an even harder version of Program X where you’re forced to play with a team.
Wait, you say, what’s the problem with just grinding with a squad until you can beat the hardest missions with your eyes closed? And that’s where we get to the biggest issue of the game. It gets old long, long before you achieve enough spiritual enlightenment to beat the final levels. Early Access or not, this game was way too barebones at launch. The team’s not throwing in the towel luckily, but they need to pick up the pace on regular updates. Excluding the modifier modes, there’s three main Programs, each with a main mission and two smaller, slightly shorter mini-missions. These are not long missions mind you. Once you get a hang of the game the longer ones can be knocked out in less than 15 minutes and the smaller missions in less than 10. You can easily get through an entire rotation of missions in around 2 hours. It’s fun, I enjoyed my time solo, with randoms, and with friends. However, just a month in and I’ve shelved the game for the foreseeable future.
I heard they just released a new trial yesterday, a great step in the right direction, but they really need to let the creative juices flow. Create a custom mode where you can set your own modifiers, release new trials every 3 months instead of every 5 months, and do more to diversify gameplay. Introduced more mechanics, new enemy types, and fancy new items. It’s a heavy burden to keep the player base both on their toes and at the edge of their seats, yet even so I have faith in Red Barrels given their clean track record thus far. In all likelihood I’ll be back in a year or two to check in on the overall experience. Fingers crossed the game is all the more rich in content by then.
Don’t sweat it for a moment though, a few hours in and you’ll be a certified escape artist. Getting to know enemy behaviors, pathing patterns, and map layouts through repetition all help in making the game a slow simmer process. But that’s really the best way to learn. I was lucky enough to early on find a wise Trials elder in the wild who helped me get the fundamentals down, though really that can be supplemented with some simple experience and occasional web searches if it’s really not clicking fully with you. Remember, it’s not called Outlast Trials for nothing, as it is a definite trial and error game to begin with. Fortunately everything here is crafted expertly to immerse you in the world. The chest-mounted rigs that allow you to fight back minimally with smoke-bombs and stun nades do little to make you a terminator but it’s a good, logical step in the franchise’s evolution that I think works wonders here. Like in all multiplayer games, it can get a bit silly with perfect cooperation with friends that allow you to stunlock enemies for 30 seconds straight, but that’s the exception, not the rule, and it’s all temporary anyway. No permanent removal of enemies here.
To complement this change of pace, the thematic missions and villains, the sterile hub, and even the god forsaken arm-wrestling minigame all fit into the hellish Outlast world fantastically. On top of that the sound design and art direction is killer, with night vision lighting distinct from its predecessors but no less sublime. It’s clear the Red Barrels team has a vision and a passion with Outlast Trials. Perhaps the highest compliment I can give to Trials is that it is the one game that comes closest to maintaining a high “oh-crap” level even after throwing in a couple dozen hours into the game. It’s just so relentlessly suffocating and devoid of hope. Pair that with a cold-war setting and I’m hooked like it’s phonics.
But like all things, there’s two sides to every coin, and this game is no exception. Outlast Trials is a horror game in more than one way. It has committed the cardinal sin of being…… Early Access! And there’s two issues that come with that. Let’s start with the more minor one. Being an Early Access, multiplayer focused game, Trials doesn’t really have a continuous, sustained narrative or conclusion. It supplements this by having documents interspersed throughout trials randomly that you can pick up and helps you discover more about the history of the site, major players, and the world itself. It also has a pseudo-finale in its Program X, an amalgamation of the 3 other programs with increasingly difficult modifiers. Completing these unlocks the unique “escape” mission where you replay the introduction level but backwards. Naturally it’s not permanent nor particularly revelatory, nevertheless it gives you something to work towards.
The first half of these Program X trials find the perfect balance of fun and challenging. Given the nature of how you’re replaying the same trials over and over again, it can get easy faster than you’d think. So upping the stakes with extra lethal enemies and similar modifiers is more than welcome to me. It’s the second half of these missions I take umbrage with. It gets exponentially more difficult, with some nasty modifier stacking that I’m really not a fan of (looking at you no items + more enemies + no fun). You can technically beat the missions solo but you couldn’t pay me to be that patient, which sucks because the only real endgame as of now is locked behind beating that program. And you can’t just get anyone to beat it with. You need some great, coordinated players, no casual tomfoolery allowed. I’m not really sure why it’s that hard to begin with, considering how quickly they added Program Omega, another mission collection that’s just an even harder version of Program X where you’re forced to play with a team.
Wait, you say, what’s the problem with just grinding with a squad until you can beat the hardest missions with your eyes closed? And that’s where we get to the biggest issue of the game. It gets old long, long before you achieve enough spiritual enlightenment to beat the final levels. Early Access or not, this game was way too barebones at launch. The team’s not throwing in the towel luckily, but they need to pick up the pace on regular updates. Excluding the modifier modes, there’s three main Programs, each with a main mission and two smaller, slightly shorter mini-missions. These are not long missions mind you. Once you get a hang of the game the longer ones can be knocked out in less than 15 minutes and the smaller missions in less than 10. You can easily get through an entire rotation of missions in around 2 hours. It’s fun, I enjoyed my time solo, with randoms, and with friends. However, just a month in and I’ve shelved the game for the foreseeable future.
I heard they just released a new trial yesterday, a great step in the right direction, but they really need to let the creative juices flow. Create a custom mode where you can set your own modifiers, release new trials every 3 months instead of every 5 months, and do more to diversify gameplay. Introduced more mechanics, new enemy types, and fancy new items. It’s a heavy burden to keep the player base both on their toes and at the edge of their seats, yet even so I have faith in Red Barrels given their clean track record thus far. In all likelihood I’ll be back in a year or two to check in on the overall experience. Fingers crossed the game is all the more rich in content by then.
Let's start with the negatives, because there’s a refreshingly small amount in Fallen Order. Besides a single element of the story I felt was rushed, there’s only one major drawback to speak of: the technical issues. Even after playing years after the release and with a brand new RTX 4070 the game had some pretty major frame rate and render hiccups. Kasshykk especially was downright horrendous at times in areas of high detail foliage or large amounts of enemies. It never broke or crashed the game but it definitely took the winds out of my sails at times, with it undercutting tense scenes or would-be epic battles. Luckily It got better in the later portions and planets but was never fully gone. Which is a shame, because ignoring that the game is gorgeous, responsive, and has the best lightsaber combat I’ve experienced thus far.
On that topic, let’s talk more about the combat. I can definitely see some Dark Souls influences all over it, with some added force powers as a bonus. However, parrying in Fallen Order is far better than dodging when you can help it. And I know they expand on the moveset in the second game, yet even just with what’s here I’m as giddy as I was back when I used to swing a broom around the backyard pretending I was a Jedi. Of course by back then I mean yesterday, but nevermind that. Being able to force push into a lightsaber throw into force pull into a double-bladed wombo combo was peak badassery. With every game that offers multiple movesets I always try to incorporate a decent variety. Both to play the game as intended and to experience all that it offers. Some games are better designed for varied combat, and others you learn very quickly to only rely on the fundamentals. With Fallen Order it fell thankfully and completely into the first camp. It never discouraged trying out new methods, and I loved testing the limits with each new encounter. And that’s with playing on Jedi Master difficulty, which is no cake-walk by any means.
Still, I enjoy a good challenge, and mastering Sifu was more than adequate as a prerequisite to feel confident in that choice. Just like Sifu, parry timing is key in this game, and I am grateful to have long ago honed that. And honestly, after finishing Fallen Order I actually think Jedi Master should be the default difficulty for everyone but the greenest gamers. The hit speed and damage felt like it perfectly struck that sweet spot of requiring you to slightly improve your timing with every new enemy and making hits something to avoid rather than shrug off. The health system was not quite what I expected, even so I dig it. Like many parts of the game it’s very RPG-like. I was really hoping for an ability to regain some health on special takedowns, but the replenishable stims and respawning enemies system worked just fine on their own. For one it makes grinding a breeze if that suits your playstyle, though this game doesn’t really ask that of you, and I did just fine getting nearly every ability by the end without doing that. It’s also good practice if you feel less confident facing certain enemies and need to run a fight back.
Besides the timing quirks the only other element to get down is when to use the double-blade and when to lock on. The game helps you with the former dilemma by straight up telling you how to use it, though I would caveat that the double sided blade can also be good for single enemies when they have a fast recovery or hit speed. For the latter question, generally it’s best to lock on when all enemies can be seen on screen at once, or when there’s only one or two enemies to worry about. As a last note about the combat, I’ve heard a lot of disappointment that the game doesn’t offer more violence, as in no dismemberment, decapitations, or bisections. While it is a limiting factor and perhaps not the most realistic, I’m kind of indifferent to the idea. I wouldn’t protest some scarce limb and head removals, but I WOULD be outright against bisections in anything that’s not a dark-side focused title. Nevertheless, I’m perfectly content with just the scorch marks we were given to denote damage.
The story and its planet-hopping consequences were a great chance to see more of the galaxy in game form. Seeing Order 66, Dathomir, and Kashyyyk gave me a painful desire to see team Respawn do a hundred more planets and situations in their unique to Star Wars Metroidvania style. I also liked just about everyone, even if they fit a little snugly into their archetypal boxes. They all had succinct arcs, and even gave me some warm fuzzies by the end when they all became closer. Hey, I’ll admit I’m a hopeless sucker for found family dynamics when I care about the characters. My only complaint in that department is that Merrin joining the Mantis crew was way too rushed. Going from trying to kill you to becoming an eager flight companion was welcome if comically jarring. But whatever, I just need her and Cal to make some sweet Jedi Witch babies, stat.
Straddling the line that Fallen Order had to is far from enviable. It had to cover a well-documented and relatively common period of the galaxy while still adding new enemies, challenges, and important missions so as to make it distinct in its significance. At the same time it had to be self-contained enough so as not to step on the toes of the Original Trilogy. Despite those unique obstacles, I think the game nails the landing and offers a good excuse as to why Cal wasn’t leading the charge for the Rebel Alliance. He’s a strong fighter, but as can be seen with his encounter with Vader, he’s nowhere near ready to shoulder the responsibilities for the fate of the galaxy at this point, emotionally or physically. What a great subverted sequence that Vader one was by the way. I’m still not 100% sold on the idea of Inquisitors as a whole, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say they have drip for days and a presence that elevates the boss fights to a level near epic. If you have even a passing interest in Star Wars I would implore you to pick up this game when it goes on sale for dirt cheap, as it often does.
On that topic, let’s talk more about the combat. I can definitely see some Dark Souls influences all over it, with some added force powers as a bonus. However, parrying in Fallen Order is far better than dodging when you can help it. And I know they expand on the moveset in the second game, yet even just with what’s here I’m as giddy as I was back when I used to swing a broom around the backyard pretending I was a Jedi. Of course by back then I mean yesterday, but nevermind that. Being able to force push into a lightsaber throw into force pull into a double-bladed wombo combo was peak badassery. With every game that offers multiple movesets I always try to incorporate a decent variety. Both to play the game as intended and to experience all that it offers. Some games are better designed for varied combat, and others you learn very quickly to only rely on the fundamentals. With Fallen Order it fell thankfully and completely into the first camp. It never discouraged trying out new methods, and I loved testing the limits with each new encounter. And that’s with playing on Jedi Master difficulty, which is no cake-walk by any means.
Still, I enjoy a good challenge, and mastering Sifu was more than adequate as a prerequisite to feel confident in that choice. Just like Sifu, parry timing is key in this game, and I am grateful to have long ago honed that. And honestly, after finishing Fallen Order I actually think Jedi Master should be the default difficulty for everyone but the greenest gamers. The hit speed and damage felt like it perfectly struck that sweet spot of requiring you to slightly improve your timing with every new enemy and making hits something to avoid rather than shrug off. The health system was not quite what I expected, even so I dig it. Like many parts of the game it’s very RPG-like. I was really hoping for an ability to regain some health on special takedowns, but the replenishable stims and respawning enemies system worked just fine on their own. For one it makes grinding a breeze if that suits your playstyle, though this game doesn’t really ask that of you, and I did just fine getting nearly every ability by the end without doing that. It’s also good practice if you feel less confident facing certain enemies and need to run a fight back.
Besides the timing quirks the only other element to get down is when to use the double-blade and when to lock on. The game helps you with the former dilemma by straight up telling you how to use it, though I would caveat that the double sided blade can also be good for single enemies when they have a fast recovery or hit speed. For the latter question, generally it’s best to lock on when all enemies can be seen on screen at once, or when there’s only one or two enemies to worry about. As a last note about the combat, I’ve heard a lot of disappointment that the game doesn’t offer more violence, as in no dismemberment, decapitations, or bisections. While it is a limiting factor and perhaps not the most realistic, I’m kind of indifferent to the idea. I wouldn’t protest some scarce limb and head removals, but I WOULD be outright against bisections in anything that’s not a dark-side focused title. Nevertheless, I’m perfectly content with just the scorch marks we were given to denote damage.
The story and its planet-hopping consequences were a great chance to see more of the galaxy in game form. Seeing Order 66, Dathomir, and Kashyyyk gave me a painful desire to see team Respawn do a hundred more planets and situations in their unique to Star Wars Metroidvania style. I also liked just about everyone, even if they fit a little snugly into their archetypal boxes. They all had succinct arcs, and even gave me some warm fuzzies by the end when they all became closer. Hey, I’ll admit I’m a hopeless sucker for found family dynamics when I care about the characters. My only complaint in that department is that Merrin joining the Mantis crew was way too rushed. Going from trying to kill you to becoming an eager flight companion was welcome if comically jarring. But whatever, I just need her and Cal to make some sweet Jedi Witch babies, stat.
Straddling the line that Fallen Order had to is far from enviable. It had to cover a well-documented and relatively common period of the galaxy while still adding new enemies, challenges, and important missions so as to make it distinct in its significance. At the same time it had to be self-contained enough so as not to step on the toes of the Original Trilogy. Despite those unique obstacles, I think the game nails the landing and offers a good excuse as to why Cal wasn’t leading the charge for the Rebel Alliance. He’s a strong fighter, but as can be seen with his encounter with Vader, he’s nowhere near ready to shoulder the responsibilities for the fate of the galaxy at this point, emotionally or physically. What a great subverted sequence that Vader one was by the way. I’m still not 100% sold on the idea of Inquisitors as a whole, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say they have drip for days and a presence that elevates the boss fights to a level near epic. If you have even a passing interest in Star Wars I would implore you to pick up this game when it goes on sale for dirt cheap, as it often does.
A wacky, simple, and satisfying western arcade shooter that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The soundtrack, weapon handling, and humorous elements add to its fast-paced, balls-to-the-wall nature. At the same time, the different upgrade paths add just enough variety to warrant an extra couple of playthroughs down the line. While the story is far from groundbreaking, it offers a unique little tale with some cheeky narrative devices afforded to it by the nature in which it’s told. Don’t expect anything too serious though, as it doesn’t shy away from poking fun at common tropes in Wild West media. It’s only around 4-5 hours, but I would say it’s well worth the purchase.
2022
A compact experience even by Itch.io standards, Iron Lung relies on the design philosophy of tell don’t show. I don’t say that entirely facetiously, as that’s a perfectly acceptable way of worldbuilding and tension sustaining, so long as it hooks you with something too keep you entertained. Oftentimes the anticipation or imminent proximity to danger can be just as fulfilling as outright terror.
In Iron Lung you’re a wayward convict forcefully tasked with exploring a world overwhelmed by a ceaseless ocean of blood. The reason being that after every habitable planet suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, you and the rest of surviving humanity must search new solar systems in pursuit of food, shelter, and other valuables. What makes the premise particularly harrowing is the fact that your method of exploration lies solely in the eponymous Iron Lung, the name of the tiny, rickshaw submarine that you commandeer for the duration of the game. It’s about the length of a car and fitted with just three accoutrements. A console terminal, which can be used to find out more about the world, a simple coordinate-based navigation center, and a photo display that acts as the sole source of visual information outside the submarine.
It’s a brief adventure, requiring you to navigate to a list of coordinates using a reference map and take pictures of whatever is at them. Be it a plant, animal remains, or something more sinister. Since you don’t have consistent visuals on account of the depth of the ocean you’re in requiring the viewport to be welded shut, you have to use a motion sensor to let you know when you’re too close to an obstruction or debris. It’s almost impossible to die to it, it just makes it less straightforward than going directly from A to B. Even still, on it’s own the gameplay is quite one-dimensional. Thank goodness Iron Lung knows not to overstay it’s playtime. I guarantee that without the interesting premise tied to it this game wouldn’t be nearly as popular. No, this game is more focused on the slow build of anticipation as your observation pictures become more and more concerning. An objective greatly helped by the aid of a superb sound design. The leaky, bass-heavy hums and moans of the ocean is great on a good audio system.
While I’m aware that you’re suppose to rely on the sensors and whatnot, I can’t pretend I’m not disappointed you can’t use the camera system to more broadly explore the ocean. You can technically take pictures at any time, except when outside scripted sections they’ll just come out as indistinct photos every time. I know what I’m proposing would put the onus on the player, but imagine how much more impactful it would be for the scariest, most disturbing image to come from the player’s own curiosity.
Oppositely, the console terminal felt like a great organic source of worldbuilding. They didn’t make the mistake some games do where they have 100 different logs from 30 different people meticulously talking about how they hate the cereal they eat every morning and other nonsense I don’t care about. It’s very straight and to the point while sparking a genuine interest in the world. The only problem is that Markiplier movie notwithstanding, I’m not sure where else you can take the property that wouldn’t eliminate the nebulous horror it thrives on. I wouldn’t be against them trying, it’s just a precarious situation. One that those familiar with cosmic horror know all to well.
It’s a low investment venture where you get what you pay for. If you enjoy austere games where the emphasis is on the unknown rather than the observable, if you think the premise sounds fascinating, or if you just fancy cozy itch.io titles then this will be right up your alley. The ending is kind of anticlimactic, yet it did little to detract from the experience as a whole. My advice before you play is to not overhype it. Many people, myself included, make the mistake of seeing a game like Iron Lung skyrocket up in the pop-culture zeitgeist and then build too-high expectations from it. Meet the game where it is and you’ll have a decent time.
In Iron Lung you’re a wayward convict forcefully tasked with exploring a world overwhelmed by a ceaseless ocean of blood. The reason being that after every habitable planet suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, you and the rest of surviving humanity must search new solar systems in pursuit of food, shelter, and other valuables. What makes the premise particularly harrowing is the fact that your method of exploration lies solely in the eponymous Iron Lung, the name of the tiny, rickshaw submarine that you commandeer for the duration of the game. It’s about the length of a car and fitted with just three accoutrements. A console terminal, which can be used to find out more about the world, a simple coordinate-based navigation center, and a photo display that acts as the sole source of visual information outside the submarine.
It’s a brief adventure, requiring you to navigate to a list of coordinates using a reference map and take pictures of whatever is at them. Be it a plant, animal remains, or something more sinister. Since you don’t have consistent visuals on account of the depth of the ocean you’re in requiring the viewport to be welded shut, you have to use a motion sensor to let you know when you’re too close to an obstruction or debris. It’s almost impossible to die to it, it just makes it less straightforward than going directly from A to B. Even still, on it’s own the gameplay is quite one-dimensional. Thank goodness Iron Lung knows not to overstay it’s playtime. I guarantee that without the interesting premise tied to it this game wouldn’t be nearly as popular. No, this game is more focused on the slow build of anticipation as your observation pictures become more and more concerning. An objective greatly helped by the aid of a superb sound design. The leaky, bass-heavy hums and moans of the ocean is great on a good audio system.
While I’m aware that you’re suppose to rely on the sensors and whatnot, I can’t pretend I’m not disappointed you can’t use the camera system to more broadly explore the ocean. You can technically take pictures at any time, except when outside scripted sections they’ll just come out as indistinct photos every time. I know what I’m proposing would put the onus on the player, but imagine how much more impactful it would be for the scariest, most disturbing image to come from the player’s own curiosity.
Oppositely, the console terminal felt like a great organic source of worldbuilding. They didn’t make the mistake some games do where they have 100 different logs from 30 different people meticulously talking about how they hate the cereal they eat every morning and other nonsense I don’t care about. It’s very straight and to the point while sparking a genuine interest in the world. The only problem is that Markiplier movie notwithstanding, I’m not sure where else you can take the property that wouldn’t eliminate the nebulous horror it thrives on. I wouldn’t be against them trying, it’s just a precarious situation. One that those familiar with cosmic horror know all to well.
It’s a low investment venture where you get what you pay for. If you enjoy austere games where the emphasis is on the unknown rather than the observable, if you think the premise sounds fascinating, or if you just fancy cozy itch.io titles then this will be right up your alley. The ending is kind of anticlimactic, yet it did little to detract from the experience as a whole. My advice before you play is to not overhype it. Many people, myself included, make the mistake of seeing a game like Iron Lung skyrocket up in the pop-culture zeitgeist and then build too-high expectations from it. Meet the game where it is and you’ll have a decent time.
As someone who’s quite fond of the PSX aesthetic niche in modern horror games, I find it a bit disheartening that so many developers don’t understand what made those low-res games so good, beyond the nostalgic coat of paint. That being they were genuinely fun to play. Timeless, making the most of it despite technical limitations. Not every aspect will hold up well, but that’s inevitable. Expected, even. The benefit of making a modern homage that harkens back to the era is the ability to fix the messy details that only contribute to frustration. This is my first Puppet Combo game that I’ve actually played myself, and I’m hoping that it’s a fluke that I found it so underwhelming, with little having been done to build on the genre.
On the graphics I just want to preface that I couldn’t even play the game effectively once I got to the nominative house, lest I be at a severe and eye-hurting disadvantage. I had to change it from VHS to the 1999 aesthetic. I’ll congratulate the variety of options; you’ve got VHS, 1999, 1995, and 16mm, in addition to a CRT filter, which is particularly cool. It’s just a shame the game is so prohibitively dark I didn’t even want to use them.
The beginning sections were without a doubt the strongest part. Short, yet promising more. I was familiar with the convenience store part before playing it, as I saw a couple youtubers play it previously when it was a demo. Yet even knowing how scripted your interactions are it still felt tantalizing to see where it would go. Then I made it to the house, and I slowly lost all hope, much like the main character probably did. If anyone ever played Granny (2017) way back when that was still talked about, know this game is super similar to it. After getting captured by the baddie in the final act, you wake up in an upstairs room with little instruction on how to escape.
On your first inevitable death you’re given a grim lesson on the parameters of sound you’re allowed to make before you alert the killer or his mother. And it’s harsh. Every time you’re caught you lose a day and start in a new room. By crawling through vents, creeping around dark corridors, and hiding in closets and under tables you have to find a way…. out of the house. With a much cleaner polish, this is just Granny on a larger scale (it’s a big house). Strike one to this nice little formula is the questionable decision to limit you to a very small inventory. In my mind that should only come into play in one scenario: when storage management and annoying backtracking is negligible. This game satisfies neither criterion. What this means is that you’ll likely find yourself with a hoard to rival Smaug’s gold pile before long, except instead of treasures beyond compare it will be rocks and old bandages. Yummy. Too bad you didn’t bring your Fitbit along to track your steps as you micromanage your inventory across this godforsaken labyrinth of a house like this is Minecraft. So reminiscent is it that I can almost hear the phantom screams of my brother telling me to give him my precious diamonds. Who does that duplicitous usurper think he is?
But for as feral as my brother can get, it pales in comparison to the sheer determination of the killer in this game. This guy is nuts. With ears like a hawk, speed like a track star, and screeches like a pig I feel like this guy would make a great candidate for a Most Annoying in Show award. Of course, his mom is even worse. That scooter-wielding broad is two parts granny, three parts Terminator. She doesn’t kill you outright, but if she sees you in her considerably wide radius of sight as she traverses the house for her warden-ly rounds then you’re dead meat. The game needed a much bigger breadth of breathing room when it comes to where you’re safe and where you should be on edge. Enemy patrols are slow but constant, making sneaking more of a chore hampered by the too-wide detection of cameras and enemy lines of sight. A slog in other words, and a doubtless strike two.
The next and final strike against the game is its save system. You find tapes around the house and put them in TV to save your progress. It’s an old time-wasting relic that has no place here. Doubly so when considering the fragility of your character’s glass head and the stingy amount of saves rationed out. This could have been solved one of two ways while keeping the save method the same. One: make significant progress auto-save the game. Or two: make tapes not take up space and add a TV or two in the main areas.
To reiterate, Stay Out of the House, while nailing details that evoke the era it emulates, does little to polish it. Under the cluttered, messy details of moment-to-moment gameplay is a promising love letter to classic slashers and PSX games, but unfortunately this isn’t Minecraft. And I don’t have a pickaxe durable enough to dig to the treasure that makes this game worth playing.
On the graphics I just want to preface that I couldn’t even play the game effectively once I got to the nominative house, lest I be at a severe and eye-hurting disadvantage. I had to change it from VHS to the 1999 aesthetic. I’ll congratulate the variety of options; you’ve got VHS, 1999, 1995, and 16mm, in addition to a CRT filter, which is particularly cool. It’s just a shame the game is so prohibitively dark I didn’t even want to use them.
The beginning sections were without a doubt the strongest part. Short, yet promising more. I was familiar with the convenience store part before playing it, as I saw a couple youtubers play it previously when it was a demo. Yet even knowing how scripted your interactions are it still felt tantalizing to see where it would go. Then I made it to the house, and I slowly lost all hope, much like the main character probably did. If anyone ever played Granny (2017) way back when that was still talked about, know this game is super similar to it. After getting captured by the baddie in the final act, you wake up in an upstairs room with little instruction on how to escape.
On your first inevitable death you’re given a grim lesson on the parameters of sound you’re allowed to make before you alert the killer or his mother. And it’s harsh. Every time you’re caught you lose a day and start in a new room. By crawling through vents, creeping around dark corridors, and hiding in closets and under tables you have to find a way…. out of the house. With a much cleaner polish, this is just Granny on a larger scale (it’s a big house). Strike one to this nice little formula is the questionable decision to limit you to a very small inventory. In my mind that should only come into play in one scenario: when storage management and annoying backtracking is negligible. This game satisfies neither criterion. What this means is that you’ll likely find yourself with a hoard to rival Smaug’s gold pile before long, except instead of treasures beyond compare it will be rocks and old bandages. Yummy. Too bad you didn’t bring your Fitbit along to track your steps as you micromanage your inventory across this godforsaken labyrinth of a house like this is Minecraft. So reminiscent is it that I can almost hear the phantom screams of my brother telling me to give him my precious diamonds. Who does that duplicitous usurper think he is?
But for as feral as my brother can get, it pales in comparison to the sheer determination of the killer in this game. This guy is nuts. With ears like a hawk, speed like a track star, and screeches like a pig I feel like this guy would make a great candidate for a Most Annoying in Show award. Of course, his mom is even worse. That scooter-wielding broad is two parts granny, three parts Terminator. She doesn’t kill you outright, but if she sees you in her considerably wide radius of sight as she traverses the house for her warden-ly rounds then you’re dead meat. The game needed a much bigger breadth of breathing room when it comes to where you’re safe and where you should be on edge. Enemy patrols are slow but constant, making sneaking more of a chore hampered by the too-wide detection of cameras and enemy lines of sight. A slog in other words, and a doubtless strike two.
The next and final strike against the game is its save system. You find tapes around the house and put them in TV to save your progress. It’s an old time-wasting relic that has no place here. Doubly so when considering the fragility of your character’s glass head and the stingy amount of saves rationed out. This could have been solved one of two ways while keeping the save method the same. One: make significant progress auto-save the game. Or two: make tapes not take up space and add a TV or two in the main areas.
To reiterate, Stay Out of the House, while nailing details that evoke the era it emulates, does little to polish it. Under the cluttered, messy details of moment-to-moment gameplay is a promising love letter to classic slashers and PSX games, but unfortunately this isn’t Minecraft. And I don’t have a pickaxe durable enough to dig to the treasure that makes this game worth playing.
2023
An oft overlooked game when considering the breakout hits of 2023, I feel like Atomic Heart is a praiseworthy shooter that promises good things for debut studio Mundfish’s future projects if they can keep us this momentum and passion.
Unfortunately, with as talented as a studio Mundfish clearly is, they haven’t yet nailed down dialogue, or for that matter quality voice acting. Going into the game I was no stranger to the fact that the dialogue and voice performances were less than stellar, so I made an executive decision to use the original Russian language setting and just turn on subtitles. That didn’t fix the clearly sophomoric and needlessly edgy script, but it made me roll my eyes just a teensy bit less when I had to read it instead of hearing it. Would definitely recommend doing that for anyone being held back from playing by memes they’ve seen online of the game’s writing snafus.
Because where Atomic Heart lags behind ten years in dialogue quality it more than makes up for in gunplay and graphics. Modifying guns with elemental mods, upgrading your high-tech glove to shoot electricity, frost, and telekinetic grabs, and perfecting the surprisingly reactive movement feels fantastic once you figure out what works against what enemy. Furthermore, the enemy designs were AWESOME, and what’s more they gave an actual reason to try different strategies what with their built-in immunities and weaknesses. Sometimes that means that you have a much harder time ahead, for when you don’t have the tools to most easily take down the boss in question, other times it’s a massive relief and provides a nice burst of happy brain chemicals when you can just melt the enemies because you’re armed for all occasions and have been upgrading smartly and in a wide range of upgrade paths. The only enemy that raised my blood pressure beyond enjoyment was the Plyush, the fleshly figures. Now that might be because I didn’t upgrade my combat axe particularly far, but I also think that limiting effective combat to exclusively melee methods are a mistake in all scenarios besides prologues. Regardless, don’t make the same mistake I did: mind your melee options.
Like I mentioned in passing, the game looks gorgeous as well. Graphically, it can compete with the likes of any triple-A giant. Only complication there is the game is quite spotty with stuttering and rendering new objects and environments, regardless of graphics settings. Only once did a bug force me to restart, but it’s something you’ll definitely notice now and again. Regardless, it’s still more stable than Fallen Order is five years later, as much as I like that game. Not that it excuses it, just wanted to add that comparison for anyone it might help evaluate the stability of the game.
The story was decent, if meandering at points. The back-to-back plot twists felt too predictable for what should have been game-changing, and it was clear rewrites forced things to be rushed. Which is made especially obvious when a certain someone dies near the climax of the game off-screen. Despite its hiccups, including the at-times confusing motivation of every character, the execution of its alternate history dystopia kept me intrigued enough to stay on the narrative rollercoaster. Granted the ending was strange. The “true” ending was the one that prematurely ended the game, while the “alternative” ending gatekept probably the best boss fight in the whole experience. I can understand wanting to continue the story in the DLC, and I know most people will get the boss fight ending anyway, however It’s a tad odd they didn’t or couldn’t weave gameplay and a satisfying conclusion together at once.
I would likely praise the open world too if not for the foolish decision to tie endless enemy respawning to every corner of the map. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you’ll not have more than a minute of peace in any square foot of the open world. The enemy spawn points, patrols, and respawns are brutal with a capital B. Kill them as many times as you want, some repair bots will show up to fix them up quicker than you can say gesundheit. I only hope they learn to relax the chaos in future installment/DLCs, because I would have liked to explore more than I was encouraged to.
Not without some very real flaws, I hold firm that Atomic Heart shows enough heart and genuine talent to overcome the weight of its issues. All the same, I would still strongly advise going into this game with a healthy serving of patience. For fair reasons and bad ones, Atomic Heart is a very polarizing title in the fickle, ever ebbing and flowing gamosphere, but it’s a title deserving of a fair shake.
Unfortunately, with as talented as a studio Mundfish clearly is, they haven’t yet nailed down dialogue, or for that matter quality voice acting. Going into the game I was no stranger to the fact that the dialogue and voice performances were less than stellar, so I made an executive decision to use the original Russian language setting and just turn on subtitles. That didn’t fix the clearly sophomoric and needlessly edgy script, but it made me roll my eyes just a teensy bit less when I had to read it instead of hearing it. Would definitely recommend doing that for anyone being held back from playing by memes they’ve seen online of the game’s writing snafus.
Because where Atomic Heart lags behind ten years in dialogue quality it more than makes up for in gunplay and graphics. Modifying guns with elemental mods, upgrading your high-tech glove to shoot electricity, frost, and telekinetic grabs, and perfecting the surprisingly reactive movement feels fantastic once you figure out what works against what enemy. Furthermore, the enemy designs were AWESOME, and what’s more they gave an actual reason to try different strategies what with their built-in immunities and weaknesses. Sometimes that means that you have a much harder time ahead, for when you don’t have the tools to most easily take down the boss in question, other times it’s a massive relief and provides a nice burst of happy brain chemicals when you can just melt the enemies because you’re armed for all occasions and have been upgrading smartly and in a wide range of upgrade paths. The only enemy that raised my blood pressure beyond enjoyment was the Plyush, the fleshly figures. Now that might be because I didn’t upgrade my combat axe particularly far, but I also think that limiting effective combat to exclusively melee methods are a mistake in all scenarios besides prologues. Regardless, don’t make the same mistake I did: mind your melee options.
Like I mentioned in passing, the game looks gorgeous as well. Graphically, it can compete with the likes of any triple-A giant. Only complication there is the game is quite spotty with stuttering and rendering new objects and environments, regardless of graphics settings. Only once did a bug force me to restart, but it’s something you’ll definitely notice now and again. Regardless, it’s still more stable than Fallen Order is five years later, as much as I like that game. Not that it excuses it, just wanted to add that comparison for anyone it might help evaluate the stability of the game.
The story was decent, if meandering at points. The back-to-back plot twists felt too predictable for what should have been game-changing, and it was clear rewrites forced things to be rushed. Which is made especially obvious when a certain someone dies near the climax of the game off-screen. Despite its hiccups, including the at-times confusing motivation of every character, the execution of its alternate history dystopia kept me intrigued enough to stay on the narrative rollercoaster. Granted the ending was strange. The “true” ending was the one that prematurely ended the game, while the “alternative” ending gatekept probably the best boss fight in the whole experience. I can understand wanting to continue the story in the DLC, and I know most people will get the boss fight ending anyway, however It’s a tad odd they didn’t or couldn’t weave gameplay and a satisfying conclusion together at once.
I would likely praise the open world too if not for the foolish decision to tie endless enemy respawning to every corner of the map. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you’ll not have more than a minute of peace in any square foot of the open world. The enemy spawn points, patrols, and respawns are brutal with a capital B. Kill them as many times as you want, some repair bots will show up to fix them up quicker than you can say gesundheit. I only hope they learn to relax the chaos in future installment/DLCs, because I would have liked to explore more than I was encouraged to.
Not without some very real flaws, I hold firm that Atomic Heart shows enough heart and genuine talent to overcome the weight of its issues. All the same, I would still strongly advise going into this game with a healthy serving of patience. For fair reasons and bad ones, Atomic Heart is a very polarizing title in the fickle, ever ebbing and flowing gamosphere, but it’s a title deserving of a fair shake.
2006
I’m gonna offer a bit of a different opinion on the franchise’s 2006 start. Having played this game many years after its initial release, I can plainly see some cracks in the facade that I think make it age worse than it could have. First let me preface, for the time this game was a milestone of gaming no doubt. The graphics and advanced cover system were the most fleshed out than previously seen in older games. My problems with the game are more apparent after the passage of time, when innovative graphics can no longer make up for other issues. Gears of War, as it exists today, is a fundamentally derivative game that offers some mild amusement from its gratuitous blood and bullets gameplay.
To begin, the story blows chunks. You don’t have to be an elitist to not care for the overplayed macho, grittycore aesthetic that permeates this game like year old milk. If anything that alone is perhaps the biggest marker of age for this game. It’s every apocalyptic military story ever told, just done infinitely more boring with characters I cringed at everytime they talked. There does exist a sweet spot between embarrassingly bad and charmingly stupid, it’s just this game gets nowhere near it. And it’s not to say I have a vendetta against the era of stupid action shooters of the mid and late 2000s. I used to terminally binge the Army of Two games on the PS3, and believe me when I say those were not getting any writing achievements.
I couldn’t find an ounce of humor, intrigue, or heart anywhere near Fenix and pals. All that matters is that you’re generic badass number 49028, you have a voice to rival pounded gravel, and are tasked with saving the world from aliens by planting bombs in a bunch of random places. All the while you have to babysit some goofball squad members freshly picked up from your local MW2 Lan party. Actually that makes it sound more fun than it is. It’s more like a squad of robots who were made to act like what they thought frat boys acted like. And babysit is the right word, because no matter the difficulty your squad mates insist on sharing a single brain, and will go down quicker than you can roll your eyes in annoyance. It’s like I’m back playing COD zombies with my younger cousin with how often I have to go pick them up.
Now despite my exaggerated frustration this is not an indictment on the game as a whole. I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of stinker stories. If I tune out the dialogue it’s really not so offensively bad. It’s digestible and provides the barebones pretext for why you’re blowing up everything in sight. What really matters here is the gameplay, everything else is more cosmetic than anything in a game like this. And I’m….. lukewarm on the combat.
The cover system is a lot like the general movement of the game. It has a very heavy weight to it. And it is most certainly not up for debate as to whether you’ll use it a lot. If you don’t liberally use cover you will go down startlingly quick, even on the easiest difficulty. Add on that every enemy is a bullet sponge and you’ll be spending most of your time playing whack-a-mole with the enemies as you go from cover to cover. As bad as that sounds It only really becomes a slog when you die and have to do a section all over again. Still, for such an emphasized mechanic I wish they touched up the cover system a little more before calling it a day. For one thing a way to go around a corner in cover without leaving it would have been welcome.
Oddly enough, the very idea of such a heavily emphasized cover system goes a bit against the design philosophy of the rest of the game if you ask me. We’re these roided badasses and we have to constantly hide and take potshots? Screw that, give me some dynamite and a minigun and let me go ham. But hey, It’s a novel gimmick and the deepest use of it I’ve seen so far, so I won’t complain too much. Heck, I even started to kind of dig the cover system when I wasn’t being shot at from thirty different directions. It just takes a bit to get used to the heft of your character. The bosses are okay, but I hated the vehicle sections. Unneeded and unpolished vehicle sections are something that ought to be left in the past. I mean who creates a vehicle that can only power driving OR the light turret? Bad engineers, that's who.
To recap, Gears of War’s story, world, and characters were enormously lame while its gameplay and cover system grew on me ever so slightly. Sure, I still wish the cover wasn’t so pivotal or momentum breaking at times, but I can be more forgiving for the first entry in the franchise. For 2006 this is a great looking action title that no doubt influenced a great deal of games in its wake. While I find it hard to believe anyone can utterly adore this game and not be drowning in nostalgia, I’ll give respect where it’s earned.
To begin, the story blows chunks. You don’t have to be an elitist to not care for the overplayed macho, grittycore aesthetic that permeates this game like year old milk. If anything that alone is perhaps the biggest marker of age for this game. It’s every apocalyptic military story ever told, just done infinitely more boring with characters I cringed at everytime they talked. There does exist a sweet spot between embarrassingly bad and charmingly stupid, it’s just this game gets nowhere near it. And it’s not to say I have a vendetta against the era of stupid action shooters of the mid and late 2000s. I used to terminally binge the Army of Two games on the PS3, and believe me when I say those were not getting any writing achievements.
I couldn’t find an ounce of humor, intrigue, or heart anywhere near Fenix and pals. All that matters is that you’re generic badass number 49028, you have a voice to rival pounded gravel, and are tasked with saving the world from aliens by planting bombs in a bunch of random places. All the while you have to babysit some goofball squad members freshly picked up from your local MW2 Lan party. Actually that makes it sound more fun than it is. It’s more like a squad of robots who were made to act like what they thought frat boys acted like. And babysit is the right word, because no matter the difficulty your squad mates insist on sharing a single brain, and will go down quicker than you can roll your eyes in annoyance. It’s like I’m back playing COD zombies with my younger cousin with how often I have to go pick them up.
Now despite my exaggerated frustration this is not an indictment on the game as a whole. I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of stinker stories. If I tune out the dialogue it’s really not so offensively bad. It’s digestible and provides the barebones pretext for why you’re blowing up everything in sight. What really matters here is the gameplay, everything else is more cosmetic than anything in a game like this. And I’m….. lukewarm on the combat.
The cover system is a lot like the general movement of the game. It has a very heavy weight to it. And it is most certainly not up for debate as to whether you’ll use it a lot. If you don’t liberally use cover you will go down startlingly quick, even on the easiest difficulty. Add on that every enemy is a bullet sponge and you’ll be spending most of your time playing whack-a-mole with the enemies as you go from cover to cover. As bad as that sounds It only really becomes a slog when you die and have to do a section all over again. Still, for such an emphasized mechanic I wish they touched up the cover system a little more before calling it a day. For one thing a way to go around a corner in cover without leaving it would have been welcome.
Oddly enough, the very idea of such a heavily emphasized cover system goes a bit against the design philosophy of the rest of the game if you ask me. We’re these roided badasses and we have to constantly hide and take potshots? Screw that, give me some dynamite and a minigun and let me go ham. But hey, It’s a novel gimmick and the deepest use of it I’ve seen so far, so I won’t complain too much. Heck, I even started to kind of dig the cover system when I wasn’t being shot at from thirty different directions. It just takes a bit to get used to the heft of your character. The bosses are okay, but I hated the vehicle sections. Unneeded and unpolished vehicle sections are something that ought to be left in the past. I mean who creates a vehicle that can only power driving OR the light turret? Bad engineers, that's who.
To recap, Gears of War’s story, world, and characters were enormously lame while its gameplay and cover system grew on me ever so slightly. Sure, I still wish the cover wasn’t so pivotal or momentum breaking at times, but I can be more forgiving for the first entry in the franchise. For 2006 this is a great looking action title that no doubt influenced a great deal of games in its wake. While I find it hard to believe anyone can utterly adore this game and not be drowning in nostalgia, I’ll give respect where it’s earned.
2009
While not without its negatives, I can see why Infamous is as… famous as it is. There’s some classic PS3-isms that’ll remind you of the era you’re in, but it comes off more charming than grating to me. Most of the time that is. On that same train of thought, let’s get the infamous out of the way before we talk about why it’s famous.
Infamous is one of the many games of its generation to try its hand at the karma system, and it’s not the greatest. To its credit but primarily its detriment, it’s very on the nose with its choices. The total lack of nuance makes it very obvious the moral path that you’re going down, yet it also prevents any hard-choices or depth of choice. When your options are as starkly different as kill hungry civilians or save a hospital, it becomes much too easy to make a choice. And even with how satisfying the combat system is, I can’t see an argument to play the game through twice. There’s really one unique ability per alignment, and it’s no game changer either way. I think an alignment system can be great but the entire infrastructure has to be built around it intelligently, which is not the case here. Granted this is really a half-gripe, because I don’t think it takes away that much from the main game, except in the sense that the resources put towards it could have been put elsewhere. Still worth noting though.
My other gripe is with the characters. Growing up and watching my older brother play this game, I never really picked up on how naggy, backstabby, or just downright annoying almost everyone is here. After actually playing completely through Cole was pretty much the only person I wasn’t pissed at by the end. But hey, I know Zeke is much more likable in the sequel so at least I have that to look forward to. My last and most major issue I have is with the NPC generation, both the civilians and enemies. There are way too many at any given moment, in the immersive and gameplay sense. A healthy mix of NPCs are necessary for a world to feel lived in, it’s just literally every corner in Infamous is filled to the brim with people, to the point where civilian death is nearly a guarantee with how stupidly they run right in front of you while trying to zap some bad guys. And I’m sorry but there are SO many bad guys just strewn throughout the quarantined hellhole that is Empire City, that after a while I just ignored them to travel to my next mission. Some regulation of NPC count would have made the world not feel so cluttered.
In terms of pure gameplay, infamous is very refined for its first outing. A diverse array of offensive options, traversal enhancers, and even a permanent electro-shield all made for a veritable playground at any firefight. The ultimate ability and nade-spamming one being my personal favorites to unleash on some poor unsuspecting fool. Kudos also to the electrical line and train-tracks traversal, each were very smart and rewarding methods of travel. Same goes for the parkour, which felt very Assassin’s Creed-y, if made infinitely more relaxed. If any building exists in Infamous, as long as it has even the smallest lip jutting out, you can climb it, and I respect that greatly.
Not just suited for function, the aesthetics, power-wise and cityscape wise, were tip-top here as well. Using nearby generators, cars, and antennas to siphon energy for grenade blasts and hands-zaps emphasized how utterly badass playing as a superhero in a superheroless world could be. Along with using sewer substations to make yourself a literal conduit the game was A+ at making you feel awesome. I won’t get into the story here, I’ll just say it does have a pretty major twist unveiled at the end. I’m not sure it was necessary, and many people despise the supposed bait-and-switch they pulled, but I was honestly fairly lukewarm on it. Definitely the most interesting part of the narrative, so I suppose I’m cool with it. It certainly sets up the next game to be truly epic. On a last note about the story, I absolutely love the comic art cinematics they used to cap off mission completions. It was probably for budget purposes, however the art was positively striking, and I can see why they made a comic series in the same style after the fact.
All that to say, Infamous is a fun time. As long as you’re keeping a brisk pace and you can be patient with the video-game equivalent of your slightly older, ever-so-slightly backwards cousin, you’ll have a good time here. And you should, because I think Infamous holds up well despite its flaws.
Infamous is one of the many games of its generation to try its hand at the karma system, and it’s not the greatest. To its credit but primarily its detriment, it’s very on the nose with its choices. The total lack of nuance makes it very obvious the moral path that you’re going down, yet it also prevents any hard-choices or depth of choice. When your options are as starkly different as kill hungry civilians or save a hospital, it becomes much too easy to make a choice. And even with how satisfying the combat system is, I can’t see an argument to play the game through twice. There’s really one unique ability per alignment, and it’s no game changer either way. I think an alignment system can be great but the entire infrastructure has to be built around it intelligently, which is not the case here. Granted this is really a half-gripe, because I don’t think it takes away that much from the main game, except in the sense that the resources put towards it could have been put elsewhere. Still worth noting though.
My other gripe is with the characters. Growing up and watching my older brother play this game, I never really picked up on how naggy, backstabby, or just downright annoying almost everyone is here. After actually playing completely through Cole was pretty much the only person I wasn’t pissed at by the end. But hey, I know Zeke is much more likable in the sequel so at least I have that to look forward to. My last and most major issue I have is with the NPC generation, both the civilians and enemies. There are way too many at any given moment, in the immersive and gameplay sense. A healthy mix of NPCs are necessary for a world to feel lived in, it’s just literally every corner in Infamous is filled to the brim with people, to the point where civilian death is nearly a guarantee with how stupidly they run right in front of you while trying to zap some bad guys. And I’m sorry but there are SO many bad guys just strewn throughout the quarantined hellhole that is Empire City, that after a while I just ignored them to travel to my next mission. Some regulation of NPC count would have made the world not feel so cluttered.
In terms of pure gameplay, infamous is very refined for its first outing. A diverse array of offensive options, traversal enhancers, and even a permanent electro-shield all made for a veritable playground at any firefight. The ultimate ability and nade-spamming one being my personal favorites to unleash on some poor unsuspecting fool. Kudos also to the electrical line and train-tracks traversal, each were very smart and rewarding methods of travel. Same goes for the parkour, which felt very Assassin’s Creed-y, if made infinitely more relaxed. If any building exists in Infamous, as long as it has even the smallest lip jutting out, you can climb it, and I respect that greatly.
Not just suited for function, the aesthetics, power-wise and cityscape wise, were tip-top here as well. Using nearby generators, cars, and antennas to siphon energy for grenade blasts and hands-zaps emphasized how utterly badass playing as a superhero in a superheroless world could be. Along with using sewer substations to make yourself a literal conduit the game was A+ at making you feel awesome. I won’t get into the story here, I’ll just say it does have a pretty major twist unveiled at the end. I’m not sure it was necessary, and many people despise the supposed bait-and-switch they pulled, but I was honestly fairly lukewarm on it. Definitely the most interesting part of the narrative, so I suppose I’m cool with it. It certainly sets up the next game to be truly epic. On a last note about the story, I absolutely love the comic art cinematics they used to cap off mission completions. It was probably for budget purposes, however the art was positively striking, and I can see why they made a comic series in the same style after the fact.
All that to say, Infamous is a fun time. As long as you’re keeping a brisk pace and you can be patient with the video-game equivalent of your slightly older, ever-so-slightly backwards cousin, you’ll have a good time here. And you should, because I think Infamous holds up well despite its flaws.
A Plague Tale: Innocence answers the hour old question of, “How good could a semi-historical fiction game about a sister and brother surviving a supernatural rat plague as they traverse famine-torn France be?” The answer is… surprisingly optimistic, much unlike the setting. Plague Tale is one of those story-driven, stealth-crafting hybrid games, and one of the better looking ones at that. And if there’s one thing to compliment about the game it’s its visuals. For a studio I’ve never heard of who’s claim to fame is gaming titans like Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, it’s extremely impressive how good the lighting, landscapes, and faces are here. The gothic architecture in particular was so darkly ethereal on its own, doubly so when overrun with mountains of plague-infected rats. Seeing how they would newly present those nasty forces of nature was a sight I never got tired of seeing, and rats or not rats I’m already excited to see how the sequel looks.
The same praises can be sung of the game’s combat and stealth. I went in expecting to tire of the whole babysitting dynamic they set up in the introduction section. So color me presently surprised when it was a quite inoffensive mechanic throughout. The crafting ingredients were well spaced out as well, by the end I had nearly every upgrade, or at least the ones that I wanted. Much like the visuals, the rats take center stage in this portion of the game, creating some neat light-based puzzle segments. Now even with the rats, the gameplay should be very familiar to anyone who’s played a puzzle game for more than five minutes, but I’ll be damned if it’s not entertaining. Especially with how weighty and supremely satisfying my trusty slingshot feels. The two main boss fights were fun with the upgrades to the traditional arsenal, but be careful when fighting the first one, there’s a glitch I encountered that forced me to restart the chapter. Just make sure when you summon the rats to only summon one mound before you move to the next one.
Regrettably, the game is not perfect. I won’t spoil the story here, but by far its weakest aspect is the characters. The brother-sister duo did a good job with portraying that dynamic, the supporting cast on the other hand felt very much like checking a box, with the exception of Lukas. I see what they were trying to do, making a merry-band of young adult misfits in a harsh world. Sadly the writing and characters weren't as fleshed out as the concept. The motivations, and definitely the payoffs, felt rushed and flat for me. Too many of the deaths felt unearned for me to feel their weight. That’s another thing I’m curious about how the sequel improves upon, seeing as it’s one of the few mediocre elements of an otherwise fantastic game.
The same praises can be sung of the game’s combat and stealth. I went in expecting to tire of the whole babysitting dynamic they set up in the introduction section. So color me presently surprised when it was a quite inoffensive mechanic throughout. The crafting ingredients were well spaced out as well, by the end I had nearly every upgrade, or at least the ones that I wanted. Much like the visuals, the rats take center stage in this portion of the game, creating some neat light-based puzzle segments. Now even with the rats, the gameplay should be very familiar to anyone who’s played a puzzle game for more than five minutes, but I’ll be damned if it’s not entertaining. Especially with how weighty and supremely satisfying my trusty slingshot feels. The two main boss fights were fun with the upgrades to the traditional arsenal, but be careful when fighting the first one, there’s a glitch I encountered that forced me to restart the chapter. Just make sure when you summon the rats to only summon one mound before you move to the next one.
Regrettably, the game is not perfect. I won’t spoil the story here, but by far its weakest aspect is the characters. The brother-sister duo did a good job with portraying that dynamic, the supporting cast on the other hand felt very much like checking a box, with the exception of Lukas. I see what they were trying to do, making a merry-band of young adult misfits in a harsh world. Sadly the writing and characters weren't as fleshed out as the concept. The motivations, and definitely the payoffs, felt rushed and flat for me. Too many of the deaths felt unearned for me to feel their weight. That’s another thing I’m curious about how the sequel improves upon, seeing as it’s one of the few mediocre elements of an otherwise fantastic game.
2008
A paragon in atmosphere and sound design, Dead Space is a game that punches far above the AAA weight class in nearly all categories. Its unique integration of a sci-fi horror shooter experience is seamless, and its streamlined inventory system, unobtrusive UI, and infallible navigation system serve as the sprinkles atop this touchstone of gaming horror.
In the year 2508 you follow Isaac Clarke, a systems specialist sent to repair the USG Ishimura, a mining vessel that’s long since lost contact with the outside world. Given the name of the game, you can guess that things go to hell real quick with monstrously macabre creatures prowling the whole ship. Speaking of, the vessel itself is almost as alive as the surviving crew. The hum-dum of the mechanical ship ambience and unending growls of the beasts just beyond your vision works wonders alongside Isaac’s breathing and heartbeat in heaping on the dread. My only complaint in that department is how Isaac never talks, making it a bit harder to humanize him.
In terms of items Dead Space has no filler. Every object has its use, whether you’re selling it for money or using it to save your life against monsters. To complement that the game possesses a very concise, easily distinct organization of chapters that makes for a natural conclusion to a session, with some light backtracking being the only negative aspect to come with it.
Each store and waystation are spaced out fairly liberally, so you should never really find yourself in trouble when without them. As for actually defending yourself, be assured that the game doesn’t waste its setting. Beside your repurposed planet-mining tools like the plasma cutter and line gun, you've also got a stasis module to slow down enemies and a telekinetic gauntlet to throw objects, a fact that serves as a real joy in allowing you to creatively dispatch your enemies. The likes of which you can’t help but be in grotesque awe of. Collectively, these potent ingredients make Dead Space a thrilling adventure not easily surpassed.
In the year 2508 you follow Isaac Clarke, a systems specialist sent to repair the USG Ishimura, a mining vessel that’s long since lost contact with the outside world. Given the name of the game, you can guess that things go to hell real quick with monstrously macabre creatures prowling the whole ship. Speaking of, the vessel itself is almost as alive as the surviving crew. The hum-dum of the mechanical ship ambience and unending growls of the beasts just beyond your vision works wonders alongside Isaac’s breathing and heartbeat in heaping on the dread. My only complaint in that department is how Isaac never talks, making it a bit harder to humanize him.
In terms of items Dead Space has no filler. Every object has its use, whether you’re selling it for money or using it to save your life against monsters. To complement that the game possesses a very concise, easily distinct organization of chapters that makes for a natural conclusion to a session, with some light backtracking being the only negative aspect to come with it.
Each store and waystation are spaced out fairly liberally, so you should never really find yourself in trouble when without them. As for actually defending yourself, be assured that the game doesn’t waste its setting. Beside your repurposed planet-mining tools like the plasma cutter and line gun, you've also got a stasis module to slow down enemies and a telekinetic gauntlet to throw objects, a fact that serves as a real joy in allowing you to creatively dispatch your enemies. The likes of which you can’t help but be in grotesque awe of. Collectively, these potent ingredients make Dead Space a thrilling adventure not easily surpassed.