Beaten: Oct 16 2021
Time: 13 Hours
Platform: Xbox Series X
I could probably have a whole life to think about this game and still not know exactly how I feel about it, but that's the nature of a SWERY game. That's right, this is the newest game from the only man who rivals SUDA51 for amount of cult classics created. SWERY's games are always a bit unpolished, but make up for it by leaning into that feeling of unpolishedness. If you've seen the first season of Twin Peaks, the lack of polish in SWERY games stands in the same place as the stilted, awkward dialogue stands for Lynch. It gets you in a mindset for weird shit to start happening.
Twin Peaks seems to be a huge touchstone for SWERY actually. All of his games (or at least the ones I've played) seem to have it in their DNA somewhere, the peak of which HAS to be Deadly Premonition, which is literally just outsider art Twin Peaks for people who like jank as fuck Xbox 360 games. The Good Life is much less of an homage to Twin Peaks, but it's just as obsessed with small, rural towns, and their secrets.
The town of note this time is Rainy Woods, a small town in rural England. All the buildings are made of stone or brick, and farmland surrounds the buildings, each plot bricked off with small stone walls. The town's got a lot of history to it, and as you're a New York reporter looking to pay off her debt, you're trying to find out all this town's secrets. Surprisingly, almost no attention is spent on the culture shock of an American living in rural England. Instead, the focus is on rural vs city life, particularly from a rather class-conscious point of view.
I mean, Naomi (the DOPE main character) is 30k USD in debt to her employer. That's why she had to take on a job in a small town in another country, right? And that debt traps you in almost every way that you deal with others from the city, but in the setting of this rural town? It's completely abstract, might as well not even matter. You're put up (in a kinda dingy little shack) for free by the town, and everyone is genuinely warm and welcoming to you. The secrets flow like water, and there's really only one dark secret in town.
That's the most unique part of this iteration of SWERY's Twin Peaks-isms: the dark underbelly of the town, that everyone assumes is there from the start, turns out to really just be old history. Secrets are better left alone. It's a much more uplifting take on this theme, and though I suspect it's less true to life, it's pretty heartwarming all the same.
ANYWAYS
IN THIS GAME YOU CAN TURN INTO A CAT AND A DOG AND YOUR MAIN MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IS RIDING SHEEP. THERE'S A RIVAL REPORTER FROM BOSTON WHO SHOWS UP AFTER EVER STORY BEAT AND SAYS "LOBSTAAAAAH"???? ONE OF THE MAIN MECHANICS IS "MARKING YOUR TERRITORY" AS A DOG??????????? AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA MENTION THE STUFF ON THE MOUNTAIN BECAUSE SPOILERS BUT HOLY HELL WHAT THE FUCK SWERY
like I said i could talk about this game forever, which is funny because it's basically a dreamcast game that came out in 2021. the graphics are very "wow this would look better in 480p", but the game's massively strong (but also pretty baffling) art design and aesthetic sensibility in general just pulls it along.
It's like, a weirdly charismatic game for what it is. There's mechanics spilling out left and right (there's FIVE different bars you have to refill daily by sleeping, eating, and showering basiclally) and the game almost entirely consists of fetch quests, but it's so charming and so relaxing that I didn't even care. Walking out to the lake at 11pm, listening to the genuinely gorgeous (Nintendo DS Pokemon-esque?) night music, and snapping pictures of any wild animals I saw on the way was the best part of the game for me. It was relaxing in a way I wasn't expecting, but absolutely a way I needed right now.
Idk play it if you like weird shit
Time: 13 Hours
Platform: Xbox Series X
I could probably have a whole life to think about this game and still not know exactly how I feel about it, but that's the nature of a SWERY game. That's right, this is the newest game from the only man who rivals SUDA51 for amount of cult classics created. SWERY's games are always a bit unpolished, but make up for it by leaning into that feeling of unpolishedness. If you've seen the first season of Twin Peaks, the lack of polish in SWERY games stands in the same place as the stilted, awkward dialogue stands for Lynch. It gets you in a mindset for weird shit to start happening.
Twin Peaks seems to be a huge touchstone for SWERY actually. All of his games (or at least the ones I've played) seem to have it in their DNA somewhere, the peak of which HAS to be Deadly Premonition, which is literally just outsider art Twin Peaks for people who like jank as fuck Xbox 360 games. The Good Life is much less of an homage to Twin Peaks, but it's just as obsessed with small, rural towns, and their secrets.
The town of note this time is Rainy Woods, a small town in rural England. All the buildings are made of stone or brick, and farmland surrounds the buildings, each plot bricked off with small stone walls. The town's got a lot of history to it, and as you're a New York reporter looking to pay off her debt, you're trying to find out all this town's secrets. Surprisingly, almost no attention is spent on the culture shock of an American living in rural England. Instead, the focus is on rural vs city life, particularly from a rather class-conscious point of view.
I mean, Naomi (the DOPE main character) is 30k USD in debt to her employer. That's why she had to take on a job in a small town in another country, right? And that debt traps you in almost every way that you deal with others from the city, but in the setting of this rural town? It's completely abstract, might as well not even matter. You're put up (in a kinda dingy little shack) for free by the town, and everyone is genuinely warm and welcoming to you. The secrets flow like water, and there's really only one dark secret in town.
That's the most unique part of this iteration of SWERY's Twin Peaks-isms: the dark underbelly of the town, that everyone assumes is there from the start, turns out to really just be old history. Secrets are better left alone. It's a much more uplifting take on this theme, and though I suspect it's less true to life, it's pretty heartwarming all the same.
ANYWAYS
IN THIS GAME YOU CAN TURN INTO A CAT AND A DOG AND YOUR MAIN MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IS RIDING SHEEP. THERE'S A RIVAL REPORTER FROM BOSTON WHO SHOWS UP AFTER EVER STORY BEAT AND SAYS "LOBSTAAAAAH"???? ONE OF THE MAIN MECHANICS IS "MARKING YOUR TERRITORY" AS A DOG??????????? AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA MENTION THE STUFF ON THE MOUNTAIN BECAUSE SPOILERS BUT HOLY HELL WHAT THE FUCK SWERY
like I said i could talk about this game forever, which is funny because it's basically a dreamcast game that came out in 2021. the graphics are very "wow this would look better in 480p", but the game's massively strong (but also pretty baffling) art design and aesthetic sensibility in general just pulls it along.
It's like, a weirdly charismatic game for what it is. There's mechanics spilling out left and right (there's FIVE different bars you have to refill daily by sleeping, eating, and showering basiclally) and the game almost entirely consists of fetch quests, but it's so charming and so relaxing that I didn't even care. Walking out to the lake at 11pm, listening to the genuinely gorgeous (Nintendo DS Pokemon-esque?) night music, and snapping pictures of any wild animals I saw on the way was the best part of the game for me. It was relaxing in a way I wasn't expecting, but absolutely a way I needed right now.
Idk play it if you like weird shit