grace_machine
2016
Was pleasantly surprised how satisfying and fulfilling this was. It can't help but be a retread, both thematically and mechanically, but it manages a lot of mystery anyway and has some of the series's most stark and striking areas. I think the sheer weight of the amount of times the fire has been lit gives the game a pretty stark existentialism. My least favorite of these, but still pretty great.
Basically ACII but worse. Kinda of a neat vibe though. Multiplayer's cool.
2007
The thing is, in moments, mostly when the game kinda shuts up, it can be a vibe. The music, excepting the military main theme, is pretty great. The sensation of exploring a known but mostly empty universe has a strong sense of melancholy. I had a pretty good time listening to podcasts and driving the mako around beautiful sky boxes.
The thing is, everything you do in that space is bad! Deciding the best way to be a space cop, while engaging in a kind of elegant but mostly flat and uninspired dialogue system, is just not good. Morally repugnant and completely boring.
The thing is, everything you do in that space is bad! Deciding the best way to be a space cop, while engaging in a kind of elegant but mostly flat and uninspired dialogue system, is just not good. Morally repugnant and completely boring.
We can be more than we are made to be.
1994
Fun! Kinda ugly tho.
I pontificate about games a lot, but sometimes you just want something to be a really good toy and this is a nigh perfect one.
2007
Weird game about becoming a cool demon and also riding the subway to see your aunt. Dream sequences are a highlight. Interesting artifact.
I like the weird physicality of the travel times and weight limits and AD&D rules, but otherwise really bounced off this. Gonna listen to Mages and Murderdads. If I find a entryway through that I may revisit.
2018
This review contains spoilers
A really engaging action game, with some fun character writing, burdened by a deeply regressive and heteronormative plot. Really the ultimate "brain go brrr" game.
This review contains spoilers
It loses the sharp misery of its predecessor, but is just so clever to compensate. I love the small details of material here. Having to wait till the wind is going the right way to jump off a hang glider, or the ingredients of the rations actually mattering. Kojima's interest in simulation is only going to get more intense, but the small things here are pointed and exciting. Fucking pumped to play through 1-3 again finally.
To tell a lie, you have to know the truth.
This is low key one of the best platformers ever made? Everything to make it compelling is here and just so simple and sharp. It feels like opening a new world of interaction. Marvelous stuff.
2016
Starts as a really straight forward Twin Peaks riff, but by the end becomes a really interesting meditation on power and race. I particularly like the way, through all the various cuts, the game keeps you embodied, sometimes shifting between multiple bodies in a scene. It creates this really holistic sense of how power and assimilation function, making a very clear, spacial argument. The surrealism is often too obvious and the imagery can be trite, but there's a lot to dig into.
2019
Not even close to "finishing" it, but I don't think the game is going to drastically change. I really like this! It's just endlessly clever and very undemanding in terms of time investment per run. Would be a really cool game to play with friends or with kids.
Words to come!