the opening montage of Up really destroyed a whole generation's concept of effective nonverbal storytelling by making them think a parade of prefab domestic clichés embellished with flavorless Milestone clipart set to overbearing music is in any way sophisticated or interesting huh

this girl is a tasteless unfuckable dweeb and i wish her all the worst. the way she's simultaneously a self-insert wish fulfillment character AND the most hapless and bland cozycore dork imaginable is really dark tbh. inexcusable taste in stuffed animals! stop decorating with your diploma already you absolute MONSTER!!! When a sappy celeste-adjacent chiptune ballad plays as it's revealed via context clues that she came into her own after a trip to Japan (and returned w/ a bevvy of basic tourist kiosk tchotchkes) and now feels confident enough to explore rockabilly-lite fashion...hell. It's all so flavorless and antiseptic--she is 30 where the hell is her hitachi wand and why CANT i stuff her horrid garb into the closet in the ideal organizational format--the pile? the subject here is so unpalatable that i honestly would have preferred they scrap the whole progressing narrative concept entirely (esp. when its used in such an unambitious way that communicates very little beyond trite sentimentality; life has its ups and downs, #gratitude, don't make time for haters who dull your shine, the more things change the more they stay the same, when god throws out a mug he buys you a wacom tablet) and instead present a medley of varying rooms/spaces occupying a plethora of subjects, aesthetics, and experiences, but also idt the same devs who chose this protag have anywhere near the worldliness or savvy to attempt something like that. impressive amount of unique isometric assets and cool implementation of foley though!

2021 is going to go down as a year where a lot of insanely impossible things happened for games, especially if you're a fan of niche projects from the 2000s. Psychonauts 2 is obviously the much anticipated sequel to one of the biggest cult 3D platformers of its era, and as such it certainly has big shoes to fill. I love the first Psychonauts, mainly as a charming and insanely creative platformer, its by no means a technical marvel, but it's drive to be truly weird and so of its era is to be admired, and I know many people feel the same way. So 2 always had a lot of pressure on it as a sequel to such a beloved game, no less by its multiple delays, and nature of its kickstarter start. Yet despite that, not only did it meet those insane expectations, it kind of triumphs over the first in just about every way and becomes one of the greatest 3D platformers of all time.

Not only is it just as creative as the first game in terms of its level design and powers, but it expands upon everything that you could want, while also telling a genuine and heartfelt story of loss and healing through the passage of time. It is hard not to have a smile on your face the entire time, or be wowed by some of the insane perspective tricks or fun level gimmick they pull at a moment's notice. And even more than the first game, this game really pushes the idea of levels being someone's mind, as you discover aspects of their lives and make them better through fun platforming. It is a honest to god marvel that this game is as good as it is. I was expecting a decent product, but with how insanely high quality it ended up being I couldn't be happier. We should be thankful that niche games like this can exist and be successful, we've seen loads of amazing sequels or remasters to cult hits and new ips explode this year, and it has me excited for a future of more weird and wonderful games like this to have the spotlight all over it. If you get the chance, play this game.

mom: we have bayonetta at home
bayonetta at home: https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/952971429485624132/38347DAB23A7862A21020B2C40B3C0E9A6AB494A/

this is pretty janky and unsure of itself in a lot of ways (is it a musou?? an arcade shooter?? a big setpiecey spell combat thing?? its mostly just empty and busted!) but the tacky B movie vibe is hysterical and does a lot of legwork. A few of the more surrealist levels rule (loved fighting a bunch of 5fps quadrupedal eyeballs atop a plane) and the baffling cutscenes keep things moving just well enough to milk some gonzo enjoyment out of the whole deal. At its best this feels like Earth Defense Force meets an Underworld movie. A lot of bizarre sound effects feel a bit knowing: the mutated zombie enemies that flail at you while making turkey gobbling noises are up there with the "DONT WANT 2 DIEEEE" zombies from dead prem and i adore them. It's honestly pretty sad there are so few semi-big publisher games that feel as peculiar, haphazard, and gleefully tacky as this nowadays. Alicia's rose spear spell is also literally the origin point for the Dark Execution sealed verse in Nier (Cavia clearly re-used a slightly reskinned version of the same animation and programming) so thats a fun little trivia thing I guess!!!!

In every possible sense, this game pioneered the gameplay and themes of Death Stranding. With their environmental messages, quiet yet persistent protagonist, walking-simulator/goods-delivery gameplay, and tactile interfaces, they truly share the same DNA. There are superficial examples too, of course. Smoglings = BTs. Sergeant Smogglor = Higgs. Toys = people with DOOMS. Chet = Die Hardman. Monkey Burgers/Chocolate/Leaves = Smart Drugs/Optical Media/Action Figures. Think about it, man. Think about how you have to mash through dialogue every time you return to the terminal. Early on you're just running around like an asshole before you find a bike across a river. So you unlock the ability to repair bridges (seriously). Then after riding the bike for a bit it breaks. Then you unlock the ability to create a better bike, and eventually a four wheeled electric vehicle. There are windmills you can place to recharge your batteries at. You even use happiness points to build roads that make traveling across the vast landscape smoother. As you deliver items to the NPCs who already know you by reputation they slowly reveal more to you about their hopes and dreams, and shower you with appreciation. You probably think this is a fucking joke, don't you? That I'm making this all up for attention? Well you're wrong, kiddo. Somebody needs to hold Kojima accountable for this thievery. These are the same guys that made bit Generations and Art Style for fuck's sake, I will not see their works lost to time in favor of AAA kinogames!

Honestly, it amazes me the talent and budget in this Jackbox Pack. It is almost certainly the best Pack yet, with quality in every single game. So, I will now rank all of the games.

5. Blather 'Round: Surprisingly, this Trivia game with eyes on the clock is the most relaxed game in this entire pack. While it's great fun, that's all it is - it does little in comparison to the rest of the games in this pack.
8/10

4. The Devils and The Details: A great, hectic cooperative game, with the brilliant twist that it actually isn't that cooperative. The mechanics of the game are perfectly made to balance out working together and working alone with selfish intentions, but unfortunately, the tasks aren't as fun as they could be - rather than quick-fire WarioWare games, they can feel very low-key like actual chores. They're still great though.
8.5/10

3. Quiplash 3: Hey, #3 for number 3! This is still Quiplash, and it's still a brilliantly fun and quippy time. The additions make it a great sequel, with gorgeous playdough animation and a fun, thought-prompting Thriplash for the final round. It's more or less the same thing, but that's good.
9/10

2. Champ'd Up: They really went all out on the music - it sounds like stadium music, but five times better! The game itself is a much improvement on TeeKo, with the fighter and underdog mechanic making the round quite close, with one opponent knowing the criteria and the other knowing how to follow up the other's drawing. There is a pesky glitch in the presentation of the drawings on the TV, so I hope they fix that.
9/10

1. Talking Points: This might just be my favourite Jackbox Game of all time. It's like Patently Stupid, but you have no idea what you're presenting, and that's actually way better. Even the audience has fun watching the presentations, and the assistant role is surprisingly fun as well. I actually looked forward to assisting the presenter by deciding on slides!
Unfortunately, this does have the glaring flaw of the points handed out by the awards at the end - this little, joke award basically wins the entire game, so I hope they patch that out.
10/10

Overall Score: 5/5. The perfect digital board game collection.

I am dead serious when I say this is the best Party Pack we've seen, yet. Never have I seen a line of games in a Jackbox pack that is this consistent in quality.

Quiplash 3 is an easy win because it's more Quiplash. Quiplash is a party favorite, and it remains that way with new prompts and "last lash" rounds that spice things up.

The Devil's in the Details is a super fun task-related game that forces cooperation with subtle seeds of people trying to screw each other over without completely ruining it for everyone. It's a tad complicated to understand at first, but after everyone gets it, it's a smooth, hilarious experience.

Champ'd Up is additionally hilarious, combining shitty phone drawings with stupid prompts for a basic "vote for the best" game with enough creativity to keep it refreshing.

Talking Points is almost entirely on the players to make the most fun out of it. Teaming up with random players to create dumb speeches about wacko things is a lot of fun, but you'll need to have really good improvisational and public speaking skills to really get the most out of it.

Blather Round is basically Pictionary with just words, which works, yet isn't too exciting. Nevertheless, it's still a lot of fun!

This is a required purchase for people wanting to play stupid, fun party games.