renkotsuban
3 reviews liked by renkotsuban
Ou
2023
Gentle, beautiful, poetic. This is a game to take slow and savour; it's not the kind of game to rush. I like enjoying this kind of scenery, I like imagining these sorts of spaces.
The use of "apply sticky notes to things you want to remember" as core game mechanic is inspired, especially in this kind of storybook thing.
The use of "apply sticky notes to things you want to remember" as core game mechanic is inspired, especially in this kind of storybook thing.
Nostalgic Train
2018
You wake up at a train station in a small town with no memory of who you are, or how you got there.
Reminiscent of walking simulators (positive) such as Gone Home and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Nostalgic Train isn't a wholly new gameplay experience, but what it lacks there it more than makes up for in its setting and the sense of place it has.
Between glimpses into the stories and memories of people around the town and trying to find yourself, you are invited to take in the lovely small town of Natsugiri.
The sunlight as it breaks through the bamboo at the peak of the day. The ever-present buzzing of the cicadas. The bookstore, shelves covered in books with no one but you to read them. The elementary school overlooking the burbling river that runs through the town. The train station at the heart of it all.
Where you are is reinforced time and time again, the memories tied to where they occurred, over the course of the game's story building a fuller picture of the town and its inhabitants. Places once lacking importance take on deeper significance as events progress. They may not be present but the more you learn of them, the more the lack of their presences is felt.
The game features both a Free Mode, in which you can explore the town, find scattered notes giving context and history to certain fixtures you'll find, and the Story Mode, over the course of which you'll come to know the town, its inhabitants, and quite possibly yourself.
Reminiscent of walking simulators (positive) such as Gone Home and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Nostalgic Train isn't a wholly new gameplay experience, but what it lacks there it more than makes up for in its setting and the sense of place it has.
Between glimpses into the stories and memories of people around the town and trying to find yourself, you are invited to take in the lovely small town of Natsugiri.
The sunlight as it breaks through the bamboo at the peak of the day. The ever-present buzzing of the cicadas. The bookstore, shelves covered in books with no one but you to read them. The elementary school overlooking the burbling river that runs through the town. The train station at the heart of it all.
Where you are is reinforced time and time again, the memories tied to where they occurred, over the course of the game's story building a fuller picture of the town and its inhabitants. Places once lacking importance take on deeper significance as events progress. They may not be present but the more you learn of them, the more the lack of their presences is felt.
The game features both a Free Mode, in which you can explore the town, find scattered notes giving context and history to certain fixtures you'll find, and the Story Mode, over the course of which you'll come to know the town, its inhabitants, and quite possibly yourself.
Subnautica
2014
The survival parts (thirst/hunger) feel a bit tacked on. Pretty quickly that entire system transforms into occasionally hoarding a few resources and cooking now and then, and health/oxygen already felt like they were doing enough for the survival aspect.
Exploration is fun - but scavenging for materials quickly grows tedious. The scavenging is fine when entering a new biome, but on the 3rd or 4th trip to go find Silver to craft some thing or another it's not that interesting. I like the idea of base building, but when I know it's predicated by walking around the ocean floor for an hour picking up scrap metal, it's hard to want to engage with.
The game is kind of relaxing otherwise. I think when you strip away all the excess you have a creative take on the metroidvania, dividing up an open sea into biomes feels really organic and neat. The dangerous sea animals worked well for a more tense atmosphere.
Overall it feels kind of bloated. Which maybe makes sense if it's been having updates for almost 10 years..? I know Early Access is a great marketing move, but I can't help but feel like when you let players design games you end up with bloated experiences (as the game starts to become a container for multiple peoples' desires rather than just a few designers).
Exploration is fun - but scavenging for materials quickly grows tedious. The scavenging is fine when entering a new biome, but on the 3rd or 4th trip to go find Silver to craft some thing or another it's not that interesting. I like the idea of base building, but when I know it's predicated by walking around the ocean floor for an hour picking up scrap metal, it's hard to want to engage with.
The game is kind of relaxing otherwise. I think when you strip away all the excess you have a creative take on the metroidvania, dividing up an open sea into biomes feels really organic and neat. The dangerous sea animals worked well for a more tense atmosphere.
Overall it feels kind of bloated. Which maybe makes sense if it's been having updates for almost 10 years..? I know Early Access is a great marketing move, but I can't help but feel like when you let players design games you end up with bloated experiences (as the game starts to become a container for multiple peoples' desires rather than just a few designers).