tboystark5
3 reviews liked by tboystark5
Hypnospace Outlaw
2019
This review contains spoilers
HYPNOSPACE OUTLAW IS MORE CYBERPUNK THAN CYBERPUNK 2077
(HEBI CERTIFIED 10 OUT OF 5)
Hypnospace Outlaw is a wonderful interactve experience. The 'game' part of it may not be as robust as its fellow spiritual companions 'Papers Please' and 'Return of the Obra Dinn'. However, it IS the first game to ever make me feel like a real life hacker.
The elevator pitch is simple: "What if the player is a cyber-enforcer on a dumb, cyberpunk-ian sleep social media network." You start with a strong concept and branch out from there. Whereas games like Cyberpunk 2077 say "Let's make a Cyberpunk game with literally EVERYTHING." Those types of projects are going to end up with a watered-down and broken game, because NO amount of development time can ever achieve that level of "ambition".
The narrative. The game's story-telling exists within the hilariously defunct cyber-world of Hypnospace (a social media website that fictionally exists in 1999 and is useable while you S L E E P). It is robust and offers a buffet of fun characters and world-building that you are only involved with by viewing each user's profile page (think an even jank-ier version of MySpace). It's clever. It's quite funny. And it is also heart-breaking.
Hypnospace Outlaw is art, and it is FUN art. Coolpunk 4ever bwl #fre3zerdidnothingwrong
(HEBI CERTIFIED 10 OUT OF 5)
Hypnospace Outlaw is a wonderful interactve experience. The 'game' part of it may not be as robust as its fellow spiritual companions 'Papers Please' and 'Return of the Obra Dinn'. However, it IS the first game to ever make me feel like a real life hacker.
The elevator pitch is simple: "What if the player is a cyber-enforcer on a dumb, cyberpunk-ian sleep social media network." You start with a strong concept and branch out from there. Whereas games like Cyberpunk 2077 say "Let's make a Cyberpunk game with literally EVERYTHING." Those types of projects are going to end up with a watered-down and broken game, because NO amount of development time can ever achieve that level of "ambition".
The narrative. The game's story-telling exists within the hilariously defunct cyber-world of Hypnospace (a social media website that fictionally exists in 1999 and is useable while you S L E E P). It is robust and offers a buffet of fun characters and world-building that you are only involved with by viewing each user's profile page (think an even jank-ier version of MySpace). It's clever. It's quite funny. And it is also heart-breaking.
Hypnospace Outlaw is art, and it is FUN art. Coolpunk 4ever bwl #fre3zerdidnothingwrong
Life is Strange
2015
LIFE IS STRANGE IS BOTH AHEAD OF AND BEHIND ITS TIME
(HEBI CERTIFIED 10 OUT OF 5)
Editor's Note I previously reviewed this game and put it at 4.5 stars. Since then, the game has not left my brain zone. Any game that firmly sticks with me this long, and this strongly must be important enough to get the coveted 10 out of 5. Below is the original review.
Listen:
Max Caulfield has come unstuck in time.
In 2015, we were experiencing the steady climb of two types of game that would climax around 2017: "indie" games, and narrative driven point AND click adventures. "Indie" games are still climaxing. Narrative driven point AND click adventures are waiting for a comeback.
Life is Strange is "kind of" an "indie" game. And it is also MOSTLY a narrative driven point AND click adventure. But in truth, in the year of our lord 2015, it was the delightful culmination of both.
Life is Strange was published by Square Enix, but developer Don't Nod is decidedly not a AAA team. Life is Strange also capitalized on the choice based narrative games of Telltale. But where Telltale games relied entirely on their nostalgic point AND click mechanics, Life is Strange brought time travel to the table.
Max Caulfield is able to make choices. There are consequences to these choices. But you can also rewind time to make a different decision. Sometimes it may even be a NEW decision based on information you gathered from the future. You might think that being able to "edit undo" a major dialogue decision would make said decision feel cheap. And you would be exactly wrong.
There is no knowing what a "correct" decision is, and it is done in a clever way. Whatever you decide to do, let's say in this instance, not telling the principal that an almost murder took place in the bathroom (don't be a narc), you will never truly know what the consequence is until later--sometimes much later--in the story. And even then! If the choice ended up being "pretty bad", you are still given ways to work around it. It's fun and it encourages engagement with the mechanics to explore exciting narrative possibilities.
Listen:
Life is Strange has come unstuck in time.
The influences of the game are not lost on me. It is one part Donnie Darko (time travel, making connections with people you might otherwise not have). It is TWO parts Twin Peaks (for Pete's sake one of the character's license plates is literally TWNPKS). And it also has a helpful dose of Blue is the Warmest Color (being gay, falling in love with a blue-haired woman).
Does it straight rip stuff from it's influences? Pretty much. Should you care? Pretty much no. Much like Max's potentially award-winning photo of herself looking at all of her past polaroids, art in general is always an amalgamation of what came before it. Sometimes it's more obvious. I mean...Metal Gear Solid proliferates so fucking much from Escape from New York, and yet it is revered as one of the most beloved game franchises. Thus, it would be hypocritical to hold this against Life is Strange.
Speaking of art and artifice, let's have a talk about the writing. This is, after all, a narrative based point AND click adventure.
When I think of writing in a visual medium, I like to break it down into four pillars that support the form and function: dialogue, structure, novelty, and information dispensation (there is a secret fifth pillar that we'll get to later).
Life is Strange has fantastic structure. The pacing is very good. The writers flexed their talent with escalation and cliffhangers.
Life is Strange dispenses information in a mostly good way. Scenes are lean but dense. You come in late, and get out early. Max's internal dialogues give insight into the characters and the world in a way that is useful, but not over-explanatory. However, she is sometimes given too many things to interact with, so some information can become redundant or overwhelming.
Life is Strange is obviously novel simply by virtue of its time travel mechanic. And the imaginative, subversive ways that it utilizes this feature are very enjoyable.
Life is Strange has interesting dialogue. It's decidedly very good in the quiet moments (the most meaningful parts), but some think the conversations between YA teens to be something akin to the Steve Buscemi meme (Hello fellow teens!)
I used to think this as well until my recent playthrough. It's a little cringe sometimes, and references a lot of artists and other media (Dali, Stephen Hawking, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, just to name a few). I usually hate reference humor, but this isn't reference humor--or just plain cringe dialogue. It's me when I was 18 years old. Fuck, parts of it are me now. And not only that, the writing style is very intentional. They weren't just haphazardly slinging around goofy slang and references to artists for no reason. Rewatch some Buffy. Buffy is overwhelmingly adored and acclaimed for its time. The dialogue in Buffy and Life is Strange are not that different (oh also the meangirls in both share the last name "Chase").
Finally, let's talk characters: the characters are lovely, and the voice actors did an exceptional job bringing them to life. Hannah Telle and Ashly Burch (Max and Chloe respectively) are nothing short of iconic. I was genuinely attached to every single character, even if a lot of them are dangerously close to some often frowned-upon, negative archetypes. But here's the thing: Life is Strange is so dedicated to understanding and caring about people that it ends up subverting these archetypes.
Chloe (manic pixie dream girl) is fully fleshed out, has her own goals, and is more influenced by the protagonist than vice versa. I would go into more of these subversions (Victoria, David, Dana, etc.) but we would be here for a WHILE. Yet another bit of that Buffy DNA.
More references? What the heck, isn't this getting overly egregious?
Listen:
Doing this whole "Listen: blah blah blah" thing is a reference to a novel for those in the loop. And yet it does not negatively impact what I have to say about this video game.
Much like Max's detective work in finding Rachel Amber, one has to have a keen sense for details outside of the obvious. And the secret fifth pillar of great writing is one that is often overlooked: Sincerity.
Life is Strange is so fucking sincere that it hurts. It was able to make me cry multiple times in my playthrough. Despite the cheese. Despite the sometimes robotic teenager interactions. Max Caulfield is a fantastic protagonist, certainly up there with the best of them like Lee Everett. She just has so much heart. You care about her and you are rooting... no... GUIDING her to succeed. Every side character is given the love and interrogation that can be expected from shows like True Detective (btw there is a character with the license plate TRDTCTV).
Life is Strange is Magical Girl adjacent. It is a story that revolves around friendship, love, empathy, and the beauty of the world.
This is not to say the game lacks edge, by the by. Quite the contrary. This game is fucking brutal. Max is probably the healthiest person alive who has witnessed that amount of trauma. Life is Strange just knows exactly when to dull the blade and remind you of its core values and themes.
It's a beautiful game filled with suspense, danger, and drama. It keeps you on your toes all the way through its incredibly impactful final decision. And while it has literally zero curtain to hide its influences, it managed to inspire future games the same way it was kindled from the likes of Twin Peaks and Donnie Darko.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: Life is Strange walked... so that Night in the Woods could run.
Editor's Note I no longer agree with the above sentiment. The truth is closer to the following:
Life is Strange sprinted...so that Night in the Woods could also sprint. Some say they are sprinting together, hand-in-hand, to this day.
(HEBI CERTIFIED 10 OUT OF 5)
Editor's Note I previously reviewed this game and put it at 4.5 stars. Since then, the game has not left my brain zone. Any game that firmly sticks with me this long, and this strongly must be important enough to get the coveted 10 out of 5. Below is the original review.
Listen:
Max Caulfield has come unstuck in time.
In 2015, we were experiencing the steady climb of two types of game that would climax around 2017: "indie" games, and narrative driven point AND click adventures. "Indie" games are still climaxing. Narrative driven point AND click adventures are waiting for a comeback.
Life is Strange is "kind of" an "indie" game. And it is also MOSTLY a narrative driven point AND click adventure. But in truth, in the year of our lord 2015, it was the delightful culmination of both.
Life is Strange was published by Square Enix, but developer Don't Nod is decidedly not a AAA team. Life is Strange also capitalized on the choice based narrative games of Telltale. But where Telltale games relied entirely on their nostalgic point AND click mechanics, Life is Strange brought time travel to the table.
Max Caulfield is able to make choices. There are consequences to these choices. But you can also rewind time to make a different decision. Sometimes it may even be a NEW decision based on information you gathered from the future. You might think that being able to "edit undo" a major dialogue decision would make said decision feel cheap. And you would be exactly wrong.
There is no knowing what a "correct" decision is, and it is done in a clever way. Whatever you decide to do, let's say in this instance, not telling the principal that an almost murder took place in the bathroom (don't be a narc), you will never truly know what the consequence is until later--sometimes much later--in the story. And even then! If the choice ended up being "pretty bad", you are still given ways to work around it. It's fun and it encourages engagement with the mechanics to explore exciting narrative possibilities.
Listen:
Life is Strange has come unstuck in time.
The influences of the game are not lost on me. It is one part Donnie Darko (time travel, making connections with people you might otherwise not have). It is TWO parts Twin Peaks (for Pete's sake one of the character's license plates is literally TWNPKS). And it also has a helpful dose of Blue is the Warmest Color (being gay, falling in love with a blue-haired woman).
Does it straight rip stuff from it's influences? Pretty much. Should you care? Pretty much no. Much like Max's potentially award-winning photo of herself looking at all of her past polaroids, art in general is always an amalgamation of what came before it. Sometimes it's more obvious. I mean...Metal Gear Solid proliferates so fucking much from Escape from New York, and yet it is revered as one of the most beloved game franchises. Thus, it would be hypocritical to hold this against Life is Strange.
Speaking of art and artifice, let's have a talk about the writing. This is, after all, a narrative based point AND click adventure.
When I think of writing in a visual medium, I like to break it down into four pillars that support the form and function: dialogue, structure, novelty, and information dispensation (there is a secret fifth pillar that we'll get to later).
Life is Strange has fantastic structure. The pacing is very good. The writers flexed their talent with escalation and cliffhangers.
Life is Strange dispenses information in a mostly good way. Scenes are lean but dense. You come in late, and get out early. Max's internal dialogues give insight into the characters and the world in a way that is useful, but not over-explanatory. However, she is sometimes given too many things to interact with, so some information can become redundant or overwhelming.
Life is Strange is obviously novel simply by virtue of its time travel mechanic. And the imaginative, subversive ways that it utilizes this feature are very enjoyable.
Life is Strange has interesting dialogue. It's decidedly very good in the quiet moments (the most meaningful parts), but some think the conversations between YA teens to be something akin to the Steve Buscemi meme (Hello fellow teens!)
I used to think this as well until my recent playthrough. It's a little cringe sometimes, and references a lot of artists and other media (Dali, Stephen Hawking, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, just to name a few). I usually hate reference humor, but this isn't reference humor--or just plain cringe dialogue. It's me when I was 18 years old. Fuck, parts of it are me now. And not only that, the writing style is very intentional. They weren't just haphazardly slinging around goofy slang and references to artists for no reason. Rewatch some Buffy. Buffy is overwhelmingly adored and acclaimed for its time. The dialogue in Buffy and Life is Strange are not that different (oh also the meangirls in both share the last name "Chase").
Finally, let's talk characters: the characters are lovely, and the voice actors did an exceptional job bringing them to life. Hannah Telle and Ashly Burch (Max and Chloe respectively) are nothing short of iconic. I was genuinely attached to every single character, even if a lot of them are dangerously close to some often frowned-upon, negative archetypes. But here's the thing: Life is Strange is so dedicated to understanding and caring about people that it ends up subverting these archetypes.
Chloe (manic pixie dream girl) is fully fleshed out, has her own goals, and is more influenced by the protagonist than vice versa. I would go into more of these subversions (Victoria, David, Dana, etc.) but we would be here for a WHILE. Yet another bit of that Buffy DNA.
More references? What the heck, isn't this getting overly egregious?
Listen:
Doing this whole "Listen: blah blah blah" thing is a reference to a novel for those in the loop. And yet it does not negatively impact what I have to say about this video game.
Much like Max's detective work in finding Rachel Amber, one has to have a keen sense for details outside of the obvious. And the secret fifth pillar of great writing is one that is often overlooked: Sincerity.
Life is Strange is so fucking sincere that it hurts. It was able to make me cry multiple times in my playthrough. Despite the cheese. Despite the sometimes robotic teenager interactions. Max Caulfield is a fantastic protagonist, certainly up there with the best of them like Lee Everett. She just has so much heart. You care about her and you are rooting... no... GUIDING her to succeed. Every side character is given the love and interrogation that can be expected from shows like True Detective (btw there is a character with the license plate TRDTCTV).
Life is Strange is Magical Girl adjacent. It is a story that revolves around friendship, love, empathy, and the beauty of the world.
This is not to say the game lacks edge, by the by. Quite the contrary. This game is fucking brutal. Max is probably the healthiest person alive who has witnessed that amount of trauma. Life is Strange just knows exactly when to dull the blade and remind you of its core values and themes.
It's a beautiful game filled with suspense, danger, and drama. It keeps you on your toes all the way through its incredibly impactful final decision. And while it has literally zero curtain to hide its influences, it managed to inspire future games the same way it was kindled from the likes of Twin Peaks and Donnie Darko.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: Life is Strange walked... so that Night in the Woods could run.
Editor's Note I no longer agree with the above sentiment. The truth is closer to the following:
Life is Strange sprinted...so that Night in the Woods could also sprint. Some say they are sprinting together, hand-in-hand, to this day.
Cyberpunk 2077
2020
An absolutely flawed masterpiece. The main storyline, characters, world and soundtrack are 10/10, but the repetitive side content, bugginess and trivial combat mar the experience.