urbaer
The end... it's all done... but wait... a post credit sequence? Could it be that there will be a sequel... eh I guess not.
I really liked Morgan and would really like to know what the Voodoo Lady has planned... but I guess we'll never know... (sigh)
Was a pretty entertaining and well paced ending. I'm not entirely sure about Elaine's true motivations, seems like she was really enjoying herself.
A nice way to end the series....
I really liked Morgan and would really like to know what the Voodoo Lady has planned... but I guess we'll never know... (sigh)
Was a pretty entertaining and well paced ending. I'm not entirely sure about Elaine's true motivations, seems like she was really enjoying herself.
A nice way to end the series....
2019
When this originally came out I played as Gooigi in a few levels while my wife played her game of it. So some of the levels were not still fairly familiar during my play through. Near the end of this playthrough she jumped in as Gooigi, which comes in very handy for the final boss battles.
She and I play very differently and in co-op respect whose game is being played. She is very obsessed with making sure she gets every last collectable, while I'm happy to grab a collectable if it's presenting an interesting challenge or it's not going to take too long to get.
So here I fell like the collectables don't really provide much. Cash is only really spent on getting bones (which is an instant revive) and getting locators for Boos and trinkets. As you can only have 5 bones at once, most of the money you collect goes towards getting locators for collectables that don't really do anything.
That said I still ended the game with a B rank, so.
The concept of setting this one in a hotel is interesting, it allows the level design to just go hog wild while still making it feel like one single building. To get to most of the levels you'll use the elevator and you'll need to get the buttons which are usually held by the boss of each level. This makes progress very linear and that can be slightly frustrating.
And the introduction of a few new moves helps out a lot too.
Some of the levels are better than others. If you're like me and not interested in collectables, there's one level where you walk almost completely without having to battle or get around obstacles and enter directly into the boss battle. Which ends and you can then walk back to the elevator (fight a few minor ghosts) and end the level.
Generally I liked the game. I did manage to genuinely scare my wife once. I loaded up the game and the sound on our TV was a little too high and with curfew it's been really quiet at home. Luigi walked out of the elevator and as I do at the start of each level I pressed the D-Pad to get him to let out a "M-M-M-Marioooo". She was unaware that this was something that you could do and it fully freaked her out.
I probably won't play it again though, I do still need to get through the rest of 1 and 2, so probably through my focus there rather than here.
She and I play very differently and in co-op respect whose game is being played. She is very obsessed with making sure she gets every last collectable, while I'm happy to grab a collectable if it's presenting an interesting challenge or it's not going to take too long to get.
So here I fell like the collectables don't really provide much. Cash is only really spent on getting bones (which is an instant revive) and getting locators for Boos and trinkets. As you can only have 5 bones at once, most of the money you collect goes towards getting locators for collectables that don't really do anything.
That said I still ended the game with a B rank, so.
The concept of setting this one in a hotel is interesting, it allows the level design to just go hog wild while still making it feel like one single building. To get to most of the levels you'll use the elevator and you'll need to get the buttons which are usually held by the boss of each level. This makes progress very linear and that can be slightly frustrating.
And the introduction of a few new moves helps out a lot too.
Some of the levels are better than others. If you're like me and not interested in collectables, there's one level where you walk almost completely without having to battle or get around obstacles and enter directly into the boss battle. Which ends and you can then walk back to the elevator (fight a few minor ghosts) and end the level.
Generally I liked the game. I did manage to genuinely scare my wife once. I loaded up the game and the sound on our TV was a little too high and with curfew it's been really quiet at home. Luigi walked out of the elevator and as I do at the start of each level I pressed the D-Pad to get him to let out a "M-M-M-Marioooo". She was unaware that this was something that you could do and it fully freaked her out.
I probably won't play it again though, I do still need to get through the rest of 1 and 2, so probably through my focus there rather than here.
2020
SKYE is a student project I believe and sees you flying a plane around an island. You're given tasks to complete to further the story and it's fairly fun but very chill.
And at a certain point out of nowhere you're told to go home and the game is over. Which is a shame because I'm sure there's more that I would have liked to see from the game, but it being a student project I guess they ran out of time to do more.
Oh did I mention it's free on Steam? Well it is.
So if you've got an hour to kill and you want a chill game then this is certainly one
And at a certain point out of nowhere you're told to go home and the game is over. Which is a shame because I'm sure there's more that I would have liked to see from the game, but it being a student project I guess they ran out of time to do more.
Oh did I mention it's free on Steam? Well it is.
So if you've got an hour to kill and you want a chill game then this is certainly one
This rather short but sweet chapter in the Tales of Monkey Island series was a wonderful palete cleanser after the ABC Murders.
It did feel quite like a classic Monkey Island (I don't really remember the first two chapters though) and for that I give it one thumb and a hook up.
Guess I'll see how the last two treat me.
It did feel quite like a classic Monkey Island (I don't really remember the first two chapters though) and for that I give it one thumb and a hook up.
Guess I'll see how the last two treat me.
2020
This review contains spoilers
Family tasks you with completing one of those music family trees that chart a certain musical scene and how musicians moved from band to band.
Initially you're played a bit of a radio show that introduces the 80s music scene and one of it's members and then you get the family tree and a few artefacts like memoirs, reviews, articles, interviews as well as a song from each of the bands.
From this you work out who was in which band and in which role. Once you get five correct, you're given additional artefacts to go through. One complication is that people can change roles as they move into different bands, but thankfully can't be in two bands at once.
On the whole you can figure out the answers without a great deal of trouble. There was one or two I took an educated guess at and there was a bit of swapping around.
The final five caused me a bit of grief though as one of the artefacts indicated that at a point in time there were only two or three people who played a certain instrument and that was apparently the only people who would ever play that instrument, which seemed to go against the "people can change roles" thing but oh well
The atmosphere is very good, and the world feels very rich and believable (it's based on a real life scene, though all the characters are fictional). Oh and the music is very good too.
If you're interested in detective puzzly games but want a break from murders, this is certainly a nice one.
Initially you're played a bit of a radio show that introduces the 80s music scene and one of it's members and then you get the family tree and a few artefacts like memoirs, reviews, articles, interviews as well as a song from each of the bands.
From this you work out who was in which band and in which role. Once you get five correct, you're given additional artefacts to go through. One complication is that people can change roles as they move into different bands, but thankfully can't be in two bands at once.
On the whole you can figure out the answers without a great deal of trouble. There was one or two I took an educated guess at and there was a bit of swapping around.
The final five caused me a bit of grief though as one of the artefacts indicated that at a point in time there were only two or three people who played a certain instrument and that was apparently the only people who would ever play that instrument, which seemed to go against the "people can change roles" thing but oh well
The atmosphere is very good, and the world feels very rich and believable (it's based on a real life scene, though all the characters are fictional). Oh and the music is very good too.
If you're interested in detective puzzly games but want a break from murders, this is certainly a nice one.
The Darkside Detective is a silly point and click adventure game that is horror themed (but doesn't take the horror all that seriously.
It's very easy and slightly breezy, puzzles are fairly logical and are always clear what you should be doing next (if not how).
Your joined by Officer Dooley (who isn't the brightest) as you solve inventory puzzles. The controls are fairly simple, click on something to interact or drag item from inventory onto thing to use/combine.
Thankfully you never get you inventory overstuffed as generally your character will not pick up things until they're required. This does cause problems in some cases where it spans 20 screens (just one of the bonus cases) as if you're not sure what you need to progress, it means visiting each screen to see what can be picked up but hasn't yet.
The locations are pretty small in most cases (usually about 10 screens).
The game is fairly funny, each case tends to take inspiration from a horror film . There's quite a few breaks in the fourth wall and quite a few nods to other adventure games.
A great light hearted game and a good palate cleanser
It's very easy and slightly breezy, puzzles are fairly logical and are always clear what you should be doing next (if not how).
Your joined by Officer Dooley (who isn't the brightest) as you solve inventory puzzles. The controls are fairly simple, click on something to interact or drag item from inventory onto thing to use/combine.
Thankfully you never get you inventory overstuffed as generally your character will not pick up things until they're required. This does cause problems in some cases where it spans 20 screens (just one of the bonus cases) as if you're not sure what you need to progress, it means visiting each screen to see what can be picked up but hasn't yet.
The locations are pretty small in most cases (usually about 10 screens).
The game is fairly funny, each case tends to take inspiration from a horror film . There's quite a few breaks in the fourth wall and quite a few nods to other adventure games.
A great light hearted game and a good palate cleanser
A game with an interesting idea, but let down by terrible localisation, poor signposting and the need for pixel hunting
I quite liked Life is Strange 1 and this one... I was fine with the characters, the Dad was likeable enough and the brothers seemed interesting enough, but thing happens very early on (which isn't a spoiler as it's in the game description) and then they're on the run (or walk in this case) and it kind of went downhill from there.
I think I prefer adventure games that have limited locations. If there's a town, I want to explore the town and get to know it's inhabitants. In this one though, it presents this lovely town and bang, it's taken away.
And I get that taking away something nice is putting me in the characters shoes but eh.
There's some "he'll remember that" that has very quick consequences, but I wonder how much will impact later episodes.
I think I prefer adventure games that have limited locations. If there's a town, I want to explore the town and get to know it's inhabitants. In this one though, it presents this lovely town and bang, it's taken away.
And I get that taking away something nice is putting me in the characters shoes but eh.
There's some "he'll remember that" that has very quick consequences, but I wonder how much will impact later episodes.
After completing have quickly gone back to Pokemon Black to discover I hadn't actually completed it (only 3 badges) and oh Alpha/Omega is so much better than Black/White.
It just flows so much better and I feel that the villains have much better reasons for doing what they're doing and the interface if a lot less clunky.
It just flows so much better and I feel that the villains have much better reasons for doing what they're doing and the interface if a lot less clunky.
This review contains spoilers
Jenny LeClue is an experienced kid detective, she solves kid like cases but wants something more like a real detective. Her mum is a college professor that teaches forensics and what-not, so she certainly has the training. Well at least she thinks she does.
But Arthurton is a perfect little sleepy town where nothing interesting really happens.
So when she goes looking for her mother in the college library and instead finds the Dean dead holding her ID pass, then things get a little interesting for our pint sized hero... is she going to get in over her head trying to clear her mum's name?
The game works like a cross between Oxenfree, Night in the Woods and one of the more recent Poirot games. You're navigating a 2.5d world and are able to run and jump (when the game allows it) and interact with some objects. Often the game will flip into investigation mode where you have to find important clues on a body or area. You'll then link these together to make a deduction and only by getting the correct deduction will you be able to move on.
There are puzzles as well, but given that the game points out objects you can interact with when you walk near them, most don't require to much to solve... often you can brute force through them. Some puzzles which involve switches and buttons and so on can require a bit more logic, but you're not going to be overextended here.
There's certainly more going on in the story than you'd expect at first glance and.... erm.. ok, spoilers maybe?
So it's revealed fairly early on that you're actually playing as the writer of the Jenny LeClue novels rather than as Jenny herself. This is book 34 or something and they're not selling as well as they used to, so the publisher wants a tone shift to make the books darker. But the author is fairly resistant.
This framing devices helps make the corny nature of the game a little bit easier to swallow and allows the narration to take the authors view of how things should be happening while Jenny has a different view of proceedings at times (sort of like The Stanley Parable).
The game leans heavily into an X-Files style conspiracy and that certainly helped the story be more than a child detective attempts to solve a murder.
The graphics are delightful... though there's a large section spent in caves which are less delightful and there's a nice sense of humour here. And the voice acting is very good throughout.
But the game gives you a big choice to make as the author and then rather than explain what the impact of that choice is says "to be continued".
Which I guess I'd be fine with if I knew this was episodic at the start, but I wanted resolution. And it kind of soured the experience. I mean yes, I'll probably play the part 2 when it comes out, but I'm a bit resentful about it.
But Arthurton is a perfect little sleepy town where nothing interesting really happens.
So when she goes looking for her mother in the college library and instead finds the Dean dead holding her ID pass, then things get a little interesting for our pint sized hero... is she going to get in over her head trying to clear her mum's name?
The game works like a cross between Oxenfree, Night in the Woods and one of the more recent Poirot games. You're navigating a 2.5d world and are able to run and jump (when the game allows it) and interact with some objects. Often the game will flip into investigation mode where you have to find important clues on a body or area. You'll then link these together to make a deduction and only by getting the correct deduction will you be able to move on.
There are puzzles as well, but given that the game points out objects you can interact with when you walk near them, most don't require to much to solve... often you can brute force through them. Some puzzles which involve switches and buttons and so on can require a bit more logic, but you're not going to be overextended here.
There's certainly more going on in the story than you'd expect at first glance and.... erm.. ok, spoilers maybe?
So it's revealed fairly early on that you're actually playing as the writer of the Jenny LeClue novels rather than as Jenny herself. This is book 34 or something and they're not selling as well as they used to, so the publisher wants a tone shift to make the books darker. But the author is fairly resistant.
This framing devices helps make the corny nature of the game a little bit easier to swallow and allows the narration to take the authors view of how things should be happening while Jenny has a different view of proceedings at times (sort of like The Stanley Parable).
The game leans heavily into an X-Files style conspiracy and that certainly helped the story be more than a child detective attempts to solve a murder.
The graphics are delightful... though there's a large section spent in caves which are less delightful and there's a nice sense of humour here. And the voice acting is very good throughout.
But the game gives you a big choice to make as the author and then rather than explain what the impact of that choice is says "to be continued".
Which I guess I'd be fine with if I knew this was episodic at the start, but I wanted resolution. And it kind of soured the experience. I mean yes, I'll probably play the part 2 when it comes out, but I'm a bit resentful about it.
2021
Couldn't get a multiplayer session to last more than 5 minutes. It's not a great single player game from what I can see so far
2017
I'm not certain about this one. On the one hand I like solving these "Learn about a person to find out their password" kind of games buuuuuut by the same token it feels a little creepy to go through someone's phone.
The artwork is nice though and the soundtrack is pleasing and the puzzles aren't too complicated.
For some reason it reminded me of Her Story where you learn about a day, then as you learn more the old information bis seen in a new light.
The artwork is nice though and the soundtrack is pleasing and the puzzles aren't too complicated.
For some reason it reminded me of Her Story where you learn about a day, then as you learn more the old information bis seen in a new light.
2019
The daughter burst into my office the other day "Daddy, the multiplayer has been released!"
"For what"
"The second goose!"
"Oh great"
"Can we play it?"
"Not today"
A day (or two?) later:
"Daddy can we play goose game together?"
"Sure"
We decided it would be the first game we streamed on Twitch (as the daughter has been commentating all her games recently anyway). Couldn't get the microphone working and the capture card was having issues with the sound, but we had fun playing it anyway.
Started with a new game and had it done in about 1.5 hours (or less). The puzzles aren't that much easier with two players as it confines you into a fairly small window and some parts can become a touch frustrating particularly the pub where it's very easy for the man to shoo one of the goose out which forces the other goose to come back close to the entrance to let the first goose back in.
But they can also help each other out by picking up heavy large items together and the final part of the game is slightly easier with the other goose running distraction.
And yet, again, you know if you want to play this game just by looking at it, I'm not sure that co-op will change your mind.
"For what"
"The second goose!"
"Oh great"
"Can we play it?"
"Not today"
A day (or two?) later:
"Daddy can we play goose game together?"
"Sure"
We decided it would be the first game we streamed on Twitch (as the daughter has been commentating all her games recently anyway). Couldn't get the microphone working and the capture card was having issues with the sound, but we had fun playing it anyway.
Started with a new game and had it done in about 1.5 hours (or less). The puzzles aren't that much easier with two players as it confines you into a fairly small window and some parts can become a touch frustrating particularly the pub where it's very easy for the man to shoo one of the goose out which forces the other goose to come back close to the entrance to let the first goose back in.
But they can also help each other out by picking up heavy large items together and the final part of the game is slightly easier with the other goose running distraction.
And yet, again, you know if you want to play this game just by looking at it, I'm not sure that co-op will change your mind.
1979
I've goofed with this one before but never beaten it (I think). Played on Mode 1 and died a few times. Grabbed the grail and took it back to the yellow castle not realising that this was the goal of the game. And it just stops. Had to look up an FAQ to find out that I beat it.
Am planning on redoing in Mode 2, but I'll need pen and paper for that, the mazes seem harder to just barrel your way through especially with the green fhqwhgads on your tail. And that bat, what a jerk.
Am planning on redoing in Mode 2, but I'll need pen and paper for that, the mazes seem harder to just barrel your way through especially with the green fhqwhgads on your tail. And that bat, what a jerk.
2020
Murder by Numbers attempts to solve the mystery of what happens if you mix Phoenix Wright with Picross.
And yeah. It's a little rough. There's something very relaxing about Picross, at least for me. It's a thing that I do when I don't want to do a thing. And combining that with a visual novel is a little odd. It feels like you're going through a story and you get this roadblock that you have to go around before you continue, but it's a thing you do to chill... it causes a weird feeling. Like I need to do this thing that I do to relax as quickly as possible to get onto content.
There's this robot who found itself discarded in the dump with no memory. And there's this actress who plays a detective who runs into a robot who needs help. The actress loses her job on the same day her boss is killed and is obviously a suspect, so goes about solving the who dunit with the help of the robot. They then goes on to solve a bunch of others and try to help the robot get it's memory back.
It takes the form of self contained mysteries which culminate in a larger mystery that threads them together somewhat. Some of the murders are fairly straight forward where the shiftiest person did it, others less so.
Maybe I've been spoilt by Picross. The controls on this one was a bit clunky and often the puzzles wouldn't resolve into something that I could identify even when they were coloured in. And I ended up with a correct, but unintended solution which I'm not sure has happened in any of the Picross games I've played (though has happened in other nonagram games).
Most of the puzzles are fairly easy to play without assistance, though one puzzle I wimped out and used assistance. If you complete all the puzzles in a chapter without assistance you get an extra memory that you can view. Sadly, you can't go back and do individual puzzles without playing through the entire chapter again, which is a shame.
I really feel like I should have loved this game, but as it is, it's OK.
And yeah. It's a little rough. There's something very relaxing about Picross, at least for me. It's a thing that I do when I don't want to do a thing. And combining that with a visual novel is a little odd. It feels like you're going through a story and you get this roadblock that you have to go around before you continue, but it's a thing you do to chill... it causes a weird feeling. Like I need to do this thing that I do to relax as quickly as possible to get onto content.
There's this robot who found itself discarded in the dump with no memory. And there's this actress who plays a detective who runs into a robot who needs help. The actress loses her job on the same day her boss is killed and is obviously a suspect, so goes about solving the who dunit with the help of the robot. They then goes on to solve a bunch of others and try to help the robot get it's memory back.
It takes the form of self contained mysteries which culminate in a larger mystery that threads them together somewhat. Some of the murders are fairly straight forward where the shiftiest person did it, others less so.
Maybe I've been spoilt by Picross. The controls on this one was a bit clunky and often the puzzles wouldn't resolve into something that I could identify even when they were coloured in. And I ended up with a correct, but unintended solution which I'm not sure has happened in any of the Picross games I've played (though has happened in other nonagram games).
Most of the puzzles are fairly easy to play without assistance, though one puzzle I wimped out and used assistance. If you complete all the puzzles in a chapter without assistance you get an extra memory that you can view. Sadly, you can't go back and do individual puzzles without playing through the entire chapter again, which is a shame.
I really feel like I should have loved this game, but as it is, it's OK.