urbaer
So I played once through this and I don't really have the motivation to play through it again. There's a lot of things I like about the game, the art style is great, the special powers are delightful and I like the concept of the game aligning to your play style.
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But I found the story and the setting a little flat. It seemed to be looking to ask big questions about AI and humanity but I don't feel like the questions where as big as it thinks they are, nor do I feel like the game has any opinions about what the answers could be.
I really liked their previous game (Kathy Rain), but this one just left me cold. I hope that they do another game like this with a story that really grabs me.
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But I found the story and the setting a little flat. It seemed to be looking to ask big questions about AI and humanity but I don't feel like the questions where as big as it thinks they are, nor do I feel like the game has any opinions about what the answers could be.
I really liked their previous game (Kathy Rain), but this one just left me cold. I hope that they do another game like this with a story that really grabs me.
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
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.
2021
This review contains spoilers
Completed main story line, post game chats, all but one of the side missions and did some grabbing of extra stuff in previously explored brains
I really enjoy Psychonauts for it's rather wild levels and interesting concepts that it throws at the player. I skipped Rhombus of Ruin due to the VR nature (though I might get back to it) but managed to glimmer some story of what happened through some let's plays.
I don't recall Psychonauts 1 being so obsessed by the grotesqueness of the human body though. There's a lot of teeth. And boogers. It can be a little too much at times.
But it has an interesting story to tell and most of the brains that you enter have an interesting twist. I think the sadness of the characters feels earned (especially the main one).
I've seen differing opinions on which different people liked and I think there's a lot that comes down to personal tastes. Some that irked me others thought were amazing and vice-versa.
It's interesting to see some of the amnesia fortnight stuff make it into the game. Though it was in the level I enjoyed the least.
At times I use the most round about ways of doing things. Rather than fix the funicular correctly I used the time ability to slow the logs down enough that I could bounce across them at the top of the waterfall. Only after I was at the top of the cliff did I see the gear that I missed that would repair the funicular
Gameplay wise the new abilities were fun and I particularly liked the almost pointless "see how others see you" ability. It was a cute touch.
But of course the game is too short. I want more. I hope we don't have too wait so long for the next one. Will be interesting to see what DF get up to next time.
The load screens were very painful on the Xbox One, but super quick on my very recent PC. So of course I played most of it on the Xbox One. It's so painful when you die and have to wait minutes to get back into the fight.
I really enjoy Psychonauts for it's rather wild levels and interesting concepts that it throws at the player. I skipped Rhombus of Ruin due to the VR nature (though I might get back to it) but managed to glimmer some story of what happened through some let's plays.
I don't recall Psychonauts 1 being so obsessed by the grotesqueness of the human body though. There's a lot of teeth. And boogers. It can be a little too much at times.
But it has an interesting story to tell and most of the brains that you enter have an interesting twist. I think the sadness of the characters feels earned (especially the main one).
I've seen differing opinions on which different people liked and I think there's a lot that comes down to personal tastes. Some that irked me others thought were amazing and vice-versa.
It's interesting to see some of the amnesia fortnight stuff make it into the game. Though it was in the level I enjoyed the least.
At times I use the most round about ways of doing things. Rather than fix the funicular correctly I used the time ability to slow the logs down enough that I could bounce across them at the top of the waterfall. Only after I was at the top of the cliff did I see the gear that I missed that would repair the funicular
Gameplay wise the new abilities were fun and I particularly liked the almost pointless "see how others see you" ability. It was a cute touch.
But of course the game is too short. I want more. I hope we don't have too wait so long for the next one. Will be interesting to see what DF get up to next time.
The load screens were very painful on the Xbox One, but super quick on my very recent PC. So of course I played most of it on the Xbox One. It's so painful when you die and have to wait minutes to get back into the fight.
2024
There's not a great deal of puzzles involved here and the fact that an item can only be either a thing that can be looked at or picked up/interacted with seems to limit what they can do (I'm not sure if this was a choice that was made or a limitation of the engine).
Even with this limitation, I missed that I could pick up an item from the first room and it was quite frustrating.
It somewhat errs on the side of playing with silly names and mishearing words for comic effect, but it's a nice quick game.
They say that they're looking to expand it (More characters, dialog, puzzles & places to explore!) so will be interesting to see how that turns out.
Even with this limitation, I missed that I could pick up an item from the first room and it was quite frustrating.
It somewhat errs on the side of playing with silly names and mishearing words for comic effect, but it's a nice quick game.
They say that they're looking to expand it (More characters, dialog, puzzles & places to explore!) so will be interesting to see how that turns out.
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
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 pretty neat IF title, it puts you in the role of an AI who they've trained by living a human life from the age of 6 months old.
The researchers have created a simulation of the US if a proposed plan goes into place and task you with recording the results 10 years into the future (and later further).
Kind of gives off a time traveller sort of vibe as you jump between the different times and see how the city degrades and what stays the same. And a nice touch is that you get to see how your family reacts to the changes in the world too.
Mostly it's just wandering around trying to find what you've been asked to record in the first act and what you think is important in the second act.
The third act shifts things up (and adds a bit of puzzliness) and the epilogue is rather touching too.
I don't think it comes off as preachy, I can't help but think something like this would today if it was a 3d adventure game.
One grief I experienced playing the game was after playing so much MUD of late I kept forgetting to type "wait" expecting that things would continue without my input. Another was the method of speaking was a bit rough and the fact that it demanded the word "at" when I'd type "look ". Like "look at newspaper" instead of "look newspaper". But minor gripes.
The researchers have created a simulation of the US if a proposed plan goes into place and task you with recording the results 10 years into the future (and later further).
Kind of gives off a time traveller sort of vibe as you jump between the different times and see how the city degrades and what stays the same. And a nice touch is that you get to see how your family reacts to the changes in the world too.
Mostly it's just wandering around trying to find what you've been asked to record in the first act and what you think is important in the second act.
The third act shifts things up (and adds a bit of puzzliness) and the epilogue is rather touching too.
I don't think it comes off as preachy, I can't help but think something like this would today if it was a 3d adventure game.
One grief I experienced playing the game was after playing so much MUD of late I kept forgetting to type "wait" expecting that things would continue without my input. Another was the method of speaking was a bit rough and the fact that it demanded the word "at" when I'd type "look ". Like "look at newspaper" instead of "look newspaper". But minor gripes.
2013
Played on Android
Yeah, I didn't like this. At all. Everything is just gross. Even at an hour it felt too long. More visual novel than adventure as you don't really have agency.
And I thought maybe the ending could save it, but instead it was a let down.
I don't know if it's specific to the mobile editions, but to move you need to drag the character and to look/interact, you need to press on the thing while facing it. And it's not a great system. At times it got quite infuriating.
The full screen artwork is nice when it's there though.. but they are clipped to fit onto a phone, so some don't even show what they intend to, like the last one.
And it would have been nice if there were details of the suicide prevention phone numbers around the world at the end.
Yeah, I didn't like this. At all. Everything is just gross. Even at an hour it felt too long. More visual novel than adventure as you don't really have agency.
And I thought maybe the ending could save it, but instead it was a let down.
I don't know if it's specific to the mobile editions, but to move you need to drag the character and to look/interact, you need to press on the thing while facing it. And it's not a great system. At times it got quite infuriating.
The full screen artwork is nice when it's there though.. but they are clipped to fit onto a phone, so some don't even show what they intend to, like the last one.
And it would have been nice if there were details of the suicide prevention phone numbers around the world at the end.
2019
This felt a lot like Oxenfree but with a very hopeless feel to it. The world is interesting and the drinking theme works well with both the story of what's happening in the world and it builds to something important, but I never rarely felt that it mattered what I got the characters to drink in the moment to moment. I also sucked at some of the drinking games.
By the end I was satisfied, even though in a sense it also feels short and slightly empty. I didn't feel like I needed to play it again (even though things would be different based on choices and what not).
I think Night School can do another great game, but this one missed the mark for me.
By the end I was satisfied, even though in a sense it also feels short and slightly empty. I didn't feel like I needed to play it again (even though things would be different based on choices and what not).
I think Night School can do another great game, but this one missed the mark for me.
1994
It's really weird. I like Super Mario. I like Rare. But the Donkey Kong Country series I just can't do. I like how it looks, but the controls and abilities of the Kongs just doesn't gel with me for some reason.
And because of this I've never made it very far past the first two worlds. But for some reason I was determined to finish it and employed the rewind function a lot.
It does so many things that are lovely and the levels are always interesting... though some parts I feel are very cheap, especially near the end like the flickering light levels. The enemy designs are great though.
So why can't I get into it? Is it just me? It's probably just me.
And because of this I've never made it very far past the first two worlds. But for some reason I was determined to finish it and employed the rewind function a lot.
It does so many things that are lovely and the levels are always interesting... though some parts I feel are very cheap, especially near the end like the flickering light levels. The enemy designs are great though.
So why can't I get into it? Is it just me? It's probably just me.
I didn't really enjoy this one. The opening soured me from the get go. The main character doesn't feel like they have anything positive features and all his dialogue just grates. It's like if you took any of the charm of Indiana Jones you'd be left with Joe King.
When Faye and Sparky join things don't really improve. Faye is just annoyed at him constantly and Sparky is just moppy. Once in the jungle I started to find myself annoyed at the games design instead of just the story...
At one point you get a banana. This banana is at a dead end, the furthest point at the crash site. Once you use the banana it will respawn at this point. You can use the banana fairly early on by giving it to the gorilla (and I think you don't need to but they game will take it from you).
You'll need to use the banana (and hence come back to the furthest spot in the crash site multiple times.
And there are just screens that just have one object or puzzle and you'll find once picked up/solved you'll just be walking through empty screens. And he doesn't walk that fast either.
So when I wasn't annoyed by the story, I was bored by the emptiness.
And there's times when I got majorly stuck, though I did go through most dialogue trees just for the sake of doing so, so some puzzles that relied on that I was fine with.
I think my biggest beef was that it wasn't all that funny. You could tell it wanted to be funny, but it didn't land with me.
And it felt quite cobbled together like there's the point where Faye and you nemesis (I can't recall his name) rescue you from the jail. They tell you you'll need to go to the Valley of the Mists and that they need to get back before the Dr realises they're gone. Why can't they take Joe? Because he's been carrying around a rocket pack and a comic book explaining how it's used for nearly the whole game and the game really wants you to see the cut scene.
Eh, while I'm still complaining... there's a brontosorus blocking the path. It's huge! Why can't he just go between the legs!
And in the final face off with the Dr why is the Princess (who is a captive of the Dr) wielding a knife? And how did Sparky get there? Infuriating
But I get it. It was made by a bunch of guys in Queensland who loved Lucasfilm games and it shows, but it didn't gel with me sadly.
When Faye and Sparky join things don't really improve. Faye is just annoyed at him constantly and Sparky is just moppy. Once in the jungle I started to find myself annoyed at the games design instead of just the story...
At one point you get a banana. This banana is at a dead end, the furthest point at the crash site. Once you use the banana it will respawn at this point. You can use the banana fairly early on by giving it to the gorilla (and I think you don't need to but they game will take it from you).
You'll need to use the banana (and hence come back to the furthest spot in the crash site multiple times.
And there are just screens that just have one object or puzzle and you'll find once picked up/solved you'll just be walking through empty screens. And he doesn't walk that fast either.
So when I wasn't annoyed by the story, I was bored by the emptiness.
And there's times when I got majorly stuck, though I did go through most dialogue trees just for the sake of doing so, so some puzzles that relied on that I was fine with.
I think my biggest beef was that it wasn't all that funny. You could tell it wanted to be funny, but it didn't land with me.
And it felt quite cobbled together like there's the point where Faye and you nemesis (I can't recall his name) rescue you from the jail. They tell you you'll need to go to the Valley of the Mists and that they need to get back before the Dr realises they're gone. Why can't they take Joe? Because he's been carrying around a rocket pack and a comic book explaining how it's used for nearly the whole game and the game really wants you to see the cut scene.
Eh, while I'm still complaining... there's a brontosorus blocking the path. It's huge! Why can't he just go between the legs!
And in the final face off with the Dr why is the Princess (who is a captive of the Dr) wielding a knife? And how did Sparky get there? Infuriating
But I get it. It was made by a bunch of guys in Queensland who loved Lucasfilm games and it shows, but it didn't gel with me sadly.
For some reason I never played this, confusing it with Beneath a Steel Sky and thinking I'd already started but never finished it.
The story is interesting, though I'm a little confused on the setting, it seems almost post apocalyptic but there are still corporations, so clearly not everything has gone to do the dogs.
I didn't feel like there were too many moon logic puzzles, but some were more frustrating than they needed to be. There were a few where I was doing the right thing at the wrong time or didn't realise a gameplay aspect.
But I think I really have two bug bears and both are about the ending where it (a) goes too quickly and (b) has fail states. It really felt like it kind of plods along and then the finale goes wooooosh.
But at the same time you've got this whole section where there are multiple things that you have to do which are mostly on a timer and it kind of felt like I was in a game of Dragon's Lair. It's nice that the game doesn't overly set you back when you fail during this section, but it was kind of frustrating to hear the same lines multiple times.
Anyway, it was a good time, though shorter than I expected and I don't think I'll be back again. Glad it was on Game Pass and it finally pushed me to play it.
The story is interesting, though I'm a little confused on the setting, it seems almost post apocalyptic but there are still corporations, so clearly not everything has gone to do the dogs.
I didn't feel like there were too many moon logic puzzles, but some were more frustrating than they needed to be. There were a few where I was doing the right thing at the wrong time or didn't realise a gameplay aspect.
But I think I really have two bug bears and both are about the ending where it (a) goes too quickly and (b) has fail states. It really felt like it kind of plods along and then the finale goes wooooosh.
But at the same time you've got this whole section where there are multiple things that you have to do which are mostly on a timer and it kind of felt like I was in a game of Dragon's Lair. It's nice that the game doesn't overly set you back when you fail during this section, but it was kind of frustrating to hear the same lines multiple times.
Anyway, it was a good time, though shorter than I expected and I don't think I'll be back again. Glad it was on Game Pass and it finally pushed me to play it.
2020
Good Job sees you in the role of the bosses kid. You'll start your journey at Dad's company on the bottom floor and work your way to the top. Each floor of the company has levels to complete and represents a different department, though strangely distribution is higher on the tower than accounting, which is an odd place to put it.
You're challenged to complete the jobs quickly, though it doesn't really matter how long you take and without breaking stuff, though you can destroy everything and succeed. Who's going to say the boss' kid didn't do a good job right?
So really the game is about fulfilling the task asked of you while creating as much chaos as possible in the level. And there are puzzles along the way that you might have to find a way of solving (though sometimes you can just smash through them).
It's one of those games that encourages subversion, like maybe if you slingshot the photocopier through the wall it'll knock the projector into the right place kind of thing. And on some levels it's great, you do things you really shouldn't.
But the game forgets this at times. There's a level where you hang paintings on the wall and I could not for the life of me work out an interesting way to do it. And then it really does just feel like your doing a job.
The art style is delightful and there's plenty of hidden outfits to find (which encourages the breaking of stuff) and it does feel like the developer enjoyed making the game.
There's not much replayability, though I haven't played 2 players so maybe there's some more fun to be had there.
You're challenged to complete the jobs quickly, though it doesn't really matter how long you take and without breaking stuff, though you can destroy everything and succeed. Who's going to say the boss' kid didn't do a good job right?
So really the game is about fulfilling the task asked of you while creating as much chaos as possible in the level. And there are puzzles along the way that you might have to find a way of solving (though sometimes you can just smash through them).
It's one of those games that encourages subversion, like maybe if you slingshot the photocopier through the wall it'll knock the projector into the right place kind of thing. And on some levels it's great, you do things you really shouldn't.
But the game forgets this at times. There's a level where you hang paintings on the wall and I could not for the life of me work out an interesting way to do it. And then it really does just feel like your doing a job.
The art style is delightful and there's plenty of hidden outfits to find (which encourages the breaking of stuff) and it does feel like the developer enjoyed making the game.
There's not much replayability, though I haven't played 2 players so maybe there's some more fun to be had there.
I loved Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and Space Ghost Coast to Coast when they were on Cartoon Network. So when I was in the US in 2008 I picked up a copy, which was fine because I had a Free Loader.
Whelp before I got around to playing it there was an update that stopped the Free Loader from working and so I didn't get a chance to play it and I've never seen it available in Australia.
Anyway, after years of beating Phoenix Wright, I felt like it was time to take on the birdman. I finally managed to play it (admittingly through emulation) and yeah, it's good.
It takes Phoenix's gameplay and slaps it into Harvey's world, but all of the scenes are animated and the tone is more akin to Birdman's. There's little tension in the game, only presenting evidence during a trial seems to loose you any crests, which is a good thing too given that much of the fun of the game is from seeing what happens if you say something ridiculous... usually during those parts you can select another option until you get the correct one (and so the challenge is identifying the right response and picking that one last).
There are sections of the game where I had to visit each place to try and find where the next cut scene was and two times where it was a case of present everything in every room to figure out what was required (though once I felt dumb not realising what it wanted).
The story's are mmm..... like the show and there are good jokes in there.
But it's probably not worth rushing out to get.
Whelp before I got around to playing it there was an update that stopped the Free Loader from working and so I didn't get a chance to play it and I've never seen it available in Australia.
Anyway, after years of beating Phoenix Wright, I felt like it was time to take on the birdman. I finally managed to play it (admittingly through emulation) and yeah, it's good.
It takes Phoenix's gameplay and slaps it into Harvey's world, but all of the scenes are animated and the tone is more akin to Birdman's. There's little tension in the game, only presenting evidence during a trial seems to loose you any crests, which is a good thing too given that much of the fun of the game is from seeing what happens if you say something ridiculous... usually during those parts you can select another option until you get the correct one (and so the challenge is identifying the right response and picking that one last).
There are sections of the game where I had to visit each place to try and find where the next cut scene was and two times where it was a case of present everything in every room to figure out what was required (though once I felt dumb not realising what it wanted).
The story's are mmm..... like the show and there are good jokes in there.
But it's probably not worth rushing out to get.