Set in the dark underbelly of a vampire-infested New York City, ‘Vampire: The Masquerade – Cotories of New York’ (VMNY hereon) sees you take charge of a newly-turned ‘childe’, learning the ropes of their new life (or, un-life). The latest installment in the World of Darkness series from Draw Digital, this text-based adventure game gives the player the ability to forge their own story. Navigating the rivalry between two vampiric factions, or cotories, the player must make their own alliances to aid them on their journey. Whether you succeed or fail in this new world, is entirely up to you, and the choices you make.
Firstly, let’s talk story. Where VMNY excels is in its narrative structure and world-building. From almost the second after you press play, you are introduced to several dark and mysterious characters, each with their own distinct personalities. Draw Digital unapologetically throws the player right into this new world with little explanation, slowly revealing its vast intricacies piece by piece. By doing this, the player is almost instantly hooked into the story, feverently seeking out answers to the mass of questions posed. Despite having an elongated intro, the story is well-written and provides a sense of intrigue throughout, encouraging the player to continue on.
As noted above, every character you meet serves a distinct purpose in the story, with some offering the chance to learn new abilities. This is important, as the abilities you acquire can determine the options you may take throughout the story. Combined with the feeding mechanic, where the player must decide when, where and who to feed upon, this can provide unique adventures on every playthrough. As a result, the decisions you make, at least on the surface, are given more weight. For example, starving your character of feeding opportunities may prevent certain options being available later on. I personally took a more pacificist approach to my playthrough, which I feel my vampire comrades were a little confused about.
Nevertheless, this brings me onto my strongest critique of VMNY: pay-off. In truth, although the choice-based system is reasonably complex, ultimately, there are very few consequences for your actions. Should you, for example, decide to attack rather than ignore an enemy when given the chance, this hardly goes beyond an ally remarking in different tones depending on your choice. The story will still progress in a linear fashion regardless of your decision, meaning the choices you make in reality feel rather pointless. In fact, at one point, I was given a dialogue option for something that hadn’t even been discussed, implying that there was a previous ‘correct’ choice the game expected me to make. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg…
As a text-based adventure game, it would be foolish to expect the gameplay loop to extend beyond choice-based dialogue. This is fine, and although some additional gameplay would have been nice, I can appreciate the effort put in by Draw Digital in providing depth through these means. But this is a double-edged sword. Yes, this game has an impressive degree of depth and substance, but when this is entirely communicated to the player through text, it can become monotone and quite frankly, boring. In order to provide this depth to the world, you are often faced with paragraph-upon-paragraph of dialogue. As a result, the game sometimes feels like you are stuck in a never-ending conversation with an NPC, frantically pressing ‘A’ until the conversation is finally at an end. With the lack of pay-off noted above, the game can divulge into a slog, constantly waiting (im)patiently for something to finally happen. Nevertheless, I will concede that this may be something more accurately attributed to the genre as a whole, rather than VMNY specifically. Fans of such games may be able to see beyond this critique.
Taking these issues out of the equation though, Draw Digital has done a remarkable job in creating a beautifully-designed game. Although the game is made up of a variety of static images, these are done to perfection, each capturing a distinct tone. Sparse animations and dynamic lighting gives the world life (ironic, considering you and your allies are technically dead) without detracting from the art-style, which was a standout feature whilst playing. Similarly, the sound design is phenomenal. The background audio is often tweaked to perfectly complement the visual design, accentuating the mood of a particular scene. In addition, the SFX used punctuates the player’s actions, adding gravitas to even the simple action of pressing ‘A’. Although the addition of character voices would have been a nice touch, I was thoroughly impressed with the sound design nonetheless.
So, would I recommend this game? Well, those who are fans of text-based adventure games may find VMNY to be one filled with interesting characters, a mysterious and well-written narrative, and beautiful visual and sound design. However, those new to the genre, or simply looking to try out the game, may quickly become disillusioned by the never-ending dialogue, which provides little pay-off despite the implementation of choice-based mechanics. As a result, your experience with VMNY will entirely depend on whether you are able to appreciate the game beyond these text-based interactions. If not, rather than stucking the life out of the citizens of New York, you might just find the game sucking the life out of you.
A quick disclosure, I was a huge fan of 2013’s The Last of Us and was extremely excited to see where the story would take us. TLOU was a monument of the single player narrative that I have come to enjoy over my 25 years being active in the gaming community. However, I had no idea that The Last of Us 2 would fracture a player base the way that it has. A quick look over any popular gaming blog or YouTube channel gives you an idea of what I’m talking about. You’ll see 50% titled “Biggest Disappointment” and the rest titled “Greatest Game of the Generation” and a majority of these are going strictly off of the story and whether or not it was an appropriate choice for the character development that Naughty Dog was working toward. I’m not here to tell you that either of these are wrong, but I am here to tell you that this is a game that you should experience as soon as possible.
Due to the reliance that The Last of Us 2 has on pivotal story events that occur early on in the game, I will not be going into detail on any major plot events or spoilers. These moments are best experienced in game.
The Line of Departure
The story picks up roughly five years after the events of TLOU and we find Joel and Ellie struggling to maintain their relationship after the emotional cliffhanger where we were left in 2013. For those that haven’t played it, a quick summary:
The world was turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland following the outbreak of the Cordyceps Brain Infection, which is essentially a type of fungus that takes over the brain. Ellie is immune to the infection and a revolutionary group known as the Fireflies believes they can use her to create a cure. Joel is hired to smuggle her across the country. Over this journey the walls Joel has put up around himself, after the death of his daughter during the initial outbreak, slowly breakdown and the relationship between the two transform from smuggler/cargo to surrogate father/daughter. After finally meeting up with the Fireflies, Joel learns that Ellie will have to die for the cure to be created. Naturally, this is unacceptable and he proceeds to murder everyone (armed and unarmed) standing between Ellie and himself. Ellie was unconscious for the bloodbath and has to rely on Joel’s recollection of the last few hours. The final shot shows doubt drenched over Ellie’s face as Joel tells his version of the truth; that the Fireflies were wrong and there was no cure.
“All my means are sane, my motive and my object mad.”-Hermann Melville, Moby Dick
A World in Shambles
We are quickly dropped into a visceral world that seems much more acrimonious than anything we’ve seen before. The outstanding character design shows the toll that the world has taken on the characters with every crease on their face. It’s difficult to find any amount of happiness in any of the characters. We encounter a few fleeting moments of emotion that could be construed as something other than depression or despair, but these moments are fleeting and disappear almost as fast as they begin. Every character feels like they’ve aged decades and the palette chosen by Naughty Dog feels like we’ve stepped into the severe depression that is reality of TLOU2. The environment, though absolutely stunning at every turn, is covered by torrents of fresh snow and obscured by thick clouds of winter fog.
No rest for the wicked.
Within the first hour, we become acutely aware that silver linings do not exist in this universe. There is very little happiness or hope, just a mindless existence that these characters wander through each day. Just over an hour into the game, we are treated to what is, in all honesty, the most schismatic plot event in the last decade of gaming. From this point, we are thrust into a tale about hatred, revenge, and the destruction brought by sacrificing those most important to you in the pursuit of either. Throughout the game my mind automatically began drawing parallels to titles such as Metal Gear Solid V and, much more than that, Moby Dick.
This style bleeds through every pore of the game, from each and every character, to the expertly crafted level design. Hatred is a central theme and TLOU2 is not afraid to let you know it. I sincerely believe that TLOU2 is quite possibly the ugliest game ever created and I mean that in the most positive way.
Character Destruction
This time around, Ellie is the primary character as the entire story focuses on her emotionally and mentally accepting after dealing with a severely traumatic, life shattering event. Just as in TLOU, Ellie has a smaller frame and is more agile than her heavyweight counterparts. She is not able to go toe to toe with more than one enemy at a time without extreme risk, and when struck she easily gets knocked around. Her saving grace is her ability to quickly dodge and counter with her switchblade.
In what was a surprise to most, a brand new character was introduced to the series and serves as the yin to Ellie’s yang. Abby is the 2nd playable character and, without getting knee deep into spoiler territory, has an incredibly complex history with Joel and Ellie. When standing next to Ellie, she is an absolute powerhouse. She is a trained soldier and sports the muscle tone to boot. It’s best to compare her to Joel from TLOU. She can shove enemies around with relative ease and can take a hit without loosing much ground. Heavy weapons are tossed around and her hand to hand fighting results in a trail of corpses with shattered bones and cracked skulls.
“…to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.” -Hermann Melville, Moby Dick
Call Me Ishmael
This tale of revenge and redemption seeking is structured so that the primary portion is spread out over three days. We play this portion twice, once as Ellie, then again as Abby. In many cases this would come across as an overplayed cliche, however this time around I believe it’s been altered enough to give a fresh take. In TLOU2 both Ellie and Abby are at low points in their lives and they both demonstrate very few redeeming qualities throughout the story. At several points throughout the story, both Ellie and Abby could very easily have been used as hero or villain, and that’s part of the reason I absolutely love this game. Both are running on pure emotion and in many cases are being strong-armed, physically and emotionally, into diving further into the abyss. Logical decisions are not being made and I don’t believe this to be the fault of the writers. I believe it to have been an intentional choice to show their current state of mind.
In Ellie’s case, every step she takes leads further down a lonely, broken road. Whether it be by guilt or by those closest to her, she feels compelled to continue in an effort to dig herself out of the hole she has found herself in. Throughout the progression of the story we vividly see this written across her face and resounding loudly within her voice. Ashley Johnson’s performance as Ellie is absolutely perfect in every aspect. Most of the quickly made quips and sarcasm that made her so likeable in TLOU is gone and has been replaced with anger, rage, and a sadness not usually seen in this medium.
Abby falls onto the opposite end of the spectrum. Her descent is directly caused be her own actions. In many cases throughout the story, Abby makes decisions based on her own selfish reasons. Now don’t get me wrong, these are negative character traits, but also human ones. I’ll be the first to admit that I was not interested in playing as Abby when she was first introduced. I was here strictly for Joel and Ellie and wanted nothing more than the reconstitution of their relationship. However, Abby grew on me after playing through her story for the first few hours, and yes I realize I am in the minority with this one. Knowing her background and subsequently seeing her make these poor decisions, makes much more sense logically. In all honesty, I wish there would’ve been some more character development on the front end of her story. If there had been, I fully believe Abby’s reception would’ve not been the disaster it was right after launch.
The Devil is in the Details
Overall game play has remained largely the same as the original. An over the shoulder viewpoint that divides it’s time between combat, exploration, and skulking around in the shadows. The controls are tighter than TLOU and, with the new addition of being able to low crawl through high grass it is extremely reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid V, and that is in no way a bad thing.
In addition to the new addition of low crawling, the stealth game play has been redefined and is much more user friendly. Movement and traversal feels much faster, meaning that combat flows more naturally. Another welcome change is the dodge mechanic that while simple, creates a drastic difference.
Close quarters combat feels better than ever.
In an effort to deepen exploration, the expansion of environmental puzzles was fantastic to see. Based off of ideas from TLOU, such as searching the immediate area for clues (namely safe combinations), a few extra items have been added in. One small example was the use of a note telling the author’s coworker that the combination is the date that another employee was named employee of the month. You then have to search the environment for the records. In the grand scheme of things, this is incredibly small, but it does create a layer of realism to the world. I can honestly say I wish this had been done a few more times, possibly with more depth. I’m not saying it should been on the same level as the Uncharted series, but a few more puzzles that involve more than searching the desks around the safe for a haphazardly stored combination. One item that was brought over from Uncharted 4, albeit in only a fraction of the sense, was the climbing rope. In TLOU2, the rope is only accessible in certain areas and only for a few brief moments at a time. It adds, once again, another layer to certain puzzles that creates a sense of freshness to traversal. Again, I wish it had been incorporated more-so and perhaps with little more freedom of use throughout each area.
As with almost every area in TLOU2, the improvements to the enemies are astounding as well. Throughout each encounter, all human enemies converse, work together, and refer to each other by name. This is especially noticeable when an enemy discovers the body of their best friend after I’ve lodged Ellie’s switch blade into his carotid artery. They scream their names, react with genuine emotion to their bloodied corpse, and respond with unbridled rage when they narrow down your location. This is also true of their canine counterparts. All of this, in addition to the upgraded AI, makes for truly remarkable enemy encounters that play out differently each time you go through them.
There are a few instances of enemy encounters that incorporate both human and infected enemies. These moments were absolutely fantastic and having the ability to play one against the other is something that the first installment truly lacked. I can honestly, as much as I loved this, it did come off as disappointing since there wasn’t more of these spread throughout the game. One in particular stands out as the area was bathed in dim red light. Only being able to see the outline of enemies closing in on your position, you hear the faint sound of the infamous clickers in rooms nearby. A quick toss of a brick or glass bottle into the human’s direction results in a bloody ambush that you can actively participate in. The soldiers run blindly around corners to escape the infected, only to be met with a silenced head shot or a savage attack with a bladed weapon.
A past, present, and future of violence.
One thing is for certain, at least for the human enemy encounters, is that the brutality has been sharply increased to reflect the overall tone of the game. Ellie snatches life from each enemy without any hesitation. A successful stealth kill results in Ellie gripping the enemy in a headlock before wrenching their body around and slipping her blade into their throat. The enemy then falls to the ground, drowning in their own blood, gurgling as it pools around them. One downside to this, however, is that the stealth kill animation remains largely the same through the entire game. It does get rather old after a while. The visual can be hard to watch if you are at all squeamish or not fond of realistic violence. For those reading that prefer a more realistic take, TLOU2 has it in spades. Enemies burn alive screaming as their skin chars to a deep black color, firearms remove large chunks of flesh and muscle, and in some cases enemies fall before you begging for their lives as you cave their skull in.
The Pitfalls of Ambition
Now all of this is not to say that the game is perfect. There are plenty of items that left a smear on the overall experience. Several instances of major character development are out of sync with the character building up until that moment and honestly seem like the writers went a step too far with how far you could push these characters before they become disliked. The addition of several new infected types throw off the already built infection timeline established in TLOU and on top of that they do not require any additional strategy to defeat. There is a one time only enemy that serves as a boss fight later in the game. The build up to the fight was expertly handled, but I do feel as if the enemy design would’ve worked better in Dead Space or something along those lines.
However, my chief complaint is the way that Naughty Dog marketed certain portions of the game. There are a few instances of what I would consider outright lies regarding some of the more controversial topics in the game. In fact, one of the earlier trailers demonstrates a scene between two major characters having a conversation, however in the released version one of those characters is so far removed from the story that it’s painfully obvious this was done to ensure that the story was kept tightly under wraps. I understand the motivation and reasoning for this, but I absolutely do not agree with the execution.
Nowhere to run.
The End of the Road
TLOU2 is not perfect. There are numerous things that could’ve be incorporated more effectively and there are many things executed perfectly that many players will not enjoy. However, there are a treasure trove of things that were expertly crafted and many I didn’t even get to include in this brief review. Things such as drastic improvement on the semi-open level environment, the jaw dropping scenery, the silky smooth crafting bench animations, and the insane amount of accessibility options just to name a few. On the technical side, the game is an absolute marvel. Weather and it’s effect on the surrounding terrain are beautiful and I only noticed several small glitches throughout my 20 hour play time.
The journey itself was, to say the least, emotionally exhausting. This is not a game that I will play several times a year. This is not a game for those looking for a happy ending. This is not a game for those looking for an inspiring story of redemption or love. This story, simply put, is a torture-filled journey through two character’s own personal Hell. Again, the story is most definitely not for everyone, but I highly recommend at least giving this one full play through before making a final decision. As with any divisive title, this is one that should not be passed over.
Survival games draw in a certain player base, gamers who love all the small details, who enjoy building up a life from scratch, and doing whatever they can to survive for as long as possible. As a genre, it is time-consuming, tough, and above all extremely rewarding. I love a survival title that plays out slowly and allows me to plan my path to victory, so when I was offered the opportunity to review Seeds of Resilience, I jumped at the chance. Developed by Goblinz Studio and published by Forever Entertainment S. A this turn-based survival game allows you all the time in the world to plan how you want to approach your problems, and to overcome any issues you face.
The gameplay is split over two modes; Mission and Survival. The latter is exactly as you’d expect, start on a map with a set amount of survivors, and do whatever it takes to keep death from your door, and escape your island prison. This mode requires a full knowledge of all the gameplay mechanics, so I would recommend that you hold off trying this until you’ve completed most of the missions. I loved the freedom that came with experiencing Survival; it was enjoyable, and brutally unforgiving. The elements hate you, and there are never enough resources for you to complete the tasks you wish to achieve. You must plan which of your survivors you use for each job, and you must prioritise what you need to have done first. The mission mode starts as a tutorial, allowing you to learn the basic gameplay mechanics. It adds new elements on a gentle learning curve, so you never feel overwhelmed with what you need to do to complete each stage. You are given objectives that flow from one to another, these utilise all the skills that each of your characters has, and builds up robust knowledge that is needed to succeed at any point. This mode is more rigid than the sandbox survival, and though necessary to complete and interesting to work through, I preferred the freedom that came from playing Survival.
As you start each game, you may choose from a selection of survivors, each has their own traits and skills that will either help or hinder the group. As time goes by, more helpless individuals float towards your desert island, they decide to join the group (even if you don’t want them). They bring with them their own special abilities to help you out, but they will throw a spanner into the works of any plan you are working on. Every person must have a place to sleep, and when more people are added, you must make room for them, so stop building your farm, or fishing area, and start making them a wooden hut. This is a minor problem when you consider that they must also have food, the bigger the group, the more mouths to feed, and the larger amount of hunting and harvesting that you must take on. It soon goes from being a small operation, to planning the movement and tasks of a village’s worth of humans. You can quickly become overwhelmed with what needs to be done, but you simply remember that you have all the time in the world to complete each task, so take your time and think everything through.
Your team of hapless vagabonds don’t have to be that way forever. Do you need one person who is an expert at farming? Need a master of surviving, or one that can hunt like The Predator? This can be achieved (maybe not The Predator comment) with a small amount of training and repeatedly completing set jobs. With a little time and effort, your useless team of island dwellers can become an integral cog in a well-oiled machine. As skills are increased, you are given the opportunity to build and create higher tiered buildings and technology. Though these more complex items and structures take a higher amount of resources to create, they make your life exponentially easier, and are worthwhile. Not only do they improve your quality of life, they are much more resilient to the harsh weather that you will face.
Storms in tropical areas are a given, the people who live in these areas have come to terms with the disastrous effect that the high winds and floodwaters can have on their homes and way of life. Unfortunately, when you play Seeds of Resilience you will also have to become accustomed with the devastating impact that both the weather and the seasons have on your playthrough. Houses get flattened, your crops will wilt because of searing heat, or freezing air, and your plans will well and truly be turned upside down regularly. This game mechanic made an already hard title much tougher.
When you first look at the graphics, you may be taken back by how dated and pixelated it looks. The action takes place from a bird’s-eye perspective, with a fixed camera angle. I found the lack of panning facility frustrating, though you could see through the scenery to find any hidden resources, I expected to rotate the view freely. The display was busy with several menus, statistic bars, and other vital pieces of information. It didn’t bother me too much, though I’m sure many gamers would prefer a cleaner cut User Interface.
The audio takes a simple approach, with realistic sound effects and a lack of music. The clanging of pick on rock, trees swaying in the breeze, and rain hammering down on your structures, was relaxing and transported me to life on the desert island. Its minimalist approach allowed me the chance to enjoy what was happening without being overwhelmed with a cliched soundtrack. Though the sparse sounds may be lacking for some gamers, I believe that the developers took the right approach, and got the balance just about right.
There is no doubt in my mind that Seeds of Resilience plays better on PC. This genre works well with a mouse and keyboard, and though the controller does a good job of mapping the required button layout, it feels cumbersome, with several radial menus, and submenus to navigate. Fortunately, the lack of time pressure takes away from the lack of finesse that the controller analogue stick presents, and with a small amount of practise you soon master how to work through all the tabs on the screen.
Because of the two game modes that are on offer, and the unpredictable nature of the gameplay, you soon discover that no two attempts are the same. This adds a large amount of replay value, combine this with a challenging achievement list, and you soon discover that this game will take a considerable amount of time to complete. You have lots of survivors to unlock, and customisation options for Survival mode to make each attempt as easy, or as difficult as you like. When you look at the current price tag, this represents fantastic value for money, and a title that will keep you entertained for many an hour.
If you love this genre, then I’m sure that you are already taken by the idea of a desert island survival game. If you are sitting on the fence, then I can confidently say that most gamers will enjoy their time with this classic take on a turn-based survival game. The graphics and audio won’t be for everyone, but the challenge of the gameplay, and the freedom of the sandbox mode more than make up for this. So, with all things considered, do I recommend you play this? I do! It ticks so many boxes, and though there are a few minor frustrations, these do not stand in the way of what is fundamentally a solid game with an excellent concept. Can you and your band of hapless survivors live off the land, and do enough to make it home? Only time will tell!
Whenever I see the “Puzzle” genre, I picture complex issues that need a logical frame of mind, and plenty of patience to overcome. This was not what I encountered when I tried my latest review title, Wilmot’s Warehouse. Developed by; Richard Hogg and Hollow Pond, and published by Finji, this game will test your organisation skills more than your ability to understand and solve difficult problems.
All the action takes place in a vast Warehouse that is owned by an unnamed individual. You control a white square called Wilmot. His job requires him to organise the world around him, ensuring that objects are stored correctly, and when the time comes, he must deliver goods to the 4 waiting customers at the collection window. Each game allows for up to 200 products to be selected at random out of a possible 500 available. Which items are selected matters not, as they have no bearing on the outcome of the game, nor do they impact your path to victory. The only time that you will be concerned about the products is for your new found sense of OCD, and if you are a completionist.
Wilmot’s job soon turns into a nightmare!
This brings me beautifully on to my bugbear with this title. The game is perfectly serviceable if you have no concern about collecting all the achievements and obtaining that 100% status. But, if you are like me, then you will want to be one of the few players that can claim that they have completed it, and you will slowly hate everything that Wilmot’s Warehouse stands for. The simple and charming gameplay soon turns into a migraine inducing pain in the behind. You will slowly slip into a coma while you desperately try to obtain a tile that resembles a musical instrument, or perhaps you want one that appears to be a piece of sports equipment. Whatever you are after, you can almost guarantee that you won’t find the perfect combination anytime soon, so this means many attempts will be needed in order to receive that elusive grouping.
Anyway, now I have that off my chest, let’s look at the gameplay in more detail. The game is split into 2 difficulty levels; Normal and Expert. Normal is where you should begin, and effectively both games play the same way, but Expert is understandably much harder, with a reduction in time, which adds to an increase in pressure of both your memory and organisation skills. The gameplay takes place over multiple calendar years. You must complete each quarter, obtaining new products en route, and at the end of the 3rd month you must take your time to organise your stock, and ensure you know your product layout. During each month you have a set amount of time to collect the goods from your shop floor, delivering them to each of the customers who eagerly await you. The quicker you achieve this task, the more stars you are awarded, with a maximum of 13 available. So why do you want to collect stars, you may think? Upgrades, that’s why! You are free to increase Wilmot’s strength and speed. You can hire a robot to help and open up more storage space within your warehouse. These upgrades are essential, and though you are likely to gain them all with little effort, unlocking them all makes it much easier to complete the game.
It’s not very challenging for a puzzle game!
The concept of this title is as simple as it sounds; have stock delivered, place it however you wish, acknowledge what your customers want, and deliver them their goods. This groundhog day approach carries on until you have all 200 products, and once you hit this landmark, its game over. You can now choose to start over or never play it again. It’s mundane, annoying, and will get under your skin, but more importantly, it’s addictive as hell, and you won’t be able to stop playing!
One element of Wilmot’s Warehouse that I loved and hated was the graphics. On the surface, they provide you with an earthy, dank world to exist in. Flecks of colour are introduced once you receive your stock, but mostly it’s a plain game to look at. One of the key mechanics is stock organisation, yet the icons are tough to decipher, and I spent most of my time organising by colours, instead of the subject of the objects I had stored. I would have preferred that each item had a description. This would have helped identify the mystery objects, and it would have also aided in the unlocking of the brutal achievement list.
The audio follows the basic principle of the rest of this title, and though it won’t blow you away, it’s perfectly serviceable. Like a hotel lobby, or lift, you will be treated to some calming notes as you scurry around your maze of goods. It’s neither offensive, nor great, and it’s about the level I expect from an indie developer.
As most of the gameplay depends on time based tasks, you’d hope that the control system is both accurate and easy to handle. Mostly it’s good and does exactly as you’d expect. But sometimes it makes you scream with frustration. The selection of adjacent tiles appears to have a mind of its own, and you nearly always have to drag out unnecessary objects to gather the required items. This leads to wasted time, loss of stars, and unwanted frustration. I can’t help but feel that this game would play better using a mouse and keyboard on a PC. Don’t let the controls put you off though, it’s something you adjust to, and become accustom to quickly.
Do you really want to come back for more?
Having spent hours of my spare time playing this game, you’d think I’d be a big advocate for its high replay value. As I’ve already mentioned, my desire to keep plugging away is because of the 1000 Gamerscore, and not a love for this annoying square protagonist. If you are not a completionist, I’d hazard that you’ll run through it several times, giving you around 8 hours of gaming time. If you are nuts like me, you’ll be rolling the dice, and this could last you between 15 hours to who knows, maybe weeks (if you are really unlucky).
I’m not entirely sure who this is aimed at. It’s not challenging enough to be considered a puzzle game, nor is it graphically detailed enough to allow you to sort out your items by their category, so it’s not a resource management game either. It’s one of those games that fills a nondescript genre, and can only be thought of as a filler title. Something that can mindlessly absorb hours of your life, without you even knowing about it. So, do I recommend it? Strangely, I do. For all its faults, and my hatred for Wilmot, it’s still a fun little game. If you pick it up just to try it out, you’ll have a good time, and the little niggles won’t get to you too much. But if you start this with that completion in mind, then you have just opened Pandora’s box, my friend. Nights will be lost, and you’ll awaken from your gaming stupor, greyer and angrier than you’ve ever been! Take control of your little white square, after all, that stock will not organise itself.
The fantasy genre is big business. Every facet of the media is saturated with different interpretations of what a great fantasy setting looks like, and each has its own characters and lore that must be studied to appreciate the world that they live in. With so many options available, it’s really challenging to pick out the bad apples from the rest of the bunch. You may struggle to find yourself something that resonates with your ideals and tastes. What I’m hoping to do is to give you an insight into my latest review game, and hope that it will inspire you to play it, removing any concern that you may purchase a terrible title.
Autumn’s Journey is a short visual novel (VN) from developers Apple Cider. This VN has been published by Ratalaika Games and makes up another addition to their ever-growing library of title in this genre. At only 41,000 words, this novel is around half the length of others in its field, but unlike some recent VNs that I have tried, this one concentrates solely on the plot, and decisions to keep you entertained. There isn’t a glimpse of a mini game or character stats to alter the path of the story.
Without spoiling it for you, I’ll give you a synopsis of the story. The tale takes place in a land known as Ishtera. It is populated by 2 races; Dragonkind (this is their homeland) and Heavenkind (are new to the kingdom). You control the female protagonist Auralee; she is an inspiring Knight from a backwards fishing village called Berri. One day she undertakes her routine checks when she encounters a mysterious person known as Kerr. After some lightheaded conversation she discovers that he is in fact an Earth Dragon who has lost his dragon form. Without hesitation Auralee decides that she must help Kerr find his form, begrudgingly he and a fellow dragon named Ilmari accept her help, and so begins their adventure. You discover the relationships they form, and the lore of the world that you exist in.
You may think, “why do I want to play a game where all I do is sit and read a story, surely that’s what a book is for?” I wouldn’t disagree, but what I have found is that the visual novel genre fills that gap between movies and books perfectly. Autumn’s Journey does an excellent job of creating its mystical and magical world with its combination of text, audio and visual elements. What’s great about this title is the characters do not take themselves too seriously. The relationship that is built up is one of fun and friendship, where most of the storyline focuses on how they develop as a group on their journey of discovery. This doesn’t mean that the world in which they exist is totally ignored. No, as small references are made throughout to help you understand the lore of this ancient land, and what makes this world tick.
Like with most VNs, this one has taken a large influence from Eastern culture and most of the art has a manga esque style. Because of the theme, Apple Cider have been given the freedom to create a dreamlike world that is colourful and unusual in its look. A mixture of earthy tones and vivid colours help to show the woodland aspect, whereas the bright colours enhances the magical air to the tale. All imagery is shown in still frames, with movement shown by characters disappearing from shot, and then reappearing when called upon. Emotion is shown through over the top facial expressions. Though the artistic concept is simple, it works, and feels like pictures that would accompany a traditional fantasy novel.
The emotional element is also represented through the use of audio, with both the music and sound effects helping to support this. You will hear a mixture of fun and jovial folksy music, and heavier sombre songs. Each work well with the text to help drive the narrative forward. As with most Eastern influenced games, the sound effects are effective, but they are repetitive, shrill and can get annoying after some time. Fortunately, as this story is so short, it staves off the annoyance, mostly.
VNs are one of the few games where you can progress and complete it with a cup of tea and cake in hand, that’s how simple the controls are. Limited controller use is required, with most of the action taking place when you are forced to choose between 2 options, this decision then changes the course of the plot.
As this is a Ratalaika Games published Visual novel, you are given the freedom to auto skip, and fast forward through any of the text that is presented. This makes finishing each playthrough a quick and simple task. Your 1000 Gamerscore can be unlocked within 1 hour of playtime, and all 3 endings can be seen using this method. Obviously, if you undertake this method, you will miss the whole story, so I recommend only using the skip function once you have completed your first playthrough. The game is around £4 to purchase, so for achievement hunters and lovers of a good book, this represents good value for money.
If you fancy a title that shows the friendship between 3 strangers building as they undertake an adventure together, then Autumn’s Journey is the game for you. A short and lighthearted affair that allows you to explore the lore of this strange land while enjoying the fantasy setting it all unfolds in. Do I recommend you try this? Yes, if you want a quick read of something that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Will Auralee become the Knight she has always inspired to be? Can Kerr find his dragon form? Why not grab a drink, sit down, and enjoy how this tale unfolds.
Doodle God Evolution is not a particularly good game. From starting the game to completing its various puzzles. It is a relatively uninspiring puzzle game. The game’s central premise is to combine multiple objects, elements, and other beings to form new ones. An example would be to mix water and wind to create a storm or a human and a sword to create a warrior. Creating a new object, element, or being helps you form new ones, progressing individual story arcs and challenges. Thus the puzzle element comes in to find the different combinations to complete stories and challenges. In a nutshell, this is the game.
Combining elements
A puzzling experience
Despite the potential in this puzzle mechanic, unfortunately, the mechanics are just dull. The games puzzle mechanics do not evolve nor get more interesting. I found myself playing a few levels than taking a break, with no real incentives to come back. Although it may be incredibly charming for kids, it will not suit a more vast audience. At best this is a puzzle game for children. Although this isn’t necessarily bad, its puzzle mechanics are uninteresting, making it not a particularly good kids game either.
However, it is worth mentioning that the game does have an interesting variety of puzzle stories and challenges. The primary mission is to be a god in combining elements to create the world and build industrialised society as we know it. It also has other challenges, such as killing the dragon and reinventing the world’s most remarkable technologies. The music is also very appealing with an adventurous ring to it. It does make you feel like a God, although with weak puzzle-solving powers. In this sense, as highlighted before, the game does have potential; unfortunately, its boring puzzle mechanics hold it back.
The games main sandbox
Furthermore, on the Xbox Series S were I tested the game, the graphics seemed not up to scratch and the controls where inadequate. To combine elements and other objects/ beings, each side of the controller controls a particular element making gameplay both fiddly and as a consequence, frustrating. However, this is most likely just a console problem. Thus, Doodle God Evolution is most likely better suited to mobile and smaller handheld devices with smaller screens boosting graphical fidelity and better controls that use touch rather than a controller. Nevertheless, this game should have had better optimisation for its console variants.
Verdict
All in all, Doodle God Evolution is an okay but not great game. Despite having promise, with great music and variety in challenges. Its rather uninspiring puzzle mechanics holds the game back. At best, this game is for kids and is suited on mobile and handheld devices.
Now, you may think it a little strange that I’m reviewing a game that has been out for 26 years. You probably think that there is little merit in highlighting its positives and negatives, and giving you an insight into my experiences with the title is a waste of both of our time. Possibly it is, but I downloaded NHL ’94 Rewind to relive a classic title that I played when it was first released, and hoping EA would somehow modernise the gameplay to be more palatable for the modern gamer.
Having been developed by EA Vancouver and published by Electronic Arts, this sports title has long been considered one of the greatest hockey games to have existed. In its heyday it captured the feel and the atmosphere of the fast-paced nature of the sport, allowing avid fans to transport themselves to the ice, hoping and praying that they would get through the season playoffs, eventually lifting the pinnacle that is the Stanley Cup. With all the recent remastered and reimagined games that have been unleashed on the market, it was both a shock, and a pleasant surprise that EA added NHL ’94 Rewind in its original state.
My first impressions when I loaded into this retro sporting classic, was a nostalgia fuelled joy that quickly changed to a realisation that it had aged as badly as I have. On a smaller screen the harsh pixelated imagery may not have looked so bad, but on anything that is 40 inches and above, it not only hurts the eyes but also the soul. EA retained the basic control system, and allowed for both classic and modern advertising to be used in every game. This added to the original feeling, and fuelled the retro nature.
Unlike modern day sports titles, the early attempts were very basic. Effectively, you could pick your favourite team, select from a few game modes, and compete against a friend locally, or against the usually unbalanced computer opponent. This is exactly how NHL ’94 Rewind is constructed, which makes for a poor experience if you want to delve deep into the team makeup, and feel you can make a difference with player knowledge and tactical nuance. However, it’s fantastic if you want to jump into the action, and simply start playing a game.
So, has the gameplay held up to modern-day standards? Unfortunately, no! It’s clunky, unresponsive, and painfully disconnected. Players skate around like headless chickens (though I think chickens would be more responsive), scoring a goal is more luck than judgment, and when you eventually get the puck into the net, it feels like you have reached the summit of Everest. The penalty system is inconsistent and inaccurate, and each team’s skill level appears to have little to no impact on how well they play. In short, like most things that are remembered through rose-tinted spectacles, they should not be revisited without having some modern gaming polish applied.
Graphically it has retained that classic 16-Bit look, with rough, brash images that contain few details, yet somehow represent the object or person it intends to portray. Though this is an abomination for the eyes, and is a bit of a joke being played on a modern day TV or monitor, it runs smoothly with only minor issues observed. The classic use of advertising boards was a clever move by EA, it kept the gameplay on point with the original era. If you played this during your childhood, you’ll be transported back to the 90s, where you’ll relive all the wonderful memories that the original created.
The best part of this title has to be the crass audio that is played over the stadium tannoy system. Classic sports songs like “The Charge” on organ blare out, as you “Faceoff” with your opponent. The crowds scream and boo as you tackle and foul one another, and the blades make a delightful crunching sound as they slice through the ice. Though the audio is dated, it’s somehow still realistic and relevant.
The controls and User Interface are terrible and will frustrate you at every twist and turn. The control mapping should have been implemented with more finesse. The developers should have considered how a modern day controller and gamer work together compared with the earlier simpler consoles. Every task was an effort, and the controller issues fuelled the luck element that forms the backbone to both the success and failure faced during every game.
One of the driving factors behind me playing this game after all these years was the impression that this would be a simple 1000 Gamerscore. How wrong I was! This wasn’t because the tasks were challenging, because they really aren’t. The aforementioned finer issues made the simplest of objectives difficult to achieve. The one major benefit of this problem is that it increases the replay value, but this is at the cost of much of the enjoyment factor.
The overall tone of this review is one of disappointment and frustration, and unfortunately this is how I felt after my time with this game. I didn’t expect it to play, or feel like a modern day title, I just hoped that it would play a lot better than it did. If the developers worked on the control system, then you’d have a fun and simple sports title that oozes retro charm, opposed to a frustrating mess that makes you question your childhood gaming experiences. Do I recommend this? Yes, but only to avid fans of the sport, and the original game. Rose-tinted specs are a dangerous thing, and the only saving grace was that this was free to download as part of the Gamepass subscription service, meaning that reliving my youth was just about worth it.
The Nintendo Switch is home to many slam-dunk titles. Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, and Animal Crossing New Horizons are just a few of the many examples of fantastic games that are regarded as some of Nintendo’s best titles in their large ever expanding library. With the Switch having so many well received games it’s only natural that some titles may be missed. One such experience that many Nintendo fans may have overlooked is none other than Captain Toad Treasure Tracker. Although it may not be a masterpiece such as the previously mentioned games, it is certainly an enjoyable experience with a plethora of content that will keep players entertained throughout its runtime.
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is a spin off of side missions in Super Mario 3D World in which the player navigates the slow Captain Toad around a small map. The player uses the camera as well as some motion controls to locate collectables with a gameplay structure based more on puzzle solving instead of the platforming style Mario games are known for. Although I found the Captain Toad levels to be a fun distraction within the main game of 3D World, I never saw it as anything more than just a small side experience. When I saw Captain Toad was getting his own game, I was very skeptical. Could a collectable driven game with a slow character who can’t even jump be enjoyable? As it turns out, yes it can.
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker makes up for its slower gameplay by having small stages to explore. Most levels can be beaten in under a minute, and none of the levels take longer than five minutes. The main goal of each stage is to navigate Captain Toad to the star at the end of each stage. Each level also has three gems hidden throughout, a bonus challenge that can only be discovered after beating the level, and a mode to locate a tiny 8-bit Toad hidden somewhere on the stage. Although these are optional, a certain number of gems are needed to unlock missions that are required to progress. The game has over 70 missions separated into three episodes, as well as a bonus set of levels. The first two episodes are both 18 levels, and the third level and bonus missions offer a larger selection.
The amount of content is perfect. In my playthrough I collected all of the gems, and completed the hidden challenge before moving on. Playing every mission this way never hit a point for me where I had my fill of the game. Levels were fast enough where I rarely felt I was spending too much time on one mission, but challenging enough for completing a level to feel rewarding. Each level has very unique designs and layouts, but still stay true to the aesthetics of 3D World, and Odyssey that most of the games missions are based on. The music fits each stage very well, but most of the tracks are reused from 3D World. Overall each level feels impressive. Missions that use similar aesthetics have gameplay elements or map layouts that allow each stage to stand on their own and feel unique. I found this to be a nice surprise considering that 3D World struggled in this aspect despite using similar world types.
Despite the simple mechanics, there is a wide variety of stage types. Some missions require looking at the map from multiple angels to determine where collectibles may be hidden. While others are based more on the movement mechanics, creating a compelling platformer level even without the ability to jump. They even have missions that are akin to stealth games where you have to sneak passed enemies without being detected. Although most puzzles within the game are not very difficult to solve, there are enough challenging objectives sprinkled in to keep the game entertaining throughout without being annoyingly difficult.
My favorite objective in each stage is certainly the challenge time the game asks you to complete after you find all three gems, as well as complete the bonus objective in each stage. The challenge time in some stages feel as though the only way to beat the mission fast enough is to beat it in the lowest amount of time that is physically possible. A lot of my successful runs felt as though it was actually impossible to get a lower time. Combine that with the fact that some of these times require perfect movement and execution makes the challenge time mode fairly challenging and extremely satisficing
Although I found this puzzle platformer to be a fantastic yet simple experience the game does have its issues. This game was certainly designed around the concept of completing the game 100%. Sadly, unlike the rest of the game, the Pixel Toad hide and seek mode gets old quick. The mode started off as a fun enough side mission to find a tiny 8-bit Toad hidden on each stage. A problem arises however as the games levels get larger and more dynamic. Finding Toad in the smaller stages that are prevalent through the beginning of the game ranged from fine to a little annoying. Once the second episode starts however, the mode starts to eat more and more of your time as the levels get larger. It just turns into an obnoxious and frustrating chore that you have to complete if you want to 100% the game.
This game starts to lose its luster when missions feel as though the objective is uncomeatable. The Pixel Toad missions certainly gave me this feeling the most, but even searching for collectables had moments like this. Some missions hidden objectives may be to find a golden mushroom hidden invisibly underground that you have to walk over to reveal. Most of these I either found on accident, or by just walking on every part of the map until I ran into its hiding spot. I didn’t mind looking for the mushroom like this, but sometimes I would miss the opaque stem that Toad would have to pull in order to get the collectible. This would cause me to spend way too much time looking for it. Once you are stuck in a situation where it feels as though you’ve done every possible option to find something and have still come up with nothing, the mission can stop being fun.
The lack of touch controls the original Wii U version of the game had requires gyro controls to aim a pointer at different stage elements to move them. Although this sounds like it would be much worse than the touch screen, I encountered very few moments where the gyro controls felt restrictive, but they certainly still appeared.
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker offers a unique puzzle experience that is full of content and compelling missions that can hook the player into saying “just one more level” over and over again. Although the game certainly has its moments where gameplay can get slow and frustrating, especially with the Pixel Toad missions, the overall experience is not ruined by these moments. Captain Toad is a fast and rewarding puzzle platformer game that has gone underappreciated on the Switch. It is the perfect game to pick up while waiting for Nintendo to release their more anticipated titles.
Having just reviewed Wingspan, the prospect of playing another successful board game port had me champing at the bit. The game of Evolution, unsurprisingly, is a card game that revolves around the idea of competing and surviving in a habitat while simultaneously battling the prospect of extinction. The goal is to consume the most food and grow your animals’ population as your opponent tries to do the same. Unfortunately, where Wingspan’s mechanics and playability shone through in its PC port, Evolution struggles to do the same, ultimately defined by a bug-laden port with repetitive gameplay.
After a helpful tutorial, I feel like I have a solid grasp on the game. In Evolution, you draw from a singular, shared deck, against a number of players (up to 4), and try to gather the most food tokens. From the deck you draw trait cards which help determine characteristics about the animals you’ve played. For instance, you can turn your animal into a “Carnivore” by playing that card. Your animal, instead of eating food from the center, preys on other players’ animal cards and eliminates them from the board. Alternatively, you could play a trait card that helps protect your animals from carnivores such as the “Climbing” card, which forces any opposing carnivores to have the same trait applied to attack you.
In the first phase of each turn, you play trait cards into the center and turn them into food. Each card has a numerical value in the top left corner that defines how much food they add to the pool. Note that you lose this trait card permanently, so choose wisely. This is followed by a round of feeding, and, if any carnivores are played, attacking. You are then granted points based on the amount of food you consumed from the communal pile and points for successful carnivorous attacks.
I personally find balancing to be one of the most important aspects for board games, and Evolution mostly staves off these issues by having you draw from a single deck, but in 4 player matches it is nearly impossible to determine a winning strategy. For nearly every card you can play, there is an effective counter. That’s fair. This is probably preferable to the opposite situation where a counter doesn’t exist, but in big games against AI, the outcome begins to feel fairly random. When I try to play a defensive strategy and protect my flanking cards via my card in the middle, an AI inevitably gets the “Ambush” card and crushes my hopes and dreams. The next round, playing now for population growth, the AI seems to focus its carnivorous attacks solely on my animals.
It never felt like I was in a spot where I was in control of my own destiny. Instead, the game felt much like crossing my fingers each round that I would be ignored by the other players. I was a passive participant in the game.
Fine. That’s all well and good, maybe that’s the way that Evolution is meant to be played. Perhaps, I’m just not very good at the game. But, by the 6th or 7th game, I’m starting to feel like there is only a handful of viable strategies in a seemingly complex game. There seems to be a massive advantage to playing at least one “Carnivore,” as there aren’t many effective ways to completely defend yourself from such attacks, and they require the other player to waste trait slots on their animals without much added benefit. It’s unlikely you ever find yourself in a situation where your potential prey are all perfectly defended.
Also by this point, I’ve crashed to desktop twice. Even when entering my username after the tutorial, the game completely seizes up. For what seems to be a fairly straightforward port, Evolution is disproportionately plagued by bugs. It’s not just my experience either. Sifting through other reviews reveals this to be a fairly common occurrence. I’m not sure what’s causing the problem here. The port is fairly simple. The UI even seems downright utilitarian—reminiscent of games that come preinstalled on computers of days gone by like Minesweeper or Full Tilt! Pinball.
For me, by the time I encounter my third bug, my time in Evolution has come to an end. With my interest already waning, these glitches are the final nail in the coffin. To be fair, I can imagine there are plenty of people out there who might love this game, but I can’t recommend it over the other quality board game ports that are available. Once the small issues are ironed out, Evolution could fill-in a niche spot for board game fanatics, but as it is even diehard fans would be hard pressed to ignore the problems.
For the many fans of Point and Click, first-person adventures, Myst and Riven have been mainstay titles in their libraries. These games are fantastic at transporting you to a mysterious, strange world with complex problems to overcome, and beautiful worlds to explore. What these games don’t do with their serious take on the genre is allow for new gamers of this current generation to slip into the action with a bright and vivid colour palette and accessible early gaming puzzles to overcome. Call of the Sea by developers Out of the Blue, and published by Raw Fury takes all the best bits from these major titles, but presents them in a much more user friendly way, with a Zelda Wind Waker/Sea of Thieves style world to explore.
The game itself follows the story of the female protagonist Norah, she wants to find answers to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of her husband Harry, who is known to her as her “old pal”. He undertook a journey to find a remedy to Norah’s family disease and leaves no rock unturned while trying to find a solution. Unfortunately, his adventure has taken a turn for the worse, and now it is you saving him, and not the other way around.
The premise of the game is simple. You must explore a mysterious, yet beautiful island that is located off the coast of Tahiti. This landmass that you must explore is unchartered, and the locals refuse to name it. However, you must overcome the obvious signs to stay away, and venture deep into its jungle environment. The game plays out in a first-person perspective where you must search for clues in the surrounding areas, and piece together the small bits of information so you can solve the many puzzles you encounter. The problems that must be overcome to progress the story are usually straightforward, with solutions and hints staring you in the face. But more complex moments are found when you attempt to unlock the secrets of the island. Many of these types of games require spatial awareness and a high degree of logical thinking. Therefore, they may be out of the reach of inexperienced gamers, however, the mixture of puzzling difficulties makes Call of the Sea much more accessible for a wider ranging audience.
While the simplicity of most of the puzzles, it may be dumbed down too much for veteran gamers. But I believe there is enough to keep everyone entertained. What was also fantastic about this game was the pace at which both the story progressed and how the plot unfolded. Clever use of photographs and letters between the pair helped to show both sides of the relationship. As the player, you become engrossed with how the plot unfolds, and the dynamic between the two. You forget that our female lead character is unwell, but small reminders sharply focus you on the dangers they both face. It’s brilliantly written and takes you on a journey of discovery and on an emotional roller-coaster.
Myst and Riven are renowned for being beautiful and atmospheric titles. Whenever I see a game in this genre, I hope that it retains some of these qualities. Fortunately, Call of the Sea does! Wandering around this stunning island you will discover a variety of biomes from; craggy rocks, lush forests, dense marshes and gorgeous beaches. The vivid colour palette gives the world a wondrous and alluring look, where every element is interesting and has a magical undertone. I loved every bit of this puzzling adventure, and the developers have created a glorious environment to lose yourself in.
If you want an example of a game that has near perfect audio, then look no further! The music, sound effects, and acting work in perfect harmony to deliver the story and it envelops you in the world that you are exploring. The music creates upbeat and fun moments, which are immediately juxtaposed with sombre and minor tones that create a serious and ominous atmosphere. The sound effects breathe life into this slow-paced intellectual title, which makes you smile as each different location has its own unique sounds. Norah is voiced by Cissy Jones from Firewatch and Walking Dead Season One. Her tone and delivery of her lines brings warmth and emotion to help build a report with the female protagonist. The audio is a treat, and sounds spectacular through your TV, but for the best experience I recommend playing exclusively with headphones.
Because of the genre of game, most of the action is played out as fast or as slow as you like, meaning that the complexity of the control set up is not an issue. Fortunately, Out of the Blue has kept things simple, so learning the basics is easy to achieve. On the whole, the controls work very well, but I’d still say that this would play better with a mouse and keyboard. At points you will edge towards the item you want to interact with, still finding that you cannot select it. These are the limitations that console gamers accept, and though it was a little annoying, it didn’t break the game, nor did it ruin the immersive nature of the title.
Each chapter you take on is set in a small enclosed area of the island where you are free to revisit, and replay each at your leisure. There are many hidden items, documents, and photos dotted around the landscape, so collecting these will be a challenge the first time that you play. This requirement to find everything to obtain the 100% completion status will not be of interest for everyone, but as each chapter can be selected freely, I believe that most gamers will return to try to find all the secrets that eluded them first time around. At the time of writing this review, Call of the Sea is free to play as part of the Xbox Gamepass subscription, or is available to purchase at around £17. Both options provide great value for money, and I believe you’ll need around 7 to 10 hours to complete this if you don’t use a guide.
If you are looking for an interesting title that allows you to play at your own pace, and lose yourself in the beautiful world it’s set in, then look no further than this game. A wonderful story with great voice work awaits anybody that wishes to take this on. You won’t be surprised when I recommend that you give this a go! Can you help Norah overcome the variety of puzzles that block her progress? Will you be able rescue her “old pal”, and in the process save herself? Take on this adventure and see for yourself.
Young readers may not know the joys and pain of getting so blindingly drunk that the world turns into a blur, and you become a monster. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have little on most people when they’ve had a skinful of ale, and my latest review title aims to show this experience. Drunken Fist by developers DEKLAZON and Eastasiasoft Limited, and published by the latter, is a 3D drunken-physics, beat ’em up, action game. The aim of this title is to make it home, fighting everyone while attempting to stay firmly on your feet.
The gameplay spans 7 small stages where you must overcome an increasing number of enemies, all while searching for food and drink to consume. You control a stumbling mess of a man who; slides, flaps and trips down the road. Each level starts with a set of objectives clearly shown in the top right corner of the screen. You must destroy a set amount of; punks, hipsters, jocks, and more on your way to achieving victory and making it to the sanctuary of your front door.
The unnamed drunken hero has limited statistics that you must observe, but the few that he has makes him a needy, annoying, buffoon. Like most drunk people, he has a bladder the size of a pea, and constantly needs to relieve himself where he stands. This urine magically pools on the floor and is slipperier than an eel. If used correctly, it creates an amusing banana skin effect that floors any opponent. Alongside the desire to urinate, he must devour burgers he finds on the floor to fill his health bar, and top up his alcohol level with the bottles of wine found strewn around the bins, and on the ground. This guy has no standards! Eating from the floor and drinking wine found in a bin is even below my level of acceptance, yet this guy loves to fill his body with discarded waste.
Drunken Fist is an amusing insight into how people behave when inebriated. The fighting isn’t complicated, and is usually over in a couple of hits, but when you miss, and it goes wrong, the outcome is hilarious. The lead character falls at the slightest of nudges, so when you attempt and miss with a mighty Haymaker, the inevitable tumble into the gutter shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. This drunken-physics element forms the backbone for all the action. Walk or run too fast, you’ll fall. Step off the curb too quickly, yep you’re on your behind again. Step on your pee, and you better believe that’s a one-way ticket to floorsville, population, you! You spend most of your time; laughing, fighting, and getting up off the ground.
The floppy and uneasy nature of the hero makes moving and completing most tasks frustrating, it’s like trying to put clothes on a toddler who’s having a tantrum. I was glad that the gameplay difficulty was low. The lack of a challenge wasn’t a problem for me, it allowed me the freedom to act like an A-hole, and not worry about the consequences.
Graphically, it personifies the indie title look, as it has a simple artistry with an interesting yet basic landscape. The physics style and look reminded me of Human Fall Flat, but was not as polished. A dark colour palette and tone, enhance the twilight atmosphere, and the blurred imagery represents a drunk person’s outlook on life perfectly.
The audio reminded me of the classic side-scrolling beat ’em ups such as Streets of Rage. Synthesised music, and over the top sound effects accompanies all the action. It felt like a badly dubbed Chinese martial arts film. It was outrageous, but I loved it.
For a drunk who can barely stand up, he has a lot of different moves that he can perform. He can; kick, throw punches, complete combos, and more. There is a lot to master, yet it’s easy to pick up and learn. The developers have been too generous with the special attack ability. The bar fills too quickly, and landing this attack knocks out your foes instantly, making you the most powerful drunk to ever exist. Apart from this needing a minor tweak, the gameplay is well balanced, and the controls are responsive enough.
The simplicity of this title and the lack of difficulty impacts the replay value. All achievements are unlocked within 1 hour of playing, and once you’ve finished the 7th level there isn’t much else to do. You are free to replay the game as much as you wish, punching as many people as you see fit. I think the developers missed a trick when they; failed to mix up the objectives, didn’t implement an NG+ mode, or mix neutral NPCs into the action. Any of these things would have added a new layer to the gameplay, and would have increased the desire to want to return.
Physics-based games aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. They are harder to master, and you always have to consider your actions. This adds a frustrating element to the gameplay, but it is also rewarding when you achieve perfection. Though Drunken Fist has its shortcomings, it’s an enjoyable title to play, even if it is only for a short amount of time. Do I recommend it? Yes. I laughed throughout and thoroughly enjoyed how DEKLAZON captured the drunken nature of the lead character. Can you fight off the people that stand in your way and make it home? 7 levels, lots of burgers, alcohol and fighting stand between you and success.
Point and click titles have been slowly dripping their way onto the console platform, allowing this player base the opportunity to try out what has long been considered a PC genre. Whenever I’m offered the chance to review a point and click game on Xbox, I’m a little reserved about the idea. It’s not because I don’t like to play them quite the opposite. I enjoy the relaxed and laid back nature of the action, but I have an issue with the control system when it’s not on a PC. For me, at least, the use of a mouse and keyboard works better with the User Interface, and this makes for a more enjoyable experience. Can my time with Goetia prove me wrong? Will it be as immersive with a controller? Will I stop posing questions like this? Who knows, but these questions and more were answered as I delved further into my playthrough.
Developed and Published by Forever Entertainment SA, this point and click game focuses its efforts on unravelling the mysteries of a supernatural horror story. You play the part of Abigail Blackwood; she awakes as a spirit some years after her death. This young girl remembers the world in which she lived, and the family house that you must explore, Blackwood Manor. The world that she now sees is very different, and she has no memories or idea of what has transpired across the 40 years since her untimely demise.
As the story unfolds, you discover that Abigail’s family were obsessed with mysticism and fanatical experiments. Her father messed with powers that he shouldn’t, and perhaps it is these forces that awoke her from her slumber, and dragged her back into the land of the living. You must piece together all the clues, searching every room and return to unsolved problems when you have acquired new powers. What was once muddled and confusing will then become clear, and mysterious problems will be solved.
The game plays out a slow pace, with information unfolding before your eyes in a timely fashion. The complexity and style of the puzzles vary, and though some are straightforward to solve, others will leave you scratching your head while you search for a solution. I wouldn’t say this is is ideal for new players to the genre, but if you fall into that category, I suggest practise and plenty of logical thinking will help to get you to the finale. Forever Entertainment SA has relied partly on its narrative to drive this game forward. With a dark and unnerving plot that makes for uneasy reading, it really emphasises the creepy nature of this horror supernatural themed game. However, the winning elements of this title, and what ensures that the characters and plot are brought to life, is the use of atmospheric audio and grainy imagery.
Each backdrop comprises a still image that you are free to explore and investigate. The mixture of sepia and earthy tones and a grainy filter give the visuals a classic old-school Polaroid style. This not only made the game appear darker and more sinister, it was also in keeping with the era that the story is set. I have perfectly good vision, but I struggled to read a lot of the text when it was first presented to me. Fortunately, the developers have allowed you to zoom closer when you view information in your journal. Though the handwritten documents suited the game, there should have been an option to read the text in a clearer and larger modern format.
Now, I really liked the visuals for this. They were simple, and enjoyable to look at, but what stole the show for me was the audio. The game opens with a statement that the gameplay is best experienced with headphones, and the developers weren’t lying. An eerie soundtrack will send chills down your spine. Creaking floorboards and doors, the sound of paper rustling, books slamming shut, and audible clues for puzzles all helped to build the suspense. It all works brilliantly and keeps the theme alive throughout.
As you may recall (if you can’t, you have a really short memory), my gripe with point and click games on console is the control system, namely the lack of keyboard and mouse finesse. Unfortunately, this issue reared its ugly head in Goetia as well. When selecting clues, you could not back out using the B button. Instead, you had to move the cursor over the X to back out. All the cursor movements felt slow and arduous, and broke the immersion created by the well worked aesthetics. This would work much better on a PC and be a much more enjoyable experience. I have to say that this isn’t a fault of the game, but I wanted you to be aware before you jump in and start playing. Other than this problem, the User Interface is clean, crisp, and well laid out. The button mapping is well organised, and this portion works as well as if it was mapped for a keyboard.
Because of the complexity of the puzzles, and the engrossing nature of the narrative, Goetia has both a lengthy game time, and a good replay value. A small list of achievements can be unlocked during your time with the game, and your only limitation to obtaining them all, is; time and a lack of logical thoughts. At the time of writing this review the final achievement worth 200 Gamerscore is bugged, but it will be addressed in the near future, so don’t let this put you off.
Other than the obvious issues I had with the controller, I loved my time playing this game. Forever Entertainment SA have created an interesting and dark story that will keep you hooked from the beginning to the end. Do I recommend that you play this? Of course! Heed the developers’ advice; “play in a dark and quiet room with headphones on for the best experience.” Do this and you will be taken on a supernatural horror trip like no other. Find all the clues, and help Abigail answer the many questions she faces.
I remember gaming in the 90s, and the shear enjoyment that consoles gave me as a teenager. I can recall the rumours, and the hype that surrounded the Sega Saturn. As a young man I should have been put off by the price tag, but the draw of Sega made me determined to own the next big thing. One of the launch titles that I was obsessed with was Panzer Dragoon; the colourful world, amazing audio and the lore that surrounded the gameplay was fantastic. The series is synonymous with the Sega franchise, so when I heard that a remake was being worked on for modern consoles, I admit I was giddy with excitement.
Panzer Dragoon Remake has been developed by MegaPixel Studio S.A. and published by Forever Entertainment S.A. this new version of the game retains the soul, and arcade playstyle, while allowing its new, and existing fans to enjoy a polished environment, and smooth cut scenes. Now, I remember playing through this as a teenager, but I couldn’t recall the fundamentals of the storyline, or the characters. The cinematic does very little to clarify this, so let me give you a quick overview. You play the role of Keil Fluge (thank you Wikipedia), he is a member of a hunting party who observes a fight between 2 dragons, a black and a blue one. The rider of the blue dragon is mortally wounded in battle, and his last dying wish is that you complete his mission, and destroy the black prototype dragon, thus begins your adventure. The story is based in a post apocalyptic world, where the empire uses the technology of the ‘Ancients’ to maintain power. The machines they created were used for both war and work, and are used against you throughout to prevent you from completing your objectives.
A 3D shoot ‘em up, adventure game that asks the player to complete 7 short, but hectic episodes. You fly through each level on a preordained path. Just like a roller coaster, once you are strapped into your seat, you can’t get off until the ride is over, so think of each playthrough as one ride on this post apocalyptic roller coaster of doom. 6 of the 7 stages asks you to dodge, float, and destroy any enemies you face. You are armed with a gun that has two settings; single fire with an auto aim function, and when unlocked, you can use rapid fire. At the end of each chapter you must face a different boss. Each of these gigantic foes has its strengths and weaknesses, it is up to you to work out the best way to take down each opponent, while surviving the fight. 99% of the time, if you simple spam the fire button, you will be victorious, with little risk to your life.
Once you have finished an episode you are awarded credits, these are used to allow you to continue if you die (this won’t happen that often). The game has 3 difficulty settings; easy, medium, and hard. If you play without using cheats, or the auto aim function, the hard mode is brutal, and you will have to have the reactions of a cat, and accuracy of a sniper to survive the full 7 levels. Things can be made much easier with a classic arcade hack known as god mode. With this activated, you can float through each stage taking no damage, and completing your run with little skill required, and no stress incurred. It’s a great mode if you want to observe the world around you, and to take in the old-school art style.
As the game runs on a rail with no ability to control the path of your flight, some players will not like this restrictive approach. It can frustrate, especially when you crash into objects, and your opponents fly out of sight. The developers have solved some of these issues by allowing you to pan around your own body with 4 different camera angles. Though it’s not perfect, it allows you to observe your surroundings, and carry on blasting your foes.
Though the game has been enhanced for next gen gaming, and looks much more polished than it did in the 90s, it still retains much of the Sega charm that we have all come to love. Bold colours, massive landscapes, and unusual character models make up the core elements of the art style. A distinct Asian influence can be seen, with the protagonist having an obvious Samurai style. The fast-paced nature of the gameplay makes it hard to follow all the action, and at times the amount of enemies was overwhelming and hard to follow. Even with so much going on, I suffered no issues, and there were no drops in frame rate. It won’t wow modern audiences, but I had to admire how improved it was over the original, and I was in awe of how good the game looked compared to many other titles that were released in the mid 90s. If you have played the original, you will notice that there is a lack of reflections in the water, and the shadow effects have been reduced. I also noted that the new version is much brighter and colourful than the original. It doesn’t affect the gameplay, but it’s odd that a definitive art style has been eliminated from the latest version.
When you combine the words; arcade and Sega in the same sentence, you know that you are going to be in for an overwhelming audio. The sound effects are basic, and sound like they belong in the Sci-fi genre. Shots from your gun fly across the screen with a whining squeal, the flap of your dragon’s wing makes a delightful whooshing noise as it flaps through the sky. The sound effects bring the game to life, this combined with the upbeat, and folksy style musical score gives Panzer Dragoon Remake a sense of both an old world fantasy setting, and dreamlike futuristic world.
Because you have no major control over what your dragon does, over than the occasional bit of dodging and weaving, the control system is easy to pick up and learn. The panning of the camera is easy to perform, with several buttons mapped to complete this task. Shooting is also a simple task, the only downside to the controls is the lack of being able to alter them during a playthrough. Any setting changes must be implemented before you start your journey, which can annoy you to begin with, but once you have your setup completed, it matters not.
It takes approximately 1 hour to complete all the episodes, and the action repeats the same sequence no matter the difficulty. The bosses will not challenge you, and once you’ve completed the game once, there is little reason to want to return. Yet, you still will want to play again! The arcade nature of the game gets under your skin, and the pace at which you can finish a run will inspire you to return. Each episode has a hit percentage for you to try to improve on, and the addition of the cheat modes adds a fun element to the gameplay. The achievement list is easy to unlock except for the final achievement, which requires a ridiculous 100 hours game time to add to your Gamerscore. The replay value is limited, but the action is fun and addictive.
I had to be careful when I reviewed this to ensure I wasn’t biased as I love the franchise. What I found was an enjoyable, nostalgia filled game, but it wasn’t perfect by any stretch. The graphics look great, yet the developers ripped out a part of its soul when they took away the shadows and reflections. The audio is fantastic, and the controls make this arcade game easy to play. Do I recommend that you play this? Yes! If you have played the original, then you will undoubtedly love it. If you are new to the franchise, then you will enjoy a fast-paced shooter that will transport you to one of the best 90s titles. Though it doesn’t keep all the heart and soul of the original, its new polished look does a darn good job at allowing new gamers to experience a classic Sega title.
