Clearing out more backlog stuff. BACKGROUND:
This was one of the free games in the No Gravity Games 12 Days of Christmas giveaway I talked about in my post on Powertris. Like that game, I was inclined to play this immediately because it looked like a puzzle game. PLOT: An apparently sentient comet/planetoid loses their cat to an evil black hole and now must venture the cosmos to rescue the critter. They now must follow an inexplicable trail of pawprints to find their way to the cat. That's really as deep as the story goes, as after the initial cutscene, the story is never addressed again, let alone resolved. I don't really care either way, as the gameplay mattered to me more in the end. PRESENTATION: The game has a cute art style with simple 2D objects and pretty colors and patterns for all the celestial bodies and the starry background. It's quite pleasant to look at. There's also an alternate style where you can have everything be a minimalist black-and-white aesthetic, though I didn't use that as much given the white background was too much for my eyes. You can also customize the comet's trajectory line and tail to have different colors, which is neat. The music is on the super chill side, which goes well with a puzzle game you play at your own pace. Again, I typically play my own stuff with games like this, so I didn't listen to the soundtrack a lot. GAMEPLAY: Graviter is a puzzle game where you guide the comet's path and collect all the pawprints in each level. The way you control the comet's path is by manipulating the various celestial bodies in your path and using their gravitational pull to change the comet's trajectory. Now, that might sound insanely complicated, but rest assured, you will not need to use calculus or know Kepler's laws of planetary motion to solve any puzzle in this game. The comet's trajectory is visible at all times, and it's a matter of playing around with what's on the level to see how it changes. That said, I wouldn't call the game particularly intuitive, either. More often than not, figuring out how the comet will move is a matter of trial and error, which ultimately won't teach you how things work. As such, the learning curve of the game is pretty steep, and I feel like expanding the tutorial to properly illustrate how exactly the comet's movement is influenced by different variables would have been beneficial. The celestial bodies in each level can be manipulated in different ways depending on their icon. Some can be moved freely in the 2D plane within a specified radius, others can have their size adjusted, and some planets can be fully toggled to either exist or not exist. There are also occasionally objects in the level that are fixed, meaning you have to take their gravitational influence into account. Some of these fixed objects emit a strange repulsive force, which can be tricky to deal with. As far as real-world physics goes, Graviter gets a lot of stuff right. Larger objects exert a greater gravitational force (since it's directly proportional to mass), gravity's influence lessens the faster the comet is moving and the further the comet is, and you can pull off slingshot maneuvers not unlike the ones used by space agencies in real life. Of course, the game takes liberties so that it's playable, but I'm nonetheless impressed by the accuracy of certain interactions. Some levels also have barriers you have to navigate around. Some are breakable, but to go through them, the comet needs to build up enough speed from the gravitational pull of nearby objects. Others are simply impenetrable, and if the comet collides with them, the level restarts. You also have to restart if the comet drifts too far away or slams into a celestial body. A key mechanic available to you is the ability to pause the comet's movement. While paused, you can adjust elements in the level to influence the comet's trajectory as you would at the start. Once you're happy with your adjustments, you can resume, and the comet will move along the new trajectory you've set up. Many of the levels limit the number of pauses you can use, which lessens the margin of error. I found that a lot of the levels that use the pause require precise timing. This makes puzzles where the comet is moving ridiculously fast to be incredibly demanding, which can be frustrating at times (especially if the level has a pause limit). An option to slow things down to make timing more lenient would be nice; I'm no stranger to timing-based games, but I can see this being a major hurdle to other players who may be playing this game expecting only to use their brains and not their reflexes. There are about 100 levels in total (including the tutorial levels), and they can range from fairly easy to incredibly difficult. The more challenging levels can be tricky for a lot of reasons, from the aforementioned precise timing requirement, the type of planets available (levels with only the on-off planets are particularly rough), the number of celestial bodies you have to account for, and the abundance of barriers. You really have to try a lot of things to get through these tough levels, and while it's satisfying to get the solution in the end, it's a real test of patience. Surprisingly, many of the levels are open-ended in terms of how you can solve them. You don't have to collect the pawprints in a set order or all in one go, so it's possible to have multiple solutions to one level where you collect everything in different sequences. Plus, the way the gravity of multiple objects can influence the comet's path can vary greatly, and that leads to a lot of variances in terms of what can happen. It's always fun to be able to solve puzzles your own way, and that's possible in some form here. Beating levels awards you with coins that you can spend in the Extras shop. Here is where you can buy custom colors for the comet trajectory and tail, as well as extra pauses and level skips. Extra pauses are helpful in levels with limited pause counts, as they give you some room to experiment or make mistakes. Level skips are there if you just want to move on from a level because you've been stuck on it for too long. VERDICT: Graviter's puzzles being based on manipulating gravity is a standout concept in my eyes, and the game offers a lot of levels as well as a decent helping of mechanics that showcase the idea well. My issues with the timing-based aspects and the trial-and-error nature of the game aside, I thought this was a respectably challenging puzzle game, and I quite liked the degree of freedom you had in tackling the puzzles. If you're looking for a puzzle game that's one-of-a-kind, Graviter is one to check out. I don't know if there's anything else quite like it out there. That said, some of the puzzles here are not for the impatient, and I would be wary if you have trouble with timing-based challenges. Here's the Steam version. A demo is available on this page, should you wish to try the game for yourself: Graviter on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
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For those who aren't aware, the FIFA Women's World Cup is going on right now. This is my feeble attempt at picking out a read that's kind of related to that. BACKGROUND:
I'm sure you're already tired of me saying "I haven't heard of this one" a thousand different ways, so let's just move onto the main section. SUMMARY: DAYS is the story of Tsukushi Tsukamoto, a high school freshman who just got accepted into Seiseki High School. Shortly before the first day, he is cornered by two bullies, but he's then saved by Jin Kazama (no, not the dude from Tekken). Jin's a bit of an eccentric character, but he treats Tsukushi as a friend and even invites him to a futsal game. Grateful to have a friend and eager to please, Tsukushi goes out of his way to join Jin, but it becomes immediately apparent that he doesn't have the stamina or the coordination for the sport. Despite the visible struggle, Tsukushi has a blast, so much so that he decides to join Seiseki's soccer club along with Jin. What he didn't know was that the school's soccer club is actually quite renowned, so the training is rigorous and the competition is stiff. Most of the volume is about Tsukushi's first few training sessions, where his ability to keep up is questioned, yet his persistence is admired in a sense. Tsukushi's quite the protagonist to me. He's incredibly shy, is a major klutz (highlighted in his first ever futsal game when he accepts Jin's offer), and is very self-conscious about most things. I find myself wincing at how he handles many social situations, and I say that as someone who's terribly awkward in their own right. He gets a lot of flak for his awkwardness throughout the book, and I feel for the guy. That said, it's no question that the kid has a big heart given how he views his loved ones and how his motivations are based either on not letting anyone down or reliving the fun he had with everybody in his first futsal game. Said motivation is incredibly powerful, too, as he runs himself ragged in several situations in service of his goals (like running laps by himself after training because he was told he was holding the trainees back). His reckless disregard for his physical well-being has me surprised he isn't permanently injured in some way, but early on, his relentless efforts end up actually inspiring the same people who find his behavior strange. Our other main character is Jin himself, though you only really learn about him through the lens of Tsukushi. He's certainly a stand-up guy given he doesn't hesitate to step in to stop bullies from harassing Tsukushi, but he's definitely a weirdo with some bizarre habits. Tsukushi immediately looks up to him nonetheless, given his kindness and how he's apparently popular with a lot of people. I'd like to know more about his deal, but that's probably told in later volumes. A bunch of other characters are introduced, but only two stand out to me as significant apart from the main duo. The first is Tsukushi's childhood friend Sayuri Tachibana, a sweet girl one year Tsukushi's senior. She and Tsukushi haven't connected in the while during the beginning of the book, but it's clear that they still have a strong bond. The standout chapter for me actually has little to do with Tsukushi's goal to make it into the high school soccer club, but actually involves him discussing his desire to join the club with his mother. We obviously meet his mom here, but we also learn about his family situation as they talk about Tsukushi wanting to pursue soccer (which, without giving too much away, I found quite familiar in a sad way given personal experience). Their conversation was quite emotional and hit really close to home for me, as Tsukushi's selflessness and consideration for his own mother's wants and needs ends up clashing with his mom's own selfless desire to provide for her son and allow him to chase his dreams regardless of their situation. I was actually tearing up by the end. For the most part, the art style has a "light" vibe to it, between its tones, the linework, and keeping things simple in terms of detail. That makes elements like characters' hair stand out, as well as make panels with intense shading (for dramatic effect) or dynamic movement feel more impactful. VERDICT: The earnestness of Tsukushi made DAYS a heartwarming read for me. Despite his general awkwardness and how worrying it is that he pushes his body beyond what any reasonable person should be doing, Tsukushi's heart shines through all throughout. Not only do I want to see the guy succeed, but I also want to see more of how his attitude positively impacts those around him. While I am intrigued about Jin's story and how their friendship develops, Tsukushi's the star of the show for me, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of it. My main point of recommendation for this manga is whether a protagonist like Tsukushi is the kind you like to read about. I'm not really sure about the sports aspect of yet since it's only getting started, but I really like the angle of how despite his lack of ability, Tskushi's persistence is a source of inspiration for others. - end - I'm doing my best to keep clearing games on my backlog whenever I have the time. Here's one more off the list. BACKGROUND:
My rationale for adding this game to my library when it was free was simply "this looks cool and I wanna play it." Sometimes I'm easy to please. PLOT: You play as a one-armed woman called Steel, who has seemingly broken into some sort of facility to cause all sorts of havoc (from stealing shit, breaking shit, and hunting down the CEO of EdenSys). I'm not really sure what her motivations are, and she doesn't seem to have much of a backstory, but I guess we gotta stick it to this corporation. I'd love more context, but the story being this light doesn't bother me that much given the big focus on the gameplay. PRESENTATION: The visuals go for a cel-shaded style mixed with pretty neon lights. Individual elements don't boast insane detail or anything like that, but everything looks pretty great regardless. The art style itself gave off a cyberpunk vibe, which is reinforced with the more sci-fi looking levels. Interestingly, the environments are constructed with voxels (cube units, basically), which allows for fully destructible environments. I'll talk about the gameplay implications of that later on, but it's pretty neat to blow shit up and actually wreck the place (even if how it actually looks is a bit weird). There are barely any story cutscenes (and there's no dialogue at all to go with them), but those few cutscenes had a comic book look to them, which I liked a lot. I thought the music was fantastic, as the electronic soundtrack meshed super well with the game's fast-paced action. GAMEPLAY: Severed Steel is a single-player FPS where you, as Steel, become a one-woman army and tear through EdenSys with extremely stylish gunplay. The main hook of the game is the combination of the movement and a bullet time mechanic. Steel can perform stunts like sliding (which moves her quickly along the ground, lets her go under obstacles, and kick enemies down), diving in a direction (allowing you to leap out of danger or do crazy shit like aim upside down), and wall running. These options alone make you feel like a badass as you zip around killing enemies, but there's also a bullet time mechanic which allows you to slow down time and make impossible shots as you perform stunts. It is so much fun to use these mechanics together and make believe that you're in the Matrix. The bullet time mechanic is tied to a meter below your reticle, and that meter goes down the longer you use the slow-mo. You can replenish the meter by getting kills, which incentivizes taking down enemies. Depending on the difficulty or certain conditions, your actual need to kill enemies to top yourself up may vary. Similarly, some of your HP can be restored by killing enemies, but on low health, you can disengage momentarily to restore 1 HP. Again, your need to kill enemies to keep yourself alive will vary depending on the difficulty. There are a wide variety of weapons you can pick up, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. A lot of them tend to be takes on classic gun types (SMGs, various assault rifles, assorted shotguns, pistols), though you will occasionally run into a few fun weapons (laser rifles that can kill through walls, flamethrowers, grenade launchers, and more). In my experience, I rarely stressed out about what weapons I pick up since I always used the movement to close the gap between me and enemies and just rinse them at close range. Unlike most shooters, you can't reload here. If your gun runs out of ammo, you have to throw it away (which, amusingly, can knock out enemies) and pick up another one. Some levels have weapons strewn about, but primarily, you'll be looting enemies for their guns or disarming them by swiping their sidearm or kicking them to make them drop their weapon. It's a fun challenge to keep yourself armed as hordes of enemies surround you, especially when you're stealing a weapon from a soon-to-be-dead enemy. A lot of the enemies are your generic soldier folks, but they do come in a few varieties. Some of them have shields you have to maneuver around (or you can kick them to make them drop it, or even cooler, shoot them through the transparent bit), others have jetpacks, some have heavy armor, and the flamethrower dudes have gas canisters you have to shoot to blow them up. I would have loved more variety, however, as in most cases, most of the enemies are the kind that you can dispatch with a single headshot without even seeing what they are. At some point, Steel finds an arm cannon she affixes to her other arm. Though you can use it as a weapon, it is primarily used to blast holes in the environment. You would think blowing up the joint is just something you do for the sake of it, but you can actually take advantage of this to carve your own path through a level. You can blast a new path through a wall, or even open up a floor to access a lower room with the arm cannon. You can even create openings just so you can snipe people from across the level. I like the open-endedness the cannon introduces, and I think that meshes well with the freedom you have in terms of moving through the levels. Your arm cannon has limited shots, however, so you can't really spam it. There are ways to recharge your ammo later on, but for this reason, I didn't rely on it too much. Aside from the campaign, you have two other modes. The first is Firefight, which is your arcade-style mode where you try to get high scores on each level and beat their respective challenges. Here, you can mess with your starting loadout and give yourself different weapons and even new arm cannon types, and you can unlock more options the more you play the mode. This mode is great for some short-burst action. The other game mode is called Rogue Steel, which, as the name implies, adds some roguelike elements to the game. You play through a random assortment of ten levels, and as you clear levels, you'll be able to choose from a selection of cards which serve either as power-ups that beef you up, modifiers that change mechanics, or handicaps that boost your score multiplier. As you encounter cards in this mode, you unlock them for use in Firefight, which I thought was neat. There's also a New Game+ where you can go through the campaign again but with stronger enemies. What's neat is that it also allows you to use stuff from the other modes (like the alternate Arm Cannon types), which spices things up. Each mode has one of five difficulty levels, with the lowest being the most lenient (giving you constant HP regen and making enemy guns have full ammo), and the hardest being a formidable challenge (one hit and you die). I played on the middle difficulty, which I found sufficiently tough, but not really punishing. If the game's many levels (and there are a surprising number of them) are somehow not enough, there's even a level editor you can mess with to make your own stuff. Naturally, you can play other people's levels as well. I didn't mess with this feature much, but it's awesome to see that such a feature is present here. VERDICT: I had a lot of fun with Severed Steel's satisfying FPS action that let me chain cool movement, slow motion, and property damage to cause as much gun-based carnage as possible. The guns and the enemies may be hit or miss in terms of uniqueness, but I felt like the flow of combat more than made up for that shortcoming. Plus, the alternate modes add a healthy dose of replay value, and I can see myself playing more of those just so I can get my flashy FPS fix. If the idea of doing stunts and shooting enemies in slow motion sounds remotely fun to you, this game is worth checking out. I think it's as fun as it looks, and you can adjust the difficulty to your liking should that be a concern. The PC version of Severed Steel is available on the following: Here's the soundtrack on Spotify, split into two albums: - end - Another week, another manga. Today's selection is a big one. BACKGROUND:
I didn't really know of this series until I heard talk of its anime adaptations recently (apparently the show aired its season finale some time last month) and saw that it was one of the 200-something manga in my digital library. It seemed like people were excited for it, so I put this ahead on the schedule just to see what it was. SUMMARY: Vinland Saga takes a lot of inspiration from the real-life history of what we commonly know as the Vikings. This includes known figures like Leif Eriksson, events like the Norse people's exploration of North America, and aspects of their culture like their iconic longboats. Naturally, the book takes creative liberties, but a lot of details are congruent with what we know in real life (at least as far as the stuff I've looked up). The manga also takes care not to lose itself in the stereotypical depiction of Vikings, showing the daily life of regular folk outside that of the raiders people typically imagine Vikings to be. Specifically, the story of this volume focuses on Thorfinn, a young man who works under Askeladd and his band of mercenaries. Thorfinn does so in hopes of avenging his father's death at the hands of Askeladd himself, though Askeladd makes him work for the honor of organizing a duel. The early chapters show Thorfinn work towards his quest for vengeance as Askeladd's troops take advantage of a war between two rival armies in France. Most of Vol. 1 actually has little to do with Thorfinn's present day situation, and instead takes the time to go back in time to show Thorfinn's life as a boy. Here, we see how he's inspired to become an explorer after Leif Eriksson regales him of tales of a beautiful land called Vinland (which, for the record, refers to a real place in Canada). We also get to see the peaceful existence of Thorfinn's people in Iceland, where despite the bitter cold, everyone's making do with their situation. The remainder of the book actually follows Thorfinn's father Thors more closely. Early on, we see his compassion for a runaway slave when his captor marches into the village demanding his return. The story kicks into full gear when Floki of the Jomsvikings shows up to enlist Thors for a war, as it's revealed that Thors (a formidable warrior once upon a time) deserted in hopes of leading a peaceful life. Looking to prevent dragging his village into a life of bloodshed, Thors agrees, though a certain complication (as well as some machinations behind the scenes) eventually leads to his death, which sets Thorfinn on the path we see him on in present day. Between the heavy inspiration taken from historical accounts (which was fun to look up after reading), Thors's tragic story and desire for a peaceful life for his family, and the possible directions I could see Thorfinn's journey going, there was a lot for me to sink my teeth into. I mean that in a somewhat literal sense, too, as this volume is over 400 pages long. As much as I'd like to know how Thorfinn's story progresses, I really enjoyed the book taking its time to build the world, establish Thorfinn's past, and make Thors a compelling character whose presence and eventual absence both had a tremendous impact. Knowing all this helped further contextualize Thorfinn's rage and desires, as well as added intrigue to Askeladd's escapades and Floki's continued schemes. The art is a treat to look at with the impressive level of detail, excellent facial expressions, and highly dynamic action sequences (which feature some intense linework). Though not really gory, the book isn't shy about graphic displays of violence, so a word of caution to the squeamish. VERDICT: Although the saga is yet to truly get started in this one, Vinland Saga's first volume sets the stage extremely well by providing an extended look at Thorfinn's past and his father Thors's character (both of which, in turn, provide ample context for his vendetta against Askeladd). I also quite enjoyed the manga's take on the history of the Vikings, and between seeing what else they adapt and my curiosity as to how Thorfinn's quest goes, I have compelling reasons to continue reading through the next volumes. If you have a passing interest in the history of Nordic people, this book may tickle your fancy given how much of real history (or, at least, literary depictions of it) its story and setting takes inspiration from. I can't really speak to the story yet as it doesn't progress a lot in Vol. 1, but I at least enjoyed Thors's story. - end - Out of everything added in June's Switch Online emulator updates, this is the one I was most excited to jump into. BACKGROUND:
I already talked about my history with the Harvest Moon series (and a little bit about its own history) when I talked about Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (you can find that here). The main thing I want to add here is how I know very little of the titles in the franchise, and that I was very excited to hear that the very first entry in the renowned series is now available for me to play via a convenient platform. SUMMARY: As established, Harvest Moon is a farming sim where you play as a young man who inherits a farm from his grandfather (that sounds familiar...). Events are governed by a day-and-night cycle across a four-month calendar year (with each month representing a season), and the gameplay loop is centered around earning money to build up your farm. It's likely that you've seen a modern iteration of a game like this (and thus would know the broad strokes of how it works), so I'll focus on the nitty-gritty. The money-making activities you can do are pretty limited. Your main source of income will be from planting crops and raising livestock, but you can also forage and fish. The latter two activities are extremely limited, as the few forage points are fixed, and there's literally only one spot you can fish (where there is exactly one type of fish). Foraging outside and fishing are also unavailable during winter, but they're a solid supplement to your income during idle moments. Your choice of crops is sadly limited, as you only have two per season. In spring, you can plant either turnips or potatoes, and in summer, you can choose between tomatoes and corn. You can't do any sort of agricultural activity beyond those seasons (which makes fall and winter significantly less engaging in terms of how much you can do in a day), and beyond differences in how long they take to grow fully, each crop can be taken care of in the exact same way (just plant the seeds in tilled soil and water everyday). In terms of animal husbandry, you can raise chickens in the coop (and sell their eggs) or cows in the barn (and sell their milk). You'll need to feed them everyday with fodder, which you can acquire by harvesting fully grown grass (which you can also plant). Provided you don't forget to feed them everyday, the animals are a guaranteed source of income regardless of season. Of the two animals, chickens are low maintenance, as the only penalty for missing a feeding is that they won't lay eggs (you'll have to feed them for three days straight to have them lay eggs again). Cows take a lot more effort, as you have to maintain an affection score so they produce higher quality milk. They can also get sick and cranky, and unlike the apparently immortal chickens of this universe, they can straight up die. The investment is worth it, though. Money has plenty of uses early on, from buying more seeds and animals, helpful tools like cow milkers and sprinklers, and supplies like animal feed or cow medicine. Outside of those, you can upgrade your house twice and buy special goods (like the Blue Feather or the Snow Berry). Once you've built up your farm enough and purchased most of the essentials, it will become immediately apparent that there's not much else to spend money on. The game's world is quite small, with only three areas: your farm, the mountain (where you can forage and fish), and the town (where all the shops are). The only other thing you can do in town apart from shopping is romancing one of the five single girls who live there, which is a whole thing. Your relationship with each girl deepens every time you give them certain gifts or trigger specific conversations with them, and you can track each relationship level by reading a specific girl's diary (totally not a breach of privacy). At a certain point, you'll encounter a special event focused on them, and helping them during this will deepen your relationship further. Once all the conditions are met, you can propose to one of the girls, and once they accept, they'll move in with you. The NPCs of this game don't have a lot of dialogue, but there's just enough that you can get a bit of a personality and some backstory. I can't really say it's enough for me to really get into their characters, though. For what it's worth, the five girls you can romance have enough going on for them that I'm not just arbitrarily favoring one for their hair color, but whatever personality they have is almost completely stripped away when they become your wife, as they get even little to do. On certain days of the season, there are festivals you can participate in by visiting town. Some of these have a neat prize or exclusive items you can buy, like the Egg Festival (where you go on an egg scavenger hunt) or the Harvest Festival (where you can add food to the stew), while others are less involved (like Thanksgiving or New Year's Day). This is also a good time to deepen your relationship with the girls, as you can ask them to dance in some of the festivals. What takes me aback about this game is how blisteringly fast the day-night cycle is. It's actually a bad idea to do anything that doesn't involve selling your goods during the day, as anything you place in the shipping bin past a specific time of day will not count as sold. If it's any consolation, night is endless (making it the perfect time to do chores), but I found the need to make the most out of such a limited time span to be mildly stressful. What makes it extra nerve-wracking is how the in-game clock is an unlockable item (so you don't even know what time it is until the color of the sky changes). Performing most tool-based actions will consume stamina, and while there's no in-game tracker for this either, your character's animations will communicate how much stamina you have left just fine. There's also no penalty for running out (save for not being able to use your tools), and you can easily refresh yourself at a hot spring on the mountain. Speaking of tools, you can only carry two at a time, and you have to swap out between tools at the shed. While this makes perfect sense in real life, it does make going between chores take longer since you have to go out of your way to the shed to grab what you need. Despite its smaller scale, this game still has its fair share of bonus stuff, like acquiring a horse who helps you move around faster, upgrading your stamina with collectible Power Berries (some of which are tricky to find), upgrading your tools to more powerful golden versions, and having children with your wife. It's not much, though, as it's possible to get most of these done in Year 1. Although the game's day-night cycle is certainly odd to me, another element that stood out to me as strange is how this game actually ends. Modern farming sims are typically the kind of game you can play for as long as you wish, but the original Harvest Moon defies those expectations. Once you get to Year 3, the game ends, and you're shown an ending for your character that differs depending on what you've accomplished (were you married or not, the kinds of crops you sold, the livestock you raised). While this definitely felt weird to me, I kind of like the idea of unique endings based on how you played the game, and for how limited the game itself is, I don't mind that you have to stop eventually. VERDICT: Having played more robust farming sim games, the original Harvest Moon feels more restrictive to me between its quick day-night cycle and the activities being as limited as they are. With that said, I still felt the satisfaction of the time-tested gameplay loop this genre is known for, and there's something novel about experiencing the gameplay of one of the pioneers of the genre. Overall, I'm content with my one playthrough where I did as much as I can, but I really appreciate how far the series (and farming sims in general) has come. If you simply want to play a farming sim and have a chill time, modern entries like the later installments of Story of Seasons or Stardew Valley (which was heavily inspired by this game) are your best bet given how much you can do in them and how improved the experience is overall. However, if you find those overwhelming, this game is the perfect place to start since there's less to think about (though the caveat is the day-and-night cycle). Additionally, the original installment of a legendary series with a storied legacy on a whole genre of games definitely falls into my definition of "essential" must-play games, so there's that. - end - I got a bunch of games for the Switch via giveaways last December. Better get around to playing them before they hold up my backlog even more. BACKGROUND:
A publisher called No Gravity Games did a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway where they made one of their games free each day (under certain conditions) on the Switch eShop. I went and got them all, because why not, and this was one of the games. PLOT: This game does not have a story. PRESENTATION: There's not much to say about the visuals since not much is going on, but I think it looks decent enough. The style itself is somewhat minimalist, and the game elements sufficiently communicate what's happening. It gets the job done, and that's good enough for me. As for music, there's really only the one electronic track, which is fine in a vacuum. I keep it off and play my own stuff for the sake of my sanity. GAMEPLAY: Powertris, as the name might imply, sounds like a spin on Tetris. The goal is indeed to clear out the board by strategically placing the falling blocks, but there is a key twist: the blocks here aren't your typical Tetriminos. Instead, the "blocks" in this game are actually sections of pipes. If you're familiar with the game Pipe Dream/Pipe Mania (and if you aren't, go play it because it's a classic), the idea is that you're basically using the pipes in that game as Tetris pieces here. A cross between Tetris and Pipe Dream might sound confusing at first, but the goal of the game is quite simple. There are sockets on the edges of the game board, and all you have to do is set down the pipes such that a socket on the left side ends up connected with a socket on the right side. You don't have to worry about complex pieces, either, as there are only a few to think about, and making the pipes connect is 100% intuitive. Unlike Tetris, the game doesn't increase its difficulty by making the game faster. Instead, what happens when you cross the score threshold by clearing pipes is that the board layout changes. The actual appearance can vary greatly, but the gist is that the location of the sockets will change, and there will be occasional barriers on the board that you have to move pipes around. It's a simple but effective way to keep a run fresh, and some of the layouts can be tricky to clear depending on the pipes you get. Rarely, one of three power-ups can drop that can help you deal with a potentially messy board. One blows up pipes within a small radius, another will clear out all connected pipes if you place it at an opening, and one simply clears the entire screen. They're definitely game-changing, but they're rare enough that it's unwise to rely on them. Apart from all that, there's really nothing else to say. There are no alternate modes, and the main goal of the game is to simply get the highest score you can. I suppose the only other comment I can make is that I wish the movement of the pieces was snappier, though that is mostly because I'm used to the responsiveness of actual Tetris. VERDICT: I found Powertris to be a fun little fusion of two classic puzzle games I really enjoy, and while there's nothing else to the game other than what it offers you upfront, it's still fun for me. I can see myself killing time with this game as I do with other puzzlers of this nature. If you enjoy falling-block puzzle games like I do, you might have fun with this unorthodox take on the subgenre. This game is not on Steam, but it is on itch.io: Powertris by No Gravity Games (itch.io) - end - I bought another comic for my shelf recently, and it was an amazing find in more than one sense of the word. BACKGROUND:
When I was younger, I once drew a heroine I called Lady Justice who wore a blindfold, judge's robes, and wielded a sword with the iconic scales (which was based on a specific depiction I saw where the scales were affixed to a dagger). I thought it was a cool idea at the time. Later on in my life, I learned about this comic and found that my ideas aren't as original as I thought.... Silly anecdote aside, I've known about this comic for a while, and have always wanted to read it because of the name attached to it (to be clear, Neil Gaiman did no actual writing for this comic and simply came up with the concept). Turns out securing a copy for my collection was easier said than done, because the series was published by a now-defunct publisher (a fact that I didn't know for a long time). I wasn't sure if collected editions even existed, and it was up in the air if it would ever show up on Comixology. Imagine my surprise when I went to the bookstore's bargain bin one day (a trip that was random in itself) and I found this among the offerings. It was priced incredibly cheap, so I bought it immediately. What luck! SUMMARY: The premise of this comic is that every time an innocent woman is faced with a horrible injustice (whether it's being caught in a traumatic event, facing guilt over their own inaction, or simply feeling that justice must be served), a powerful spirit of justice manifests before them. This spirit makes themselves known and selects the woman in question to be their avatar, tasked with relentlessly righting the wrongs the woman was witness to by any means necessary. To seal the deal, the woman must wear a blindfold, because of course. It's never clearly established what powers Lady Justice has once a woman has been selected as an avatar, but it's shown that they have incredible combat prowess, can take a lot of punishment (but aren't invincible), and are able to consult the spirit for guidance (though the spirit seems content letting their avatar figure things out on their own). One ability I found notable is how Lady Justice is invisible except for "those who need her and those who fear her." I loved the thematic aspect of that. The caveat of becoming Lady Justice is that the avatar cannot stop until everyone tied to the injustice they were witness to has been punished, and once that's done, the former avatar loses whatever abilities they gained. The spirit then seeks their next avatar to continue the cycle. The eleven issues collected in this volume tell the stories of different women who become Lady Justice. We have Janine Farrell, whose brothers were murdered by criminals (and is driven by her loss and desire for vengeance), Silvia Esquivel (a gang member who is consumed by guilt after doing nothing to save a little girl from a drive-by), Justina Martin (a police officer investigating the gang violence Silvia is involved in), Ellen Grant (a mother forced into action when her entire family is held hostage), and Lynea Mitchell (a lawyer who was appalled that a defendant escaped a rape trial due to powerful people backing him). As you can see, each Lady Justice is spurred into action by different circumstances, and they each have different mindsets once they are selected as an avatar. Janine, for example, is crestfallen when her mission is finished and the spirit leaves her. Silvia is driven by guilt at the start, but hesitates when it appears her family is involved with the injustice she seeks to rectify. Justina willingly accepts the blindfold, Ellen simply becomes Lady Justice in the heat of the moment (my personal favorite instance of the spirit selecting an avatar), and Lynea is compelled by her principles to put on the blindfold, running herself into the ground to finish her mission. I quite liked how each avatar is brought about by a unique set of circumstances and how they have their own personal stake in their respective mission. I've always enjoyed the concept of exposing distinct characters to exactly the same situation (in this case, becoming Lady Justice) and seeing the differences in how they handle the cards they've been dealt. That being said, I don't think the comic does a decent enough job differentiating the characters. Regardless of how they become Lady Justice and their own backstories, each one goes about their mission in the same way: beating the living shit out of scumbags in extremely violent fashion. Anyone who stands in the way of Lady Justice either ends up dead or horribly injured (if they're lucky), though different avatars can have different ideas of what kind of justice they want to mete out (for example, Janine is content with killing indiscriminately, while Lynea goes for a form of poetic justice at the end of her mission). I feel like they could have done much better to differentiate avatars on this aspect, because apart from specific moments, none of them seem to mind maiming and slaughtering people. They also establish that the spirit is allowing them to exact justice as they seem fit (so long as they don't stop until it is served); surely that is prime opportunity to write characters with diametrically opposed ideas on how to wield their newfound power to achieve their personal idea of justice? Why is everyone's idea of justice in this book "turn everyone into flesh paste?" That isn't interesting to me. None of the avatars' antagonists are that remarkable, either. They're all cut-and-dry pieces of shit with zero redeeming qualities, so I guess they can all go die gruesome deaths? Again, missed opportunity here to add a layer of nuance to the concept, but I suppose there's appeal in simply watching these monsters get theirs. Many artists worked on the eleven issues in this volume, but the common denominator for all the art is the violence. Action scenes (the panels for which are often large) are bloody as hell, and some specific panels get quite gory. In terms of actual style, particular elements like the intensity of shading or the linework can vary between issues, but I'd say most of them aim for realism and feature a rather intricate level of detail. Oh, all the women who serve as avatars have to be sexy for some reason. There are a fair number of panels that aren't exactly subtle with showing off the characters for the sake of showing them off. I typically don't give a shit because I try not to think about stuff like this too hard, but there was one issue where the woman fought in her panties the entire time, and that shit is too blatant to ignore. VERDICT: I thought the concept of Lady Justice was really cool, though I feel like they could have done more to differentiate each avatar. No matter how unique the circumstances that create the avatar, they all just devolve to a blur of Punisher-style violence and don't go all in on what makes each woman different from the others. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's fun to be had in the blatant power fantasy that this is, but I think a concept like this had much greater story potential (which, at best, this book only scratches the surface of in occasional moments). I'm left wondering what this book would have been if Gaiman actually wrote it. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd recommend this one. I truly love the idea behind it (and I didn't even really mind half the chaos I was reading), but the execution leaves something to be desired. If you're eyeing this book because Neil Gaiman's name is attached to it, I will reiterate that he did not write a single issue in this series. Whatever expectations you may have with that assumption will not be met if you read this. - end - Just when I thought Nintendo's releases for the NES emulators have scraped the bottom of the barrel clean, they throw in a pleasantly surprising curveball. BACKGROUND:
I had no idea about this game until it was made available via Switch Online, and with good reason: it was exclusive to Japan since it came out... in 1986. As painfully slow as the drip feed of new content for the emulators can be, I still really appreciate their existence for giving international players access to stuff that they'd otherwise not hear about. SUMMARY: Mystery Tower is a puzzle platformer where the goal of each of the several dozen levels is to simply get to the door. Actually doing this is easier said than done, as the door is almost always out of reach, and your character cannot jump. What you can do, however, is pick up the L-shaped blocks strewn about the level and drop them such that you can climb up to the door. Figuring out how to set up the blocks is quite challenging, as you have to contend with all sorts of limitations. These include level layouts and mechanics that prevent you from moving blocks freely, roaming enemies in your way, blocks stacked in configurations that either prevent them from being picked up or cause a cascade of falling blocks that obstruct your path, or the need to pick up crystal balls first so the skull blocking the door is removed. Even in the very early levels, these elements are employed to create some seriously tricky levels, and as someone who loves puzzles, I really appreciate that. The fact that the blocks are L-shaped adds to the challenge of the puzzles, as you cannot really rotate them unless you put them down and pick them back up on the other side. Other factors to take into account include not being able to fall while holding a block (you will die), and a power counter on the upper right. Every time you pick up a block, your power decreases by one, and if that hits zero, you can't perform the one thing you can do anymore. On occasion, power-ups will appear that you can pick up. They're mostly just for points, but some of them have bonuses like granting invincibility against enemies or restoring one point of power. There's not much else to say since the game is simple overall, but notable mechanics I encountered that made for super tough puzzles include moving platforms (that cannot hold blocks), enemies that chase you relentlessly Wrecking Crew-style, an enemy that spawns blocks, and the ability to delay the fall of free-floating blocks. VERDICT: Once again, Switch Online surprises me with a game I never heard of but ended up really loving. Mystery Tower has one simple objective and one main mechanic, but there are a wide variety of levels with a solid assortment of elements that make a straightforward puzzle platformer incredibly challenging. I can't believe this wasn't released outside Japan until nearly 40 years after its initial release, not just because this game is a clever little gem, but because there's nothing here that requires any localization for other territories. If you're as enthusiastic about puzzle platformers as I am, this is an old-school title worth checking out. I found working around the limitations imposed by the game's mechanics to be very satisfying, and a puzzle game that can give me that feeling is one I feel comfortable recommending to fellow puzzle fans. - end - I finally snagged this on a sale, and I managed to find a bit of downtime to play it. BACKGROUND:
I saw someone play this on YouTube once and thought the game looked charming. It was never a game I strongly felt like getting as soon as I could, but I did resolve to pick it up if ever there was a sale and I wanted something chill to play in between long playthroughs. PLOT: This game tells the story of Florence Yeoh, a young woman who's dealing with the ups and downs of adult life. She's kind of stuck in a dead-end desk job, is badgered often by her worrywart mother, and has a pretty uneventful life outside of work. We get glimpses of her childhood early on, and we see her dreams of becoming an artist be dashed as she's pressured to do well in school, and we see her childhood friendships drift apart. Florence's life changes forever when she meets Krish, an aspiring cellist looking to push his musical career further. The rest of the game chronicles the ups and downs of their relationship, as a chance encounter gradually grows into something more. The ups are sweet, as the two grow to be more comfortable with one another, they have all sorts of fun together, and they even manage to settle into a comfy routine. Perhaps the sweetest aspects of their relationship are how they both support the other with their respective passion, and how being with Krish influences Florence's daily life positively. The downs aren't pleasant at all, as the two get into ugly arguments and life slowly drives a wedge between them. The story takes care not to frame it as one is wrong and the other is right, but regardless, seeing everything unfold after a beautiful start is disheartening to see. To elaborate further would give away how things end, but all I'll say is that the story ends on what I feel is a positive note. I don't exactly have the same life experience as Florence (especially not with the dating bit), but a lot of what she goes through teeters into the "too real" territory. I'm familiar with being stuck in a rut, having to live up with pressure I didn't ask for, living with the sadness of seeing connections drift apart, having to set aside dreams for reality, and the struggle of trying to move forward after shitty moments. I can't say that I'm equally familiar with the more positive moments of Florence's life, sadly, and to be honest, seeing those moments be canceled out by rough patches makes me question if striving for that happiness is even worth it. For what it's worth, the game's central theme of finding the good within those rough patches and moving forward with that in mind is slightly reassuring. The game tells its entire story with zero dialogue from the characters, and everything is communicated extremely well with other aspects such as the presentation and what little gameplay there is. I'll elaborate on that in their respective sections. PRESENTATION: The entire game is like a webcomic come to life, with a lot of the story framed in "panels" and a simple yet charming art style that looks hand-drawn. It's a delight to look at, and I liked the occasional flourish with animations and the use of parallax scrolling to add depth. The visuals do more than just show you what's happening in the story, and elements like color and movement are used well to convey emotion. The music is equally beautiful, with the main instruments being the piano and the cello. This is also used effectively to convey emotion, with upbeat melodies to accompany happy moments and melancholic tunes to go along with sad moments. The most notable example of this to me is having a particularly discordant track play during an argument between the two main characters. GAMEPLAY: Florence's gameplay is best described as a series of minigames presented along with the comic visuals, and the activities line up with the event currently presented on the screen. These include moving a toothbrush back and forth when Florence is brushing her teeth, mindlessly clicking like/retweet as she browses social media on her commute, and her accounting job represented with a matching game. None of these posed a challenge for me, but that's fine, as I went into this knowing it was more of a narrative experience. Some of these minigames do an amazing job of communicating the story with their design. The most prominent example to me is the minigame representing Florence talking to Krish. Talking has you assemble a jigsaw puzzle of a speech bubble, and while it's never difficult at any point, the first few puzzles have you fiddle with a lot of pieces. As Florence becomes more comfortable talking to Krish, the puzzles get easier, taking fewer and fewer pieces to assemble. Even the pieces themselves convey emotion, as the pieces become jagged when you're putting together Florence's dialogue during an argument. Other minigames I found notable include wiping a mirror to replace Florence's reflection with her vision of her ideal self, minigames where the game does things automatically (to denote either the ease of what Florence is doing, or how a situation is completely out of her control), and one where you shake Polaroids (I just thought it was amusing). VERDICT: Florence is a short but sweet narrative experience about the all-too-relatable experiences of the titular character as her life changes with one fateful encounter. There's admittedly little else to the gameplay apart from the minigames I mentioned, but that combined with the beautiful visuals, lovely music, and clever design that utilizes these elements to communicate the story made the game a memorable time for me. This game left me pondering about my life, which is impressive given this game takes 30 minutes to beat. This is more of an interactive story than it is a game, so if you're seeking something more involved, Florence will probably not tickle your fancy. On the flip side, I think this game's slice of life narrative will resonate with a lot of people, and the minigames are simple enough that even the most casual of players will have no difficulty getting through the story. Don't be concerned about the game's length, either, as I'm pretty sure this game is cheap on most platforms it's on. Florence is available on the following: Here's the game's soundtrack on Spotify: Spotify – Florence (Original Soundtrack) - end - The manga binge continues, and this time, I struggle to pick a title from the hundreds I have in my digital library. So, here's a kind of random one, I guess. BACKGROUND:
While I've heard of a few sports manga series via the popularity of their anime adaptations, I can't say I've encountered a baseball manga until I added this one to my library. When it comes to baseball (which is what this manga's all about), I do know a bit about it thanks to the power of video games and the Internet. It's definitely not a sport I follow, though. SUMMARY: Ace of the Diamond tells the story of Eijun Sawamura, a gifted pitcher fresh off middle school who just wants to continue playing baseball with his friends. His intense pitching style sadly led to a heartbreaking loss for their team at their final game, but it also caught the attention of a recruiter for Seido High School, a prestigious institution where Japan's most gifted young baseball players are training. While hesitant (even dismissive at first), Eijun takes a tour of the campus, and his experience there changes his outlook on the beautiful game forever. Most of this first volume is simply setting the stage for Eijun's journey to become an ace pitcher. They show his time as the "commander" of his middle school baseball team, the fateful game that put him on Seido's radar, and his earliest days at Seido. His journey's only getting started, but there's already some interesting stuff here. What stood out to me in the beginning is how Eijun truly cherished his friends and how he loved playing baseball with them. Not only was he content simply sticking with them through high school, his friends were incredibly supportive of him when word came out that Seido was scouting him. The book doesn't really spend much time fleshing out the bond between these kids, but what is shown here is more than enough. Eijun loves his friends dearly to the point that he felt personally responsible for giving them a happy memory in the form of success as a baseball team, and those friends of his were genuinely happy for him when they learned that he had a chance to become the best pitcher they already knew him to be. It's quite heartwarming to read, and I empathized with Eijun's internal struggle with choosing between one dream and another. Eijun's trip to Seido completely redefines his love of the sport thanks to a bit of batting practice with the arrogant Kyokuni Azuma (who dares Eijun to pitch against him) and the snarky Kazuya Miyuki (who offers to be his catcher). That game ignited a desire within him to properly test his skills, and after facing the bittersweetness of having to leave his friends behind to chase this dream, he officially joins Seido as one of their freshmen. There's only one chapter of Eijun being a student in this volume, but it's got enough to keep me intrigued. He gets to meet his roommates (who aren't fleshed out yet, but already seem to be quite the pair of characters), try to adjust to the strict training regimen of the school, and face his first big test as he faces off against their intense coach. It feels like Eijun may be way in over his head here, but the volume ends on a cliffhanger seconds before a moment of truth for him. Nearly all of the focus is naturally on Eijun, though they do give brief moments to characters who are being set up as his major supporting cast throughout the series (like his fellow students and his coach). There's also Eijun's talent scout Rei Takashima (an older woman with quite the no-nonsense professional demeanor) and his grandfather, whose solution to everything is corporal punishment. The art style has a solid level of detail to it, but the aspect I want to highlight the most is the superb linework to depict the intense, dynamic motions the baseball players perform. These range from missile-like pitches, full-blown sprints, and bat swings that'll knock a person out cold. Baseball is often derided as "boring", but the manga's visuals are anything but. VERDICT: Eijun's quest to be the best in Ace of the Diamond was interesting to me off the bat with how his view on the game changed with just one trip to Seido's campus. There's really not much forward movement in terms of the story in the first volume, but the foundations for it (the value Eijun sees in his friendships, his new colleagues in Seido, the strict training regimen) are more than solid. I wouldn't mind reading more of this. I can't really sell people on this based on the sports element of it, as I am neither American nor Japanese, the two places I know of where baseball is huge. For what it's worth, I liked the protagonist and am interested in his journey, so if that's a story formula you're into, this might be up your alley. - end - June's Switch Online emulator updates came with two Game Boy games. Here's the second one. BACKGROUND:
I played the original Blaster Master for the NES via the Switch Online emulator, and I found it a really interesting game with a gimmick that was unique for the time (the ability to pilot a tank and leave the tank and explore as a person), notably split the game into side-scrolling 2D platforming and short top-down shooter action, and implemented Metroidvania elements like non-linear level design and traversal upgrades at a time when the subgenre was still in its infancy. I was curious going into this whether or not the gameplay has changed significantly. Prior to that, I'd never heard of this series until the announcement of Blaster Master Zero, a reboot that also happened to be a launch title for the Switch back in 2017. I ended up reading a bit more about the game's history and learned that it's part of a series that's a bit of a cult classic. As of this reading, I still haven't picked up Blaster Master Zero, but I'll probably get around to it on a sale. SUMMARY: Blaster Master: Enemy Below's gameplay is largely the same as the original (so a lot of what I say here would apply to that game). You play most of the game as a 2D platformer where you control the tank SOPHIA and explore eight areas. These areas aren't connected linearly, and you have to backtrack to progress through the game. In order to backtrack, you'll have to acquire upgrades for SOPHIA that allow it to traverse inaccessible areas, and to get those upgrades, you'll need to defeat each area's boss. Every boss chamber requires a key (or keys to open), and you'll have to explore to find separate chambers that hold these keys. While the world isn't terribly large, I found it challenging to keep track of where I was given how zoomed-in the game's perspective is compared to the NES original (so I only see a fraction of a room at any given time) and how some rooms trap you in an infinite loop. This made backtracking (which itself is already a chore due to how the areas are connected) feel like quite the ordeal. Having a walkthrough handy did wonders for me by mitigating any frustration that may come from this feeling. SOPHIA can't do much at the start apart from fire its cannon, but as you progress, it gains a lot of neat abilities. These include (but are not limited to) the ability to hover, the ability to move freely in water, and the ability to drive on walls and ceilings. I thought these upgrades were neat, but with how small the game's world is, there are only so many places you can use them to check out optional areas. Enemies come in a few varieties, and the most challenge they pose is blocking your critical path in such a way that avoiding damage is difficult. Killing them may sometimes drop power-ups like HP refills, Hover Points (which add to your finite hover meter), and ammo for one of three special cannon attacks for SOPHIA. These special attacks are a homing missile (extremely useful), a downwards lightning attack, and a three-way missile attack. Unfortunately, SOPHIA can only do so much, and in many situations, you'll have to exit the tank and control Jason (the pilot) to navigate through tight spaces. Jason has his own health bar separate from SOPHIA's, though you can heal him up by simply reentering the tank. While his gun isn't as powerful as the cannon of a literal tank (and he can't aim upwards), it can break specific blocks and hit enemies that are too low for SOPHIA's cannon. Strangely, there's fall damage in this game, and Jason can die if he falls too far. Every area has doors only Jason can enter, and in these rooms, the gameplay changes to the top-down shooter I described earlier. Combat is trickier here since you have to weave Jason through and around a unique set of enemies that move really fast and/or shoot a lot of projectiles, and shooting them down is easier said than done since you have to be off-center when aiming. In this mode, you also gain access to a grenade attack, which does help a little because it covers a bit more area and does more damage, but doesn't have much range at the start. An interesting mechanic in these gameplay sections is Jason's gun meter, which you can increase by picking up specific power-ups dropped by enemies. For every level the meter's at, the gun's shot pattern changes in a way that makes landing shots easier, but the catch is that if you get hit, you lose one level of the meter. This really incentivized not getting hit at all, but certain enemies are guaranteed to drop a charge if that proves to be too troublesome. Much like SOPHIA, Jason actually has ability upgrades of his own, but nearly all of them are optional upgrades. I'd say most of these are worth going out of your way for since they make combat easier, and I'm just happy that there's still room for optional stuff despite how relatively small the game's world is. Each area has keys you have to find in these shooter sections, and once you've got them, you'll have to look around to find the boss door. You unfortunately have to fight the boss as Jason without the tank, and while few of them have any complex patterns, they do move fairly fast and have plenty of HP (even if you use grenades as your primary source of damage). I think it's a bit odd that SOPHIA sees no action at all in the game's most challenging fights, but there's something about how having to take on bosses without the tank that I appreciate in terms of subverting my expectations. VERDICT: Though there are notable differences like the graphics and the level layouts, Blaster Master: Enemy Below is not radically different in terms of core gameplay from the original NES title. I had a pretty similar experience playing this game as I did the first one, as the nonlinear structure of the game was both neat to explore but exhausting to backtrack through, and combat (especially in the shooter sections) can be slightly finicky. Overall, I experienced the same level of enjoyment I did out of the original's novel concept, but also a bit of the same level of frustration (which a walkthrough really helped curb). I would probably recommend playing the original Blaster Master first since what you get here is pretty much what that game had to offer at the very start. Regardless of which one you choose to play, I would have a walkthrough handy since it can be easy to get lost if you're not paying attention. - end - It really seems like my PC backlog grows larger than I can finish things. BACKGROUND:
I've seen one of my go-to YouTubers play this game and I ended up wanting to play it myself. For reasons that'll be clear later, I'm glad I watched that playthrough long ago enough that I remember next to nothing about the game. PLOT: Your nameless character has discovered a mysterious box, and along with it, letters from an individual who has unlocked its secrets before you. These letters chronicle the writer's discovery of a mystical element called Null, and how their pursuit in harnessing it has seemingly driven them to madness. Other than that, there's pretty much no story, and what does exist is largely esoteric. That said, I was personally quite intrigued by the whole mystery, because it's clear that weird shit happens when Null is involved. PRESENTATION: Visually, the game leans more towards a realistic style. It's not going to blow your mind in terms of visual fidelity, but I think it looks great enough that the 3D objects you interact with appear close to how their materials would look in real life. The more supernatural elements of the game look appropriately otherworldly, and while this isn't a particularly flashy game, there are a few dazzling visual effects in some sections. There's largely no music throughout the game, though the scant few tracks there are have an eerie vibe to them. You'll mostly be hearing sound effects for all the stuff you're interacting with, and I thought these did an amazing job giving the interactables a sense of weight to them. There's no tactile response with the version I played, but the sound effects did a lot to add that feeling that I was interacting with the objects in real life. GAMEPLAY: Are you familiar with puzzle boxes where you try and fiddle with the mechanisms on it to open the box? Well, The Room is that, but in video game form. The game is split into five chapters where you are presented with increasingly complex puzzle boxes, and the goal is to inspect every inch of the box for interactables, clues, and items you can use to unlock as many compartments of the box as you can. Most of the puzzles are interconnected, as solving some will often unlock something you'll need later on. You'll need to be observant to find seemingly innocuous parts of the box that are actually interactable or find written clues to other puzzles (like the code to a combination lock). You'll also need to be attentive to details like keyhole shapes or what happens when you use certain switches, as certain interactables may actually affect other elements elsewhere on the box. The bulk of the puzzle-solving revolves around simply inspecting every inch of the box thoroughly, but there's a fair share of proper puzzles to solve, ranging from the simple (like trial-and-error slide puzzles) to surprisingly tricky (reflecting a beam of light with mirrors). You'll also pick up items along the way that you'll have to use on other parts of the box. Most of these items are straightforward (find the indentation that's the same shape as the object and stick it in there), but you can actually inspect these items in your inventory. You can rotate stuff to reveal secrets, and some items are even mini-puzzles in themselves where you have to move its parts to either unlock the item or make it fit into seemingly nonsensical slots on the box. I thought it was cool that some of the items had more to them than just being keys to the next thing. Some of the items are even reusable, which I really enjoyed. The game's main gimmick is a special lens that you can wear, and doing so can reveal even more secrets. Inspecting certain parts of the box can reveal that some bits can be interacted with (e.g. handprints revealing something you can twist), seemingly empty sections of the box have clues (like the numbers to a combination lock), and uncovering the true nature of certain interactables (like how the solution you assume makes sense with what you see with your normal vision isn't actually correct). Most often, the lens is used with forced perspective puzzles where you try and manipulate the camera such that seemingly random lines line up to form a specific image, which is a bit tricky to control but otherwise fun to do. Personally, I didn't find the game's actual puzzles difficult overall, and the most challenge I encountered was with finding the things I needed to interact with (some of which can be well-hidden). At the same time, that is the exact thing I was looking for going into this; the whole journey of slowly uncovering clues simply by inspecting every square inch of the box and eventually using everything I've learned or found to start unlocking things was so much fun. A lot of my enjoyment also comes from the reuse of certain elements (instead of simply moving on once you solve part of the puzzle box or use the item for its obvious purpose), and the neat lens mechanic revealing more to the box than meets the eye (though I feel like this could have been utilized more). VERDICT: The Room is sadly a short game (I was done in less than three hours), but I had a blast in that brief time with its clever collection of puzzle boxes. It was satisfying to unlock parts of the box one by one by uncovering clues and camouflaged compartments, finding the place to use items on, and revealing secrets with the lens. I've spent so much of my life indulging in all manner of puzzles, and this game scratches that ever-present puzzle-solving itch I have with its intricate set of puzzle boxes. I highly recommend playing this game regardless of your perceived aptitude for puzzles. There are no complex controls to grapple with, and the challenge lies more with careful observation than with convoluted puzzles. And if you feel like you might have a tough time, there's a hint system that'll help you along if you really need to. The Room is available on a variety of platforms. Choose your destiny: - end - |
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June 2024
Derryck
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