Popular Post rjkclarke Posted November 18, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 18, 2022 (edited) Brothers: A Tale of Two Reviews Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PS4) New Thing Alert! (And Spoiler Alert) In a slight break with tradition, this is the first of I hope plenty of co-written reviews in here. Whilst this game is indeed single player, @Redblaziken8 - had the genius, and it definitely was genius, idea, to play this game as a co-op experience, you can read about that in more detail in the review, but I thought I'd make it clear in advance this is very much not a typical review of mine, but it is one that we both had a lot of fun writing, and I certainly hope you don't mind us sharing in some fine detail our experiences playing this wonderful game together. I essentially completed this a second time on my account - because I wanted to share my experiences with the game.I'll put all of her written pieces in red text, if it makes your eyes bleed too much, let me know, and I'll find a different way of doing it. Review Time With Rob and Red. A Few of Our Trophy Stats Rob's 100% Achieved - 6 November 2022: 1:48:39 AM Time taken to 100%: - 7 hours, 8 minutes, 4 seconds 100% Rarity - 39.17% Red's 100% Achieved - 15 October 2022: 5:36:17 PM Time taken to 100%: - 4 hours, 15 minutes, 8 seconds 100% Rarity - 39.17% I can already tell this is going to be one of my favourite reviews that I’ve ever written, in no small part down to the game itself that is being reviewed. However, this is the first, and certainly won’t be the last co-written review you’ll ever see crop up in this thread. A co-written review, of a single player game? How does that work you might be intrigued to know. Well in essence, my girlfriend and I played this game as a co-op experience, and as such we both felt that a shared experience deserves a shared review. In case you’re one of the few people who haven’t played this game until 2022, like I am – and as such, this becomes another video game I am once again late to the party with. That being said, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, is a wonderfully artistic smaller scale Adventure title, developed by Starbreeze Studios, with this PS4 version being released all the way back in 2015. Now, usually, this would be the point where I’d write a small spoiler free summary of the game, but we’re breaking with the usual tradition and throwing some spoilers into the mix with this one, so once again, if you missed the disclaimer near the top of the review – spoilers are found within this review. Some pretty major ones too, so you have been warned. To expand a little further on a previous point, as to why exactly co-op was the way we decided to approach this single player game, I’ll hand the baton over to Red herself, who does a much better job of explaining exactly why we did, herself. After all this was her idea, and as a result of that, her words are always going to do it far more justice than mine ever could. I’ll throw over to Red; the whole review will read like this, jumping between us at certain intervals. Having initially played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons on the Switch, thoroughly enjoying the experience and it being one of my first indie games, I thought playing it with someone else I’m close to was a pretty neat idea. So, I suggested it to Rob, thinking that as an indie fan himself – and much more in the scene than I am – he would enjoy it as much as I did. So I put forward the idea of playing it as a co-op experience. In terms of gameplay, I think surprisingly the game works better as a co-op experience, being able to control one of the two brothers felt pretty satisfying and for me led to a greater connection with the experience, and with Rob too, especially with some of the events that happen in the game. Getting to play this with me using the left hand side of the controller and Rob the right, sat in-between his legs whilst playing was a really cosy way to play together, and I think it added to that closeness aspect as to play this game as a co-op, you really do have to be fully comfortable with the other person, something that is super important for me. Surprisingly is right, I always thought it was a fascinating idea to play a game like this as a co-op experience, but the reality of it was that so many aspects of the game were heightened for the both of us as a result of playing it co-operatively. I echo Red’s sentiments here, if, like us, you decided to experiment with the idea of playing this game co-operatively (one I feel comfortable saying we’d both recommend) is ever going to work for you, you need to be very close and comfortable with your chosen co-op partner, both mentally, and physically. I think I’d even go as far as to say it’s a necessity – not only for the experience to be a more impactful one, but one that will be smoother for everyone involved. Even when you are, it can still lead to plenty of hilarious moments, where one of you (usually me, as my sense of direction is appalling) has wandered too far away from the other player, and needs to be called back by the other. If you are even remotely out of sync with each other, it’ll instantly manifest itself within the gameplay – whether negatively or positively. This provides a completely unique aspect to the gameplay that is only really available when playing the game like this. Speaking of gameplay, time to pass it back to Red. In Brothers, each brother has their own strengths, and they take these strengths from each other in order to progress. It’s something that resonated with me about Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, as I felt it represented the two of us pretty well, we compliment each other in different aspects (which isn’t that many we differ on) and this gameplay mechanic is present through the story, for example with the little brother needing the strength of the big brother to pull levers with his strength or helping him to swim. Parts of the game really required the two of us to be in sync, such as when swinging across a building using rope wrapped around the brothers’ bodies to progress further in the level. Unsurprisingly, these moments that required coordination was pretty easy for the two of us. These moments show how teamwork presents itself in the game and represents a bonding experience shared between the two brothers. In terms of the story, I enjoyed the difference in the journey from the start to the end, as it starts off fairly light-hearted in the environments and tone. You start off in a village, on the way to the mountain to retrieve the medicine your father needs. You encounter another boy who is bullying the two brothers, but eventually you prevail, and the bully is taught a lesson. Moving further into the game, the tonality shifts to a more sinister tone as you have to avoid deadlier enemies instead of just petty childlike behaviour at the start. The use of the word, journey above seems incredibly appropriate for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, as what that does is perfectly encapsulates the experience itself. Yes it is a journey for the two titular characters, but also for us as players, as well. As Red points out the tonal shift, is never more appropriate or more apparent than in the journey itself. In some aspects too, I’d argue that’s very well represented not just from a story perspective, but also in the visual design itself. There’s a certain familiarity present, at the start of the game – a little fantastical, yes, but in a sense it’s relatable, to us, as humans. A small village, with relatable problems like a bully, things we can all understand on some level, in essence. However, as the scope and scale of the adventure begins to heighten, as do both the dangers and the visual phenomena. Yet nothing ever feels out of place at all. An element I think is really well realised is how natural everything feels, I don’t feel as players you ever once question going from seeing a ferocious dog, to some odious looking trolls. One constant thought of mine, was how everything in this world, feels believable in relation to the world itself, it feels like a fantastical, but still believable place. However, as it would turn out, looks can sometimes be deceiving.... I believe one of the messages that Brothers conveys is how outside of a relationship with someone you’re close to, outside influences can influence your story too. Friends can help you on your journey to the final destination, and others can hinder that, and even get in the way of a strong relationship, but nothing can stand between that at the end of it all. For example, the troll introduced near the beginning of the game assists you in your journey, and from first appearances you wouldn’t expect this help with how trolls are represented in general in gaming and other forms of media, it’s the proof you shouldn’t judge another from first appearances. Climbing across this troll’s arm to reach places you can’t get to alone, or him throwing you to where you need to go, is a lot like needing outside influences in real life to help you in your goals, and it was an aspect of the gameplay that I did enjoy. I’m not staying deliberately silent here, Red and I are incredibly similar, so by that token it just so happens I very much agree with what she’s saying here, and can’t help but think it’s a fascinating way to view the game as a whole. Seeing how you can then help this troll reunite with another troll that they share a bond with, just as you do with your brother, or in my case with Rob, demonstrates how these acts of kindness propagate. When you do help others, it feels good, and it’s a pretty wholesome feeling. Contrasting this with how the woman later in the game is depicted as a spider, weaving her web and entangling the brother away from his brother with her thoughts and manipulation, causing a drift in the two brothers and representing the first time in the game they feel separated on opposing sides of the screen. That sense of isolation is present here where it wasn’t before. It shows in my opinion how even after this you can overcome it, just as the brothers do. For me, it was a nice way of showing that it isn’t just the good experiences that bring you closer to the special people in your life, but the bad ones too. This was an aspect of the game that particularly resonated with me, that it was not a direct problem with the brothers themselves that caused a rift between them. Instead, it was a malevolent force outside of their own control. This is something that a lot of us can probably relate to in some form or other, at various points in our lives. I thought it was such a brilliant design choice by the developers to deliberately keep the brothers on opposite sides of the screen, one with the malevolent presence, and the other able to do nothing. It’s a powerlessness I wish I couldn’t relate to, but unfortunately I can. It’s moments like this where the poignancy of the soundtrack becomes more prominent, or it very much did for me on my second playthrough of the game by myself. Throughout the game it's apparent how much melancholic beauty there is to it. It’s not until you begin to unpack the story in more detail, understanding some of the tragedy involved in it, that moments like this where the two brothers become separated for the very first time, did I start to really think about how well the soundtrack represents those two characters, and their shared bond. It feels like almost an oxymoronic description, but the soundtrack represents them both through optimism and melancholy, but it also represents their goals and their journey very well. It is both a journey of optimism, to cure their father, but also one of melancholy, because he’s the only apparent family that they have left. There are also highs in the journey, with the brothers experiencing being able to fly on a Gryphon after freeing it from its cage. It’s a thrilling shared moment between the two, with the soundtrack heightening the feeling of excitement and wonder for the two. This bird then reappears later in the game to comfort the little brother after the death of his big brother, that further message that kindness does pay off, is remembered and that through the darkest times you find out who truly is there for you. This is absolutely true, and a wonderful point, too. This game has some incredibly euphoric highs in it, and some genuinely heart-warming moments. Alongside some quite devastating ones too, but we’ll get to that shortly. Some of which have got some genuine pathos to them, which are articulated brilliantly, despite the fact the game uses no form of voiced dialogue. Quite a few of which I personally feel were heightened by us playing this game co-operatively. One quite memorable moment between us, was a moment where you’re tasked with riding some mountain goats up a hill, and I saw the goats did a double take for a moment, and exclaimed “Wait..... We don’t ride these do we?” (With quite possibly too much excitement in my voice). Or another time, a rather funny moment for us both was where you’re tasked with transporting a sheep across a bridge, via a wheel that lowers the bridge, I of course had the genius idea of stepping off the wheel and catapulting both Red and the sheep as far as possible, Red survived, but we didn’t see the sheep again. I couldn’t, and wouldn’t even attempt to say anything better than Red has done here, so I’ll pass you all straight back over to her own powerful words, to read about my very personal experience with the latter half of the game. Feelings were indeed felt. Moving towards the end of the game with me being the brother that died (yes I did that on purpose) and seeing Rob struggle to bury me, feeling his chest go at that moment I knew it had hit him harder than it did for me the first time I played Brothers, as I knew it was a more personal touch as it was like him burying me – which is the moment that hit him the hardest. Instead of losing a brother, it was losing a connection we had playing the game together. Seeing Rob playing this game now as a solo experience, controlling the last brother himself, it was an isolating experience for him, much like his second playthrough of the game I suspect… I think the shift in gameplay here was a pretty clever move by the developers, because besides the obvious, the devastating loss of one brother, it also demonstrates how the remaining brother uses his brother’s strength to continue, such as when he has to swim alone. The game presents this as an intimidating venture for the remaining brother, but he does overcome it, proving he is in fact capable of moving forward, but his brother’s memory will always be with him, along with his strength. So, one thing I’m forgetting that I do think is particularly important to mention is the dialogue. I think the best way of explaining it is that even though the language is fictional, you know exactly what they are saying purely from tonality and body language. Moments in this game can hit pretty hard on these reasons alone, from the beginning with the loss of their mother, the struggles of their father with his illness, to interactions with other characters and events that occur throughout the game. On to the trophy list. I think it’s designed well and it does enhance the experience of the game, but it’s a weird choice that you can actually 100% the game without playing through to the end. A lot of the trophies are pretty quirky, with a lot of personality injected into them though which I like, and that did lead to some amusing moments for the two of us, like at the start of the game. Rob, being the gentleman that he is, decided to take a ball from a small child (charming), then I proceeded to throw this kid’s ball down a well (even more charming). We didn’t know this was a trophy, and the game then proceeded to shame us both for this but it was a funny highlight for the two of us. I couldn’t, nor would I have wanted to try and say any of that better than Red already has done. The closing moments of the game, for me were both tinged with sadness, not only because of the outcome of the story, but because Red was still sitting in-between my legs, but she wasn’t present with me in the game. Holding the controller by myself, just seemed wrong, and it was such a strange phenomenon as the whole way through felt like such a fantastic shared experience. So much pain and sadness hit me, as I was burying the older brother, I must say, this is also some incredible voice acting by the person that voices the younger brother, this is an aspect I only noticed playing the game by myself, but it’s very subtly done, but each pile of earth he pushes on top of his brother, the more anguished his sobs get, and that really got to me the second time I played it, as I remembered just how hard that hit me the first time, but of course this time I was alone. Overall, a beautiful game with a lovely soundtrack and message that I would suggest to anyone to experience. I look forward to playing more co-op games like this with Rob in the future and co-writing some too. This was such a fun experience to both play and to get to co-write a review, this has been one of those very personal ones for me. But quite honestly, anybody who has yet to play this game, or likes this game enough to play it more than once, I would definitely recommend trying to at least consider experiencing it the way we did, it was a truly special experience. Even by itself as a single player game it is still an absolutely marvellous experience. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that was both an incredibly fun one to write, and a completely different sort of one to write, and I'm really looking forward to co-writing some more reviews in the future, I had an absolute blast both playing this and writing about this. Both of us did, and I can still remember how much of a stupidly big smile that was across my face, the kind where your face hurts (she does that to me a lot) when she sent me her part of the review. We're quite a wholesome pair, so I hope this wasn't a bit too mushy - if it is.... well, deal with it I guess ..... This was just very nice for us both to be able to do. I'll catch you in all in the next one folks! Edited November 18, 2022 by rjkclarke 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted November 18, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 18, 2022 Sweet pair of write-ups man! Since you managed to split them across two pages, thus confounding the held-together-with-angel-breath-and-scotch-tape forum software, I'll forego quoting anything form the Subject 13 one, and just say... ..huh. Interesting. Oddly, I haven't played an Artifex Mundi on playstation in a good while, but I get what you imply by invoking them.... "Puzzles good! Everything else, you say?.... well... did I mention the puzzles are good?" ? Reckon I'll stick that one on the wishlist - at under a quid, it's hard to argue with, and I do like the tone of that kind of game! 6 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Ah man - love this game. So much, I did it twice too! It's funny how good the experience seems to have been playing Josef Fares' only "single-player-co-op" game - especially since I think his two actual "co-op-ass co-op" games have been kind of a let down (or, you know, a disgusting pile of dangerous nonsense, in one case ?) I reckon this one works as well as it does, because there's no dialogue - or explicit writing. I think Fares has kind of proven he has the concepts, but trips himself up when he tries to have explicit dialogue and writerly beats, because the chops aren't there for that - but he does have a knack for the themes and emotion. In this one, because that's all it plays on, it allows you to map on a lot of your own baggage onto the game, without it then getting trampled on by specific game points. It's like songs - if a sad song doesn't get too specific, then everyone is able to map on their own hooks, and it becomes about them. For you guys, playing together, it had that aspect. I remember playing this when my best friend was in the hospital getting radiotherapy (he's all good now BTW) and so a lot of that ended up getting swept up into the narrative for me... which is obviously a whole different thing, but the games deliberate avoidance of specificity of language lets that kind of personal connection be as free as possible, and allows a breadth of applicability to it. I suspect the ending had the same emotional impact, but for quite different reasons! ? Nice review though man (I'm also no quoting a bunch of section of this one - primarily because they're from two different people, and feels weird to do in that context! The duo-format is cool though - hope you guys do more like this! Nice work ? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Redblaziken8 Posted November 18, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 18, 2022 5 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Sweet pair of write-ups man! Since you managed to split them across two pages, thus confounding the held-together-with-angel-breath-and-scotch-tape forum software, I'll forego quoting anything form the Subject 13 one, and just say... ..huh. Interesting. Oddly, I haven't played an Artifex Mundi on playstation in a good while, but I get what you imply by invoking them.... "Puzzles good! Everything else, you say?.... well... did I mention the puzzles are good?" Reckon I'll stick that one on the wishlist - at under a quid, it's hard to argue with, and I do like the tone of that kind of game! Ah man - love this game. So much, I did it twice too! It's funny how good the experience seems to have been playing Josef Fares' only "single-player-co-op" game - especially since I think his two actual "co-op-ass co-op" games have been kind of a let down (or, you know, a disgusting pile of dangerous nonsense, in one case ) I reckon this one works as well as it does, because there's no dialogue - or explicit writing. I think Fares has kind of proven he has the concepts, but trips himself up when he tries to have explicit dialogue and writerly beats, because the chops aren't there for that - but he does have a knack for the themes and emotion. In this one, because that's all it plays on, it allows you to map on a lot of your own baggage onto the game, without it then getting trampled on by specific game points. It's like songs - if a sad song doesn't get too specific, then everyone is able to map on their own hooks, and it becomes about them. For you guys, playing together, it had that aspect. I remember playing this when my best friend was in the hospital getting radiotherapy (he's all good now BTW) and so a lot of that ended up getting swept up into the narrative for me... which is obviously a whole different thing, but the games deliberate avoidance of specificity of language lets that kind of personal connection be as free as possible, and allows a breadth of applicability to it. I suspect the ending had the same emotional impact, but for quite different reasons! Nice review though man (I'm also no quoting a bunch of section of this one - primarily because they're from two different people, and feels weird to do in that context! The duo-format is cool though - hope you guys do more like this! Nice work Thanks! We have some other games we are going to co-review, but Rob writes way better than I do ?. Glad to hear your friend is doing ok now! Your point on how the dialogue lets you put that personal connection into it is pretty astute too, hadn't thought about that one.? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gruffiiti Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 Thanks for the tag on Subject13. Like you I picked it up for less than the price of a shitty gas (petrol) station coffee. At that price I figured it likely can't disappoint. It is good to see a mostly positive review on it from you and I am glad you tagged me as it caused me to read the next review for Brothers which I may have missed for some time otherwise. I loved this game but remember thinking multiple times while playing that I wished they had created it for co-op play as that would just take it to the next level. I had however never thought to share a controller and play co-op in that way. That is just brilliant and I am glad you both had a fantastic journey with it. I also really enjoyed reading the duo-review and hope to see more. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted November 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted November 19, 2022 (edited) On 11/17/2022 at 6:19 PM, rjkclarke said: Subject 13 (PS4) Nice! I'm always on that Bah Humbug trip when it comes to puzzle games, but then I'll play one and be like "ooh!" I swooped up on The Swapper in a discount so swollen I swore it swindled that poor developer, so if I love that as much as I suspect, I may take a look at this guy as well! Quote Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PS4) Alright, the good stuff!! Quote Review Time With Rob and Red. Firstly, thank you Red for getting Rob to play this? And secondly, I gotta say that this cooperative format with a game based on symbiosis is pretty brilliant, props?? I really love how you guys tackled this; the trade offs were great, felt natural, and of course the writing was mad articulate and insightful. Yes Red, this includes you. I'm specifying this because Rob already knows how fond I am of his writing? I love any excuse to revisit the highs and lows of this game. Dude, that final swim... I've talked to Doc about that before, that is a crushing moment. Loved the shout out to the troll couple as well, somehow I forgot about them and how rewarding that reunion was? Edited November 19, 2022 by Beyondthegrave07 Removed off topic discussion 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post The_Kopite Posted January 11, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 11, 2023 Where's the list?! Where's the list?! Who, you might ask? Why, Doctor Who! Where's the list?! Where's the list?! lol 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post realm722 Posted January 12, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 12, 2023 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Redblaziken8 Posted January 13, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2023 Insider information, a Stray review is coming ?. In all seriousness though @rjkclarke, get back to posting. Your writing is great and I love reading your stuff. ❤️ 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted January 20, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2023 (edited) Well, I'm back.... Or at least I Will Be, Starting Next Week! Did I use the final line from Lord of the Rings, the book and the film on purpose? Yes.... Yes I did Lately this place has been more rust covered than diamond encrusted, so it's time to breathe a bit of life back into this thread, reopen the Carnival so to speak, and start getting back to actually writing some things, as I've accrued about nine reviews I need to catch up on before I can even consider writing a classic review again, but they'll come back, I've already got some plans for a couple. First things first, let's address a few things, as this is more of a formality, I'm back now, I hopefully won't be going anywhere in future, for prolonged periods of time, at least that's the plan.... I know, I know, some of you are thinking, you said that in November.... Well, things in November got a bit much.... Which leads me to this... Where have I been, and why? Okay, so let's kind of address the elephant in the room, at least briefly.... I'm not going to go into specifics, because really, I don't want to, it's like ripping a scab off, and then jamming a rusty nail into the wound I just reopened. It's not fun, it's not healthy, and it's not going to do anyone any good. Some of this may, or may not need explaining, if you saw the post above this one in its original form, before it was turned into a full stop, then you probably have at least got some idea of the situation. And to be perfectly real about it, so much of it has been posted on various parts of the internet at this point, that I expect a lot of you awesome folks that read this thread, or use this site,know more personal details about my private life than some of my family do. Is that ideal? Of course it's not, it stressed me out massively to the point where everything I was going to write would come under some sort of scrutiny, and somehow end up with this place basically being set on fire again, like it almost was in November. And when I say stressed out massively, I mean it. Plenty of you who read this thread know that anyway, and you've been nothing but supportive, and I really appreciate that. I genuinely considered quitting the site a few times, or at the very least just never actively posting again, just so I didn't have to deal with the constant potential drama that seemed to be thrown my way. This is not an attack on anyone involved in that either, and thankfully the situation is under control now... There was plenty of miscommunications, and plenty of things clearly lost in translation and a massive amount of hurt for everyone involved. Like I mentioned, if you read this thread fairly actively, then you probably know what's been going on, so let's just move on from the situation, let's not antagonise anyone, or try and subtly dig at anyone in posts, just get this thread back to what it used to be, a fun positive place where we can all just enjoy ourselves, throw some gaming opinions around, (rightly or wrongly) talk about films, talk about TV, music, anything, just return back to some more positivity and happiness.This place used to feel like a load of friends just hanging out, and hopefully it can be again. I probably ought to have made the happiness part a little bit clearer, because whilst I've also had a ludicrous amount of stress to deal with, I've also had so much happiness brought into my life, in just the last few months alone, and that's solely down to @Redblaziken8 - she's been so encouraging, so understanding and so brilliant with trying to suggest ways to get back to writing more regularly, because something I once enjoyed so much, was becoming a constant source of worry, which thankfully it isn't any longer. So to her I say thank you, well publicly, I'll just say it to your face later today ..... and she'll be be like "Why are you thanking me?" To everyone else who has been so supportive over the last few months, whether that's privately messaging me or coming to my defence when I needed it most, I really do appreciate it..... It felt like this, and yes, yes I am going to throw more Lord of the Rings into the mix,.... Think of me As Gondor.... And all of you awesome folks that did check in on me, gave me some kind words of support, friendship and strength, you're all most definitely Rohan in this situation, and I can't thank you enough for that. Are using those gifs a stretch? Of course they are, It's me though..... you should expect a protracted metaphor or two, especially if I'm trying to get back to a bit or normality, as that was definitely something I could never quite escape from. So going forward I want to aim to try and knock out at least one review a week, at the least and then hopefully just start easing back to the point where I can do a couple of them a week on the regular again, time permitting. I was tempted to do a hard reset on this thread, but I'm gonna reply to some of the comments on my Brothers review like I should have at the time, as despite how that situation panned out after I posted it, I really loved getting to write my first co-review with my absolutely wonderful girlfriend, and there are plenty more of those to come as well So let's get to it... On 18/11/2022 at 8:24 AM, DrBloodmoney said: Sweet pair of write-ups man! Since you managed to split them across two pages, thus confounding the held-together-with-angel-breath-and-scotch-tape forum software, I'll forego quoting anything form the Subject 13 one, and just say... ..huh. Interesting. Oddly, I haven't played an Artifex Mundi on playstation in a good while, but I get what you imply by invoking them.... "Puzzles good! Everything else, you say?.... well... did I mention the puzzles are good?" Reckon I'll stick that one on the wishlist - at under a quid, it's hard to argue with, and I do like the tone of that kind of game! Thanks man, glad you enjoyed them both.... I'd definitely say stick it on the wishlist and if Subject 13 comes up for a pretty low price snap it up, it definitely scratches a puzzle itch, but you and I have got a bit of a puzzle game obsession going on, but if you ever run out, it definitely sxratch that itch for about 5 hours or so.... before you're like.... "Hmm, I could do with something a little meatier in my puzzle experiences" ? On 18/11/2022 at 8:24 AM, DrBloodmoney said: It's funny how good the experience seems to have been playing Josef Fares' only "single-player-co-op" game - especially since I think his two actual "co-op-ass co-op" games have been kind of a let down (or, you know, a disgusting pile of dangerous nonsense, in one case ) I reckon this one works as well as it does, because there's no dialogue - or explicit writing. I think Fares has kind of proven he has the concepts, but trips himself up when he tries to have explicit dialogue and writerly beats, because the chops aren't there for that - but he does have a knack for the themes and emotion. In this one, because that's all it plays on, it allows you to map on a lot of your own baggage onto the game, without it then getting trampled on by specific game points. It's funny you mention that, because I remember the first time I read your comment.... It suddenly twigged that Josef Fares also made other games.... One you and I discussed quite extensively at the time, and that "disgusting pile of dangerous nonsense" is one I'm likely to play this year, so I'm going to be very interested to see if I have a similar response to it, like you did, the kind I genuinely expect I will. I'm also planning to play A Way Out at some point, and both the way you, Vice, and Smevz describe Fares work that isn't Brothers, I probably ought to go into them not judging him on what might be an inability to write dialogue based things particularly well, some people just struggle with that aspect a whole lot. Totally agree with you that the game basically not having any explicit dialogue allowing you to project your own feelings onto the canvas a little better too, some silent cinema can be like that too I find. I'm also glad to hear that your buddy is doing alright, that was ill when you played this. That's one of those things I figure is hard not to associate with the game for that reason alone, because it resonated with you in that way. Glad you liked the duo reviews as well, we've got a couple of those in the pipeline, and the one on Journey I think you might find pretty interesting, as I loved your Journey review so damn much, and I actually had an experience not too dissimilar to yours, on one of my three playthroughs, so it'll be interesting to discuss that one a bit. On 18/11/2022 at 2:14 PM, Redblaziken8 said: but Rob writes way better than I do . This is not true..... but I do think we contrast each other pretty well in a review.... Even if I do say so myself On 18/11/2022 at 5:27 PM, gruffiiti said: Thanks for the tag on Subject13. Like you I picked it up for less than the price of a shitty gas (petrol) station coffee. At that price I figured it likely can't disappoint. It is good to see a mostly positive review on it from you and I am glad you tagged me as it caused me to read the next review for Brothers which I may have missed for some time otherwise. I loved this game but remember thinking multiple times while playing that I wished they had created it for co-op play as that would just take it to the next level. I had however never thought to share a controller and play co-op in that way. That is just brilliant and I am glad you both had a fantastic journey with it. I also really enjoyed reading the duo-review and hope to see more. Thanks man! Sorry for the long overdue reply, I imagine you're sick of hearing that from me to be perfectly honest at this point I'm glad you enjoyed both of those reviews, Subject 13 is definitely worth a play, and as I know you've already bought it, I don't see why you can't at some point, but it's like I said to Doc, it's one of those games, where you kind of have to be in a spot where you both want a puzzle game, but are also out of really good puzzle games, and as they seem to get released fairly often, that's a bit of a doozy. Hey if you ever decide to give Brothers another play at some point, I totally recommend trying it the way we did sharing a controller, we both absolutely loved it, and was an incredibly memorable gaming experience for both of us, so I hope it would be for you as well. On 19/11/2022 at 1:17 AM, YaManSmevz said: I'm always on that Bah Humbug trip when it comes to puzzle games, but then I'll play one and be like "ooh!" I swooped up on The Swapper in a discount so swollen I swore it swindled that poor developer, so if I love that as much as I suspect, I may take a look at this guy as well! Oh yeah..... Doc, Vice and I still need to try and convert you to the ways of the puzzle game.... and I realise I should shut the F word up on that one, as I seriously don't deserve to espouse my love of puzzle games when I've not even played The Witness yet.... What a filthy animal haha If you see it for a decent price though, it can't hurt to have one more game on the backlog.... right, right? haha On 19/11/2022 at 1:17 AM, YaManSmevz said: Firstly, thank you Red for getting Rob to play this And secondly, I gotta say that this cooperative format with a game based on symbiosis is pretty brilliant, props I really love how you guys tackled this; the trade offs were great, felt natural, and of course the writing was mad articulate and insightful. Yes Red, this includes you. I'm specifying this because Rob already knows how fond I am of his writing I love any excuse to revisit the highs and lows of this game. Dude, that final swim... I've talked to Doc about that before, that is a crushing moment. Loved the shout out to the troll couple as well, somehow I forgot about them and how rewarding that reunion was I'm really glad she got me to play this as well, especially the way that she did! I knew I was going to play it at some point, because you'd definitely, sold it to me already with your review of it.... It's one of those wonderful games I think. where if you play it the way that we did. that those crushing moments are all the more crushing, because you've just played it with someone you care deeply about, and when they've taken their hand off the controller for those final sections it really did hit me very hard.... It was one of those "Oh man this is tough..... but it's so damn powerful" Yo, thanks for the kind words to Red as well, I;m hoping with a couple more of these duo reviews she might get a bit more confidence in herself as a writer, I think she writes great, really interesting, and really insightful too, so I can comfortably say myself I'm really looking forward to what she has to say herself, about some games we've played over the last few months. On 11/01/2023 at 3:08 PM, The_Kopite said: Where's the list?! Where's the list?! Who, you might ask? Why, Doctor Who! Where's the list?! Where's the list?! lol Next week actually ? Then you can finally see who tops out the list of my favourite Doctors from Doctor Who.... I actually wanted to get it out today or yesterday, but I won't be able to, but Red and I are about to hit the David Tennant part of the show, and part of me wanted her to know where and why he fits where he does on my rankings before she sees too much of him, but I'll have to leave the list till next week, but I will get it posted then I think! On 12/01/2023 at 4:15 AM, realm722 said: Loved this..... I've got some undoubtedly interesting realm posts to catch up on when I start to get back in the swing of things. Looking forward to picking out some no doubt obscure and super interesting games that you've almost certainly played the last few months. On 13/01/2023 at 0:18 AM, Redblaziken8 said: Insider information, a Stray review is coming . In all seriousness though @rjkclarke, get back to posting. Your writing is great and I love reading your stuff. Fanks Darlin (Yes, you should read that in that stupid faux cockney accent I do sometimes) Haha, well you heard it here first, she said it..... Terrible pun incoming.... The cat is out of the bag so a Stray review is indeed coming..... Or to give it its name I much prefer, that @Copanele coined "Orange Cat Game" So folks..... After the weekend, at some point next week, I'll probably see you all for "The Orange Cat Game" review.... I've updated the Platinum vault on the first page, so at least I just have to drop some links in there once I actually start tackling the mammoth backlog of reviews that I created for myself, but I've got some pretty awesome games to talk about too, so I'm quite excited for that! Thanks again for all your support the last few months, and it's good to be back! Edited January 20, 2023 by rjkclarke 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Copanele Posted January 20, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2023 5 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Haha, well you heard it here first, she said it..... Terrible pun incoming.... The cat is out of the bag so a Stray review is indeed coming..... Or to give it its name I much prefer, that @Copanele coined "Orange Cat Game" So folks..... After the weekend, at some point next week, I'll probably see you all for "The Orange Cat Game" review.... I've updated the Platinum vault on the first page, so at least I just have to drop some links in there once I actually start tackling the mammoth backlog of reviews that I created for myself, but I've got some pretty awesome games to talk about too, so I'm quite excited for that! Thanks again for all your support the last few months, and it's good to be back! Goddamnit Garf-- oh yeah it's Stray whew, crisis averted. To keep it extremely super duper brief - welcome back at long last, missed your crazy writing, so glad that everything is ok and sorted out ?looking forward to your future exploits and reviews And grinds 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post The_Kopite Posted January 20, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2023 3 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Next week actually Then you can finally see who tops out the list of my favourite Doctors from Doctor Who.... I actually wanted to get it out today or yesterday, but I won't be able to, but Red and I are about to hit the David Tennant part of the show, and part of me wanted her to know where and why he fits where he does on my rankings before she sees too much of him, but I'll have to leave the list till next week, but I will get it posted then I think! Good to hear! Good to see you back! Let's get this (thread) party started again! 3 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Fanks Darlin (Yes, you should read that in that stupid faux cockney accent I do sometimes) No, wait, you lost me. Too much. Too much. Close the thread! Close the thread! lol 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post YaManSmevz Posted January 20, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2023 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Well, I'm back.... Or at least I Will Be, Starting Next Week! Mah man!! So glad to see you in higher spirits again. And posting again! I missed you, dawg?? 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I'm also planning to play A Way Out at some point, and both the way you, Vice, and Smevz describe Fares work that isn't Brothers, I probably ought to go into them not judging him on what might be an inability to write dialogue based things particularly well, some people just struggle with that aspect a whole lot. Nice! Approaching A Way Out with medium (low sounds mean) expectations is perfect. The co-op aspect is dope... it ain't FF IX or anything but I think y'all will have a good time with it! 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Oh yeah..... Doc, Vice and I still need to try and convert you to the ways of the puzzle game.... and I realise I should shut the F word up on that one, as I seriously don't deserve to espouse my love of puzzle games when I've not even played The Witness yet.... What a filthy animal haha That's right, you haven't hit The Witness yet! What a filthy, degenerate, deliciously decadent trophy hunter you are... Doc and Vice's praises already had me curious, but Realm's review of Obra Dinn officially saw it set up camp on my radar. So y'all may make a Puzzler of me yet? ....and yeh you need some Witness in your life, sorry n shit?♂️ 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: It's one of those wonderful games I think. where if you play it the way that we did. that those crushing moments are all the more crushing, because you've just played it with someone you care deeply about, and when they've taken their hand off the controller for those final sections it really did hit me very hard.... It was one of those "Oh man this is tough..... but it's so damn powerful" 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Yo, thanks for the kind words to Red as well, I;m hoping with a couple more of these duo reviews she might get a bit more confidence in herself as a writer, I think she writes great, really interesting, and really insightful too, so I can comfortably say myself I'm really looking forward to what she has to say herself, about some games we've played over the last few months. Of course! Amusing as it would be to assume that the first time you touched her you imbued her with prodigious writing skill, there's clearly a natural talent there and I also hope she explores that. Both with you and on her own! Yeah, she fucked up... now we know she can write? 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Thanks again for all your support the last few months, and it's good to be back! i gots the popcorn ready, homie! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted January 20, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2023 3 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Well, I'm back.... Or at least I Will Be, Starting Next Week! 3 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Thanks man, glad you enjoyed them both.... I'd definitely say stick it on the wishlist and if Subject 13 comes up for a pretty low price snap it up, it definitely scratches a puzzle itch, but you and I have got a bit of a puzzle game obsession going on, but if you ever run out, it definitely sxratch that itch for about 5 hours or so.... before you're like.... "Hmm, I could do with something a little meatier in my puzzle experiences" ha - before I fell into the horrible purgatorial Tetris Hell in which I now dwell, my puzzle hunger did come rushing back, and I went on a bit of a puzzle game bender over Christmas - albeit of the 3D variety, with The Entropy Centre (awesome), System of Souls (okay) and Faraday Protocol (blergh)... but you know that itch is never quite staled for long, so I'll keep an eye out! 3 hours ago, rjkclarke said: It's funny you mention that, because I remember the first time I read your comment.... It suddenly twigged that Josef Fares also made other games.... One you and I discussed quite extensively at the time, and that "disgusting pile of dangerous nonsense" is one I'm likely to play this year, so I'm going to be very interested to see if I have a similar response to it, like you did, the kind I genuinely expect I will. I'm also planning to play A Way Out at some point, and both the way you, Vice, and Smevz describe Fares work that isn't Brothers, I probably ought to go into them not judging him on what might be an inability to write dialogue based things particularly well, some people just struggle with that aspect a whole lot. Totally agree with you that the game basically not having any explicit dialogue allowing you to project your own feelings onto the canvas a little better too, some silent cinema can be like that too I find. Oh, A Way Out is pretty fun - the acting and dialogue writing is pretty poor all told, but since it's a co-op only game, and genuinely pretty fun in the gameplay, varied, and actually plotted pretty well, I reckon you'll have a good time. I played with MsBloodmoney, and we basically had a great time - either enjoying the gameplay, or giggling at the more corny parts or.... - okay. I won't spoil... can you spoil what is basically a mechanical problem?... but there's this part in that game. There is a moment with a basketball... and because it is designed really oddly, and completely differently to any actual basketball game... a thing can happen. It probably will to you. I hope it does, actually.... because while it's not technically supposed to happen.... the result was possibly the biggest belly laugh either of us has had at a game EVER. Let me know when you finish that one - I need to know if the same thing happened to you guys! 3 hours ago, rjkclarke said: This is not true..... but I do think we contrast each other pretty well in a review.... Even if I do say so myself 3 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Oh yeah..... Doc, Vice and I still need to try and convert you to the ways of the puzzle game.... and I realise I should shut the F word up on that one, as I seriously don't deserve to espouse my love of puzzle games when I've not even played The Witness yet.... What a filthy animal haha This, sir, must be corrected... POST HASTE! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KindaSabbath Posted January 20, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2023 I’m so happy to see you back RJ!!! I mean it mate, this place isn’t the same without you! I already know we will have so much to talk about in 2023 and…. Let’s face it… nothing accompanies my morning coffee better than an RJ review! Let’s bring this place back to its former glory and then some!! ❤️ 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gruffiiti Posted January 20, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 20, 2023 @rjkclarke Good to see you back and in better spirits. Its also great news that you are planning on continuing to write as I have been interested to hear your thoughts on Uncanny Valley and Journey since I seen you playing them online awhile back. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted January 26, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 26, 2023 On 20/01/2023 at 1:37 PM, Copanele said: Goddamnit Garf-- oh yeah it's Stray whew, crisis averted. To keep it extremely super duper brief - welcome back at long last, missed your crazy writing, so glad that everything is ok and sorted out looking forward to your future exploits and reviews And grinds Crisis averted indeed..... It's a different Orange Cat..... Haha thanks man, it's good to be back though..... Speaking of Stray, I actually stuck to my word and have got a review to post this week, so I'm going to post my Orange Cat.... Ahem..... Stray review right after this! You're not wrong though, I have let myself in for some major grinds this year, what a silly person. I may end up regretting this On 20/01/2023 at 4:52 PM, The_Kopite said: Good to hear! Good to see you back! Let's get this (thread) party started again! Thanks man! I'm hoping to get that Doctor Who rankings list out maybe over the weekend, it's hard to say, I'll be pretty busy, but I might be able to find the time to sit down for an hour or two and get that one written down, but I'm looking forward to finally finishing it, that's for sure! On 20/01/2023 at 4:55 PM, YaManSmevz said: So glad to see you in higher spirits again. And posting again! I missed you, dawg? Missed you too man! I've got so many of your posts to catch up on, I'm going to have to just sit down and binge read them I think. but I sure as hell am going to sit down and do just hat one of these days! On 20/01/2023 at 4:55 PM, YaManSmevz said: Nice! Approaching A Way Out with medium (low sounds mean) expectations is perfect. The co-op aspect is dope... it ain't FF IX or anything but I think y'all will have a good time with it! On 20/01/2023 at 4:55 PM, YaManSmevz said: Doc and Vice's praises already had me curious, but Realm's review of Obra Dinn officially saw it set up camp on my radar. So y'all may make a Puzzler of me yet ....and yeh you need some Witness in your life, sorry n shit?♂️ I think A Way Out is one of those ones where I'm feeling more sorry for the person I'll be playing it with, because I can already predict she's going to hear me so many times saying things like "Oh my god those haircuts are appalling, oh they make my eyes bleed..... He liked the pudding basin look, huh"..... Yeah I expect she's going to hear that plenty, but I'm also interested in the actual co-op element of it, I've heard that aspect is actually good. You and me both have been eyeing up Orba Dinn actually, I've had it on my radar for ages, but the tightwad in me hasn't seen it for a price I like yet, but I really ought to just play it, because it seems like a really engrossing time, if you decide to you know, solve the puzzles yourself I will erm.... Actually try and make a deliberate effort to try and play The Witness this year as well, I feel like I owe it to myself as a puzzle game fan to actually do it. On 20/01/2023 at 4:55 PM, YaManSmevz said: Of course! Amusing as it would be to assume that the first time you touched her you imbued her with prodigious writing skill, there's clearly a natural talent there and I also hope she explores that. Both with you and on her own! Yeah, she fucked up... now we know she can write? Damn.... and there was me thinking I had some super powered writer transference skill..... colour me disappointed ? Not gonna lie man, I think that'd be cool as shit if she started up her own thread or started writing reviews herself for funsies. That has to come from her though, I'm just happy she'll occasionally write some with me, but if she decides to, you can be sure I'll be, and a lot of us here probably will (no pressure, on you guys, or her ), be supporting her every step of the way. On 20/01/2023 at 5:21 PM, DrBloodmoney said: Oh, A Way Out is pretty fun - the acting and dialogue writing is pretty poor all told, but since it's a co-op only game, and genuinely pretty fun in the gameplay, varied, and actually plotted pretty well, I reckon you'll have a good time. I played with MsBloodmoney, and we basically had a great time - either enjoying the gameplay, or giggling at the more corny parts or.... - okay. I won't spoil... can you spoil what is basically a mechanical problem?... but there's this part in that game. There is a moment with a basketball... and because it is designed really oddly, and completely differently to any actual basketball game... a thing can happen. It probably will to you. I hope it does, actually.... because while it's not technically supposed to happen.... the result was possibly the biggest belly laugh either of us has had at a game EVER. Let me know when you finish that one - I need to know if the same thing happened to you guys! Okay...... So now I'm really intrigued, and also I hope this happens, and if it doesn't then I'm probably going to end up quizzing you on what happened with you and the basketball, that had you two in stitches.... So in a way I'm almost hoping that it does happen to us as well. But after everything you've all said about A Way Out, I feel pretty safe in the knowledge that I'll likely have a pretty good time with it at the very least. On 20/01/2023 at 5:21 PM, DrBloodmoney said: This, sir, must be corrected... POST HASTE! I'm on it.... I'm on it On 20/01/2023 at 5:53 PM, KindaSabbath said: I’m so happy to see you back RJ!!! I mean it mate, this place isn’t the same without you! I already know we will have so much to talk about in 2023 and…. Let’s face it… nothing accompanies my morning coffee better than an RJ review! Let’s bring this place back to its former glory and then some!! Thanks so much Sabbath, and everyone else who dropped a comment, I really do appreciate it, and they were so lovely to read, I hope I've made that one very clear.... We're going to have loads to discuss over the course of this year I agree, you know that also works for you right? That thing about this place not being the same without me, that absolutely applies to you too, I do hope that one day you decide to breathe some life back into your awesome checklist, you've got a real natural gift for getting your thoughts and feelings across easily through writing, but obviously with the busy life you have, I get why it's not so easy. After all, I'm literally playing Titanfall 2 at the moment solely because of how awesome your review was all the way back in 2021, and I also got to Little Nightmares, and Limbo so much quicker because of how interesting you made them sound. I'm currently in a spot myself, where sometimes I'd much rather be gaming than writing about gaming. ? Thanks again for the super kind words man, they're really appreciated! On 20/01/2023 at 5:57 PM, gruffiiti said: @rjkclarke Good to see you back and in better spirits. Its also great news that you are planning on continuing to write as I have been interested to hear your thoughts on Uncanny Valley and Journey since I seen you playing them online awhile back. Thanks man, I really appreciate that one! I'm definitely going to be getting to both Uncanny Valley and Journey over the next couple of weeks, I'm quite looking forward to reviewing both of those ones, as Uncanny Valley I had the unfortunate problem of comparing to another game the whole way through playing it, but the game itself is still pretty enjoyable, if not a little unremarkable in its own right. Guess I'd better post that Stray Review, real quick! Kick this place back open properly ? Journey though, I'm really looking forward to writing about that one... As I played it 3 different times, and experienced the game slightly differently each new time that I played it! So that's going to be a fun one to discuss. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted January 26, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 26, 2023 (edited) The Orange Cat Game Review Platinum #362 Stray (PS4) All Done Unlock all trophies. A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 14 September 2022 6:54:39 PM Time Taken to Platinum : 2 weeks, 3 days, 22 hours Platinum Rarity - 30.52% Trophy Number - #17,225 In an unusual turn of events Stray is actually the first game for about three or four years – I believe the last instance being Kingdom Hearts III – in which I actually played the game on the year of its release. I will be fighting the urge all the way through this review to refer to the game not as Stray, but as Orange Cat Game, which is a title coined by Copanele, that I much prefer, but typing out Orange Cat Game, will take exponentially longer than just writing Stray, but it might slip in once or twice. In typical Rob fashion, I have lost track of what I was saying, bound to happen as I’ve had a tiny break from reviewing, but this is going to stay in the review, because I think it’s too silly to ignore now.... So without further ado, back to orange cats.... All of the above is – not that unusual of course, I just thought it was worth mentioning how due to the nature of how I game, I’m almost always behind on the newest releases, but this time, I very much was aboard the hype train that everyone else was with Stray, so let’s dive into it and see whether or not for me it lived up to all of the anticipation that was being built up for it. Released in 2022, Stray is an adventure game – at least that’s how it’s defined practically everywhere I’ve looked – developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapurna. Essentially in Stray, you, the eponymous stray, end up becoming a rather accidental hero, alongside your robotic companion B-12 as the fate of the entire area you’re exploring ends up becoming your responsibility. Take it from me though, that’s deliberately brief, it’s full of twists and turns. You encounter a plethora of interesting characters that are very clearly inspired by some pop culture icons, which will likely get a smile or two from you, in this visually interesting, and uniquely presented world. I don’t wish to say too much more about how the story actually unfolds, as the game is very short, and very charming, so I think it’s probably best to leave the majority of aspects of how the story itself plays out, as a surprise to anyone that has yet to play the game yet. Now, this might not seem immediately relevant, but bear with me for a moment. I think something a lot of us can almost universally agree on, is that cats are pretty cute animals. They might be indifferent to us, on occasion, but we can’t help but love them anyway, and a lot of us, even on some basic level, can appreciate that cats look visually appealing. Although the face on this one, I think is a little odd to tell you the truth. I even still love cats, despite having one jump onto my face and leave some pretty substantial claw marks embedded in my forehead forever. I think this is why many of us got aboard the hype train with Stray, it’s always nice to see a cute cat, of course it is, but Orange Cat Game, allows you to not just see the cat, but to play as that adorable orange fellow. I think this aspect was probably enhanced even more for me, as my own furry friend, is also an orange cat (if you’re taking a drink every time I say orange cat you might be wasted by the end of this review, I know I could say ginger, but oh well haha), who very much is indifferent to people, but he’s really cute, way cuter than our main character from Stray. Which is where we actually segue back into something – the game itself, and its visual element, it might seem like an odd place to start when discussing Stray, but Orange Cat Game’s visual element, actually plays into the game in more ways than just – “Oh look, how cute, there’s an adorable cat” the fact you play as a cat allowed the artistic designers an opportunity to really exercise some creativity, and exercise it they did. Not just from a visually interesting standpoint, the cat aspect allowed them to tailor specific parts of the gameplay, and design puzzle solutions based on things that only a cat could do. Whilst this is strictly a review of the PS4 version I also watched my girlfriend play this on her PS5, on New Year’s Eve, and New Years day. She would never have needed puzzle clues, or anything of that nature, she’s an incredibly smart lady after all, but the one thing I did say to her was “think like a cat.” I know, I know, at first you’re thinking, that’s a completely innocuous and pointless thing to say, but it really isn’t. One of the things I thought was borderline genius behind Stray’s design, is the fact that as gamers, playing a game – we only ever approach puzzle solutions from the angle of how a human solve them, but in Orange Cat Game, you’re quite literally a stray cat, so you can only really think within the confines of what a cat can do, and whilst none of the puzzles themselves are especially taxing, I really like how the developers decided to design them in such a way that makes you re-think the way you as a player would usually approach puzzle solving, It’s a very core element of Stray’s gameplay, the use of both traversal and puzzle solving, and the more that you “think like a cat” the quicker you’ll be able to navigate your surroundings. This might seem like a strange thing to bring up, but the gameplay itself is incredibly satisfying, or at least was for me, I found it fascinating initially, just bounding around like a cat. I was incredibly impressed too, by just how expertly animated the cats movement were. Even slow walking, the way some cats almost slowly trot alongside you. They really nailed the specificity of how cats move, and that did not go unnoticed, or unappreciated the multiple times I’ve played the game. Another aspect of the game, which I think was incredibly well executed, is the games sound design, and I mean that as a cover all statement, because all of the individual aspects really complement each other incredibly well, unlike in some titles, where it’s the individual sound components that really stand out. In the case of Orange Cat Game, they all complement each other incredibly well. Take the soundtrack for example; it’s something that has both catchiness to it, but also a soulful poignancy to it. Long time readers of my reviews, will probably have picked up by now, that I have quite the fondness for electronic music, and synthesisers, and both of these are used to great effect here. Many aspects of them give such an enigmatic mysterious feeling, which really complements the dilapidated visuals in some areas, which feel so devoid of true organic life, yet due to how atmospheric the music is you can’t help but wonder if something sinister is lurking in some of the murkier less well lit areas. I thought this was used to particularly great effect in the sewer sections. It’s something that I think really resonates well in a game that is chock full of machine life, that their individuality and sentience is explored through the use of some of the musical stings associated with them. A lot of care and attention was very clearly poured into the sound effects themselves. They’re all so satisfying to hear, too. They’re all very well crafted, whether it’s the crash, as debris flies around you as the cat bowls around you, or the anticipation of something breaking, as Stray cheekily bats something off of a ledge with his paw, like this cat here. In my opinion at least, some of the beast sound effects come in the form of the speech, or I guess lack thereof, instead of voiced dialogue, much like in the days of Banjo Kazooie, and games of that nature, voiced dialogue is replaced by a sort of garbled gibberish, yet that gibberish has some real character to it, and characters like B-12, with how the cat interacts with them ends up carrying a lot of emotional weight. It’s something that I think can only be achieved as effectively, as the sound effects of the orange cat itself, I’ve had several friends remark on how their own cat reacted to hearing the in-game cat, which is a true testament to just how convincing those sound effects actually are. Some were mesmerised, others terrified. I don’t usually tend to discuss trophies all too often in these reviews these days, but I feel like the speedrun trophy in Stray, is one that deserves a mention, as for me, it’s a genuine criticism that I think is fair to levy at the games platinum experience. I understand that it’s optional, and that we ultimately have a choice in whether we do, or don’t do it..... The thing is – Stray is not a game that really benefits from being played at a breakneck speed. Yes – it’s fairly enjoyable to sequence break certain areas, and figuring out how to do that is somewhat satisfying – but tonally, the game is designed, in my opinion at least, to be one of discovery, and the overall atmosphere of the game, is fairly relaxing, if not occasionally unsettling. So being able to go at a pace that’s comfortable to you, is where Stray really shines, cats by nature are inquisitive, so the lack of in-game map requires us as players to also become inquisitive. Of course most speedruns will be performed after the initial playthrough, but bounding through the area quickly I think somewhat undermines some of the games better elements. And almost seems completely counter-intuitive to what the developers truly intended for us as players. When you add a constant timer to the mix, you find yourself constantly exiting to the menu to check your speedrun progress, and whilst the speedrun itself is manageable, I don’t think it really adds anything positive to the experience as a whole, to me it just felt like an unusually artificial way of lengthening the play by a little bit. Would I recommend Stray? I definitely would, it’s not very long, you can play it in a day or two, if you have those days free, and ultimately in my opinion at least, it can be a relaxing and rewarding experience. There’s a few collectibles here and there, and the trophy hunting experience itself out side of the speedrun is quite satisfying, as those collectibles and miscellaneous tasks help build up the lore of the world in which the game inhabits, and adds a lot of character, which is something that I personally really enjoyed. Was it game of the year for 2022 in my opinion? As this is the only game I’ve played from 2022, I can’t actually compare it to anything else, but my gut feeling says that it probably isn’t, but it is a very enjoyable experience nevertheless. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, with this we can consider this place re-opened, was that the best review I've ever written? Almost definitely not, I'm a little bit emotionally detached from this game, if I'm perfectly honest. I enjoyed it plenty, I just played it at a time when my brain felt like a washing machine stuck on a permanent spin cycle, so getting this review done and out the way was probably a good one to start back with, as I don't have that association with any of the other games that I have to catch up on. . I also ought to throw a little shout out to @Redblaziken8 - she suggested watching her play it, when she played it, just to disassociate myself from all of the bad things going on at the time I played it, and I'm so glad she did, being able to chill out with her, right next to me, it allowed me to view the game in a different light going into this review. So big thanks for that one, it's so appreciated, believe me, you've really helped in getting me back in the swing of things on here. Speaking of catching up on.... Everyone else's awesome checklist threads - I've got some real catching up to do there, and I will do it, so I'm going to start making a real conscious effort to do that soon as well. Okay, well it definitely feels good to be back writing again, so this is good. I guess I'll catch you in the next one folks? Feels a little strange writing that after so long .... But a good strange ? Edited January 26, 2023 by rjkclarke 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redblaziken8 Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 It's really nice to read a review of yours again on here! Stray was a pretty fun experience, but after having played God of War Ragnarok and some Elden Ring... yeah Stray isn't GOTY 2022. I got the urge to play it every time I saw my uncle's cat, and he probably got sick of me telling him every week I wanted to play it. I think the game is about the right length as well, it doesn't overstay its welcome. The trophy names are well thought out too, I like that some effort was made there - but agreed, the speedrun trophy sucks. Glad playing it with me helped you get this review done, and it'll be nice to read some reviews of yours more often since I've not read many of your new ones since knowing you really ?. You're a great writer, so it would've been a massive shame if you had stopped reviewing games on here. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted January 26, 2023 Share Posted January 26, 2023 OH IT'S THE ORANGE CAT GAME REVIEW! Glad to have you back I honestly loved this game (and I am glad that I somehow coined this game). This is the GOOD Orange Cat game, to not be confused with the BAD Orange Fat Cat game Diabeetus edition. Yes, the charm of the game is given by the fact that you play as a cat. Yes if it was something else (a dog, an iguana, a robot, that girl from Forspoken) it would have not been as good. It's the cat that makes the charm in the end 7 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Not just from a visually interesting standpoint, the cat aspect allowed them to tailor specific parts of the gameplay, and design puzzle solutions based on things that only a cat could do. Whilst this is strictly a review of the PS4 version I also watched my girlfriend play this on her PS5, on New Year’s Eve, and New Years day. She would never have needed puzzle clues, or anything of that nature, she’s an incredibly smart lady after all, but the one thing I did say to her was “think like a cat.” This...is exactly the trick. Even now I remember how I got stuck into a room, no way out...until I realized "wait, I am a goddamn cat, I can just go through those bars"...which I did. Because I am a cat, not a human, so I fits. I have to say, Annapurna nailed the cat feeling, at least in the first half of the game. It gets kinda weird in the last section of the game where you have to activate some switches in a weird not-cat like manner, but at least the first half of the game is solid! 7 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: It’s something that I think can only be achieved as effectively, as the sound effects of the orange cat itself, I’ve had several friends remark on how their own cat reacted to hearing the in-game cat, which is a true testament to just how convincing those sound effects actually are. Some were mesmerised, others terrified. My sister watched the gameplay of Stray via youtube, while her cat was around. While the Orange Cat was meowing, suddenly the irl cat hissed and ran away. ...I really am curious what the hell did they record in the game. 7 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: I don’t usually tend to discuss trophies all too often in these reviews these days, but I feel like the speedrun trophy in Stray, is one that deserves a mention, as for me, it’s a genuine criticism that I think is fair to levy at the games platinum experience. I understand that it’s optional, and that we ultimately have a choice in whether we do, or don’t do it..... I normally hate speedruns in videogames, but... Stray was abit special. Yeah, it made no sense to speedrun the game, but given that a. My cat runs like a possessed demon whenever it hears that I open a can of food and b. This Video...Speedrunning wasn't as bad as I expected. Plus the time was lenient enough It really improves the mood when you sing Deja-Vu like a crazy cat lover. Awesome review!! I am glad you used the Orange Cat Game for your return :> 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 On 1/26/2023 at 11:16 AM, rjkclarke said: I think A Way Out is one of those ones where I'm feeling more sorry for the person I'll be playing it with, because I can already predict she's going to hear me so many times saying things like "Oh my god those haircuts are appalling, oh they make my eyes bleed..... He liked the pudding basin look, huh"..... Yeah I expect she's going to hear that plenty, but I'm also interested in the actual co-op element of it, I've heard that aspect is actually good. It is, it's surprisingly fun! I feel you on the haircuts though, it's like when you'd go through the creation suite in those old SvR games and find the most outlandish hair and facial hair just to make a goofy ass wrestler with it. If Josef Fares remembered a tag team he made once on Here Comes the Pain and got his brother and another actor to rock the look, that'd be pretty funny? Quote You and me both have been eyeing up Orba Dinn actually, I've had it on my radar for ages, but the tightwad in me hasn't seen it for a price I like yet, but I really ought to just play it, because it seems like a really engrossing time, if you decide to you know, solve the puzzles yourself Definitely feel you on that, it's funny when there's a game you wanna play on sale but you're like "Do I fifteen dollars want to play this, or are we waiting for the Under $10 bin? ...yeah come back when you're five bucks, bro." I'm trying to be a firm parent with myself this year, like "You already have over a hundred games at home that you haven't even played." "But I want i-" "That's enough little Smevz, we're going home." So don't feel bad for your inner tightwad, he really is doing you a solid. It's for your own good, and uh, it hurts him more than it hurts you, or something. Quote Not gonna lie man, I think that'd be cool as shit if she started up her own thread or started writing reviews herself for funsies. That has to come from her though, I'm just happy she'll occasionally write some with me, but if she decides to, you can be sure I'll be, and a lot of us here probably will (no pressure, on you guys, or her ), be supporting her every step of the way. Absolutely! Either way, I just think it's dope that you met someone who is happy sharing this world with you (PSN and general gaming, not in some grandiose Hallmark kind of way), ya love to see it. Quote Platinum #362 Stray (PS4) And he's back like he ain't never left! I feel you on rarely playing a new game as it's come out, this wouldve been a great one to do that with - feels like all the PSN homies been talkin about this one for the past year! It's been cool for me as a passerby, but also makes me think that by the time I finally get to playing it and writing about it there won't be shit left to say? Crazy that you've got your cat love tattooed into your forehead like that! I'm not exactly a cat person myself, though like pretty much everyone else on the planet I still like them - just not enough to be like "how cute, it clawed out one of my eyes... ooh, now it's disemboweling an insect! ADORBZ." I really like the cat mechanics (that sounds weird) you focus on, I remember being surprisingly excited at the prospect of playing as a cat in those sections of Soul Suspect only to be left wanting more. It's cool to think that a developer was like "Cats need proper representin, son" and saw that concept through. Also, I love me some well-implemented gibberish in my games! That's impressive as fuck though that they were able to make it to such an extent that actual cats respond to the noises from the game, that's some next level shit! It's awesome to see you getting back into the swing of things, man! We been missin that patented Clarke love? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 16, 2023 Author Share Posted February 16, 2023 (edited) On 26/01/2023 at 7:59 PM, Redblaziken8 said: It's really nice to read a review of yours again on here! Stray was a pretty fun experience, but after having played God of War Ragnarok and some Elden Ring... yeah Stray isn't GOTY 2022. I got the urge to play it every time I saw my uncle's cat, and he probably got sick of me telling him every week I wanted to play it. I think the game is about the right length as well, it doesn't overstay its welcome. The trophy names are well thought out too, I like that some effort was made there - but agreed, the speedrun trophy sucks. Glad playing it with me helped you get this review done, and it'll be nice to read some reviews of yours more often since I've not read many of your new ones since knowing you really . You're a great writer, so it would've been a massive shame if you had stopped reviewing games on here. It's nice to be back writing one on here again - try and ignore the irony that I'm replying to you on here and you're less than ten feet away from me right now... and of course, that a lot of the things you read in that review you hadn't heard straight from my mouth, as I watched you play it You know.... Where my brain went when you mentioned your uncles cat..... "Hello...... " ? Can't help but laugh at that one. If he ever plays it himself I do worry the IRL cat will freak out like so many other peoples have done. That speeedrun trophy can indeed get in the bin. On 26/01/2023 at 7:59 PM, Copanele said: Glad to have you back I honestly loved this game (and I am glad that I somehow coined this game). This is the GOOD Orange Cat game, to not be confused with the BAD Orange Fat Cat game Diabeetus edition. Yes, the charm of the game is given by the fact that you play as a cat. Yes if it was something else (a dog, an iguana, a robot, that girl from Forspoken) it would have not been as good. It's the cat that makes the charm in the end I would also be up for any variation of dog, iguana and robot to be fair, so long as it had a similar charm to Stray.... I also because of you just always refer to this game as Orange Cat Game, but I will skip out on full Orange Cat Series Completion, and avoid anything Garfield related On 26/01/2023 at 7:59 PM, Copanele said: This...is exactly the trick. Even now I remember how I got stuck into a room, no way out...until I realized "wait, I am a goddamn cat, I can just go through those bars"...which I did. Because I am a cat, not a human, so I fits. I have to say, Annapurna nailed the cat feeling, at least in the first half of the game. It gets kinda weird in the last section of the game where you have to activate some switches in a weird not-cat like manner, but at least the first half of the game is solid! I also did that myself, where I was in a little room with bars on it. And then was like.... "How the hell do I get through this dooo....... Oh well done Rob, cats don't usually use doors" I do agree with you though, the feeling does go a little weird when you get to the whole cats with fricking laser beams, attached to their freaking heads thing haha, but I still think the overall feel of the game is very good. On 26/01/2023 at 7:59 PM, Copanele said: While the Orange Cat was meowing, suddenly the irl cat hissed and ran away. ...I really am curious what the hell did they record in the game. For some reason when I read IRL cat, I laughed my arse off, and I have done ever since, and I feel a compulsion to refer to every single cat as an IRL cat They really did do a hell of a job with those sounds considering just how many stories I've heard about cats getting absolutely freaked out by the game. On 29/01/2023 at 7:20 PM, YaManSmevz said: t is, it's surprisingly fun! I feel you on the haircuts though, it's like when you'd go through the creation suite in those old SvR games and find the most outlandish hair and facial hair just to make a goofy ass wrestler with it. If Josef Fares remembered a tag team he made once on Here Comes the Pain and got his brother and another actor to rock the look, that'd be pretty funny Oh man, that's hilarious. I think you may have just stumbled onto the formula of how Josef Fares designed his characters in this game.... I'm definitely going to play it though out of curiosity, and it definitely looks pretty fun from a co-op perspective, so I'm hoping that Red and I can have a decent chunk of fun with that one. On 29/01/2023 at 7:20 PM, YaManSmevz said: And he's back like he ain't never left! I feel you on rarely playing a new game as it's come out, this wouldve been a great one to do that with - feels like all the PSN homies been talkin about this one for the past year! It's been cool for me as a passerby, but also makes me think that by the time I finally get to playing it and writing about it there won't be shit left to say? Crazy that you've got your cat love tattooed into your forehead like that! I'm not exactly a cat person myself, though like pretty much everyone else on the planet I still like them - just not enough to be like "how cute, it clawed out one of my eyes... ooh, now it's disemboweling an insect! ADORBZ." I really like the cat mechanics (that sounds weird) you focus on, I remember being surprisingly excited at the prospect of playing as a cat in those sections of Soul Suspect only to be left wanting more. It's cool to think that a developer was like "Cats need proper representin, son" and saw that concept through. Also, I love me some well-implemented gibberish in my games! That's impressive as fuck though that they were able to make it to such an extent that actual cats respond to the noises from the game, that's some next level shit! It's awesome to see you getting back into the swing of things, man! We been missin that patented Clarke love Thanks man! It's really good to be back.... And also.... I have another review to drop later tonight, I meant to finish it about a week ago. But now I have, so I'll throw it up later on. Stray is definitely one worth looking into, I'm sure you'd probably have a decent chunk of fun with it, ever you wanted a nice chilled experience that sets you back about ten hours or so. And I can almost guarantee that you'd have an absolute blast with the soundtrack, and being a bit of a musician yourself there's a cool little sidequest in there about giving a little musician robot it's musical mojo back. You know what. I totally forgot that there was a section in Soul Suspect where you play as a cat, it's one of those parts of the game I think just went in, and then flew straight out the other. Like I said to Copa a bit further up - whilst it might be a little derivative to just be like "insert animal here" kind of game.... I do think that exploring some unique gameplay elements with other animals, and seeing exactly where you can go with that creatively does have some furry, or scaly (let's not discriminate) legs in it, Edited February 16, 2023 by rjkclarke 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted February 16, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 16, 2023 (edited) Let Us Talk About Coffee Platinum #363 Coffee Talk (PS4) Coffee and Chill Get All trophy A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 28 October 2022 1:39:08 AM Time Taken to Platinum : 3 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours Platinum Rarity - 57.39% Trophy Number - #17,249 I feel as if I need to mention something before really getting into this review. I feel as if I need to clarify that I very much do enjoy this game. It might appear like I’m being slightly overly critical, when in fact I’m very fond of this experience. I just unfortunately played a better and altogether quite similar game first. What is that game? VA-11 Hall-A. The pseudo visual novel that I played at the tail end of 2021 – which much like that review, I’ll just refer to as Valhalla from this point onwards. I’ll make this very transparent from the beginning. I am very fond of Coffee Talk. I do have a preference however, and that is Valhalla, but there isn’t a whole lot in it, I think both are excellent, just in slightly different ways. This makes it my task to really delve into what exactly does make it excellent, and I suppose a little bit of why I prefer one game over the other, and as you’ll no doubt find out in more detail, it’s a case of preference over quality. So without further ado, let’s talk some coffee. Released all the way back in 2020 (yes I know, it’s a surprise to me, too, that I played a game from this decade) Coffee Talk is – in essence at least, a visual novel, developed by the indie studio Toge Productions. Coffee Talk sees you take on the role of a nameless Barista, whose name is yours to choose (we’ll get to that aspect shortly,) as you unravel some of the lives and loves of various inhabitants of a fictionalised Seattle, a place famous for Coffee, and Frasier of course. Serving drinks, and helping your customers unwind through some interesting, yet also relaxing mini-games, tasking you with brewing coffee. As you can imagine, because this game is predominantly narrative focused, this review might read a little bit light, I won’t give away any spoilers, because I very rarely do – the game itself is very interesting, not just from the perspective of how the story is told – but also the way in which it is written. This was one area that I thought really did deserve praise, but first, let’s deal with some of the simpler aspects of Coffee Talk. Visually memorable, is definitely a descriptor I feel is accurate for Coffee Talk, the stylised 90’s retro-look anime pixel art (try saying that after a few alcoholic beverages) is, as I mentioned,incredibly visually appealing. Much like the way in which they approach writing the characters – with the intent to be distinctive and memorable, the way they look reflects that, as each character feels incredibly appropriate for the way the specific character is written. Whilst the animation is minimal at best, there is enough character in the practically static images to make up for it. Some of you may have noticed, that I often like to talk about sound – the thing with Coffee Talk, is that the options on that are very limited. Coffee Talk has sounds, as in it possesses sound effects, and it has a soundtrack, but that really is it. The sound effects are well produced though, and satisfying, so it was nice to see that despite this being a smaller area of the game, it’s still one that was given appropriate attention. There’s a certain subjectivity to the soundtrack, in that I think to really enjoy it, you have to like jazz somewhat. I’m not the biggest lover of jazz, nor do I dislike it either, but I can certainly recognise just how well some of the smooth jazz pieces on the soundtrack really contribute towards the relaxed atmosphere that permeates through the game. From a gameplay perspective I think it would be unfair to criticise Coffee Talk too much – as, after all, it is essentially a visual novel and with that, comes the expectancy that gameplay will likely be very limited. After all you’re basically there for the story, more than you are riveting gameplay. However, much like Valhalla, gameplay does exist, in some form. It’s simplistic, but it is there – and what there is of it forms a good symbiosis between relaxing gameplay, and focus on the narrative. The gameplay simply consists of picking ingredients and putting them into a blender, then some optional latte art, which you can experiment with as much as you like. One strong aspect of Coffee Talk is that there’s no real penalty as such for getting drink orders wrong, you just get a slightly different branch of dialogue, until you eventually make the right thing. This is an element of the game where I think the gameplay and the story work really well in tandem together. This contributes towards the overall feeling that Coffee Talk as a game is overall just a thoroughly relaxing experience. However, as we’re essentially discussing a visual novel here – perhaps relaxing isn’t quite enough? I think this is where personal preference slightly hampered my experience of this game a tiny amount. Valhalla was a game where the way it told it’s story – and characterised its world, and indeed characters, was to be perfectly honest, almost spellbinding. It takes a lot for me to be so engrossed in something I essentially binge read an entire novel in sixteen hours. Both Coffee Talk and Valhalla don’t really offer the player all too much agency in the game itself – this is, I must stress, something I don’t mind at all. I can very much appreciate a writer, or team of writers having a story that they want to tell, and then going out of their way to tell said story. Unfortunately this is where I ended up preferring Valhalla to Coffee Talk. I think, personally, this is because Coffee Talk at least tries to present you with a little more agency than Valhalla does, but it also uses that to try and mask it’s linearity a little bit as a result. Coffee Talk presents you, the player, with the instant choice, of what your character is called, naturally, I called mine Rob. This seems simple enough – and whilst, yes, it is, it also instantly padlocks that character into being a conduit for yourself and not a lot else. Don’t get me wrong, this really works, whilst I may have preferred Valhalla, and preferred Jill as a protagonist, it would be unfair of me not to praise how they write the Barista character assuming that you’d likely name them after yourself. I must say this game is written very well – it takes a lot to have a game with multiple characters in them, and for them all to mostly feel unique. Yet not too many of them – if ever, actually – stray into the realms of being either a stereotype, or just sounding like the writer themselves. This is an area that I think really does deserve genuine praise, and is one of, if not the strongest aspect of Coffee Talk, is just how well its characters have been written. Each one feels very unique, has their own specific quirks, and more importantly you end up getting to know them as people. This is an element of the game that both Coffee Talk and Valhalla both do excellently, but both in their own unique way. Coffee Talk really plays off of the “You want to go where everybody knows your name” thing that people associate with the television show Cheers. And this was an aspect of the game that I thought worked really well, as when that character is named after yourself, that connection with your customers feels that much more genuine. It’s particularly well done, in the way that characters that already know you interact with you. These characters have that instant familiarity, whereas those that have not gotten to know you yet are often a little apprehensive about using your name. Something that deserves high praise indeed – is that, the way the Barista has been characterised is very authentic. One of my best friends is a Barista, and a good one too, with excellent interpersonal skills, that just knows how to talk to people and make them feel relaxed – and you know, want to return in the future for more coffee. In this aspect I can’t help but sing the praises regarding the way in which it was written, as the interactions feel very genuine and authentic and does reflect how real relationships between a barista and a customer would form. Ironic, when you can have a scene featuring a fairy, an Orc, and a Octopus-human hybrid. With all of that in mind, I find myself asking the age old question. Would I recommend this one? Yes, but I’d specifically recommend playing it blind first, because consulting a guide might bamboozle you into thinking that the game is merely two hours long. It could be if you wanted it to be, as the option is present to just skip plenty of dialogue and do just what the trophies require of you, but in this games case I do think you’re genuinely missing out on a great experience. Did I prefer Valhalla to this? Yes, but that is purely because of how much Jill resonated with me, as a character, I thought she was fascinating, and no character in Coffee Talk quite piqued my interest in the same way, despite being very interesting. So my honest recommendation is to actually play both games, and then you can truly experience the best things that each game has to offer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Should have a couple of quick reviews that should make catching up a little easier,and potentially a Star Wars Classic review in the pipeline too. This is definitely one of those games that is absolutely worth checking out if you happen to be looking for a nice chilled out experience, I just can't help but love Valhalla so much, so my love for that game gets in the way of my enjoyment of this game, just a tiny bit Anyway, I'll erm, shut up about how much I love Valhalla, and catch you all in the next one folks. Edited February 16, 2023 by rjkclarke 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serrated-banner9 Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 21 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Let Us Talk About Coffee Platinum #363 Stray (PS4) wait i thought Stray was a game about cats not coffee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted February 16, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 16, 2023 6 minutes ago, serrated-banner9 said: wait i thought Stray was a game about cats not coffee You would be correct! And I am absolutely mortified by that absolute fanny of a mistake that I just made.... Which has now been corrected. Egg and my face are in alignment..... And I am the living embodiment of this emoji It is now a Coffee Talk review 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: It's nice to be back writing one on here again - try and ignore the irony that I'm replying to you on here and you're less than ten feet away from me right now... and of course, that a lot of the things you read in that review you hadn't heard straight from my mouth, as I watched you play it My wife and I do that on social media too! It's fun to have multiple conversations that way, I don't know what it is, a playfulness I guess? 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Oh man, that's hilarious. I think you may have just stumbled onto the formula of how Josef Fares designed his characters in this game.... I'm definitely going to play it though out of curiosity, and it definitely looks pretty fun from a co-op perspective, so I'm hoping that Red and I can have a decent chunk of fun with that one. It is! I think you guys would have a good time with it, especially since you're not gonna go in expecting Secret of Mana or something. It could easily be beaten in 1-2 sittings, and so long as you know where to stop for the trophy shit, it'll be a nice one and done! 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Stray is definitely one worth looking into, I'm sure you'd probably have a decent chunk of fun with it, ever you wanted a nice chilled experience that sets you back about ten hours or so. And I can almost guarantee that you'd have an absolute blast with the soundtrack, and being a bit of a musician yourself there's a cool little sidequest in there about giving a little musician robot it's musical mojo back. Ooh.. I like that! 2 hours ago, rjkclarke said: You know what. I totally forgot that there was a section in Soul Suspect where you play as a cat, it's one of those parts of the game I think just went in, and then flew straight out the other. It stuck with me because I thought it was such a cool switch up, but there was a lot more they could have done with it. Seems like Stray is the correction for that! 54 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Platinum #363 Coffee Talk (PS4) This review is serving as a reminder to get into VA-11 Hall-A sooner than later. Thanks to you, I own it as well as 2064 (which looks to provide my Blue in the Kaleidoscope Challenge, funny enough) so I've really no excuse! Coffee Talk definitely looks cute. I like the idea of a chill, jazz bumpin coffee shop, and who am I to argue with a setting as fine as Frasierland? And if it successfully emulates the experience of a customer service position with a sea of friendly faces, well then I'm on board with that too! But honestly, this isn't a genre I'm exactly frothing at the mouth to get into with VA11's exception, so I think I'll wait til I play that, see what I think, and keep this one in mind. Good job as always, my dude! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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