grayhammmer Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 Since you brought it up during Untitled Goose Game's analysis, I want to put in a request for Donut County (a unique, charming, but dreadfully short game that I completed some time ago), though I'm not sure how that will affect my previous request of RE6. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 9 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Thanks to @Copanele for putting in a request! Many, MANY thanks for reviewing Alice! I really have fond memories about this game, it's probably the first piece of media that I interacted with which put a dark spin on a classic book character (I loved Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass stories). I admit, I enjoyed American McGee's Alice more than "Madness Returns" despite the gameplay differences. Somehow the first game encapsulated the dread and the madness feeling a bit more, while the latter was more visually attractive, but it...kinda lost the magic?(especially the underwater level, damn that one was a slog ). Only the last level of Madness Returns is on par and even surpasses the first game's levels, at least in my opinion. Damn, that was one disturbing level...considering the background story. Regardless both are amazing games, hopefully American McGee will continue his project with the 3rd installment. Also dear god did Alice Madness Returns generate a ton of cosplay material 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted August 21, 2022 Author Share Posted August 21, 2022 7 hours ago, grayhammmer said: Since you brought it up during Untitled Goose Game's analysis, I want to put in a request for Donut County (a unique, charming, but dreadfully short game that I completed some time ago), though I'm not sure how that will affect my previous request of RE6. Added with your name mate ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: + Alice: The Madness Returns I'm a total sucker for anything in Lewis Carroll territory, and giving it a darker touch - and with Chris Vrenna on musical duties?? This game is tailor-made for my high school self! Madness Returns sounds like it brings an outstanding concept to the table, and that alone piques my curiosity to see just how creative the devs were able to get here. Also... On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: A child viewing adulthood through childish flights of fancy is whimsical. An adult viewing traumas of adulthood through childish fantasy is macabre and nightmarish. Spot-on. On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: My Friend Pedro I remember you talking about this and sharing a gameplay vid, and it looked so wonderfully dazed and confused. And violent! Methinks this may be one of those games that hops in my cart when it starts getting good markdowns. Also the fact that you ranked this below Hotline Miami 2 reminded me that at some point I'm finally gonna have to let that game bloody up my nose some? On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: RiffTrax: The Game On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: Casting players in the role of the riffing joke-misters, Reading this intro had me excited immediately, because it somehow made me picture one of my favorite fictional games to appear on Aqua Teen Hunger Force.. ..and while I'm pretty sure a game or two like that does exist, one with a trusted seal of approval would've made me quite happy. You see the silly places my mind can go in an instant? Never grow up, Smevz.... ??? This sounds like a lot of fun! I love a good party game, and if it's based on bad movies and just general silliness, I really can't see going wrong here. Thanks, Doc! On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: Untitled Goose Game Bro I been curious about this one for a minute!! I remember a short period where it seems like everybody was playing this, and watching some gameplay on YouTube gave me one of those "haha what?" moments that didn't completely sell me on the game, but somehow only made my curiosity stronger! On 8/20/2022 at 4:20 PM, DrBloodmoney said: In some ways, Untitled Goose Game actually operates somewhere in the vicinity of that style of game to which Surgeon Simulator, Octodad or I Am Bread belong - wherein dealing with purposefully obtuse or awkward controls in a physics-based environment is a fundamental element of the game, and of the challenge. I like how you describe the score's relation to the player, and of course a playful mischief approach is always going to be a good time. Plus, you're mentioning it in the same breath as two other games you've put on my radar - The Touryst and Hoa - so I feel I've no choice but to check this out? Yet another HONKing good set of reviews, sir! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 !!SCIENCE UPDATE!! The next (somewhat) randomly selected games to be submitted for scientific analysis shall be: Legacy Donut County Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren's Call New Etherborn Best Month Ever! The Solitaire Conspiracy Subject(s) in RED marked for PRIORITY ASSIGNEMENT [Care of @grayhammmer ] (Note - the previous request by @grayhammmer - Resident Evil 6 - is still outstanding, but I'm having trouble getting it done with current workloads, and need to get some of the new S-Ranks done and off the books! Apologies, but I've not forgotten, I promise!) Can 'Current Most Awesome' game, Hitman 3, continue its glorious reign? Is gaming turdlet LA Cops ever going to lose the title of 'Least Awesome Game'? Let's find out, Science Chums! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grayhammmer Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 3 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: (Note - the previous request by @grayhammmer - Resident Evil 6 - is still outstanding, but I'm having trouble getting it done with current workloads, and need to get some of the new S-Ranks done and off the books! Apologies, but I've not forgotten, I promise!) Don't worry, I know you'll get to it eventually. Just promise not to burn yourself out again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted September 4, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 4, 2022 (edited) NEW SCIENTIFIC RESULTS ARE IN! Hello Science-Nathans and Science-Elenas, as promised (and in some cases requested), here are the latest results of our great scientific endeavour! Donut County Summary: An indie lite-puzzle game created by Ben Esposito, and published by indie darling Annapurna Interactive, Donut County is, much like the treat its plot revolves around and who's name it takes, sweet, pretty, enjoyable... and primarily distinguished by the presence of a hole! The player takes the role of Mira, a human girl, who works at a donut store run by her friend and manager BK - a raccoon. BK is apparently addicted to an online phone app, which he uses to send deliveries of donuts around town to gain points and prizes, and has become so distracted by it, that he has failed to notice that rather than donuts, he has, in fact, been shipping actual holes... and the whole town has been being systematically swallowed up by them. When Mira and BK are finally swallowed up themselves, and come to terms with what has really been going on - that BK's boss - the Trash King - is behind the dastardly situation, as a way to increase his trash empire, Mira and BK set out to stop him... armed, appropriately enough, with some holes of their own. As is probably rather apparent, Donut County is a light-hearted and silly affair. The actual narrative is as goofy and silly as they come, and it works incredibly well, primarily because the writing has a pretty sharp, dry wit, knows exactly where being silly or faux serious is the best avenue for the joke, and because the tone is very consistent. The situation is irreverent, but actually, the characters are all rather endearing and slightly off-the-beaten-path in terms of the cartoonish dynamic of the game. Anyone familiar with, say, Bojack Horseman, knows that often times, animated characters having oddly realistic emotional or practical responses to cartoonishly outlandish situations is funny in and of itself - if handled well - and Esposito is very adept at knowing when to do that, and how to do that. There is a good cast of characters here - the main ones, and the main antagonist for sure - but even small tertiary characters in the town who only have a modest number of lines or screen-time are oddly well drawn, and instantly recognisable for their personalities and archetypes. The game adds plenty of additional little written jokes in areas like its "Trashopedia" (the list of objects consumed,) which while rarely laugh-out-loud funny, are smart and bring a smile more often than not. A barrel, for example, being described as "A large mug for dirt lovers" or a campfire as "and early form of television" are good little Christmas-cracker-style jokes, in a place the game doesn't really need to be as funny as it is. In fact, the whole presentation of the game is very robust and pleasing - UI is nicely done and snappy, and the game's tone is maintained throughout them too. Mechanically, the game functions essentially in the same way as Katamari Damacy. The player controls a hole, which can be moved around a different environment in each level. The hole begins small, and so is only able to have small objects fall into it, but with each item it consumes, it gains a little diameter, allowing bigger and bigger objects to be consumed. As such, the puzzle element of the game is largely a trial and error identification of the correct order in which to gobble up all the things on screen. That isn't a particularly difficult or challenging mechanic, however, like Katamari Damacy, it is very satisfying. Gamers love seeing things go up - we like seeing numbers grow, power grow, levels and skill point and XP and stats grow. Katamari simply took that idea, and made the children's-ball-pit version of it - seeing the giant ball of nonsense grow. It's a recipe for satisfying fun, and Donut County does the same - there is fun in seeing the odd animations as bigger and bigger objects are swallowed up by the hole, and satisfaction in seeing the hole grow, and the level become more and more sparse. Part of the satisfaction, of course, comes from the visuals, and Donut County really does look great. It's a simple, clean, almost iOS style of cell shaded art, familiar to any player of Untitled Goose Game - and while I do think Untitled Goose Game wore it a little better, Donut County is no slouch. There's a more abstracted, geometric style to the line-less cell-shading here, but the physics-based way objects move around is broadly similar, and endlessly amusing. The way the hole moves around is smooth and satisfying, and the whole game looks cartoonishly delightful, and actually, the one area where it does out-do Untitled Goose Game is in the lighting effects, which are used in cut-scenes to good effect. There is a genuine dopamine satisfaction to the feel of the game - and like other simple-premise games, like Fruit Ninja or Bejeweled, the developer of Donut County absolutely understands that the feel of the game is incredibly important, and has clearly taken pains to ensure it is just right. Audio is good - the music is pleasant and inoffensive - not the kind of soundtrack one might listen to independent of the game, (at least, I didn't,) but it works in the game well, and sets the fun, off-kilter mood very well. There's no voice work - character text is accompanied by a simple bleeping, but audio stings on certain actions are good, and fit the tone, and sounds as the menus are navigated are good. Overall, Donut County is a simple, fun, pleasant experience, that take a single very satisfying mechanic, applied it in a well constructed, fun and engaging way for a while, tells a fun, goofy little story with some far-more-endearing-than-you-might-expect cast of characters, and doesn't wear out its welcome. It's not a game aiming for challenge - even its ancestral influence Katamari Damacy far outstrips it on those terms - but what it is aiming for is engaging, simply fun... and that part, it absolutely nails. The Ranking: The primary game that spring to mind when looking to rank Donut County is similarly offbeat, great looking cell-shaded mini-sandbox game Untitled Goose Game. The two games, while different mechanically, have a lot of cross-over in terms of audience, and actually, I marginally prefer the fundamental gameplay mechanics of Untitled Goose Game to those of Donut County (Untitled Goose Game is, essentially, bobo-Hitman, and Donut County is bobo-Katamari, so that makes sense!)... however, the one real flaw of Untitled Goose Game - its too-short length - isn't as much of an issue problem in Donut County, which is too short, but not too too-short. In terms of visuals, I think Untitled Goose Game takes the edge, however, on narrative, audio and technical aspects, Donut County is the victor, and so overall, it outranks Untitled Goose Game. Working up then, the next arguably comparable game is mini-sandbox RPG The Touryst. The Touryst absolutely crushes Donut County on visuals, (I like the look of Donut County a lot, but let's not mess around... The Touryst crushes a lot of serious "Triple A" type games on that front!) I think Donut County's one core mechanic is actually more fun than most of the many core mechanics in The Touryst, however, The Touryst is selling itself primarily of variety - and the general high quality of its many mini-genres does hold above Donut County as a result. I also thing the audio in The Touryst beats Donut County, and they are relatively evenly matched in terms of narrative, so the marginal win goes to The Touryst. That places Donut County somewhere in the small pack in-between. I think on merit, Donut County does manage to move up past Stick it to The Man, Road 96, Déraciné, and even past Death's Door - which is a good game, but one plagued with a few too many issues... but I have a tough time seeing Donut County move above Virginia. That game is a little too original and interesting, and I'd more than likely replay it before replaying Donut County... ...and so it finds its spot! Nightmares from the Deep: The Siren's Call Summary: Continuing the ghostly nautical theme of the previous Nightmares from the Deep game - The Cursed Heart - Artifex Mundi this time see original protagonist Sarah - the museum curator character form the first game - awaken son the shores of forgotten, cursed fishing village Kingsmouth... and subject to its curse. She must discover the village secrets, and a way to escape, before she succumbs to it - becoming a sea creature like the rest of the villagers before her! The second Nightmares form the Deep game sticks to relatively safe ground in terms of puzzles and art. There is a little more focus on narrative this time around (oddly, the narrative in the first one was pretty minimal, as AM games go,) however, it sticks to the positives that The Cursed Heart had - a nice variety of locations, and a decent, if not remarkable selection of Artifex Mundi's staple puzzles. The art is more varied and interesting here - the style is the same as before, but there is better, and more varied use of it. There isn't much in the way of unique puzzle variants - generally AM stick to their existing collection - however, the versions on shoe here are pretty good ones. There is, like the previous game, a greater abundance of picture-hunt sections, pound-for-pound, than AM generally use in any of their games - but with the good, distinct "popping" art style, they continue to work well here. If anything, they actually fare a little better, as Kingsmouth's village provides one of the better varieties of art across AM's whole stable. The narrative remains pretty good as AM games go, and while there is a little more focus on it here than previously, it holds up for what it is, and is at least engaging between the puzzling sections. No boss fights here, and despite the game being on AM's longer side, it does have a bonus chapter, though this one - like in the games predecessor - is fairly short. The Ranking: A good entry in the Artifex Mundi stable. the weaker art of its predecessor is outdone, and while there is still less variety of puzzle mechanics, some other areas, like the better picture-hunt sections do make up for some of that, putting it above Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart. Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren's Call still isn't in contention to beat out current Artifex Mundi front-runner Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala though, nor the next lower one - Modern Tales: Age of Invention - however, I do think it manages, overall, to outdo the best of the Eventide games - Eventide 3: Legacy of Legends. I think that Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood still beats it... and so that secures its place! Etherborn Summary: A loosely narrative driven puzzle game from Altered Matter, Etherborn sees the player take the role of a semi-translucent, voiceless humanoid entity, born into a strange, ethereal world, and traversing a series of geometric, gravity-bending puzzles as the being seeks, and travels towards, its disembodied voice, seeking to become whole. Mechanically, Etherborn is pretty cool. Playing as something of an amalgam of Echochrome, Shape of the World and Manifold Garden, it is a game far more concerned with challenging the player to chart a course through its labyrinthine structures, than with layering any secondary puzzle elements on top of that. All its puzzles are essentially mazes, and each one is progressed through in the same fashion - by finding certain "keys" in the environment, and using these to operate simple locks, which in turn add, move or subtract elements of geometry to the 3D spaces. These changes open up new avenues of traversal, new pathways, and new keys, and continue the process, until the player is able to complete the structure, and move on to the next. The crux of the puzzling nature, however, is that these areas are gravity independent - floating 3D structures - and the gravity affecting the player themselves is fixed only by their own direction. Each area is home to significant numbers of curved geometric "half-pipes" connecting some surfaces to others, and when walked along, the gravity of the world will shift on an axis, to meet the player. If walking on a flat floor, and a curved slope connects to a vertical wall, walking towards and round it will shift gravity to turn that wall into a floor, thus allowing that wall to be traversed... or for the player to then fall off the edge of it, now falling perpendicular to the previous floor, to access new areas. It's a simple premise, but one that is pretty effective - both in implementation, and in puzzle design. Etherborn is not a particularly difficult game - because each puzzle is essentially a maze, and because the camera is fixed - following the player loosely from preset positions - there is only so many potential places to explore or paths to take... however, the 3D nature of the geometric levels does require some logical and lateral thinking to identify the correct paths to take to access specific areas, and as small as some levels can appear, the six-sided nature of them is very well thought out. They make excellent economic use of the small spaces from all different gravitational revolutions, and the same structure, viewed upside-down, or side-on can have a whole different set of problems and conundrums to solve. The camera being on a fixed track is an important element of the game - it is used well, and does cut out the really confusing elements that some gravity-bending puzzle games can be prone to - but obviously also cuts the difficulty of the game significantly. In, for example, Manifold Garden, where the player is free to go anywhere, in any direction, confusion is something of a draw - however, Manifold Garden is a puzzle game on a whole different challenge level, and a significantly larger game. I suspect there is actually a case for an Etherborn-like puzzle game that is much broader, and much more challenging, but I actually think in the case of this game, the fairly relaxed pitch of the challenge is appropriate, and fits the soothing vibe the visuals evoke... ...and the narrative at least attempts to evoke. I say "attempts"... ...so... ...Etherborn has a narrative of sorts. As said, the player controls a human-like, but decidedly non-human form, traversing an ethereal world, in search of its voice. That is the broad plot. However, the colour - the details of that plot - are not told directly, but rather by way of some spoken voice-over, reading... something. And boy-oh-boy... is it something. The spoken elements of the narrative in Etherborn are - and when I say this, I assure you, reader, this is not hyperbole - I am speaking in the most literal terms - the most bafflingly bizarre and stultifyingly nonsensical writing I have seen in quite some time. The language and tone feels like there was an idea there at the outset, but was written by a first-year poetry or creative writing student attempting to show off, then filtered through a rollercoaster of Google Translate around 15 times... then given a once over by Tommy Wiseau. The result is... unerringly peculiar. It tends to waver precariously between faux-pretension, obnoxious over-writing and genuine mystification... and as a whole, ends up almost fascinatingly incomprehensible! The narrative, of course, is not a make-or-break element to Etherborn. Being a relatively esoteric puzzle game, its strengths lie elsewhere, and a comprehensible plot or writing, while welcome, is not a requirement... ...however it is something of a shame here, as the visual and tonal elements are there. Some well written philosophical or spiritual musings would be a boon to the game, and its failure to nail that effectively is disappointing. In some way, Etherborn's writing is actually bordering on the "so bad its good" category - I genuinely think it is worth seeing, just to gaze in bewilderment at how thoroughly it misses the mark... but that isn't fun in the same way as true markers of that questionable category are, because the other elements don't follow suit. The visuals, mechanics and technical aspects of the game are completely sound, and genuinely good and enjoyable... so the ridiculous writing simply feels unfortunate, rather than laugh-out-loud fun. Speaking of visuals, this is the area where Etherborn gets closest to something like Shape of the World. Each of the 5 main levels - accessed from a primary hub area, a giant tree, up which the player is moving throughout the game - is visually distinct, and while mechanically similar, the variations in environmental detail and architectural design of each does give enough variety to the feel of the game, even while the nature of the puzzle solving remains the same. The style is polygonal and blocky by design, but with a nice pastel-colour scheme, and while not particularly technically impressive, (Etherborn is a small game, and not home to any real graphical flair,) they do a lot with what they have, and the art design of the world is simple, but very good. Distant objects move in and out of focus as the distance closes, giving a feel of scope and scale necessary in an environment alien enough to lack it otherwise, and those effects, combined with some nice lighting, a keen eye for framing and the unusual and quite beautiful design of the environments, makes for some very effective, evocative visuals. These pop particularly well during more "transitional" sections, when the player is moving from one distinct puzzle area to the next. Audio in the game is fairly good - the voice-over of the narrator is, of course, a little difficult to appreciate, given what she is actually saying, (I assume the voice actor must have been equally baffled!) however, she does a good job with what she has to work with. There is little foley, but what's there works well enough, and the score - an ambient, tonal medley - is pleasant and effective, if never stand-out. Overall, Etherborn is a decent, if rather fleeting puzzle game, that plays well, looks nice, sounds fine, and has some quite clever, if rather simple puzzles over the course of its short run time. Its narrative is not particularly important - which is good, because that is the one area it really lets itself down. It's not a game that is likely to feature in anyones end of year lists, for ether good or bad reasons, and its relatively short run time does mean the good elements are perhaps a little under-used... but if one is looking for a fun, short puzzle game, one could do a lot worse than Etherborn. The Ranking: It'll be a fairly short ranking discussion here, as the narrowing happened fast - I think Etherborn is better than previously ranked, similarly issued, larger, but less engaging puzzle/collectible game Lost Ember, but not doing enough, and let down by it's writing too much to rank above fun little Adventure Puzzler Agent-A: A Puzzle In Disguise. There are only three games between those two currently - Bentley's Hackpack, Inksplosion and Arcade Archives: Nova 2001 - and while I think all three have merit, I don't actually think any of them would draw me back for a replay before Etherborn did, even despite its flaws. As such, Etherborn finds its spot, just above Bentley's Hackpack, but below Agent-A: A Puzzle in Disguise. Best Month Ever! Summary: An interactive drama developed by the Warsaw Film School in their Video Game Production Studio and published by Klabater, Best Month Ever! is a game small in scope, yet grand in terms of thematic and narrative ambition. Taking place in 1969 America, the game sees Waitress Louise - a white woman with a difficult family past, and a recently diagnosed illness meaning she has only a few weeks to live - and her 8 year old black son, Mitch, embark on a cross-country road-trip to find Mitch a new home. Driving from California to the deep south, the game tells Louise and Mitch's story through 12 vignettes, as they meet with Louise's estranged family, search for her father, look for Mitch's estranged father, and Louise guides Mitch (through conversation, and her actions,) influencing how his future character might be shaped once she is gone. The Era Best Month Ever! takes place in was, of course, a tumultuous time, one in which a white woman with a black son travelling alone would likely encounter significant issues - and they do. While there are a lot of complications they encounter on their journey, many of which are not directly race-related, the overall theme of the game is very much rooted in variations on the theme of tolerance v.s intolerance, and the institutional and cultural racism of the time. The game is not shy about showing examples of this, (well, not too shy - it does pull its punches occasionally in terms of language - "c*nt" is not censored, but n****r, for example, still is...) ...still though, the game is willing to stray significantly further into dangerous territory than most games will dare to. Over the course of the 3-4 hour narrative, the game delves into some hot-spots like police corruption, the exploitation of performers and sex-workers, poverty, crime and the Ku Klux Klan, and the willingness of the game to dive into these areas is admirable... ...unfortunately, this particular game is not the best vehicle to do so. The game is pretty ropey in a number of areas, and they tend to detract from any real sense of tackling the issues it aims at. Charitably, Best Month Ever! could (and probably should,) be considered for what it undoubtedly is - an admirable attempt to make a kind of game the developers aspire to making... but are under-equipped to handle - however, because these issues are such hot-button ones, and ones that really need to be addressed in media with great care, the numerous ways in which Best Month Ever! fails to deliver become somewhat magnified, and stand out even more egregiously than they might in a less emotionally combustable context. Mechanically, the game is very basic. The narrative is the main element to the game, and essentially the game works as an interactive visual novel, with 9 possible endings, (9 paths Mitch's life might take) based on how Louise and Mitch act. That, actually, is perfectly functional - and the game might well have been best keeping strictly to that and selling itself purely as a visual novel, but it doesn't. There is light interaction in the game - some sections where moving around is possible, and these are rough. The controls are very unresponsive and stiff, with characters often getting caught on the (sometimes flickering or outright invisible) geometry, and often having issues simply walking to the correct spots. Occasional "mini-game" type interactions (for example, short driving sections, or shooting) are pretty limited and very clunky, and do little to add to the immersion. More often than not, in fact, they actively break it. Every time Louise gets out of her car, for example, in EVERY location, she clips up on top of it. When Louise instructs Mitch on how to drive, she tells him to pass a truck. When the player does so (finally, once they get used to the pretty terrible driving controls,) the truck will then drive right through the car with Louise and Mitch in it - giving the player a full view of the geometry inside the truck, as it trundles past... then disappears right in-front of them. These kind of issues are not one-offs, they happen every time, and so must have been known prior to shipping. (I know this, because getting the S-Rank requires playing the game 9 times, so I had ample opportunity to confirm!) That kind of lack of care really hampers the game's ability to immerse the player in the world. A Film School project or not, as a shipping product, that kind of haphazard issue is not really acceptable as the norm. The visuals are very basic, character models and animations are quite poor, and what's more, there is an odd, peculiar "shimmer" to characters in motion - something completely unforgivable in a game this visually basic. The actual vignettes, while sparse, are evocative of the locations - over the course of the game, there is a genuine sense of moving across the country - however, they are quite limited. In many ways, the set pieces reminded me of curious Swamp-Noir narrative game Knee Deep - there is a similarly limited selection of areas and set-dressings - however, Knee Deep accounted for this in its design, and cleverly used its limitations to its advantage, with its unusual "Theatrical Play" narrative device. In that case, the limited number of environmental objects was made to make sense. In Best Month Ever! though, there is no equivalent justification, and so the limitations feel... simply that. Limited. There is some interstitial still-picture art, shown between the vignettes, and at the endings, and these are really nice - well drawn in a cool, comic book style, but these are limited in scope and in use, and not enough to really hang the games hat on. The writing is a little odd in terms of consistency. While the actual plotting is actually pretty good, and the overall narrative concerning Louise's past, and Mitch's future is engaging, there are two serious problems. Firstly, the shortness of the game. The story is told in just the 12 vignettes, and because each of them is what would be considered the "major dramatic inflections" of their journey, with the player not privy to any of the less life-or-death or dramatic moments in-between, the effect is less of a road-trip, and more of a continual barrage of chaos. I would wager that a (better written) version of the same plot, fleshed out over the course of, say, a 12-episode television show, with ample time spent simply seeing Mitch and Louise bonding and talking in-between the dramatic high-points, would feel more natural, and emotive - but because the only things we see are the major plot points, it tends to feel heightened to the point of ridicule. Louise and Mitch stumble from an encounter with a serial killer, to a Ku Klux Klan lynching, to a snake-bite, to taking Peyote, to a town-levelling hurricane, to an alligator encounter so quickly, that the impact of these individual parts are neutered. Without any down-time between them, they just feel crazy... and the central premise - that this is the best time in Mitch's life - begins to border on the ridiculous. Which was the best part Mitch? ...When you nearly died here? ...Or when you nearly died there? ...Or maybe when you nearly died this other time? Secondly - and the more profound of the problems - is the dialogue. The written dialogue is very amateurish and on-the-nose. It is very clear that the writers are not native to the country they set the game in (even to someone like myself, who also is not!) and very obvious that the knowledge of the area and era is academic. That is not always a problem in terms of the tone of a game - but it is a major problem with the tone if this specific game, since it is very deliberately aiming to evoke a rich and specific feel of a certain time and place. As a contrast, consider the indie game Wheels of Aurelia. That game was set in a very specific time and place too - in that case, 1978 Italy. That game told a very specific story, about a very specific time and place, but because it got all its little details right, there was a feeling of verisimilitude, even for someone unfamiliar with the history. One could learn about the era, from the game, even if they had no knowledge of it. It was a very narrow-scoped story, told by people clearly steeped in that history, and did it well enough that its specificity bred universality - the story became broadly accessible, by deliberately not being so. Best Month Ever! on the other hand, is working only in broad strokes - and so while wanting to say something very specific, the creators don't have the depth of knowledge to do it effectively, and what is left is a rather imperfect and pastiche version of a history that far more people are already familiar with. The result is a mildly interesting story, that doesn't have much to say about the time and place in which it is set - which makes it rather a missed opportunity. All of these issues, it must be noted, are magnified to an extreme extent in the case of Best Month Ever!, by its biggest issue - the voice work. There are essentially three tier of voice work on show. The narrator is, in fairness, pretty good. The game is narrated by adult Mitch, and he feels like a professional (and American) voice actor was cast. Louise's voice actor is acceptable - occasionally veering towards good - though hampered a little by an apparent lack of voice-direction, resulting in some tonally dissonant reads, that feel out of place in context. Other voices in the game though are horribly miscast and lacklustre, with most clearly not voiced by native english speakers. It is quite clear that many either lacked correct vocal direction, or were unable to account for it due to language barriers, and so tone is all over the place, and - for a game dealing in issues of racism - it accidentally gives birth to some pretty racist pastiches in the attempts. This language barrier is a massive problem in a game like Best Month Ever! There are language issues in terms of reading directly, without abbreviations - lines like "we are only scared because we do not know what they are hiding" are read very awkwardly - pronounced as written, with no abbreviation to "We're" or "don't" - which makes it feel very stilted and writerly, and very unnatural coming from an 8-year-old. That is bad in terms of narrative immersion, however, the issues cause by the language barrier do also creep into the actual game mechanics at times too. When the main character is offered to be shown around their sleeping quarters by an NPC, for example, they are given two potential responses - "Thank You" or "Don't Bother". To any native English speaker, a response of "Don't Bother" clearly seems rude - this feels like a place where such a response can be used to lower the "social Relationships" stat... however, it doesn't. It actually raises it. Why? Because the intention, on the designers part, was a response along the lines of "Oh, don't trouble yourself". It's an understandable error - a simple translation of that sentiment could easily result in "Don't Bother"... but it fails to account for actual idiom use in English, and therefore has the directly opposite meaning colloquially. That might feel like nit-picking, however, there are enough of these translation issues over the course of the game, that I felt it necessary to turn on one of the accessibility options - wherein the specific stat affectations are visible when choosing responses. That stat-indicator is - in fairness - a good inclusion in the game, and does alleviate the translation issues mechanically, however, it is rather immersion breaking. Turning it on tends to turn the game into more of a mechanical, nuts-and-bolts affair, as the player is "seeing behind the curtain," so to speak, and it is therefore a shame that the games language issues are such that it is a borderline requirement. Note - I will admit - there is likely some personal bias in this review, in the sense that I AM a native English speaker. I am fully aware there are games set in non-English-speaking countries, made by English-speaking studios, and in those cases, I am much less likely to notice the same issues going the other direction. That is, unfortunately, simply the nature of reviews. I am perfectly open to hearing that a game I thought well written, set in another country, sounded laughable to a native of that country... but I can only really identify the issue when it flows in one direction... and in Best Month Ever!, it IS undoubtedly a problem. Overall, Best Month Ever! is a pretty underwhelming affair. It is not a game that should be derided - it is neither sinister nor ill-intentioned in its narrative and themes, nor is it the kind of effortless or artless fare that some budget games on PSN are - but the fact remains that is is a lofty premise squandered. It has many failings. It comes by them honestly - through over-ambition, as opposed to lack thereof, and it does have heart - but it has little else. There is merit in the game, but unfortunately, it is built on a hopelessly misguided premise. As a Film School project, it is no doubt impressive, but as a commercial game is is sorely lacking, wildly out of the developers depth, and occasionally problematic - primarily because of the genre and setting chosen. I can't help but feel that - even had all other qualitative areas been the same - a setting different to the one presented, (one more in the developers (and voice casts') wheelhouse,) would have made the whole game considerably more palatable. At some point, early in this project, someone really should have stepped in, and asked the question... "If we're going to make a game invoking real history... should we not set it in OUR history?" There is scope out there for a game of this type. There is a place for a dramatic road trip through historical America, using the backdrop as both metaphor and tone. There is a place for Steinbeck in Videogames... ... and I look forward to playing it. Best Month Ever!, unfortunately, just isn't it. The Ranking: Best Month Ever! is a horrible one to rank. It's a game I want to admire so much, as I really do admire the willingness to delve into the areas it does, however, the points it gains for moxie are somewhat tempered, since it misses the mark so badly due to other issues, that I genuinely worry it may have salted the earth for future games to do a better job with the same goals. As such, while a part of me might want to elevate it in the rankings based on personal admiration for the idea, the product has to be judged as is. Where that leaves me, is looking at games with similar mechanical and visual designs - and there is one clear game there: Knee Deep. Knee Deep isn't a great game, but it is better written than Best Month Ever!, looks a little better, and plays a lot better, so it provides a ceiling, but not a terribly useful one. Really, what I'm looking at, unfortunately, are games with decent core premises, but significant issues, which squander them. The first game to jump out a a ceiling is Serial Cleaner. That game has problems, and nothing much in terms of writing, but the visuals outrank Best Month Ever!'s - as do the mechanics, and the technical aspects. The same can be said for two games currently lower - Supermassive's whiff Hidden Agenda, and Infinity Ward's appalling IP-souls-like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order... however, in the case of both of those, there is an expectation and developer prowess to consider. Both of those games pitched themselves as much larger, more ambitious games, and had the weight of serious, industry-leading developers behind them... and were still abject disappointments. In the case of Hidden Agenda, that game was at least not a full-priced game, and had the co-op element, which worked very well, and so it still outranks Best Month Ever!... however, the crushing disappointment that was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is something else. A full priced, "Triple A" game form a powerhouse studio, so riddled with technical and design failures as to rank near the bottom of this list is virtually unheard of. Best Month Ever! is riddled with issues, but its baseline (as a smaller, indie project from relative amateurs) is much lower - and a lot of its issues come from a place of translation issues and simple over-reaching. Jedi: Fallen Order is unforgivable in a way Best Month Ever! isn't. Best Month Ever! is doing something. Jedi was almost mesmerisingly not. As such, even with it's small scope, and significant issues, Best Month Ever! outranks Jedi: Fallen Order. The Solitaire Conspiracy Summary: A curious take on an old classic, The Solitaire Conspiracy sees creator Mike Bithell, (as Bithell Games, creators of indie darling Thomas Was Alone, and Metal Gear VR mission-a-like, Volume,) take the classic game Solitaire, familiar to virtually anyone who has owned a Windows PC in the past 30 years, and apply some modern, stylish magic to it. The Solitaire Conspiracy is, fundamentally, Solitaire. Or to be more specific, it is closest, in-fact, to an amalgam of Standard Solitaire, and its cousin - the (also Windows implemented) variant, Spider Solitaire. A deck of playing cards are shuffled into 8 random piles. Cards can be shifted from pile to pile, one-by-one, as long as cards are only placed on top of cards of a higher numerical value. The goal is to "free" the cards, allowing the player to create four separate columns of like-suited cards, in ascending order from Ace to King. This is a familiar enough set-up to anyone even loosely knowledgeable of Solitaire, and it is fundamentally, a fun game. Solitaire has, after all, stood the test of time for centuries. It is the premier solo card game for a reason. The Solitaire Conspiracy clearly knows this, and doesn't do anything too drastic to change the core fundamentals of the game - it wisely chooses not to overburden itself with complications to the core of Solitaire, sticking to a single variant, and working within those parameters... ...but what it does instead, is layer additional complexities on top of that - in 3 fundamental ways. Firstly, stylistically. The look of the game is really nice. The play area is constructed symmetrically, with the four "build columns" stacked vertically in the centre, and the 8 "shuffled" columns surrounding it, giving a much more pleasing, (and much more controller-friendly,) "Oval" nature to the playfield - something quite useful in some of the games, where speed-play is required. Art on the cards themselves is done well - there are different deck-types, based on different "special agent" teams, and the artwork on the Jack, Queen and King cards is in a style quite similar to that of Invisible Inc - a cartoonish, heavily geometric and stylised affair, that is both easily recognisable (as it has to be) and tonally fitting. Secondly, in terms of secondary mechanics. While the core fundamentals of Solitaire are maintained, there are specific "powers" associated with different special deck, (unlocked throughout the game,) which add a level of additional game nuance when used effectively... and an additional level of challenge when not! These powers all work on the same premise - a deck is "activated" once the Ace of that deck is freed and the central "stack column" for that deck started. Once activated, moving any of the face cards (King, Queen or Jack) will activate that deck's power, once per face-card. Those powers range from "the next stackable card of the suit the card is laid on will be automatically freed" to "the stack the card is laid on explodes, moving all cards to random locations", but each can be both a benefit or a curse, depending on the application, and results in a level of advanced play exclusive to this particular Solitaire incarnation. Thirdly, there is the narrative. Yes... you read that right. Let me just reiterate... the narrative of Solitaire! The set-up of The Solitaire Conspiracy essentially posits that the Solitaire game being played is, a sort of metaphor for hacking communication elements. The game begins with the player (who assumes the role of "spymaster" - a hacker/spy, in the employ of a freelance intelligence agency known as Protega,) learning, via FMV video of his handler, Jim Ratio, (played, curiously, by former IGN editor Greg Miller,) that a villain known as "Solitaire" has managed to shut down all communication Protega has with it's field agents. Through playing the game, the player is able to re-establish these communications, restore Protega, re-enlist the help of these filed agents.. each of which provides a new set of special decks to play with. The flow of the game is broken down into chapters, which are split up in turn by the players progression through a levelling XP system, with XP gained from completing assignments (games). With each chapter, a new FMV video of Ratio (or, occasionally, of other plot-critical characters,) is unveiled, and over the 5-6 hour campaign (depending, of course, on the players skill level and XP gain,) a fun, engaging, if slightly predictable tale of international espionage, betrayal and intrigue plays out, through these characters speaking directly to the player. It's a fun idea, and one that has all the hallmarks of Mike Bithell's creativity. It's plainly obvious that Bithell himself liked Solitaire, and simply wanted to make a version of it that went above and beyond all previous versions - and the stylistic and narrative elements virtually assure that he has succeeded - but those elements are simply the dressing and the tertiary elements of The Solitaire Conspiracy. The majority of the game is still a variant of Solitaire, with some additional mechanics bolted on, and so the game would only really work if these were fun and engaging... and here they certainly are. The fundamental elements are all retained, and the extras are smart, well-implemented, and make enough of a change for Solitaire veterans to be somewhat challenged, without altering the core tenants of the game. There are a couple of different variants to the game, though these are largely simple difficulty related, with some easier levels having fewer decks, however, there is one mode - Countdown - which adds an "endless" style speed mode, in which the player is racing against a ticking clock, adding time to it with each freed card that is very fun - and forms the basis for a global / friends leaderboard, and is the source for endless continual play beyond the campaign scope. Visually, as said, the game is stylish as all hell - far more than any previous version of Solitaire I have encountered (I've encountered quite a few!). Everything from the menus, to the UI, to the ways cards move, or the visual flourished upon special moves, to the nicely produced and well implemented FMV look very nice. It's not revolutionary in any visual aspect - far from it - but applying these kind of visual flourishes to a Solitaire game IS revolutionary in a sense. Audio is really a highlight here too. The score in the game is great - a pounding, espionage-movie-inspired symphony of electronica that is really cool and fun, and heighten the tension quite a bit. Considering that Solitaire is, by nature, a solo, sedentary pastime, that tension is admirable, and the music is almost solely responsible for keeping that tone going during the main game. The snappy sounds of cards being played and moved, or of powers is well done, and the voice work (well, acting, given it is FMV) is decent. Greg Miller actually does a damned good job in his role as Ratio. The few additional actors are fine, but Miller is the clear star - he has by far the most screen-time, and makes use of it well. Overall, Solitaire is, as said, a fundamentally engaging game anyways - but to be honest, virtually everyone already knows if they like it. While the narrative and style of The Solitaire Conspiracy are welcome and very good additions, in the end, they are not going to be enough to draw in and hold engagement with anyone who does not enjoy the fundamentals of Solitaire... ...but equally, given the quality and smart mechanical additions to the game in the form of the powers, I have a hard time imagining that anyone who does like Solitaire would not get a kick out of The Solitaire Conspiracy. Is is pure Solitaire? No... but it's pure enough not to turn anyone away... ...and the ways in which it is "impure" are all good! The Ranking: There really aren't any card games ranked on the list so far, aside form Slay the Spire... and let's not go nuts. I liked The Solitaire Conspiracy, but it's no Slay the Spire! I also don't play a lot of videogame versions of very popular "real-world" card games. I have played some Gin / Poker / Hearts games in my time, but generally they have been PC or iOS based. as such there is little to compare on the current list. As such, I found myself thinking hard about what The Solitaire Conspiracy is fundamentally... and what it is, is a smart, clever, relatively small-scope indie game with a basis in an existing game, a cool twist on the premise, some good idea, a good look, good music, not a particularly long run time, and no real flaws, beyond its simplicity and length. When I looked at it like that... one game immediately jumped out as a reference point: Hitman Go. I actually think those two games are, despite their obvious differences in gameplay... oddly evenly matched! I had a real time of it breaking down which would win at all, but the gist is: Hitman Go takes it on visuals, foley audio, length, and engagement, but The Solitaire Conspiracy takes it on music, narrative, style(just) and repeatability. They are pretty much a dead heat on clever use of the existing game, and both do great work with UI, sound effects etc. In the end, I think Hitman Go does hold its spot, but it's such a close call, that I simply have to place The Solitaire Conspiracy in the spot just below it! Sorry My Friend Pedro... you have a lot going for you, but there's just a couple too many issues for you to hang on! So there we have it folks! Thanks to @grayhammmer for putting in a request! Hitman 3 remains as 'Current Most Awesome Game'! LA Cops stays as the worst-of-the-worst, with the title of 'Least Awesome Game' What games will be coming along next time to challenge for the top spot... or the bottom rung? That's up to randomness, me.... and YOU! Remember: SPECIAL NOTE If there are any specific games anyone wants to see get ranked sooner rather than later - drop a message, and I'll mark them for 'Priority Ranking'! The only stipulation is that they must be on my profile, at 100% (S-Rank).... and aren't already on the Rankings! Edited September 4, 2022 by DrBloodmoney 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 13 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: NEW SCIENTIFIC RESULTS ARE IN! ?? This is to signify that I doubly enjoyed this batch, not that I'm trying to tweak your nips. ....but I mean I'm free all day, so... 13 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Donut County I've seen this one around and have been a touch curious, so Annapurna, Bojack, and Katamari is all I needed to hear! We all need cartoony fun in our lives? 13 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Etherborn Finally, they made a video game about the figurine shown in commercials for topical medicine! This looked and sounded so dope!! ....til I saw that Tommy Wiseau served as the editor! I may just stick with Manifold Garden. 13 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Best Month Ever! THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT IDEAS HERE. I found it extremely interesting that a Warsaw studio would be down to tackle this subject matter - and it seems to be done with the appropriate level of thoughtfulness and respect, or in the very least from a good place - but with this kind of execution you can't help wishing they'd sold the idea to a more capable studio or something! Regardless, I wanna see this in action and will definitely be looking up some YouTube videos. 13 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: The Solitaire Conspiracy I think this is the sort of thing where I'm more impressed that it exists and respectful of the cleverness required to put it together than actually interested in playing it, if that makes sense... but you make it sound so damn fun. Again, to the YouTube-mobile! And as always, excellent work? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakingthegreen Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 I knew I should have started reading this thing earlier, this must be how my mother felt when I tried to catch her up on 60 years of Doctor Who stories. Anyway, I've got a special request for an indie game I hold dear to my heart, from one of my favourite indie studios, (ignoring that they just got bought by.) It's Tequila Work's The Sexy Brutale. But looking at the list I'm not holding out hope that our tastes are overly similar. I mean... Sly 1 over the sequels *makes windscreen wiper squeaky noises while wobbling my hand horizontally.* 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted September 5, 2022 Author Share Posted September 5, 2022 7 hours ago, breakingthegreen said: I knew I should have started reading this thing earlier, this must be how my mother felt when I tried to catch her up on 60 years of Doctor Who stories. Anyway, I've got a special request for an indie game I hold dear to my heart, from one of my favourite indie studios, (ignoring that they just got bought by.) It's Tequila Work's The Sexy Brutale. Absolutely mate - flagged for Priority Assignment with your name! ? 7 hours ago, breakingthegreen said: But looking at the list I'm not holding out hope that our tastes are overly similar. I mean... Sly 1 over the sequels *makes windscreen wiper squeaky noises while wobbling my hand horizontally.* Ha! Well, I do love that first game - and actually, was a big fan of the fourth one... three was fine... two not so much! May be on safer ground here though - puzzles... time-loops... ...these are not elements unfamiliar to highly-placed games in the Scientific Ranking! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakingthegreen Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Ha! Well, I do love that first game - and actually, was a big fan of the fourth one... three was fine... two not so much! Someone who likes Thieves in Time?! ? I thought I was the only one who really liked that game, the utter disdain that game experiences in Sly fan communities is unreal. It's got so bad that one guy made a pitch for a new game called Sly 4 Deceit of Thieves which turned out to be little more than a con where he didn't even pay his artists properly. Goodness I let that live in my head rent free, ahh... well. Still feel glad that my preference to Thieves in Time is at least somewhat shared. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted September 21, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 21, 2022 !!SCIENCE UPDATE!! The next (somewhat) randomly selected games to be submitted for scientific analysis shall be: Legacy Far Cry 4Resident Evil 6The Sexy Brutale New Far Cry 5 Inscryption Subject(s) in RED marked for PRIORITY ASSIGNEMENT [Care of @grayhammmer & @breakingthegreen] Can 'Current Most Awesome' game, Hitman 3, continue its glorious reign? Is gaming turdlet LA Cops ever going to lose the title of 'Least Awesome Game'? Let's find out, Science Chums! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
det_gittes Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 I am looking forward to your thoughts on Inscryption, even though I may have to wait some time before I actually read them (I am taking my time with this unique game and only just made it to Act 2 - where things got a lot more complicated, or at least that's my first impression). And also, what do you think of Griftlands, another game that I bought a long time ago with the intention of playing at some point, but haven't got around to it yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zizimonster Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 5 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: The Sexy Brutale Looking forward to reading the scientifically sexy yet brutale review! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted September 22, 2022 Author Share Posted September 22, 2022 On 21/09/2022 at 11:38 AM, det_gittes said: I am looking forward to your thoughts on Inscryption, even though I may have to wait some time before I actually read them (I am taking my time with this unique game and only just made it to Act 2 - where things got a lot more complicated, or at least that's my first impression). Ha - what a nightmare it's been writing that one - it's impossible to avoid spoilers on it, so I'm basically doing it in stages - with progressive warnings telling people where to bail out if they want no spoilers, some spoilers, lots of spoilers, or ALL THE SPOILERS! ? It's a hell of a game though - you've got some seriously cool stuff ahead of you, I can assure you of that! On 21/09/2022 at 11:38 AM, det_gittes said: And also, what do you think of Griftlands, another game that I bought a long time ago with the intention of playing at some point, but haven't got around to it yet. I'm loving it so far - I got it to be my "now and then game"... and since playing it for the first time, I haven't closed the app once! Really something super cool - between that, Inscryption and Slay the Spire, I'm just straight up accepting that.... I am a deck-builder fan! On 21/09/2022 at 3:32 PM, zizimonster said: Looking forward to reading the scientifically sexy yet brutale review! Thank you sir - I hope to get them up tomorrow - that's actually the one I'm working on now, and having to remember back quite a bit! You'd think I'd know it well - I played it on PC, then on PS4, so I've had two bites at the apple... but like all puzzle games, the things you most remember are a few specific puzzle solutions, and everything else somewhat fades! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcesius Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 Hey Doc.. sorry, but I have to ask... What's the reason you are taking such a long break before finishing up Solar Ash? ? I'm also definitely looking forward to reading a bit more about Inscryption :). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted September 22, 2022 Author Share Posted September 22, 2022 3 minutes ago, Arcesius said: Hey Doc.. sorry, but I have to ask... What's the reason you are taking such a long break before finishing up Solar Ash? Hey man! Um.... I feel weird saying this, given that you have it as your image, and you wrote the guide for it and all, and I know how much you like it... ...but it's because I really didn't like it. ? I'm not completely abandoning it - I'm hoping it's going to be one of those games - like Bayonetta, or a few other games I can't think of off the top of my head - where I come back to it at some point, and it clicks, and I suddenly figure out what folks liked about it, and I end up enjoying it... ...but yeah. I kinda thought it was a bit of a mess when I played it before. ? 3 minutes ago, Arcesius said: I'm also definitely looking forward to reading a bit more about Inscryption :). I shall endeavour not to disappoint... even if the last thing I said makes you completely abandon me as a reviewer! ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcesius Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 1 minute ago, DrBloodmoney said: Hey man! Um.... I feel weird saying this, given that you have it as your image, and you wrote the guide for it and all, and I know how much you like it... ...but it's because I really didn't like it. I'm not completely abandoning it - I'm hoping it's going to be one of those games - like Bayonetta, or a few other games I can't think of off the top of my head - where I come back to it at some point, and it clicks, and I suddenly figure out what folks liked about it, and I end up enjoying it... ...but yeah. I kinda thought it was a bit of a mess when I played it before. I shall endeavour not to disappoint... even if the last thing I said makes you completely abandon me as a reviewer! Hahaha, I definitely won't ? For one, I'm sure you have your more than valid reasons why you didn't like it... And secondly, I'm definitely aware that I might have forced myself to like the game since I was such a fan of its predecessor... In a bubble, I still like the game a lot... But I'm not deaf to criticism, that's for sure ? In any case, I hope you manage to find the motivation to get back to it and, doing so, actually enjoy your last playthrough! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted September 22, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 22, 2022 NEW SCIENTIFIC RESULTS ARE IN! - "HOLY SHIT, IT'S BATCH 50 ALREADY" EDITION" Hello Science-Josias and Science-Abigails, as promised (and in some cases requested), here are the latest results of our great scientific endeavour! Far Cry 4 Summary: The fourth mainline instalment in the Far Cry franchise - and second developed in-house by Ubisoft having taken the reigns from Crytek after Far Cry 2 - Far Cry 4 continues the tradition of open-world, FPS gameplay in a lavishly designed, far flung location in the midst of internal strife, with the protagonist a relative outsider first caught in the mix, then catapulting one side to victory. Set in the fictional Himalayan country of Kyrat - a country in the midst of a bloody civil war between the forces of the dictatorial (and charismatically flamboyant) Pagan Min, and a rebel force, known as the Golden Path, the game sees the player adopt the role of Ajay Ghale - a Kyrat national raised and educated in the west, who, upon returning to Kyrat to scatter the ashes of his mother in her ancestral home, get immediately caught up in the struggle. The actual narrative through-line of each Far Cry game, (from FC3 onwards, at least,) has been something of a victim of the expanding sandbox elements of the games themselves. As each game gets bigger, and more and more filled with side content, the main narrative structure becomes looser and less and less focused. Far Cry 4 is no exception to this trend - for sure, the narrative through-line is less focussed and has less propulsion on the player than Far Cry 3's had - however, it does benefit in a couple of ways that keep it from feeling too detrimental. Firstly, the game, while certainly bigger than Far Cry 3, had not yet reached the almost absurd vastness of Far Cry 5, and so still felt somewhat narrative focussed. Yes, the player can get lost in the side content for hours, but there are enough major story beats to keep them feeling like they are on a path, and not simple existing in a play-pen, for the most part. There is of course, a positive flip side to this concept too. Far Cry games deliberately traffic in over-the-top characters, often giving way to ridiculous stereotypes (Far Cry fancies itself a "movie", nota "film", and big, silly, over-the-top action is the guiding principle.) Far Cry 4 is no exception, however, the greater concentration on sand-box spectacle and over-the-top action in this title means the narrative never feels quite as important as it did in Far Cry 3, and so to some extent, when the narrative weakens, it doesn't feel as negatively impactful. There is always so much to do, and so many paths to take, or ways to approach taking them, that the narrative becomes less of a crutch generally, and so less debilitating when it fails. Secondly, Pagan Min. In a series that has (again, since Far Cry 3,) really leaned into personifying an interesting "big-bad" to act as the antagonist, Pagan Min is arguably the best they have offered. Where Vaas, from Far Cry 3, seemed like a caricature, and ended up being exactly that, Pagan Min feels almost ridiculously caricatured at the outset, only to be revealed as a little more layered and interesting villain than Vaas - making him all the more frightening and dangerous feeling. He is a type of bad guy - the flamboyant, theatrical, almost playful "boy-king" character - that FPS games rarely feature, and ever more rarely feature well (that type of character is far more often at home in JRPGs,) but here, he is interesting and off-kilter enough to be genuinely interesting in his vicious psychopathy. On the elephant in the room - Far Cry's biggest potential pitfall - it's worth noting how Far Cry 4 stacks up: namely the strange dance the franchise does with the old chestnut, the "White Saviour Complex." In truth, it runs close here. It does clearly take some steps to avoid it - Ajay, is made to be technically a Kyrat native... but is heavily westernised, and feels like an outsider. He is in Kyrat, after all, to scatter his mothers ashes, not to make a home. Occasionally the developer seems to make mild attempts at using his "gun-toting Westernism" to make a point... but never really gets there, and fundamentally Ajay is the "good guy," and is liberating natives with his massive pile of weapons and inherent awesomeness... which does leave them open to the problem. However, they do somewhat temper it another way - by the fact that Pagan Min is not a native either. He is also heavily westernised in his attitudes and stylings, and, having grown up into the drug trade in British influenced Hong Kong, and seeing Kyrat more as a place he could dominate, than a country he feels an affinity for, there is something of a yin to Ajay's Yang. Outside influence is both the cause and the cure for Kyrat's ills, so the developer tries at least (though, largely unsuccessfully) to sidestep the issue. Far Cry 3, of course, had the issue in a different sense, in that while that game clearly was poking more direct fun at the concept of White Saviour Complex, and was much more successfully than Far Cry 4 is at that for 90% of the game, it undercut itself in the end, by having the option of a "Hollywood" ending - where the player could chose to save the awful white friends. The player could, if they chose to, have the (grotesquely privileged and douche-baggy) protagonist "win" against the native forces, rather than - as the "real" ending would posit - being shown to be simply an unwitting tool, who's hubris led to his demise at the hands of forces he underestimated, and never understood. Far Cry games, like Assassin's Creed games, are heavily dependent on location - indeed, like an Assassin's Creed game, I would argue that the biggest differentiator between a good and bad game in the series is about the narrative, but also about the interesting location, given how much time is spent traversing it. Far Cry 4 has one of, (if not the) best of the franchise. Kyrat is beautiful to look at, interesting to traverse, and home to a variety of locations and areas that Far Cry 3 just never managed. The game does, absolutely, look fantastic. Graphically it is very high quality, both in terms of character models, environments, and - most importantly - in terms of action elements. Explosions, vehicles, fire - the tools of the trade look great in action, and in a game where explosive nonsense is always just around the corner, and who's best asset is its chaos, this is a big benefit. The game sounds good too - voice acting is decent - and occasionally stand out (Troy Baker as Pagan Min pulling the loin share of that stand-out work,) - and the general ambient foley work is good. Again, Far Cry knows what it is, and knows what its strengths are, and the audio corresponds. Gunshots, explosions, violence - the sounds in these moments are punchy and raw, and really add to the visceral feeling of the action. In terms of music, the general score is fine - though what is missing as compared to Far Cry 3 is the excellent use of licensed songs. There are some, but nothing that is ever as additive or sublimely chosen as the MIA Paper Planes scored intro of Far Cry 3, or the use of Damian Marley's Make It Burn Dem during the drug-burning section of that game... even in the spots where Far Cry 4 essentially recycles the exact same mission! Gameplay is - let's face it - similar to how it was in Far Cry 3... there is little new ground broken in any FC game post FC3 really. However, within a series where consistency is both a blessing and a curse, it cannot be argued that the fundamentals are fun - and Far Cry 4 represents probably the best incarnation of the formula being applied. The sand-box, "make-your-own-chaos" elements of the series really benefit from the larger, more varied map, the increased verticality of the mountainous region, the greater variety of animal life, and the mixing of new and old architecture into the wilderness setting are all big benefits. While the narrative is unlikely to keep players hooked particularly hard throughout the long journey, the huge mix of weapons, vehicles, mission types and inter-dependent and intermingling random elements mean that an extended bout of bombastic, action nonsense is never more than a grenade launch away. Indeed, it's remarkable how quickly a brief encounter with a sole enemy vehicle can escalate, as a wild animal suddenly appears, throwing a spanner in the works, or jumping n a vehicle can turn into a multi-location chase sequence or a high-speed explosion-heavy fire-fight. The Ubisoft formula (massive maps, segmented mission structure, tower-climbing-to-reveal-map-locations, a plethora of side-missions and activities etc) is, lets face it, exactly that - a formula. It is the very definition of formulaic game design. Whether that is appealing or not is in the eye of the beholder. I personally don't really take issue with that formula, (it became a formula for a reason - because it works,) though the fact that I enjoy it does not change the fact that it is about as original as a paperclip. Having said that though, as far as the looser, more chaotic side of that formula goes, Far Cry 4 probably represents the peak implementation of that formula. The map is huge, but not SO huge that it becomes insurmountable. There are a massive number of potential activities, but it is still feasible to do them all, without feeling completely burned out. There is enough variety added by the unique and beautiful location, and by the combination of randomising elements to keep the actual playing of the missions feeling varied, even when the basic structure remains relatively static. Overall, Far Cry 4 is something of an anomaly really. It is a game thoroughly lacking in originality - the series has peaks and valleys, but none really stray terribly far from the formula laid out in Far Cry 3... but Far Cry 4 does represent one of those peaks. Far Cry, like Assassin's Creed, operates in much the same way as, say, James Bond films do. The formula is relatively stable, but it's the key features that make or break an incarnation. The Big-Bad, the variety, the narrative-to-side-content ratio, and most of all, the location. In Far Cry 4, those key features happen to align in a pretty good way on all counts - and the main detrimental factors (the over-size, the repetition, the "problematic" elements,) are kept to a (relative) minimum in this incarnation. Does that mean that Far Cry 4 will appeal to someone who is not a fan of the Ubisoft formula, or the core mechanics? Absolutely not. There is nothing here revelatory enough to break that mould... ...but for someone, like myself, who enjoys that treadmill once in a while, this is the best version of it Far Cry has offered. The Ranking: This one turned out to be an absurdly easy game to rank! I maintain that on balance, Far Cry 4 is the superior game to Far Cry 3... not by much, and not in every area, but overall. It has the more meandering story, and a little more problem with focus, and with memorable side-characters, but the better location by a landslide, the better villain, and less Hurk. (That's always a bonus!). However, the very next game above Far Cry 3 on the current ranking is Dead Nation... and despite being better than its predecessor, I can't see Far Cry 4 beating out that game. I'd certainly return to Dead Nation multiple times before replaying Far Cry 4... in fact, the proof is in the pudding, as I have done so! As such, Far Cry 4 finds its spot easily - just above its forbearer. Resident Evil 6 Summary: The tale of Resident Evil's mainline entries, (prior, of course, to the franchise reset that Resident Evil 7 represented,) is one of continual addition to a single side of a set of scales. Those scales? Between Horror, and Action. On the one side, there is the chilling, survival Horror aspects (creep factor, tension, jump-scares, limited ammo, feeling under-powered,) which the original Resident Evil was a pillar of building - or at least, of defining within the console gaming space - and on the other, the Action-Thrill-ride - the bombast and spectacle and overblown excitement (the shooting and jumping and exploding, and feeling over-powered,) more akin to non-horror 3rd person shooters like Gears of War... (which arguably, Resident Evil also had a hand in pioneering - with its most popular and critically lauded "action" entry, Resident Evil 4.) From the original Resident Evil, all the way through to Resident Evil 5, that balance was continually tipped further and further towards action -and in most cases, whether this was for better or for worse was entirely a matter of the personal tastes of the player. As the series slid further and further from its horror roots, those who preferred that element of the games, (myself included,) tended to somewhat bemoan the trend - however, that sentiment was still largely tempered, by two unequivocal truths: Firstly, that regardless of the exact genre each game fell within, they always were of supreme high quality. Secondly, that regardless of the exact genre each game fell within, they were always fun to play. Resident Evil 6, however, is where the wheels fell off the wagon. Note - that is not "wheel" but "wheels." Plural.Resident Evil 6 is not only the tipping point, where the "bigger, faster, more" mantra stopped working, and the scales finally toppled over completely... ...it is also the point where most other positive point the franchise success hinged upon fell apart. All, seemingly at once. The result was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. Narratively, Resident Evil 6 is - even within the context of a series that exists and even thrives in absurd overblown contrivance - frivolous, ineffectual, wanting... and curiously, (almost wilfully,) unengaging. Splitting the narrative into 4 independent, loosely connected plot arcs, the player plays at various times as different pairings - Leon Kennedy, here paired up with new character Helena Harper, Chris Redfield, here paired up with new character Piers Niven, or hitherto unmentioned son of Albert Wesker Jake Muller, paired up with the (now adult,) Sherry Birkin of RE2 fame. Each of these sections can be played - as in RE5 - in co-op. There is also a fourth story - featuring Ada Wong - which is unlocked only upon completion of the other three, and which (at the time I played,) was a solo-only campaign... though. This addition, of course, addressed a serious problem with the game at launch - that many players would play the majority of the game with a friend, only to have a section at the end where they could no longer continue in their tandem journey. However, it does mean that - even in comparison to the other new characters, this grunt is - by necessity - utterly superfluous to the plot. The primary narrative issue with Resident Evil 6 from a conceptual point of view, is Resident Evil 5. RE5 wrapped up the story - Wesker was dead, Umbrella was all but finished - there were remarkably few loose ends left after that game. As such, the story here feels both incredibly convoluted - as it tries to pull as many elements of the previous narrative in and explain away reasons why the game can exist in the first place - yet incredibly ineffectual and throwaway, in the sense that as much of that stuff as they throw at the wall, remarkable little sticks with any real relevance. (To be quite honest, I am not bothering to summarise what actually happens, as the summary would be as superfluous and convoluted as the plot itself - and largely immaterial, given that it would require 3 or 4 paragraphs, all to reach the inevitable ending sentence "...and none of it matters anyway.") This "shoe-horning" concept - trying to squeeze additional life out of a franchise narrative already largely concluded, and doing so by introducing new characters that have been curiously absent form the fiction of previous titles - is possible, of course. One only need reference Uncharted 4, to see an example not only of continuing a fiction beyond its natural conclusion successfully, and of a new character breathing life into an existing fiction, with a reasonable narrative justification for their previous absence... however, it is a tricky needle to thread. It is one that requires very careful, clever and precisely paced revealing of information to the player, to pull them forward into the new narrative, without treading on the previously constructed tableau. Resident Evil 6 manages, somehow, to fuck the task up in both directions - by offering both far too much, and far too little justification. Large amounts of narrative is predicated on convoluted and complicated history that has never been seen or hinted at before, ( because, of course, it wasn't written until this game,) but is never actually explained within this game either. Large, meaningful elements of the backstory - the very things that are overly convoluted, crowbarred, and ultimately necessary to give the narrative being played any weight or relevance to the player - are hidden in files only accessible ostensibly as bonuses - rewards for finding collectibles. The result is, the game feels like irrelevant ret-conning at best, or non-canonical fan fiction at worst, throughout (at minimum) the entire first playthrough... i.e. the one playthrough where clear, driving narrative is at its most important. The new characters are wildly underdeveloped - the desire to make the game co-op, as worked in RE5, but to also hop across multiple stories - results in a requirement for additional characters jammed into the narrative right next to characters with long-standing, storied histories in the franchise. In RE5 that worked - there was a staple character (Chris) and a new one (Sheva) - but she had the benefit of an entire new game for players to come to like her. Here, the player has very little time to for any of these new characters to make a mark, and since most of that time the player is also spending trying to work out what is going on, and how the characters they ARE familiar with even ended up in this new situation, those new characters have their "getting to know you" time squeezed to virtual insignificance. On occasion there appears to be glimmers of success - Helena Harper, for example, is a character that is instantly likeable and interesting, and feels like, if given a full game to develop, could have been a considerable new asset to the RE canon - however, even her character suffers, as all the new characters do, for the lack of screen-time, or coherent writing. The nature of the multiple story narrative is that the existing characters have little more than can be done with them to flesh them out beyond what is already known, and the new characters do not get any real time to make a mark at all. None of the vignettes are scary in the slightest - there is no tension, no sense of danger, and no real sense of urgency - since the characters (and the player) rarely ever has any real sense of the broader plot. As silly and convoluted as Resident Evil's boarder narrative is (and always has been - hokey, but in a good way, generally,) it was incredibly rare at any point in the series for the player to ever be asking "wait... why are we doing this again?" In RE6, my co-op partner and I found ourselves voicing that question on an hourly basis. Mechanically, the game tries to make some interesting use of the multi-path narrative, by having each vignette play in a slightly different genre. The Leon Campaign (and, in fact, the Ada Campaign) are closest to an amalgam of RE4 & RE2 - with some lip-service still being paid to the horror elements, however unsuccessfully. The Jake/ Sherry vignette seems closest to a sort of combination of RE5 gameplay, with RE3 nods - featuring a balance of action and set-piece closest to Resident Evil 5, but introducing an RE3 style, Nemesis-type enemy constantly in pursuit. The Chris campaign - inarguably the lowest point in the game - is full Gear of War / Army of Two-style action, bordering on military shooter, and entirely eschewing even the faintest hint of the game's horror roots. It genuinely feels less like a section of a Resident Evil game, and more like a test-balloon, with Capcom feeling out whether moving entirely away from horror is the key to future success. (Thankfully, the idea that this was the weakest section is a broadly universal opinion, and so that lesson was, at least, learned... hence the reboot in RE7.) All of these narrative and structural elements are unfortunate, of course, but could largely be ignored if the game was mechanically sound. Unfortunately, it is not. Make no mistake, Resident Evil as a franchise has always had good mechanical elements - the series has always enjoyed a level of technical and mechanical finesse that is laudable, and even here, at its lowest point, Resident Evil 6 is not an utterly broken or technically woeful game... however, as compared to every one of its predecessors, (and successors,) it is remarkably messy. RE6 is mechanically most of all, a direct sequel to RE5, and as such, that is its closest sibling. The game is designed with the same co-op / AI co-op in mind, however, the AI does not work with the same level of finesse it did in that game. It works well in combat, however, possibly due to the increased intricacy of the environments, or simply some fault of the new mechanics, actually getting the AI partner to do other functions - for example, opening doors - can be oddly finicky... much more so than in RE5. Sections where a door must be opened in co-op while fending off enemies con often end up being failed, simply because the AI partner refuses to join the player, instead choosing to simply engage the infinitely spawning enemies indefinitely. That is clearly a simple case of a lack of proper care being taken in the implementation of the mechanic, but it is not an isolated thing. That lack of care seems to permeate the game. Enemies often fail to react to shots, for example. Part of the fundamentals of how the franchise works, is that while the player may not have the ammunition or time to kill everything in their path, they are able to make it through areas with careful single shots, staggering enemies long enough to move past them. RE6 is the first time that element has failed, in the sense that often, enemies will begin canned "attack" animations even while being actively shot - resulting in the player taking damage despite doing what is ostensibly the "correct" thing. Melee attacks by the player - designed to be instant kills on "downed" enemies - often end up missing. There is, like in its predecessor, a large number numbers of quick-time events, but this time these are even more prevalent, and significantly more irritating. the actual button pushes required are often wildly unintuitive, and the windows for success even tighter and more exacting. That leads on to another major fault in the game - the poor tutorialising of basic mechanics. This is a staggering oversight in a modern game - and not something any other RE game has ever had an issue with - basic functions like rolling / co-op health mechanics etc. are simply never explained in game, beyond occasional "tool-tips" in tutorial loading screens. These are randomised, and so it can be very easy for a player to simply remain unaware of primary game mechanics until deep into the game. In fact, that issue leads directly into perhaps the most fundamental and permeating issues the game has: it appears to simply not care whether someone is actually playing it. There is a shocking lack of feedback to the player. Whether it's in the form of a lack of tutorialising or indication of basic functions, or a lack of clarity of what the player is ever required to be doing or to be going, or a lack of feedback during boss fights to indicate to the player that they are making progress or even hitting the correct/incorrect spots, or the lack of impact the players shooting has on enemies... it almost feels like the game took more than just visual cues from Bruckheimer action films.... It seems to actually want to be a film. It really doesn't want the player to impact what is happening on the screen. I'm wary of this review simply becoming a massive list of grievances, (it's as depressing to write as it is to read, I assure you - and were it not for the fact that we know have the benefit of hindsight, and know that the stultifyingly good Resident Evil 7 would be born from the ashes of this game, it might be even more so,) but there are actually some good elements to the game. Visually, the game looks very nice. It is, essentially, a direct continuation of the look of Resident Evil 5. In fact, it is arguably the least dramatic visual improvement across the series - however, RE5 was a fantastic looking game in its day, and so, even without making any significant improvements, RE6 still looked pretty good when it came along. Obviously, there was a diminishing returns element to it - other games had caught up significantly by that point - but that doesn't change the fact the game looks very good. One specific area of technical improvement is in lighting - the visuals of RE5 are made to pop much more with the much better use of improved lighting tech. Audio too, is good - again, similar to RE5 in terms of quality, which was a high bar, and there is certainly more to things like the score and voice acting, since there is much more game here... but of course, appreciating voice acting is more difficult when the actual plot feels inconsequential or unengaging. The problem is, even the game's best elements can feel in some ways disappointing, because of the state of the game they are attached to - as they show the breadth and scope of the artistry that wen into crafting a game that, despite it all, can only be considered an abject failure. RE6 is almost assuredly the largest Resident Evil game. There is more art and environments (all of which look good, and are of great quality,) more in the way of distinct characters and character animations, more variety in terms of play-style and design... hell, Capcom even went so far as to build out 4 separate UI designs for the different campaigns. They did do the work. The art department, in particular, must have worked their digital fingers to the analogue bone... ...but it was all in service of this game. No matter how expensive the make-up, and how skilled the make-up artist, there is only so far one can gussy-up a hog. It might demonstrate skill on the artist's part... but it's not going to be attractive. Overall, Resident Evil 6 is... wanting. It is proof, if it were ever needed, that more is not always more. Sometimes - and specifically in the case of Resident Evil, almost always - less is more. The combination of a paper-thin premise, significant technical hiccups and mechanically unsound missteps in altering the formula, a milquetoast, decidedly uninteresting and un-involving plot, a heavier-than-ever focus on action over scares, and an game so absurdly over-long, and over-stuffed that it borders on masturbatory... ... results in a game that would be a disappointment even if it was the first entry in a new IP. As a mainline entry in a storied - and generally high-quality - franchise like Resident Evil though? It is crushing. The only good thing to come form this mess, was that it was such a failure, as to precipitate a complete reinvention of the franchise... resulting in its best ever entry. Resident Evil 7 likely only became the masterpiece it did, because it was driving so fast and so hard in the opposite direction to the smouldering wreckage of Resident Evil 6. A formula that is working is hard to break away from. It takes a failure to precipitate a change. RE6's dismal critical failure freed Capcom form the golden-handcuffs of success, allowing them to change up the formula... and the contrast between Resident Evil 6 and Resident Evil 7 only serves to make RE7 glow even brighter... and heap further, in-hindsight scorn on RE6. Resident Evil 7 - serves both as the sole justification for, and final nail in the coffin of, the turd that is Resident Evil 6. The Ranking: Resident Evil 6 unfortunately belongs to that very special category of games - the "Triple A", big budget, lavishly produced stinker. The games that had enormous amounts of time and energy poured into their creation, resulting in a game that simply didn't work. That category is not, perhaps, as rare as it should be in general - however, it is relatively rare on this ranking - for two reasons. Firstly, I don't play a huge amount of big, "Triple A" type games. Secondly, the massive, blockbuster failures are generally well known to be stinkers very quickly, and so I tend to simply avoid buying them. There are a few on the list though - including two that stand out quite obviously: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Need for Speed: Rivals. Both of those are games that have had huge amounts of money spent on them, with massive developers behind them, and still ended up plopping out an egregiously un-fun, unenjoyable mustard-burp of a game. In the case of both though, I do have to concede, they have some points of merit that preclude Resident Evil 6 form moving above them. Jedi, looks good - probably better than Resident Evil 6 at this point, and while the narrative, technical elements and treatment of the source material are all woeful, the fact of the matter is that the actual combat, while dull and tedious, is still functionally sound. It is boring beyond belief, but not riddled with actual technical problems - unlike RE6, who's consistent failure to register enemy hits, or miss with "unmissable" finishers actually makes the combat virtually unplayable at times. Need for Speed: Rivals is a stupefyingly boring open world driving game... but again, it looks great, and actually, the core mechanics are fun... there is just no effort ever put in to vary them, so the game gets tedious over time. RE6 is misguided and broken-feeling right from the start. That pushes RE6 down, and forces me to simple work downwards, asking "would I replay RE6 before this?" Doing so, the sticking point is - unfortunately, another game in another big-league franchise, that had al the developer skill and money going for it, but also failed to capitalise on it - Sly 2: Band of Thieves. I have to admit, I would replay Resident Evil 6 in its entirety, before replaying any of Sly 2... and that's saying something, since RE6 is so damned long! As such, Resident Evil 6 finds its spot. The Sexy Brutale Summary: A stylish time-loop puzzle game from Cavalier Studios and Tequila Works, 2017's The Sexy Brutale sees the player - here, in the role of preacher Lafcadio Boone, thrust into the opulent, yet decidedly deadly, casino hotel who's name it takes, on the night of its owner - Lucas Bondes' annual masked ball. Becoming aware that the part is caught in some kind of existential trap, looping the same 12 hours over and over - as it happens, on the same night that the guests all seem to come to grizzly ends of different descriptions - they meet a mysterious woman known only as "The Bloody Girl", who gifts them a timepiece, allowing them awareness across multiple loops... and allowing them to take on the task that the game lays upon them. Namely, to save each of the guests from their repeating, deadly fates, one by one, all the while remaining out of site, and in the shadows. The narrative works pretty well, all told. There is a good balance between the overarching "macro" mystery - what is the cause of the plethora of deaths, and of the time-loop itself, and the specific "micro" narratives, of each individual guest, as they play out their specific last hours, and it works well. There is, as is unavoidable in games of this nature, a particular narrative issue that can occur, where if a player gets stuck on one particular puzzle for too long, the "macro" tends to be forgotten in favour of the "micro", but as far as games of this nature go, it actually does a pretty good job of keeping that over-aching mystery going, even when the player finds themselves repeating a specific loop for a long time... with a puzzled look on their face! The cast of characters is fun - they are relatively one-dimensional really - The Sexy Brutale is narratively complex, rather than home to complex characters - but, while caricatures, they are generally interesting or at least likably (or like-to-hate-able!) ones. Mechanically, the game is interesting - and relatively unique. In terms of the actual puzzles, they are clever, and well done for the most part, somewhat combining adventure game mechanics, stealth mechanics, and some of the, (more recently in-vogue,) time-loop mechanics. In fact, it's worth noting that while time-loop games have seen a real surge of late, with games like 12 Minutes, The Forgotten City, Deathloop, Outer Wilds, Returnal - likely as a corollary to the rise of rogue-like and the souls-like mechanics to their apex - The Sexy Brutale actually made use of some of these concepts at least a few years prior to them really hitting the mainstream. While the limited scope and impact of the game precludes me thinking it instrumental in the rise of those mechanics, I do think in some sense, it could be argued that The Sexy Brutale feels more like a 2021 game than a 2017 one. There is, admittedly, something of an issue of the difficulty curve in the game... in the sense that it doesn't really have one. aside from the very first death to be prevented, really, each section of the game is pitched at roughly the same difficulty. There is certainly variety in terms of narrative, location within the Casino / Hotel and the specific characters and actions to be taken, but in terms of actually getting harder or easier, they sort of don't. The result is that the game can feel a little front loaded in terms of challenge. Quite quickly, the player can feel the puzzles are getting very difficult, as they are flung in the deep end before they have a full understanding of the mechanics and the nuances, and are still figuring out how the game works... but towards the end of the game, once they have those things worked out, the puzzles can feel a little on the easy side. The game hasn't changed its challenge level, but the player has changed in their knowledge of how to approach. That isn't a particularly huge problem, (indeed, one could easily argue that the game in the current No.1 "most awesome" spot on this list, Hitman 3, has some of the same issues - it's missions vary, but don't necessarily get harder,) however, in the case of The Sexy Brutale, I do think it's a little more of an issue, since that game is much more a "capital P Puzzle Game." There isn't as much of an action / stealth / sandbox element to fall back on. Puzzle games should, really, increase their challenge as they continue... even puzzle games where narrative and style are at the forefront, ahead of challenge as a draw. Th game really looks great - the cartoonish visual style is actually closer to that of some throwback JRPG games than puzzle games in a sense, (think the "cheebie" 3D style of something like I Am Setsuna or Lost Sphear,) though the smaller scope and location size of the game does mean the level of detail and art design that can be poured into the Brutale within that style certainly eclipses those games, where scope and scale are more of a factor. The colour palate is bright and saturated, but used to highlight the opulence and grandiosity of the hotel rather than to over-stylise it, and some of the effects like lighting are far beyond what most games in that art-style tend showcase. Individual rooms are small, and varied, but the quality of lighting effects from candles, fireplaces or shining through windows is very high. Actually, lighting is of particular note in The Sexy Brutale - the effects are great, and actually used to service both the artistic visuals, and the mechanical elements. Because the player is required to remain unseen to the characters who's lives they are affecting, a large portion of the game involves peeking through keyholes, or through cracks etc, and the visual effects done for this - lighting up only the areas which Lafcadio can see are done really smartly, and look great. I must admit though - as much as I like the art style of The Sexy Brutale, and as well implemented as the "cheebie" style is here, I'm not 100% sure the game benefits form it from a tonal and narrative point of view. The grand opulence of the Casino Hotel, and the creepiness of some of the characters, combined with the slightly macabre sense of the game does tend to work against the visual style. While it does a great job of keeping what could be a gloomy tone light, I do wonder how a more realistic version of the game might work - something more in the vein of Hitman or even Dishonoured in terms of visual style. That, of course, would likely require a budget and studio size in excess of what The Sexy Brutale had, however, it is relatively unusual that while playing a game, I find myself wistfully wondering what a different visual tone might do for it... and so I feel it warrants mention here. I like what is there, but perhaps wonder if another direction might have worked even better. The audio however, is beyond reproach. There isn't voice work for the most part - dialogue is in text bubbles, however, the foley work, and in particular the music is really great. There's a fantastic amount of big-band, swinging jazz style music accompanying the game, and it is just excellent - listenable and highly enjoyable outwith the game, but utterly setting the tone within it. Overall, The Sexy Brutale is a smart, interesting and - even within the broad landscape of indie games - quite a unique game. Indie puzzlers are, to some extent, ten-a-penny. One cannot swing a cat in the Indie section of the PSN digital store without hitting one... but I'm not sure that there are many quite like The Sexy Brutale. It's a curious art-style for sure - one I'm not 100% sure fits the game perfectly... but it's hard to argue with how it looks from a pure artistic standpoint, and mechanically, I'd say that even in the current climate of time-loop games being in vogue, this one takes a uniquely puzzle-heavy slant on the concept, to winning effect. The Ranking: In terms of time-loop games, that would seem the obvious comparison... but actually, I'm not sure it helps much. The problem is, while "time-loop" is a curious and specific concept, the actual game that implement it - and particularly the ones on the current list - are all pretty distinct in terms of both genre, and budget. Instead, I decided to look at The Sexy Brutale simply as a puzzle game, and look for a ceiling and floor from that perspective... and two came up quite quickly. I think for all its good points, I still tend to favour the real puzzling cleverness of Quantum Conundrum over The Sexy Brutale - that game doesn't look as good, but it does have mechanics that I liked more, and while I enjoyed each vignette of The Sexy Brutale to different degrees, there aren't too many of them. When one is weaker, it does drag the game down in a way that a single weak puzzle in Quantum Conundrum doesn't. It's close, but I do think Quantum Conundrum has to retain its place. A little further down though, is The Garden Between. That game, I would argue, does look as good as The Sexy Brutale - maybe even a little better (or at least, more to my tastes,) and it is a very beautiful and emotional journey... but there is no two ways about it... it suffers for its lack of challenge. I played The Sexy Brutale twice (on PC, and on PS4,) and while I did remember a lot of details, making my PS4 play very quick, replaying it was still fun from a challenge point of view, to some extent. I played The Garden Between twice too (PS4 & PS5,) but the problem is, the puzzles are so easy, that the second one only had the emotion. There was little replayability in it other than that. As such, I think The Sexy Brutale takes the lead there. There's only a handful in between those two - and it comes down to simple awesomeness and preference. I think The Sexy Brutale does enough to (just) beat out the excellent Ratchet and Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal... but, even despite some issues, it just gets very narrowly squeezed out by the smartness and beguiling strangeness of Weird West. As such, it finds its spot! Far Cry 5 Summary: When it was announced that Far Cry 5 would be set not in some far flung, exotic location (to a western audience, that is,) like all the previous incarnations in the franchise, but rather, in the US - specifically in Montana - it raised some eyebrows, some questions... and, of course, the inevitable joke: "So, is this one called "Near Cry"?" The curiosity and slight confusion was, of course, warranted. It's obvious that Far Cry's core mechanics could work in virtually any large, outdoor setting, and of course, Montana's Rocky Mountain landscape is a perfect fit for one of Far Cry's staples - that of setting their sandbox chaos-murderthon in a new, vibrant landscape each time. However, on its face, a US-based location didn't appear to adhere to the series other staples: namely a lawless, warring setting featuring a charismatic and powerful warlord figure against who's forces a resistance is embroiled in guerrilla warfare, and whom the protagonist outsider could align themselves in their quest to overthrow them. The US may have issues... but ones political leanings notwithstanding, it can hardly be considered a third-world dictatorship, or a failed state! What Ubisoft publicly showed about the game pre-launch, however, was interesting. The plot of Far Cry 5 would revolve around a totalitarian cult, risen in a single state to near total dominance over law enforcement, into which the player character is dropped, and becomes embroiled in the resistance to. That notion was genuinely interesting... particularly in 2018. Not to get political, but a very real argument could be made that at that time, American was more familiar with cultish behaviour than it ever had been. Make America Great Again had some of the hallmarks of cultishness - a ghoulish, charismatic, vindictive and thin-skinned leader demanding absolute fealty and power, an entire network and infrastructure of propaganda running in parallel to factual reality, a mass-block level of double-thinking that would make George Orwell blush... hell, it even had slogans, chants, and a costume, (well, a red hat,) for its acolytes. The idea that Ubisoft might be taking direct aim at that, with a franchise as mainstream and popular as Far Cry was not only interesting... it was genuinely exciting. Then, of course, the game released... and that bubble of excitement popped almost immediately. The already shaky premise of Far Cry 5 - that the US would allow a large section of a state to be overtaken by a cult, and leave it to fend for itself - is ridiculous of course...but videogames are not immune to ridiculous premises. The audience is often required to take a leap of faith or logic in order to go along with a game plot. The problem with Far Cry 5 is not that a leap of logic is required to go along with it... ... it is that even those willing to take the leap of narrative faith, are rewarded with a plot so milquetoast, pussy-footing, bland and almost chillingly apolitical, that it makes that leap feel unwarranted. The cult in question - Eden's Gate - bears little to no resemblance to anything even remotely plausible, and more importantly, to anything remotely political. The leader, Joseph Seed (this game's "Big Bad",) and his lieutenants, Jacob, John and Rachel, less resemble plausible or reality-based cult leaders, than they do paper-Batman villains, complete with "themes" special powers, and their own set of specifically aligned acolytes. Seed himself is bafflingly uncharismatic as compared to previous Far Cry villains - but, more damningly, also in comparison to any real-life cult leaders. The whole concept of Eden's Gate is therefore made more outlandish - the idea that people could be swayed away from their countries ideals, and into a new, insidious cult mentality by a genuinely charismatic or alluring political or religious figure is chilling, dangerous and interesting. The idea that so many people would end up mindlessly following a poor-man's Jarod Leto with nothing more than a pointed stare and a self-harm fetish is ludicrous. It robs the premise of any vitriol... and therefore, any notion of allegory... and therefore any point of view. The result is that what was clearly, at its outset, a game designed to have a point, spends its entire time meticulously, carefully and delicately never having one. The game's plot is actually doing outlandish backflips to deliberately avoid anything that could even be read as a remotely analogous to real politics. The characters are incredibly malleable - and the game takes great pains to try and justify the existence of Eden's Gate, without ever placing any blame on anyone outside of the main cult leaders. There is no interest in any kind of comment on how the situation was allowed to happen - on how the cult was ignored, or brushed off in the early days, or how the people joining it are responsible for their own misfortunes... and in fact, the most "rebellious", anti-cult characters encountered are routinely the most "Hoo-Raa", rootin' tootin' "'Murican" ones - exactly the people who most dominantly make up the membership of the real cult in America right now. The game is, in fact, peppered with these characters - essentially all modelled in the Hurk mould, (you know, Hurk - the never-funny, always dismally dull and eye-wateringly cringe-inducing "hick-with-attitude" character who feels like a character removed from an episode of Trailer Park Boys for being "too dumb", that Ubisoft insists on shoving into every Far Cry game) - and while the game does seem to be somewhat leaning towards poking some fun at these characters, it never goes all the way, as while they are shown to be uneducated, racially insensitive, obnoxious or reactionary, they are still predominantly cast in the "good guy" roles. The whole narrative is incredibly disappointing, and shows a real lack of character on Ubisoft's part. When dealing with "far away" locations - tropical, or Himalayan, or indeed Caribbean places - they strive, in their way, to be somewhat politically edgy... but that's when there is no risk to sales, or of "offending" the people who might actually affect their bottom line. Those countries might be made-up, and their villains and civil wars fictitious, but they tend to correlate to realistic and real-life counterparts and situations to a point, and be bold and over-the-top in their comment on them. When the series comes closer to home, however, (or, rather, closer to the home of their biggest audience,) they shy away completely, often tripping over themselves not to offend anyone. Ironically, that pussy-footing ends up being the most offensive thing ever done with the franchise. Double ironic really, when one considers that the one potentially offensive thing that Far Cry as a franchise has always had to be careful about is the "White Saviour Complex"... and Far Cry 5 is the first game where that is a non-issue, given the setting. The protagonist is an outsider, so there could be argued to be something of a "Fly-over values" issue replacing the White Saviour one, especially since so many of the "good guy" natives of Hope County are shown to be under-educated morons... ...but really, that is the least of its issues. The plot is so bland, that really, any argument that the game is saying much of anything is ludicrous. It is incredibly, almost mystifyingly not. All that said, as usual in a Far Cry game - the good points are still good. I'm not going to dive super deep into the mechanics of the game, as they have already been discussed for the most part, in the Far Cry 4 review in this very batch. The primary mechanics are unchanged really - the game is structurally identical to the previous two games - territory to control, outposts to take, a plethora of chaos-inducing weaponry to unlock and use, and several primary territories, controlled by specific "mid-bosses", to be taken out. It is larger, and with more side-content, and therefore a bit flabby and more unfocussed, but the side content is still relatively fun to do in spurts. As always, it plays very well - the movement is slick, the controls good, and the action punchy, visceral, variable and genuine fun. The game also looks fantastic - Far Cry is nothing if not a showpiece for environmental design and crisp, clean, beautiful chaos, and in Far Cry 5, that stuff has never looked better. The Montana setting is absolutely gorgeous - the map is enormous, and while I do think it lacks some of the variation and interesting little details Kyrat featured in Far Cry 4, there is still more than enough variety and interest to add distinct flavour to different missions, even while the actual structure of those missions remains pretty repetitive. Audio again, is good - foley and gun-shots/ explosions are great, the overall score is fine, bordering on good, and voice acting is actually better than in the previous games - though of course, that is hamstrung a little, given that the actual narrative is unflavoured fudge, and the things they voice actors are saying are so ludicrous and dull. The game does feature handful of DLC packs - this time in the mould of the Blood Dragon separate DLC for Far Cry 3, where the mechanics are transposed to completely different settings, and these are... a mixed bag. The Vietnam-set one is arguably the highlight of the entire game - an excellent, short but sweet campaign, where all the best elements of Far Cry are showcased, without any of the negatives. In fact, the narrative of that DLC, such as it is, is lightyears better than anything in the main game. The Zombies one is pretty fun - Zombies are arguably the most played-out concept in all of videogames, and for sure there are umpteen better places for a player, (or two - this DLC is co-op focussed,) to get a better Zombie-killing fix, but it's a passable good time with a friend. (Shout out to @JoesusHCrust, regardless of the quality of the game, I'd have had a good time playing through with him as my buddy,) but there are certainly worse co-op games, and worse Zombie games. The less said about the Mars-based DLC the better - it is a slog. Not fun, not interesting... and absolutely filled with Hurk. So... comedy, without an ounce of comedy. That one should be avoided like the plague. Overall, Far Cry 5 is a Far Cry game, and so mechanically, visually and auditorially, it is good, as always. However, that is true of all Far Cry games. The real measure of quality within that formula is not the mechanics, as those are static and uniformly good - it is in the variables: The narrative, the setting, the structure and the characters. Far Cry 5 does reasonably well on the setting front... but falls dismally short on all the other ones. The narrative premise is painfully underused, and when it is used, it is very poorly. The game is flabby and unfocused to a degree that eclipses the same problem in previous games, with side-content and map size dwarfing the main game. The result is a not at all interesting - and often infuriatingly dull and milquetoast - main narrative, which is itself overshadowed by an overabundance of scope and scale and side content, all of which is dripping with a politically bone-headed and offensively bland and bet-hedging tone of indifference and meticulously crafted nothing. It is the "All lives Matter" of videogames. Non-opinion, disguised as opinion... ...and curiously offensive in its desire not to offend. The Ranking: The obvious comparison for Far Cry 5 has already been discussed in this batch - another late entry in a long running franchise that falls over, primarily on narrative: Resident Evil 6. I'd argue Far Cry 5's narrative is far worse than RE6's - it is probably better crafted, but where RE6's is mystifying and uninteresting, Far Cry 5's is both those thing, plus offensively wasted in terms of premise, so it is worse. Both games look good for their eras though, and both sound pretty good, and Far Cry 5 does play very, very well. Mechanically, it is sound in a way RE6 isn't, so on balance, it still ranks above RE6. The next "Triple A" game above RE6 is also a stinker - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. That game has a lot of the same issues with narrative that RE6 does, and again, I think Far Cry's wasting of its premise means Far Cry 5 comes out worse, but in the case of Jedi, it is mechanically sound. However, Jedi is still staggeringly dull to play, and Far Cry 5, for all its faults, is a very fun sand-box chaos generator. Far Cry still moves above it, though not by a massive margin. A little higher, we have The Order: 1886. That game is bafflingly short, and rather limited, however, its story is actually pretty good for what screen time it gets. It looks good, sounds good, and actually plays pretty well too - the worst that can be said about it is there is too little of it. Far Cry 5 is the more fun game, but there is far too much... and on balance, I think Far Cry 5's other faults do preclude it moving above The Order. That places it somewhere in between, and with me asking "would I replay Far Cry 5 for a bit, before replaying this?" Working up from Jedi: Fallen Order, the first game where the answer is "no", is probably Artifex Mundi joint Eventide 3: Legacy of Legends... ...and so Far Cry 5 finds its spot. Inscryption ☢️☢️SCIENCE NOTE☢️☢️ It is virtually impossible to talk about Inscryption, in any capacity, without it being a spoiler of some kind. 70-80% of the game is "beneath the surface" - beyond what is initially presented - but even the section that IS initially presented, is fundamentally recontexualised - and only really explained in detail - by what isn't. I have generally refrained form using spoiler tags in my reviews - and I intend to continue that tradition - however, that has primarily been because I don't generally speak in specific terms about plot anyway. With Inscryption, even talking around the plot is still a spoiler minefield though. Primary mechanics, visuals, audio, themes, genre, even CORE CONCEPTS are, by their mere discussion, spoilers, as the nature of what the game IS, is hidden to the player at the outset... and discussion of the plot is tantamount to this one. It has to be, as the mature of the game is reveals. I am doing my best to treat spoilers in this review in the same manner in which Inscryption itself reveals its hand - slowly, compounding. As one reads further into this review, the dangers of spoilers amplify, and so anyone can bail out if they feel they are in danger of delving too deep! However, for those who genuinely want to avoid them, I say, avoid this review, and simply look at the placement on the Scientific Ranking, and judge for yourself what my view is... ...as that likely speaks for itself! Summary: A rogue-like, Deck-Building Card Game with a twist (or twelve,) Inscryption is a game like an iceberg. There is a game visible above the waterline - an unusual and peculiar and quite compulsive one - but in initially playing it, the player has only the most rudimentary understanding of the broader game that awaits them, and of the ways in which that initial game will be recontexualised, repurposed, modified, and spun out over the course of the 15-odd hour trip down the rabbit hole. They have no real notion, at the outset, of what the overall game will encompass as they delve into its labyrinthine depths. There are, even at the initial outset, some hints to the player that all is not as it seems. When loading the game for the very first time, for example, the player hears their first clue - a slight flickering of the screen is accompanied by a disembodied voice, saying simply "Let's see whats on this then." When they go to begin the game, the second minor clue is evident... the option to begin a "New Game" is greyed out, and unavailable. Instead, the only option is "Continue"... and any person of my age, for whom the term "Jumanji" conjures images of a board game rather than a videogame, should know immediately that "continuing" a mysterious game in progress, without knowing what is in progress, is a recipe for disaster! Upon "Continuing" the player is thrust, in 1st person, into some kind of creepy, woodland log cabin, with a mysterious, demonic, and curiously unhinged shadowy figure, explaining the fundamentals of a card game to them... "incase they need a refresher of the rules." This figure - "Leshy" as we come to know him - acts as something of a demonic games-master, forcing the player to play through continual runs of his rogue-like deck-builder, unfurling a physical map, moving physical pieces, and playing the roles of the various characters encountered along the turn-of-the-century, Gold-Rush themed journey. When the player encounters, for example, the "Woodcarver" (who's wares provide totems for buffing certain cards,) Leshy dons a Woodcarver mask, playing the part like some kind of cross between a Larp-ing D&D Master, and Jigsaw from Saw. When the player encounters one of the "Sub-Bosses" (The Fisherman, The Trapper, or The Prospector,) Leshy dons appropriate wooden masks, and plays that role. When the player, within the fiction of the game, encounters a voice from a dark cave, Leshy has rudimentary props that he places on the table to play that role. This stage of the game is - Act 1 - is quite deliberately, confusing. Players may well be familiar with the rough set-up of the rogue-like game they are playing, (the map layout, and balance of RNG, tactics and player choice are familiar staples, from games like Slay the Spire or Curse of the Dead Gods,) and the actual mechanics of the card battling, while obtuse in the usual way deck-building games are, are also learnable at the general pace of those games, however there are two elements that immediately begin to add meta layers on top of it. Firstly, the fact that the player will, inevitably at some point, pull back from the unfurled map before them, and realise that they are able to move around the creepy log cabin in which they are trapped. The room is filled with curious objects and items - puzzles that can be solved, either in world, or via the in-game game itself - adding wrinkles to the game. Additional cards, specific buffs, items for use during it. The game begins to add flavour around the game itself, hinting that there are curiosities beyond the initially presented set up. Secondly, the cards themselves. Most notably the Stoat... who talks. The stoat, immediately upon being drawn, begins to speak directly to the player, not only about the game, but about Leshy himself. The way he talks is cryptic - hinting at background and history between himself and Leshy (and "others") that the player has no concept of at the time, however, in that initial play, it is fascinating and strange to see the transformation and attitude of the Stoat, and to use his guidance / admonishments of both the player and Leshy as hints as to the nature of the meta game. Upon replaying, with full knowledge of the overall place Act 1 holds in the game, these interactions are very clever, and absolutely work. This stage of the game is, to be clear, very good fun. Indeed, the fact that Inscryption's "Ascension Mode" equivalent, ("Kaycee's Mod", available post campaign,) is entirely predicated on reruns of a marginally modified version of Act 1 is testament to the notion that the game would arguably work even if this was the sole sum of it. However, where Inscryption as a narrative experience truly breaks with convention, is when the player finally triumphs, and beats Leshy for the first time. ☣️SPOILER POINT OF NO RETURN☣️ Upon beating Leshy, the player is immediately jerked out of the dark, creepy digitised 3D realm in which they have spent the entirety of the game up to this point, and presented with a webcam video of a guy celebrating his win. Our win, rather - as we have, it turns out, been playing as this guy the whole time. The player is then able to watch, through a series of self-recorded videos, ostensibly for a fictitious YouTube Channel, who this guy is. He is "The Lucky Carder" - a minor YouTube content creator, who's channel is devoted to opening packs of obscure older physical card games. Through viewing a series of these - complete with date-stamps - we can follow the context of how he came to be playing this strange game. We see him find packs of an old, never popular physical card came - Inscryption - purchased at an estate sale. Opening them, he found one card that had been defaced - with co-ordinates written on it, and watch as he - skeptically - pursues them, ostensibly just as an interesting avenue for his channel - only to discover that they do, in fact, lead to a cache buried deep in the woods. A cache containing a mysterious floppy disk. That disk, containing a previously unknown working copy of a videogame version of Inscryption, is, in fact, what we have been playing this whole time. This is also the first time in the game, where the "Begin New Game" option is available to the player. ☣️☣️SPOILER DOUBLE-PLUS POINT OF DOUBLE-PLUS NO RETURN☣️☣️ Upon hitting "new game" the player is presented with a different version of the same card came they have been playing. A simpler one, but one contained within a sort of 16-bit rudimentary pixel-art RPG, as opposed to the 3D, threatening horror they have previously played. Within that simple game, the player controls chooses one of the 4 "scribes" (of whom Leshy is one,) to battle to replace - essentially positing that the original, simple premise of the game, as designed, allowed the player to play the few hours long RPG, collect cards as they go, and culminate with a choice of one of 4 bosses to battle as the finale. Through playing this RPG, they come to see the true nature of what they have been playing, and in combination with the information they can intuit from within that game, and the videos and meta-game information, understand the concepts behind it. ☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️THE "DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU" FINAL SPOILER WARNING!!☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️☣️ Essentially, Inscryption itself - the physical card game - is a reinterpretation of a much older card game - Karnoffel. Karnoffel was a game constructed as a sort of ethereal prison, designed to contain and curtail the actions a centuries old, maleficent demon. That demon remains trapped within Inscryption, haunting the game, and causing peril and ruin to those who play - as well as tremendous power for ill. (Indeed, in some of the tertiary lore, it is stated that when Hitler's body was removed from his bunker, a deck of Karnoffel cards were found in his pocket.) The company who created Inscryption - GameFuna, themselves a sort of steward of the evil within it - realised, at some point, that by trapping the demon within an electronic game, they could more effectively contain it. As such, a simple electronic game was created - the RPG - which itself contained Inscryption... built around the electronic bones of "The Old Data" (The Demon.) However, like all games created to contain the demon, the electronic version of Inscryption was haunted and affected by the Old Data. The characters within the game - and in particular, the 4 scribes - have become aware of what they are, and their simplistic narrative concepts of play, and of rivalry with one another, have become monstrous and byzantine, as they gain sentience by proximity to the Old Data. The final battles have become more real and unpredicatable than they ever should have been. (Hence, the game played in Act 1, where the player, as the "Lucky Carder" had picked up an in-progress game, where Leshy was already selected as the final boss.) The desire to be the "final boss" has grown to be all consuming, and the designed desires of the Scribes - to play - have become the seeds from which all consuming desire for dominance have grown. The result is that one of the Scribes - P03, the "Scribe of Technology" - has been driven mad by his prolonged time spend trapped as a Stoat in a "Leshy-Helmed Game" that could not end (due to the burying of the only copy of the game,) and has hatched a plan: To force the next player into a game where HE is the final boss, and to use the player's internet connection to upload a version of the game with himself as the consistent final boss to the world. Essentially, to free himself, and the demon along with him, by uploading a rigged copy of the game to Steam. What this means practically, is that Inscryption, as a game within a game, is one in two Acts, of which the player plays 3 - first, the second Act with Leshy as the final boss, second, the first Act (the original game,) and third, a manipulated version of Act 2, this time with P03 as the final boss. All the while, they are unravelling the mystery of what the nature of the game is, following the fate of "The Lucky Carder" as he delves into the mystery, unravelling not only GameFuna's involvement, but also the fate of a former employee - Kaycee - who died in mysterious circumstances, and who was the original owner of the physical cards he originally purchased. The game is, quite simply, magnificent. The actual card game - across all three acts, as it changes and warps, yet retains the core elements - is certainly fun, and the rule set worked out pretty well. It is not as complex or nuanced as, say, Slay the Spire or Griftlands, (my only two real Deck-Building reference points,) which does make sense, given that Inscryption is primarily a game playing with the concept of a Deck Builder, rather than simply being one... however, given that fact, it is actually remarkable how well implemented and fun the actual card game is to play. The fact that the game COULD work with a much less robust card game - simply telling its tale without really making the game-within-a-game as good as it is, makes the fact that it works as well as it does convey an attention to detail that is laudable. More than that though, what Inscryption manages to achieve in terms of meta-game, and or mystery, horror, suspense and investigative intrigue borders on the truly great games I have played. Following the campaign story is labyrinthine and satisfying in a way that something like Return of the Obra Dinn or Outer Wilds was - yet in some ways far more so, as the actual core of the game is so malleable and changing. The game is able to move from horror 3D card game, to 16-bit RPG, to almost Telling Lies or Her Story-style FMV investigation - genre shifts that are absolute - yet retain a completely engaging through-line, and pepper every incarnation with references and clues as to the others, that not only tie it together but actively form part of the mystery-solving elements. Having learned the code to a creepy, 3D safe in Act 1, means knowing it when the equivalent safe is found in 2D pixel-art in Act 2. Seeing a code in one of the "Lucky Carder's" web videos, can be useful when exploring P03's maze in Act 3. Knowing what Leshy said in Act 1, makes a difference in Acts 2 & 3. The horror elements are magnified too, primarily because of the "concentric circles" nature of the storytelling. The game, within game, within game, within game, makes the player feel not only a viewer of the experience, but an active participant in it. If anyone remembers watching Japanese horror film "The Ring", they might recall the scariest shot in that film - when the girl, on a screen within a screen, crawls towards the camera, then continues, crawling through the screen, and out. It is a stomach-churning moment, but not simply because of the concept, but rather, the framing. The shot is directly to camera. the screen she crawls through is framed "square" - directly in front of OUR screen. The reason that moment is so effective, is because as we watch the screen-within-a-screen, and see the girl move "up a level", from one screen to the next... the next screen is the one WE are watching. The lizard-brain reaction, is to think "well, she crawled through that one, and our screen is next!" That is what Inscryption does. By having so many "game-within-a-game" elements compounding, it positions the game we are playing, as simply the next in a chain - and therefore involves the player in a much more visceral and palpable way than most games can. Who is to say, that the game we are playing is not, in fact, the version P03 tired to release to the world? Who can know if he failed or succeeded? I realise I have delved far more deeply into the narrative elements of Inscryption than I generally do in these reviews - however, it is with good reason. It is virtually impossible to covey what is great about Inscryption without doing so. There are technical elements that should be mentioned, however. Visually, I think the game is excellent. It has multiple genres and styles to convey, of course - the Act 2 section is stylistically identical to old 16-Bit RPGs, and I think does an excellent job of that - not only in the actual game, but in the introductory cut-scenes, the menus, and across the board. The Act 1 & Act 2 portions are a curious amalgam of 3D environments with pixelated elements - which of course makes sense, once the nature of these sections is known, and I think it looks great too... though it may be a little jarring for people initially, before they have the narrative context for WHY it looks the way it does. Animations and movements within this strange style are great - I have no doubt whatsoever that any of the "limitations" are by design, and to serve the meta-narrative... but the fact remains, upon first playing, the strange, stilted movement of the character (while the world is 3D, the player moves like an old 8-Bit or 16-Bit sprite, only in 4 directions, and in set increments,) and the odd look, can feel unusual and take some getting used to. What's remarkable beyond the simple visual variability, however, is just how much work has gone into not only making different elements distinct, but into using visual language to convey the differences in elements of the game, even if that element is only seem very briefly. Without spoiling the "true" ending of the game, it should be noted, that while the player only really sees the 3D backdrop and stylistic palate of 2 of the Scribes (Leshy and P03,) in any full capacity... a full, unique, interesting and distinct visual treatment exists for the 3D realms of the other two Scribes - including full decks, animations, rule-sets etc. This betrays a mountain of work input, for what amounts to very little actual playtime. This is the kind of absurd level of detail that, while actually engaged with for a very short time, does flesh out the experience, and lend gravitas to the game - and to the narrative - that cannot be faked. (That finale, by the way, I will not spoil, however, I will say it manages to not only thread a difficult needle, and stick the landing on a very complicated game, but actually becomes a poignant and, indeed, touching narrative curiosity. It deals with the nature of games, the nature of existence and life, of free-will, the desire to live or die, and the sadness of imprisonment... all the while, doing cartwheels through genres and narrative in a way that is supremely well done!) Audio is great too - again, different depending on the genre and act - Act 2 is a perfect facsimile of old 16-Bit and 8-Bit games, Leshy's cabin in Act 1 is creepy and filled with excellent foley and music, as is P03's lair in the final Act. Voice work (well, acting,) is good - the "Lucky Carder" sections are well done, not too grating, but closely resembling real semi-pro YouTube content, with some smart subtlety conveying the genuine emotions behind the mask of public filter he puts on. Overall, Inscryption is, frankly, sublime. It is a Deck Builder, but one designed cleverly to be both interesting for Deck Building veterans, yet accessible to those without prior experience. It is a mystery with genuine mystery, a meta-game with a truly smart and well crafted, well reasoned, and air-tight narrative through-line, and a game experience that is consistent, constantly interesting, compelling, fascinating and surprising. I write a lot about game I like, and recommend a lot of games, as I always try to find some good in almost any game I play. With Inscryption though, I find it genuinely difficult to find anything to say about it that isn't glowing praise. It belongs in the small handful of games - like Outer Wilds, This War of Mine, Invisible Inc and a few others - where I not only recommend playing it... I implore people to. Inscryption is an experience that any videogame fan owes to themselves, and to the medium they love, to play. A journey that is fascinating, brilliant, wholly engaging and endlessly, unerringly entertaining - and one that could only work within the medium of videogames. The Ranking: There are two clear games on the list for comparison: the only Deck Builder on there currently, Slay the Spire, and the other Meta-Game horror narrative game Doki Doki Literature Club+. Both of those are games I enjoyed immensely, (and gave glowing reviews and high rankings to,) and so when I say Inscryption has to rank above both, that is testament to it. Slay the Spire is certainly the superior deck-builder in terms of the mechanics of the card game, but as great as that is (and it is pretty damned great,) that is the only element that it really excels in. The visuals, audio and the narrative are all very minimal in that game, and so as engaging as it is mechanically, it is trounced bay virtually all other factors in Inscryption... and even on the fundamental card came, while Inscryption is the inferior, it is still pretty great. Doki Doki is a game that does some pretty incredible things with its meta narrative - on the level of Inscryption, and even in a couple of cases surpassing it (perhaps not fundamentally, but both games suffer slightly from the translation to console, and in Doki Doki's case, I think that translation is done marginally better, losing a little less of a few of the most meta-elements.) However, while both meta-narratives are very engaging, I personally prefer the "base game" of Inscryption, and more than that, I do think the basic game of Inscryption far and away surpassed Doki Doki. Inscryption offers "Kaycee's Mod" - an ascension version of the basic game, that is incredibly fun and well done. A similar thing could never really work in Doki Doki, as the Poetry Writing mini-game element is too basic. It is there to provide a baseline, but doesn't offer much in its own right. Also, fundamentally, I found myself more engaged with the mystery of Inscryption than that in Doki Doki - and I loved it in Doki Doki. That leaves me in the old work up the list, and ask, "is it more awesome?" situation, as there's nothing of comparable genre. Working up from Doki Doki Literature Club+ then, there are some serious heavy-hitters - much larger, more lavish games... but often times, the sheer originality and engagement of Inscryption saw it come out on top. In fact, the first game to really push back, and ultimately stop Inscryption in its tracks, is one who's amazing attention to detail, and endless playability and breadth of creativity finally force Inscryption to halt its ascent is... ...Little Big Planet 2. That game represents the best of its series, a game dripping with creativity within a series dripping with originality, and one that is simply so vast, fun, playable, variable and cool, that it manages to (just) keep Inscryption at bay. As such, Inscryption takes its well-deserved high spot! So there we have it folks! Thanks to @grayhammmer and @breakingthegreen for putting in a request! Hitman 3 remains as 'Current Most Awesome Game'! LA Cops stays as the worst-of-the-worst, with the title of 'Least Awesome Game' What games will be coming along next time to challenge for the top spot... or the bottom rung? That's up to randomness, me.... and YOU! Remember: SPECIAL NOTE If there are any specific games anyone wants to see get ranked sooner rather than later - drop a message, and I'll mark them for 'Priority Ranking'! The only stipulation is that they must be on my profile, at 100% (S-Rank).... and aren't already on the Rankings! 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Alright, time for another big ol gulp of Science Cola! Aaahhhh, thats the stuff. 4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Far Cry 4 I got this in a bundle with FC3 and never did make up my mind on whether I'd give it a go or not.. but if this is a step up, I may as well since I've already got 3 penciled in at some vague point in the future? Ooh, White Savior! My favorites were the ones in those movies with Native tribes that always seemed to have a white dude they took in as a child. Makes sense though, I mean who ELSE is gonna be better than them at everything?? 4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Resident Evil 6 Ugh. You're absolutely right to call this a depressing read - after all, a nadir is never a pretty thing! I don't actively want to avoid playing this, it just seems sensible. I'm yet to see anything good about it, and between you and Mr. Clarke alone (even taking my previous reservations out of the equation) it just looks bad. And as you point out, to see a Resident Evil game be this terrible?? It'd be like seeing my uncle get drunk and vomit all over himself. I'll spare myself the pain and pretend the first run concluded with 5, thankyouverymuch! Also... back when I first heard about it and a friend was telling me that Sherry was in it, but as a grown up, I was like "please tell me she wasn't all sexualized n shit..." he said "kinda." Even a 'kinda' makes it weird, I think... I mean we carried her to safety as a child, I don't wanna see her shit! 4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: The Sexy Brutale I've seen this one around LOT, so I'm quite pleased to see you having good things to say about it. Besides, time loop gameplay before it burst onto the scene they way it has in the last few years? That alone catches my eye. I'll have to keep an eye out for a sale with this one! 4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Far Cry 5 It's good to know that my Far Cry experience will likely be sated with three and four? I couldn't agree with you more, it seemed they had an outstanding premise here and just pussed out. What's more baffling is that sure, if you don't wanna go after MAGAs, fair play - that's a pretty huge gaming demographic. But being afraid to truly villainize a cult leader? Who better than that?? All the people who feel positively about cult leaders are too busy riding a stationary bicycle to generate their power to play a game that insults them! The reluctance to exaggerate the baddies when they're white Americans is a great thing to call out too, as I agree whole-heartedly that this is questionable at best. I'm sure that this game is mechanically sound and looks great, but I'm pretty comfortable skipping it. 4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Inscryption Okay, okay, I'll check it out? Good work as always my dude? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grayhammmer Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 (edited) As thanks for doing my request and analyzing the worst and most bloated entry of the Resident Evil lineup, I am now requesting that you analyze the shortest game in one of your (I'm pretty sure) favorite franchises, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. Also, please tell me if you want me to slow down on the requests given how often I make them after each post, I don't want to end up being too annoying. Edited September 23, 2022 by grayhammmer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I got this in a bundle with FC3 and never did make up my mind on whether I'd give it a go or not.. but if this is a step up, I may as well since I've already got 3 penciled in at some vague point in the future You know... it's fun. Far Cry is just chaos fun - whether it works narratively is up and down, but it's never not fun to blow things up and shoot things in a Far Cry. TBH, I barely see the need for games like Just Cause, which are leaning into that side completely... since Far Cry is essentially exactly that already, but with added story nonsense! I'd say if you are going to check Far Cry out, FC3 and FC4 is the way to go - 5 is a bummer, and 6, I haven't actually played much, but feels basically like prettier, less engaging FC4 so far. Gorgeous looking games though - all of them - and the weapon sounds and impacts are just ?? 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: You're absolutely right to call this a depressing read - after all, a nadir is never a pretty thing! I don't actively want to avoid playing this, it just seems sensible. I'm yet to see anything good about it, and between you and Mr. Clarke alone (even taking my previous reservations out of the equation) it just looks bad. And as you point out, to see a Resident Evil game be this terrible?? It'd be like seeing my uncle get drunk and vomit all over himself. I'll spare myself the pain and pretend the first run concluded with 5, thankyouverymuch! Also... back when I first heard about it and a friend was telling me that Sherry was in it, but as a grown up, I was like "please tell me she wasn't all sexualized n shit..." he said "kinda." Even a 'kinda' makes it weird, I think... I mean we carried her to safety as a child, I don't wanna see her shit! Blergh. Play RE7. It's the beautiful orchid that grew from the RE6's manure. It's phenomenal. RE6 is poop from a butt. 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I've seen this one around LOT, so I'm quite pleased to see you having good things to say about it. Besides, time loop gameplay before it burst onto the scene they way it has in the last few years? That alone catches my eye. I'll have to keep an eye out for a sale with this one! Go for it, it's a good one... I'd say there are better time loop games (Outer Wilds, obviously, and Forgotten City,) but it's still a very strange and smart little game! 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: It's good to know that my Far Cry experience will likely be sated with three and four I couldn't agree with you more, it seemed they had an outstanding premise here and just pussed out. What's more baffling is that sure, if you don't wanna go after MAGAs, fair play - that's a pretty huge gaming demographic. But being afraid to truly villainize a cult leader? Who better than that?? All the people who feel positively about cult leaders are too busy riding a stationary bicycle to generate their power to play a game that insults them! The reluctance to exaggerate the baddies when they're white Americans is a great thing to call out too, as I agree whole-heartedly that this is questionable at best. I'm sure that this game is mechanically sound and looks great, but I'm pretty comfortable skipping it. I wholeheartedly endorse this avoidance! 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Okay, okay, I'll check it out YEEEEEESSSSSS! I rarely say this.... but I guarantee you won't be disappointed! 6 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Good work as always my dude That's m'dude! 6 hours ago, grayhammmer said: As thanks for doing my request and analyzing the worst and most bloated entry of the Resident Evil lineup, I am now requesting that you analyze the shortest game in one of your (I'm pretty sure) favorite franchises, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. Also, please tell me if you want me to slow down on the requests given how often I make them after each post, I don't want to end up being too annoying. Good shout my man - added to the Priority Ranking list! Don't worry about adding too many requests at all - as long as you don't mind me taking my sweet time getting them out, it's good to have at least one request in there to keep me focused! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoesusHCrust Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 I’ve got to agree with pretty much everything you said about FC5. It just felt so……wimpy! We know our cousins on the other side of the pond take the whole religion thing a lot more seriously than us euro heathens but if you want to avoid talking about televangelist doomsday head bangers then DON’T MAKE A WHOLE FUCKING GAME PROMINENTLY FEATURING ONES AS CORE CHARACTERS, YOU PLONKERS! Ah, it could have been so good! What a shame. Mind you, you could say the same thing about every Ubisoft Far Cry game. Why bother hiring professional actors and developing an interesting story only to pour it down the nearest urinal and make yet another open world shopping list? Vietnam DLC was good, Mars was…..not. Skipping hand in hand through zombies with the famous Dr. B. was irie I’ve not played a coop game like that before and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serrated-banner9 Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 don't tell him but i think i might do a trophy checklist based on his ideas. for sciense!!!!!!!!!! ......... what? it's a good idea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 6 minutes ago, serrated-banner9 said: don't tell him but i think i might do a trophy checklist based on his ideas. for sciense!!!!!!!!!! ......... what? it's a good idea ?Hey- bash on, my man - I didn't invent the concept of game ranking, and I don't have a monopoly on it... ... I'll be more than interested to read some Serrated-Science! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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