Popular Post Copanele Posted December 29, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2021 Praise the good Lord Agent 47 for your creation of Super Scientific Ranking, because it's one of the best pages I've read this year Glad (and surprised not gonna lie) that I was one of the triggers of your inner novelist. I do remember being genuinely happy that you started a thread too, knew I was in for a good read. And man was I right because I too snatched some games due to your scientific researches. Can't beat science man! Here's to a glorious 2022 and may my wallet continue to suffer from your recommendations ? 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Dubz Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Huzzah, cheers to you Doc!! It has been such a joy to follow along with your scientific endeavour ? It's always a joy to come here and read your work, you really do put a metric shit tonne of time and effort into this, and it shows! These trophy checklists are undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable parts of PSNP... You guys really make it a joy to check in and hear your thoughts about the games you have played through, whether good, bad, or otherwise ? Here's to 2022 being another great year for gaming... And of course SCIENCE!! Looking forward to your future experiments ? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 @DrBloodmoney Glad to be a part of it! You deserve all the reputation points and good will, you've earned it! Bring on 2022! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlutoRico Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Thank you for the mention Doc, I joined in late but I'll be sure to follow your gaming trials and tribulations with a closer look for the next year haha. Big fan of your Shakespearean reviews, you poked my curiosity about some games you talked about and you finished the year in the best possible way with your little awards ceremony. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and catch you in 2022 for a year full of gaming if real life isn't too demanding hopefully ? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Arcesius Posted December 29, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2021 Thanks for the mention, my man It has been a great year for the checklist subforums in general, with tons of amazing people giving their thoughs on plenty of games, supporting each other and putting out entertaining and eye-opening reviews. I don't know how you managed, but you wrote an unbelievable amount of reviews, all of incredibly high literary quality... To me, it is not surprising that you tripled your "reputation" only in this one year ? We will all still be here in 2022... Here is to more games, more reviews, more discussions and, most importantly, as much if not more fun when it comes to this hobby of ours! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Billie__227 Posted December 29, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2021 I know I don't talk much (I'm pretty shy) but I do lurk your thread often and you really are a huge inspiration! I was getting pretty caught up in the numbers for a while due to some other trophy hunters I knew, and you and several others in this part of the forum really helped me take a step back from all that and actually start enjoying my games again. I do hope to become a bit more active in threads this upcoming year and actually get to know some of you better. I can totally relate to what you said about how you were once a "hit n run poster" lol. My own awkwardness aside, you did some great work this year! I can't wait to see what you get up to next. I always enjoy reading your reviews even if I don't say anything, but I really should because you clearly put so much time and care into them. Wishing everyone a happy new year ♡ 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted December 29, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2021 20 minutes ago, popnheart said: I know I don't talk much (I'm pretty shy) but I do lurk your thread often and you really are a huge inspiration! I was getting pretty caught up in the numbers for a while due to some other trophy hunters I knew, and you and several others in this part of the forum really helped me take a step back from all that and actually start enjoying my games again. I do hope to become a bit more active in threads this upcoming year and actually get to know some of you better. I can totally relate to what you said about how you were once a "hit n run poster" lol. My own awkwardness aside, you did some great work this year! I can't wait to see what you get up to next. I always enjoy reading your reviews even if I don't say anything, but I really should because you clearly put so much time and care into them. Wishing everyone a happy new year ♡ I appreciate that Popnheart - and absolutely know what you mean! (I'm - as always - out of rep ?, but wanted to say...) I'm a pretty socially anxious person at the best of times, but when you add on lockdowns, working from home, and having a kid with additional needs that mean a more home-based lifestyle, it becomes tough to keep up with friends out there in the real world - the friendships I've made here mean a great deal, and despite my own shyness, I've certainly found that each time I've put myself forward a little in this community, even feeling a little hesitant, that has only ever been rewarded with great conversations and good times with an awesome crowd! Hope to see you around the forums, and keep up with your great checklist ☺️? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkrobot_pb Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 (edited) Thanks for the shoutout mate. You have a great thread going here. I enjoy your other responses on the forums too and judging by your like count, many others do as well. Keep it up! As for me it will probably be a quiet gaming year in 2022 with work, lots of DIY work still left to do and now a baby on the way as well. But even if I do not get a single trophy next year, as long as everything else pans out nicely then I will be a happy man. And now back to WRC 5 on PS3 to leave the year on a round 150 plats Edited December 29, 2021 by pinkrobot_pb 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuber6969 Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 @DrBloodmoney I didn't know you were checking out my checklist. Thanks dude! My experience on PSNP has been similar to yours in that I've made many great friends here. It really is an awesome community. Happy New Year, and see you in the 2022 Platinum Difficulty Challenge! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Slava Posted December 29, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 29, 2021 I'll just say this: as much as my time and attention were pulled in a million new different directions this year, the time I've spent reading your voluminous science reports was well worth it ?. Prior to this year, I'd usually visit forums to read the status updates, which are mostly chill, discuss the upcoming games in the corresponding sections, read some "recent platinum" posts once in a while, and just check some other topics including the ones in the non-gaming section, strangely enough. I knew about checklists, but I never bothered to actually read the stuff or keep up with any of them. In 2021, I subbed to 4 checklist threads, and you guys are right - this section of the forums has its own vibe. Reading your reviews as well as @Copanele's, @ExistentialSolid's and @rjkclarke's updates has been nothing but fun. I also want to give the "best scientific report award" to your The Witness review ?. It was the most interesting and memorable one here to me so far. After reading it, I feel like I understand what is great about that game perfectly without having ever played it and only having seen some clips before. Thanks for spending time to write about games in the name of scince, and thanks for the mention! Happy New Year, everyone. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destructor-8 Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: A little End of Year (ish) Thank You Missive! So, as we head into 2022, I feel compelled to write a little note of appreciation to those folks in and around this thread in particular - and in the Checklist CommunityTM generally! Having become a part of this, has meant a sideways entrance into a scene that was thriving long before I dipped my toe in the water - and has led me into being a follower of so many amazing threads here! Following along with the various checklists, from @Copanele, @Cassylvania;s and @Arcesius awesome ones that were the catalyst for my own, to @rjkclarke's one that started within a day of my own, (and has resulted in more metric tonnage being added to my wish-list than any other!) @Together_Comic's, @Briste's, @DrunkEngineer's ones, @ExistentialSolid's crazy Destruction challenge, @yuber1234's Fighting game specific one, or @Destructor-8's Racing thread, @GonzoWARgasm's full-blown magazine spreads, @KindaSabbath's, @Baker's, @realm722's amazing curated list of the wierd and obscure, or @YaManSmevz, @popnheart & @MissShake's newer ones... I appreciate the mention here! I think the exact same thing as you here as whilst I've been on the site for a long time, I didn't really use the site as much as I have recently & you were one of the ones who helped out with that. I thought about what I wanted to do on the site for a long time & I needed it so thanks for the help. I do enjoy reading through everything that you post on here as it's interesting & I'm sure it's useful for people to decide what game might be worth it. This part of the site has been amazing to be a part of & it's a lot easier when there are a lot of great people around. I hope for a lot of good things in the future but most importantly to have fun as well so thanks for what you do! Edited December 29, 2021 by Destructor-8 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 14 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: If anyone were ever in any doubt about the power of the Checklist Community to slam someone full force into the PSNP Community at large, one only need look at a "Before and After" shot (courtesy of the Wayback Machine) of a profile... I can see what happened pretty clearly.... the checklist community has turned Randy Marsh into a horse!! Thanks for the nod, homie! I strongly identify with what you said about graduating from user to member - I was actually talking to Mr. Clarke about this way back when, something about this neck of the woods just makes it easier to come out of the ol shell! Couldn't be more grateful to the community here really, or your fine checklist as well as (most importantly, of course) you yourself, for that matter! Really looking forward to the Bangin Bubble Butt Bingo Bongo Bonanza Event as well, and rest assured, I will be among the many lurking and watching for more scientific updates! Happy new year, buddy? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Vice Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I can see what happened pretty clearly.... the checklist community has turned Randy Marsh into a horse!! @DrBloodmoney that post was pretty heartfelt mate. It was a bit sweet. Thanks for everything so far mate and I hope your 2022 is just as plentiful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KindaSabbath Posted December 30, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 30, 2021 Hey Doc, I just want to say thank you for the shout out (this one and the last one, too).. It means a lot mate, it really does! It’s also crazy to read about how your relationship with this site and the members of it’s community have propelled in 2021! I literally had no idea. Becoming active on this site only this year, I wrongly assumed that you always have been the heart and soul of this community! Because that’s all I’ve ever known you as… See a post on the main forums asking for help/advice/game recommendations - Doc is there. Every. Damn. Time. Everywhere I’ve ever looked on this site, Doc is there - being supportive, informative and just genuinely helpful. your checklist is a fucking behemoth and it remains my number one resource for checking out games that I’m interested in playing. It’s so well structured and incredibly organised, that it’s not just entertainment, it’s a genuine resource for any trophy hunter/gamer. But make no mistake - the entertainment is definitely there too! You’re a talented man my friend! I look forward to keeping up with you in 2022!!! Which I’ll do a better job of, that I promise! ?? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggworth Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 (edited) Thanks for your kind words doc. Not sure I deserve them though as I'm still slowly working my way through the reviews. I have spoiled myself though, with a new best game having been crowned ahead of where I am. Exciting ? I know you aren't a fan of the practice but I've carefully lined up the Hitman 3 platinum as my upcoming 20k trophy milestone so I shall have to speed up and read your review before I get to it. Thanks to the festive season I have some psn credit burning a hole in my digital pocket and some of that will go to buying The Return of the Obra Dinn based on your recommendation. I will return with my thoughts when I play it. Keep it up ? Ps that jump in your profile engagement this year is kind of mental ? Edited December 30, 2021 by Cleggworth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted December 30, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted December 30, 2021 (edited) That was a great little tribute to our Checklist Island Paradise.... ..... Well said man! Just like we started our respective Checklists one day apart, we've been on the site for a similar amount of time too. I did used to go to this section of the forums too, and I'd been reading @Arcesius, @Copanele and @Cassylvania's threads for quite a long while myself before I ever officially followed them. I still don't entirely feel comfortable getting on my raft and travelling into the deeper waters of the main forum - I hate conflict, and I'm constantly worried I'll say something someone will take the wrong way, so in the end I just avoid it entirely, instead of just taking the plunge and being a little active elsewhere. Perhaps I ought to at some point. Much of what yourself and @popnheart described above really spoke to me quite a bit - it will probably surprise you (considering how much I can waffle,) but I'm fairly quiet in social situations, I didn't used to be, but nowadays I am. Not socially awkward I just always assume most people won't give a fig what I have to say, so I tend to just sit there quietly (I'm sure some of you wish I'd do that on this site sometimes ) unless someone asks me something. So for me personally, I've found a lot of peace of mind from being able to actually have an outlet to say everything I want to say, and in detail too. I'm getting to the point where I'm not self conscious or worried about that as much as I used to be, I don't think that feeling would have subsided quite as much if it hadn't been for all the positivity from yourself and others, so I'll always be grateful for that. On 29/12/2021 at 3:28 PM, DrBloodmoney said: With lock-downs in full force in 2021, however, I finally decided that keeping my writing skills sharp by starting a checklist would be a fun little distraction. I expected, at most, maybe 2 or 3 nice folks to check in every now and again.... and probably dip in, say a little something, then be on their way - and I would have been more than fine with that! I could easily quote so much of the whole thing - but I won't because it'll be 2022 by then if I did - that was my philosophy going in too, I was fine with the idea of a few people just dropping in occasionally to say the odd thing, and I didn't even really expect that and I would have been fine with that too. I'm glad it isn't though, and that it's evolved rather a lot for both of us. I might not have met any of you in real life, I might never meet some of you either, but that doesn't mean that I don't consider a lot of you friends. Quote Prior to getting into the Checklist side of PSNP, my relationship with the site was just that - a relationship with a site. Now, almost a year into this, I feel it's more than that - I feel I have genuine relationships to individual people within that site, as well as a much richer and more fulfilling relationship with all the aspects of the site proper! Look, I already sound like I slipped through a wormhole that appeared at Woodstock in the early 70's But this feels appropriate..... Preach it man! I absolutely agree with that, for me it's gone from, "Oh I'll have a look at something on my list, or have a quick look and see if anything is happening" to just generally looking forward to being able to interact with some awesome people, and wondering how they themselves are doing instead of necessarily what they are currently playing. It can really take the edge off a terrible day, believe me! I think how a lot of us reacted when @KindaSabbath had to leave us for a bit is the perfect example of that - we all noticed and we all cared, and in the same way I feel like I'd notice if so many of you also disappeared for a little bit. As corny as it sounds, sometimes I think of the Checklist section like the theme tune to Cheers, or even the bar from Cheers. I like to think I'm a pretty positive person, but you take that to a whole new level my friend! I want you to know that you've been a huge part of making the second half of 2021 a brighter and more enjoyable place, sometimes I don't think a lot of you realise how much just a positive or funny comment can really brighten someone's day. It's been a wild ride so far, and it'll be fascinating to see where we're all at by the end of 2022. Thank you Doc...... I've always got your back if any mentals show up to defend the virtues of Jak II (actually I quite like it, and so does Gonzo, but we didn't make a fuss,) or whatever other game becomes the manure foundation holding up this Glorious Tower of Science. Unless of course one day I'm one of those window lickers, in which case we'll figure that out when we get there. ? If you get trapped in 1885 though you are royally effed - because I'd take far too long writing a reply to the letter you send me into the future...... It'd be that or you'd send the letter written like House of Leaves, and I'll just find it baffling for a while . Keep on keepin on dude! Edited December 30, 2021 by rjkclarke 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briste Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Thank you for the mention! This has easily become my favorite thread to read through. I find it amazing how much you are able to recall from the hundreds of games you've played. I'm just over 180 games played and can't remember enough about a lot of them that to write what would qualify as a fair review. Your ability to be fair and objective along with the excellent humor has made this thread a 'must read'. I also have a lot of fun seeing where your games end up on the ranking and how much I agree (which I usually do with the shared games we've played) with where they land. I only type on the forums from my desktop, but I do a lot of reading from my phone and have had hours of entertainment from this thread so thank you! Keep up the great work 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted January 3, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2022 (edited) God morrow, Science Chaps & Science Lady-Chaps! So... ...remember when I said: On 20/12/2021 at 8:06 AM, DrBloodmoney said: ...As such, my plan is to just play away, build up a fair few new reviews, then in the early part of the new year, I'll do a batch or two to catch up on those, before getting back into the swing of the older reviews and the few outstanding requests. well, that was 2021 DrBloodmoney doing the talking... he had the easy part! Now, 2022 DrBloodmoney has to cash that cheque he so casually wrote! ?? Between the 2021 Awards Ceremony, and the break over the festive period, I now have a not inconsiderable backlog of 14 new S-Ranks needing rankings, (along with a few games currently in the works!) before I can even get back to the business of older games As such, the next few batches will simply be catch-up ones as I work through those (and any additional games in the works in the mean time!), and hopefully, once I feel I have broken the back of the outstanding lot, I can start peppering in some of the few outstanding Priority Assignments too! Each task starts with a first step though, and in that spirit... !!SCIENCE UPDATE!! The next 5 (not at all!) randomly selected games to be submitted for scientific analysis shall be: Lost Words: Beyond the Page Psychonauts Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin Psychonauts 2 You Are Being Followed Can 'Current Most Awesome' game, Hitman 3, maintain its crown? Is poopsicle LA Cops going to be melted from its frozen status as 'Least Awesome Game'? Let's find out, Science Chums! Edited January 3, 2022 by DrBloodmoney 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMErickson Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Yea! Now that the holidays are over it’s back to work on the games. I just finished Rhombus of Ruin the other night all in one go because it was fascinating. What a fun little game! Looking forward to all the Psychonauts analysis. Braining and Science. This should be good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Shrooba Posted January 3, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2022 11 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: The next 5 (not at all!) randomly selected games to be submitted for scientific analysis shall be: You Are Being Followed I'm... being followed? Right now?...... Uh, doc, I don't think I consent to this scientific analysis. ? Wait... who's that knocking on my door?!!!! ??? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 1 minute ago, Shrooba said: I'm... being followed? Right now?...... Uh, doc, I don't think I consent to this scientific analysis. Wait... who's that knocking on my door?!!!! Don’t open the door! Don’t let it in! Spoiler Alert: It’s that most terrifying of all possible creatures… …UNRELENTING MOTION SICKNESS!! ?? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrBloodmoney Posted January 6, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 6, 2022 (edited) NEW SCIENTIFIC RESULTS ARE IN! Hello Science-Pals and Science-Pretties, as promised (and in some cases requested), here are the latest results of our great scientific endeavour! Lost Words: Beyond The Page Summary: The debut game from small developer Sketchbook Games, Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a word-based puzzle-lite platformer, written by Rhianna Pratchett (daughter of the late, great Terry, and who has considerable videogame credentials to her name, including BAFTA award winning writing on Heavenly Sword, and Writer's Guild Award winning writing for Overlord.) The game is aimed squarely at a young audience - or specifically, at a family audience, and occupies a curious space in that regard. It is a game broadly educational in nature - I bought the game to play in the presence of, and in conjunction with, my autistic son, who loves words, but who's communication skills are limited, as he has difficulty finding the correct ones - however, it is actually educational on multiple fronts, which I wasn't necessarily expecting. The game is essentially split into two separate game styles, connected loosely via metaphor, and hops from one to the other intermittently, with each section being educational is a slightly different regard. The broad narrative follows a young girl - Izzy - in who's journal, and imagination, the game takes place. Each chapter consists of two parts. the first takes place entirely within the pages of her Journal, with the narrative following the real-life story of Izzy coming to terms with her grandmother, with whom she is very close, first suffering a stroke, then hospitalisation, then finally dying, and Izzy attending the funeral. These sections are very much in the "emotionally educational" camp, with the word-association aspects being mostly about emotions and feeling, and finding the right word to express them - an area very well suited to youngling's education generally, but autistic youngling's especially. As autistic children often have difficulty reading expressions in the facers of others, or articulating their own feelings, this is an area very welcome in the Bloodmoney household. Gameplay in these parts is very much abstracted, and consist of very light platforming, as a personified Ink-splotch Izzy jumps around the pages, using her journal's handwritten words as platforms, and hitting specific spots to continue the narrative and add new words to jump to and progress. Occasions decision sections, where a choice of which word best fits her emotion are used as barriers, allowing an easy point at which a parent can involve the child, allowing them to decide on the right word to fit a sentence. These points are well chosen - they do not happen on a whim, but rather are included at the most appropriate spots where a parent would likely want to slow down anyway due to the emotional content of the narrative, and discuss the heavier elements with the child, helping them to process what is, actually, quite weighty and universal subject matter. The 'other side' of the game is much more fantastical, and certainly more artistically varied, as it follows another young girl who's name the player chooses, (a proxy, of course, for Izzy,) within a fantasy tale that Izzy is writing in the journal. These sections are more traditionally 'gamified' and present as light puzzle-platformers in a fantasy realm. The hook here, is that the girl in the story has a magical book, capable of 'capturing' and containing words - which she can then use on various objects in the environment to make changes, allowing progression. The word "Rise", for example, can be pulled from the page, and used on elevators to raise them, "Burn" can light torches in dark areas, "Break" can destroy rocks and boulders blocking the path, and "repair" can... well... you get the idea. These sections are much more traditionally 'academically educational', as they are concerned primarily with use of simple words in context. While the basic concept does in some ways harken back to the Lucas Arts / Sierra style of Adventure games, with the available words taking the place of a "Verbs list" in such a game, that concept is very much simplified here, in order to make the educational aspects appropriate for the littlest members of the audience. In terms of the overall narrative, I do think the game works in both sections, and is age-appropriate for its audience, however, there is perhaps a little more of a hard-cut between the two narratives than the game intends - particularly for the young ones. There is a clear thematic resonance to Izzy's fantasy story, as it relates to her feelings about her 'real-life' goings on, however, the metaphor is generally purely thematic, rather than overtly analogous. Particularly in the middle sections, I found I needed to do some protracted mental gymnastics to correlate her fictional writings to her feelings about her grandmother. While a purely thematic connection is perfectly acceptable, for the intended audience of 6-10 year olds, I do think a more 1-to-1, beat-to-beat connection may have been more appropriate. That audience is still very young in terms of understanding the nuance of literary allegory and contextual metaphor, and as such, that aspect does feel liable to be a little over their heads. The result being, the game might feel like two completely distinct games being played in parallel - one that is a game first and a story second, and one the other way around - as opposed to two sides of the same narrative coin. I do think, also, that the 'real' story of Izzy and the stages of her coming to terms with the illness and eventual death of her grandmother is very compelling - much more so than the fantastical tale which forms a more significant portion of the gameplay. The gameplay does suffer a little in the fantastical sections, due to the often fiddly controls required when moving the action words from the book to the environmental objects. The process can be a little cumbersome - the player must identify they need a word, open the book, find the word, then drag it to the correct spot in the level each time using a button-hold and analogue-stick movement - and can get a little confused when multiple words are on screen. There did not appear to be any way to put a word back in the book once removed, so if the wrong one is selected, it tends to hang around the environment until the player moves past it. In some later sections, where multiple words are required, they could end up interfering with one another - for example if a barrier requires 'breaking' right next to a portcullis that must be 'risen' the words could overlap, requiring quite specific placement that can be tricky to get right with the analogue stick. Artistically, Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a real treat though. The 'real-world' parts - taking place entirely in the journal pages - might seem like they would be the more artistically uninteresting section, but they are, in fact, the visual highlight of a generally great looking game. The pages and writing look lovely, and are accompanied by beautiful, sketch-book water-colour illustrations that bring to mind the work of Shirley Hughes (children's author, and staple of both my, and my sons, childhood bedtimes!) The fantasy sections are bright and vivid and beautifully rendered too - these have a somewhat cell-shaded aspect to them, bringing to mind a slightly more 2D-parallaxed version of something like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood or a 2D-scrolling Rime. There is a slightly staccato rhythm to the actual animations that, I must admit, was not entirely to my tastes - it feels like there are slightly too few intermediary poses in the animation cycles - however, I will say, I do not believe this is in any way an issue of frame-rate or lack of effort, but simply a stylistic choice I didn't particularly care for. That aside though, it is hard not to see the game in motion, and be immediately swept up by the art design and the visuals. Sound is an interesting one with Lost Words: Beyond the Page. In terms of musical score, I think it is relatively pedestrian. Certainly nothing was bad, or a detriment to the game, but I found the music to be largely inoffensive, unobtrusive and forgettable. The voice work, on the other hand, I found to be a real boon for the game. Izzy's voice, provided by Sidonie Maria Šakālis is excellent - enthusiastic and playful at times, yet able to convey complex emotion where required. (It's notable how good the performance iis, given that that Šakālis is not a voice-actor by trade, but was a one time animation student who worked on the game in its early stages and provided a temporary voice track, which proved unable to be outdone throughout casting sessions, and she was asked to provide the final track on the strength of that early performance. Overall, Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a game that while not quite holding together its two distinct halves in a narrative sense, does manage to make both interesting, charming, visually pleasant, educationally appropriate for the intended audience, and for the most part, mechanically sound. I do think that the intended age-group may have some difficulty with the raw controls of the game, as they can be finicky and a little unwieldy towards the later sections - particularly when required to be done under a time limit, however, this really just highlights the true intent of the game: I believe, based on the subject matter, Lost Words: Beyond the Page is intended to be played side-by-side with a parent, and in that instance - with the game-savvy parent controlling the game, and the child involved in a story-telling sense - I think the game is quite the little gem. The Ranking: There aren't really any educational games for children on the ranking so far - I am only just beginning to dip my toe in the genre, as my son begins to show some interest - and so, Lost Words: Beyond the Page is likely to suffer a little, for an obvious reason: Both the author of this Ranking, and the audience reading it, are gamers, and not children themselves! While it may be a little unfair, for Ranking Purposes, this game has to be compared on its merits as they relate to adult gamers primarily though I don't want to completely disregard the game's educational aspects. As such, the first game that comes to mind is Type:Rider. Type:Rider isn't a a game specifically aimed at children, but it is a 2D platformer with an educational slant, and would certainly not be inappropriate for the age group, even if the actual educational aspects might be pitched a little higher, and be a little drier in nature. I think on merit Lost Words: Beyond the Page probably does outdo Type:Rider - while Type:Rider is a little tighter in its mechanics, the visuals of Lost Words: Beyond the Page outstrip it by a wide margin, and the gameplay is much more varied. I also thin that nailing a game that is feasible for both parent and child is more difficult than one just educating an adult about interesting subject matter, and so Lost Words: Beyond the Page takes the win there. That argument, however, puts a fairly quick ceiling on Lost Words: Beyond the Page though, as its strongest aspects - varied gameplay and great visuals, are also the strongest aspects of a game a few notches higher - The Touryst. The Touryst doesn't have the educational value going for it, however, it is at least appropriate for kids, and on those visual and gameplay elements, it is far ahead, even than Lost Words: Beyond the Page. There is a pretty small set of games in between The Touryst and Type:Rider currently, with a pretty eclectic mix, so it comes down to feel. While I think the overall package - especially the art - manages to push Lost Words: Beyond the Page over the top of Through the Darkest of Times, I would not place it above Ratchet & Clank: Nexus, and so, I think that gives it its spot! Psychonauts Summary: The first game developed by Tim Schafer under the banner of his Double Fine studio, Psychonauts continued a tradition already set by his previous game (and last to be developed for Lucas Arts - Grim Fandango) of being extremely good, wildly imaginative, critically lauded... and commercially unsuccessful. Psychonauts, in fact, almost managed to pack a double punch of commercial disaster - not only did its commercial flop come close to bankrupting Double Fine, it was also the primary catalyst for the demise of it's publisher - Majesco - who picked up publishing rights to the game at the eleventh hour, after Microsoft short-sightedly dropped the game after 4 years of development. One might think, absent other information, that the game in question - one that was dropped by one publisher, nearly killed its developer, and actually killed its new publisher - has to be in some way a messy or ill-conceived product, but nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, Psychonauts' failure to connect with a 2005 audience is evidence, really, only of the lack of imagination in the 2005 gaming landscape than any failure on its part to excel. Google 2005 videogames, and have a look at the images that pop up... Devil May Cry 3, Resident Evil 4, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hell, Splinter Cell, God of War, Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2, Mercenaries, F.E.A.R... if there's one thing that begins to become clear, it's that in 2005, the videogame-playing public were in the midst of a torrid love affair with serious military shooters, grim, snarling protagonists, dour, serious tones, and simple, straightforward narratives. (Full disclosure - I like a lot of those games - but you have to admit... there was a distinct theme going on!) At the time, the few bright, cheerful that did release were primarily aimed at children (Lego Star Wars/ Animal Crossing: Wild World) and those more tonally esoteric or interesting games aimed at grown ups, (Shadow of the Colossus/ Black & White 2 etc,) suffered disappointing sales. The fact remains, however - as the long tail and cult status Psychonauts has enjoyed for 16 years since then attests - Psychonauts' quality was never in question, only its initial success. The plot centres around circus runaway Razputin Aquato, a young, psychically gifted boy who, having snuck away from his psychic-averse family to visit the Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp - a retreat for children, run by legendary psychic do-gooder society the Psychonauts - is discovered by the camp faculty and allowed to stay while they wait for his parents to arrive and take him home. During the short time he is there, he meets the various children of the camp and their troupe leader Coach Oleander, along with working Psychonauts Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello and semi-senile ex-psychonaut Ford Cruller, (who's dissociative identity disorder sees him fulfilling virtually all duties in the camp, from janitor to gardener to shopkeeper,) and stumbles upon a plot by crazed dentist Dr. Loboto to remove the brains of all the budding Psychonauts-in-training, to fulfil a nefarious plan. Using his psychic powers, (which are unlocked over the course if the game in a semi-metroidvania sense,) Raz must dive into the minds of various eclectic characters, solving personal emotional and mental issues within their personified minds in order to foil the plot, recover the other children's brains, save the day... and even kiss a girl! The gameplay of Psychonauts is an interesting mash-up, splitting the difference almost right down the middle between 3D action Platformer and Tim Schafer's old wheelhouse, Adventure games. The way the game is laid out is as an open-hub area, (the Whispering Rock Camp, with its various areas,) with each individual Mind-Based level being entered via a mystical, portable door Raz can attach to various character's heads, in order to psychically project himself into their minds. The Whispering Rock areas are very much in the traditional 3D platforming genre - exploration of these areas yields a lot of incidental conversations with the different characters, as well as a large amount of collectibles, access to which is generally gated by access to the new powers Raz will acquire as he progresses through the narrative. Inside the minds of the characters though, is where level design - both in term of writing, art direction, style and mechanics, become radically different from level to level, and really begin to showcase the originality and imagination Tim Schafer was already known for, and Double Fine have since become synonymous with. Most characters Raz projects into has some mental or emotional issue, and these are represented in the broad design of the levels, as well as in the writing and mechanics. When inside the mind of Milla, who is emotionally stable, but simply fun-loving - the teacher wanting to help her students excel - her entire level is a disco party, wherein Raz must continually move upwards, getting more and more proficient. When in the mind of a Lungfish that is under forced control of an evil force, however, Raz becomes a terrifying interloper - a Godzilla style monster, stomping around the city of "Lungfishopolis", being fought by the armies of the controlling force, while the citizens flee from him. While in the mind of faded actress Gloria (clearly a reference to Gloria Swanson's magnificent performance as faded Hollywood star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard) the level becomes a play, with Raz taking some directorial duties, allowing him to change the sets around to access different parts of the level. In the mind of paranoid Security Guard Boyd Cooper (a personal favourite), the level becomes a bizarre, non-Newtonian suburbia, filled with 'secret' agents, pretending to be the citizenry and where everyone has a secret agenda and every task must be done via trickery and subterfuge. It is in this constant realignment of the mechanics and the artistic and tonal direction of the level design that Psychonauts really stands above virtually all other 3D platformers of it's era - and really, still maintains a high spot among those that have come and gone since. The game feels like a singular piece, cohesively joined by it's fundamental design and by the excellent writing and sense of humour, but since everything else is malleable from level to level, the player never gets a chance to get bored or feel the length of the game, as every new section adds new, unique elements. The levels are all different and clever - both interesting to see from a pure gameplay point of view, but also fascinating to play in a narrative sense. Because most characters Raz projects into are broken or wounded in some way, there is often an emotionally dark element to each level providing an undercurrent to the humour, and the ways the game finds to personify complex psychological problems in a light-hearted, but somewhat serious and respectful way is really laudable. From the most basic - finding the 'emotional baggage' collectibles, for example, represented as actual luggage that can be heard sobbing in hard-to-reach spots - to representing Boyd Cooper's convoluted though-processes as both gravity-defying tangles in the environment, and in convoluted adventure game gameplay that seems initially unintuitive and cryptic on the surface, yet has it's own bizarre internal logic to it, the game never fails to find a way to represent the issues it addresses in a way that is fun, goofy, and well thought out. Visually, from a 2005 stand-point, Psychonauts is in a strange spot. It is undeniable that the game looks its age from a technical point of view, however, the artistic design of the game is great - the character work in particular. If Psychonauts were the only game in it's franchise, one could be forgiven for assuming that the highly stylised artistic design of the characters - a Nickelodeon mishmash of odd and unusual - was a choice made, at least in some regard, as a way to compensate for the technical limitations of the graphics available... but, while there may be some nugget of truth to that, it has been proven to have longevity. Indeed, both in 2017 VR sequel Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, and 2021 sequel Psychonauts 2, both of which have vastly more technologically advanced hardware to play with and much higher levels of graphical finesse, that style that originated in this first game remains great to look at, and a signature-staple of the series. That that style looks so good on 2021 hardware, without anything really changing stylistically from this first game is a real testament to the strength of the design - and while the game can be rough to look back at now from a technical point of view, the art design carries it forward far more easily than many of its 2005 peers. Audio is great across the board - voice acting is well done, and the sharp, funny writing is helped by this - when the game goes for a joke, the performances hit it consistently. The characters are also notably well cast, in the sense that even minor characters are memorable and distinct, and despite the rudimentary graphics, the player knows a lot about the personalities of the various kids in the camp, despite having relatively little interaction with them, primarily due to the writing and their vocal performances. The music is fun and varied, fitting the tone of each level very well, and a lot of the tracks are genuinely catchy and memorable. The base mechanics of the game are fine, though it must be said, there isn't the perfect handling or mechanical fluidity of some games, even of that era - and there can be some issues in terms of camera control or fine-accuracy in jumping / swinging etc. These issues are not atrocious, or even particularly noticeable outside of a few specific instances, (the benefit of the constant mechanical variations in the gameplay mean there are few areas of 'pure' 3D platforming, which is where these problems tend to arise,) but there are some. There is a sense that the basic movement never quite lived up to the desired level design in a few spots - in particular the finale of the game, the Meat Circus, where a long section of precision jumps and wall-scaling is required, and can get a little frustrating. There is also some better finessing that could have been done in terms of inventory use and Raz's psychic powers - both are selected from within the same menus, and only 2 powers can be mapped to use buttons at any one time. There can often be a rather 'Mega-Man-esque' feeling of having to go into menus a little too often during sections that require multiple power uses. This is mostly acceptable, though one or two boss fights do require more than two powers, and constantly accessing menus during these fights does tend to deflate the sense of tension and the humour of them. These issues, however, are small beer when playing a game that one is carried through easily by the tight narrative, great story, great art design, varied and interesting gameplay, and genuine, honest-to-God originality. Even the least interesting levels (I have never personally loved Black Velvetopia,) still contain more cool art design and good narrative elements than many other games can muster in their entirety, and the best levels - The Milkman Conspiracy, Waterloo World, Gloria's Theatre - stand out in a way that almost no other 3D platformer can boast. It's the little flourishes in Psychonauts that really make it stand out - the game constantly finds ways to keep the player engaged in the game, whether by varying the mechanics, or the narrative, or the art, or simply by filling the open hub-area with secrets, or by allowing Raz to view himself as others see him via clairvoyance, adding a wealth of visual jokes, or just by adding so much incidental, funny dialogue. A brilliant, smart, funny, highly original game, mixing genres with aplomb, and telling a smart, sometimes serious narrative with a deft touch and light tone, Psychonauts is, and remains, the very definition of a cult classic - and rightly so. That the game finished on a cliffhanger and then sold so poorly that - at the time - a sequel felt improbable, if not impossible - was a genuine tragedy... luckily, many people came to feel that same way, and it was not the last we saw of Raz! The Ranking: The comparison points for Psychonauts are pretty clear based on its status as (primarily) a 3D Platforming adventure with a strong narrative from the PS2 era - and there are a fair few on the list already. The category it most fits with is in such company as the Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper and Jak and Daxter series, however, the one game that really comes to mind most readily as an apt comparison is Beyond Good and Evil. Beyond Good and Evil is also a 3D platformer of sorts from a similar era, whose visuals and tone are decidedly more complex and nuanced than one might assume, who's visual style, music and narrative are great, and - curiously - which also underperformed commercially, and saw a long, slow build of cult status, to the point of an eventual sequel... though of course, Psychonauts' sequels made it to reality. Sadly, we have not seen sight nor sound of BG&E 2 since its announcement... and my finger are getting sore from being crossed this long. While I am on record as loving BG&E, despite some mechanical flaws, I do feel the same about Psychonauts, and while BG&E does take the fight on some aspect - musically, it edges Psychonauts out, and it has slightly fewer mechanical issues with controls - in terms of narrative, tone and writing, Psychonauts does manage a win, and artistically it takes a big one. That puts Psychonauts in quite high placement already. The only two truly comparable games above BG&E are Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando, and Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time - both of which are powerhouse games of their eras. I think the genuine originality and sheer balancing act Psychonauts manages to pull off in both tone and genre, coupled with the variety of gameplay means that it can outclass Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando... however, the fact is, Psychonauts - despite outclassing any Ratchet game on narrative and variety - does have some mechanical issues, and hasn't aged as well visually as it might have, in a technical sense. As such, it is hard to place it above Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, which I think represents the absolute peak of great, long running franchise, and really doesn't suffer from any kind of finessing or polishing issues. That puts it in between those two games. The only game in that space currently is Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and as good as that game performs and feels, and as good as the puzzles are, the originality and variety of Psychonauts just outclasses and outlasts it in the fight. As such, Psychonauts finds its deservedly high placement! Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin Summary: It's interesting looking at the legacy the original Psychonauts has, now that there are three games in the franchise, particularly when looking at the ways in which the two sequels sprout from that original game. In terms of pure narrative, the franchise is following a very direct 1-2-3 line, with each game directly following the previous in series, though mechanically, it is more akin to both subsequent games stemming directly from the first, on diametrically opposing paths - each taking one half of the original game's duel-genre, and running with it. Psychonauts and the Rhombus of Ruin, narratively, could not be more direct a sequel if it tried. Despite releasing a full 12 years after Psychonauts launched, the game picks up literal minutes after the close of the original game - with Raz in the Psychonauts jet, along with Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello, Coach Oleander and Raz's... girlfriend?... Lili Zanotto, heading off to investigate and save the head of the Psychonauts (and Lili's father,) Truman Zanotto, who has been kidnapped. When the jet arrives over the ocean, above a mysterious underwater gulch and laboratory in the even more mysterious region known as the Rhombus of Ruin, Raz unravels a short mystery involving an old (well, a few days old, according to the narrative time-line!) adversary, and sets about rescuing Truman Zanotto... as well as the other members of the Psychonauts, who's minds are quickly ensnared and beguiled by the psychic forces of the Rhombus of Ruin! In terms of mechanics, there is a distinct difference here - in the sense that while Psychonauts was a mashup between 3D Platformer and Adventure game, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a VR exclusive, and dispenses entirely with the platforming elements, adopting a pure Adventure game posture. The game is played in first-person this time, with the player once again controlling Raz, but this time, his clairvoyance power is the key feature. The game essentially works as a series of vignettes, in which Raz is either voluntarily or involuntarily immobilised, and can solve his way through the situations by hopping from one mind to another among the living creatures in each area, interacting with different elements of the environment via his various powers. These vignettes are relatively short - as is the game, in fact, a full, first-time run clocking in at around the 3-4 hour mark - however, they are great to see, and not at all lacking in the imaginative design work and writing who's high bar was set by the original Psychonauts. It is a testament to the strength of the adventure game credentials of the original game that, despite eschewing the 'primary' genre of 3D platforming, the game never feels lacking, nor does it feel tonally or narratively separate from the original game. Indeed, while many 'VR Experiences' sprung from larger franchises (Iron Man, Batman, Final Fantasy XV etc) feel, (and generally are,) unimportant, superfluous or severely tangential side-story content, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is anything but. This is a required and important narrative beat between Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2 - a fact confirmed by the inclusion of much of its narrative in the introduction cutscenes of Psychonauts 2, as catch-up for players who missed Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, or were unable to secure a VR headset to play it. Here, the writing remains great, and while there are clear limitations that have been contended with in terms of what is possible (and acceptable) within a VR game, Double Fine are clearly fully cognisant of them, (no doubt owning to their previous experience with making the ONLY good, functional Kinect game - Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster!) They have been smart enough to make use of some of the aspects that VR can excel at more than any other platform - using player height, scale, position and ability to peer around corners and into objects - both cleverly, and sparingly - without over-doing it. It feels like each one of the 7 or so vignettes has a specific hook, and a specific primary mechanic and VR-specific element it plays with, but each is also filled with little easter-eggs and silly things to do. Indeed, a lot of the funniest moments of Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin come not from the required narrative beats, but from the goofy uses of Raz's powers within each location - goofing around and trying random things to see what happens is an element that games like Job Simulator, Accounting+, VR VR Simulator and Vacation Simulator all proved are one of the biggest draws of the platform, and Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin won't be left out! The VR works really well - because the movement is fixed-point, there were no issues of motion sickness, and the environments are filled with artistic flourishes and things to catch the players attention. Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is also the first glimpse any player had of the signature artistic style of Psychonauts using more modern, higher-fidelity graphics, and works - immediately - to prove the validity and charm of that art-style, divorced from it's original technical limitations. Audio is good once again - there is good use of foley, the music is minimal, but includes an excellent, delightfully silly James-Bond-style intro theme-song and abstracted intro movie that sets the tone of the game perfectly, and voice work remains great - I'm not sure if every character retains the same voice actor as the original game, but if anyone did change, there is no evidence of it (or of the 12 year gap) whatsoever. Overall, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is, of course, a much shorter game than both its predecessor and its descendent, however, this is par for the course with VR games, (indeed, 3-4 hours is, I think, the perfect length for a game requiring a more convoluted set-up to play.) While the scope is more limited, no one told the writing, the narrative, the art design or the sense of fun and wonder. The game continues the narrative well, feeling like it really does take place mere minutes after the original game, but tonally is perfect, and looks just great. The game is a VR beat in a non-VR song, yet is an integral part of the overall melody - a statement that few VR games can boast. Anyone with access to a VR set-up would be missing out if they jumped straight from Psychonauts to Psychonauts 2, without making the short stop-over in the Rhombus of Ruin! The Ranking: VR games that fall in non-VR franchises have to be be judged two ways really - as a VR game, and in comparison to other VR games, and as an entry within the franchise to which they belong. At the moment, there really aren't any VR games to speak of on the list, however, and given that Psychonauts is very highly placed, that doesn't help much. As good as Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is, it isn't a long game, and doesn't have a lot of repeatability. While it looks great, it cannot be expected to sit as high on the list. Interestingly, I thought this one would become a real problem in terms of ranking, but actually, the lack of VR games on the list ended up providing a very easy placement! The only game on the current ranking with any VR aspect I've played is Concrete Genie, and so I began there. While that game had only a small VR portion, it did make me consider the whole game... and while Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a much shorter game, I actually think it does, VR or not, beat out Concrete Genie. Concrete Genie's gameplay is fine, but not much more than that. It's visuals and design are its key pillars, and Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin outclasses it there, with the added bonus of better writing, and a less 'problematic' overall message to the game. However, the small scope of Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin I think cannot be placed higher than the next game up the ranking - awesome asymmetrical co-op sleuthing game Operation Tango, whose visuals are more pedestrian, but who's gameplay is varied, clever, very fun, and which is an awesome entry in the underserved market of co-op only games. As such, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin finds it's spot! Psychonauts 2 Summary: The game no one ever expected back in 2005, it took until Double Fine's 2011 requiring of the IP from flailing Majesco for the original to even be released on modern consoles, and a 2016 crowd-funding campaign to even get Psychonauts 2 off the ground. With a development cycle lasting several years, and an interstitial VR game released in 2017, Psychonauts 2 finally released in 2021... ...Thank goodness it was worth the wait! Picking up directly after Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, and only a day after the end of Psychonauts, Raz, Milla, Sasha, Coach Oleander and Lili Zanotto finally arrive at Psychonaut headquarters, (with their semi-comatose leader Truman Zanotto in tow.) Raz, now a Psychonaut junior cadet, is swiftly enrolled in the Psychonaut training programme, complete with a new set of kids to meet (and be hazed by!) and is, in short order, swept up in a mystery, involving the founders of the Psychonauts - the "Psychic Six", most of whom are believed missing or dead - their old adversary Maligula, Ford Cruller and his fractured mind, the origins of Raz's circus performing family, a mail-room clerk with a missing brain, and a long-buried secret at the heart of the Psychonaut order. Narratively, Psychonauts 2 is a real triumph. The game maintains the franchise's ability to address genuine sadness and real mental disorders and emotional issues with fun, goofy, silly and light-hearted playfulness, yet walks a tightrope, avoiding feeling disrespectful or flippant about the serious aspects, while also avoiding being bogged down by them. Raz remains a genuinely likeable and funny protagonist, and relative straight-man to the wild and wacky cast of surrounding characters - and in this case, the inclusion of both Psychonauts, the students and his own family (who arrive to visit him in their ramshackle wagon, and set up home in the adjacent forrest's aptly names "Questionable Area?",) piles multiple additional dynamics on top of his primary narrative through-line, adding significant textural flavour to the proceedings. The game, if anything, doubles down on the serious elements of the first game, and gets much more into genuinely dark undercurrents in terms of the psychological trauma that the various characters Razputin projects into are wrestling with. With the Psychic Six, Double Fine play the narrative as broadly allegorical to a set of baby-boomer hippies - once idealistic youngsters out to change the world and make it a better place, now broken, and traumatised by the ways in which they failed, unintentionally destroyed their own ethos, their world and each other. A large part of the game involves Raz seeking out these members of the original group, in order to learn their secrets, as well as heal some of their old wounds, and while the overall tone remains light and fun, it is impossible not to be drawn into the genuine emotional struggles some of these characters have faced. For all the goofy fun the game revels in, it isn't afraid to tackle some issues lesser games would do better to steer well clear of, and it never falters in this regard. Mechanically, the game is playing pretty much entirely with one side of the original game's mechanics - the 3D Platforming. While the games engine is narrative, the Adventure game tropes of the original are largely gone, along with the 'usable items' inventory, and while this does simplify the game somewhat, it is compensated for by the marked finessing of these 3D Platforming mechanics. Unlike the original game, the mechanics of the game are very sharp here - camera control works just fine, Raz jumps and moves cleanly and well, and the platforming sections are much less finicky, and much tighter. Yes, there is a simplification of the mechanics in some sense - the lack of adventure game tropes means the game moves quicker, and where, in the first game, each level had a mechanical variety that matched the artistic variety, here, while the art still varies - even more so, in fact - the actual mechanics are somewhat more curtailed. There is no level quite as unique as the adventure-game-heavy Milkman Conspiracy, or the completely different Lungfishopolis. All levels in Psychonauts 2 tend towards action platforming, more akin to something like a Ratchet and Clank design, however, there is still significant scope for mechanical and thematic variety within that, and the artistic variety is really buoyed by the visual prowess of thd game now. On those visuals, Psychonauts 2 is not messing around. The game looks incredibly good. The original artistic direction is maintained completely, but now, the graphical fidelity is of an extremely high level, and lighting and smoothness of animation really make the Nickelodeon, Saturday-morning-cartoon aesthetic pop in a way it never could before. This visual jump is not merely aesthetic either - it bleeds into gameplay. Where in the first game, collecting the 'figments of imagination' in each mind-level, (represented as floating, 2D neon outlined images,) was something of a burden, due to their slight transparency, and the lack of ability of the tech to make them stand out from the scenery. Here, that exact same mechanic is still present, but with the modern graphics, it is much easier to see them. Audio is really great - actually surpassing both the original Psychonauts, and Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, with music doing a lot of work in levels to set the distinct tone of each mind, and voice work hitting every joke perfectly. Voice work is of the same high standard, but there is even more of it, and the new characters fit right into the tone set by the returning ones. In terms of the modernisation, I really think Psychonauts is an almost perfect example of a forward-looking franchise being modernised so well, that it is able to bring far more of the original game's aesthetic, tropes, mechanical elements and gameplay design forward than one might have expected. These are polished up with modern day graphics and made to feel completely befitting the modern gaming landscape. Yes, in some sense, Psychonauts 2 does feel like a throwback - after all, 3D Platforming is not the landscape dominating genre it once was, and it is genuinely remarkable how much the new game retains from the mechanics of the original - however, that those elements still works so well in a 2021 game is a testament to Double Fine, both for being so ahead of their time with the original game, and of knowing that, and sticking to the spirit of the original game, while modernising all the trappings in Psychonauts 2. I'm not a 3D Platformer kind of guy - I never have been - and yet the original Psychonauts won me over despite being at least half-way a 3D Platformer, and Psychonauts 2 did it again, being wholly one! A wonderful, funny, smart sequel to a wonderful, funny, smart game, Psychonauts 2 is a game I'm delighted to see having got made, and was even more delighted to play - start to finish. That's now 17 years of real life time... and we've covered about 4 days of Raz's life... ...seems to me, there is plenty of scope for more, Double Fine! The Ranking: So ranking becomes a little easier now that the original Psychonauts is on the list, because, much to my endlessly happy surprise, Psychonauts 2 actually does, I think, rank higher than it's progenitor! While I do somewhat mourn the removal of the adventure-game elements of the original game, and do think there is no single level in Psychonauts 2 that manages to outclass the high-water-mark of The Milkman Conspiracy in the original game, overall, the game is grander, bigger, more lavish, tackles more interesting psychological issues, and has a more cohesive and compelling narrative than the original had - which is not a slight on the original at all, but only a testament to Psychonauts 2! The game removes all the rough edges of its predecessor, becoming a genuinely solid platformer, along with its great narrative. It ups the ante with regards to music and voice work, maintains the sharp writing and dialogue and sense of fun, and has a variety of level design that equals, if not surpasses the original Psychonauts. That pushes Psychonauts 2 into pretty rarified standing, but it almost surprised me how many games it slipped up past when I matched them up! Moving up, it managed to outdo some real heavy hitters on the strength of the narrative and themes, and the visuals, but the first game to really offer a blocker was Batman: Arkham Asylum. I pondered that one for a while - Arkham Asylum takes in on most raw gameplay aspects, and both have great art design, but I think the narrative and writing of Psychonauts 2 does push it just over the edge and secure the win... ....but the game above is God of War(2018). That game end up being the hard stop, as it also does great things with emotional content in addition to its gameplay, and visually, it is even more amazing technically, and no slouch design wise either. It may not me as varied in mechanics, but whet it has is so tight and blisteringly good, that it just beats out Raz and co. As such, Psychonauts 2 finds its spot! You Are Being Followed Summary: An interesting product, You Are Being Followed is not actually a paid-for game, but rather, a student project created by Abertay University graduate games studio Uncommon Chocolate, having started life as a project for the "Professional Masters in Games Development" degree course, with support from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStationFirst academic programme. It is a relatively simple game, in which the player takes the role of Emma - a blind woman who suffers from extreme feelings of paranoia and anxiety, going for a walk in the city she has returned to after an absence, accompanied by her (now quite old) guide dog, Sam. The game works on a lot of similar principles as previously ranked indie-game-with-a-blind-protagonist Beyond Eyes, in the sense that the world is indistinct at a distance, and invisible to the player, except where sounds indicate the surroundings. Unlike Beyond Eyes, however, the protagonist here is a grown woman, rather than an innocent young girl. There is no element of confusion to add to the mechanics - when Emma hears something, she knows what it is, and so the element of the fantastical melting into the pedestrian is gone, and - also unlike Beyond Eyes - Emma has Sam, her faithful dog, who acts as both protector and beacon in the dark, indicating the rough direction required to progress through the short narrative. Mechanically, the game functions as a Walking Sim - there is no interaction with the world beyond simply observing it and moving through it, and is distinctly short - a 'speed-run' through the game clocking in at around 12-15 minutes, and even an exhaustive exploration lasting little more than an hour or so, however, that exhaustive playthrough does have some good elements that are worth seeing. I'd hesitate to refer to You Are Being Followed as a 'horror' game, but there are some creepy elements, and these are often the most interesting and compelling parts. The game is designed around making manifest the anxieties and fears of its paranoid protagonist, and when poking and prodding at the world, these elements often really work, though interestingly, they do tend to fail if the player simply moves from A to B to C without exploring. A huge number of the creepy elements are only encountered if the player takes the counter-intuitive step of trying to back the way they came. That makes sense narratively of course - if Emma remains headstrong and steady, her fears cannot catch up to her, and if she waivers or falters, they manifest... (the game is, after all, called 'You Are Being Followed', not 'Look out Ahead of You'!)... but from a pure 'gamer' point of view, that doesn't always work. We, as gamers, are programmed to push forward in games. We don't tend to want to turn around and retrace our steps unless forced to! I pondered this, and consider that this might be an instance where a few collectibles might actually help the game function - in the sense that if the player is trying to make sure they have found everything in an area, they may be more inclined to move backwards more often, giving the game a chance to show off it's strongest elements in a more organic way. The game is graphically very simple - the auditory world Emma occupies is represented as little more than vector graphic lines - a sort of 3D, realistic Vib-Ribbon if you will, however, this is effective in context - the world tends to jitter and move as different sounds highlight different parts, and the effect works - it gives the city an unnerving and off-kilter feel. Audio-wise, the game is both good and not-so-good. There is little score to speak of aside from ominous tones, and these work, even if they aren't terribly interesting.The voice work is - it must be said - a little spotty, with characters sounding a bit unnatural - however, sound design is very good, and effective use is made of contextual and spacial sounds to increase anxiety. The audio during moments of high-tension and fear, wherein Emma hears whispery voices that will overwhelm her with negative or fearful and paranoid goading is very effective, and genuinely unsettling. This brings us to input - and here, there is an issue... or at least, there was for me. I am not particularly well versed in VR - PSVR is the only headset I have tried, and my exposure to games is fairly limited. For the most part, games I have played and enjoyed are either of the static variety (where the player is stationary while looking around,) or 'point-to-point', (where the player turns in set angular intervals, and hops from one point to another to traverse distance.) You Are Being Followed is the first game I have played in VR where there is full, analogue movement via a controller, of the variety found in a standard first-person game, but the headset is free to move at the same time. To say this motion made me feel queasy would be a massive understatement! I began to feel a little sick while playing for the limited time required to S-Rank the game, however, when I finished, and took the headset off, the 'land-sickness' I felt was extreme, and lasted a long time. I mean a LONG time. 3 days later, MsBloodmoney went to the pharmacy and picked up some seasickness pills, which helped, but I was still feeling vaguely nauseous almost a full week later. Now - I am perfectly willing to accept that I am (clearly) susceptible to 'VR sickness'. Possibly more susceptible than most. As a result, I do not want to necessarily hold this against the game too much - however, I do think it is notable that this is the only game to make me feel this way... and also the only game to use this kind of analogue movement. There is - clearly - a reason most games opt for some alternative to this type of motion, and I would wager this is the reason. While some people may find this perfectly fine, and feel no ill effects, it certainly seems that if anything is going to bring on the motion sickness, it is this. As a result, this game really does have to come with a serious caveat - if you are ever going to get motion sick, this is probably the game to do it! Overall, You Are Being Followed is a small game of limited scope, but it is one that has a strong central hook, and manages to work within that hook pretty well. Certainly it is not likely to hold a players attention for terribly long, however, there is merit in seeing the work, and fun (and some scares) to be had in the journey with Emma and Sam. It is also free, which counts for something - there is really no reason not to give it a try if you have a VR headset... but fair warning - it might well be the game to test your boundaries vis-a-vis motion sickness! The Ranking: So, kind of a problematic one, as I don't dislike You Are Being Followed, but it is very much a small, short 'experience' of a game... and it did make me wildly ill! I don't want to simply say "well, I'd rather be not sick than sick" and place it at the bottom of the list, (since, lets face it, some of the dregs of this list make me feel sick in a whole different way!) however, even without the motion sickness, the game is very slight, and doesn't always nail it's anxiety inducing aspects if played the 'wrong' way. As such, I'm looking at games and asking, "If You Are Being Followed didn't make me feel ill, would I prefer to replay it than play this?" Working up the list, the first game for which the answer is "No" is middling Artifex Mundi adventure Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink, and so, You Are Being Followed finds its spot. A low one, of course - it is a very small game - but I'd still caveat this one by saying, it's worth playing for an hour or so if you have a VR. It's free, so there's nothing stopping you... just have the ginger chewing gum handy, and for goodness sake - don't be a hero... stop if you start feeling funky! So there we have it folks! No Priority Assignments completed this round - it's going to stay the same for the next couple, as I catch up on festive gaming, but all requests will be honoured in due course, I promise! 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! Catch y'all later my Scientific Brothers and Sisters! Edited January 7, 2022 by DrBloodmoney 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 I do believe you've sold me on the Psychonauts universe! I actually happen to be playing (and thoroughly enjoying) Grim Fandango at the moment, so this was a happy coincidence for me. Finally got around to it, I thought. One less game in the backlog, I said. Just when I thought I'd bought all I needed for the new year... Every time you add a game to my backlog, I'm going to reference you in the same way that Jerry says Newman's name on Seinfeld. Bloodmoney! Picturing you playing Lost Words with your son damn near brings a tear to my eye. It's such a sweet, wholesome visual, and a reminder that now that we're grown-ups, we get to decide what it is that grown-ups do in their spare time, and can therefore play games all we want! Well... time permitting. I've been taking mental note of VR games I might like, as Concrete Genie still sits dormant on my hard drive, and Creed looks like something I'd like to play... glad to see I can check off You Are Being Followed! It seems interesting enough, but I have a long streak of not getting motion sickness going, and I'd rather not have a video game ruin it for me! Incidentally, that game's title reminds me of a Kids in the Hall sketch where someone wrote a best selling thriller novel, and the title was simply Hey, There's a Spider on Your Back! and everybody who reads it promptly drops the book in a panic and reaches across their own shoulder. Sadly, You Are Being Followed doesn't seem quite as funny? Good work as always, Doc? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted January 6, 2022 Author Share Posted January 6, 2022 (edited) 25 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said: I do believe you've sold me on the Psychonauts universe! I actually happen to be playing (and thoroughly enjoying) Grim Fandango at the moment, so this was a happy coincidence for me. Finally got around to it, I thought. One less game in the backlog, I said. Just when I thought I'd bought all I needed for the new year... Sweet! Hey man - anyone I can convince to give Psychonauts a go who hasn't already I feel good about - there was a time when only the first game existed, and as good as it was, it was getting more and more of a hard sell, given that it was ageing a bit visually... but now, it's easy to do so, as you get to quickly move through the series, and see it evolve from the old tech to the new, and the game keeps up the quality of everything else too! Quote Every time you add a game to my backlog, I'm going to reference you in the same way that Jerry says Newman's name on Seinfeld. Bloodmoney! ? Quote I've been taking mental note of VR games I might like, as Concrete Genie still sits dormant on my hard drive, and Creed looks like something I'd like to play... glad to see I can check off You Are Being Followed! It seems interesting enough, but I have a long streak of not getting motion sickness going, and I'd rather not have a video game ruin it for me! Actually, over the Christmas break, I did finally try to sample a few more VR games - because I'm not working, I can afford to stay up later, and really, the dead of night when everyone is asleep is the only time I'm comfortable completely shutting out the outside world with the headset / earphones... and I played a few pretty good ones - reviews and rankings to follow in the next few batches! Quote Incidentally, that game's title reminds me of a Kids in the Hall sketch where someone wrote a best selling thriller novel, and the title was simply Hey, There's a Spider on Your Back! and everybody who reads it promptly drops the book in a panic and reaches across their own shoulder. Sadly, You Are Being Followed doesn't seem quite as funny That's a weird coincidence - I've heard a bunch about The Kids in the Hall, but it was never really available over here... until Amazon put it on streaming in the UK like 3 weeks ago! I'm working my way through some at the moment - only started, and some is quite dated now, but I can see what the fuss was about! Edited January 6, 2022 by DrBloodmoney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 3 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said: Sweet! Ney man - anyone I can convince to give Psychonauts a go who hasn't already I feel good about - there was a time when only the first game existed, and as good as it was, if was getting more and more of a hard sell, given that it was ageing a bit visually... but now, it's easy to do so, as you get to quickly move through the series, and see it evolve from the old tech to the new, and the game keeps up the quality of everything else too! Especially knowing that the second one is fairly new! Tell me somethin good, Playstation Store... 3 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said: Actually, over the Christmas break, I did finally try to sample a few more VR games - because I'm not working, I can afford to stay up later, and really, the dead of night when everyone is asleep is the only time I'm comfortable completely shutting out the outside world with the headset / earphones... and I played a few pretty good ones - reviews and rankings to follow in the next few batches! Sweeeeeet? I'm the same way, I'm most in my gaming element when the wife is asleep. It has resulted in me falling asleep on the couch more than a few times though, something I'm told my grandfather used to do a lot? 3 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said: That's a weird coincidence - I've heard a bunch about The Kids in the Hall, but it was never really available over here... until Amazon put it on streaming in the UK like 3 weeks ago! I'm working my way through some at the moment - only started, and some is quite dated now, but I can see what the fuss was about! That is a weird coincidence - hell yeah though, I'm glad to hear you're getting into it! True, it hasn't aged especially well, but the good sketches are still quite good! I remember watching it as a kid and not getting that Scott Thompson was gay until yeeaaaars later? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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