#WELCOME BACK PHOEBEE

[jacobsnicket]

fictober prompt 16: "no, i'm not okay" | transcendence au | T

read on ao3

It starts with a headache, small but always present, pressing behind Phoebe’s forehead like there’s something trying to burst out. After the first couple weeks with it, she asks Dipper to check her brain in case there actually is something trying to burst out— hey, you never know. But he says there’s nothing, so she decides to just ignore it in the hopes that it’ll fade.

It doesn’t fade.

It gets worse, to the point that she can’t sleep, to the point that she’s squinting and covering her eyes every time she goes out because the light sends a searing pain straight to her skull. Mel’s starting to get worried by the amount of times per day Phoebe asks her for Tylenol.

Phoebe’s starting to get worried too, so one day she asks Dipper if she’s having migraines and if there’s any way to fix it.

“I’m not a doctor,” Dipper tells her. Then he snaps his fingers and suddenly he’s wearing a stupid little lab coat and stethoscope. “Now I am! Hang on, lemme take a look…”

“You’re not funny,” she says, laughing anyway. The laugh only makes her head hurt worse. “What’s the diagnosis, Doctor Dreambender?”

“Shush, I’m thinking.” Dipper puts his hand to his chin and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, a few seconds later, he looks almost scared.

“What is it?” Phoebe pauses, noticing his expression. “Oh stars, is it bad?”

Dipper takes a deep, slow breath. When he speaks again, it’s measured, stilted. “Good news. You’re not dying yet.”

“… okay. What’s the bad— wait, what do you mean yet?”

“I can’t just say you’re not gonna die! It’s not true! I just mean this isn’t gonna kill you.”

That is a concerningly small amount of information. “Okay,” she repeats. “Cool. So what is it?”

“Well, it’s not migraines. It’s this genetic thing, there’s this small mutation in your DNA— it’s actually really interesting, I knew mutations like this could happen, with the way magic’s become so commonplace these days, but I’ve never seen anything like it up close—”

She sighs and tries to tune out Dipper’s rambling. “Genetic, huh?”

“… yes. Your mother had it too. It was never a problem for her, but still...”

Phoebe thought she was past wishing she knew her parents. The idea that she could’ve had someone who understood, though, who had gone through everything she was going through, who might know how to fix it, was so nice that she couldn’t help it. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Is there like, a cure or something?”

“Nope,” Dipper says, popping the P.

“Really?”

“I’m sorry.” He looks like he means it. “All you can do is wait for the headaches to pass.”

Phoebe sinks further into her chair. “Well, how long will that take?”

”Hopefully, at least a few more months.”

“Months?”

“And then even after that, things are gonna be different for the rest of your life.”

“Different how?”

“I don’t know.” She knows that Dipper doesn’t know a lot of things— I’m only omniscient-ish is a frequent refrain of his— but this time it doesn’t sound sincere. It sounds like he does know and he’s lying. Or like he does know and it scares him.

She collapses even further into her chair, letting herself groan. Mel always says a good groan makes everything feel a little better.

“You okay?”

Phoebe levels the best glare she can at him given her condition. “You just told me I have a rare incurable mutation that’s going to ruin my life. No, I’m not okay, genius.”

“I didn’t say it’s going to ruin your life.”

“Would you be able to, you know…” She does a little poof with her hands. “Fix it?”

“I… theoretically, yeah, but it’s not a good idea. It’d cost a lot.”

“Like a soul a lot?”

“I already have that, Bee.”

“Right, yeah.”

“I could try to get you something a bit stronger than Tylenol, though. Not too strong, but…”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.”

-

It doesn’t pass. It keeps getting worse. The pain seeps from her head down into her fingers, her toes. Her bones feel like they’ve been replaced with time bombs, like any second now they’ll explode and she’ll shatter. If she closes her eyes, she can almost hear them tick.

After a particularly bad day where she’s barely able to get out of bed, Mel carts her off to the ER and the doctors poke and prod at her before asking for a blood test. She complies, and after an hour, they tell her she has a genetic mutation, that it’s such a rare case they can’t tell what might happen to her, but it’s probably not terminal so it’s okay. She never thought Dipper would be lying, but it still feels strange to hear it from someone else.

They tell her, then, that this reaction could only be caused by prolonged exposure to a powerful source of magical energy, and ask if she’s had any exposure that she can think of. She says no.

-

Phoebe doesn’t know how to explain it. She’s just sitting on her bed a few months later, attempting her pre-algebra homework. One moment she is not burning. The next moment she is.

The next moment she’s squeezing her eyes shut, digging her fingers into the blanket, trying to feel something other than pain, pain, pain. She can’t. She can’t see anything other than red-golden at the backs of her eyelids, like when you close your eyes in the sun. She can’t even scream.

And then it winks out, and nothing hurts anymore.

[miloscat]

[Review] Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (PS4)

I found Playtonic’s first effort a delight, and I was excited to see these characters return... doubly so for a somewhat DKC-inspired 2D romp!

Playtonic almost made it a point not to bring up the DKC comparison themselves. It’s natural for people’s minds to go there, though. Impossible Lair certainly draws on the history of its developers, not to mention Retro Studios’ Donkey Kong games, but brings plenty of its own ideas to the table as well.

The main thing that makes this not “just” a 2.5D sidescroller is the overworld segments, which recall the less-remarked-upon games in Playtonic’s legacy. Games like Conker’s Pocket Tales, or Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge—not to mention Sabre Wulf GBA, probably the closest comparison point in terms of structure. Between levels you’re isometrically exploring and interacting with a little connected world, albeit in a simpler fashion to this duo’s initial adventure. This is where the bulk of character interaction comes in, and I must say the  release of Dreamprism Press’s Kracklestone graphic novel was a well-timed complement in that area.

The overworld also houses hidden tonics which can change the play state in the levels. You can make things easier or more difficult by adding modifiers, which also will affect your quill total (the currency of the game), or many of them just have cosmetic effects. This customisation aspect is very welcome, especially because it can be changed even during a level.

But how is the 2D gameplay? I’m glad you asked, it’s great! Yooka and his buddy Laylee control very well, and once again with abilities suited to their characters. You can roll and grab certain objects with Yooka’s tongue, but having Laylee around expands your abilities, such as giving you a slightly gliding twirl and a slam attack. On taking a hit, Laylee flaps around for a bit much like Baby Mario in Yoshi’s Island, initiating a frantic rush to get her back. It’s merciful but risky, and just fun!

The levels display the chops of the team, and are a blast to play, full of challenges and setpieces. Plus, every single one has a modifier that is activated in the overworld, contextually changing the state of the level and offering up a new version with a twist, often with a radically different layout. All levels have five coins (conveniently numbered), which are a fun collectible, sometimes deviously hidden... except they’re actually mandatory for overworld progress. I didn’t mind this as I am a completionist anyway, but I know it was an issue for some people who preferred to just play the levels. Another thing I found I didn’t mind was that there weren’t any bosses... outside the Lair, that is.

Ah yes, the eponymous Lair. To finally get to the actual story, the game kind of starts in medias res with Capital B in a snazzy new outfit having deposed the wonderful new character Queen Phoebee from her rightful place in the Royal Stingdom. He set up shop in the Impossible Lair thanks to his mind control device (that only works on bees). The Lair is a long, very long, incredibly long, gruelling gauntlet—punctuated with boss phases against Capital B—that can be attempted at any point in the game. By completing other levels elsewhere, you rescue loyal bee warriors who will shield you during a Lair run, effectively giving you one extra hit each up to a total of 48. And you’ll need them.

Even with the full complement of bees, I found myself torn up with frustration  when attempting the Lair. A run can take a long time; the level of challenge and sheer length is unlike anything else in the game. Plus you can’t even use tonics in it. After finally conquering it I feel more kindly disposed to it and the game as a whole, but for a time it seemed insurmountable. I guess that’s the point?

Either way, Impossible Lair is an ambitious game but delivers an excellent 2.5D platforming experience, with the lovely added diversion of the isometric overworld, as well as expanding the world set up by the first game (not to mention answering a couple of lore questions along the way... yes, you will find out which half of Dr. Puzz is her natural body). There’s the occasional rough edge or typo, but the love and care shines through.

[operationrainfall]

Title Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Developer Playtonic Games Publisher Team17 Digital Ltd Release Date October 8th, 2019 Genre Platformer Platform PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One Age Rating E for Everyone – Mild Cartoon Violence Official Website

I never expected Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. Not only did the release totally sneak up on me, I somehow missed it entirely at PAX West this year. So when I suddenly saw it announced in the Nintendo Download I cover weekly, I was happily stunned. After all, I did back the original Yooka-Laylee, and while I enjoyed it, it felt a bit hampered by its adherence to 3D platformer norms. Which is why it’s so funny that I loved Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. Who would have guessed that transitioning from being influenced by Banjo-Kazooie to being influenced by Donkey Kong Country would make all the difference?

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The game starts when our heroic duo crash lands in the Royal Stingdom. Capital B is up to no good, and after being taught the platforming ins and outs by the introductory level, things get dramatic. Capital B has a device that enslaves other bees, and he uses it to take control of Queen Phoebee’s Royal Beetallion. Each of these 48 elite guards now protects the dastardly villain from damage. Luckily, due to some quick thinking, you escape further conflict and land just outside his Impossible Lair. Phoebee uses some magic to create books so you can free the trapped Beetallion from Capital B before he took control of them. That doesn’t mean each one captured will be taken from him, mind you, but each guard freed protects you from harm. While you’re more than welcome to tackle the Lair first, you’d be a crazy person to do so because the titular Impossible Lair is a devious gauntlet of instant death traps, cleverly placed enemies, tricky platforming and multiple boss encounters against Capital B. It also contains zero checkpoints, so one death and you have to start over from the very beginning. So assuming you’re not a total masochist, let’s talk about the rest of the game first.

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Each of the books created by Phoebee serves as a level, and is tossed across a vast overworld. You unlock stages in groups, and though you don’t have to tackle them in order, it’s not a bad idea to do so. Namely, that’s because progressing any farther means getting past multiple paywalls set up by the conniving Trowser, and he charges you varying amounts of T.W.I.T. coins found in each of the many stages to proceed. Another reason it’s good to play each level as you unlock them is so you get flush with Quills. You can often do this by chasing Ghost Quills, or just by finding loose Quills littered about each stage. These are occasionally used to unlock things on the overworld, but they are also used to unlock Tonics. There’s a ton of Tonics in the game, and to use them first you have to find them, then pay their Quill cost. They provide a wide array of effects, some changing how a stage looks and others making the levels easier or harder with various effects. If you make a stage easier, it will take away from your Quill total at the end of each stage, but if you make it harder, you’ll be rewarded with more of them. I actually really liked this setup, since it offers the tools to tweak the game as you please. Given that I’m a platformer purist, I only really used one Tonic in my entire playthrough, which made it so Laylee would stick around longer after taking damage, giving me longer to grab her before she flaps away.

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It would be an easy assumption that the overworld is small and basic, but the truth is the opposite. Despite not being in full 3D, the top-down overworld is quite expansive and riddled with secret passages. There’s dark forests, beach-side grottoes, dank caverns and more. Getting from point A to point B can sometimes be a hassle, and often requires returning to areas from a different vantage point. Most noteworthy is that you will find Pagies on the map, and by clearing their challenges, they’ll reward you by altering some aspect of the overworld. This always opens up a path you couldn’t access before, making it easier to get around and find new things.

Another cool part of this aspect of the game is altering stages. Every single stage in the game, other than the Lair, has both an original and alternate version. You might come across a stage and by freezing it with an ice fruit, you’ll unlock an alternate version that’s totally different. These changes are very clever and often required some extra sleuthing to discover. I really enjoyed it, especially since there’s technically 48 stages instead of the base 24. That may not sound like much, but trust me it’s a very meaty experience. In my nearly 13 hours playing the game, I still haven’t unearthed nearly all the achievements, Tonics, Beetallion guards, T.W.I.T. coins or other assorted goodies. Overall it’s a really cool overworld, but with one niggle. It can be time-consuming wandering around, since after you quit and return to the game, you always start right next to the Impossible Lair. For most of the game that meant constant backtracking, until I finally stumbled upon the game’s warp feature. You can basically select any stage from the map and warp instantly there. This is great, but it would have been better if the game told me it was available.

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Much like the game’s overworld, the stages in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair are also deceptively complex. While you can beat most of them in less than 10 minutes, finding all the hidden T.W.I.T. coins can be a challenge. Much like in Donkey Kong Country, things are deviously secreted away, and there were many stages I beat without finding more than a couple out of the possible five coins. Though most stages are standard platformer fare, moving from the left to the right, some mix things up with vertical climbing and even some backtracking. A good example is one that requires you to find five gems to exit the stage, and they’re in all sorts of places. Thankfully, each stage has checkpoints, and you can even spawn more of them with one handy Tonic. There’s a ton of creativity on display, from spinning windmill villages to underwater galleons to dangerous factories to honey-covered towns. There are even some pulse-pounding stages where you’re running from impending death the entire time. It’s all good fun, and will keep you busy without being overly unfair. Just be ready to play most stages more than once to find everything.

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More platform fun on Page 2 ->

Now, none of what I’ve been saying would matter if the game didn’t play well, but thankfully that’s not the case. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a lot of fun. Even though the duo have less abilities than in their first outing, there’s enough here to keep things interesting. Also important is that they are a duo. What that means is that when they’re separated, you’re far less capable and can’t even use all your moves. Laylee the bat is basically Yooka’s armor. If you take a hit, she goes flying around frantically. If you don’t catch her in time, she’s gone, and any more damage will kill you and return you to the most recent checkpoint. This was very smart design, and it made me more careful about how I explored stages. When the team is together, they’re capable of tricks like spinning in mid-air to go farther, rolling around and even ground pounding. Yooka can also use his long tongue to grab items and spit them out as projectiles. I thought the game controlled very well, though I found the roll / jump combo to be a bit finicky at times. The only time things didn’t work as planned was when I was rolling and somehow got stuck in a wall, forcing me to restart a stage, and another time the game force quit and returned me to the Switch home screen. Other than those, the game played perfectly well.

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Visually, I found a lot to appreciate. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a cute and cartoony game. Everything has a vibrant quality to it, such as how the Quills glow with golden light. Though there’s not a ton of different foes, they’re all distinct and there’s no color swap nonsense. I especially liked the industrial parts of the game, like red hot buzz saws and dangerous cannons. Musically, the game is also enjoyable. Some stages definitely have better tunes than others, but there was nothing that I found boring or offensive. The sound effects are also really bombastic and match the action perfectly. And thankfully the gibberish talk for all the characters is still in place, and lends everything a whimsical flair. Visually and musically, this is a stellar experience.

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It wouldn’t be fair to talk about Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair without going into a bit more detail on the titular final area. Earlier I said that it’s a very challenging sequence of traps, foes and boss fights, but let me go into more detail. Every time you play, you start off with the initial fight against Capital B. He only takes a few hits that time, but every subsequent battle he’s more resilient. His fights will gate each subsequent corridor of the Lair, and he starts getting really tricky as things progress. There’s tons of instant death traps in the lair as well, such as lasers, buzz saws, heat-seeking missiles and portals that continuously spawn foes. I ended up taking nine tries to finally beat the Impossible Lair, and that was with nearly all of the Beetallion at my disposal, 40 out of 48. It was still a huge challenge, and one that I feel needs to be gradually worked towards. And though I won’t go into spoilers, I will say it’s a good idea not to be reckless, and try and hold onto a few of your Beetallion even after you’ve finally beaten Capital B.

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Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair may not be impossible, but it is a wonderfully fun and challenging retro platformer. Though it still has much of that compulsive collector DNA from the first game, I found it much less bothersome in this format. For $29.99, you get a lot to explore in this expansive world. Though I spent around 13 hours to beat the game, I still have plenty to uncover. And that’s not even touching upon the many super secret treasures still deftly squirreled away. I would strongly encourage most gamers to check this out. With the use of Tonics, you’re able to tailor the experience to your ability level, so really it’s hard to turn it down. A fantastic and worthy follow up to the original Yooka-Laylee from the fine folks at Playtonic Games. Here’s to looking forward to whatever they cook up next!

Keep your eyes peeled and you might even find an Easter Banana or two!

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Title Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair