#seriously play hotline miami

[fromthegauchostothecowboys]

i like hurting other people tbh /j

[cheez-o]

hotline miami: another game i like (probably spoilers but whatever the game is like 10 years old)

SERIOUSLY i have been playing it for like 2 months and its had me in a chokehold ever since. the game is so short and simple yet so symbolic in the little features that aren't directly brought up

i LOVE the characters too they make them so in depth despite most of the game just being "kill people". richter doesnt actually want to kill but does it (very well) anyway, all so he can support his ill mother

the fans are just a group of people in animal masks trying to get their 15 minutes of fame, and are NOT ready when the consequences of their actions finally come to them

same goes for the rest of the characters really i love how its just made out that none of them survive. a game where nobody wins, but you play anyway because youre having fun doing it

[vinegar-shot]

A Memory Best Left Forgotten

Spoilers for Hotline Miami Ending (But seriously if you haven't played it what are you doing here?)

Jacket let out a puff of his cigarette and ran his hand through his dirty blonde hair, mask laying tossed to the side. Standing on the balcony of the Russian Mob headquarters, the neon blanketed city of Miami shimmered. There was a moment of realization that hadn't set in before in Jacket’s mind as he stared out. He had wiped the filth of the Russians out of Miami, he had answered the calls, but now he was empty. “Y’know, I think this whole mess might've been for nothing.” Jacket heard the voice, a distinct gruff but gentle voice that he knew all too well. Beard stepped up to the balcony, his face as lifelike as the last time they had been together. Beard combed through his pockets and fished out a cigarette, aiming it towards Jacket who obliged by lighting it up. “It’s too bad about your girlfriend though, I know that must've been hard for ya.” Beard took a breath and put the lit cigarette to his lips, his glasses seemed fogged over with light. Jacket didn't say anything, there was nothing more to say to him, after all; he was dead. Beard looked out at the city, his eyes gazed down at the street below, and at the police cars that had begun to surround the building. “Was it worth it?” Jacket didn't know. He looked down at his bandaged hands, the fresh blood had already started to chip off, it was gratifying to be able to have done what he had done, but it was for nothing. “I told ya I'd get that convenience store after Hawaii, I just wanted to get away from the conflict, y’know?” Jacket nodded, the voice from his phone calls to San Francisco given form into a much older looking man than the one who had saved his life all those years ago. “I wish you could have gotten around to sending me that photo though, do you still have it?” Jacket looked down, putting his hand on the front pocket of his letterman, where he kept the last memory of the world before. He slipped the grainy photo out slowly, fingers squeezing a bit too hard onto the edge. The memory of that last toast before their final mission came to mind, then Beard's arm around him, and lastly, the gentle comfort of the soldier while Jacket was in the hospital. “Maybe… Maybe some things are best left as memories.” Jacket felt the wind against him and exhaled, before letting the photo escape his grasp. The photo fluttered into the sky, lost as the last thing he could hold onto in this life. Beard stood solemnly, before echoing the words that he had said before “Things never turn out the way you expect them to.”

[digital-meat]

Ironically anyone who acclaims Spec Ops: The Line after playing it has missed the intended point, which is that the game shouldn't be acclaimed. Or played. Probably not even platformed or sold in stores. Fortunately for the devs bank accounts nobody in their right mind would take that statement seriously.

"You should feel bad for playing this game I worked hard to make." That's the entire message, and it is 0% ironic or meta. You can't even do a critical analysis of a game without playing it, in the same way you can't analyze a movie without watching it. A postmodern artist probably painted something that says "don't look at this" at some point but if he did his response to critics wouldn't be a deadpan serious "don't look at paintings."

Or its like if you're in a debate and say "What if I was killing someone right now... I just killed them and you didn't even stop me, why did you let me do that?" Maybe because hearing out your hypothetical doesn't make me an accomplice? It isn't remotely real?

Other games have statements or questions about violence in games. Like Hotline Miami ("do you enjoy hurting other people?") or Postal 2 ("the game is only as violent as you are"). But those games aren't in denial about who made the sandwhich. So they can actually provoke thought. You can engage with these games both in good faith and from a critical perspective at the same time.

Either way, Spec Ops: The Line is one of those games that really highlights how video game makers do not understand morality and choice.

And I hate that it got so much critical acclaim for basically going "You play video games? Then you're a killer!" in the most heavy-handed, railroading way possible.

[oo11]

there are dozens of games I could’ve put for “underrated”, it was hard to choose

template here

[asphodelflowers]

Bloodborne characters and what types of video games I think they would play:

Gascoigne: Isn't very much into video games, finds them to be a waste of time. His kids love playing them though, so he feigns interest because he doesn't want to disappoint them. That doesn't mean that he isn't confused as to why a franchise with murderous animatronics is so popular with children however.

Eileen: Is very much into action-RPGs, but mainly focuses on PVP. Almost always uses a glass cannon-type build, and is scarily good at what she does. Is generally a good sport however, and doesn't take it too seriously. Has a fondness for teaching new players the ropes.

Gehrman: Occasionally seems to forget that video games that originated from after the 80s exist. Some people claim he has a Steam account with several games in his library (all of which are hidden) but nobody knows for certain.

Plain Doll: Can sometimes be found in the Hunter's Dream playing Bloodborne on an old PS4. Don't think too hard about it. The last guy who did is now in a mental hospital. The Dream's internet had to be cut because she kept uploading recordings of Bloodborne speedruns to YouTube, which caused massive outbreaks of nihilistic insanity.

Alfred: Is a huge 40k nerd in general, and has a particular preference for the Dawn of War and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada series. He refuses to play any factions not aligned with the Imperium however, so he's missing out on a lot.

Valtr: Likes boomer shooters such as Doom, Wolfenstein and Duke Nukem, as well as other games like Mortal Kombat and Hotline Miami. Basically, if it involves a ridiculous amount of violence, he's probably already 100% completed it.

Micolash: Plays Psychonauts. That's it. He'll lock himself in his study and just play Psychonauts repeatedly for days on end until he passes out from exhaustion. He never plays anything else. Everyone around him has collectively agreed not to tell him there's a sequel. They're too afraid of the potential consequences.

Simon: Is a bit of a casual JRPG nerd, for reasons nobody can exactly explain. Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy Tactics, and the earlier Shin Megami Tensei games are some of his favorites and he will eagerly explain their plotlines and themes to anyone in his general vicinity.

Ludwig: Mainly plays competitive FPS games such as Call of Duty and Battlefield. He's absolutely terrible at them and has an abysmal K/D ratio, but he's having fun and that's what matters. Also has a decently-sized Twitch channel, but is often the subject of jokes comparing him to another, more popular Ludwig.

Maria: Is a big fan of Fallout: New Vegas and is constantly discussing it on various Discord servers and internet forums. Tends to gloss over the more unfortunate aspects of the NCR. She has been trying to get into Animal Crossing as well but her progress has been limited by her reluctance to make use of the fishing mechanic.

Laurence: Especially fond of Paradox Interactive games, and has the formula and strategies down to a science. Usually ends up creating viciously militaristic theocracies. Is also rather partial to Spore, and will spend hours creating and customizing the most horrific, bizarre creatures you will ever see in your life.

[ihatetaxes99]

In a previous post's comment section, I was asked by a kind follower (hi) if I would care to speak a little about my less than popular opinion on Undertale. And yes, without any strongs attached, I am not a fan of the game. For me, it comes down to pretentiousness. The actual battle system of Undertale is rather fun in my opinion, but it is the writing that destroys it all. Undertale has a fairly generic monster world populated by wacky and zany jokeboxes that rarely succeed in being funny, and a narrative that almost strives to demean a player for killing monsters.

Simply put, I don't find Mr. Fox's comedy funny; I find it very obnoxious. And the game's dialogue is 90% comedy, so that is really a big problem. I love the Ace Attorney series and those games have a lot of wacky comedy, but even there, it has genuinely intelligent writing beneath the surface. Manfred Von Karma is one of my favourite video game antagonists for how damned intimidating and hatable he is, while characters like Edgeworth and Blackquill's brand of aloof anti-heroism never fails to put a grin on my face. I was a tad sidetracked there, but in comparison to these characters, a lot of Undertale's cast has no greater depth. Alphys is a pathetic weeaboo nerd who pines for the fish lady. Yes, her more tragic elements are touched upon, but in a barely two hour game, she's hardly fleshed out. She in particular, alongside certain characters like Temmie and the funny skeleton man, feel in large part, crafted to appeal to the internet. They have this early 2010s Tumblr (or modern day Reddit) vibe to them, where they try far, far too hard to be funny without really succeeding. It doesn't help that I get the impression that Fox has somewhat bought into his own hype, although this is only from glancing at a few Twitter posts and little else, so I shall say no more on that matter. My final words on the game's comedy is that it would be like if Better Call Saul addressed the meme culture that has grown around Breaking Bad and became super self aware without much heart or character growth. It has that "Oh, we're too cool to take things seriously" vibe that I cannot stand. Yes, I'm a bit of a joker myself, but there's a time and a place to cut that crap out and actually reflect with some severity and Undertale does that for maybe abouyt five minutes total, outside of the Genocide Route.

Speaking of...

Of course, this is just my surface complaints and the main problem that I have with Undertale is undoubtedly how it handles its message. These monsters of the underground are deserving of respect, and the objectively correct choice is to spare them. That is the message that the game gives you. The problem is that nothing about the monsters indicates that killing them is a bad thing, either because they're annoying parasitical joke machines or because they're trying to bloody kill me first. I'm mostly referring to neutral runs here. It is incredibly douchy to treat the player like shit and emotionally manipulate them for killing the blue fish lady after she made the first blow. "Oh, these monsters have their own lives and desires." I'm sure the meth addict who ran at me with a knife in East Belfast had his own life and desires too, doesn't mean I had to stand still and let him stab me, while reasoning with him about the powers of friendship. It's just kind of shitty and the entire system feels to me like an attempt to subverse typical RPG tropes without giving it the full thought for the negative reprecussions it can have on the story, the tone or the message. Undertale's message is "killing is evil"; This is in spite of the monsters' own willingness to kill me. With these kinds of nature of violence games, I definitely prefer them to be more like Hotline Miami, where the narrative observes but does not directly judge. Jacket isn't called out explicitly by the game as some monster because he killed legions of Russian gangsters who were willing to shoot him on sight. I'm playing a game, not reading the Bible.

Anyway, my rant must surely have grown a tad long in the tooth. It's very much like Persona 5 to me, a fun game to play, but with themes and characters so repulsive to me that I can't in good faith see it as something I enjoy, considering that it as a game prides itself so much on its story and cast.

Also, I never once brought up the issue of the fandom here and that was deliberate. If I was going to hate something based off the toxicity of its fandom, I would enjoy nothing aside from Jeff the Cabbie from BCS. That is its own can of worms and I don't co sider the fandom all too relevant to my feelings on the game itself, only that the popularity does puzzle me somewhat. Then again, I'm an old, cynical bastard who sits around writing fanfic and listening to late twentieth century music, so what do I know?

[angelicguy]

beat RUINER which is like cyberpunk hotline miami. pretty good! very very difficult (played on hard for my first run) and loved the visuals and combat even if it felt pretty unfair at times. the best parts were the incredibly long frantic twitchy fights. most of the bosses sucked either too hard or too easy. story was pretty cool too, predictable and hard to parse at times but the concept of being “hacked” the whole time is dope, very cyberpunk concept of “you dont even have a right to your actions/perceiving reality"

wish it had a little more variety in the levels though. seriously felt like an 8 hour factory level

[killapunk]

richter is, to me, the most tragic character of hotline miami as a result of all this. all other characters are racists, thrill-seekers, possibly insane, or are very disturbed. biker only does what he does because he wants thrills. son only does what he does because he wants power. the fans only do what they do for attention. pardo only does what he does for attention. henchman executes an entire building of people for no reason past 'because son said to.' evan is poorly written in general.

jacket has no reason to do any of the things he does. the only other character that has a valid excuse for any of their actions is beard who was following orders, and his hands aren't fully clean either. richter is almost always a victim, he does what he does after threats towards his family are proven to be legitimate. richter takes the bus to his levels because 50b set his car on fire. at his house. where his very vulnerable mother lives. and shooting gf was likely an accident.

while i dont disagree that richter is tragic and feels bad and that shooting gf was an accident, you got me talking about the game now for some reason so i guess ill address the rest of the cast since you brought em up (at least how i viewed their motivations)

1. biker. yes, only did it for thrills. yes, very fucked up that he killed people. however, he’s the only character we know of who looked for a way out, probably because he didn’t know what he was signing up for and wasn’t keen on following anonymous orders. not the best dude by a long shot but not the worst either, at least he did something productive with his time 

2. the son. doesn’t only do it for power. he does it for revenge, he does it for his father’s memory, his legacy, to earn his pride even though he’s already dead. he’s been raised to be the successor to the empire and like yeah of course it’s for power, but it’s not just for that. it’s deeper than that for him. 

3. you’re correct about the fans. 

4. you’re also correct about pardo. he sucks. 

5. i mean henchman was just following orders dude what do you want? he’s a mobster. it’s his job. it was his final job before retirement so he could stop killing people and just live out his days in peace. cool motive still murder but idk why youre saying it was for no reason aside from his boss telling him to, like. what more reason does he need lmao

6. ah so youre evan hating anon from forever ago? kidding. evan isn’t poorly written imo he’s a realistic enough portrayal of journalists. they chase the story no matter the cost. he’s not a bad person despite the pent up anger issues and you can choose to have him turn his life around. he’s ambitious and a little shitty but not bad morally. 

7. are you seriously gonna say jacket had no reason for anything sgasjhdasd did we even play the same game? 50 blessings appealed to his personal vendetta against the russians for killing beard, and post-trauma (the level) his assault on the police station was to get to richter and punish him for killing his girlfriend. after that, he tries to get revenge on those he believes have made his life hell. he definitely has reasons. but again, still murder

8. beard was drafted and made the most of his situation in order to survive the war and never have to kill another person again. his hands are definitely NOT clean but he is also not a bad person.

[ozzdog12]

2019- Top 7 (And 1)

  Another year has come to an end and thus the hotly anticipated Top 7 (And 1) from your ‘average at best’ Ozzdog12 is here for you to feast your eyes upon. 2019 was an extremely odd year for me, gaming wise. As parenthood has taken the full brunt of my time, my gaming time and the choices of what games I decided to play, have changed. I played several games this year that, under any previous year I may have stuck with longer or tried again, but as time for gaming has become more and more thin, I now have less ‘patience’ to stick with a BIG RPG (Disco Elysium, one day I’ll get to you). Now I’m going to contradict my previous sentence with this next sentence. I was unemployed for a stretch of 5 weeks and in between looking for jobs I also found myself with a decent amount of time to play some games. What I did with that time is played 2 games that ultimately made the list, for two very different reasons. I also cleared out a chunk of backlog games (Finally beating Diablo 3 for one, thank you Switch) and played several, shorter smaller games in the process. If interested in my previous Top 7 (And 1) 2017 & 2018.

And now on to the And 1 this year

Favorite game that came out in 2019 that actually came out 20+ years ago: Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (Switch)

This one was actually a hard one to decide as Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition also released this year. AOE2 is the one game I may have put the most time into ever, cumulatively. But I’m giving the nod to Link’s Awakening simply because its BRAND NEW to me. I did not play the original release and this has been an absolute joy to play and is by far, the best Zelda available on Switch. The updated graphics are gorgeous and the art style is great. I haven’t completed the game yet, but I’m slowly chipping away at it at night. It feels and plays like a Zelda game but updated properly to a modern console to make it feel like a brand new game released in 2019 and not just a reskin/up-resed re-release. The game is also structured in a way that appeals to me more than Breath of the Wild was (see 2017 And One for reference). The world feels big, but is contained in a clever way to make it FEEL bigger than it actually is.

Number  7: Rage 2 (PS4)

Rage 2 is a very weird game. I don’t mean it’s weird in the sense that nothing clicks or that its bad. In fact, it’s a joy to play (especially is you love iD shooters). It’s weird because outside of the gameplay mechanics, it’s fairly barren (intentional or not). And I mean that in terms of both story, things to do and the world itself. Having very little to do with the previous Rage (which I really enjoyed on the 360), Rage 2 starts off quick and with a bang. You choose which version of the character you want to be, learn the mechanics and then are eventually sent to a town. There are a total of 6 ‘story’ missions that are stretched out by requiring you to complete tasks for one of the 3 town leaders who you’ve enlisted for help to take down the General. Once you do this, you fight the General and that’s kind’ve it. Now along the way, you will kill a bunch of mutants and humans alike. There are 3 factions (4 if you count the Ghosts in the DLC) that are in an ever engaging gauntlet to the death and you get to play janitor by spilling more guts and blood, but none of it really matters, the Factions I mean. There are a few Crusher Mutants (BIG MUTANTS) to also fight, but they are essentially extra heavy bullet sponges. Now, I know I haven’t really sold you on it, but here’s the thing. I REALLY enjoyed RAGE 2. It was the perfect game to play during the summer. Due to a personal situation I was dealing with (the looming unemployment) it was nice to just sit down at night, turned my brain off and just kill things. It reminded me of a simpler time in my youth playing games like Doom. Same vibe honestly. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more of a story and narrative driven player, but Rage 2 scratched a nostalgia itch for me at the perfect time. 

Number 6: Concrete Genie (PS4)

Concrete Genie is a game that is honestly out of left field for me these days. Not that I don’t like these types of games, it’s just as previous stated, time is somewhat of a precious commodity and had Concrete Genie come out in any other year, I probably would’ve skipped it entirely. However, it didn’t and I’m glad I picked this up for $20. It also scratched a nostalgia itch and reminded me very much of the PS2 era of games like Sly Cooper and Jax and Daxter. You play a kid who is bullied (something I am familiar with first hand, sadly) for being a loner and an artist. His creature drawings come to life with the help of a magic paint brush and your objective to put color back into an abandon town and bring it back to life. There is a VR component I wasn’t able to play because I don’t have a PSVR. The game is fairly simply and doesn’t deviate far from that formula. There is very little combat and just enough variety in the monster’s you can make to keep you going. It’s also fairly short. I was able to complete and collect everything in around 7-8 hours. Having a complete game in a bite size package is something I long for these days. 

Number 5: The Outer Worlds (PS4)

This game should be higher on the list but I put it here simply because while I have played it a fair amount, I haven’t played it enough to warrant it being higher. I’m maybe halfway through? I love Bethesda Fallouts (And Obsidian’s New Vegas) and this is an improved New Vegas in space with a more cheeky approach. The Outer Worlds never takes itself too seriously and revels in its sarcasm. The companions are all mostly likeable enough and each planet has felt distinctive enough to entice me to keep exploring. The mechanics are improved and the overall gameplay is better than New Vegas.  Its structured just like a Fallout game, so there is a lot of comfort there. However,  just like any open world RPG, sitting down for less than an hour and trying to accomplish anything is hard. The Outer Worlds is best played in big chunks. It’s at the top of my list to finish in 2020. 

Number 4: A Plague Tale (PS4)

A Plague Tale was THAT game that was on everyone’s ‘Hidden Gems’ list. I had seen a trailer around E3 and it intrigued me enough to check it out. I completed it over a whole weekend, a rarity. The game isn’t perfect, but everything is serviceable enough to work within the confines of what it’s trying to accomplish. It has some technical flaws and the occasional hiccup, but I’m a sucker for 3rd person action adventure games. The game is mostly centered around stealth with combat as a mostly secondary option. The game takes place in France in 1348 during the rat plague. You play as the daughter of an alchemist and your brother has been sick since birth. Once your village has been raided by the Inquisition, you are cast out to find help. The plague has taken over the majority of the country, but it isn’t until later in the game where the game takes a turn into the fantasy in a major way. You meet up with some really likeable characters with different personality traits along the way that really kept the story moving in an interesting way. The story was really grim at times, but honestly kept me hooked until the final chapter. The boss battle was extremely frustrating. With a sequel being announced, I am extremely interested in where they take the next chapter. 

Number 3: Katana ZERO (Switch)

Katana ZERO rules. There is a fine line where a game is challenging and when a game is unfair. I like a challenge, but I don’t want to work (games like Dark Souls are work). KZ is very similar in style, gameplay, tone, and even music to Hotline Miami. The difference being KZ is a side scroller instead of top down. You play a samurai in a quasi-dystopian future after a war. You are programmed killing machine…or are you? The story is fairly heavy and can bring up some tough subjects. KZ is pretty challenging, especially later in the game, but never once did I feel the game was cheap or unfair. Every time I died (MANY, MANY TIMES) it was always my fault. Either I didn’t plan my attack correctly, I hit the wrong button, took the wrong path, or didn’t time it right. The game has a nifty way of dealing with ‘deaths’ in the game using a neat rewind feature. When you complete a level, it shows you a replay in ‘real time’ giving you a nice recap of your work. Every time I completed a level, I felt a sense of accomplishment. My Switch says I put around 5 hours or more into it once I completed the final level, but it honestly felt longer than that, in a good way. KZ is an absolute blast to play and you should go play it right now!

Number 2: Gears 5 (Xbox One)

I’m a fan of the Gears of War series. The first Gears of War still being my favorite of the series. As time has passed, I’ve become less interested in the series as a whole but still interested enough to play every entry. I thought Gears 4 was the Force Awakens of the series. Essentially a retelling of the same story, with a new coat of paint and new characters with the old ones sprinkled in. Gears 4 was ultimately, fine. So I was actually excited for Gears 5 was going to go and to see how they built upon 4 with a focus on Kait instead of a Fenix. Halfway through the story, the group is divided and it starts to take a different tone. Gears 5 experiments with a first of the series, a semi-open world. I thought it broke up the monotony of wall hug, shoot, reload, repeat. I finished the story in a few days and had a good time with it, though once again, the ending being kind’ve abrupt. The series has a knack for being sort’ve slow, then suddenly turning it to 11, then ending.  I wished the campaign was longer, but it’s still solid. Gears 5 introduced a new mode called Escape, where you and two other players plant a bomb and try to escape a level with limited ammo. There is weekly a revolving door of new levels, which is nice, but each level is just reusing assets. I suspect with time and each new Operation (Season) that will be expanded. Horde mode is back and the character classes are fun. New characters have been added and will continue to be added, but they are an absolute grind to unlock (But you can always pay for them!) The reason Gears 5 is this high is mostly due to the amount of time I spent playing multiplayer. As stated, I loved the original Gears of War and put an insane amount of time into the multiplayer. That was in 2007 and the older I’ve gotten, my desire to invest into multiplayer has waned, almost completely. Once again though, right time, right place. I spent almost the entire month of October, logging on every night, completing challenging and playing online. Something I haven’t done since I was a freshman in college. I had an absolute blast. While I don’t delve into online as feverishly as I did in October, I still occasionally dabble when I get the chance.

Number 1: Mortal Kombat 11 (PS4)

As if this was going to be anything else. I’m a Mortal Kombat mark, plain and simple. I’ve loved the series my entire life. I love the lore, I love how ridiculously violent it is, how goofy and bat shit insane the story has evolved. I love it all. But its not all gore and lore, Mortal Kombat is a supreme fighting game. It’s not a nuanced as the likes of Street Fighter, but its infinitely deeper than a game like Smash Bros. Mortal Kombat is in a good sweet spot for both casuals and hardcore fighting fans. MK11 has maybe the greatest in-depth tutorial that has ever been made in any fighting game. It not only teaches you how to play, it teaches you the terminology. The story picks up right after MKX, with Raiden upset with everyone and taking matters into his own hands by torturing Shinnok. Liu Kang and Kitana rule the Netherrealm. Raiden plans an attack where he is essentially the Trojan Horse. All goes according to plan, until Kronika, The Time Keeper, decides she doesn’t like this anymore and eventually brings back some old friends to help her change time (again) and finally eliminate Raiden from existence. In doing this, Kronika has made all those mirror matches from previous games cannon. The production level and story mode in Netherealm games are on another level compared to other fighting games and they continue that trend in MK11. They implement the gear system from Injustice 2 into MK11 and its fine. The Krypt is amazing and is full of secrets. The Living Towers have returned, this time in the form of the ever changing “Towers of Time”. The roster, which is what everyone really cares about isn’t the worst but isn’t the best. None of the new characters are all that fun (Cetrion, Geras, & Kollector) and the returning roster was missing some notable characters. The DLC thus far has been fairly underwhelming compared to MKX. It was nice to see Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, & Sindel return (all 3 should’ve been in the main roster) but Terminator is lame. MKX had the likes of Tremor, Tanya, & Predator. MK11 seems to break what was a fun tradition in DLC having new, MK characters (Skarlett and Tremor, respectively). While I do think there is another set coming after Spawn, if the leak is true, then it seems underwhelming. I played MK11 pretty religiously for almost 2 months and still play at least once or twice a week. I love MK!

[arsonsara]

Why You Should Get Nuclear Throne

Now if you know anything about me, and I mean anything at all, than you probably know that Nuclear Throne is one of my favorite video games of all time. A few years ago I wrote about Online Functionality for Video Games and used Nuclear Throne as an example, I used to Roleplay as Fish on Tumblr when I first got into the game, I wrote a bit for the askblog @ask-the-campfire-crew, and to this day still follow the community this game has spawned.

Now that Nuclear Throne was announced for the Switch today, and released for the Switch ON THE SAME DAY AS IT’S ANNOUNCEMENT, I think that it’s time that I speak to this game’s strengths and tell you why you should get this game.

If you’re a fan of fast-paced, in your face, unrelenting gunplay that forces you to not only strategically understand the circumstances of your surroundings, the weapons you have, the enemies you’re fighting, and the character you’re playing than you will enjoy Nuclear Throne. It’s game-play has been compared to games like Enter the Gungeon and Hotline Miami (and funnily enough there are Easter Eggs in those games that reference Nuclear Throne.) but i’d liken it to a 2D Version of DOOM. This game rewards you for playing a balancing act between careful planning and positioning and running into perilous situations guns blazing without a care in the world.

And that’s only scratching the surface: Nuclear Throne is a game not only built around frantic 2D-Rougelike Shooter action, but also giving the player a buffet of options that open up as the game goes on. In total there are 12 Playable Characters each with their own passives abilities and active abilities that change how you play, 29 Base Mutations that can give you stat buffs, synergies with certain weapon types, change the way you interact with enemies and much more, and so many goddamn weapons that I wouldn’t even be able to count them all. That doesn’t even go into how each playable character has Two Special Ultra Mutations that turn them into absolute powerhouses of destruction once you reach end-game.

Nuclear Throne’s balance is held up by the three pillars of Characters, Weapons and Mutations. Each character has a passive such as More Ammo from Ammo Drops, More Max Health, Faster Walking Speed, Dual Wielding Weapons and more. Than you have their actives which can be a Dodge Roll, A Shield, a Snare Trap, Blowing up Corpses etc. Because each character is consistent and never changes, you can always rely on the tools that your characters give you. Even if you don’t get favorable Mutations or Weapons you can always rely on the skills of your character.

Than there are Mutations, which you obtain by collecting Rads from killing enemies and leveling up. When you level up you get a random selection of Four of the 29 Mutations which can be stuff like More Max Health, Higher Ammo Capacity, Slower Enemy Bullets, a Damaging AoE around you at all times, and even more. Of course, you wont always get the mutations you want, but you will always become stronger with each new mutation you get. A mutant with mutations is inherently stronger than a mutant without them. So even though you may not get the luckiest draw, you’re still improving and it forces you to get creative and potentially use mutation combinations you haven’t before.

Than there are the Weapons which are vast and large. You can only carry two weapons at a time and can switch between them on the fly, and as the game goes on the more weapons you can get. As you get further in the game, the weapon pool gets larger, but at the start of the game your restricted to beginner level weapons like Revolvers, Shotguns, Wrenches and Screwdrivers. But if you get farther you can get stuff like Laser Pistols, Assault Rifles, Sledgehammers and Shovels. And if you reach Endgame you get crazy shit like Nuke Launchers, Plasma Cannons, Hyper Rifles and THE ELUSIVE SUPER DISC GUN. This means that every time you play you always get that feeling of getting stronger and learn which weapons at each leg of the journey that you prefer. But it also forces you to get good with every weapon. The game isn’t always going to give you your favorite weapon, which forces you to get creative with every option you’re given, and makes it even more rewarding when you DO get the weapon you prefer.

This three pillar structure of Characters, Mutations and Weapons makes Nuclear Throne a game that feels so fresh. Despite the fact that it relies on randomization for it’s weapon and mutation pool, it gives you enough things that stay consistent that you can still get better and continue to improve.

So that’s the basics of Nuclear Throne so what else is there to this game other than being a rewarding but tough as nails 2D Rogue-like? A fantastic story told with little dialogue, a small but welcoming fandom, and a thriving modding community. Let’s go play by play, shall we?

Nuclear Throne has a very simple story on the surface. The Apocalypse has come and gone and now all that remains are Mutants who fight endlessly to survive. However there are legends of The Nuclear Throne, an unknown relic that is said to hold the power to undo the chaotic dystopia that everyone lives in. However as the game goes on, more aspects of the world are revealed with the Unlockable Characters, The new areas you explore, the secrets that lie beneath the surface and repeat playthroughs. As you play the game more and more, more aspects of the world begin to blossom and create a completely new layer to the world of Nuclear Throne. Much more can be said about it’s story but I truly do believe that it should be experienced first hand, as I do most things.

As for the fandom itself, it’s probably been one of the most welcoming that i’ve ever been with. Of course, smaller fandoms to lend themselves to less drama and worry and if you’ve been on the internet long enough than you know that every group of fans has their own bad eggs, but Nuclear Throne does have a fantastic community with wonderful people. There are the old videos done by STAR_ where he has both streamed the game and even created custom versions of Nuclear Throne alongside one of it’s developers, the Askblogs of @verifyingvenuz and the aforementioned @ask-the-campfire-crew (Sadly both of these blogs are on Indefinite Hiatus, but still contain some really good content nonetheless) and fantastic fan artists. Seriously, look in the Nuclear Throne tag on Tumblr you’ll find some really REALLY good stuff.

And the last part only applies to the PC version of Nuclear Throne but is still very important. A few years back a project was created called Nuclear Throne Together, which as a Mod made for Nuclear Throne to add Online Co-Op to Nuclear Throne. Ever since it’s release, PC Players can now enjoy Nuclear Throne with up to Four Friends simultaneously. However, with the release of NTT came a thriving Modding Community. Of course, Nuclear Throne mods existed before NTT, but with NTT having built-in support for Nuclear Throne Mods, it’s been bigger than it ever has been. New Characters, New Weapons, Hell even new Game Modes that turn NTT from a 2D Top-Down Shooter to a Platformer! With enough time Nuclear Throne could have a modding community on the same level as games like Quake or Doom!...

With enough popularity, that is. Y’see Nuclear Throne has really only ever been a cult-classic. Very few people know about the game and I feel like that is a damn shame considering how much love and care went into the design behind each and every aspect of it. And even after all of this, after me writing paragraph after paragraph about why you should play this game, I still haven’t even reached the goddamn tip of this Iceberg. So all i’ll say is: Please, buy Nuclear Throne.

It just came out on Nintendo Switch today for $12.99 and has been on PS4 for a while now. However, my top recommendation will always be the PC Version due to Nuclear Throne Together and it’s diverse modding community. 

Here is a Link to Nuclear Throne’s Itch.Io page.

And if you can, please spread the word about this game. It without a doubt deserves more love.

[folcar]

Ignore the reviews and listen to me, a nobody, instead!

Alot of reviews that complain about gameplay of Travis Strikes Again are from people who refuse to learn the control set up. I am here to tell you genuine shit on the controls.

The controls are gREAT. While the control layouts isnt traditionally what people expect it, once you start the turtorial, you quickly understand how the game plays and its honestly a very comfortable, and engaging af, with the way the control set up is.

Hell, I understood the controls with my younger brother in 2 minutes before even starting the turtorial, its that easy!

What i mean is, people will typically want to use A to attack but its actually with Y, or whatever direction Y is if playing with a joycon. Heavy attack is top button, X, jump is B, bottom button, and A is to dodge. And while it may seem weird, it actually feels great to have the layout this way. And you understand how great it feeks within just 5 minutes, heck maybe 3 minutes or less if you arent stubborn af. (As for recharging your weapon, you first click the lstick and either shake the controller or move the rstck side to side. Its much better, abd faster, to just shake your controller, you junp back in the action of the game right away when you shake it)

Gameplay is great! Everything is pretty fast paced. You run around while solving puzzles and wacking the shit out of everything, even your partner if you're playing co-op! Its fun, you get a good laugh out your own stupidity if you end up shutting your brain off, its just an over all good time. Udk how to explain it all but in simple of words of "it just works" and "hell yeah!!"

As for not knowung if you like the main character Travis, let me just say that if you like/love Deadpool, then you will like/love Travis Touchdown.

Story? Its simple, gets to the point, doesnt take itself seriously, and you dont need tp play No More Heroes 1 and 2 to know what is happening in TSA (tho if you have a wii or wii u do play those games, they are great)

Honestly, everything is fun. The characters, references to other Suda's games and references to indie games as well through shirts or music (I see what you did there in level 2 Suda, me too like Hotline Miami)

If you looked at TSA and thought "the game looks fun!" But then get got turned off. Y muxed reviews, let me give you a good ol slap in the face and say that most of Suda51 games had mixed reviews but are insanely fun and amazing games to play. So go buy the game, go play it

If you are someome who wants to have fun for 15+hours, then get Travis Strikes Again, be it you are an old or new fan, get it! I am 98% certain you will have a blast, have insane amounta of fun, with the game.

This is your local nobody, go buy the game please-

[madegeeky]

Free Twitch Games: Devolver Pack

Broforce - This game is a celebration of 80s action movies. There are parodies of Rambo, McGuyver, John McClane, and a ton of others as characters. The entire premise is you are a hero fighting bad guys and saving other heroes. When you save someone you are instantly turned into a new hero which is interesting, because each new hero has a different attack and a different special. Overall it’s actually really fun in a hectic, bloody way; especially if you grew up on the old 80s action flicks the way I did. I probably won’t play it, simply because there’s so many other games I’d rather play, but very fun nonetheless. 

Crossing Souls - An interesting little game. It’s very very much like an adventure game, only with action and some strategy involved. You play a kid and his friends who go on an adventure after something mysterious happens to their town. (I don’t know what, I didn’t get that far.) You explore objects to learn more about the world, break open boxes for more health, fight rats (the only thing I got to), and probably the most interesting mechanic, switch between characters to use their specific skills. You can get five characters (I only got two in my playing) and each character has their own skills and fighting style. You switch between them with a simple button press (shift on the keyboard) and some of their interactions with the world change depending on who’s doing the exploring. Overall, really interesting, definitely something I’m going to play at some point. I’ve played this since writing this up but before I posted it (because I’m The Worst) and I ended up quitting it in disgust. It’s the worst sort of nerd boy self-indulgent, self-absorbed tripe. They regurgitate trope after sexist trope and make reference after nerdy reference but they don’t do anything new or interesting with any of it. Overall an awful, disappointing game that had the potential to be so much more.

Hotline Miami - One of those games where you view everything from above, this game is basically about an assassin and your goal is to go to an area and kill everyone there in increasingly bloody and violent fashions. The controls are pretty good and I’m sure for some people it’s probably loads of good fun. But, holy fuck, I died a lot. And I think you are supposed to die a bit; I think you’re supposed to die and learn from your mistakes. But I’m pretty sure I died much more than average. I’m just not good at this game and the type of game where you die so often and so quickly is just not my sort of thing. But I can see how other people would have fun with it.

Hotline Miami 2 - This is basically the same as the first one, at least for as far as I got into the game (which wasn’t far). However, huge fucking props to the people who did this game because when the game starts it tells you that there are scenes of sexual violence in the game and then gives you the choice to opt out of them if you want. In fact, one of those scenes happens within five minutes of the game, in the tutorial, and I actually did play it through both ways and I don’t even think you’d realize you were missing anything if you hadn’t already played it with nothing cut out. Seriously, huge fucking props to the game makers for not only telling people but for letting them opt out if they want. You can also turn it on or off later; so if you think you’ll be fine with it and then change your mind, you can also go back and turn those scenes off. Seriously, I’m just so impressed and I wish that more games would do this sort of thing and this is the last sort of game I’d ever expect to see it from.

The Messenger - A side-scrolling action ninja game about a ninja who is not the chosen one (at least, it doesn’t appear so) but it the person who’s tasked with delivering messages around the world. I believe it’s possible to play this game with a keyboard but it’s definitely something that’s meant to be played with a controller. Overall a fun little game with some quirky and weird little moments. Those moments make think that there might be more going on than there appears to be but I don’t care enough for these sorts of games to play it more than I did.

STRAFE - Did a review for this one on this post. 

The Swords of Ditto - This is an action rogue game but done in a way that I’ve never seen before. Basically, you’re a young hero fated with the momentous task of saving the world from a demon. When you inevitably die, which you will, 100 years pass and you take the role of the new hero fated with the same task. I didn’t get terribly far in the game what with dying and having to start over not once but twice but I think it’s a really interesting way to do a rogue game where it all makes sense. The map is different every time you get a new hero because in 100 years things change. Buildings degrade or are replaced by different ones. A church dedicated to the demon grows each time you die. Overall, just really interesting and really neat. I’m not sure if I’ll go back to this one, rogue-likes aren’t generally my thing, but this one has such an interesting premise I’m tempted to give a try.

[nimrodinked]

Tangled Storylines, Strange Dreams, and Hurting Other People

Lightning may strike twice, but the second bolt got here quite a bit later. That's mostly due to me replaying both games in timeline for hotline miami, in order to better get myself familiar with the full story. Time was I drew up a timeline of the first hotline miami on a ragged sheet of paper, just to organize everything that occured. With the advent of Wrong Number, I think I'll need more than just one paper. Hotline 2 is, to say the least, an ambitious new direction from the first. In the OG, you play as Jacket, a nameless, speechless man with, as far as the first game lets on, no past and no future. I'll slice through a lot of the murk the first game intentionally puts in it's game, but I do like the game enough to have sussed these details out, so do check it out if you've got any inkling for top-down, fast-paced beat-em-ups with throbbing soundtracks and chunky pixelated violence. In no uncertain terms, you play Jacket, living through his life from the moment he was first introduced to the organization '50 Blessings' to the end of his essential journey. things rapidly deteriorate in game, with jacket seeing visions of those he's killed, along with a mysterious man that keeps getting closer to him. Eventually it's revealed that the game up to the current point has been a fever-dream, while Jacket languished in bed, comatose from a bullet wound given to him by the mysterious man in his dreams. At that point you mobilize, escape the hospital, and try to make sense of everything. The game ends with you storming the mafia's headquarters, killing the leadership, and walking onto a balcony at the russian mob estate. Jacket lights up a cigarette, contemplates a photo too small to see, and tosses it to the wind. end credits, done, bam.

If that isn't enough closure for you, you can collect small letter tiles from each level, and play the few ending levels as the biker, a rogue agent for '50 Blessings' that wants to get to the bottom of things with the strange phone calls. Considering this character was killed by Jacket earlier in the game, I consider all of this to be a figuring out of what's going on, speculative fiction on the games part. it does give you a clear picture, if you've been paying attention. You can actually collect a tiny purple letter tile from each of jackets levels, collecting them all unlocks a puzzle mode to figure out the password for a computer in the final level. Solving it allows the Biker to unlock a computer used by the two masterminds of the 50 Blessings organization, and figure out their aim. at this point, it's quite the simple tale. The two have been orchestrating the entire vigilante masked group, contracting individuals that didn't take their offer seriously or those, like the Biker, bored enough to want a change to their lives. All this was done in service to their goals, which are pretty simple: racism. In this case, a specific disdain for russian immigrants, deemed 'enemies from within' by the pair. After the explanation the Biker remarks that he's heard just about enough, hacking the duo to bits and driving off into the desert. Real End! Well, fake end, but full story ending.

So, all simple, a nice bow on it and wash your hands of the whole experience. Right? Well yes, though Wrong Number is heavily affected by the first game, and with the litany of other characters joining the narrative, story threads will get a bit... tangled. Don't worry, if you want the full, clear as I can understand story, I'll give it to you. Let's crack on then, shall we?

The game takes place, partly anyway, after the end of Jacket's rampage, where he is being put on trial for what he's done. Our story begins at the filming of a movie called "Midnight Animal", which is shamelessly stealing the real-world Jacket killings and turning it into an exploitative B movie. You're controlling an accomplished actor in the lead role, sporting a pig mask for the role and serving as the tutorial. He's introduced fairly early on, with his story concluded just as fast. (To make things easy and where possible I'll try to fully talk about each character, but keep in mind the game often has you swap for each level, and things can get quite confusing). The actor, Martin, finishes the tutorial with a (should you choose to see it) several second rape scene with the girlfriend character from Jackets real life. The scene ends, and the director tells both actors to play it up more. More violent and brutal for Martin, more feminine and helpless for the girl. It's a pretty on-the-nose bastardization of Jackets life, portraying him as a slovenly, overweight, and psychotic serial killer, with a sick fascination to a woman that he keeps around basically for sex. Contrasting that to Jacket, a misguided, even conflicted character who saved a woman from, ironically, a scummy hollywood movie maker. It's blatant, and establishes a common theme throughout the game; that no one really understands Jacket. people idolize or demonize him, wonder about why he did what he did, but he's only ever understood at all by the same man from game one, the kindly convenience store owner with dreadlock-like messy red hair. Anyhow, onto Martin's conclusion.

Hello again. My, it’s remarkable how much my motivation is murdered by the words resetting. In any case, however, I won’t dwell on it. Instead, I’ll change course. I had pretty much the entire game mapped out for anyone that wanted to read it, but I noticed that, through my musings, a lot of what I was saying sounded exactly the same. Because, I mean, really it is. Hotline Miami 2 is the end. The team who made it made that clear, and it’s sad in a big way. To sum up, through actions taken by extremists, the same extremists from 50 Blessings in the first game, the president of both America and Russia are assassinated while in a peace talk in Florida. As a result, Russia mobilizes to war, and nukes the states. The credits roll, as the few remaining characters who escaped death so far are vaporized in place. It’s a somber ending, and if you beat the game on hard, the only addition is a patriotic hymn about going to fight and die for the flag. Poignant, and simple really. It’s obvious through most of the game that the cycle of violence can’t be maintained. Most of the playable cast dies when pursuing that heady rush that they imagine Jacket felt, hurling themselves into Death’s jaws, while saying that they just don’t understand what Richard is telling them. That, Richard, is where I’d like to bring this home. Richard, the name for the chicken mask, the sentient dream-entity that speaks to almost all of the cast at some point and foretells their deaths. At first it appears that he’s just the thread that holds these stories together, a sort of narrator to drive us through this maze, but that all changes when you start a new game on hard mode. A special, before-game cutscene plays, featuring every member of the playable cast sitting around a table, with Richard placed at it’s head. They all declare, again, that they don’t know what’s happening, they don’t know Richard, and most seem convinced that they’re in some kind of dream. Then, as they all speak up, they die. One by one, starting with the least aware characters. Jake the snake, Martin the pig, all of the fans (it’s the last survivor Tony that speaks for the group) and the Son don’t really get anywhere talking to Richard. The latter few get some cryptic answers, and soon enough it’s just Richard and the fan-named character Beard. He’s the convenience store owner from game one, Jacket’s friend, and as you see in this second installment, he saves the former’s life in war, probably why they’re so close. Here is where things fall into place for me, and I’ll do my best to lay out why. So, I firmly believe that Richard, as close as one can be, is a stand-in for the player. He’s not called Jacket, the person we played, who is in the game world, but he is called the mask, the very first one that we meet in the first game. That game also featured him talking to the player, but here things seem much more tilted. He tells the Writer, someone who spends their story searching for deeper connections and meaning behind the Jacket killings, that he “Is the opposite of why you’re writing your book. I am something you will never understand.” Which, as far as I’m concerned, scores points for what the average player would probably think. After all, barring the ending that explains what’s going on to you in 1, you are simply drifting along, clueless and happy to kill, happy to hurt other people. The anti-thesis of a motive, a Mike Myers-esque killer that does what he does for no reason that can be understood. Another big tip in favor of my theory is Richard’s response to the Detective. He tells him that he doesn’t get him, and doesn’t understand why he does what he does. the Detective is belligerent, feeling like he can action-star himself out of the situation. It’s shown that he has movie-cop delusions, trying to talk suave to the ladies and going rambo on criminals with ridiculous odds. I mean the guy clears an entire dock-full of drug-runners with automatic weapons, single-handedly. It’s a little nuts. Anyhow, I don’t get the Detective really, it’s never really touched on about why he has the action hero complex he does, but I think Richard sharing in my confusion is a pretty compelling point towards him being a player surrogate. Finally, there’s Beard. They’re left alone, and Beard speaks up, asking Richard if they’ve met before. Richard says they have, and thanks him for remembering. Then, he apologizes to Beard, saying he knows the guy didn’t ask to be caught up in all of this. He wishes that they could have met under better circumstances. Beard agrees, and fades away, replaced with the irradiated skeleton he becomes by the story’s end. Richard flips on a projector, and the first level, all of which are shown as VHS boxes, starts up, back in the game in the eyes of a movie villain.It’s perfect, an exact expression of what I might say in the situation. Beard, the ever-friendly face from the first game, one of the only survivors from his unit. The man who’s dream was to open a convenience store, sit there all day, and relax. The man who saves Jacket’s life before the first game even takes place! He’s the most innocent in the game’s universe, insofar as the people he’s killed are at least in a war. That’s just the bitter sadness of it all, is that Beard can’t survive anymore than the rest of them can. The only one that survives it all is Richard, turning on the movie projector and playing the game again to see the characters as they are, on the road to their end. In a sort of way, it makes the meta-story evergreen, as it’s in part about how all of the players, besides Richard, are trapped in this loop of death, and we are just left to sit back and watch the madness all unfold over again. I like this game, a lot. Might even love it, and seeing the real ending, it’s hard to feel anything but empty. Everyone I know is gone, obliterated in a nuclear blast that leaves no room for sequels. It reminds me of the old press releases from when 2 was coming out, about the minor controversy with the rape scene in the intro, and about how, rather than showing their game at E3, the team showcased across the street in a van done up to look like the Fan’s own vehicle. And in a way, their actions there resonate with the game’s ending too. They could keep the sequels coming, just like they probably could have gotten a booth and showed off what they made on the floor. But, that isn’t Hotline Miami. If they had done anything different, I don’t think I’d love it as much as I do. That’s all. If you’ve been looking forward to this edit, I’m sorry it took so long. Thanks for sticking with me, I’ll see you when I see you.

[bbcbreakingnews]

‘Small miracle’: Binx the cat, furry survivor of Florida condo collapse, reunited with family

Weeks after a Florida condo building crashed to the ground, an unlikely survivor has emerged: Binx the cat.

In a “small piece of good news” amid the devastation, Binx, who lived on the ninth floor of the Surfside building, has been reunited with its family, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Friday.

“I’m glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the lives of a grieving family today and could provide a bright spot for our whole community in the midst of this terrible tragedy,” Levine Cava said.

In a tweet, Levine Cava offered a “thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of our community to the team who played a role in reuniting him with his family.”

A volunteer who had been feeding cats near the collapse site found the black cat wandering the area before bringing him to a Miami Beach rescue center.

The cat was found near the rubble Thursday, Gina Nicole Vlasek, co-founder of the The Kitty Campus rescue center, posted on Facebook. A former condo resident visited The Kitty Campus on Friday and confirmed the furry survivor was hers, Vlasek said.

“All we needed was a ray of hope in this tragedy,” the post said. “Today was one of the most amazing days.”

The wandering feline belongs to the Gonzalez family, WSVN-TV reported. Angela Gonzalez and her 16-year-old daughter, Deven, were among those rescued from the wreckage early in the search for survivors.

Both mother and daughter were seriously injured when they fell from the 9th floor to the 5th floor of the building, according to their verified GoFundMe page. Despite her injuries, Angela pulled her daughter from the rubble. Angela’s husband and Deven’s father, Edgar Gonzalez, remains unaccounted for.

“Pets are family, and this is a miracle,” Maria Gaspari, a friend of the feline’s family told WSVN. 

“I’m shaking right now,” she added. “In the middle of this sadness, we were hoping for good news either for any survivors or any pet.”

The Friends of Miami Animals Foundation set up a hotline for survivors to report missing pets or ask for medical assistance and boarding for their animals. Parakeets, cats, a guinea pig and a dog are among those officially reported missing as survivors desperately search for signs of their pets.

Animal control workers are placing live traps in the area to help find pets that might have escaped the collapse, Levine Cava said.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Katherine Lewin, Florida Times-Union

Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.

source http://bbcbreakingnews.com/2021/07/10/small-miracle-binx-the-cat-furry-survivor-of-florida-condo-collapse-reunited-with-family/

[4colorrebellion]

4cr Plays - Ruiner (Switch)

Ruiner, a cyberpunk-themed action game from Polish studio Reikon Games (published by Devolver Digital), was first released back in 2017. I completely missed out on it at the time, but a Nintendo Switch version was released a few weeks back. 

As a big fan of the genre - Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies of all time - I thought I should give it a try. Read on for my impressions.

Ruiner opens in the year 2091 in the filthy streets of the city of Rengkok. Our protagonist is an unidentified masked man who has been brainwashed and sent to assassinate the mysterious head of the Heaven mega-corporation by a hacker named Wizard. Before you can throw your life away in the attempt, you are freed by another hacker, “Her”. Together, you and Her will attempt to resuce your brother from Heaven and take down the “Boss”. 

Ruiner is advertised as being created “in the spirit of cult cyberpunk anime”. There is a lot of truth to that. The game is a lavish cyberpunk playground. From the neon drenched street of Rengkok to the industrial wastelands where killer robots are assembled, you will explore a bunch of intricately detailed environments ripped straight from Ghost in the Shell or Blade Runner. The characters you meet - hackers, oracles, and killer assassins - come right from the same. However, what Ruiner really reminded me of was old Judge Dredd comics. The tone of the entire game is a little too-edgy-to-take-seriously. It’s over the top, full of flashing signs telling you to murder or that you have NO WAY OUT. The conversations you engage in are so self-serious that you can tell the developers had their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks. 

As a result, the game is a delight from the presentation standpoint. The story, while fairly minimal, would make a great 80s comic book. It’s flashy, violent, and over the top, as is the entire art direction. Everything drips in neon and desperation, and in motion it just works. The character designs are memorable and fun too. There is also a surprising amount of lore and backstory behind the setting as well, found largely through ambient conversations and observations made in the world. 

That tone - flashy, fast, and violent - is directly fuelled by the core gameplay. Ruiner is an action game, where you take down waves of enemies while pushing forward through the level. You can use melee attacks or shoot, while dashing all around the room to avoid enemy attacks. As you take down enemies, you can collect their weapons. There is a huge variety of both melee and ranged weapons that you can employ. On the melee side, you have everything from short swords - speedy, but with a limited striking range - to devastating heavy maces - hugely damaging, but slow. 

Likewise, there is a massive range of different ranged weapons to choose from. You get your standard pistols and shotguns, of course, but can also find things like flamethrowers or laser beams. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. A pistol is fast and has a nice range, but doesn’t do the most damage. The laser guns tend to be very powerful, but need to charge up before you can get a shot off. 

You won’t get much of a chance to get bored, however, if you don’t like the weapon you grabbed. Melee weapons have limited endurance, while ranged weapons have limited ammo. Once out, that weapon is gone, and you need to grab another. Fortunately, you never have to wait long, as enemies drop weapons like candy. As a nice bonus, when you clear a big room, you often get the chance to convert the remaining weapons into experience and a new, bigger gun. 

As your level increases, you can also put points into special abilities. There is a pretty big range of these, and each can be strengthened by investing additional points - adding new features or more power. The most basic of these is your dash. This is also the one you will use the most. As you put points into the dash, you will be able to move increasingly further before running out of energy. You can also get abilities to do things like create a stationary wall to hide behind, surround yourself in a temporary forcefield, or stun the enemies around you. At any time, you can choose to remove points and respend them, allowing adaptation to the current situation you find yourself in.

The combat in Ruiner is exhilarating. It gives you a lot of tools to employ without overwhelming you all at once. It encourages - even requires - some experimentation to get right without dying. Yet, at the same time, it never gets frustratingly difficult. The combat is not cheap - it just requires some mastery. The entire time, it feels great to control. I loved dashing from enemy to enemy, cutting them down - all while firing shots off to keep the other enemies at bay. In a way, it feels quite a lot like Hotline Miami - another Devolver Digital game - with a bit more of a melee focus.

Ruiner is not a particularly long game. I completed it - having also completed most of the sidequests - in about six hours. While I wouldn’t have minded a few more levels to really dive into what the combat system had to offer, I also appreciate a game that is well-paced and doesn’t overstay its welcome. 

As mentioned before, I played the new Nintendo Switch version of Ruiner. I did not run into any issues. It ran smoothly on the Switch. I played through the majority of the game in portable mode, which worked well, as I tended to play one or two levels at a time between other things I was doing. This is a game that would work well on either the tablet itself or a TV, so you can choose based on how you feel at the time. The controls are comfortable on the joy cons, so I didn’t end up having any particular complaints. 

Ruiner came as a fun surprise. I missed out on the game when it first came out, and wasn’t even all that interested when a copy of it arrived in my inbox. I’m really glad I gave it a try. It is a kinetic, ultra-violent, tongue-in-cheek take on the cyberpunk genre with a well-polished and really enjoyable combat system. I’d highly recommend giving it a try.

A copy of Ruiner was provided for this review.

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