#shovel knight levels will also be in the final write

[sir-buddy]

Day 30 and I FINALLY. FREAKING. DID. SPIDER DANCE.

I don't know why it took me so long to actually do this (I lied, motivation left the chat) but here it is!

Since we already have the rest of Team Dark, it only felt natural to include Omega in the cast somehow. (Obviously his design is edited to be a giant spider robot, but anyway.) I will be including the lost chapter in the actual AU and I've already planned out the chapters for that, so stay tuned.

Also, Spider Dance is already one of my favorite Undertale songs, so having it in JSAB was just the cherry on top.

[doorbloggr]

Sunday 22/8/21 - Media Recommendations #16: Top 3's of Right Now

In terms of new media to recommend this week, there is none. So this week I'm gonna do a bit of a recap/best of media thing. From the categories of Music, Anime, and Videogames, I'm gonna list my top 3 of right now.

What do I mean by Top 3 of Right Now? Well, personal taste in consumable media is very malleable and subject to change over time. So today, I'm gonna quickly highlight what I can declare my Top 3 Favourite Songs, Anime Series, and Videogames are, as the Mitchell of August the 22nd, 2021.

Some of these things I'm recommending I will have discussed in a previous Media Recommendations post, but my discussion of each of the things I talk about today will be very short. So without further ado, let's start with music.

● Top 3 Favourite Songs

▪︎3rd: Caramelldansen - Caramella Girls

I can't really explain in words why I like this song so much, but it's just really good. I am not fluent speaker of Swedish, so I do not understand much of anything in the lyrics, but that's the magic of good music, you don't have to understand. If a song bops hard enough, the lyrics can be complete nonsense and still make worldwide charts even outside their native tongue. Caramelldansen also manages to capture that quintessential excitable weaboo nerd energy that I've come to accept is definitely part of my being.

This spot was the hardest to place out of any other placing in this post. There was about 6 songs I could declare as being my 3rd favourite song of all time, but at the very second I'm writing this, midnight on Sunday, I decided that Caramelldansen is my third favourite song.

▪︎2nd: Foolish Heart - Nyanners

One thing that will always make me enjoy a song is a funky beat. Music that just pumps and jams. Foolish Heart is fun to groove to and there's not much more to it. I also have a soft spot for bitter-sweet lovesongs, and there aren't many songs I know that are as bitter about the sweetness of love than this. I follow the artist who does this song on many of her socials and I was a fan of it the second it came out, and it will probably stay in my regular rotation for a long time.

Honourable Mentions:

Old 45s - Chromeo

A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton

Mr Blue Sky - ELO

Mansion Party - Ninja Sex Party

Roundabout - Yes

▪︎1st: I Want You - Savage Garden

I had actually heard this song a bit when I was much younger, but it was only recently I became obsessed with it. It is the song used in the closing credits during JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4, and I instantly fell in love with it. It's just so funky and goes so damn hard. It's a soft song, but also very powerful. The vocals are so smooth and the instruments are so sexy. It's been my favourite song for many years in a row now, and I think it's gonna keep that number 1 spot for a while longer yet.

● Top 3 Favourite Anime Series

▪︎3rd: Darling in the Franxx

Darling in the Franxx just vibed with me on an emotional level. My very soul was touched by how much love this anime exudes. Studio Trigger are known foremost for their intense action and over the top characters, and sure this anime has those in spades. For someone who hasn't watched it, it may appear to be a cosmic mecha anime, but in fact, it is a romance story first. I can't really explain it well, but Darling in the Franxx just punches you right in the soul with how much emotion there is. It is a beautiful anime.

▪︎2nd: Food Wars - Shokugeki no Soma

There's just something fun about rooting for a snarky protagonist who is overconfident. Especially when, most of the time, they are precisely big enough for their boots. Food Wars is a complete 3 course dinner that fills many different niches of anime. It's a lesson in many different cultures, it is food porn, it's a battle shonen, it even has light romance, but never lets that take centre stage over the journey of the protagonists. I'm admittedly a lover of tasteful fanservice here and there, and Food Wars delivers just the right amount of echi to entertain those into it, but no more than necessary. Food Wars is just... a lot. And it's great.

Honourable Mentions:

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!

Dagashi Kashi

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Log Horizon

▪︎1st: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood

FMA is just such a full package. It has a fun and interesting cast of characters. A complex and vast setting that is neither overexplained nor underexplained. A cast of villains that are all unique and the perfect balance of sympathetic to hateable. And most importantly, it does not outstay its welcome. I was very much considering putting JoJo's Bizarre Adventure up here, but the issue is that like, many other series, a series can be too long. A good anime has to be long enough to sink your teeth into, but if drags on for too long, it can become exhausting. FMA spends the perfect amount of time building up the plot and ends where it should. Edward and Alphonse Elric are the perfect dynamic duo, and every character has such fun designs and personalities. I could blab on for ages on why I love Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, and I have in a previous post. So go search that up in my pinned post if you want a longer breakdown. It is an anime MUST WATCH.

●Top 3 Videogames

▪︎3rd: Super Smash Bros Ultimate

The very idea of Super Smash Bros is something that appeals to gamers everywhere. A suite of characters from all over gaming that are all playable in one huge game. You get to play that classic "my favourite character could kick your favourite character's butt" in real time. I'm not a big fighting game guy, but Smash has a very accessible jumping off point, simple controls and a system of combat that's only really as deep as you need it to be. Smash Bros is also a very important game to me socially, since I owe all my current closest friends to meetings I had interacting with the competitive scene. I used to be really into competitive Smash too, and Smash Ultimate in particular had a fairly balanced cast, in that if you were committed enough, you could dominate with any character. But even if I've grown exhausted with that scene, and only ever play the game casually now, I owe a lot to this series.

▪︎2nd: Animal Crossing New Horizons

As of right now, Animal Crossing is not a game I play.... at all. But for the few months after the game released, ACNH was a religious dedication. I'm in a pretty shitty place these days. Can't see friends, can't even go to work, the world is falling apart as our leaders can't get Covid under control. But while I was playing ACNH, it brought structure and purpose back into my life for a while. I had villagers depending on me, museum collections to complete, flowers to breed, an island to transform into my vision of a nice place to live. It was nice. This number 2 spot might be taken by a different game in the future, but this year, Animal Crossing New Horizons was a very important game for me.

Honourable Mentions:

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess

Pikmin 3

Jackbox Party Pack (the whole series)

Shovel Knight Treasure Trove

Pokémon Soul Silver

▪︎ 1st: The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild

Despite Zelda being a huge part of my identity, I didn't actually get into the series until my mid teens. By that point, most of the later games were very formulaic and linear. And sure that can make for a very compelling story and experience, but BotW just threw that idea out the window. Breath of the Wild is a game you can just get lost in. Spend an hour just dicking around in the middle of nowhere and it's a blast just to move around. The world is tranquil, and also exciting. The game is gorgeous and fun to play and there's just too much to talk about. I've played the game from start to finish at various levels of completion about 5 times now, (one playthrough being a 2 hourish speedrun to the final boss) and every playthrough I found new locations, puzzles, interactions that I never encountered before. It's a game that just matched my being perfectly and I doubt a game will leave an impact like that for many years to come.

[hi-i-love-u-bitch]

Excuse me! But where is my Sanders Sides Gamer AU???

Voices in my head: Gee Bunny, it seems you have no problem writing a lot of other fics and stuff yet you still haven’t even finished the next chapter of your Spiderverse fic???

Me: SHUT THE FUCK UP DISEMBODIED VOICES IN MY HEAD!!! IF YOU WANT THAT FIC DONE SO BADLY TELL MY LOGIC AND CREATIVITY TO GET THEIR ASSES IN GEAR AND GIVE ME SOME GOD DAMN INSPIRATION!!!!

Voices in my head:.....

Me: Yeah, that’s what I thought! Anyways, idk if I just missed a memo or something but I haven’t seen any Gamer AU of my boys and that is a crime in and of itself! Like, how dare! But fret not, I am here to provide content (Read: headcannons) that you did not ask for! Let us begin! Or should I say start!

(please note that I am not a gaming expert so feel free to add or correct stuff)

NOW WITH A PART 2!!!!

MAIN SQUAD

Roman Rosewood

Obviously loves RPGs! Anything with a good story line really! Or has medieval fantasy aesthetic!

Skyrim, Diablo, Undertale, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Fallout, Red Dead Redemption, Undertales, Dragon Age, God of War Dark Souls, Assassins Creed, Earthbound, etc.

Played West of Loathing just so he could rip on it but actually ended up loving it and spending way to many hours playing. Then he found out there was a game called Kingdom of Loathing by the same creators and went down that rabbit hole as well.

He was iffy about getting into JRPGs but then Virgil convinced him to play Persona 5 and he absolutely fell in love with the music!

All the music in his phone is either from musicals or Video games!

Also really likes choose your own adventure games like Detroit: Become Human, Life is Strange, and Telltale Games

So much video game merch! Usually figurines because he likes to make little shelves and display cases for them.

He also really likes multiplayer games because he’s a social butterfly and likes to play with his squad.

Sucks at first person shooter games but still willingly plays Fortnight or Call of Duty or Left for Dead with his friends because he doesn’t want to be a drag and complain. But also they sometimes die in game in the most hilarious ways and it just leaves everybody wheezing.

Virgil Dante

Horror games, obvs!

All about that dark aesthetic!

Devil May Cry, Silent Hill, Fran Bow, Sally Face, Resident Evil, The Witch’s House, Amnesia, Little Nightmares, Bendy and The Ink Machine, Alice: Madness Returns, SCP-Containment, Pony Island, etc.

Yes, he’s played all the Five Nights At Freddy’s games. It’s a good series and it isn’t his fault the fandom is bat shit crazy and full of ten year olds! Fuck you Roman!

Every time the Walking Dead comes out he knows he’ll end up crying by the end of it. He and the squad make and event out of it.

Japanese horror games are usually his favorite because they deal more with the psychological aspects of horror instead of the jump scares

So, yes, he’s also a fan of Corps Party and Fatal Frame

Also really good at first person shooters because he has a really steady hand (you usually have to when playing horror games least you want to restart the level) and it pisses Roman off to no end every time Virgil randomly headshots him.

Usually likes to by merch in the form of posters, t-shirts, or beanies. He only buys figurines if it’s a game he really, really likes.

At first didn’t know why people kept bugging him to play Doki Doki Literature Club but then he finally caved and...oh...that’s why.

Logan Mill

My boy loves puzzle and strategy games yo!

Legend of Zelda, Portal, Tetris, Unravel, World of Goo, Inside, Limbo, Pokemon, Shadow of the Colossus, StarCraft, Command and Conquer, Age of Empire, Heart of Iron, World of Warcraft, etc.

He likes Overwatch but doesn’t like playing with people online so he usual solos or asks the others to play. But that too usually ends in chaos.

Hates rage games because he gets frustrated easily and has broken at least four keyboards and two controllers

He still plays them anyways because he can beat it damn it! Just give him a minute!

Enjoys the God of War series despite all the mythological inaccuracies

He plays a lot of Minecraft to relax or destress and has build beautiful works of architecture and sometimes entire cities.

He thought it was stupid and childish and was embarrassed about it for a long time until the squad came over to his house one day uninvited and caught him playing. He was getting ready for them to make fun of him but they instead gushed about how AMAZING everything looked and how TALENTED he was for building all himself.

Logan ends up showing them how to play afterwards and they work together to make weird sculptures and complex tunnels underground.

He likes practical merch like backpacks, coffee mugs, pencil holders, notebooks, ect. as well as a few t-shirts and novelty ties.

Yes, he does collect Pokemon cards!

Patton Adley

Silly dating sims, farming games, and any cute game really! Plus a few side scroller games!

Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, Slime Rancher, The Sims, Dream Daddy, Animal Crossing, Kirby, Monster Prom, Hatoful Boyfriend, Scribblenauts, Night In The Woods, Ni Nu Kuni, etc.

Big Nintendo fan!

He made the mistake of playing Doki Doki Literature Club without reading the warning tags and regrets it immensely...still a good game though.

He did the same thing with Huni Pop but that one made him laugh more then anything and he kind of got addicted to it. Then he found out there was a sequel called HuniCam so he went down that rabbit hole too.

He likes a lot of phone app games too like Cut the Rope, Neko Atsume, and Candy Crush.

Loves trashy dating app games, he thinks they’re so funny and cheesy

He was addicted to Mystic Messenger for a long while

Just because he has his preference doesn’t mean he won’t try other games too, Logan got him hooked on World of Warcraft (though really he did that to everyone), Virgil showed him Hollow Knight, and Roman suggested he play Undertales.

Prefers merch in the form of plushies and key chains!

He likes to bake and decorate cookies, cakes and pastries in the form of his favorite video game characters.

RED SQUAD

Duncan [Deceit] Adley (Patton’s twin)

A lot of first person shooter and combat games!

Doom Series, Super Smash Bros, Mortal Combat, Halo, Fortnight, Grand Theft Auto, Street Fighter, Tekken, Soul Calibur, Half-Life, Team Fortress, Destiny, Wolfenstein, Bio Shock, Splatoon, PUBg etc.

Patton was the one that introduced him to Splatoon and he won’t admit that it’s actually super fun.

Doesn’t mind story driven games and RPGs but he really just wants something he can zone out to and relax

He likes to troll people online, mainly assholes picking on little kids who just want to play.

He once teamed up with a group of kids on Call of Duty solely for the purpose of collectively kicking the asses of this groups of so called “real gamers” that were being jerks.

Has memorized all the combos! He doesn’t have time to sit and look up a cool finishing move, he needs it now!

Always mains the weakest/most useless character in fighting games and still manages to kick everyone’s ass.

Doesn’t have a preference in merch and usually grabs whatever he likes be it figurines, t-shirts, posters, plushies, or whatever, so long as he likes the game it comes from.

Has several tattoos from his favorite games

Emile Picani

Classic retro games, cartoonish games, and Nintendo are his jam broham!

Mario, Classic Sonic, Paper Boy, Transylvania, Spyro, Pac Man, All the Saga Disney games, Duck Hunt, Mario Kart, Galaga, Mega Man, Donkey Kong, Secret of Mana, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, etc.

Absolutely fell in love with Shovel Knight when it came out!

Remy got him into all the indie pixel games: Towerfall, Terraria, Owlboy, Hotline Miami, Papers Please, Celeste, One Shot, etc.

Duncan was the one that introduced him to Cuphead and the usually play it together and see how far each of them can go without dying.

The game is difficult but the art is still so breathtaking!

Likes the occasional psychological thriller game

Bet Virgil showed him Alice: Madness Returns and Doki Doki Literature Club (after he’s played it of course)

Likes plushies and figurine merch with the occasional poster and coffee mug.

Likes to doodle a lot of his fav video game characters and cartoons and is actually really good at it. He helped design most of Duncan’s tattoos.

Remy Knightly

Likes a lot of indie games and old online flash games!

The Stanley Parables, Oxenfree, Inside, Firewatch, Super MeatBoy, The Binding of Issac, Donut County, Henry Stickman series, Impossible Quiz, Crush the Castle series, Hyper Light Drifter, etc.

He always gets everybody hooked on one game or another

He convinced everyone to play Undertales so for like a month they all went through a HUGE Undertales faze.

Was the actual, ACTUAL one that showed Duncan Cuphead because he knew the dork would be reminded of Emile because of the animation and would want to show it to him and play multiplayer (*cough* subtle matchmaker *cough*)

(Do not be fooled, he is a pinning boy himself)

Is up to date in all the gossip of the latest games and consuls, indie or mainstream! He’s in the know, know and if you need to know something chances are Remy probably knows it.

Weeds out through all the indie horror games for Virgil and recommends what he thinks are the best ones.

Same thing with Logan and his puzzle games, he’s usually is able to find very strange ones and Logan seems to likes those best.

Obviously has a lot of merch in coffee mug and thermal form as well as a few key chains.

Occasionally streams on Twitch with Duncan and Emile (sometimes inviting the main squad too), they’re commentary is usual hilarious.

[miloscat]

[Review] Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (3DS)

Continuing on WayForward spinoffs, we have Shovel Knight, which recently got its final content update. Good value!

Yacht Club Games, composed of former WayForward employees, Kickstarted this game back in 2013. Ever since, they’ve been slowly updating it with features promised as part of the crowdfunding campaign. The initial release in mid-2014 was so successful that the eponymous knight has popped up in many, many other games since.

Said game is a very intentional homage to NES action platformers like Rockman and Castlevania. Development was focused on recreating an authentic 8-bit experience, even limiting the audio and visuals to NES capabilities... with some cheating. The result is gorgeous, impeccable pixel art with tons of parallax background work, plus banging chiptunes from WayForward veteran Jake Kaufman. I’ve been tired of 8-bit nostalgia for a long time, but this does it so well it’s nigh-impossible not to be impressed.

In gameplay terms, you have a world map à la Mario 3, and selectable stages with Rockman-like bosses. Shovel Knight’s primary attack vector is swinging a shovel, but even better is the Zelda 2-style downthrust, which can also bounce you back up like Scrooge’s Ducktales cane. The stage design wonderfully tests these skills, with hidden secrets everywhere and lots of shiny gems to grab. These are used between levels to buy upgrades back at town: improving health and mana, and gaining new active and passive abilities.

The game has had a complicated history of updates and platform exclusive bonuses, but suffice it to say that at this point the “Treasure Trove” edition contains three complete new stories in the same world, playing as boss characters from the base game with fun new abilities for combat and movement. Plague Knight is more technical, with air-stalling bomb-throwing and boost jumps. Specter Knight uses a contextual slash attack for angled dashes. And King Knight has a combination shoulder barge-spin jump. Plague’s campaign uses the same stages more or less, Specter has new levels with the same theme, and King breaks it up into many smaller levels plus adds a mostly-optional card game mechanic between action stages (your enjoyment of this may vary).

In terms of exclusives on 3DS, they’re locked behind amiibo but if you can access the features there’s a cool “custom knight” mode that auto-unlocks upgrades as you collect gold, including some of Plague and Specter’s powers and even all-new subweapons. There’s also a handful of extra tasks in the “challenge” mode, a fun diversion with specific rules to test a particular skill (I didn’t do any of the “beat boss with one health” challenges, though).

Despite a tremendous sense of fun and silliness in the writing and character design (which extends to all campaigns), the world and story are also taken seriously, giving weight to the occasional emotional moment such as the brief interludes after levels.

I must mention that one of the Kickstarter promises which was latterly fulfilled was the “body swap” mode, a menu feature that swaps the gender (and separately, pronouns) of the main characters. Two of the twelve are female by default, but you can make it an all-lady game, or any combination you like! I found this a really cool thing to include, but the intense frustration quickly set in when I realised this change only applied to the original “Shovel of Hope” campaign, and was not supported in the other three character’s stories. What a rug-pull!

Regardless, Shovel Knight is an excellently put-together game. You couldn’t ask for a better fulfillment of 8-bit sensibilities combined with modern conveniences. Special mention again to the aerial mobility of all four characters, which is augmented by their various subweapon powers!

[retrogamereaper]

[Review] Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope (PS Vita, 2014)

Rating: 10/10 This was "technically" my second time playing Shovel Knight and I enjoyed it like I did back in 2017. The only reason I didn't beat the game three years ago was because life got in the way. There's just so much about this game to love! From the NES-style graphics, level design, to just having the right amount of tedium to be difficult, but fair. Like most NES games, it has a simple story, but who needs a complex story for a platformer? The plot isn't worth caring about until the last three levels in my opinion, but that's due to a twist. Also if you play a PSN version of the game, you get to battle Kratos from God of War. Defeating him earns you some great armor that's kind of hard to explain what it does if you haven't played a God of War game. Pros: + Amazing sprites + The level design is incredible and is very reminiscent of a title from the 8-bit era + Loots of hidden goodies and even a Yacht Club logo Easter egg + The soundtrack is fantastic! Cons: - Some areas can be difficult if you're going for 100% completion, like I did Final Thoughts: Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope is a gem nevertheless, but I couldn't have expected anything less from former WayForward members. I knew about this game when it was still being crowdfunded and I still regret not backing this game. There aren't many things to complain about with this game. Enemy hitboxes and even Shovel Knight's own hitbox are perfect, the game is never messy or ugly, and the writing is good. Even the NPCs are creative. If you couldn't tell, I highly recommend playing Shovel Knight by any means necessary! Even if you aren't a retro gamer like I am, I'm sure you'll have fun playing Shovel Knight. I will be playing all three expansions for the game, so stay tuned for those reviews.

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

My Top 5 Favourite Indie Games

I conceptualised this list a while ago, and while I had already decided nearly all of the choices back when I did so (not the order though), I decided to save writing it until after I had beaten Celeste, since that game was super promising. Since I recently did beat Celeste, it’s about time I got this list out of the way. I’ve excluded stuff like Smash which is technically indie since Sakurai doesn’t work at Nintendo or Sonic Mania which was mostly made by an independent team because I felt it would be most fair that way. Shall we begin?

5. Shovel Knight

Definitely the poster child of retro throwback games, and perhaps the poster child of indie games in general, Shovel Knight’s pretty sick. The gameplay is ridiculously simple but thanks to the incredible level design, fun items and great bosses, the game is hella fun to play. Helps that, as will be a common theme for this list, the visuals and soundtrack are really, really good as well. It feels dirty putting Shovel Knight so low on this list when it’s actually 3 entire games of equally brilliant quality, with more coming soon, I just like the next few games that bit more.

4. Freedom Planet

See I’m a gigantic Sonic fan and that’s probably what pushes this above Shovel Knight. I mean I also prefer the soundtrack and visuals to those of Shovel Knight. To stop talking about Shovel Knight, Freedom Planet was originally a Sonic fangame but evolved into its own unique IP and I’m a big fan of it! The gameplay is kinda like Sonic, though with a bit more of a focus on combat and a pretty different movement, momentum and physics system. It’s still super fun though and it’s an absolute blast to plow through levels at breakneck speeds with Lilac or do this one momentum exploit to do the same with Milla and completely ignore Carol because she sucks. Story’s shite but the game has a classic mode that literally just skips all cutscenes for you which is great. Also I really like this game’s entire aesthetic and the trophies are all super fun too – Freedom Planet rewards you for playing a bit more out of the box in that sense and it’s great. Fun fact: this is the only game on this list that I haven’t bought for my Switch – I do own it on both Wii U and Steam though. I probably have nearly 100 hours in this game just from replaying it and individual levels time and time again, and chances are I’ll end up buying it on Switch at one point to play through it all again. Looking forward to the sequel when that releases in 2057.

3. Celeste

Celeste has a reputation for being a really difficult precision platformer, so I was super looking forward to playing it because platformers are my favourite genre and I’m especially a massive fan of the types of ridiculously hard precision platforming that you get to see in this game. In that sense, Celeste was literally exactly what I wanted it to be – a beautifully precise and extraordinarily difficult platforming game. I absolutely adore the dash and climbing mechanics and the way the game builds levels around them is nothing short of masterful. On top of that every stage has its own unique gimmick that compliments the regular gameplay well and are used in a variety of amazing ways. There’s no feeling quite like walking into a room, thinking it’s literally impossible, grinding it for what feels like hours, and then finally coming out on top – you overcame that room. Great, now here are like 10 more rooms that are even harder. God I love this game. Also the story’s pretty good if you care about that? I don’t relate to it because I don’t have depression or anxiety but it seems to do a good job with them so that’s neat.

2. Hollow Knight

Minor spoilers for #1, but this is the only non-pixel art game on the entire list! Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania, and while I prefer precision platformers (like Celeste) to those most of the time, this is the big exception. Hollow Knight has it all, really. Wonderful controls, incredible movement, very simple yet enjoyable and challenging combat, a variety of ways to go about playing the game thanks to the really good charm system, absolutely beautiful visuals, an atmospheric soundtrack, and so many other things. The story is really good if you can piece it together and while I definitely couldn’t do that on my own (quick shoutouts to Mossbag), I still really respected how the game told its story. Also thanks to the Path of Pain I’ve got precision platforming in this game too. For real Hollow Knight just does a nearly perfect job of accomplishing everything it sets out to do and the fact that it’s like £15 is so fucking baffling because this game has significantly more content than so many full price games and it’s incredible. Hell Hollow Knight is one of the best value-for-your-money games I can even think of. Silksong’s gonna be hype.

1. Undertale

To be honest, when it comes down to gameplay, I’d say Hollow Knight is way better than Undertale. In fact, if it’s just gameplay, Undertale is probably the worst game on this list. Not to say the gameplay is bad or anything, just that it’s rather barebones compared to the rest of this list, and doesn’t revel in its simplicity to the same beautiful effect as any of the others. But a videogame is so much more than just its gameplay, and Undertale revels in that fact, hell the main message of the game can be intrinsically linked to that fact, probably, depends what your main takeaway from Undertale is. The thing is this game’s story and characters are easily the best and most enjoyable on this entire list and the sheer amount of “wow” moments Undertale has completely dwarfs the rest of them too. None of them have left me feeling nearly the amount of things Undertale has, from the happy laughs to the feeling of frustration-turned-guilt-turned-emptiness. I don’t wanna sound like a pretentious asshole or anything, and I usually value gameplay above all else in a videogame, but Undertale’s narrative alone elevates it above everything else on this list. And I mean despite what I had to say about the gameplay it’s still really good – the puzzle elements of ACTing are neat and dodging is always super fun, plus the game’s got more than its fair share of really fun boss battles, and also sans to crave that itch for a challenge. And hey that soundtrack slaps hard as shit too. Excited to see what the full Delta Rune experience will be like.

Uhh, yeah, that’s all. I’ve played other indie games, in fact this could probably have been a top 10 list, but I feel I’d be writing about a bunch of stuff I didn’t care about were that the case because I’ve not played quite enough indie games that I truly enjoyed in the same way I did these 5.

[videogametim]

The Best (Not 2018) Games I Played in 2018

It’s getting closer to the time of the year where I write my GOTY list, but evidently those aren’t the only games that I played during the past year. I’d like to take some time to gush about some of the games I really enjoyed and had missed until now. 

Divnity: Original Sin II

Divinity: Original Sin II has two things it really exceeds at doing, the first of which is a strong sense of creative freedom. In the narrative there are plenty of opportunities to make meaningful choices and lots of dialogue choices to go with them. There’s a whole pile of different selectable skills and character background options that affect dialogue and help cater your adventure to the type of character you are trying to build. 

However, where this creative freedom really shines is during combat. There are plenty of battle skills that amplify each other and allow your player character (and party) to be as over powered as you can imagine. For example, one particular combo features two abilities from different classes called Rupture Tendons (a Scoundrel skill) and Chicken Claw (a Metamorph skill). Chicken Claw turns the target enemy into a Chicken that spends its turns running around senselessly. Rupture Tendons is a skill that causes enemies to take damage whenever they move. On top of combinations like that, there’s also a whole host of elemental spells and hazards (Oil, Fire, Poison, Water, Earth, Lightning, ice, etc.) that all work together in some way (e.g. Fire ignites Oil, Water puts out Fire and creates Steam, etc.)

What’s more, while each AI party member has classes they are inclined to build around, you can tell any of them to build however you like if you have a certain build in mind. This really serves to encourage replayability despite the game taking me 100 hours to beat. 

With the exception of one chapter in particular that wasn’t much fun, the game never felt like a slog. No area is too big for its own good, and there is plenty of fantastic writing sprinkled throughout. Every selectable party member is very compelling and wanting to see all their stories to their conclusion grants all the more reason to play the game again and try something new. 

Rez Infinite

Perhaps the driving force behind me picking up a VR headset this year was Rez Infinite. An HD remake of a psychadelic rail shooter from 2001 with VR support, Rez Infinite was really the game that solidified my purchase of a PSVR as a sound decision. 

Produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi (producer of Space Channel 5, the Lumines series, and this year’s Tetris Effect), music is very much a core part of the experience. Each area’s music has a very different feel from the last and each track serves as a great backdrop to surfing through the cyber world, tilting your head to look around and shoot the enemies and massive bosses that fly at you. Also new to Infinite is the new Area X, which I still find to be one of the coolest VR experiences I have encountered thus far. I highly recommend anyone picking up a VR headset to make sure this game is on their list.

Enter the Gungeon

While still a very recent pickup of mine, I’m absolutely loving Enter the Gungeon. The last run-based/rogue-like/rogue-lite/THAT type of game that I was really into was the original release of The Binding of Isaac, and even that wasn’t on my mind as much as Gungeon currently is.

The gameplay is pretty straight forward top-down twin-stick shooter gameplay with a whole lot of bullet hell, so what really sets it apart is the whole [GUN] motif. Each level is a chamber, each elevator is shaped like a bullet, weapons and items are detailed in the Ammonomicon which you shoot open, your projectile clearing items are Blanks, etc. The sheer creativity present in most of the guns you find scratches that same itch I’ve been missing since Borderlands. I’ve only put about 6 hours into it thus far but I look forward to spending many more.

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove

This was also the year that I finally got around to playing Shovel Knight and I finally see what all the rage was about. Shovel Knight is nothing short of rock-solid platforming gameplay. Level design features varying degrees of difficulty but is ultimately fair, and most of the boss fights prove to be pretty fun. The world map is very reminisciant of Super Mario Bros. 3 even down to the occasional roaming characters (like THE BAZ) that appear and challenge you if you run into them. 

The overall story of the base game isn’t really much to write home about, but this is greatly imrpoved upon in the two expansions. Plague of Shadows, which features the boss Plague Knight as the playable character, has a fun/goofy story revolving around him and his assistant Mona defeating the other characters to steal their essence. It runs as an alternate timeline to the base game and in my opinion the best story of the three, though Plague Knight is unfortunately the most awkward one to play due to the need to constantly pause the action. 

Specter of Torment takes place before the main campaign, and has you playing as Specter Knight, visiting each area to recruit all the bosses who fight Shovel Knight in the base game. The story is once again a lot less light-hearted, but Specter Knight proves to be the most fun character to play thanks to certain abilities he can obtain, most notable the abilitiy to grind on surfaces with his scythe.

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is an incredible package for anyone looking to grab a fantastic sidescrolling platformer and I’m really looking forward to the King Knight expansion coming next year.   

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Perhaps the game that surprised me most this year was Birth By Sleep. I started out playing it slowly over several months, and it wasn’t until I was at the end of the story for the first playable character, Terra, until it all finally clicked for me. After that I banged out the rest of the game in a couple of weeks. Now it easily sits as my favourite Kingdom Hearts game behind KHII. 

Like the other spinoff titles so far, BBS has a unique twist on its gameplay and this time it serves to reward experimentation. Your usual command menu is replaced with a rotating deck of equippable abilities that get put on cooldowns, rather than consume MP. This means that I spent a whole lot more time in even regular battles using fun magic and physical spells instead of constantly holding back in order to conserve MP for something more important. What’s more is these abilities can be levelled up and then fused into new more powerful abilities. This was also finally the game I did my first playthrough on Proud Mode, and boy did it not disappoint in making certain later bossfights incredibly difficult and satisfying to defeat. By the time I was done with the game, I was actually a little disappointed knowing that going forward, I probably wouldn’t be seeing these combat mechanics again. 

Like most Kingdom Hearts games, the overall story does get a little confusing to follow at times, but it offers a really interesting setting of the worlds before the events of KHI. It also really sold me on the three new characters of Terra, Ventus, and Aqua and I am as invested in them as I am in Sora, Riku, and Kairi going into the rest of the series. BBS does plenty of setup for the events that follow in the previous games and its fun to see the fanservice of certain characters when they were younger. 

BIrth By Sleep has really got me invested in Kingdom Hearts again, and I’m motivated to finally start the II.8 collection in preperation for KHIII finally coming out next month. 

Conclusion

I’m glad I had a lot of time to play some really great games this year, and I hope to finish the last few games I need to before writing my GOTY list. 

[gigawaller]

GIGABUSTER Level Design

In preparing for GIGABUSTER's level designs, I spent a good amount of time dissecting the structure and pacing of older Megaman and Megaman X titles, going so far as to measure the amount of time between enemy encounters, the distance traveled, the amount of space given for movement, etc.

I combined all of these observations with nuggets from old interviews with Megaman developers, and came up with a "formula" of sorts for building out levels. This formula involves a few rules that I wanted to write about.

1: No more than 3 elements on screen at once

This was something from a Megaman 1 interview you can find [here]. Not only would more than 3 interactive elements on screen be taxing on NES hardware, but it was also difficult to parse a scene quickly for the average player. You could also build from this with the idea of "focus," having the elements you'll need to pay attention to grab the player's eye in a specific order (similar to focal points, where your eye will immediately center on a specific point before wandering elsewhere).

(An example of 3 enemies at once from Cut Man’s stage. In early Megaman it was also rare to have more than 1 enemy type mixed in.)

To make sure I wasn't putting more than 3 elements on screen at once, I tile a 1920x1080 square in the background of every level in GIGABUSTER. That way, I can measure the distance between elements and the amount of them within the game's screen size.

On top of this, GIGABUSTER uses a ton of custom camera regions, which will hover the camera to certain points when walked into. Enemies will only activate when they're on screen, so this not only helps to keep elements in focus, but also makes sure enemies will activate predictably.

2: Four-step design

This is something you can learn more about [here].

Four-step is also something written about by early Megaman developers, though their versions of it differed slightly. Early Megaman games only introduced mechanics in "sets." For example, a screen that introduces a Met would be followed by two to three more Met screens. This is really prominent in almost all old Megaman stages; you can almost take your pick of any of them and see this in action. Here's [Wood Man] for example. The entire stage is is 4 sets of 3-step enemy introductions, with very little crossover between the enemies being introduced.

Typically each set would focus on only one enemy type, with others only introduced to "mix up" the 3rd encounter.

Simply put, Four-step pacing usually goes like this: First encounter: An easy introduction/tutorial to an enemy type. Low risk. Second encounter: A slightly harder encounter with the enemy, either by putting it in a less convenient position or situation. Third encounter: The hardest one. Ideally, this one should build on the enemy in an interesting way. Typically by combining it with other enemies or mechanics. Fourth encounter: The wind-down, mop-up or finale. This one should be easier, usually mirroring the second encounter in a way that leaves the player feeling rewarded for overcoming the climb to the third encounter.

For an example of this in GIGABUSTER, take the Grenadier section of the Oil Rig.

In this set, you can safely drop into the first encounter whenever you like. You also get to see the enemy's attack pattern before dropping down. The drop is positioned so that you'll be standing underneath the grenade's arc, so even after dropping you're mostly safe from damage. In the second, you no longer have the height advantage. You have to approach the Grenadier head-on, meaning you'll have to avoid his attacks normally. It's a less ideal positioning. The third combines the second with a new enemy type. The Driller makes it difficult to sit in one spot, meaning you can't stand under the grenade's arc for too long. This one is the hardest encounter. (However, as a bonus self-imposed challenge, leaving the Driller alive lets you jump on its head to grab an HP UP.) The fourth mixes in torches, but they're static and don't prevent you from hiding under the grenade's arc. They may make the section look difficult, but it's closer to the 2nd in challenge.

Even if these encounters are very difficult, the bookending of the first and fourth will leave the player feeling better about the situation than they otherwise would've, perhaps making them feel more likely to give the set another go if they lose.

Another great example of this bookending is in Super Meat Boy. Usually (but not always), the end of a level in Meat Boy will have a slightly easier stretch, making you feel better about the level even if the majority of it was extremely tough.

Finally, I'll add that while four-step design is a good way to lay out encounters, GIGABUSTER doesn't adhere to it 100%. There are occasional mix-ups of other encounters along the way, hopefully making the stage not feel quite as formulaic as it otherwise would've while still keeping the satisfying pacing of four-step for most encounters.

3: Speed

Finally, something I can't cite by any interviews or videos. Speed is very subjective from game to game (even within the Megaman series). This rule simply measures the amount of time the player spends on encounters and levels. Megaman developers have been open about how they intentionally design their games to be finishable in about an hour, so I tried to translate this into encounter length as well. Movement speed also plays into this, as games with slower-moving characters often slow down even more when played at HD/Widescreen resolutions, as the levels themselves become wider. I wanted to keep the speed and pacing of Megaman Zero games inparticular consistent, even when translated to an HD Widscreen format, which also meant speeding up the characters beyond their original inspirations.

While I don't have any direct links, I remember reading about how play sessions are best divided into time segments. In JRPG's, for example, the sweet spot for a normal encounter's length is about 3 minutes maximum, ideally ending in around 3 turns.

For GIGABUSTER, I wanted stages to be complete after roughly 10 minutes of gameplay. But for games that push longer playtimes, you may notice that these times often work in multiples of 5-10. For example, I often found that Shovel Knight stages would last between 15-30 minutes on a first playthrough, from both personal experience and from watching others.

Also noteworthy, some games are much slower paced, whether because they like a run or dash button, or because they're very puzzle and platform heavy. An important thing with a game like GIGABUSTER is making sure the momentum doesn't dip too much. There are certainly sections (like the elevator in the Oil Rig) where progress slows down, but in general I like to think most sets of encounters has a similar range of length to completion.

There are certainly other rules I haven’t mentioned here (integrating optional challenges is another big one), but these are the three that come to mind the most when designing GIGABUSTER. Thanks for reading!

[monsters-conquer-the-world]

10 Games

For Jack’s 10th birthday, Will got him a RetroPie.  Pretty cool, especially since it’s so easy to just dump a zillion games in there and let the kid go nuts.  But that’s a one-way ticked to analysis paralysis, so Will had a a super sick idea.  He asked me and Jess and some other friends to put together a list of 10 must-play classic/retro games and write a little bit about why we chose them.  As someone who loves video games and writing and lists, I was ALL ‘BOUT THAT.  

Now that Jack’s birthday has come and gone, I can share all the junk I wrote about these ten games that mean so much to me!  Check it out:

I love this idea.  I know the initial prompt was just "pick your favorites" but I couldn't help but impose a bunch of additional caveats. I know where this list is headed (and I have a pretty good idea of what games will pop up on the other lists)!  I could have easily listed off 10 Super NES games or 10 N64 games, but I wanted to hit a variety of consoles and franchises.  I would have liked to have hit a variety of genres and studios too, but I can't lie: I love platformers, and I love games by Nintendo.  It was challenging but rewarding to shave this list down to ten--a lot of old favorites and recent discoveries couldn't fit on the list, leaving these few.  The ones I've always treasured, the ones that stuck with me, the ones I memorized the music and sound effects to, starring the characters I love, exploring the worlds I wanted to live in.  Maybe you'll dig 'em too.

NES

Super Mario Bros. 3

I had spent some quality time with our Atari 2600 well before we ever had an NES in the house. I have fond memories of playing but not really understanding Pac-Man, Haunted House, and the bleak nuclear apocalypse masterpiece Missile Command.  But the first game I really wrapped my head around was Super Mario Bros. (and Duck Hunt, but that's not as relevant!).  Mario and Luigi's multi-screen adventures under a friendly blue sky expanded my concept of what a video game could even be--plus it was super fun, and Rochelle and I could both play it together! Super Mario Bros. 2 was technically more impressive, but so weird (and flanked by so many similar games) that it didn't rock my world like Mario 1 did (though I of course have a huge soft spot for it anyway).   Then Super Mario Bros. 3 came along and Mario had learned how to fly.  It was bigger, more beautiful, and stuffed to the brim with secrets and surprises! It was so exciting even Mom and Dad would play it with us.  Super Mario World is maybe the bigger, better, beautifuler game (and you can ride a FREAKING DINOSAUR), but I'll never forget the day I woke up to find my dad and sister playing this in the living room because we finally owned it.  It was too good to just keep renting! Kid Icarus

I didn't catch Kid Icarus the first time around.  I didn't even play it until high school, but I was inspired to track it down because of my love for Greek mythology and the Metroid series.  Kid Icarus takes place in a world heavily inspired by (but still distinctly different from) the swords, sandals, and sorcery epics of ancient Greece!  It's considered a "sister game" to the original Metroid, released around the same time by the same team, and the game shares a lot of the core elements that make Metroid so unique and awesome: eerily lonely, dangerous worlds to explore, a challenging beginning, player-empowering character growth, and a focus on exploring vast, often vertically-scrolling worlds with satisfying run'n'gun'n'jump gameplay. Kid Icarus borrows all the best stuff from Metroid, but tempers it with a slate of unique design choices: instead of one sprawling world, KI is split into discrete levels.  The first world is an ascent out of Hades with vertically oriented levels, the second world is a horizontal trek across the surface world, the third is another vertical ascent into the sky, and the finale is a horizontal, forced-scrolling shoot-em-up to reclaim the heavens!  Every fourth level is a sprawling, maze-like, Metroid-ish dungeon, capped off with a frantic boss fight!  Plus, Eggplant Wizards, credit cards, and RPG-style character upgrades!  They don't make 'em like this anymore!! Duck Tales

It's not as groundbreaking as Super Mario Bros. 1 or as innovative as Super Mario Bros. 3, but that doesn't change the fact that Duck Tales could possibly be my favorite NES platformer of all time. You don't need to know anything about or even like the original cartoon (or the comic books that birthed it) to appreciate the challenging charms of this hop'n'bop classic.  Duck Tales only has a handful of levels, but they're huge, full of hidden treasures, packed with alternate paths, swiss cheesed with secret passageways, and just gorgeous translations of Disney's lush cartoon worlds.   Getting to choose your own path through Duck Tales' roster of big beautiful worlds is reminiscent of the Mega Man games (also by Capcom). What really sets Duck Tales apart is controlling Scrooge.  He's spry for a septuagenarian billionaire, but his real talents lie in swinging and pogo-sticking off his cane!  It's delightful cartoon nonsense, but if you get the hang of it, it's also incredibly satisfying, allowing you to make some wild, death-defying maneuvers.  If you dig this and find yourself hungering for more bounce-centric gameplay, Shovel Knight takes Scrooge's cane, turns it into a shovel, and builds a deeply satisfying modern classic around it.  Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze finally gives Cranky a chance to shine as a playable character, and he straight-up jock's Scrooge's style, cane and all.  It rules.

Super NES

Yoshi's Island

The first thing you'll notice about Yoshi's Island is that it looks like it was drawn with crayons, markers, and colored pencils!  The second thing you'll notice is that Mario is a freaking baby!  It's an odd premise, but it all comes together in perhaps the best sidescroller ever made.  With Mario mustache-less and diaper-clad, this game puts you directly in control of Yoshi, and he is a joy to play as.  Hovering to extend his jump power, turning enemies into eggs and chucking them, and butt-stomping are Yoshi's primary tools of the trade, and they mix things up nicely.  This doesn't feel like "just another Mario," but it also feels right at home in the Mario pantheon. Beyond the Yosh-man's most basic maneuvers, there are some wild power-ups that turn Yoshi into a helicopter, a train that zips along in the background, a mole-tank, and more, plus special areas where Baby Mario gets superpowers and runs up walls and stuff!  Yoshi's Island is another magical micro-world, jam-packed with extremely clever and fun level design and very possibly the biggest and best boss fights of all time.   Ya gotta play this one.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest

I know I just talked about Yoshi's Island maybe being the best platformer of all time, but Donkey Kong Country 2 is right behind it, nipping at its heels.  DKC2 has a wildly different aesthetic, dropping you into beautifully computer-rendered pirate shipwrecks, janky-but-glitzy night time carnival rides, endless bramble patches, a skyscraper-sized beehive, haunted forests, and more!  They're not just beautiful to look at, but beautiful to listen to, because DKC2 features one of the all-time greatest video game soundtracks.  Maybe the greatest.  But this game ain't just another pretty face!

DKC2, like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Duck Tales, is stuffed to the gills with tricky little secrets and hidden areas and surprises.  This game doesn't just have secret levels, it has a secret WORLD.  This game doesn't just have a secret world, it has an entire secret ENDING.  The classically solid platforming is accompanied by a wealth of mine cart challenges, awesome animal buddies, mini-games, and enough level design variety to keep you coming back for every last hidden treasure.  

Super Metroid

Super Metroid doesn't just have secrets, it has mysteries.  This was the first game to ever actually scare me. The first one to ever creep me out.  And that just made me want to play it even more.  It feels lonely and dangerous.  Unlike the games earlier on this list, it is one HUGE and continuous world.  It is a world of incomprehensible alien horrors, ancient moldering ruins, and high-tech space-faring bio-terrorists.  This world, named Zebes, is a world where the sky continuously rains acid and almost every living thing inhabiting it wants to kill you.  Good thing you're Samus Aran, the toughest, smartest bounty hunter to ever clean up Space Pirate scum!

Samus explores this acid-drenched nightmare planet by running, gunning, and jumping... but also by solving puzzles and thinking her way out of traps.  With each power up she gets a little stronger, and can find her way deeper into this gnashing alien hellscape.  It's a game that is sadly beautiful just as often as it is ghoulish.  The story, simple and sketched-in as it is, is also deeper and more moving than you will ever expect. The boss fights are as massive, memorable, and epic as the ones in Yoshi's Island, but about a thousand times more intense and frightening.  The music perfectly sets the dark, burbling mood of each region of Zebes, and by the end of the game you will feel like the most powerful hero in the galaxy.  This mix of sci-fi, horror, and adventure isn't just a must-play, it's a life-changer.

Gameboy Color

Wario Land II

I love the Mario series, but I'm also absolutely crazy about Wario.  He's a fat, greedy, chaotic, prideful, disgusting, bull-headed oaf.  He's the polar opposite of Mario... and that's why I love him!  He's not exactly a villain, but he's a definitely a troublemaker, and it is hilariously fun to walk (or stumble!) a mile or three in his shoes.  The game before this, Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land is a ton of fun (as is Super Mario Land 2 before it!), but Wario Land II is the first one that truly feels like a Wario game.  What makes this game so different?  Wario can't be killed!

You read that right, there's (almost) no way to actually "die" in this game!  No way to lose lives.  That might sound too easy, or boring, or both, but it's not!  Wario might be unkillable, but all KINDS of bad stuff can and WILL still happen to him.  A LOT.  He'll get flattened, set on fire, trapped in bubbles, fattened up, frozen, drunk, zombified, and more!  And here's the kicker: those wacky conditions are required to solve the puzzles and challenges of each level!  On top of that ingenious and perfectly wacky set of game mechanics, the story branches off in wildly different directions: you'll blow up the annoying alarm clock in your castle, play street basketball against a giant bunny, be nice to a chicken, visit Atlantis, race through a weird world of mouths, noses, and eyes, and more!  There are multiple endings, multiple hidden exits, and multiple secret treasures and minigames to find and conquer.  Almost all of the Wario Land and Wario Ware games are oddball masterpieces, but WLII is the perfect balance of weird, smart, funny, and challenging.

Nintendo 64

Super Mario 64

This is it.  This is the game.  In 1996, when I was in sixth grade, Super Mario 64 was the only thing I cared about.  I begged and wished and hoped for a Nintendo 64 that Christmas, but it didn't come.  I was crushed.  Occasionally I was able to rent an N64 and Super Mario 64, and I'd lose whole days to this magical, miraculous game.  When I couldn't rent it, I'd bug my classmates about it endlessly.  "What level are you on?  What's that level like?  What stars can you get?  What secrets have you found?"  They'd answer a few of my ravenous, bug-eyed questions before getting uncomfortable and leaving to do something else.  What was the big deal? Why was I (and still am) so obsessed?

The leap from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 was like the leap from console and computer games to virtual reality.  But instead of short, funny minigames, it is a huge, sprawling world where anything seems possible.  A magical, secret garden full of surprises, wonder, challenges, and secrets.  Where the sun always shines in a cloudless sky... except when you plunge into the death-defying Bowser levels or the inappropriately terrifying Big Boo's Haunt.  Oh Mario can definitely fly in this one like he did in Super Mario Bros. 3, but just the simple act of running around in circles and jumping through 3D space felt like a joyous miracle... one that puts 2-dimensional flight to shame.  Each world (accessed by jumping INTO paintings in Princess Peach's sprawling but empty castle) is colorful, full of possibility, and chock full of distinct personality.  Adventuring through 3D space for the first time ever was incredible on its own, but doing it in such richly detailed, lovingly crafted worlds made me want to play there forever.  I still do. 

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Take everything I just said about Super Mario 64 and multiply it by ten!  Well, sort of.  Ocarina of Time took the lessons learned from Super Mario 64 and applied them to the dungeon-crawling, puzzle-solving Legend of Zelda series.  The result was an incredibly groundbreaking game that I cherished almost as zealously as Super Mario 64.  I don't think it's aged as well, but I don't care.  Ocarina of Time is a grand story, spanning seven years (!!!) and the entire fantastical country of Hyrule.  As Link, you jump forward and back through time, meet strange and wonderful new friends, discover hidden kingdoms, face the blood-soaked evil of Hyrule's past, save its future, outwit cunning puzzles and traps, steal and ride a magnificent horse, challenge towering, Super Metroid-style end bosses, wield magical weapons, break hearts, play beautiful music, and go fishing.  It's an entire, epic fantasy life in one little cartridge. 

This was the first Zelda game I ever spent SERIOUS time with, and the fact that it plays like a fantasy-fueled hybrid of Super Mario 64 and Super Metroid means I've lost entire days to it.  I've played it start to finish at least 8 or 9 times.  It never gets boring. Like Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time invented how we make and play 3D games.  This was the first 3D game where you could lock onto enemies and points of interest, plus a bevy of other camera controls that come standard in 3D games now (or at least they did for about a decade after Ocarina's release). The story is surprisingly cinematic and even gripping at times.  You'll want to live in this world.  You'll be sad when you see the end credits.  Not because of the ending itself, but because there's no more game for you to play... until you start it all over again on the next save file.  

Star Fox 64

Star Fox 64 was a life-changing event for me, just like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time.  So is Star Fox 64 a slow-paced, exploration heavy adventure into beautiful and fantastical solitude like those other two games?  N O P E.  It's a guns-blazin', fast action, dogfightin', barrel rollin', rock'em sock'em intergalactic action epic in supersonic spaceships!  Piloted by talking animals!  That actually talk!  YES!

Instead of the wide-open freedom of Super Mario 64 and  Ocarina of TIme, Star Fox 64 either puts you on (invisible) rails in a forced-scrolling attack run or in a contained 3D arena.  Here's the kicker though, the levels are all so perfectly designed and the action is so expertly paced that you never feel restricted.  You're too busy racking up kill combos, saving your wingmen, and navigating through flying, burning space debris and buildings and asteroids and terrain to think about what you can't do.  And even on rails, Star Fox 64 gives you ways to explore!  Most levels have multiple exits and there are a whole mess of different, branching paths through the entire, war-torn Lylat system.  The game is designed to be played start to finish in a single sitting, but experimenting with repeat playthroughs is the only way to experience everything this laser-blazing action classic has to offer.  On top of all that, it's got a great story, iconic, meme-worthy dialogue, and an absolutely banging soundtrack.  It might not have changed the face of interactive entertainment like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, but it delivered the ultimate shoot'em up space adventure.  

[fnlrndcllctv]

REVIEW: Blade Strangers (2018)

Crossovers are a huge part of fighting game history, and have been wildly popular since the early heydays of the genre.

Capcom had faced off with Marvel, Tatsunoko and SNK to name a few, and even Mortal Kombat had beef with the DC superhero universe at one point.

So what happens when you get a crossover title that's made up of lesser known games?

The mass appeal that comes from a company or franchise's fanbase spurs these games on, but there's been a handful of games in recent times that collects together some more "niche" titles and forces them against each other in combat.

One of these games is 2018's Blade Strangers.

Gameplay

Upon first glance, Blade Strangers looks and feels like your standard anime fighting game, such as the Blazblue series and even the Under Night In-Birth games.

However, once you start playing matches, it's very clear that the difficulty of executing moves is much easier than most games of this type, and actively encourages newer players to get involved with the game. 

Instead of relying on complex command inputs to pull off special moves, players can instead just hold the directional analogue stick in a specific direction and press a single button to execute certain attacks. It’s a simplified method that isn’t too different from the one we see in games such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

The four button layout is simple to make use of, and feels pretty responsive most of the time, outside of some slip ups here and there. 

The game also feels noticeably slower and weightier to play than many of the other fighting games of this kind, which makes things feel a lot less daunting for newbies to get the hang of.

Story

Blade Strangers revolves around the concept that every universe is one of many simulations being generated by an interdimensional network of servers known as "motes".

A cybernetic being known as Lina appears and begins consuming the servers' data, wiping out entire worlds and defeating all of the Blade Strangers, the warriors who are sworn to protect them.

To protect the universe, the motes summon heroes from worlds Lina has not yet reached, altering their memories to make them believe they are participating in a fighting tournament.

The one left standing will be named the new Blade Stranger in the hopes of awakening their power and allowing them to defeat Lina.

The game's story mode is a pretty dull affair, opting for the visual novel approach of dialogue between fighters. I understand that this makes it easier for the writing team to successfully make sure that all the characters in the game can effectively and uniquely communicate with each other, but when the script is so weak that it resorts to talking about the characters breasts (on more than one occasion, I hasten to add), it just not very engaging.

I will admit though, Isaac's only line of dialogue being repeated everywhere in the game (i.e constant wailing AND NOTHING ELSE) did get a chuckle out of me more than once.

Roster

Blade Strangers’ roster is made up of characters from a number of different franchises in both Nicalis and Studio Siazansen’s back catalogues;

From the action RPG Code of Princess, we get Ali, Liongate, Solange and Master T.

From the Umihara Kawase platform games, we get Kawase, Emiko, Noko and a “Summer” version of Kawase as a separate character.

From the Metroidvania game Cave Story, we get Quote and Curly Brace.

From the platform game 1001 Spikes, we get Aban.

From the platformer Shovel Knight, we get (you guessed it) Shovel Knight.

From the roguelike dungeon-crawler The Binding Of Isaac, we get Isaac.

From the action platformer Azure Striker Gunvolt, we get Gunvolt.

From the RPG Doki Doki Poyacchio, we get Piaa.

We also get Helen and Lina as the game's original fighters.

It's a pretty wacky cast, and a memorable one at that, ranging from an Indiana Jones type character, a permanently crying child and a happy go lucky sushi chef to a buxom princess, a little girl with her giant fluffy pet cat and a series of robots. 

There’s a reason why I have specifically highlighted the genres of each of the roster’s respective game series, and that’s down to the fact that none of these games are actually related to the fighting game genre whatsoever. 

This is one of the game’s main draws, and makes it clear that the game isn’t particularly aimed at a wider, more casual audience.

It’s fun to see these indie darlings and obscure characters reimagined in a traditional 2D versus fighting game, and much like many other crossover fighting games, made me want to learn more about each of the characters and the games that they originally came from. 

This aspect of Blade Strangers kept me feeling invested in the game, and almost makes up for how bad the story mode is.

Graphics

Each of the characters in Blade Strangers were originally created in 3D then subsequently rendered back into the game for 2D gameplay, much like games such as the Guilty Gear Xrd series, and as a result, look fantastic.

Seeing traditionally 2D characters such as Isaac and Shovel Knight being redone in this style is a delight to witness, and the action during fights is suitably flashy, with colourful explosions and anime-style cut ins from each of the characters sprinkled into it. It feels very Arcana Heart in the way it presents itself, which is never necessarily a bad thing.

Stages

As the game is a crossover between several games, each of the game’s stages is a reimagining of each game franchise’s locations. 

From the creaking, dark basements of The Binding Of Isaac to the surreal, quirky sea creature-populated Umihara Kawase, there’s plenty of variety presented here.

The stages do feel a little bit lifeless though, apart from some instances of crumbling architecture once a fight is over. It’s a shame when you consider the amount of source material on offer from the roster, and disappointingly feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Replayability

Outside of the game’s story mode and regular versus modes, there isn’t much to do here outside of unlocking some extra icons and titles for displaying in the game’s online mode.

I mean sure, there's a tournament mode, some challenges and a survival gauntlet, but these all feel very similar, and don't offer much reason to grind away at them other than for the sake of completing everything. 

The game’s lack of incentives really lets it down, and doesn’t offer many reasons for players to stick around when they’re done fighting.

As the game’s roster is based on so many obscure games, it would definitely have benefitted from the inclusion of a gallery and maybe even some basic information about each of the characters’ respective game series.

Final thoughts & overall score

Blade Strangers is full of character and an interesting way to bring together a slew of non-fighting game franchises into the genre.

What the game lacks in replay value and poor story dialogue is more than made up for by its easy to learn gameplay and just how nice the graphics are.

The game works perfectly as an entry-level title for beginners to learn the ropes, but for experienced fighting game fans, things may run dry somewhat quickly.

Do you agree with our review of Blade Strangers?

Let us know in the comments section below!

[journaloftomfooleryandjapery]

Top 5 Character Action/Beat 'em up games

Gonna put a little of each genre in here

Scott pilgrim vs the world: played through this back when i was still super into the series. my only real gripe with the game is having to backtrack to level up so you can make it through the later stages. otherwise its filled with scott pilgrim fanservice, the visuals are absolutely amazing (paul robertson is a great animator and its too bad he hasn't been able to work on more full games), the gameplay is fast and fun and the ost is absolutely amazing (anamanaguchi did it, and personally i think the ost is one of their best albums). For the record another winter is the best song in the game 

I’ve replayed it a couple of times with different characters and i still love it today, its too bad you cant buy it anymore. At least people have started to get it working through emulation

Double dragon neon: played through this whole game in one go with one of my best friends, which probably helped give me a really good memory of the game since its about 2 Best Bro’s working together, in the true beat em up tradition. otherwise i like it for a lot of the same reasons i like scott pilgrim, its a beat em up with great visuals, fun combat, and a really catchy soundtrack (by the guy who did the shovel knight ost). There are a lot of fun fights and the game relies a lot upon skill and teamwork, which is the ideal for a beat em up really. Its also nice to play a beat em up that gets really hard without being unfair, the last level is a real struggle but its very doable if you know what your doing and you’ve gotten used to the dodging. ALSO im a big fan of the intentional cheesiness, the 80s theme and the whole co-op high five mechanic. It’s a great game you should play with a good friend if you ever get the chance

Metal gear rising: first character action game on here, and my favourite one. people have said a lot more about mgr than i either will because it was a very loved game, so theres not tons i can say here that you wont here a billion other places. regardless, i love the focus on the parry mechanic, the presentation and the soundtrack. its got some of my favourite fights in any videogame and my actual favourite final boss. its incredibly cheesy and filled with lots of hype moments. most importantly of all the gameplay is all about skill and reactions and forces you to be aggressive if you want to do well, it feels amazing to parry a ton of attacks and counterattack with blade mode then RIP OUT A (juicy, robot) SPINE. at some point im gonna have to give it a third playthrough. 

Transformers devastation: i was actually gonna write another big long bit about this, but then i remembered i already typed up a big long ask about why i like this game so much before, so ill link that here. only real change to that is that its my second favourite platinum game now

Yakuza 0: I’m actually writing a big ass post involving this game at the moment, so ill leave most of my talk on it for that. i know its not technically a beat em up, but the combat feels very much in that vein, especially in the battle levels. in very very short form i like the combat because its fast punchy and cathartic, i love the heat moves, the style switching and once again the music. admittedly it kinda falls apart once you get good enough with tiger drop, but otherwise the combat is tons of fun. 

[shirewalker]

tag games!

I’ll just tag a few people and then you choose your fave games, ok?

tagging @alarkvling​ @artemeis​ @ohmystarsy​ @captainvkirk​ @theleiaskywalker​ @lilabard​ @detmeter​ @starkova​ @caradocdearborn​ @julliettesferrars​ @roryglimore

all games under the cut

1st game! Ten Questions Tag Game

tagged by @aesterea​

How messy is your writing process?

Not as messy as it should be, I think. I’ve always been a perfectionist and unlearning that when being creative (doing first drafts, etc) is HARD. So I can’t say it’s messy-messy, but I try to make it a little messier so I can move on with things xD

Do you plan/outline before you write?

Oh yeah, yeah I do. Sometimes it’s just a paragraph with the general gist of the thing, other times I just develop the story in my head, but I always do some level of planning/outlining before writing. I wouldn’t be able to do it any other way tbh.

Which OCs are dearest to your heart?

The four MCs from my nano novel. I love them, so much I have to stop myself from fixing everything in one go xD 

Has your own writing ever made you cry?

Nope, not really. But it takes a lot for books in general to make me cry and it’s always, always when I do a reread. You’d think I was ready for the cry triggers? Well, THINK AGAIN.

How much of yourself do you think you put into your characters?

Probably more than some people would like? I try not to do self-insert, but we’re always bound to take inspiration from ourselves. As to avoid doing it all in an obvious and ridiculous way, I try to take bits of myself and put them in different characters. A habit, a taste, a crazy situation, etc.

What do you hope to achieve through writing?

To change the world~* Lol, to tell my stories, to make others dream with me. Why do we tell stories if not to change something about the world and make others dream?

How would you describe your style?

Still trying to figure that one out.

What works of writing have influenced your style the most?

Austen, Agatha Christie, LOTR, Shatter Me (Mafi’s writing is epic ok??), The Lunar Chronicles... Every book I’ve ready has influenced me in one way or another.

Do you have a “support team”? Who’s in it?

My fanfic readers? askflakj I don’t think I have a support team other than them tbh xD

Which OC would be your best friend in real life?

aaskhdajfls I don’t know. Maybe Jean and Maeve from my nano novel. But tbh, the four Roses being my friends? That’d be awesome, ok? I’d finally have my knit-tight group of friends :’)

My questions:

What’s the earliest story you remember writing?

Which do you prefer to write? Short stories of longer ones?

Do you think your writing is ready to be seen by the world?

Which OC would be the best company when writing and which would be the worst?

Do you have a favourite world you’d give anything to visit?

Any writing rituals? Special place, special time of the day, special medium to write a draft on, etc.

What’s your favourite genre to read AND to write? 

Do you have friends that write too?

If you could have a writing cottage anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Favourite author and how have they inspired you/your writing.

2nd game! 5 Things

tagged by @alarkvling​

5 things you’ll find in my bag: wallet, a book, water, food, bus card 5 things you’ll find in my room: books, my bookmark-making materials, a dreamcatcher I bought last year from an american indian, my first nikolina piece printed and framed <3 5 things that make me happy: rainy days, reading an amazing book, talking with my friends for hours (it’s been a while since that tho..), a warm cup of milk/cappuccino/hot chocolate, my nerdy otps 5 things i’m currently into: writing, drawing, bookmark making, shovel knight, nikolina lol 5 things on my to-do list: pass driving code exam, have a fun bday, be a better person, improve my writing, get a decent job.

3rd game! Music Game

tagged by @artemeis​

rules: set your entire (I don’t have all my music in one place lol) music library on shuffle and report the first ten songs that pop up.

The River by The Family Crest

Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home by Keira Knightley

La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong

Superstar by Broods

Make You Believe by Lucy Hale

Coming Up Roses by Keira Knightley

Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

Howl by The Family Crest

Conscious by Broods

So It Goes... by Taylor Swift

4th game! I’ve never...

rules: list 10 curious things you’ve never done and tag 10 people

I’ve never had a sleepover

I’ve never had my first kiss

I’ve never worn contacts

I’ve never been to a nightclub

I’ve never gone farther than Seville (outside country)

I’ve never had birthday surprises (the good ones ofc)

I’ve never seen snow other than the tiny flurry we had over a year ago (so like, not the kind you see all white and stuff)

I’ve never been to another continent

I’ve never had bff(s)

I’ve never seen a musical on stage

5th game! Get To Know Me

tagged by @becpunzel​

How tall are you? 154 cm which is a itsy bit over 5ft...? *shrugs*

What color are your eyes? Blue+grey+green.

Do you wear contacts and/or glasses? Glasses

Do you wear braces? No, and never had.

What is your fashion style? Cute? Girly? *shrugs* I don’t know but it’s something like that xD

When were you born? 14th March 1991

Do you have any siblings? A younger sister

What school/college do you go to? I have a degree on animation.

What kind of student are you? The kind that has to do well lol.

What are your favorite subjects? History, art, books...? xD 

What are your favorite movies? Tangled, Star Wars, LOTR, Clueless, Laws of Attraction, Pacific Rim, Inception, Mad Max: Fury Road, Megamind, The Princess and the Frog, Ghibli movies, The 10th Kingdom, etc 

What are your favorite pastimes? Reading, writing, drawing, trying to talk with friends I haven’t talked in a while, playing games, photography, bookmark making, making edits for books/shows/ships I love <3

Do you have any regrets? I think we all have those.

What’s your dream job? Something I’m good at and I enjoy doing and allows me a happy life.

Would you like to get married? Yeah, I would. Gotta do everything else before that point in life, starting with being remotely appealing for dating haha..

Do you want kids? Maybe one day yeah. It’s not out of the question but it’s not a must-do either.

How many countries have you visited? 2

What is your scariest dream? I went to a christmas party with all my ex-classmates from various moments in my life and I was ignored the whole dinner, my gift got stolen and no one tried to help. Probably not a traditional scary dream but it was a big-fears-fest

Do you have a significant other? Hahahaha, no.

not doing the music part since I did it in the other game already xP

6th Game! Another Get To Know

tagged by @alexclovere

Age - 26 soon 27

Birthplace - Portugal

Current time - 1:46 pm

Drink you had last - water

Easiest person to talk to - the rare close friends

Favorite song - I have a lot but lets go with a classic: Can’t Help Falling In Love

Grossest memory - (: Last year, the week before my bday. It was so much fun! not! AND SO GROSS AND AWFUL D:<

Hogwarts house - Slytherin

In Love - no :\

Jealous of people - always a little

Killed someone - ofc not wth

Love at first sight or should I walk by you again - I think you have to walk by several times and even then there’s no guarantee *shrugs*

Middle name - I don’t have

Number of siblings - one sister

One wish - a good job

Person you called last - my mom

Question you are always asked - job?????

Reason to smile - in spite of things being bad, it always gets better, even if it doesn’t feel like it. also, cute pets!

Song you sang last -Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home by Keira Knightley

Time you woke up - 9:30 am

Underwear color - huh

Worst habit - either thinking the worst is happening or thinking I’m friends with someone when they probs don’t even remember I exist

X-rays - it’s been a while

Your favorite food - pizza, homemade

Zodiac sign - Pisces

[sazorak]

What I Thought Of Every Single Game I Played In 2017

2017 was a weird year for me. In terms of my personal life, it's been something of a holding pattern; I'm a year older, but I've not accomplished nearly as much as I'd liked to. I've had a lot of good times, and I've done my best, but I probably haven't made an entirely meaningful use of my lingering youth.

But on the other hand: I got to play a whole bunch of video games! 2017 was a good year for video games. It had to be a good year for something, I suppose, and if the rest of the world was going to be getting it nasty this year, video games might as well be the thing that gets its due.

This write-up is an overview of what I thought about every single game I played this year. Only games that released this year qualified for a numbered “place”, as interpreted through my own rules. Here we go!

[2015] | [2016]

19. Fire Emblem Heroes – Android – ★★ – 2017

As a latecomer to the Fire Emblem games, this did nothing for me. I don't have a great amount of affection for the characters in the abstract, three lines of dialog and a couple cut-ins of them stabbing a guy don't even qualify as “fanservice”, and the narrative that is there is just plain bad. It's admirable that they managed to reduce their permadeath-driven tactical RPG to an experience that works on phones, but I have zero interest in throwing myself into gachapon hell in the hopes of a “dream team.” Besides, the second orb I cracked open had a five-star Camilla in it, so my experience was guaranteed to be a down-hill one.

18. Pictopix – Steam – ★★ – 2017

Pictopix is a fascinating lesson that not all Picross games are alike. It's not just a matter of creating puzzles that are secretly pixelized art: there is a flow to good nonogram design that is apparently quite hard to achieve. Where I get a lot of enjoyment from the Picross E- and Picross S- titles, I didn't care for this one, despite being on a platform well suited for a picross-a-like experience. I'm not sure I can even articulate just what rubbed me wrong about it (though the shoddy controls didn't help); the puzzles just felt clunky in a way that other takes on this style of puzzle did not.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero – Steam – ★★ – 2016

I accidentally backed this game on Kickstarter a few years ago. I thought an artist I was a fan of was attached to this project, when they just did some contracted promotional material for the Kickstarter. It's on me for reading into that, I suppose. In any case, I backed this game, it came out last year, and I couldn't honestly be bothered to actually play it until this year.

After having finally done so: I'm not sure why people like these games? They feel like baby's first platformer; it's well-produced, but threadbare in terms of mechanical complexity. There's a vague Metroidvania-aspect to re-exploring levels you've already completed, but it lacks the simple mechanical joy that the best of those have. The characters don't really do anything for me either; I presume if you've been following these since the mid-90s you get something from their interactions, because personally I just find it kind of lame? The art is fantastic, and the game looks good in motion, but overall, it's just not for me.

17. For Honor – Steam – ★★★ – 2017

Until I started making this list, I had completely forgot that For Honor even existed. Remember this game? It's the one where you play as an assortment of medieval warriors assembled from across the globe to stab each other in 4-vs-4 3 rd person capture-the-point combat. It was OK, but the experience overall fell flat— largely because of an abundance of flaws peripheral to the core gameplay.

The basic combat and mechanics felt and worked well; the simple axis-based block-or-attack combat system enabled some truly awesome duels that really felt like you were in a melee. But while the combat worked quite well, there wasn't a whole lot going on around it to justify the overall experience. The campaign was functional, but it was clearly an afterthought, bereft of even characters. The multiplayer was fun, but severely hampered by a poor progression / unlock system, as well as bad matchmaking and server issues.

In another year, perhaps For Honor would have stood out more. If the game had received post-release support in the way Ubisoft's more Clancyesque titles, perhaps it'd have had longer legs. As is, I spent enough time with it to know that it was maybe worth coming back to once they had hammered out their online issues— something that never really happened. And then the rest of 2017 happened and put it in its proper place. Oops!

16. Picross S – Switch – ★★★ – 2017

Where Pictopix disappointed, Picross S is functional, acceptable Picross. It's far from the best Picross offering in this line (I think I had the most fun with Picross E3, and not just because of its dumb name), but it is Picross on the Nintendo Switch, which is basically all I was really wanting out of it. The loss of touch screen interactions from the 3DS release is bizarre (the Switch has a touch-screen my dudes!), but I can live with it.

15. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment – Switch – ★★★ – 2017

It's been interesting to watch Yacht Club take the baseline premise of Shovel Knight— a retro-styled platformer shouting its Mega Man inspirations via megaphone to anyone who'll listen— and alter their execution with these different DLCs. Where the original Shovel Knight was a relatively straight-forward platformer (with Ducktales-inspired down-stab action), and Plague of Shadows was something of an odd build-your-own-shooter, Specter of Torment focuses instead on aerial combo-attacks. These changes really alter the gameplay; where the others could be a bit mindless at times (particularly Plague of Shadows, which was fairly easy given the number of projectiles you could throw across the whole screen), Specter of Torment is considerably more demanding of one's attention; you have to be more deliberate with your actions relying than relying on flow to get you through.

The design of the levels doesn't feel entirely there; while they certainly have been more redesigned than Plague of Shadows' were to fit the different style of movement, it just wasn't that fun to play through. Rooms were either too easy or too frustrating, with little in the way of a middle ground. The boss fights were trivially easy (which is dire in a game aping a series that largely relied on the quality of its emblematic show-downs). The plot was… fine? It certainly was a Shovel Knight prequel alright, that's for sure. At this point, I must imagine Yacht Club and I are both on the page on wanting see them work on something else at this point. They've proven themselves to be extremely competent developers, but it's time to put Shovel Knight to rest; they've gotten about as much blood as they can out of that particular stone.

14. Mario Kart 8 DX – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017-ish

OK, seriously Nintendo— when are you going to make a new F-Zero? Don't you give me this bullshit about “Why would you want a new F-Zero when we've already done it before!” when you keep making new Mario Karts with little different beyond the platform you put it on. All Mario Kart 8 DX did was pack-in all the DLC and add a true battle mode— which is great and all, don't get me wrong. It's just a sign that your excuses suck and you need to fund a new Captain Falcon vehicle-vehicle ASAP.

13. Player Unknown's Battlegrounds – Steam – ★★★★ –– 2017

I want to like Plunkbat more than I do, but I don't. What's there that's good is great; the open-world mix of random-luck and skill-based shooting (especially with friends!) is a real hoot, particularly when one is either taking it entirely too seriously or entirely not seriously at all.

But something about the game just feels… incomplete? Despite leaving early access, it really has a lot of work that it should be still getting. The physics is jank (the vehicles annoy me to no end), there's still absolutely 0 tutorializing for new players, and the problem with persistent hacking and aimbotting has been dire as of late. There's also something to the notion that a lot of the skill in the game comes down less to polished learning of the mechanics and their interactions and more a sort of base memorization of Plunkbat Best Practices. That's not innately a bad thing, but I personally find these sorts of experiences better when they're focused more towards tactical mastery than strategic mastery. Both are important in Plunkbat, but I prefer mastering the former over the latter. The game seems to disagree. I feel like the quality of my gear should be less important than how good I am at using what I find. That is not the case. Oh well.

I'm looking forward to putting more time into this with buds in the future, but I've fallen off the wagon as far as general enthusiasm goes. Eh!

Prison Architect – Steam – ★★★★ – 2015

Prison Architect is sort of a highly-specialized, more accessible Dwarf Fortress. Much of the appeal of Dwarf Fortress is the immersive unpredictability of managing emergent personalities trying to go about their tasks, and ultimately, it's so complex that an ASCII-based rendering is the only way to handle it all. Prison Architect constrains the variability by its very nature (the things people do in a prison are typically well-regulated, and there's not a lot of agency within those bounds), resulting in an experience that is nowhere as impenetrable as Dwarf Fortress— but also nowhere as appealing.

There's just not as much going on when you get down to it; while there's certainly variability in prisoner personality and actions, there are just so fewer variables in terms of what someone can do and interact with. Plus, given your funding regimen and in-take are totally under your control, the actual form your prison takes doesn't need to vary; you're not incentivized to innovate beyond a desire to keep things interesting. You can just your layouts entirely towards efficiency and nothing else, and even then, there's no real end-game to it beyond making numbers get bigger.

Mini Metro – Android – ★★★★– 2015

Mini Metro is a slight mobile puzzle experience, but it is quite engrossing while it lasts. The pairing of simple mechanics and style works very well on the phone. You make subway lines connecting points. It looks like a subway map. It's pretty good.

Total War: Warhammer – Steam – ★★★★ – 2016

I've always been vaguely interested in the Total War games— just never enough to go out of my way to actually, y'know, play them. Warhammer Fantasy has never been my thing, but I like fantasy things in general, and the idea of applying battle tactics to lines of zombies was appealing enough for me to give this a look. Overall, it turns out I enjoy the tactical depth of Total War!

I'm not sure how I feel about the strategic-layer in the few factions I played—it's a bit micromanage-y, and any faction managing to sneak its way to the back-end of your empire becomes a real chore-- but the tactical level is very good. The interplay of artillery, cavalry, and troops-of-the-line is realistic enough to where you can apply real-world know-how and be rewarded for it. The types of troops are massively varied, both inside and outside of the factions. I was mostly drawn to this game by the monster-y factions, so those were the ones I played most.

I'm looking forward to checking out Total War: Warhammer II... eventually?

12. Sonic Mania – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

Sonic is bad. If you add up the total of what Sonic has been over the last two decades and average it out over the amount of games he has had the misfortune to appear in, the average Sonic is hardly deserving of the fawning devotion he receives. Those first few mainline Sonics were good, no question—but that was over two decades ago. SEGA has never succeeded in recreating the feel of those games—even when they have ostensibly tried.

Thankfully for them (and us), there are those that can succeed. Sonic Mania, created by long-time Sonic fans and hackers, perfectly captures the feel of those first three games almost too well. It's basically Sonic 1-3+K+CD, warts and all. The Sonic CD-based stages in particular carry on Sonic CD's design of being too long and really fucking annoying, which is rather indicative of the ethos of Whitehead towards recreating the feel of the older titles. I'm very curious to see if they'll be given permission to do a Sonic Mania II, where they'll perhaps have a chance to innovate more and burn off those warts. I'm not sure if they would, but I certainly hope they do. Sonic deserves better than, well, Sonic.

Stellaris: Utopia & Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn – Steam – ★★★★– 2017

This is technically a 2017 release, but it's so miniscule an addition to the existing Stellaris that it's not worthy of a numbered ranking. Stellaris in 2017 is a lot like Stellaris in 2016, but better. The addition of end-game specializations, new government-types, and the ability to play as both hive minds and robots are extremely good, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. That's the Paradox model, I suppose; they'll continue iterating and adding onto Stellaris over the next half decade until it finally achieves some near-ideal state—or the engine buckles under all they're trying to do with it. One of the two.

My favorite Stellaris moment this year must be the creation of "The Borth Problem". The Borth are a race of space Hyper-Platypuses, whose traits were specially selected by their creator (me) to be absolutely trash. They're short-lived, xenophobic pacifists who hate being around each other almost as much as they hate being around everyone else. I force them to spawn as one of the empires in every game I play-- not because they're particularly threatening, but because watching them repeatedly balkanize every two months under the strain of their own ineptitude and malfeasance is extremely good. Occasionally some fool attempts to annex Borth planets, which is a tragedy in and of itself.

11. Tekken 7 – Steam – ★★★★ – 2017

God am I terrible at fighting games. I've just never put in the time to get any good, and I'm way too prone to mashing out moves I think are cool than learning combos or hit-strings. God do I love fighting games though— and Tekken 7 is a good one. It is a Tekken game through-and-through, but the additions they've made to the cast have been good, and the limb-specific combat system continues to hold up after all these years.

To be completely honest? I've been playing mostly as Eliza—whose special strings are just Street Fighter entry strings. She's basically Ryu if he was in a bustier (and a sleepy Dracula). It's allowed me to get past the hump of learning how to pull-off her specials, though it's done little to actually get me good at stringing combos together. It's still a lot of fun though.

10. Puyo-Puyo Tetris – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

IT'S PUYO PUYO AND TETRIS, WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions – PSP – ★★★★ – 2007

Coming to Final Fantasy Tactics two decades on from its initial release on the PlayStation, one can still understand the appeal. The tactical RPG system has phenomenal mechanical depth, supporting wide-ranging customization and gameplay specialization. There's lots of weird systems to learn and exploit. The setting is austere and grounded in a way that few RPGs are; the story it tells is ultimately yet another Japanese tale of man-killing-god, but the way that it's presented is more about fighting back again the abuse of systems by society, and the futility of one man trying to change the world.

At the same time, two decades have passed since Final Fantastic Tactics came out, and it honestly has not aged superbly well. The controls are bizarre, its job system is rather annoying in practice, it suffers from the usual problem games with permadeath carry where the second a character joins the party and becomes non-essential, their relevance to the story ends. The story which was apparently once so astounding seems almost quaint now; “Organized religion… may be bad!” is far from a hot take in these days, and there have since been hundreds of other games (JRPGs, even) playing in the same sandbox.

As someone introduced to the Ivalice setting of Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy XII, it's also somewhat strange looking back at this series and trying to conceive of them as some connected timeline. A lot of what I liked about Final Fantasy XII was its diverse races and their cosmopolitan associations and interactions. Tactics has even less than none of that. It goes out of its way say with a ringing finality “AND EVERYTHING NOT HUMAN OR DEMON WENT EXTINCT, THE END.” Pour one out for my Ban'gaa homies, I guess??

I had fun with Final Fantasy Tactics, but I suspect I may have had a miserable time if I didn't have a friend warning me of points-of-no-return and making sure I didn't build myself into an unwinnable state. Also: exposing me to the utterly broken arithmetic / mathematics magic system, good lord.

9. Splatoon 2 – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

Splatoon was a good game; Splatoon 2 is that same game, on a different platform.

The additions made to Splatoon 2 are really quite minor; there's some slightly different weapons, and the campaign is denser, but all in all it's just the same good game. The only meaningful addition to Splatoon 2 is Salmon Run, Nintendo's take on the cooperative Horde mode. And you know what? Salmon Run fucking rules. My best multiplayer experiences this year were playing Salmon Run with my boys on Discord. If it were more reliably available, I'd probably have played it more!

8. What Remains of Edith Finch – Steam – ★★★★ – 2017

The latest in the Walking Simulator genre, What Remains of Edith Finch is low on the interactivity, but high on the graphical fidelity, atmosphere, and emotional heft. Sometimes that emotional heft veers into the realm to over-sentimental schmaltz (the ending engendered some real roll-eye), but it doesn't diminish the overall experience. What interactivity that is there is quite good, and it all-in-all made for a great evening experience. I like these sorts of evening-games where you can plop down for 4 hours and just have a nice, self-contained emotional experience.

7. Metroid: Samus Returns – 3DS – ★★★★ – 2017

Maaan, it's good to see Samus in a properly ass good video game again. Other M was bullshit that I wasn't down with at all; this is some proper Metroid-ass Metroid. While there's perhaps still a bit too much Metroid 2 in there (the game is remarkably linear for a “Metroidvania” and the area design is a bit one-note – befitting its Gameboy origins), Metroid: Samus Returns is a very excellent proof of concept that yes, you can make a good Metroid in 2017.

It's also proof that even if we can no longer trust the franchise to Sakamoto's hands without him ruining everything and throwing a tantrum about Prime, others are capable of doing what's necessary to ensure that Samus remains a galactic badass and not Sakamoto's weaponized nadeshiko. Uugh.

As an aside: The references back to the Prime Trilogy, as well as the REALLY WELL-HIDDEN sequel-hook, are extremely good and appreciated. I am pumped to see what Mercury Stream (or someone else!) does with Metroid moving forward. Is that sequel hook actually a Metroid Prime 4 hook? That'd be cool as hell.

6. SteamWorld Dig 2 – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

SteamWorld Dig was a relaxing, though ultimately rather forgettable take of what would happen if you crossed Metroidvania with Mr. Driller. SteamWorld Dig 2 would be the same, if it wasn't for the fact that it's just so god damned well-polished. Everything about it from the core gameplay feel, the movement, the digging speed, the music— they're just so damn well executed. The game world is just a delight to be in.

The story and ending are disappointing (as legally required of every SteamWorld game) but that's not really the point; this is absolutely a game where it's absolutely about the journey rather than the destination. When your journey revolves around such a fundamentally satisfying gameplay loop, the greatest sin it has is ending in the first place.

HITMAN – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2016

HITMAN is good! IO Interactive has created the ultimate encapsulation of the Hitman formula. The game is built to encourage replay and iteration on the game's limited number of maps. This is great, because replaying missions to achieve the perfect murder is a real joy. HITMAN is a game about perfecting the art of playing it: learning the systems, the maps, and the routines of people to the point where you see the clockwork that everyone else is beholden to— so that you can slide between the cogs like a bald, sardonic time-ghost. The game is grimly hilarious and cool in equal measures. I can't wait to see what they do with Season 2.

Stardew Valley – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2016

Stardew Valley is a celebration of the routine. While so many games are about providing novel experiences and spectacles to keep our interest, Stardew Valley enables you to a build a routine, iterating and adapting as the world twists and turns around it. It's about riding a slowly swelling wave while maintaining flow; your farm and experience gets more and more complicated as the seasons go on, but it's always at your own pace; there's no real stakes beyond a desire to prosper and discover. It's charming and addicting in equal measures.

I'm glad they stopped development on it to focus on porting it to new platforms, because I'm pretty sure they'd have honest to god killed people with it. It turns out the cup-and-ball game from that Next Generation episode is actually a game about pleasing your peepaws' ghost by growing corn and hooking up with the goth chick down the lane. You're welcome, peepaw.

Valkyria Chronicles – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2016

Man, SEGA used to make brilliant RPGs back in the day, huh? I really liked Skies of Arcadia, and this is another RPG in that vein from that era. You wouldn't think “fantasy World War II European Front through the lens of Japanese RPG developers” would work, but… it does! They manage to evoke some genuine ethos, and their depiction of the brutality and horror of war, the in-grained senselessness of inherited discriminatory beliefs, are actually pretty OK. You'd think “We're going to depict ANIME FANTASY HOLOCAUST” would be the Worst Thing Ever, but they manage to thread that line enough to make it work… mostly.

Perhaps the craziest thing about Valkyria Chronicles though is that they somehow managed to make a tactical JRPG about trench / tank warfare not only work, but work well. While it's kind of breakable in areas and has balance issues, it managed to hold my interest through the dozens of hours without getting bored. I wasn't invested enough to do much in the way of the extra / repeatable missions, but I thoroughly enjoyed the combat for what I played.

That all said, Valkyria Chronicles could have done with less anime all around. If you turned that anime dial down a good 20%, this would have been a vastly superior work— perhaps even an all-time great. Unfortunately, its tendency towards Anime-ass composition and design, and some frankly juvenile characterization means it will forever carry that stigma of “it is very anime” that prevents it from penetrating into less anime-immune audiences. Still, for those willing to give it a shot and endure some really ham-fisted anime-as-all-hell ruminations on peace, Valkyria Chronicles is a real gem.

5. Super Mario Odyssey – Switch – ★★★★★ – 2017

The single thing that has defined Mario since the halcyon ape-threatening days to his hat-tossing present has been his movement. Over the years, the movements available to “Jump Man” have become more varied and complex, but they still harken back to what set him apart in the beginning: it's all about the jump. Mario Odyssey, while ostensibly about his more obvious hat-trick, is in reality just another stage of the gradual, ever-evolving repertoire of Mario's jump. He just… jumps so damn good y'all. It feels real damn good to run around and jump on shit as Mario. The hat even makes it so he can basically jump in the air, it's ridiculous.

Mario's new ups are made even better Mario Odyssey's excellent collections of worlds for him to mark with his kicks. The sheer variety and volume of unique platforming experiences is great, and it's ultimately up to you how deep you're willing to take it. Mario is something of a casual completionist's nightmare, given just how many stars there are to find. But for those willing to take a step back, the game allows you to engage it just as much you'd want. You could work on polishing your platforming skills to where you easily master the Darker Side of the Moon, you could just play enough of the game after “beating” it to get your fill, or you could just play what's needed to get to the credits. If you're a complete mad-person, you could try even collecting all those stars. All are valid end-points, and no matter what the experience is a complete and quality one.

Some one-off thoughts:

The new enemy designs in the game are so good. A particular shout-out to the Oni Thwomp!

THERE IS A BOSS WHOSE NAME IS “Brigadier Mollosque-Lanceur III, Dauphin of Bubblaine”, FUCK

Steam Garden's God Hand surf rock theme music is so good

The entire end-game sequence leading into the post-game zone was one of the most surreal things ever

NEW DONK CITY

4. Cuphead – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2017

Cuphead is a magic trick. At first glance, it seems impossible, like an actual sorcerer has walked in and done something impossible. “There's no way anyone could recreate the style of Fleischer-era cartoons and make a genuinely good video game!” Like any magic trick, once you look at it long enough the magic goes away, and you see it for what it is. You see the sleight of hand, the smoke and mirrors required to resurrect a nearly century-old style and make it work in what should be a wholly incompatible medium. But the skills required to pull that trick off, and that such a small studio accomplished it, is itself a feat worthy of a wizard with a sizeable beard. It's not perfect, but it's as damn close as any person could ever expect to see, really. The game looks, sounds, and plays damn good.

It's been funny following the discourse around Cuphead's gameplay, particularly the reaction to its difficulty. It's nowhere near as hard as people make it out to be; it's got a lot in common with bullet-hell shooters like the Touhou games, to be sure, but the difficulty about those games, like Cuphead, are more about learning how to play them right than anything particular crazy about most of the challenges they put in front of you. Once you learn how to precisely move the character, you can basically relinquish yourself to the flow state and soldier through pretty much everything (within reason). Cuphead's real trick in this regard is that the types of things going on screen look so fucking cool that it can pull you out of the flow through sheer wow-factor. It's a game that is harder because it looks so good. Unreal.

3. Pyre – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2017

The cruel hands of mother nature have evolved Supergiant Games into the perfect predator of my species. Their approach to writing characters, stories, and music is such that whenever they release one of their games, they burrow a tendril into my brain and maneuver my zombified body into a hole so they can lay eggs in my chest cavity. I'd feel more broken up about how they play me like an acoustic guitar if they weren't so, y'know, good at playing acoustic guitars.

Ostensibly, Pyre is NBA Jam meets Oregon Trail meets a Visual Novel, but it's so much more than that. It's the archeology of uncovering the history of a world through half-heard conversations and vaguely-written reminiscences. It's the trepidation of holding the fate of friends in your hands and knowing that you can't save them all in the end, and still having to choose. It's the struggle for glorious revolution, even though the odds of a bloodless one is low. It's all these things. You plot the end of an empire with a pipe-smoking treeman in between games of mystic slamball with a mustachioed dog. Everything about how it carries itself and presents its world resonated deeply with me and held me enraptured to the very end.

2. NieR: Automata – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2017

I've spent a lot of the last year thinking about Nier: Automata. At this point, I'm not even sure what to say about it. Do I talk about the questions it raises about humanity and what we may leave behind? Do I talk about its astounding visual and audio design? Do I go on a long aside on Yoko Taro's writing and directorial style? They're all valid things to talk about, but they're also all meaningless. They're only important in how they made me feel over the course of my journey with Nier. Intrigued, lost, depressed, uplifted. Nier: Automata invoked all these emotions in me in turn.

In the end, I'm left somewhat in awe of the experience. Not because Nier is a perfect game; it's a very flawed one. But it's a game that's really made me feel and think. Yoko Taro weaves the threads of narrative, emotion, and atmosphere with the deftest of hands. So what if the loom he was forced to work with wasn't a particularly good one? Nier: Automata is one of the most complete explorations of the nature of humanity and how impossible it is to grasp. I imagine I will carry thoughts of it with me forever.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Switch – ★★★★★★ – 2017

Breath of the Wild is my favorite video game of all time. Thanks, Nintendo.

[ff15trashgoldenslumbers]

hi!! before I ask anything I just wanna say that I love your work and I love reading through your masterlist with my ocs in mind!! if it's alright, could I request the chocobros finding out that their s/o plays super gory video games for like 12 hours straight over exercise and makes references to them regardless of the situation? ^^"

Yes! I love OCs, it sometimes throws me off when I write the Y/N and I have one of my Oc’s in mind, as I have soooo many Ocs myself. Yet as a the person who can’t play scary games, and instead has to watch let’s plays. I am the Prompto in these drabbles lol.

~~~~~

Noctis

“Hey,” You called stepping into the restaurant to meet the others, scooting in the booth beside Noctis and Prompto. “Sorry, I’m late, I had to go get the code for the DLC for Malevolent Occupier 5.”

“That came out today?” Noctis asked.

“Yeah, figured since we’ve been bigne playing, we might as well get the DLC co-ops mission, while we wait for the remake to come out next month.” You beamed.

Ignis cocked an eyebrow, “So this is why you’ve both been sleeping in so much, well more than usual for some.”

Noctis shot the man a glare.

Prompto made gave a shuttered on the other side of Noctis, “I don’t see how you can play those games Noct and force poor Y/N to play too.”

“Not my idea, Y/N, was the one would did most of the work.”

You waved it off, “They’re so easy, and once you get beyond the 3 level it’s a walk in the park, yet the assault rifle on hard is pretty difficult. Maybe I need a new controller.”

“Or maybe you should stay up all night playing.” Noctis stated.

You gave a shrug, the first time that you didn’t come to bed while pulling an all nighter, Noctis pulled the entire comforter set from the bed, moved into the living room, curled up with his head on your lap and watched you play until he fell asleep. His only commentary, was which game it was, and helping you with some of the more difficult puzzles.

Gladiolus chuckled, “I knew you two nerds played that Assassin game, but horror games didn’t think it was your thing, Y/n.”

“Oh, I love them! And they’ve gotten so much better since they started doing  VR and stuff. All those screams and shrieks sound so much better in, and that HD makes you feel like you’re in the middle of the zombie action.”

Prompto gave shuttered, “You two are such a weird couple.”

“Hey the couple that kills zombies together, stays together.” Noctis stated.

~~~~~

Prompto

DEAR GODS! Prompto knew that you could bigne, hell there were many a times that the two of you would constantly play round after round of King’s Knight, only to realize the sun was up and it was tomorrow. Yet he was not aware that this also transferred over to your home stations.

You had both finally saved up to get the latest game station, and while it had came with the latest horror game Prompto expressed absolutely no interest in playing it  after reading online reviews of this being the scariest and worst installment to date. So you figured why not play while he was out?

Prompto had known it was going to be a long day at the Citadel, with that stupidly huge meeting to be happening in a few weeks, the palace was on high alert. So all he wanted to do was come home curl up next to you and be adorably disgusting as Gladiolus put it. So when he had placed his key in the door, he nearly jumped from his skin as he heard the blood curling scream from inside the apartment.

Tearing open the door, the blonde rushed in, stumbling into the living room, as the scream only seemed to get louder.

“Shit…” You muttered, as the game over screen appeared.

Prompto looked to the t.v, than to you, than back at the t.v, then finally settling on you. Only now realizing that you were still in your pajama’s from last night, and honestly looked like you had rolled from the bed.

“Sweetie?”

You glanced over to your boyfriend before smiling softly, “Hi Pompom! How was work?”

“Uh fine.” Prompto replied, as he begun to remove his work attire. “Are you playing that game?”

“Yeah.” You replied, starting the level over. “I’ve played the other 6, this one is actually pretty cool! Like they have the blood effect and the bone crunching down awesomely, and the screams sound perfect.”

Prompto felt a shiver go up his spine, this game was one of the most popular on the mark because it was rated M ever since the 3rd game where the zombie ripped your spine from your back. He remembered playing it as a kid, and he still had a rather justifiable fear of his spine being ripped from his back.

“You…you want some company?” He asked, hoping that you would say no and he could sneak off to the bedroom and put in earplugs to not have to listen to the life like sounds of the game.

“Yes please.”

Prompto tried to be brave, yet every jumpscare, every small movement, and gruesome death sent his shrieking, jumping and burying himself within your arm.

“Pom.” You muttered, around the blonde within your lap, arms wrapped around you, face buried in the side of your neck. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“No, No, I’ll stay.” He muttered sneaking a peak at the screen, right as a shovel went through a guys head. Drawing a shriek from the blonde as he buried himself back within your side.

You pressed a kissed to his forehead, “Poor precious, Baby.”

~~~~~

Gladiolus

When Gladiolus rolled over to turn his alarm off, he had expected to roll over and get his morning snuggle and kiss in before heading for is morning jog. Only to find his morning motivation was MIA and judging by how cold the bed was, it was a long time since that beautiful body was missing.

Figuring you had more than likely moved to the couch, as his snoring would send you there from time to time, Gladiolus moved to go gather you and place you in the proper place of your shared large bed for after jog cuddles instead.

Slipping on some sweatpants the man moved to the living room, only to notice a soft glow. It wasn’t often that you might turn on the t.v to drown out his snoring, or to assist you with falling asleep. Yet as he turned the corner, he was shocked to see that, instead of some cartoon channel, or even an infomercial channel, he was instead rewarded with you shooting a flamethrower at an Alien who had scampered back into the vents.

“Little bitch…” He heard you muttered, gamer headphones on your head, wearing one of his tanks as suitable clothing. Yet that was normal, what wasn’t normal was you, playing video games, let alone one of the most horrifying games within his personal collection.

Hell, the last time he had Prompto play it, Ignis had to assure the blonde that Aliens would not visit Insomnia and live within the vents of his apartment. Yet the way that you played seemed like you had everything under control, and was ready for anything and everything.

“Babe?”

You paused the game, turning to your boyfriend as you lowered the headphones, “Hey Gladdy, did I wake you up?”

“No, it’s morning. I was about to go on my jog.” He stated, stepping over pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“Ohh, so that’s what that light in the kitchen was.” You replied jokingly.

“How long you been at this?”

“Tonight, since about 3, I couldn’t sleep, but yesterday I got about 12 hours in, you know between this and that other game I got, Unlimited Death or something like that.” You replied, stretching out. “Why what’s up?”

Gladiolus chuckled, Unlimited Death’s trailer wasn’t allowed to be shown almost anywhere, and all Gaming Stores were required to keep the copies behind the desk. “So you were too afraid to sleep?”

“Not really, it’s just a bunch of jump scares.” You replied. “Besides I told Noct that I’d let him borrow it after I was done.”

He felt his mouth hang open, yet gave a pleasing noise, “Well get some sleep, we don’t need you turning into a zombie too.”

“No promises, I have to make sure this little bitch dies.” You huffed.

Gladiolus could only stare, so instead he settled for pressing a kiss to your forehead and going for his morning jog.

~~~~~

Ignis

Days like today were days that Ignis loved coming home to you. Over 18 hours at the Citadel, stress built into every muscle of his body. Yet he knew the moment that he came home, all of that would melt away the moment that he stepped into the house and moved into your arms.

Yet as he opened the door, well beyond midnight he had expected for you to be asleep.Yet instead he saw the over light on in the kitchen, and the glow from the t.v in the living room. You must have fell asleep on the couch while waiting for him or working on your own project, something that often happened as you had stated that you didn’t like sleeping alone.

Removing his suit jacket and shoes, the man moved to the living room, ready to carry you to bed. Only to freeze mid-step at the bloody situation on the screen, where you character had just lost two of his fingers. He wasn’t a gamer himself, yet had stumbled across Noctis and Prompto’s gaming nights, so he knew what he was looking at, yet it would not compute that you would play such a gory game.  He even felt himself jump, when your character was suddenly ambushed and shoved off the platform you were on.

“Dear…”

You turned to Ignis staring in shock, “Iggy, Darling what are you doing home so…” You glanced to the clock behind the couch you were perched on. “Oh my goodness, it’s that late! I’ve been playing for nearly 15 hours.”

Ignis chuckled as you paused the game to stand up, providing him with your typical greeting of his welcome home kiss and squeeze, “I was not aware that you were into such horror games.”

“I find them to be a rather nice stress reliever.”

Ignis made a knowing noise in the back of this throat, he personally could not understand how playing a game that could give nightmares would be considered relaxing. Yet then again, to each their own. “Well, My Love, have you eaten at all?”

[taco-night-frenzy]

MY FAVE GAMES OF 2017

Wow!! Please allow me to scream into the void!! I saw vinny from vinesauce do it, and I want to DO IT TOO. FEEL FREE TO IGNORE ME I WANT TO MAKE A LIST OF THINGS I LIKED. THESE ARE JUST MY OPINIONS AND GAMES I PLAYED. *wacky voice* TOP 10 GAMES OF 2017 NUMBURRRRR OOOOOOONE

#1: Mario Odyssey

Easily the best game this year, I do not even have to think on it hard. It’s probably my favorite game ever. Mario plays better than he ever has before, the worlds are all so open and amazing to explore, and it’s just good all right.

#2: Sonic Mania

God how long has it been since Sonic has even had a good game. I was SO happy to see Sonic come back in 2D and come with some amazing gameplay, music, and visuals. I hope to see a sequel NOT MADE BY SONIC TEAM, and I hope they go with all original levels soon! It was a treat and it’s a game I don’t think I’ll forget anytime soon, because let’s be honest, we’re probably not going to get another good Sonic game for 10+ years until they give up and say MAKE SONIC MANIA 2.

#3: Hollow Knight

This game was a big surprise for me. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, but I REALLY loved it. I can think of almost zero faults with it. It’s a beautifully styled game, great music, great gameplay, and it’s a Metroidvania that I think finally makes the genre look good and realizes it to its fullest potential. I don’t think any other game has nailed Metroidvania’s as well as Hollow Knight. I wrote a longer review for it here.

#4: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This one was a good game. I don’t think it was perfect. I think there were a lotta flaws with it, but despite it all, I had a very good time with it. I loved it, and there was nothing quite like experiencing it all for the first time

#5: Shovel Knight Specter of Torment

This game’s a no brainer. I think it was easily passed up because it’s an expansion to Shovel Knight and it came out early in the year, but it was a great game, and changed up the gameplay style to try out something much more fast paced than the game was used to. The story wasn’t quite as engaging as Plague of Shadows, but the gameplay was smooth and fun, and the new musical remixes were great.

#6: Hat in Time

are you noticing a trend, it seems like its all platformers! Whoops!! Well I like platformers a lot and this year has been CRAZY with good platformers! Hat in Time was a great game that I did not expect to be good! In a world where we had been starved of good 3D platformers for years, Hat in Time was SORELY needed, and it gave life to indies and hopefully will pave the way for future indie/3D platformers on how good they can be. Sadly for it, Mario Odyssey outclasses it in almost every way, but it’s still a VERY good game.

#7: Human Fall Flat

This here is an amazing multiplayer puzzle/platformer game. Grab this with 3 or 4 of your friends and just do WHATEVER you want. It was a very short game, and we only had about a days worth of content, but I intend to come  back to the game with them and play it again. It’s hilarious, it’s fun, and it’s a good game ANYONE can play with friends. You don’t need to be a puzzle fan or a platformer fan to enjoy this one.

#8: Golf Story

Now this one was for sure a hidden gem. It’s a Switch exclusive indie game that has almost no advertisements and it seems barely anyone even knows it exists! It’s ALSO NOT A PLATFORMER CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! But I adored this game. It’s a legitimate good single player golf game, filled with wacky environments and tasks for you to do that are all generally golf related, all while having a really well written world and fun characters. If you want a well written goofy story while playing some relaxing golf, you should for sure pick this game up.

#9: Puyo Puyo Tetris

Hey wow, not a platformer!! Good job me! This is just a good ass puzzle/match game. I think def the best there is hands down. Puyos and tetris together works incredibly well, and it’s a great vs game with a friend or friends too! The writing and voice acting were uh... pretty lame, but the important thing is the GAME itself is just so good. Fast paced puzzle action and so many different ways to play it too.

#10: Deadbolt

All right, this game came out in 2016, so its kind of cheating, sorry. But I played it this year, and it was another one of those really nice surprises. I loved it. ITS ALSO NOT A PLATFORMER! WOW! But it’s a cool game with an amazing noir soundtrack and a great noir-ish world with old-school horror monsters like zombies-bros, skeleton-gangsters, vampire-clubbers, etc. Honorable Mention goes to Dead Cells

It’s still an early access game, and even though I love the gameplay, visuals, and music of it as well!!! It’s not finished yet. It’s a roguelike platformer OFC, CAN’T ESCAPE THOSE PLATFORMERS. But it’s a great game. Very worth it even as is! But I’d like to see it finished and what the complete game will be. It’s been getting updated slowly every month and I hope it keeps going well because I loved it.

[entergamingxp]

CrossCode Review — Cross Out Some Time to Play This Gem

July 16, 2020 11:00 AM EST

Radical Fish Games has risen the bar of quality in terms of the experience you can get in a retro-inspired indie game with CrossCode.

Having initially passed on the PC release of CrossCode back in 2018, when it was announced that this indie title from Radical Fish Games was coming to consoles, I knew I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. Having now seen it through, boy, oh boy, am I glad I didn’t skip out this time around because CrossCode is without a doubt one of the most expertly-crafted retro-inspired games I have ever had the pleasure of playing.

“CrossCode is without a doubt one of the most expertly-crafted retro-inspired games I have ever had the pleasure of playing.”

The alien world of Shadoon plays host to players of CrossWorlds, a futuristic melding of an MMORPG, LARPING (live-action role-playing), and Disney World. Players who log-in, take control of a body, known as an Avatar. You play as Lea, an amnesiac, and mute Avatar seeking her past while working to discover the secrets of the Ancients of Shadoon. Lea won’t need to uncover the mysteries, though, as she will be able to party up with a cast of endearing and bombastic characters to aid her, both inside and outside the game.

I loved the one-sided small talk between Lea and your first party member, Emilie-Sophie de Belmond, a Pentafist (think a Monk/punchy class) who goes by the character name Emilienator. Even though Lea has a limited vocabulary in which to respond, Emilie has no issue going on about whatever is on her mind, from beating you in races through dungeons or how she got chewed out at work for being late to a meeting. Who looks in their spam folder in their email, seriously? I also found the justice-seeking Apollo, a fellow Spheromancer that strives to keep players honest and punish any that may be cheating in CrossWorlds, to be hilarious. He’s your stereotypical exaggerated hero of justice, but Radical Fish Games’ writing prowess takes him so much more fun than his similar archetype peers. He will challenge Lea multiple times throughout the story, pushing Lea and making sure she stays on the up-and-up.

The supporting cast I enjoyed just as much as the main party. Sergey, who acts as your support from the real world, helps to repair your voice module, adding in new keywords for you to use and interact with your new friends. Whenever he would randomly pop-in, more often than not, I would find myself chuckling at his remarks and quips. Rather early on, you will find yourself a member of a small guild, the First Scholars, whose aim is to be the first to discover the final secrets of the Ancients. Run by the sweet and motherly Hlin, and her stoic second-in-command, Beowulf, I was surprised how much I came to love these characters the more I spoke with them and learned their stories.

CrossCode does a good job making the in-game world feel like a popular hustling-and-bustling MMO, even though it is a single-player experience. NPCs of various classes are often running around the different areas in the wild, while cities and other social hubs are packed with vendors and other faux players to further sell the vibe. You can also join a guild, tackle tough bosses, and make friends with exciting characters.

Much like a real MMO, there is plenty of side business that you get yourself into in-between your dives into the game’s various dungeons which further plot. Townsfolk and other NPC Avatars offer missions that range from your standard fair of fetch quests and monster-slaying tasks to logging the local fauna of Shadoon. Crafting in the traditional sense is absent in CrossCode and in its place you will be trading items at specialty vendor stalls. You can expect to spend time running through the wild cutting down plants and hunting down enemies, which is reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda series. Luckily the rewards for trading are worth it, as the gear you can get is far superior to the stock you can find in the shops proper.

“CrossCode does a good job making the in-game world feel like a popular hustling-and-bustling MMO, even though it is a single-player experience.”

CrossCode gameplay balances between fast-paced hack-n-slash combat with intricate puzzles. Encounters with even generic enemies in the wild can become tense clashes as mobs can consist of five or more at a time, each trying to kill you. In some of the more frantic matches, finding the narrow passages between the bullets and dodging my way to safety reminded me of a SHUMP.

Lea, as a Spheromancer, is far from being powerless and has plenty of options to fight back. As you progress throughout the game, you will unlock multiple skill trees that let you improve your stats and unlock new skills and abilities for your close-range, long-range, and defensive moves. A particularly cool aspect is that you have you can quickly swap between specific sub-trees and unique move options from the menu system, without the need to spend your points on both.

There is an added sense of intensity and urgency in combat with the inclusion of a ranking system. As you defeat enemies, a small bar will fill and once you fill it you will gain a rank. The higher your rank is ( which goes all the way to S-Rank), the more chances you’ll have to gain rare loot from enemies. This rarer loot is incredibly valuable as many quests and the gear you can trade for at the vendors, require them. As soon as a battle ends, a timer will begin counting down, and when it runs out, you lose your rank and have to start over. This means you will have to grind items and it’s a good idea to plan out a route around an area that will let you hit as many enemies as you can, as fast as you can. A trick I found particularly useful was to leave one enemy and start scouting out the next mob while your AI companions deal with the final enemy. This will give you some extra time to explore and track down more foes.

To throw another little wrench into the situation, increasing your rank and farming for items you will also be tempting fate. As long as you have a rank and are stringing encounters together to build it, you won’t have any access to the experience you are gathering and you won’t be auto-recovering between fights. Will you risk taking on that larger mob, netting a bunch of good drops, or should you call it quits and get that level-up that’s waiting for you? It’s a nice mechanic that just adds another layer to an already rich combat system.

When you aren’t fighting snowmen, hedgehogs, and bunnies, there is a good chance that you will be hopping around the landscape or racking your brain to figure out the solution to a puzzle. Before playing CrossCode, I wasn’t aware of how prevalent puzzles would be, but color me surprised when I realized that not only were puzzles a big part of the game, but they are very well-done. Most of the puzzles I found to be the perfect balance of challenge and inventiveness, thanks mostly to incorporating mechanics that involved bouncing balls off the walls and mirrors to hit targets. Running around the open-world has an aspect of puzzle-solving, too, as you will see various chests and items out of reach, and you will have to figure out how to reach them by jumping over pits and navigating walls and plateaus of varying heights. This incentivizes exploration in a fun way, and there’s a sense of satisfaction and surprise when you’ve found that hidden route or you discover a secret area that just appears when you get close to it.

For as good as the puzzles are and as tight as the gameplay is, what blew me away the most with CrossCode is how breathtaking the sprites and pixel art are. Players familiar with the RPGs from Square Enix’s golden age on the Super Nintendo will recognize the much of the inspiration here, stemming from titles like Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana. You will explore scorching deserts, wintery mountain peaks, dark, dreary mines, and advanced technological laboratories. Each location’s visuals are all done with such expert craftsmanship, that you could take a snapshot and hang it in your room, and it would look fantastic. Monster designs, especially the screen-filling bosses, are finely detailed and exude such personalities and charm. You’ll find yourself saying “awwww” the first time you see the cute bunnies before they then pounce to destroy you.

“You owe it to yourself to uncover the secrets Shadoon and CrossWorlds with Lea and friends in CrossCode.”

As you play, you will find more and more cute nods to other franchises that the developers clearly love. Items like the Phoenix Feather that come with descriptions that are a clear homage to the popular Final Fantasy curative item. Another that may seem familiar is the Salty Ice Cream that is, “Best enjoyed at sunset on top of a clocktower.” My personal favorites of these are the Metal Gears that are, “Just gears made out of metal, yepp,” and the Masterball, which “Heroes once used this device to capture legendary fiends.” I’m not going to lie, skimming the item descriptions turned into one of my favorite pastimes in this game, so be sure to check them out as you go, too.

The love that Radical Fish Games has put into CrossCode has resulted in a game that will be talked about as critically and with as much praise as other masterpieces like Shovel Knight or The Messenger. CrossCode’s mix of exciting exploration, chaotic yet tight combat, vast skill trees, and clever puzzles that all wrapped up in some of the most beautiful pixel art in the past decade is an experience any fan of RPGs should partake in. Some of the dungeons do go on a bit long, and I found it to be a little annoying at times (the first dungeon having ice physics was a bold choice). I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the exchange system with the item vendors and found myself wishing for a more traditional crafting system, but these small gripes did little to tarnish my overall experience. Every new area I found myself in or new items that contained a nod to pop culture or games from the past put a smile on my face.

In short, Radical Fish Games has raised the bar for retro-inspired indie games. You owe it to yourself to uncover the secrets Shadoon and CrossWorlds with Lea and friends in CrossCode.

July 16, 2020 11:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/crosscode-review-cross-out-some-time-to-play-this-gem/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=crosscode-review-cross-out-some-time-to-play-this-gem