Games I Finished in 2020 – Part Two

Click here to read Part One.

September

Forager

Image

Then you’ve come to the right website, friend!

A 2D indie crafting/building/dungeon-crawler/adventure thing with charming pixel art and an addictive gameplay loop. Like Animal Crossing, Forager is a real slow burn. Tens of hours in, I was still discovering new areas, mechanics and secrets. This sense of discovery held my interest right to the end.

The endgame content was, however, a bit lacklustre. By the time I mopped up the final few achievements, the game had devolved into a monotonous grind. It’s a shame my lingering impressions are of frustration, but I’d still rate this game highly.

 

Tell Me Why

Image

Beer and fishing D&Ms? 10/10.

A thoroughly enjoyable interactive drama/walking sim from the creators of Life is Strange. As in their past work, this game featured solid writing and interesting characters. I appreciated the shorter overall length and fast (weekly!) turnaround of episodes, as it gave the story greater momentum.

Tell Me Why was full of memorable sequences that employed simple, menial tasks to impart characterisation and develop relationships. These included taking inventory in a general store and a novel sequence where a character struggles to centre herself during a panic attack.

The puzzles were a mixed bag. A memorable one had me snooping through locked police records in search of clues, which required critical thinking and memorisation. I appreciated that the player was given agency here. On the other hand, the ‘Crafty Goblin’ riddles – puzzles with a fairy tale motif – were torturous and hindered the narrative momentum.

I played this game with my girlfriend. Though I was at the wheel, we considered it a collaborative experience. Much like when dissecting a TV show, we discussed where we thought the story was going, shared our impressions of characters and weighed in on the central mysteries, such as who the twins’ father was, what really happened on that fateful night, and which supporting characters were shady. This made the game even more enjoyable and had me anticipating each episode’s release.

Pre-release, a great deal of emphasis was paid to Tyler, one of gaming’s earliest and most prominent examples of trans representation. Tyler’s transition was handled with great care. This story wasn’t explicitly about Tyler’s identity; it was just a cool detail that informed his worldview.

I loved how all the small-town supporting characters navigated Tyler’s transition, something they clearly had no experience with. They wanted to understand and show support, but didn’t always have the right words. I felt this was a realistic portrayal of how such a situation would unfold. The awkward but well-intentioned interactions between, say, Tyler and Sam, or Tyler and Eddy were great.

I was also glad they refrained from including any transphobic antagonists. Not that transphobia isn’t worth exploring, but it was nice to see Tyler embraced and accepted as a regular townsperson. I think this is a great way to normalise LGBTQ+ people in media (making them an organic part of the world and community, rather than having the entire story pivot around their identity). Schitt’s Creek is another good example of this.

All up, Tell Me Why was an excellent addition to the Game Pass roster and further proof that Dontnod are the masters of this sort of interactive storytelling.

 

Juju

Image

The Care Bears platformer no one asked for.

A short and colourful 2D platformer that plays like an homage to the Donkey Kong Country series (though without the palm-sweating difficulty!). Enjoyable, though fairly basic.

October

Dishonored

Image

The Disgruntled Henchman Convention.

I’m usually too impatient for stealth games, but I made an exception for Dishonored, Arkane Studio’s much-lauded 2012 game. I was drawn to it because of its enduring cult status and the frequent comparisons it receives to Bioshock (I mean, I sort of get it, but not really).

While it fell a little short of my expectations, I still really enjoyed my time with this game. The sprawling, intricately designed levels are an amazing achievement and the freedom afforded to the player is staggering. With the number of tools and routes available, the sky is truly the limit in terms of how the player approaches their objectives. The story itself wasn’t anything remarkable, but the lore, world-building and environmental storytelling were really cool.

Definitely a great game deserving of its reputation. I look forward to playing the sequel eventually.

Tacoma

Image

Fluorescent adolescents.

I started this solely for a Game Pass Quest. As such, I was all set to cash in my Reward points and bounce right off what I assumed was another hum-ho walking simulator. However, to my surprise, I was drawn in by the excellent writing and voice acting.

Tacoma is a uniquely told detective story set on a space station in the wake of a mysterious accident. As the investigator, you comb through holographic recordings left behind by missing crew members to determine what happened. There’s a certain voyeuristic pleasure in this as you’re afforded intimate glimpses into their lives. How they present in a group setting or professional capacity doesn’t always reflect how they feel inside or how they act when they think they’re alone. As such, you soon realise that more went on here than first meets the eye.

The story is presented out of order and with little context. I found piecing it all together very satisfying. There are all manners of twists, deceptions and engaging character moments. In fact, I was surprised how relatable it all felt considering the emphasis on advanced technology. I highly recommend this one.

 

Don’t Make Love

Image

Warning! NSFW.

A peculiar text-based relationship game about two praying mantises on the precipice of a life-changing choice. Unique and thought-provoking, though really more of an interactive art project.

November

Assassin’s Creed

Image

When you all accidentally buy the same Halloween costume.

I’d always been curious about this intimidatingly long-running series. After accumulating most of the series as Games with Gold giveaways, the time had finally come to dive in. I opted to start with the first entry, but heeded the warnings about it ageing poorly.

For the most part, I enjoyed this. The fluid controls (relative to other third-person action games; I know this entry is positively creaking compared to its successors), awe-inspiring sandbox vistas and fresh mechanics (relative to 2007!) made it fun to play. The story, which reframes historical events as part of an intricate, globe-spanning conspiracy, was super engaging and way ahead of its time.

Really, the only things that let it down were its drab colour palette (hope you like brown!), rudimentary combat system (basically a series of Quick Time Events) and the staggeringly repetitious objectives. However, even in this crude, embryonic state, it was clear to me that Assassin’s Creed was brimming with franchise potential.

Gears of War 4

Image

Titanfalls of War.

A game I’m in two minds about. On one hand, Gears of War 4 was jaw-droppingly beautiful. The production values and general presentation were seriously impressive. I liked the decision to jump ahead in time after Gears of War 3 and revisit this world from the perspective of a new generation. Likewise, while the old characters don’t play too much of a role (outside of Marcus), they’re at least handled respectfully. It was neat seeing where they all ended up.

The controls feel fluid and refined to perfection. By now, the original Gears titles (at least the first two) feel stiff and clunky, but this entry is snappy and responsive, particularly with the leap to 60 frames per second. I can’t understate how much difference this makes to the moment-to-moment gameplay.

There were also cool-as-fuck set pieces that make you feel like you’re playing through the most high-octane action film ever created. One such example are the new windflares, complex environmental hazards that devastate the battlefield in real time.

Gears of Wars 4 introduces an entirely new cast. I liked most of them well enough, although this change also marked a dramatic shift in tone. Instead of being about jaded war veterans fighting for humanity’s survival, this game felt more like the coming-of-age adventure for quippy adolescents.

The campaign was laughably short and ended with next to no fanfare. It felt like they ran out of time and were forced to end the story at an arbitrary point. I suppose it’s better to be short and sweet than to overstay your welcome. Multiplayer has never reliably worked in Australia thanks to ass-backwards region-locked matchmaking, so I can’t really comment there.

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier

Image

Even her stares can kill.

This was the first Xbox game I played through entirely from the comfort of my bed via streaming. I would chip away at it for half an hour or so before drifting off to sleep.

A New Frontier is, in everything but name, the third season of Telltale’s Walking Dead walking simulator series. While you no longer control long-time protagonist Clementine, she still features prominently in the story. You now engage with her from the perspective of ex-pro baseballer and uncle-turned-surrogate-dad Javier García.

I was initially sceptical of this change, but it turned out to just the shot in the arm the series needed. The series was beginning to feel a bit bogged down by Clementine’s history. For example, the second season strained believability in depicting a group of competent adults requesting advice and taking orders from a prepubescent girl. With this new approach, returning players get to meet Clementine anew. This version of her is less wide-eyed; she’s older, embittered, less trusting and utterly ruthless.

I won’t go on all day about this game, but I will say that I really enjoyed it.

Oceanhorn

Image

Starring famed gaming icon Mink from the Saga of Celda series.

Oceanhorn is an isometric action-adventure game that draws obvious inspiration from the Legend of Zelda series (specifically, it plays like A Link to the Past with some Wind Waker window dressing). Its limitations are very apparent, which is understandable as it’s a port of a mobile game made many years ago on a shoestring budget. It has the appearance and scope of an old phone game, with shocking voice acting and sound mixing, and puzzles that are simple to a fault.

While it doesn’t reach the high standards regularly set by Nintendo, I still found Oceanhorn to be enjoyable and charming in its own way. There’s just something timeless about running around verdant fields slashing away at tall grass and deflecting attacks back at unsuspecting enemies. Controls are responsive and the art design is solid. I can’t give it many points for originality, but the game was clearly made by a passionate team with a reverence for Zelda.

December

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

Image

Welcome to Vegetarianism.

This game was insane. I trialled it as an Epic Store freebie and liked it enough to buy the Amnesia collection on Xbox One. (Very average port, by the way. Abysmal load times.)

Unlike its predecessor Amnesia: Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs sheds the survival elements to become a full-fledged puzzle game/walking simulator. As a newcomer to this series, I didn’t mind at all and was more so enthralled by the clever writing and incredible vocal performances. It tells the story of a father who wakes up amnesia-stricken to find his children are gone. What follows is a complex and harrowing tale of a brilliant man’s descent to madness.

The atmosphere is the true highlight of this game. Despite the limitations of its dated engine, the environments still drew me in and immersed me in this world, proving again that thoughtful art direction trumps technical ability any day. Scares were so infrequent that they really commanded your attention when they happened. The game’s monsters, the iconic Man-Pigs, are horrifying in both concept and design. Underrated gem.

Games I Finished in 2018

Gaming is one of my big passions, alongside writing, music and fitness. To reflect that, I thought I’d share my impressions of the games I completed in 2018.

 Gears of War 2

gears-of-war-2_2008_10-15-08_04_1

Scratch one grub!

I’m a long-term Halo fanatic but have never made time for Xbox’s other flagship shooter series, Gears of War. In fact, my introduction to the series (which began in 2006) wasn’t until 2015 when I played the first game’s excellent remaster, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. Gears: Ultimate had some cool ideas and memorable moments, but I wasn’t blown away. I thought the remastered graphics were incredible and that the cover-based shooting mechanics were solid (if a little stiff), but I really didn’t care about its generic action movie narrative. The saving grace, however, was the surprisingly nuanced relationships between the characters. These four neckless dudebros spent most of the game assaulting you with one-liners, but they also genuinely care for each other. Their brotherhood and affinity for shit-talking was endearing. I didn’t expect to warm to them the way I did.

In many ways Gears 2 is a typical action sequel. It iterates on everything that made the first entry enjoyable and generally offers more – more action, weapons, variety, and more bombastic set pieces. Surprisingly, the story was more affecting story this time around. There are a few surprise deaths and a real exploration of how these characters feel, and what they – and humanity at large – are fighting for. The set pieces are thrilling and varied, and the entire campaign is paced perfectly. You’re constantly thrown into new and exciting locations and combat scenarios. Something new lies around every corner and there’s no time for any of it to grow stale.

I thought the first Gears of War was just okay. But after blasting through its exhilarating sequel I’m can now see what all the fuss is about. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.

 

Oxenfree

12_Oxenfree_20160918203023

I really expected to like Oxenfree. It’s frequently compared to Dontnod’s 2015 title Life is Strange, a game that improved upon Telltale’s adventure game template by adding a memorable time travel mechanic. The similarities between Oxenfree and Life is Strange are obvious: they both star adolescent protagonists, feature time travel and offer branching dialogue options. But where Life is Strange felt sincere and intimate, Oxenfree feels strangely impersonal. Its dialogue was quippy and trite. Exploring was less enjoyable; I didn’t really care about the characters; and the mystery, which initially showed promise, devolved into an overwrought mess in the vein of Lost.

A bit of a disappointment. Maybe my preconceptions worked against me here.


Super Lucky’s Tale

CaptainRad88_SuperLuckysTale_20180314_05-27-20

Want rad puns? This game’s got you, fam.

 

Super Lucky’s Tale is one of my personal gaming highlights of 2018. It’s a wholesome throwback to the colourful 3D platformers of the Nineties. It’s got it all: cute characters, fun dialogue and a banging OST. The controls are super responsive, the level design was solid and the DLC ramps up the difficulty to cap things off nicely.

This game exuded charm and was a much-needed palette cleanser after playing so many shooters. I even nabbed all the achievements for it, which took a bit of work.

 

Borderlands 2

borderlands2

Sigh.

Where to begin? I’m a huge fan of the original Borderlands (in my eyes it’s the definitive co-op experience, next to Left 4 Dead), so naturally expected a lot from its sequel. This game is regarded as one of the best games of last generation, but I found it a very mixed bag. Continue reading