Foreword (Report #006)

---

☉ Platform: PC
₪ Genre: Strategy, Hack & Slash
☑ Release date: October 2015
♬ Soundtrack: The Vanquished

---

As you can read if you look around, but you don't feel like so I'll handle it for you, Right Click to Necromance was developed in 48 hours by Juicy Beast, a team of four, for Indie Speed Run back in 2015. Considering what it is I think they did a swell job with it when you take into account all the assets had to be produced on such short notice. Getting music on-board to be included as part of the package as well is outright staggering, even if it wasn't done in-house but instead by two contributors. From the sheer aspect of how the game came through together it gets nothing but thumbs up from me.

Onto the game itself – we're dealing with a hybrid between a real-time strategy and hack and slash game. What do I mean by that? Well, surmised in the most concise and straight to the point manner, you begin with a small squad of re-animated soldiers → fight other groups of living enemies → slay them and RMB click to re-animate. Presto! You have a constantly growing of your own to wreak even more havoc. Snag is.... that's all there is to the game. As your army grows you take on more dangerous enemy types ranging from spellcasters to stone giants of some sort, but you don't do anything past that point. Avoiding roaming group ambushes from sneaking up on you or smaller groups up ganging up is a constant effort, though.

At the end of the day that's it. A good time waster you'll spend couple of minutes playing in bursts. Impressive production values and commendable effort, though.

---

☉ Platform: PC
₪ Genre: Adventure
☑ Release date: March 2017
♬ Soundtrack: Unrooted

---

Rootless comes to us as courtesy of A Dessert Club Production's contribution to this year's #ResistJam which saw a significant number of some really tight games. Let's put that aside and talk about this one, though. I should point out getting external assistance with music certainly helps the game no matter how you look at it.

And make no mistake because there is a lot to look at here. Not necessarily much in the motion department, considering there's practically no animation, but serious effort went into visualizing and bringing scenes to life in the art department and as sole artist on the team Sarah O'Donnell has a really nice stepping stone to further work on her art. Like I said, I do wish they went for more of a motion comic look instead of main character just sliding across the screen. If animation itself was off the table, I mean.

Speaking of our protagonist she is just a regular girl who one day gets her summons to go and appreciate nature. Of course, things go awry as a mysterious figure slips her something... and that something turns out to be a weird book devouring plant creature. In a world where all-powerful Great Mainframe banned all books prior to its ascent to power. Needless to say this is a really engaging setting I wish team gets to realize more of some day as I would definitely be game. Aside from one puzzle with the incinerator same cannot be really said about the puzzles which are bread and butter for adventure games, but there's always room to improve.

Rootless certainly feels like a much more ambitious project than some I've played in the same or similar production tier, but despite that I have to say Unity Engine was goofing off with game locking up couple of times and puzzles failing to load. Bad luck on my part? Very likely, but I ought to mention it in what is a really solid game. Recommended for fans of the genre.

---

☉ Platform: PC
₪ Genre: Adventure
☑ Release date: March 2017
♬ Soundtrack: NYC Subway Train (not a music track)

---

Another entry for #ResistJam, this time developed by andyman404 over the course of a week, The Cat in the Hijab was not exactly that much to my liking, but in this case it could be because of cultural differences... and the fact I've ridden on subway twice in my entire life so that entire aspect of daily life is lost on me. From what I've gathered the entire thing is a little ecosystem of its own where you can run into all sorts of people crammed into a tight space and having to deal with with out-of-norm situations that may arise.

It would be disingenuous of me to dismiss the game simply because I find it too much on the nose with its preaching because it is, in fact, a game that has the basics right more than many of the so called walking simulators out there. There are dialog choices to make and even a different outcome for what your hijab wearing cat to make, even if it just a difference in flavor. But yeah, to get back on why I don't like the game – I don't like being preached. And to author's credit he does present two situations where one speaker comes from ignorance and other from apparent bigotry, but I think the scope of the game obviously cuts into potential choices and exploration of themes of the subject. As andyman404 himself points out this is just an exploration of a potential situation.

I find myself wishing it was a longer game with some granularity to this particular dilemma instead of just riding currently topical state of politics over the pond, though. It's a low hanging fruit.

---

☉ Platform: PC
₪ Genre: Adventure, Action, Horror
☑ Release date: October 2012
♬ Soundtrack: Main Theme

---

Coming from Magnesium Ninja we have Ascension which turned out to be quite a gem for someone like myself who largely stayed out of the horror games, survival or otherwise, since pretty much now ancient PlayStation 1 days when I was still into Resident Evil and Silent Hill. I realize this whole “guy wanders through the building with a flashlight avoiding nasty things in the dark” has almost wore out its welcome, but let's see if I can put into words why I liked what I played.

We jump into the boots of Atticus or Atty, as he's known to his daughter, in kind of a awkward framed situation where he brings his sick daughter to the workplace. He's the groundskeeper you see and after he leaves the daughter with his friend Emily to watch over her things suddenly take a turn for the worse in the company building – power fails left and right, Atty finds himself locked in the elevator and you can hear some weird noises everywhere around you. Armed with nothing but his brains our protagonist embarks into the dark to find his daughter...

If there's one thing Ascension does really well it's actually building up atmosphere and easing you into the entire affair. I imagine a lesser indie game would just plop a monster at you to familiarize you with how combat works, but in this case we go through slow and gradual ascent in power. In fact, game first teaches you how to HIDE and that using your flashlight is not always the best choice, and I'm glad to say this persists throughout. There are sadly no puzzles to engage you on another level since combat a is a no-go for most of the time and most you'll do is track down some keys. Atticus' monologues really carry over how he's worried about the daughter he already has shaky relationship with and they separated on uneasy terms earlier that day. It sold me on this stoic character who still empathizes with others and somehow copes with the situation he ends up in.

I can heartily say I recommend Ascension. Some elements were basic or not necessarily that finely thought out, like how going into “stealth” mode blacks out your screen, but as a complete package it feels like a really well-realized game.

---

☉ Platform: PC
₪ Genre: Adventure
☑ Release date: December 2014
♬ Soundtrack: Snowfield

---

I must confess I am somewhat confused where exactly this game fits in correlation to Night in the Woods, but considering just how adamant creators are that Lost Constellation is not, in fact, a demo or preview for the former, but in fact a side story in its own right... I guess I'll just have to take them on their word. No idea why I make that sound like a stretch, but I'll make do.

Best way to start would be to re-iterate just how gorgeous looking this game is in that very pleasing way that doesn't need advanced or complex visuals to achieve the effect. Lost Constellation is a 2D side scrolling adventure game yet clever use of color schemes, shapes and effects like knowing when to obfuscate and accentuate really makes a striking first impression that never lets up. Knowing it was created by only three developers simply blows my mind away and demonstrates some fundamental understanding of art and puts some serious skills on display.

Not to say there isn't more to Lost Constellation past the visuals, though. As we follow the enigmatic astrologer protagonist as she sets her mind on passion through this icy and foreboding forest we see there's a lot more to, well, all of this than what meets the eye. I won't go into detail because A) that would be spoiling and B) a lot of the conclusion was just conjecture on my part as game purposefully keeps it mysterious and ominous all the way through. There are spirits bound to snowmen, which you get to create using parts and which are sadly the extent of puzzles aside from using snowballs to wreck some things, and other powerful beings lurking around with their own agendas invoking some of that old European folklore feeling perfectly. Not mention Adina brings her own baggage into a centuries old fray. It all just gels so extremely well with direct and indirect storytelling I was honestly left floored at times. Maybe it's more because I'm not familiar with the setting, but I desperately want more.

In the end I can't do anything else but to give this one my unyielding recommendation. If you're even remotely interested in morose adventures and stories get Lost Constellation ASAP. Hell, if Night in the Woods is even remotely close to this level of quality it just got bumped up on my “Gotta Own At Some Point” list.

---

☉ Platform: PC
₪ Genre: Stealth, Adventure
☑ Release date: November 2016
♬ Soundtrack: Main Menu Theme

---

I find it both astonishing and difficult to believe that Lily – Colors of Santa Luz was a student project considering how extremely proficient its production values are. It comes as no surprise the small team indeed won the Ping Awards 2016 for students when you look at the end product, but I still think there's more to say about a showcase that could with a bit of additional polish easily pass for an opening to a medium budget title.

There isn't much to direct story, but you can infer much from what's happening around our two protagonists; girl Lily and her father Yvan, who desperately wants to get her out of a war torn city of Santa Luz. City is in chaos as ominous and somewhat exaggerated soldiers patrol the streets and burst into building looking for people to, presumably, take away somewhere. It will take Yvan all of his wits and skill in stealth to get away from life or death situations, whether it be at the hands of the invading army or dogs breaking their chains and chasing after the pair on their way to reach the shore.

Game is listed as an adventure on the site, but I think it's honestly more of a stealthy endeavor based on what I could see in this brief snippet of gameplay. In more contemporary terms I suppose you could compare it to a Telltale game in how it handles choices at multiple occasions, tracks them through a journal and generally tackles adventure elements in a very light fashion without taking the puzzles route. In fact, avoiding soldier's line of sight by sneaking behind and around obstacles is the main challenge in Lily.

But goodness, I think presentation is the real show stopper here. I don't have t o say more beyond “just look at it” and you'll get the idea – tremendous amount of effort has gone into locations you'll rarely have the chance to truly marvel at as you're trying to sneak about, contrast between native and invading elements is very apparent and even voice acting is present for diary scribbles Lily narrates over. That's a lot of production value for something not made on a real budget, I imagine.

You've probably already come to an answer whether I'd recommend the game already or not, but that's not to say there are no problems like shoddy controls at times and mannequin like main characters that could really use more expressiveness. Those are obvious elements that can be built upon and not really major detriments compared to project as a whole which is truly spectacular and worth checking out on that merit alone. Give it a whirl.

---

₪ Genre: Science Fiction, Satire
☑ Original release: December 2011
⇲ Episodes: 3

---

I'm not sure if I mentioned this at some point earlier, but I like me some anthologies whether they're TV shows, books or whatever other format they can take. Black Mirror is one of these works even if it does only feature three episodes of varying levels of quality. But I'm getting ahead of myself so let's get into this a bit deeper as they say.

Taking into account there are only three episodes on my hands I thought I'd avoid the lazy man's “here's my general opinion on the collection, have a nice day” and actually look at each episode individually.

The National Anthem - This is the only episode where I have to resort to hard spoilers, spoilered of course, because it is that one point that's crucial to the entire episode and everything revolves around that. You see, in this fictional United Kingdom news hit that princess Susannah has been kidnapped. Kidnapper will only release her if the Prime Minister porks the pig on live TV without any tricks or princess' body parts will start rolling. That's basically it as far as the story goes and now we're dealing with fallout, cabinet tying to find alternate solutions to the situation and wondering what will really go down as public attention is on the Prime Minister and his pride. I was not a fan of this particular episode mainly because it lacks the “out there” factor you expect from good SF stories and doesn't really do much with what it has beyond shock value.

Fifteen Million Merits - Imagine, if you will, a world where power necessary to, well, power everything doesn't come from non-renewable resources like coal, oil, etc but instead from millions and millions of people peddling exercise bikes every day and getting merits from it, merits they then use for everything else in their life. All the while living in small boxes surrounded by video screens from all sides and constantly subjected to commercials, which you can of course dismiss for a penalty fee. It is in such conditions that we see protagonist Bing who goes through dreary life day after day, until he meets Abi and after hearing her sing offers to help her enter this perpetually running Hot Shot show in order to earn her way out. What I've told is merely the premise and story goes places from there, places you don't really expect from what seems to be a romantic tale. This is my favorite of the three episodes despite the reality talent show angle I cannot stand in real life playing such a major part in it. Setting is interesting and we get to see how far your integrity goes when you're presented with a surefire way out of mundanity.

The Entire History of You - Last entry in this anthology explores a possible future where everyone has this technology called Grain implanted in them and Grain records everything you see and hear at all time. The kick is it also comes with a miniature sort of of device that lets you “rewind” these memories for yourself or on screens. Fascinating technology with tremendous implications, some of which we see when our protagonist has his screened as he goes through airport boarding process, for example. Main problem with this story is that, despite all the ethical and moral dilemmas that would arise from such technology where mere act of erasure means you may have something to hide, is that at its core this is is about jealousy and a failing relationship. I'm pretty sure you can piece together for yourself where the story is already going based on that and yet still I enjoyed it regardless. Not as much as I could have, but Grain is certainly not used as merely a gimmick but rather an integral part of people's lives in this world.

Reckon you don't need much heating with all those screens, huh?

You would not believe the porn experience I get with these babies!

At some point it stops being funny. We passed that point one hour ago.

Those leftovers.... I NEED THEM.

Perversion status = achieved.

Black Mirror does actually get to delve into couple of potential futures, both of which are bleak and not something I'd like to witness, proving in the process once again that short story/episodic format really works wonders for SF. I would still point you to far more successful takes on the format with the likes of The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, though. I imagine budgetary differences have something to do with considering those older shows usually had just couple of guys in lab coats and two sets to work with, but that's no excuse for quality writing I would've liked to see more of in Black Mirror. At some point the IDEA itself has to be transcended with execution and you cannot bank on potential alone.

Would I recommend the anthology? Overall, yes. I cannot give it a full recommendation when one third of the offering failed to engaged me whatsoever, though.

---

₪ Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
☑ Release date: December 2016
⇲ Running time: 133 minutes

---

It feels surreal to get another Star Wars movie so soon after Episode VII came out, what? Couple of years ago or so? Yet not really that strange because Rogue One doesn't try to be a numbered entry in the core series as much as doing its own thing, and I think that's largely the reason it worked for me as a movie. I say “for me” because I watched this one with a friend and while she has seen the hexalogy + The Force Awakens she has no interest or familiarity with Star Wars at large as a franchise. End result was overall enjoyable, but there were also some hiccups I'll talk about in the review proper.

Story is simple – set just on the cusp before Episode IV begins we find out how Rebel Alliance acquired the plans for Empire's new planet ending weapon which enables the rebels to, spoiler alert, deal with it in Episode IV. I haven't exactly revealed any great mystery here considering you find out very quickly what the score is. More personal story interwoven into all this is that of Jyn Erso, daughter of a coerced Imperial scientist forced to work on the project and her unfortunate involvement in all of it after the rebels pick her up at gunpoint to assist them. What I'm subtly hinting at here is that Rebel Alliance itself isn't squeaky clean either and does some horrible things in order to advance their good fight to save the galaxy. If you're familiar with Star Wars and Expanded Universe you may be aware this is the second time they've retconned how the rebels get their hands on these plans, but I leave that to personal judgment of the viewer.

Along the way things escalate and Jyn finds herself embroiled with other characters like Alliance captains, reprogrammed Imperial droid with a sense of humor who always lights things up and others like them mysterious martial artist, etc. This is a problem that sort of escalates as the movie goes on and you realize at least some characters could've been left out. That's not even getting into the support characters of which there's a ton on both sides. A lot of fan service gets around in these parts and unless you're invested in the time period of Star Wars you will be let in the dust. If you are though, it is great to see so many cameos and there's probably an entire chapter worth of credits here. I do wish CG used for the realest Moff around, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Leia was handled better. It's not a bad effect, but it stands out under direct scrutiny when the rest of the movie plays it really well by combining practical and digital methods.

In terms of Rogue One's identity and presentation it's a two-way street.

On one side you have this gritty look reminiscent of the original trilogy which fits the overall “underbelly of the galaxy” setting they were aiming to capture perfectly. We saw bits and pieces of the old movies, but this one is almost in its entirety about mercenaries, spies and every day people getting caught up in this civil war while trying to make a difference for their faction. On the other hand Rogue One is certainly different enough compared to core movies which rely heavily on the Force and Jedi to grab your attention while conveying a greater than life story. Not so much this time around. Just for the sake of comparison, at the peak of action we get what is probably the beast combined arms engagement scenes in all of Star Wars so far. And on the ground it comes down to squad-level tactics as groups fight chaotically. As a trade-off you also don't get any of those grand duels you might've come to expect... which is not to say Chirrut Imwe doesn't steal the movie at multiple occasions as he whoops ass with his staff and apparently channeling the Force.

You meatbags and your need for necessities like oxygen. I'll remember those jokes at my expense.

See? We do have color.

When the smug is so off the charts you know comeuppance is unavoidable.

Force sensitive Teras Kasi masters finally get representation.

Just a reminder it could always be worse. You could be seeing Vader's boss instead.

There's also a complaint that Rogue One front-loads a lot of the jumping to and from various planes to get the story points across and it doesn't help a lot of the planet are new so you have no point of reference. I think in the first ten minutes, considering there's also no text crawl at the beginning to give you some context for what's happening, movie jumps between four or five planets dealing with multiple story arcs. Not to mention time skips. This ties into my earlier point with too many characters which may have been exaggerated. It's not so much that there are too many of them so much as they don't go through any character development. Jyn being the notable exception, but that's to be expected from the main character. Everyone else comes with their packaged personality and goals only to not deviate from those established parameters unless it suddenly becomes convenient. Then again, this is no hero's journey story in the true archetypal sense movies so far have gone through. It works for a standalone effort like Rogue One.

I think sadly one aspect of the movie I was left disappointed with would have to be the soundtrack. Yes, movie isn't just a carbon copy of what worked previously so it doesn't hit the same cues, but short of hearing the familiar Star Wars motif on few occasions this entire soundtrack comes off as some sort of bootleg copy. Fortunately this does not extend to any of the sound design which is still as impeccable as it is in every other movie.

People like to use the “it's darker, so it's mature and better” argument when describing certain things. That's rather silly considering the tone rarely has much to do with quality of the work. In this particular case Rogue One deviates significantly from the established Star Wars movie going experience, but that's not a bad thing. Yeah sure, I can imagine fanboys screaming their lungs out because there was no lightsaber combat and some references could've been left out, but that's why the last scene in the movie exists. To cover both of those bases handily and so it ties well with Episode IV.

Would I recommend it? Yes, just leave your idea of what Star Wars should be aside for roughly two hours and see a different take on it using familiar elements.

---

₪ Genre: Science Fiction
☑ Publication date: November 1909
⇲ Pages: 48

---

I seriously have no idea how I've managed to overlook a book of this caliber for so long. It's rather crazy how straight up prophetic The Machine Stops is in our day and age when you take into account Forster wrote it in 1909. More than a century ago. Not even in that sense of “oh, it's anachronistic but you can see glimmers of things to come if you squint hard and extrapolate” - some odd terminology notwithstanding this reads like a modern day warning the way it handles subject matters, yet is also devoid of cynicism and preaching that have become more and more prominent.

Truth be told biggest problem I'm facing right now is how to handle this review because I really, really want you to read the book for yourself so as you don't go into it with my write-up already read.

There are three parts to The Machine Stops and we open to humanity living a perfect life underground under the watchful eye of the Machine of old. As we see it through the perspective of Vashti she shares this is the closest thing to heaven where everyone lives in a room of their own and the Machine meets their every need and desire, where their main pursuits are intellectual and “sharing ideas” is the peak of mental pursuits as, well, there's literally nothing else to do. Humanity has finally reached the state of utopia. As this is set thousands of years in the future of our own Earth you can see some familiar names thrown around, but it is quickly established that travel beyond your habitat complex aka your room which is your entire life, is highly undesirable. For surface of the Earth is dangerous with atmosphere unfit for life so people don't even want to expose themselves to sunlight when they travel with air-ships, provided they cannot avoid the trip they usually only do once and for one purpose – to go live where the Machine sends them to live. This extensive and very immersive primer on the setting is interrupted when Vashti gets a conference call from her son Kuno who lives on the other side of the world and he has something important to share he can't talk about “through the Machine” with its holographic blue plates, effectively asking his mother to come meet him in person having been separated from her for a while as it is dictated by the Machine.

And then things get worse.

Having said all that I haven't really shared much of any of the real story and that's surprising considering this a short one with only 48 pages. I should point out the story itself is basically not even there as much as the entire short story is really about the human race itself. Commentary on our modern society is staggeringly strong in this one and you can't help but wonder if author was a time traveler or something. Eh. On the more serious side, I suppose blind dependence on technology, loss of agency and willpower as well as overreaching as masters of the world are universal themes when you think about them. They're all definitely present here in a very matter a fact style without needless purple prose which was much appreciated.

Like I said at the very beginning I don't think I can do this one justice it deserves, but pointing out I read it one go should speak volumes how much it gripped me. There's also multiple reasons as to why you have no excuse to check it out for yourselves: it's really short with with that number of pages and it's public domain, meaning you can go and read it right now if you click on the cover art. Or hear it in its entirety considering audiobook option also exists at the link.

I would say “Don't think, JUST DO IT” but that would be going against what we're being taught here.

Western RPG

It is said that staring long enough into the abyss will result in it staring back at you, and I believe such is the almost doomed nature of trying to have a discourse about RPGs in general. There is not a single other genre of video games in existence that has changed as much as RPGs have over the course of decades, in my opinion. Trying to put all of that into a single post, even a book, would be a tremendous undertaking... so I won't even try. Still, there are people like, for example, FelipePepe who's trying to do precisely that by putting together an e-book containing reviews and opinions of significant CRPGs. I urge you to check out the preview version as it is a very worthwhile effort and who knows, maybe you can even contribute with additional content that hasn't already been covered. Not to mention it's an amazing way to depress yourself when you think you have a handle on your backlog only to realize there are still dozens upon dozens of RPGs you haven't even heard about, let alone played.

Stay strong, BLAEO.

With that long preamble out of the way let's get down to business – real-time or turn-based. Dilemma that has raged among RPG fans since time immemorial and inclusion of real-time with pause (RtwP) has only muddied the waters further. In my humble opinion, turn-based works perfectly fine if you're adapting from some already existing roleplaying tabletop game where the ruleset/system exists so sticking to it is just being faithful. Nothing wrong with going real-time though, and it's easy to see the appeal that choice would hold for audience that things former is boring and slow. Which is really more of a problem with game design itself aka trash combat encounters will grate you either way, but it becomes much more pronounced in turn-based games. RtwP is really just a compromise but it brings me to my next point.

That being how RPGs would probably be dead had they not hybridized at various points in time. People like to look at Infinity Engine era games [Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale] and proclaim those are, in fact, pure RPGs as it fits their definition. Except those are clearly different from Strategic Simulations, Inc generation [Dark Sun, Pool of Radiance, Eye of the Beholder] that preceded it and former were successful hybrids of strategy and roleplaying that would essentially become the template for future games. There's another point of view that holds true pretty much anything prior to the first Fallout is not an RPG because you're really just choosing how you want to kill something, which holds some merit but I find it incredibly dubious to dismiss things retroactively to fit the newly held view. No matter how you swing at the matter it's pretty clear modern crowdfunding breathed new life into the genre, with all of its permutations and sub-genres I won't go into at the moment because that would actually take forever and I'm not trying to write a thesis here, and has enabled old properties to make a comeback and even existing studios to give their new IPs a shot.

I think a fitting way to end this would be to say couple of words about my favorites. As evident from the art used you can tell Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is up there for how it truly merged fantasy and steampunk for more than just their aesthetics as well as variety in character builds with varying levels of challenge, and if not for its shoddy combat system(s) it would probably be my favorite RPG of all time. Fallout 2 qualifies as well even if it may draw the ire of fans who consider it more imperfect compared to the original and aren't necessarily keen on some of its references, but that freedom that manifests itself in choices and consequences is stellar and I can't do without. Lastly a pair of games I cannot separate from one another because I see them as two sides of the same coin: Deus Ex and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. Proving you don't need an isometric 2D game to make a good RPG an examples where despite some flaws in the hybridization process overall package is pretty damn outstanding, latter also serving as a fine representative of its property.

---

Eastern RPG

Looking back on it in retrospective I've come to realize two things about the subject at hand – there's more to eastern RPGs than just Japanese ones and JRPGs were honestly my first real plunge into RPGs as a whole. Maybe because western RPGs have their roots in tabletop games which I had no interest in when I was younger? No one can say with certainty. All I know is Japanese take on the genre tickled my fancy way more back during earlier console generations. Sadly, genre never achieved much prominence on the PC aside from some odd ports here and there even if that is a trend that's been changing as of late.

If you were to put a gun to my head and ask “What was the best period for JRPGs?” I would say PlayStation 1 era. Not to say SNES was worse off in any tangible way, but it's hard to compare the two and not see just how much more variety Sony's gray machine brought tot he table in terms of all the visually different art styles, merging of 3D and 2D for some truly outstanding results and sheer prominence of pre-rendered backgrounds. Simply put it was the CD as a medium that affected a lot of production aspects we've come to take for granted nowadays but all of which were major breakthroughs. That's even putting aside companies like then Squaresoft which could apparently do no wrong, for example.

Touching on that a lot of the genre's history is tied to two big names – Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy franchises. Titans of JRPGs each with its own approach, that of consistency vs reinvention, they would come to be the “top dogs” but Japanese developers have been extremely prolific with their releases... to a point genre stagnated over the decades. Playing a game from couple of years and following it up with something released 20+ years ago will not feel nearly as alien as it would elsewhere. If we stick to the neighborhood you'll remember I've mentioned Chinese also develop their own RPGs, but majority is sadly too obscure and remains untranslated. If you get the chance check out The Legend of Sword and Fairy as well as few Steam releases we've seen as of late like The Gate of Firmament. Sadly, majority of these series remain unavailable to English-speaking audiences.

That's a whole lot of history and summaries, though. What can you really expect if you get into JRPGs? Rather amusingly they follow familiar setup; turn-based, real-time and Active Time Battle (ATB). First two are self-explanatory, but last one may require some explanation. An ATB gauge fills up over time, and once filled that unit may act, either attacking or casting spells. Taking action then causes the gauge to empty, and the cycle repeats itself until the battle ends. What series' adopted which of these systems is... well, they're all two timers and basically flirt with all of them on consistent basis. Especially when you take into account portable consoles where majority of JRPGs aimed at older fans and capable of being developed without insane budgets have moved onto. Genre may have seemed like it went through a mid-life crisis during the last generation, but that was simply because majority moved to PSP and Nintendo DS. I'll avoid about those specifics because that's an entire can of worms I don't feel like opening right now.

I know keyboard, I know. I'll get down to my favorites so as not to wear you down entirely.

One glance to your left will reveal a cover to Suikoden 2 which might be my favorite JRPG of all times for a number of reasons, least of which be that it's a textbook example of a perfect sequel if your aim is to improve the original's formula. It could've been a bit more challenging but otherwise I adore this game from the myriad of memorable characters, story that doesn't come down to “defeat evil god to save the world” like so many stories do, base building and character recruitment as central theme, etc. And to top it all off it was a really overlooked game at the time because, let's face it, PlayStation was home to many much more famous names and JRPG power house on its own. Glad to see the tide turning, though. Packing three disks, not that uncommon for the time honestly, Lunar 2 is probably my second pick for the sheer sense of adventure Game Arts excels so much at and is otherwise a very fun, exciting and now almost archetypal game because it resonated so much with developers it became a template for “anime game about the heroes' journey”. Rolling back and delving into fan translation waters we get Live-A-Live, a game I persist in thinking would've been one of the much celebrated JRPG classics had it ever received SNES localization... which sadly never came and left the game unknown to many despite all the various time epochs and characters going through vignettes of their own. Highly highly overlooked game that needs more love.

Traditional

Alright alright, don't jump at me all at once, fangirls. I realize I didn't post Monkey Island cover in this case, but there's a reason for that. It's not my go-to adventure games series. Definitely a great one, even Escape from Monkey Island with those clunky WASD controls that came to mar that particular period of adventure games as they were trying alternate gamepad controls, but if I had to point fingers at some LucasArts games they would be Indiana Jones titles, Sam & Max and probably Grim Fandango from their later offerings. It's no coincidence that particular game probably lead me to my favorite game, but let's take it slowly.

You see there are three sections for adventure games and might be wondering why is that? Because there are couple of clear divisions in the genre, and this one is basically where it all took form following early text adventures. Point & click aka using your mouse to interact with hotspots in the world as you solve puzzles, talk to people or just get insightful comments, is the norm and there's a LOT of takes on. Aside from LucasArts from the above which was king of the genre for quite some time, or at least co-ruler with impressive Sierra offerings, there's been quite a few other companies that took their chances – Funcom, Revolution Software, etc. Despite what you may have across the years genre never really died and even today it keeps going in its most popular form thanks to modern titles like the Blackwell series, Deponia series, as well a slew of remakes or much smaller titles that kept it chugging for all these years.

To name my favorites... well, it's all on display once again. Probably my most favorite P&C adventure game would be a tossup between Discworld Noir and Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars. Former is cut from the same cloth as both previous Discworld games, but it does strange and dark things with it as it embraces the noir aspect and makes full use of it in the fantastical city of Ankh Morporkh following a series of mysteries, while latter is a gorgeous looking, globe trotting investigation game of what begins with a clown planting a bomb and blowing up a cafe in Paris. Both feature likable protagonists and sharp writing, but I could just be incredibly biased towards mystery stories where you piece the clues together for that final reveal. Beyond that I'd throw my lot with The Longest Journey for its genuinely interesting setting, strong characters and story that goes places you won't really see coming... and ended on unfinished note, but that's a story for another time.

Now that I've done reminiscing I can safely say I've half-forgotten just how diverse all these adventures were. From bikers to space captains, and everything in-between, you could find something that suited your taste just right.

---

New Wave

Now we come to a rather touchy part that I'm not precisely sure how to classify. First thing first is I don't really consider these “new adventure games” in the same vein as the originals or, god forbid, their evolution. They're simply a different path down which these games have gone. Not better or worse for it, unless we're going to debate on game-to-game basis, of course.

Undoubtedly standing at the front of this new movement is Telltale Games who moved from making traditional P&C adventures like their original Bone series or more familiar trilogy of new Sam & Max titles to developing a new brand of cinematic adventure games following the bombastic success of The Walking Dead. There's also a matter of their games now being episodic, but that's beside the point right as it's not a novel concept even if it does generally hurt games built around having tight stories and narrative. Fiddling with those from episode to episode does not lead to good things. This new formula is best represented by the idea that you experience games more than you play them as puzzles of yore are largely gone and replaced with more talking to characters in order to advance. There's also a veneer of meaningful choices which more often than not results in just different flavors of things, but there's a matter of development budget to consider and most of the players appear happy as long as there's SOME response to their choices. Needless to say Telltale is not the only developer to embrace this new model as others like Dontnod Entertainment, Funcom or, if you go to consoles and back in time, Quantic Dream.

While we're on the subject this is also where I extend the category to include those so-called “walking simulators” that have even less involvement on player's part and are truly all about experiencing what the game has to offer on this almost movie-like level. Adding those we have some variety with titles like Gone Home, Vanishing of Ethan Carter and plenty more to go around as they decided to hold hands with horror of all things.

So what would be the names I'd put down on my list? The Wolf Among Us certainly gets there, largely because it aspires to be so much like Discworld Noir but also draws heavily from a property I care about so there's that additional investment. Continuing the romp through Telltale's library there's the Tales from the Borderlands which is at the moment of this writing still Telltale's best game yet and got me to car about Borderlands despite some shoddy writing in later episodes as Anthony Burch of Gearbox fame joined as guest writer. Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy is also a very good game that goes from incredibly atmospheric and very well-done introduction to “What the hell is going on?” as story progresses and you come to understand writers' strike is a big deal if this is what you get when you let non-writers handle it on their own.

Sadly that's it. There are some other games I'd like to check out like The Park, Layers of Fear, Firewatch, etc but I have yet to get around to them. Maybe in the future.

---

Puzzlers

Lastly come adventures I'm least familiar with – those with heavy focus on puzzles. This is primarily because A) they're not that numerous in the grand scheme of adventure game presence, considering they have to tick more than one box, and B) overwhelming majority of my experience with them comes from the Myst series. You could say I lucked out considering those games are seen as peaks of the this sub-genre, I guess? I'd argue it left me with a serious lack of experience.

It is worth describing what sets these “puzzlers” aside from the rest of the P&C adventure titles, be they modern or not. Most obvious difference but not a bulletproof method to determine origin, is the fact they're presented in first-person perspective to let you have a better look at your environments. This sentiment is much appreciated when you take into account just how fiendish puzzles are in this hardcore neighborhood where your usual adventures don't dare tread. Why? Because puzzles ARE the main attraction here. It just so happens Myst married story and brain teasers so very well leading one to think that's not the norm. What little I've seen in other similar games story is still delivered through osmosis, be it via notes you find and other indirect ways. In a sense you could say these games were precursors to more simpler titles of today which simply ditched the involved and difficult puzzles in favor of streamlined experiences.

So what have I played and why does that make me an authority on the subject? I've playe very little and no, it does not. I'll still you give you my [brief] recommendations. We start with Myst and so should you. In my mind Myst IS what these puzzlers/adventures are at their core and there's probably no better representation. I think I wouldn't be able to finish most of them today, though. Days of keeping notes and consulting books are past us, and I imagine most won't have the patience for it. Simpler, yet in the same vein with a horror bent would be two Dracula games; Resurrection and The Last Sanctuary which put themselves out as unofficial sequels to the eponymous books and have some pretty slick atmosphere with more straightforward puzzles. And to further demonstrate my lack of street cred I remember playing Echo: Secrets of the Lost Cavern way back when. Demo, that is.

To be perfectly honest with you my reader, I was rather surprised to the see the genre survived in modern times with games like The Talos Principle, The Witness and recently Obduction from Cyan team itself keeping the torch very much alive. Pre-rendered backgrounds may have gone to sleep, but visual fidelity of modern titles lets developers realize those gorgeous dreamscapes of yesteryear just as well in real time.