Foreword

---

₪ Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
☑ Release date: March 2016
♬ Soundtrack: Burning Hollow and Arena

---

Looking back on it in retrospective I'd have to say Epistory - Typing Chronicles is a rather weird game in a sense it is a “type words to fight” formula you may have seen in something like Typing of the Dead, but if I had to go out on a limb I'd say Epistory is pretty unique when it comes to combining said approach to combat with adventure and exploration. So let's give it a go and see how else it stands out and whether it's worth spending your valuable time on.

It's only fair I get story out of the way first because, let's be honest, there isn't much of it in the game. If you want to check out Epistory expecting a worthwhile narrative to go with honing your typing skills I'd have to say you'd be disappointed. We follow a blonde girl riding a giant fox as more and more is revealed from what, at least initially, starts out with mending together the broken landscape and restoring it over your long trek. Insights into the character we know very little about personally are sprinkled across the world and given voice via female narrator. In the last quarter things do ramp up and I wish that level of engagement was maintained throughout prior to the finale. Not to mention the reveal is rather abrupt and could've used a bit more subtlety after what we've been through. Some of it can be pieced together by the player if he's attentive, collects all fragments and notices some of the metaphors the writer is fond of.

More than narrative and story themselves I think the presentation is what will grab you at first and there's sadly no way to show that in screenshots. You need to see Epistory in motion to get the “folding paper” style in properly intended format. I don't think it's very much like Origami look the way Tengami did it and there are 3D elements to the presentation, but it still comes off as pretty breathtaking when you look at absolutely impressive use of color schemes, contrast and saturation which result in every area standing out when you pair it with different levels of depth when it comes to level design itself. I wish the art team applied the same level of identity that made these locations pop, no pun intended, to enemies as well, though. You'll have to settle for simple 3D bug models with merely a handful of variations that don't really change based on their elemental type.

I loved the cinematic flair chapters get and the lead-in to them.

You'll go through contrasting areas, but the mine was the one that stood out the most to me.

There's a point requirement to “unfold”new areas on the overworld yet I find it difficult to imagine anyone could consider grinding for them.

Types? What is he babbling about, you may be asking yourself. Well, it's high time I talked some about gameplay.

Basically, there are two “levels” on which you play Epistory – at first there's a sort-off overworld where you progress the story at large and gain entrance to locations where you unlock new abilities which in turn let you do dungeons and vice versa. For those of you worried that this might be a procedurally generated game please don't be because everything is handcrafted and each of handful of dungeons exist to introduce a new ability until you master it and use to clear the bug nest at the end where enemies spawn and attack you in waves. Then you get to put said power to use in the overworld and open new chests, new routes as well complete exploration. Powers? Well, you start with basic typing and eventually get foure specific types. In no specific order: FIRE (second enemy words burn off on their own), ICE (stop enemies dead in their track), SPARK (second enemy words are zapped off in a chain reaction, as long as it's not their last word) and finally WIND (area effect that blows enemies away from you and slows them down). I think it's pretty evident which is the most OP power, but surprisingly enough they all have legitimate uses if you're a quick enough typist to utilize them considering you have to type their name to switch between them. This becomes imperative as game will start mixing enemy types that can only be hurt by specific powers. Add to this experience points you generate by killing enemies, interacting with the world, progressing the story, etc and upgrading your abilities... you almost have some lite RPG progression there.

To add a footnote let's just say I enjoyed Epistory and hence the rating, but it could've been a more expanded take compared to what we got. Basic gameplay loop is satisfying, albeit it clearly hinges on whether you can type at acceptable speed or it's a complete no-go for obvious reasons, soundtrack is pretty chill with one standout combat track which plays when you're clearing a nest and things do ramp up, and presentation itself is the most impressive element. I'd recommend it, just know what you're getting yourself into.

---

₪ Genre: Adventure
☑ Release date: December 2016
♬ Soundtrack: Peace and To the Gate

---

Here we are once more with another Telltale game. I'll cut the preamble short for once and [mercifully] get right in- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier it is. Let's see if them zombies still bite.

My gut reaction going through the game could basically be summarized with “Why was this even made?”, and then I corrected myself because I realized that Michonne game released earlier fit far more into this train of thought. There are good points to A New Frontier and my underlying fear was Telltale made a calculated play banking on fans' investment into Clementine as an on-going character to give this one a go. Well, they were correct but we have yet to get around to that.

Had it not been done already I think starting a proper The Walking Dead sequel with an entirely new cast of characters would've been a bold move. Taking into consideration what we got I can't really say I was impressed. We get Javier aka Javi, and look into his family life of a sort-of wayward son being late to his father's deathbed. Things don't work out and we're introduced to his aggressive brother David who pounces on the guy. It very clearly portrays a complex brotherly relationship with its ups and downs. Along the way we also see his brother's wife Kate as well as their children Gabe and Mariana. There are some hints their marriage isn't all roses as David has a difficult personality, there's a family crisis and all-around resentment. This is cut short when, in fact, little Mariana announces grandfather is not actually dead but rather up and about... and we end the flashback cutting to present as Javi, Kate and two kids are driving in a van on their own four years later, and kids have grown up to teenagers. Frankly I really like this setup and I'm not even a fan of flashbacks in general. Story kinda goes downhill after that because, hey, it's Telltale and you can only play the drama really well once, which they did in the first game so everything feels like it's been dragged through some sort of a zombie drama generator.

I'll avoid spoilers but something still has to be said about overall plot and characters themselves. I think one major problem is they're really one note and when they deviate it's immediately obvious to be a setup for some kind of development. This is really, really apparent in the relationship between Javi and David considering you can see twists and turns for miles before they happen. That's a problem because at about a half-way it kinda becomes one of the focal points of the story. Introducing “civilization that just might not be what it appears to be” to the story will let your mind wander until you realize you already know how it's going to end and just comes down to who's going to fulfill what roles. I did not like how game sets up things between Kate and Javi only to seemingly backhand you for making certain choices while railroading like crazy on others. It's the usual inconsistency I've come to expect, though.

Plenty of brown to go around with the occasional simple inputs.

Goofballs gonna goof.

Game sure loves to throw QTEs at you, but they're little more than something to so you can't put your controller down.

Which ironically brings me to game's one bright spot – Clementine. Yes, we get to see her story continued albeit presented through somewhat awkward flashbacks and come-and-go nature of her presence in story proper. When you start the game you'll notice you can import your old save file if you bothered putting it on Telltale's cloud service, which I did not because who needs another account, but simulating events she experienced and choices she made since the very first game is a neat way to remind the player what she's been through AND you also get to effectively decide another character's personality. That doesn't mean Javier's choices still won't shape Clementine but I liked this particular approach because you get the sense of who she is. Her ties to current groups and individuals are convenient at best, but flashbacks telling her side of the story for that brief time frame when she grew up hit the spot. I haven't replayed the game, but from what I've read there are different personality outcomes she can get at the end and couple of choices in the game are depended on which one she fits into. Good job on this one.

What do I even say gameplay-wise? Provided this isn't your first Telltale game you get a very light adventure where most of the focus is on character drama and choosing flavor of your choices with couple of tangible ones sprinkled into the mix here and there. I am disappointed to say Telltale still loves their binary choices for absolutely no good reason other than putting you on the spot with a mandatory ”you don't get to stand on the sidelines with this one” line. The more I play their games the more these stand out as entirely forced... about the same as spawning zombies for some action sequences. Particularly in one of the middle episodes where token villain will simply screw everything up and put you on the spot just, well, because rather than working it out sensibly.

You would think I'd rate The Walking Dead: A New Frontier negatively but for all the personal misgivings I have, mostly coming from stale formula at this point, I really can't because it's a decent game. I don't think there are many more ways to cut out gameplay after playing this and Batman season one, but I'm sure Telltale will find a way. Clementine parts are great, others feel kinda compressed and telegraphed. Take it for what it is.

E3 is almost upon us if not already live by the time this update goes out so I might as well open with big boy. It just hasn't been the same since 2013 when Microsoft decided to collectively commit suicide with that Xbox One disaster of a reveal and handed the reigns of this generation to Sony more or less. Nintendo has been been doing their own thing and I can't help but think that was a good call when your new console has enough traction to stand on its own. It does lead to awkward pleading for ports by the fanbase, though. This year? Definitely going to tune in and check out what CDPR is up to with Cyberpunk 2077 as well as if there are some surprises kept hidden. Kinda difficult to do in this day and age when everything gets leaked days before so you're just there for confirmation. Surprise is big part of the package for me.

Other than the above I wish we Europeans had strong conventions like E3. We get Gamescom which generally just ends up playing the second fiddle because publishers repeat announcements or expand a bit on them as if this isn't a global market. I do appreciate the fact MMOs seem to favor Gamescom as well as more niche titles that wouldn't get the time of day at E3. Japanese also have it nice with Tokyo Game Show, promptly followed by “Is it getting localized?” by everyone after reveals.

Certainly a difficult subject to broach, but we all know they're coming round each year and we can't stop them. What do I do about game sales? To be perfectly honest I've found hunting for good deals/bundles all year long gets you much better results. For starters, it's not like big sales have the BEST prices you'll find around seeing as they're really aimed at people who just wait for them, assume it's a great deal and indulge.

It comes down to how or even if you want to spread your library around, though. I've found Steam in particular has been taking advantage of lower discounts ever since flash sales got phased out. GOG is playing its own game and yet considering they've been working on things like GOG Connect, Galaxy client and others you can tell they've been meaning to branch out of good old games for a while. It is funny to see everyone dancing around big Steam sales so they don't overlap. Are we looking at digital retailers clashing in the future?