January/March 2019 Update

The Winter festivities are gone, so it’s time to talk about some of the games I’ve played during these first 3 months of the year.
After all, April has just sta-what do you mean it’s AUGUST?! *double-checks calendar*

Ahem. So… things have happened and I’ve missed *a few* updates. Time to bridge the gap, let’s get going shall we? :3

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

13 hours playtime, 13 of 14 achievements (92.86%)

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Some games are made just for the money, some try to tell a story. Ninja Theory, with their game Hellblade, clearly tried and aced the attempt at doing the latter. During the development they shared many videos pertaining to the process of creating Senua, and their attempts to represent the aural and visual experiences related to her psychotic disorders.

"Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis" - now *that's* a line you don't see often in a videogame description!
My interest was piqued, but I patiently waited to see the game at a high discount or in a bundle. While it eventually did get bundled, my copy came as a Xmas gift, so I played it over the holidays.

I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a one-of-its-kind game that masterfully takes advantage of 3D sound to create a unique experience. While neither the combat sections nor the puzzle portions are anything to write home about - so much that it almost feels closer to a walking sim - the powerful emotions that the game can evoke are definitely worth a play.



Yakuza 0 & Yakuza Kiwami

44 hours playtime, 32 of 55 achievements (58.18%) & 23 hours playtime, 34 of 55 achievements (61.82%)

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I (maybe used to?) have an issue with starting games that I knew were "long", probably for fear of finding out after 10 or so hours that I didn't like them and abandoning them, feeling like I'd wasted time that could have been used to experience other, shorter ones. That changed with me winning and playing Yakuza Zero, and oh boy am I happy about it!
The storytelling and the characters are top-notch, and at this point it's safe to say the Yakuza series is among my favourites. I seriously can't wait for SEGA to bring more episodes of it to PC.



What Remains of Edith Finch

3 hours playtime, 9 of 9 achievements (100%)

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I've read many times that What Remains of Edith Finch is the new paragon of excellence in the "Walking Simulator" genre, and after playing it I can't do anything other than confirm its virtues and praise Giant Sparrow for their little masterpiece.
For the few hours it takes to experience the whole game I was completely captivated by the whimsical stories that unfold while exploring the Finch mansion and finding out about the various member of the eponymous family.



Celeste

11 hours playtime, 14 of 30 achievements (46.67%)

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One of the review one liners published on the game's page calls Celeste "a surprise masterpiece". While it may sound a little excessive, I don't think that statement is far off the truth.

The game's core mechanics of a precision platformer are great, and it offers as much (or as little) challenge as the player chooses, with a healthy set of "assist" features to help everyone enjoy their time with it. Like a good story? You're right at home! Want to explore? There are tons of secret areas and collectibles often in hard to find places! Do you want tons of levels? They added extra content with free updates!

The game would have been perfectly fine - even great - just on its mechanical merits. The same core mechanics with some metal music in the background and devilish imagery adorning the levels would have still made for a great game, a true Super Meat Boy successor in the tough-as-nails precision platformer genre.

What sets Celeste completely apart and sets it up for the "masterpiece material" status is the depiction of depression, anxiety and lack of self-esteem afflicting the main character Madeline at the start and during her journey. Playing the game you see her climbing the mountain in an act both literal and metaphorical to signify her character growth, and that in turn reflects on you, the player, in a positive reinforcement loop that brings you to push forward and try again after any failure, wanting to reach the summit.



Pyre

14 hours playtime, 47 of 51 achievements (92.16%)

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This one's a bit weird. I'm sure I tried the game around release and I didn't like it at all, I don't even remember why. After receiving it as a gift and playing it a bit though, I found myself completely unable to put it down.

As you progress through the game you slowly uncover details about your companions' - and enemies' - past lives, and they go deeper than surface-level trivia, meaning you'll see what makes them tick and surely grow attached to some of them.

Another brilliant point of Pyre is found in the unusual 3-on-3 "magic basketball" game, more specifically in the fact that losing one or more matches does not mean game over, and it's instead just another way to move the story forward, just as valid as a win. You might even *want* to lose, sometimes :)

As the cherry on top there's another masterful original soundtrack composed by Darren Korb that credits song :cry:, making Pyre a worthy successor to Transistor.



Kingsway

3 hours playtime, 6 of 21 achievements (28.57%)

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A very simple roguelite RPG with a little interface twist: it looks like a computer OS and everything is a window! After experiencing a few cute tricks made possible by the UI - like a pop-up window with a prompt to avoid a surprise attack or strong attacks that make some of the windows minimize, leaving you panic-trying to reopen the important ones while the monster keeps attacking you quickly realize there's not a lot more going on for the game, so it only stays interesting for a couple of playthroughs. Still, a worthy experience, just for the novelty of it.



Forgotton Anne

8 hours playtime, 22 of 33 achievements (66.67%)

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The presentation once again steals the show: everything looks beautiful and is animated just as finely. If you, like me, are pretty trigger-happy when it comes to taking screenshots, you'll probably end up with your folder containing several hundred shots.

The similarities with a Ghibli movie don't stop at the surface either, with an interesting story - which I won't talk about in case of spoilers - taking place in a land inhabited by everyday objects that were forgotten by their owners in the human world and have come to life.

I'm still conflicted about the thought that maybe a puzzle platformer wasn't the best genre for the game, as the mediocre jumping and running controls sometimes snap you back out of the otherwise mesmerizing experience. The devs surely prioritised "looking good" over "controlling well" and they mostly got away with it, but a few sections were a little infuriating. The story, while pretty good, was incredibly easy to figure out, so much that I'd already figured out a lot of it 10 minutes into the game -.-, and the fact that the "choices" you have mean pretty much nothing doesn't really help making mine a 100% recommendation. It's still a good 90% recommendation though, so give it a try if you can :)



Battle Chasers: Nightwar

30 hours playtime, 39 of 48 achievements (81.25%)

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I'm pretty sure I play 1 JRPG per year, so this is the one for 2019 I guess >_>
I have a somewhat hard time remembering the details of my experience after so many months, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to the genre, so the fact I kept playing all the way to the end is enough to say I didn't find anything too offensive about it

The visual style and character design were pretty interesting, the combat had a mechanic called "overcharge" which I really liked (some action would give overcharge - temporary mana - which you could use instead of the real mana to fuel other skills) and the skill tree system let you "spec" a character into either a supporting or a damage dealing role, which leaves a lot of options to shape your team the way you want it.
Maybe the only real complaint I'd give is about the dungeon design: they are procedurally generated and almost never feel like a cohesive environment, just a bunch of rooms lined up one after another.