Finally retook Hollow Knight. I kinda suck at it (I was briefly stuck on a mini-boss, several platforming segments kicked my ass, and when I left I was struggling onthe third named boss of the main campaign), either due to lack of skill or some framerate issues on the computer in which I play. But it was still an awesome experience I will retake soon enough. On top of the absolutely charming presentation (you really love the world), the game absolutely nails the explorative aspect… getting “lost” and going in sidepaths happens very often, but it always feels rewarding even if you only end up at another dead end.
I won Goodbye Deponia on Playing Appreciated, so I dcided to play the previous two games first. The first one (Deponia) is a bit of a mess, with me getting softlocked about two hours in (well, less once you know what to do), and then due to time limit had to jump to the third game, which is much better in general at guiding you at what to do (usually). There’s a somewhat problematic representation of a trans woman through the series (like, they correctly gender her and even confirmation of her transness later is handled well, but in the first game it felt like she was there because “big burly man wearing lipstick and a dress is funny, hehe”) and a really uncomfortable sequence in this third game which again isn’t technically racist but has some bad undertones.
So what else did I play:
-Ageless: I had read the reviews, but guessed it couldn’t be that bad… unfortunately it is. The ideas are clever, but the mechanics are finnicky resulting in a precision platformer that’s not only janky to control but also basically requires you to guess when to use time stops (with damningly slow resets). Oh, and the checkpoints are somewhat far apart for the genre, so you end up doing a lot of busywork.
-Eventide 2: The Sorcerers Mirror: For some reason I’d begun this game and left if halfway through. It’s a decent HOG, with a very superficial morality choice system. It had one glitch near the end which robbed me of the “no minigame skipped” achievement, but still had fun playing it.
-Dustforce: I have no idea why playtime for this one didn’t show up. Played a few levels, and while the rating system is slightly punishing at how enemies (many of which you are unlikely to see the first time through each level), it still is a good example of how to do a “spectacle platformer”.
-Grimm’s Hollow: A short free RPG I sidelined but will continue sometime. Really charming presentation. Battle system is simple but it works with fair variety, and though the set-up for abilities leads me to wonder whether I overground at the start or if the game is just meant to be easy. The story has me hooked, even if it’s not too complicated.
-Elegy for a Dead World: More of a creative toy than a game proper, but it’s an interesting idea. Sadly the servers are down and the game gets stuck when you try to access online content, but I enjoyed my time writing and hope someday the servers come back.
These two I barely touched, but for the sake of completion I’ll add them here in my monthly report:
-LIMBO: Noticed I had only done so much progress in this version (I’d gotten the DRM version a long time ago and then noticed a few years later the Steam key did work), so played a few levels. The game is rough around the edges with a few puzzles relying more on trial and error than pure skill due to timing, but I guess that adds to the atmosphere.
-Reflection of Mine: I’d forgotten diffculty ramped up so much for this game. The framing story is kinda edgy (good ol’ “this is the inside of the mind of a teenager in an asylum”), but the gameplay will probably please you if you enjoy really hard puzzles.
I couldn’t actually get Little Miss Lonely to play, and it actually caused problems with my computer (it eventually launched, but ignored my commands other than menu features), which is how that time is there.
Dustforce
Played a few levels
I wasn’t a fan of Dustforce. Not only did I feel the mechanics were finnicky, but progression is based on how many points you got, so if your score isn’t high enough, you’re not allowed to progress unless you replay levels you’ve already beaten until you can beat them “better.” It’s not an issue for the first few levels, but if you keep playing, it becomes unavoidable.
Sucks to hear about Ageless; that was a game I’ve been trying to win on SG ever since its Humble Monthly, but I might hide the game now (especially if it’s somehow more janky than Dustforce; can you describe how it’s janky? Like, if you let go of forward in midair, do you keep moving forward?).
Dustforce feels like it’s got weird momentum mechanics which work like a charm when you’re “in the zone” but really screw you over when you’re either just barely managing or aren’t doing the exact trick the devs wanted. But still moment to moment it can feel really well. I doubt I’ll play it consistently enough to ever “git gud” at it, though.
Ageless physics are more basic, but in under an hour it managed to make me feel frustrated since it’s the design itself which feels bad on many levels. Allow me to illustrate with some example scenarios I came across.
- One very early jump can’t be cleared from the platform you’re on since you hit the ceiling earlier and mess up the arc (not obvious the first time that catches you, but I wouldn’t complain if it stopped at that). So you try to hug the nearby wall, but that just plunges you into your doom. I wasn’t sure if I had to do that but in a split second or abuse coyote time to nail the jump when I finally managed it, but it felt off. Oh, and this is at the end of two rooms, neither of which is too difficult, but which take between them like fifteen seconds to clear if you don’t mess up the slightly janky (though non-lethal) jumps.
- This is the lightest of these examples, but you’re introduced to time stop mechanics with an object I thought you were supposed to shoot midfall first to have it grow. This I quickly learned to just let fall an pause midair to use it at a platform.
- Another “use the charging animal puzzle” that involved using a second object to boost it into position. Timing this one was a not too hard, just non-intuitive, but more annoyingly the reset felt like it took tons of steps to do well, to the point that dying was probably faster.
- Finally, what killed my interest: one of these puzzles, but where you’re giving a tiny, tiny window to choose when to pause time. The animal takes several seconds to begin its charge and there’s no extra audio or visual cue to help you time this. It just sits there enraged for a few (single digits, but it adds up) seconds and then charges into the pit. You mistimed? Congrats, wait some seconds for it to respawn, shoot an arrow to trigger it, then timer begins again.
Oh Hollow Knight is such a meany of a game. I wasn’t the greatest at it either. I was playing it during a time when I wasn’t well, so I had no patience and gave up. I will have to replay it again soon.
BTW, your name gave me a chuckle. I love it. lol. =)