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Mar 11th, 2024 at 08:21:56 - The Unfinished Swan (PS4) |
I’ve taken an embarrassingly long time to get to this PS3 (!) game (and soon, both Flower and Journey [and I really, really hope I have not waited out the wonder that Journey has sparked for so many players]). Before beginning The Unfinished Swan, I thought it would be something like Beyond Eyes or Chicory: A Colorful Tale, two games that probably derived inspiration from it. I thought that you’d “paint the world” to navigate it, progress the story, solve puzzles, or whatever. And yeah, that was spot on, except instead of painting with a brush, you lob paintballs, which is a more chaotic way to apply color.
Though the game itself is not chaotic! It’s so straightforward and static that my girlfriend asked if it was a children’s game. You go through four chapters, and in each chapter, you do something a little different with the paint. For example, in the first chapter you shoot black paintballs at white space to reveal the level geometry: walls, stairs, doors, and so on. This was interesting, if basic, lobbing paintballs around until you saw stairs or a door or a hallway, walking there, then lobbing more paintballs until you saw the next way forward, and repeat to the exit. In the second chapter, you shoot “water” balls at vines. The vines grow and you can climb them, so this chapter had some light platforming. This was my least favorite chapter by far because it was tedious to direct the vines where you wanted them to go. Hold down the triggers and just wait for the vines to creep…neat to watch them grow, but boring after a few minutes.
The last use of paint was the most interesting, to shoot lights to illuminate dark areas, and to shoot paint at a light orb, following it down a river. (If you attempt to walk in the dark, spiders attack you and a terrible, tinny screeching noise emerges from the controller. It was so jarring that I turned off the sound effects until I figured out the trick with the lights!). Then the very last thing was, for some reason, unrelated to paint. You basically create blocks in the environment, then use them to platform around. This was neat and could have been the basis for some more puzzles, but felt like a level from a different game.
The whole thing is wrapped up in a children’s storybook narrative about a king, his wife (representing the main child character’s mother), and his mismanaged kingdom. Also featuring a giant swan who appears to honk at you and run away, which made me think of Untitled Goose Game. The swan is, as you may have guessed, an unfinished painting. Specifically, its neck is missing, which raises questions about how it can vocalize.
Interesting game for sure, and short enough to not wear out its novelty. Similar mechanics are implemented better and more cohesively in other games, but I can’t knock it for 2012. I did notice a familiar name in the credits, Ben Esposito, who made Donut County (underwhelming) and worked on What Remains of Edith Finch (loved). Looks like this was one of his first.
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Mar 9th, 2024 at 13:43:15 - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) |
Burned my way through this over Spring Break and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is the final (?) entry in the series with Nathan Drake, which is sad. He’s so likeable! Naughty Dog has perfected this series. They’ve taken everything great about the previous games and polished them even shinier, with more crazy chase scenes and set pieces (e.g., running from the machine gun truck in the city; getting dragged behind a jeep on a rope; exploding corpses; etc.). I liked everything about it except that it ran long, although imagining this from the developers’ perspective, that this is the last game featuring a beloved character, I understand the sentimentality. The worst offender on this point was the chapter where Nate and Sam break into the old lady’s house to find their mom’s stuff. It slammed the brakes on the momentum at the end. Though again, it’s hard to critique for character development and nostalgia.
One thing they added (or I just don’t remember from previous games, but really liked) was nuance to the climbing animations that signify when Nathan can safely jump to the next thing. For example, when climbing around on a cliff, Nathan will reach toward the next ledge, indicating that you can jump there. When swinging on a rope, he will reach out when he is close enough for you to leap onto a platform. The interactable ledges blended in well with the cliffs and other environments, such that Nathan’s reaching was quite useful. I was thinking about pattern recognition while playing, how I have learned to recognize what is “climbable” and what isn’t in games, and how specific games train you a bit differently. Also, it’s interesting to think about Nathan’s “knowledge” versus the player’s knowledge. Nathan reaching indicates to the player that Nathan “knows” something, and the player, reading the cue, can then act on Nathan’s knowledge.
Another thing I was thinking about while playing was Tomb Raider. I played Rise/Shadow of the Tomb Raider a year ago and remember hating all the collectibles and crafting, and how those games were moving more in the direction of open worlds. I spent those games clicking the right stick to activate “hunter instinct” or whatever it was called, which highlighted crafting resources, collectibles, and so on. I am so thankful that Uncharted didn’t move in that direction. There are totally optional treasures to find that have no bearing on Nathan’s strength or abilities, and a reasonable amount of journal entries (and the journal is fun to engage with). I loved that there was not a ton of shit to pick up. No resources, no crafting, no inventory, no skill trees, no upgrades, no costumes or cosmetics, no intrusion of online play, no microtransactions. The writing, platforming, puzzling, and shooting carry the experience without needing all those other sources of motivation that, for me, usually just bloat the game and make me worry about searching every corner, hoarding inventory items, going to every “?” on the map, etc. That made Uncharted 4 refreshing to play.
I do want to know, regarding the epilogue, how in the world Cassie didn’t know more about her parents’ adventures! How did she reach adolescence—being a young adventurer/archaeologist herself, interacting with Sully, Sam, and the rest of the gang, presumably having THE INTERNET—without learning that her parents were involved in such dangerous work? Specifically, I want to be there for the conversation, after she is stunned by seeing a picture of Nathan holding a shotgun (“Dad has a shotgun?!”), when they recount to her the thousands of hired goons they’ve killed over the course of four games. There’s your story for Uncharted 5: The Drakes Go To Family Therapy. Haha, oh man. Anyway. I’m looking forward to knocking out Lost Legacy soon, then cleaning out my remaining PS4 games, which are all old indies that I’m ashamed of not playing sooner, perhaps subscribing for a month of PS Plus, and then trading in the ole’ PS4 for a shiny new PS5! Summer 2024 maybe? Early birthday present? Woohoo!
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Mar 9th, 2024 at 11:46:00 - Iconoclasts (PC) |
Iconoclasts came onto my radar when I was doing a content analysis of gender representation in Steam advertisements some years ago (one of my unfinished projects /sadface). We were looking at top-selling games in various categories, including those user-tagged “female protagonist.” This was in our sample and looked cool! It’s a Metroidvania with a narrative focus. You play as Robin, a wrench-wielding mechanic in a world where being a mechanic is illegal. In this world, a religious organization known as One Concern, who worships a figure called Mother, has authoritarian rule over the people. They exploit a natural resource called Ivory, which powers everything, but it is running out and the planet is dying. One Concern controls all Ivory and machinery (thus mechanics being illegal). There’s quite a lot going on plot- and character-wise, but long story short, One Concern is having internal power struggles, there is a small resistance movement against them, and their “god”, the Starworm, is coming to end things earlier than anyone anticipated because of said Ivory depletion. I found the plot intriguing and well-written, and it moves along at a brisk pace.
The plot sends Robin to various areas in the game world, which feature, as per Metroidvanias, combat, platforming, and puzzles, (but oddly minimal backtracking). For me, the puzzles were the strongest part, and combat against normal enemies the weakest. The novel mechanics (pun unavoidable) in Iconoclasts involve Robin’s wrench. It is her melee attack, which later on she can charge to electrify, which also electrifies her gun’s attacks, all of which are used for various things. It is also a tool in the puzzle-platforming, allowing her to crank bolts to open doors and power things, to latch on to conveyor rails, and so on. Later on, using the wrench becomes frantic as you are fighting enemies and need to also crank a door open, shooting at enemies and luring them away from the bolt, sprinting over to crank it, fending off the enemies, cranking it some more, until you open the door or whatever. Robin also gets a gun that has alternate firing modes: a regular shot with charged blast; a grenade with charged missile launch; and another regular shot with charged thing that lets you switch places with some objects (used in puzzles and some combat encounters at the end of the game).
The stronger elements of the game were balanced by the weaker elements, but the latter didn't detract from the experience. For example, while the boss battles were creative, challenging, and heart-pumping, the normal combat with regular enemies was lacking. I ended up ignoring most combat altogether, running and jumping past enemies to the next screen. There is an upgrade system where you spend precious resources you find in treasure chests to craft and equip “tweaks,” which do things like let you breathe longer underwater or stay electrified longer. The tweaks are pointless and are either broken or there is something I didn’t figure out. Since resources in treasure chests are only used to craft tweaks, and tweaks are unnecessary, that means that the treasure chests are unnecessary. Therefore, the only reason to go after chests is for the puzzle challenge. Now follow this logic further. Backtracking to explore new areas and find previously unobtainable treasures after acquiring new abilities is a key feature of Metroidvanias. But since the resources in treasure chests are only used for pointless tweak crafting, then that key Metroidvania feature of backtracking is also unnecessary here (what little of it there may be). The lackluster tweak crafting system then has some serious implications.
The thing that makes me wonder if tweaks are straight up broken is that I would occasionally unlock a new crafting recipe, but when I went to a crafting table, the new recipe was not there. This began happening around the fifth recipe I got. Like, halfway through the game, there just was never anything new to craft, even though I’d find new recipes. I wonder now if it’s because there is limited “space” for crafting options in the crafting table menu and you have to craft “older” items for them to be replaced with newer options. But even then, I crafted one of every tweak except the consumable ones, and there were multiples of even permanent tweaks to craft (why do you need three of the same one?!). So, if I’m right, then you would have to craft a bunch of tweaks (that you don’t need) in order to gain access to new ones. Very strange.
Anyway, quirks aside, like I said, I really enjoyed playing this one. The pixel art is fantastic, too. It’s an easy recommendation if you like Metroidvanias, especially if you want one more focused on narrative, but still with a variety of excellent boss fights.
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Mar 9th, 2024 at 10:43:37 - Yakuza 0 (PS4) |
My first Spring Break completion. I’d been working on this one for months. I played the original (!) Yakuza way back when on PS2 and was vaguely aware that the series kept on going. I wanted to try another one because I remember liking the first one and the games tend to be well reviewed. Yakuza 0 seems to be the “if you’re going to play one of them, play this one” entry. And I totally see why. There are a hundred positive things to say about it. It’s an extremely well-written crime drama with a compelling story that twists and turns and great characters, and the voice acting and animation is top notch. The game’s music is outstanding. The word I kept thinking of was “cinematic” as I watched the (numerous) voiced dialogue and cut scenes. It’s serious when it needs to be serious, but can be really funny too. I’ve heard that later games lean into the silliness of the franchise, which I’m a bit ambivalent about. I usually appreciated the humor, but often it felt childish or “video-gamey” (in a very JRPG and/or cringy way), so I hope that they lean into the kind of silliness that resonates with me.
You’re basically doing three things in the game: (1) listening/watching the story unfold; (2) fighting; and (3) side quests and minigames. The first two are mandatory, and I spent most of the time going from cut scene to combat and back. Unfortunately, combat is the weakest part of the game. You’ll switch between two protagonists, and each has three combat styles. For example, Kiryu has a normal style, one that focuses on speed, and one that focuses on strength (all straightforward). Goro’s are weirder, including one where he wields a baseball bat and one where he breakdances. There are a variety of combos and special moves to pull off, but for me, combat boiled down to XXXY, XXXY, XXXY, L2+Y once Heat gauge is full to curb stomp someone (Kiryu) or bash their heads with a baseball bat (Goro). Or if I was in Kiryu’s strength style, I picked up bicycles, signboards, and whatever else in the environment and swung them around like a tornado. There are big upgrade trees for each combat style, which costs Yen, though I probably unlocked like 25% of the trees. I don’t know why you would need to unlock more, and the amount of money you’d need to do so is absurd. Though that brings me to #3…
There are literally over 100 side quests to complete. Help your fellow citizens with their problems, including: teach a punk band how to be cool; recover a stolen video game for a child; win a toy from a claw game for a child; help a man connect with his estranged family; bust a teenage sex ring; help a man propose to his girlfriend; etc., etc. I was doing these early on, but some of them take forever, they are often silly (so my complaint about the humor missing its mark is about this optional activity, which is good!), they generally involve running to and fro talking to people and fetching items, and quickly felt like a waste of time. But they do reward you with items and cash. Then there are the minigames. Amuse yourself with batting cages, RC racing, classic Sega arcade games, a plethora of gambling games, managing a cabaret and investment company, and so on. So yes, if you want to get rich, this is how, but all of it is totally unnecessary. One could easily spend twice as long as I did doing side quests and minigames. When I finished the game (37 hours), it told me I had something like 17% completion.
I had two frustrating experiences earlier in the game that almost made me quit. First, the game requires manual saving at telephone booths. I definitely thought that it also auto-saved. One time, I had been playing for like three hours, then stepped away from the PS4 for a while. I came back and it had turned itself off. When I reloaded, I was surprised that my day’s progress was gone! Luckily, I had mostly been exploring, doing side quests, and minigames (won the batting cages!). So, I decided to skip all the side stuff from then on, and I was back to the main story beat in like 15 minutes. The second time I almost quit was because of a bizarre difficulty spike. I had been doing well in combat, but suddenly, enemies were insanely difficult! I could barely get a punch in and died over and over and over. “This is weird!”, I thought, and changed the difficulty to easy, but still got pummeled. Then the frustration came, and I put the game away and thought I was going to retire it. But I kept thinking about it and decided to ask the internet why the combat was so brutal. I mean, this isn’t supposed to be Dark Souls: Yakuza! I saw a Reddit thread that saved the game for me (“Help: Yakuza 0 - Enemies going Berserk all of the sudden?!”); I wasn’t the only one having the combat difficulty spike issue. Apparently, there is an item you can equip that makes enemies frenzied. The item description does not indicate this, and I had equipped it for its stats. For some reason, this item is awarded early on. Why would new players not equip this?! Apparently all Yakuza games have such items, called “charismatic” whatevers, and someone on this thread suggested that the devs bait new players into equipping it and getting their butts kicked. Mean!
But I am so glad that I didn’t retire the game. Despite the lackluster combat and the time-wasting side stuff, I loved it. The plot and characters are seriously phenomenal, and I see why they've made so many games and built a following around the franchise. But it is long. I would play another if the combat were improved. I saw that the last two entries (Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth) have more of an RPG-ish combat system, and have been positively reviewed, so I will probably check those out later, maybe pick one to play. (It’s almost time to buy a PS5, woooo!).
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