Messages

126

TalkBack / Re: Super Mario Party Has Online Minigame Option

« on: June 14, 2018, 09:36:14 PM »

Finally!

[Put your Switches together for a Joy-Con party!]

127

TalkBack / Super Mario Party Revealed For Switch

« on: June 12, 2018, 05:19:00 AM »

Put your Switches together for a Joy-Con party!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/47478/super-mario-party-revealed-for-switch

Nintendo revealed that Super Mario Party will be the next entry in the party game franchise. The Direct Tuesday showed a new tank minigame with split screen and gameplay among multiple Switch consoles. The trailer showed Switch consoles playing side by side on a table.

Pom-Pom, Diddy Kong, Dry Bones, Goomba, Shy Guy, Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Boo are notable playable characters in Super Mario Party. Also, there appears to be some "recruiting" of other characters like in Mario Party Star Rush on the Nintendo 3DS, as seen when Mario has a "Yoshi Dice Block". Yoshi and Rosalina appear to be following Mario, but they aren't among the 4 player characters in the HUD.

Super Mario Party will release on October 5, 2018.

[Hide and seek at it's scariest.]

128

TalkBack / Little Nightmares: Complete Edition (Switch) Review

« on: June 05, 2018, 04:10:42 PM »

Hide and seek at it's scariest.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47367/little-nightmares-complete-edition-switch-review

Aboard the treacherous Maw, a mysterious vessel houses the souls of monsters and a young girl who is desperate to escape. This is the premise of the 2017 title, Little Nightmares, which has now landed on the Nintendo Switch in a complete edition format. This five-hour adventure presents numerous puzzles in a horror setting while also presenting some stealth challenges. The draw of Little Nightmares is its aesthetics. Every chapter is presented with similar models, textures, and lighting, but each stands on its own, whether it’s sections with a kitchen overflowing with dirty dishes and soap scum or a bedroom with shelves stacked on top of shelves. Leaking pipes and rooms filled with piles of dirty shoes were disturbing, reminding me of Holocaust imagery. All of the disturbing and well-crafted models are capped off by excellent lighting.

The girl you play as, Six, has a zipper lighter with her that can be used at any point (as long as her hands are free) to create a primary source of dynamic lighting. This is often used to view effects like dents and dirt on the wall or locate keys. Little Nightmares’ concept of having you be hidden from the enemy, in a hide-and-seek fashion, is different from most horror games. That speaks to the level of design here, in both sound and visuals. You should be more scared when there is noise than when it falls silent.  

The second draw is the puzzles. I found that for the most part, they deliver. Most are very linear, with the exception of the mid-chapter in the DLC. Little Nightmares rarely asks much in terms of difficulty. Everything is taught through the gameplay and no deliberate tutorial is present. Occasionally, if I was failing, a prompt would pop up and explain something, but this is a more-or-less trial/error experience. This method of teaching works well in most situations. Occasionally, I found that puzzles that asked me to do something new ran counter to past problems. In context, here’s what this looks like: nearly every door has to be opened by having Six jump up and pull on the handle. This isn’t the puzzle, but an element used often in them. Eventually, there are doors that are like locker doors that have to be opened from the side, just by being pulled, not by hanging off the handles. This is a common problem I have found in puzzle games. It’s not necessarily getting from point A to B that is the challenge, but finding out what B is, and then getting to it. In the included DLC, many rooms in the second chapter were hard to figure out because it breaks the format of how the puzzles are solved. Change is good, but the lack of communicating the switch from a linear puzzle to an open-ended experience was frustrating for me.

Another frustration were the controls. I didn’t think Six or the Runaway Kid controlled well. Sometimes they would let go of climbable surfaces or not grab onto them. Input lag occurred occasionally with running and sliding, sometimes even breaking the immersion of a chase sequence (of which there are many). And, while I think that the player’s character being slow is purposeful in the context of the story and design of the overall experience, it still would come back and bother me every so often. Often, the speed of either characters is used in puzzle-solving and platforming. It is used to make sure you can’t cheese your way through anything, and it is effective in that manner. But I did feel naturally hindered by it when I was trying to go back and forth from room to room in the nonlinear areas that weren’t utilizing this feature. The lengthy load times topped on top of the slow movement, often made death more of an annoyance then a fear, especially in dark areas where I was unable to see what my objective was.  

Other fantastic elements include a great use of HD Rumble, sound design, and implied lore. The HD rumble is used in conjunction with the sound design in novel ways. What stood out to me was that, it was less scary when it was quiet, because you knew you were alone. It was moments where I had to drag a heavy, loud metal cage across a metal floor to be used as a stool that I was on edge because of the ringing echoes it created, HD Rumble is used in every way I can think of, with loud noises, heartbeats, low hum of electricity and light, etc. It’s still a small, polishing feature that added to the immersion, along with it’s juxtaposition of sound. Lastly, a wealth of story that is implied through the visuals in a way that I adored. You won’t find books of long text to read or dialogue from NPCs. Everything is communicated through the gameplay. For example, you have to use a stool to get to a higher ledge in the beginning, but you take it from under a pair of hanging legs, showcasing a corpse. Who is this person and why did they commit suicide? There is a lot of stuff like this that I enjoyed and I got into it after having completed the main story and DLC.

At the end of the day, Little Nightmares is fantastic. It is absolutely beautiful, with some of the best visuals and lighting on models in recent memory. Great moments of immersion happen with its fun, creepy characters paired with great sound design and HD rumble. And the puzzles aren’t bad. It does hiccup with a few control issues and puzzle-design mishaps, but I still think it’s worth playing through if you’re interested. Just be sure to have a small light on nearby.

[Play this game because the animal sidekick's name is Tincan.]

129

TalkBack / The Way Remastered (Switch) Review

« on: April 27, 2018, 10:45:54 AM »

Play this game because the animal sidekick's name is Tincan.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47097/the-way-remastered-switch-review

When it comes to adventure and puzzle games, they can be tricky to design because a heavy amount of the content is teaching new mechanics that can evolve into more difficult challenges. Attempts at this often fail because they introduce too much without a prior explanation. The Way Remastered takes on this challenge, and ends up landing near the middle of the spectrum, but closer to the better end.

Puzzles are the breadth of content in The Way Remastered. You step into the shoes of a scientist named Tom who is grieving over the loss of his wife and has constructed a plan to revive her by finding some MacGuffin that is said to grant immortality. As far as a narrative goes, that's it. In doing so, a large amount of tasks are available to complete that are solved via the puzzles in the environment. Expect to see some "reflect the light beam" and "watch the timing of this obstacle" puzzles. Some of these are exceptionally well done and I really enjoyed solving them. A majority of the puzzles are created in a good progression of difficulty, some very unique that gave me the coveted "a-ha!" moment. And of course, a handful of puzzles left me scratching my head, wondering what I was supposed to do because the objective was brand new and fairly complicated. The good outweighs the bad here.

The Way Remastered occasionally felt like it was struggling to decide what kind of game it wanted to be, shifting back and forth from a puzzle/shooter to strictly puzzles, with clever ways of using the environment as your weapon instead of a gun. It wasn't necessarily jarring, but when my gun was taken away from me early on, I was expecting to get it or a replacement sooner. Instead, I was given a different tool aimed at puzzles, rather than defending myself from the creatures of the wild. There is a decent amount of basic platforming involved, but Tom does not control like a Mario or Shovel Knight. His movement is very primitive, and limited to getting from point A to B exactly as the platforms are deigned. Not a great character to control for a platformer. Many times his auto-grab onto ledges was a nuisance when I simply wanted to go down. And going down is another issue, because Tom's character is a realistic human that will die from a high fall. Even if it's a pretty short distance based on it appearing to be a platformer, the rule of thumb is to never jump down farther then one distance of Tom's height. A health bar or some sort of HP would have greatly been appreciated because Tom can not take any hits, otherwise it's immediate death. While load times are nonexistent and checkpoints are generous, I found myself wanting to push on but not being able to because of the repetitious dying to small things. Again, unsure of what the game wants to be: Shooter? Puzzle game? Platformer? There's even a bullet hell sequence at one point.

As far as the narrative goes, it's both simple and complex. The premise is the majority of the adventure, with a small plot dump at the end that returns on themes present throughout the journey. It’s got an attempt at world building with small interactive elements sprinkled throughout, like pictures and old documents. From what I could find, none of these are tracked as collectibles. The only real collectible are those memories that provide a glimpse into Tom's backstory, but even these are not hard to find; usually resting next to the objective at hand. Achievements are present in the game as well, for those who like to see them. They don't add or take away anything from the experience. I used them and the memories to gauge how far into the game I was.

I found The Way Remastered’s presentation to be the most enjoyable aspect of the whole experience. The artwork, music, sound effects, and environments are fantastic. I was shocked at how immersive the experience was, from the beginning’s intense stealth mission to exploring the dark ruins of an alien planet. The pixel artwork is hyper-detailed, an enjoyable aesthetic that deviates away from classic 8-bit throwbacks. Even the use of HD Rumble was well-implemented. Its vibrations would change in a fashion that mimicked the puzzles and firing weapons.  But outside of that, I'm swayed on the gameplay. I lean more towards it was good, good enough to recommend. Just make sure you are sure of what you are getting into.

The last thing I need to mention is that as of this review, a game-breaking bug still exists in the game. SONKA has put out a statement that a patch has been completed and sent to Nintendo for approval. After roughly two hours, a second chase sequence with a large yellow animal begins, and the player has two minutes and 30 seconds to complete the boss fight, or the game will crash and delete the entire save. This happened to me, and was frustrating, and it took me about an hour to return to where I was, having known how to solve the previous puzzles. SONKA has also put out a walkthrough online, detailing bypassing the glitch.

[A quick and colorful educational toy for the youngin’s]

130

TalkBack / It's Spring Again (Switch) Review

« on: April 22, 2018, 02:58:09 PM »

A quick and colorful educational toy for the youngin’s

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47055/its-spring-again-switch-review

It’s always nice to enjoy something a little calmer, and simpler to play. It’s Spring Again is that experience to the extreme. It’s about 5 minutes long total, but it’s also aimed at toddlers who are still learning basic concepts. Using the touch screen to teach logical problem solving is admirable, but not a revolutionary concept. It works, and does a great job at what it is supposed to do. While the content presented is very quick to get through, the gameplay cycles through at a perfect loop, which could result in a much longer experience for a child to play.

The premise revolves around the seasons of earth changing, and that process is conveyed through bright visuals with faces on nearly everything; the sun, clouds, rainbows, the earth, etc. You slide your finger or tap on specific things when the narrator prompts you to do so. She might say, “the Sunlight made flowers pop up out of the ground”, which cues you to touch the earth to make flowers appear. That’s about as far as the gameplay goes, which is again perfect for a toddler. However, this means that it is only playable in handheld mode. You don’t even need the joy-cons, because it’s entirely touch-focused. The responsiveness did get a little finicky occasionally, because I wasn’t pressing the exact spot or I either tapped too quickly or too many times for animations to register or complete.

The art and sounds are very nice, and dare I say, a contender for video games as an art form. No matter where you fall in that debate, this experience is visually very well done and uses engaging sound effects for every action performed. The style is designed to be consistent, and everything looks handmade. It’s a style that is definitely meant to keep the attention of a child. It looks nice, and can easily change from a bright color to something more detailed and somber at just a touch. There is a little customization too. You can change the language to Russian, prompting a Russian narrator. You can mute the narrator, for more exploratory education, or you can have the simulation play itself, which takes just over five minutes. All in all, it’s really what you expect it to be. Most adults probably will pass up on this title, but if you want to share the Switch with a toddler and give them an educational toy on a rainy day, It’s Spring Again delivers.

[Oh, you think the bunker is your ally. But you merely adopted the bunker; I was born in it, molded by it.]

131

TalkBack / The Bunker (Switch) Review

« on: April 09, 2018, 05:00:00 AM »

Oh, you think the bunker is your ally. But you merely adopted the bunker; I was born in it, molded by it.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46940/the-bunker-switch-review

I was intrigued to try out The Bunker, which is the Switch’s first FMV experience, set in a dark, nuclear bunker, in the midst of a war. The lead character, John, played by actor Adam Brown, was born and raised in said bunker. His daily routine is all that he knows and his character dances between relatable and not relatable. His circumstances of living are very specific to him, but his fearful personality of the unknown connects to the player who acts as an observer through the story. The setup of this plot-based adventure, I found to be very well crafted. I wanted to know the story behind each of the characters.. I was often shown just enough wash to start to draw conclusions that raised questions about the plot, keeping me intrigued and immersed within the first half hour. But as the tale unfolded, I started to lose what had grabbed me in the beginning of the story.

The bunker itself was presented as a pseudo-character, with a very mysterious story left to be discovered. After the first hour though, I had a decent idea where the plot was headed, and the bunker itself went from an interesting, lively environment, to really just a level in a game that was trying too hard to be scary. Because of how quickly I figured out what was going on, or rather, what had happened in the bunker prior to the game starting, I went from being immersed to merely curious as to how the plot would play out. I was more interested in what had happened from point A to point B, because I solved the ending quickly, but The Bunker presents the conclusion as it’s grand finale, which for me, wasn’t very grandiose. It’s actually a really nice story. It is immersive, and I think younger players (mind that they don’t get too scared), will enjoy the story.

The nature of the genre asks for minimal player interaction, so the UI is extremely simple, and the footage is the primary focus of the game. The gameplay is split up between quick time events and point-clicking. There’s not a lot to interact with, and for someone like myself who can’t stand puzzles that require collecting items and trying to use them on every possible item in a scene, this was very pleasant. That said, for the niche of players who are looking for an intense puzzle adventure, this is not for you. The hardest aspect, is actually optional. There are several collectibles floating around, that can be completely missed if not spotted. You can’t really backtrack as you advance through the plot, because areas are often gated off after you pass through. This is probably to prevent the player from getting lost, and maintaining the pacing of the game, which is appreciated, but it makes collecting everything a problem. If you miss something, you have to finish the story and start over to get another go. Thankfully, the story is short, at about two hours.

I think the biggest thing to stress here, is that this game is for a specific kind of audience. It’s not as interactive as most games, because everything you do, prompts a cutscene. All in all, The Bunker was a fun ride. It grabbed me in the beginning with it’s presentation. The great cast, and direction of the movie shown showcased a lot of effort that paid off. There wasn’t a moment I ever cringed, or raised an eyebrow. In fact, I actually winced and closed my eyes at one part because of the graphic nature of the scene. It’s short, and replayability is pushed for because of the insertion of collectibles and a branching path ending. But I didn’t find these enticing enough to come back. Once in the Bunker, was enough for me.

[This one launches with high hopes.]

132

TalkBack / Opus: Rocket of Whispers (Switch) Review

« on: April 15, 2018, 11:55:01 AM »

This one launches with high hopes.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47016/opus-rocket-of-whispers-switch-review

Opus: Rocket of Whispers is a game heavily dependent on its story - and it’s weird one. John is one of the last humans who teams up with a witch named Fei so they can send the spirits of the dead to the afterlife in space using rockets. Yea, it’s wild, but they take it seriously.  Unfortunately, after a confusing tutorial, needless backtracking and progression gating, this journey from the snow-covered Earth to the Heavens in space fell short of fun for me.

 While the setup here is weird, it still follows a very simple narrative. The tone is inconsistent, as the post-apocalyptic world covered in snow is a dour setting, but Fei is often a giddy anime fangirl, except for when she’s a depressed child prodigy. The duo don’t have much chemistry and their arguments feel unrealistic.   On paper, this type of character premise is interesting, but they aren't really taken anywhere. The themes aren't explored, and most of the game has the pair just talking. It's the flashbacks that provide the most context, because they leave the current state of the characters and explore them before the story starts.

Story aside, the gameplay didn’t capture me either . The tutorial sort of exists, in that fetch quests are used to show the player how to move, interact with the world, and such. But I did not find them intuitive or very accessible. It was not until I devoted two hours to playing, where I understood what the game was. It genuinely is all fetch quests. You need to build a rocket, which is broken up into several pieces, so you go out and find as much as you can, then you come back and repeat the process. But sometimes, you need to craft a tool to progress to another area. Too dark to see in the forest? Go find a flashlight, then take it back to the hub area and craft it into a proper flashlight. The problem is that this is a linear experience. Ultimately, it's just going from point A to point B, with the only challenge being understanding where point B is. Otherwise, you're just walking around aimlessly "exploring."

The world is not really empty, but in terms of interaction, it is dull. Ghosts are everywhere and whenever John walks into one, they turn into a small word balloon expressing their desire to go to space. This got old, but I appreciated the approach to showcasing John's disgust of hearing the voices of ghosts in his head via gameplay. Ghosts can be interacted with in various ways, but this is mostly optional. An in-game clock controls how much you can do each day, which felt unnecessary as I often couldn’t find the next objective over the course of a day or two and had to deal with lots of repetitive banter from Fei.  

This experience always felt like a chore. I wanted to explore the world, but various things would pull me back. The crafting did not feel like real crafting because it always put the materials you need in the areas the story was pushing the player to go to, making the incentive to explore other areas just for the side quests lame.

What Opus: Rocket of Whisper does get right is its art direction. Every object in the world has a minimal amount of detail and looks very clean. This game will age well. The animation on the characters is a little jarring though. John's dialogue and emotions don't always match his body movements, which appear much wilder.  The audio design is nice and calming. Headphones are definitely recommended because it is difficult to hear music because of how quiet it plays. Even with headphones, I would occasionally go stretches of exploring where I thought the game was silent.

All in all, Opus: Rocket of Whispers offers a long game that has a lot of mindless fetch quests, but it has an interesting story that might reel some folks in. If you're looking for a calming, easy game to pass the time, give it a shot. Otherwise, maybe let this one go.

133

TalkBack / Re: Burly Men at Sea (Switch) Review

« on: April 11, 2018, 10:44:14 AM »

Bummer. I was hoping it would have improved after listening to you talk about it on RFN.

[A tower defense title with paper aesthetics]

134

TalkBack / Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder Devastated (Switch) Review

« on: March 27, 2018, 11:43:01 AM »

A tower defense title with paper aesthetics

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46846/paper-wars-cannon-fodder-devastated-switch-review

I appreciate it when an indie title tries to find an art style that stands out amongst the crowded spots in the eShop. Whether it be a surrealist polygonal approach, a twist on old-school pixel art, or something like what Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder Devastated (or just Paper Wars) has to offer: vector art with block animation. But outside of that, there is not a great deal of discussion around Paper Wars. The prime focus of the experience is preventing hordes of enemy soldiers from getting from one side of the screen to the other aka a tower defense game. It’s a basic task, that doesn’t complicate outside of faster, stronger enemies crossing the field of battle. Occasionally, the task is changed to holding back the enemy until time runs out, which isn’t too different of an experience. That said, three difficult modes are available, which are your standard “easy, normal, hard” settings. I recommend bypassing both of the lowest forms of difficulty, and going straight into the hardest setting. Both “easy” and “normal” mode were excruciatingly slow for my liking, and so I jumped to what the hardest available levels were. Even those started off fairly slow, but ramped up in difficulty at a great pace. Each difficulty mode has just under 30 levels to play. However, I found each to offer the same experience, even with the limited new enemies that were introduced. That said, the rounds are pretty quick. I was easily able to get through the first four levels in under 15 minutes. This defense game is easily played in either docked or handheld mode, however the touch screen makes for more efficient takedowns in the hardest challenges because the cursor controlled by the controller is fairly slow.

As far as stats go, Paper Wars does a great job tracking everything that you kill, everything you obtain, every medal award, how much time was spent on certain challenges, etc. But, none of this information goes anywhere, because online functionality, and multiplayer is completely absent. This is a devastation to a game that is supposed to be an upgraded version. In their place are the Zombie Wars and Winter Assault modes. These spice up the gameplay a little bit, for example having the soldiers you kill require to be taken down several times because they return from the grave to keep pressing on towards your territory. But the experience is short lived in being different from the Mission and Survival Modes. There are power-ups that spawn randomly in the battlefield, and can often be saving grace when the battle is wearing thin. However, they can be a hazard too, often spawning near large groups of troops that you’re aiming at. And, they can be destroyed by your own tank. I still don’t know what each of the power-ups do, because they weren’t labeled clearly

And that leads into what the best part of the game is, the updated artwork assets. In comparison to the original WiiWare title that was published back in 2011, Paper Wars has certainly seen an upgrade in the artwork. However, I still don’t think the effects are that great. The child-like scribbles of explosions, nukes, and missiles all look great in action, but oddly fade away, as if someone just turned down the opacity and called it a day. It’s a fairly archaic design choice that didn’t seem to fit well with what the paper aesthetic was going for. Also, very unrealistic blood is used a graphic after killing enemies, but it’s not cartoony blood that looks like it came from the same artist. It looks more like a stock image that was pasted on. The UI also suffers a bit from poor design. The text is written with backwards, hand-drawn art. This is totally fine, and cute, but could get a little annoying to constantly be searching through. And it’s not very clear what I am selecting because the confirmation constantly changes. Sometimes the text is highlighted faintly yellow, or other times the window is tinted gray.

Honestly, Paper Wars is not a bad game by any means. It’s very calming to play, despite it’s war theme and stressful genre. But I found myself getting through the content very quickly, and enjoying it. I was not immersed by any means; usually playing while listening to something else in the background. Paper Wars certainly does suffer from a lack of originality. That might not be what it is going for though. It’s a cheap, cute, tower defense game, in a fairly crowded genre. It has decent visuals that are appreciated, but outside of that, I say, throw it back in the recycling bin.

[A short, sweet adventure in space.]

135

TalkBack / Xeodrifter (Switch) Review

« on: February 17, 2018, 01:27:10 PM »

A short, sweet adventure in space.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46464/xeodrifter-switch-review

There certainly is no shortage of difficult, 2D platformers available on the Switch eShop. That said, it’s remarkable to me how well Xeodrifter is able to stand out among the crowd, particularly with titles like Celeste, and Super Meat Boy also being available. Xeodrifter offers a relatively short experience, but with a fair amount of difficulty. You take control of a space explorer, whose ship’s core is damaged in a collision with an asteroid. There are four planets to travel to, each accessible from the get-go, filled with challenges, weapon, and health upgrades, as well as enemies and hazards that will need traversed.

Right off the bat, I liked that I had access to all four planets right at the beginning. I quickly realized the relatively linear nature that the game was pushing me in though, because I didn’t get far when I docked at one planet, simply because I did not have the ability to traverse as needed. This wasn’t a problem, and was actually something I enjoyed, because while the adventure was not entirely open from the beginning, it became more about exploration as I powered my character up. I would get a new ability, like dashing fast over lava, or jet streaming up into the air, and then backtracking to areas I had been already to see how I could use them to navigate into new areas. This was usually an optional experience, but it added a bit more time to the already short adventure. And while this wasn’t required, I felt the obligation to continue to backtrack and discover what else was hidden on each planet because the health and gun power ups were a big incentive to progress through later challenges.

I got stuck, multiple times, on some of the bosses. All of the bosses are essentially the same character, or at least of the same species. Thus, all of the fights are fairly similar. It usually went: The first boss  introduces a level of challenge, the second boss increases the intensity of that challenge, the third boss then incorporates everything from beforehand while adding another layer of challenge, and then exponentially go from there. While seeing the same character over and over again was a little disappointing (I knew who to expect behind the checkpoint door), I did enjoy that I was constantly being pushed to genuinely master the boss fight. Xeodrifter is not a game that lets you fudge through some of the more difficult sections, even in boss fights. I told some of the NWR staff while playing that I was afraid I wouldn’t beat the game, just because of how hard it was, but I didn’t give up. I kept getting closer and closer, and when I finally was able to win, the feeling was great. I think this is why Xeodrifter is a such a difficult experience. You spend a lot time memorizing the design of the fights, and then have to adapt to when something new is introduced.

This carries over into the world itself, both in regards to the platforming, and enemies. There really isn’t a lot of platforming here, it’s not like there are any bottomless pits that I can remember. Xeodrifter is more about shooting the creatures that are on each planet, and looking for upgrades. There wasn’t a whole lot of enemy variation, but rather reskinned colors, but again this goes along with the concept of constantly adapting to when something new is introduced. I enjoyed powering up my gun with each collectible, and also having to strategize a bit. The power-ups you find can be spent on certain kinds of upgrades (shooting faster, curving shots, bigger shots, etc.) and these can be reset and spent again at any time in the menu. You can even save up to three variations of the system, for those who really want to get prepared. Shooting your gun is your primary form of playing, next to jumping. Each shot vibrates smoothly, with a crescendo of rumble in the joy cons. Xeodrifter definitely adopted the HD Rumble in replacement to a standard rumble. While it doesn’t necessarily use it in a redefining way, its use increases the immersion, which was very much welcomed.

From an artist’s perspectives, it’s a 2D pixel art game, with some nice ambiance for music. I didn’t get blown away by it, but I think that’s because the game isn’t going for that. I believe it was going more for fun in the game design rather than in the art, and that’s totally okay. Plus if you like old school video game art, this works fine, otherwise it’s just a “play-it-safe” art style and soundtrack. And that’s really all there is to say about Xeodrifter. It plays great, it’s hard  to beat but addicting. There’s enough content to enjoy looking for, and I honestly think that it’s a well-designed game for what it is. It’s small, and uses a lot of the same enemies, but that’s a huge nitpick on what I think is a great game. It reminded me of why certain enemies are designed the way they are, like how Super Mario Bros. certain enemies act against Mario’s primary form of mobility, jumping, by also jumping. Xeodrifter adopts this mentality, by putting upgrades in places that have challenges preceding them, and with enemies that are supposed to get in the way of how the space explorer plays. I recommend it if this sounds like an experience you’d like to try.

[Get ready to have fun. Get ready to grind.]

136

TalkBack / Sky Force Reloaded (Switch) Review

« on: February 09, 2018, 04:13:21 AM »

Get ready to have fun. Get ready to grind.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46388/sky-force-reloaded-switch-review

I am genuinely surprised how much I enjoyed playing Sky Force Reloaded and how I am anxious to continue playing. Historically, I am not someone to play a game that lacks a deep story. Sky Force Reloaded is simply a top-down shoot-‘em-up, complete with everything I wouldn’t like: auto-scrolling, grinding for upgrades, backtracking through levels. I was totally fine with all of these this time around, because they are built into the structure of the game in a fluid manner. They control the pacing, the progression, the enhancements, and are basically the foundation for advancement.

13 levels are present in the campaign, each with four achievements to collect (beat 70% of the enemies, beat 100% of the enemies, rescue the humans, and take no damage). After completing all four, a new difficulty option opens up for that level. Rinse and repeat for a third difficulty option. Just making it through a stage does not mean that you will be able to progress to the next one. They are all locked, and require a certain number of achievements to be unlocked. Think the Star Doors in Super Mario 64. I spent a lot of time playing through the first three levels over and over again, trying to complete the goals in each difficulty. Across all the difficulties, 156 achievements are there to be collected. With just 13 levels, the content is surprisingly deeper and more involved. Outside of that, an online tournament mode is available periodically. I can’t comment on what that looks like because it was unavailable when I played. I did not see an online leaderboard anywhere, which felt like a missed opportunity because of the nature of the genre focusing so much on scores. With grinding for upgrades being a s trong focus, scores mattered more to me, but because there was not a leaderboard, or even a way to share scores with friends, I ended up ignoring the scores. Again, there could be a bit more elaborate scoring system in the online tournament mode. A two-player option is available at all times, for double the fun. Essentially, this is the same game but with a second ship controlled to increase the available amount of firing. Co-op also makes it easier and quicker to advance onward through levels, and obtain upgrades.

Upgrades are the priority in playing. Earned currency can be used to unlock upgrades, which in turn make the harder levels and difficulties less daunting. The weapons vary, including a fair amount of styles, such as missiles, lasers, blasters, bombs, shields, and magnets. It’s all fairly standard for a top-down shooter, but a lot of slots let you customize your loadout. Various temporary perks in the form of cards show up that can increase the number of stars collected in a level, which are huge moments of being high on the addiction because it’s a chance to score big and then clean house in the shop. New ships can be unlocked, too, complete with different stats and more perks.

I didn’t really mind that cycle of playing. The loop is enjoyable, equal to similar actions in games where a grinding leads to nice rewards – whether it be collecting a Power Moon, trading in treasure for cash, or gathering materials.  But it’s still so weird to me that I enjoyed this process, because I usually want to move on and see what the new levels are. Instead, I found myself craving the power of upgrading to the point of being able to obliterate the opponents I had previously just been able to bypass. I enjoyed coming back over and over again, to grow stronger and beat my previous records. I didn’t pay attention to the score, but more of the achievements and the number of stars I collected. The achievements have an addicting quality, but in a way that is a little bit less demanding. I listened to podcasts while playing, and found I was able to multitask well; it’s game designed for that kind of experience. I wish there was an endless horde mode, where I could test my skills in survival. Because of the repetitive nature, I quickly began memorizing the patterns of how the enemies would appear on screen, thus making it much easier to combat them. In an endless mode, I could still grind, but also not fall into the trap of going through the same process, over and over.

I had a great experience playing Sky Force Reloaded, and will keep playing it when I want to be doing something on my Switch that isn’t as big of a commitment of an RPG like Xenoblade. It doesn’t do anything revolutionary for the genre, playing it safe in all regards. It has a lot of content in an enjoyable package. The loop of short, quick play sessions is addicting, and an experience I did not expect to have as much fun with as I did.

[Looks can be deceiving...]

137

TalkBack / Night in the Woods (Switch) Review

« on: February 02, 2018, 12:04:19 PM »

Looks can be deceiving...

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46345/night-in-the-woods-switch-review

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Night in the Woods. I had heard good things and naturally was excited about its release on Switch. I am happy to report that it lives up to what I heard in terms of art style and story. The narrative is surprising and interesting, especially because of how the characters are so true-to-life despite their cartoony appearance.

The art style threw me for a loop. Part of me thought it was a beautiful game, but at the same time, I also thought that this world and these characters all look like stock image graphic design characters used in infographs or any sort of cutesy marketing material. The latter is not at all to dismiss the look, because it’s something elegant and very beautiful. Coming from so many different 8-bit and 16-bit games, it’s a refreshing aesthetic. The stock cute style was just something I noticed, and has been an easy way to describe the look to people, similar to how one could just say Cuphead is visually a game in 1930s rubberhose animation. The art contrasts with the narrative themes that are almost foils to the loveable, minimalistic characters and world.

For an environment that has a clean and simple visual design, Night in the Woods tackles some heavy content. “Looks can be deceiving” is the best way to describe the whole experience. The story starts off with the player taking control of Mae, a college dropout anthropomorphic cat who is retuning to her home, the mining town of Possum Springs. She reunites with her old high school friends, Bea the gator, Gregg the fox, and Angus, the bear. The three play in a band together, go to parties, chat online… also stab each other in the woods with knives for fun. Yes, that’s right, they relive their childhood by occasionally reenacting old memories, which are certainly questionable when put in an adult setting. That’s actually one of the biggest aspects of the story: the growing pains and responsibilities of adulthood. Mae’s father was an alcoholic, but has since repressed his addiction by giving up the booze. He’s still seemingly depressed, though. Mae’s mother works at the church, but is often seen in the kitchen, attending to bills and comments on how adulthood is “stress by numbers.” These other themes are carried on into even heavier topics like the relationship of a parent to their child, the wonders of God, pondering existentialism and reality, and also the choices made in life because of the role of being a human being (or in this case, a talking cat).

Yeah, all of this is relatable, and honestly depressing to look back on after playing through the fairly short adventure. But I found that the experience was more beautiful then anything else because of how well-written the interactions are among the cast. The friend group constantly deals with the pains they have on their strained relationships. Whether it be from drinking, or talking about their feelings because their parents are gone, or leaving college, etc. It all feels very real and painful, gloriously contradicting the first-glance approach of what the world and characters look like. And I really like it for that. The gameplay itself is very simple, borderline point-and-click adventure.  It’s presented in a side-scrolling manner where all you mostly do is seek out NPC conversations and explore. For example, I know I have to go to the left side of the screen because that’s where my objective is, but I can totally go right and just chat up the other characters if I want. I won’t get anything out of it, other then world building, but that is Night in the Woods’ greatest asset.

This is an adventure I wanted to play alone, and private. The music is very soft, almost to the point of being hard to tell if there is any. I played the beginning of the game in handheld mode in a small coffee shop, with earbuds in, and I still couldn’t tell during some sequences if there was audio turned up, without checking in the options first. Even during some of the band rehearsal parts, where Mae played the bass, I struggled to hear what was being played and had to rely on just watching the Guitar Hero-like cues to get through the practice. I wish HD rumble had been used more. It wasn’t a glaring omission, but was really only used in some of the moments that a standard rumble would be used, like hitting notes while playing bass or breaking a big tree. HD Rumble could have been neat for the surreal dream sequences.

The story is great, the music is fine, and the game runs well in both docked and handheld mode. Night in the Woods did not really leave me with a lot of complaints. So if you’re interested in trying out a well-written story that is fairly relaxing in gameplay to get through, but also want to immerse yourself in an environment along the lines of something like Oxenfree, then Night in the Woods is definitely a must-have.

[What’s old is still quite a “killer diller”]

138

TalkBack / L.A. Noire (Switch) Review

« on: December 18, 2017, 07:04:39 AM »

What’s old is still quite a “killer diller”

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/46045/la-noire-switch-review

I lost myself recently, in a whirlwind of a game I never had the chance to play prior to its recent release on the Switch, that of course being L.A. Noire. It was heralded way back when it was released in 2011 as being a huge leap forward in motion capture technology implementation, as well as a respectable representation of California in the 1940s. Now that it’s on Switch, I’ve taken on the task of interrogating mobsters, thugs, bar tenders, and “innocent” soup factory owners. But does it hold up to the standards expected nearly seven years later? In short, I’m inclined to say yes.

Step into the role of Cole Phelps, a veteran from the war, now-turned detective for the LAPD. Hunt for clues, chase thugs, survive shootouts, interrogate suspects, and explore the vast open world of L.A. in 1947; that’s the premise of the noire inspire adventure to be had here. And I gotta say, it’s a really enjoyable one. From the get go, I was blown away by the world Rockstar had replicated. I haven’t ever been to California myself, but the amount of detail put into creating the noire setting had me sold on that the world was fairly 1:1 in its redesign, at least for what the 40s might have looked like. All of the streets have names, there are well-known landmarks like famous art galleries, bridges, monuments, and parks; it was probably one of the most immersive experiences I have ever had the pleasure to take part in. After about the first two hours of playing, a friend suggested switching the display to black and white, and when I did, I didn’t go back. I was that in love with the look.

The look of the world wasn’t the only huge element I loved, so were the performances. The motion-capture still does its job, very well, at conveying faces and movements in the characters. While it’s definitely dated by this point, it’s still excellent at showing exactly the expressions the actors had when recorded. In addition to that, the voice work is excellent. I had a lot of fun in all of my interactions because they made the experiences feel more real. They tipped the point of the immersion into “I’m actually here” territory, and I don’t think many games can claim that for me. Even the darker sides of history are shown, like racism, sexism, the war, etc. A huge component of gameplay are the interrogations, and so having those be executed well, and last years later for the Switch version, is a testament to how much work went into them. Even afterwards, I was so interested by my time with the adventure, that I was eager enough to look into some more noire culture art.

Music is another element that plays a part, fairly often. It’s an entirely original score, but the inspirations are clear if you know your history on that subject. Sometimes, music is nothing more then world building, radio-like, ambiance. Expect a lot of big band jazz and blues music, like the works Count Basie Orchestra, or Cab Colloway. Other instances had the music involved in the game, such as hunting for clues. A low double bass accompanied by a drum set, and an occasional piano/muted trumpet created the mood I would imagine if I were a detective hunting for clues. And when I had found all of the clues needed from a crime scene, a trio of trumpets would gently crescendo and end then end the song. That dead silence was a cue to move on to the next objective. This was very handy to have, but also is an option to be turned off entirely in case a player wants to go all-in and solve a case without any “handholding”. I preferred having some guidance, so that way I didn’t feel like I was missing anything vital come crunch time.

And speaking of, there are a fair amount of options to play with here. Again, you don’t have to play in color, you can switch to the artsy, noire look or contrasting black and white. You don’t have to do the intense shoot outs or chase sequences if you don’t want to, because the game is designed around primarily solving cases, not the former. So after a few failed attempts, you can skip if you’d like. I myself rarely ever felt the need to skip the more intense areas of the adventure because I enjoyed that it was a different pace. At times, the pace felt repetitive: get a case, go to the crime scene and find clues, interrogate a suspect for a lead, and continue looking for clues until a resolution. But as I got farther down the adventure, I found some more creative approaches to the resolutions, like big mafia-like shoot outs, or a chase on an abandoned movie set that’s crumbling, etc.

While there is a heavy amount of detective work offered, “exploring” L.A. yields some other challenges, though most weren’t enough to keep my attention. You can drive around and find other vehicles, discover an actual landmark, or stop a quick crime in progress, but for the most part there is not a whole lot of interaction with the world outside of the adventure. As far other things to note, there are a few frame rate dips in the more intense sequences. Also, I would rarely get those chases right on the first try because the suspect would always run out of my field of view instantly. None of the major problems I had with the game were a consistent thing to lower my enjoyment in a impactful way. I found that frame rates ran about the same for both docked and handheld mode. Motion controls for the camera are optional, but I played with the touch screen controls more often just to experiment with how they worked. Surprisingly, L.A. Noire can totally be played without controllers, it’s just a little strange on how it works. I played the game with controllers because I didn’t want to endure a learning curve, but it is great to have so many options available.

In the end, L.A. Noire holds up. It’s a little odd to play as an open world game because of it’s strong focus on story, but the immersion is unreal. Every aspect of my detective work felt like a genuine adventure in a world I could never be a part of. There’s plenty of content here to be played, and I strongly recommend giving L.A. Noire some time, even if you’re not a shooting, car chase thrill seeker. The focus are the cases themselves, and that’s awesome.

[The title says it all.]

139

TalkBack / Crimsonland (Switch) Review

« on: December 07, 2017, 04:09:00 AM »

The title says it all.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45967/crimsonland-switch-review

Several different twin-stick shooters have hit the Switch eShop this year and from my experience, most have been fairly fun to play. Butcher coated the 2D side-scrolling environment in blood, Neon Chrome  presented fun obstacles and upgrades – so now it’s time to take a look at Crimsonland, another shooter from 10tons (who also developed Neon Chrome) and see how it stacks up with the other indies.

As the name implies, Crimsonland is all about coating the terrain in the red blood of your victims. The perspective is top-down, thus making it very apparent where every shot is hit on enemies.  Homages to Doom are abound, popping into the general aesthetic. In essence, Crimsonland harkens back to the ‘90s arcade style of shooting games. Blood and gore are everywhere while you choose between a lot of different fire arms and power ups that are designed to make you feel unstoppable in the crossfire.

Turns out that Crimsonland is older than you might think. It was first released on PC way back in 2003 before moving to consoles in 2015. The Switch version isn’t much different from the original version. That said, the title runs very well in both handheld and docked gameplay. The design of co-op works great with quick jump-in/jump-out muliplayer, only adding to the chaos and fun. An array of different weapons and power-up upgrades are available. As enemies are killed, a bar fills up, which can let you choose between different perks, like speed, health, bullet strength, etc. And they’re really fun to use. I often tried picking up every possible collectible icon that showed up, in wonder of what would happen. Would I get a high-powered missile launcher? Or a machine gun with rapid fire perks? Or a flame thrower? One time, I picked up an icon and beams of light shot out everywhere, in a huge wave, destroying everything around me. It was an experience that scratched the itch of mindless fun. In a way, it reminded me of the auto-game play experience of something like Tetris, Bejewled, or even 2048. It’s an experience I did not have to think about strategically, but I still focused on enough to reach the end. That said, the difficulty spikes, and the tone of the game shifted into the opposite spectrum,  becoming a genuine challenge that didn’t hold on to me very long. Not to say that it’s bad in that regard, but a certain level of skill is asked that can take a long time to build up. If you’re craving a challenge, please, it might be more up your alley.

Two modes are playable: Quest and Survival. Quest features six sets of 10 levels with repeating enemies and attack patterns. It all moves quickly and, naturally, increases in difficulty. Quest Mode is not really a “quest” though. It felt more like just challenges that had been designed to teach the game quickly, and then amp up in challenge. It was a fun playthrough because I got a grasp of the mechanics very quickly. Chaos ensued in all regards of the gameplay as hundreds of spiders and hordes of zombies overran the world. It got a little repetitive for me at times, though. I found myself straining occasionally to stay on board with going through each level, which might make it a grind if you are interested in getting to the harder difficulty. Survival features waves of enemies that keep coming as you try to stay alive. It’s fun, but doesn’t blow me away in the realm of creativity. I felt like I knew exactly what everything was and did, and what to expect – before I even started. And I’m not even an avid twin-stick shooter fan. Option-wise, survival mode pushes for time restrictions, weapon limitations, power-up limits, etc. Online leaderboards can help keep Survival more engaging as well. They’re almost as addicting in nature as the rest of this game. It’s exciting to be able to experience a challenge not really pre-recorded like in the Quest mode, but instead taking on the challenge of the skills mastered in the Quest mode. Survival asks a lot of the player, both in patience and in focus. It’s not quite as easygoing, mindless repeats as the alternative, so if you’re looking for a more robust challenge of gauntlet-like shooting, take this on.

As a whole, I had fun with this one. I think better twin-stick shooters are out there on the Switch, but that’s mostly because Crimsonland is from a different era of an already fairly niche genre. But, if you’ve played those highlights already and want more, you can’t go wrong with this. It’s not bland by any means; just exactly what the experience you’d expect is. It’s mindless fun, with enough addictive strategy to keep playing. I loved weaving through the hundreds of enemies (whether they were zombies, spiders, or something in-between) so I could reach a power-up orb at the last second, to suddenly fry everything around me with a flame thrower. It’s a great time all around, and if you have the itch, give it a try.

[A dark story, time travel, chibi characters, and murder? Sign me up!]

140

TalkBack / The Sexy Brutale (Switch) Review

« on: December 07, 2017, 04:02:00 AM »

A dark story, time travel, chibi characters, and murder? Sign me up!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45966/the-sexy-brutale-switch-review

Never before have I seen so many different kinds of games in one cohesive single-player adventure. The Sexy Brutale, which came out on other platforms earlier in the year, is rife with influences from a fair amount of different games and genres. I was reminded of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Professor Layton, The Room, Groundhog’s Day, Mega Man, Clue, and even Doctor Who; all of those styles and then some are wrapped up into a package that is wholly its own. Making comparisons is inevitable for this game, because of the magnitude of tropes and nods to other franchises in terms of look, gameplay, and sound are numerous.  But again, after playing through the roughly six or so hour adventure, I walked away feeling like The Sexy Brutale wasn’t just a hodgepodge of other game and pop culture concepts. It’s fresh and distinct. Everything just worked, making it difficult to even define the initial “hook.” In essence, The Sexy Brutale is about how you are given the task to save the lives of people in a casino-themed mansion by going back in time and observing the lead up to the murder, all while collecting things, sneaking around, and eavesdropping on conversations. The whole thing is fantastic, but some troubling technical issues weigh down its elegance.

To start, the murder-solving adventure opens with a brilliantly crafted introduction to the style and focus. The entire game works by showing repeated scenes from different perspectives. First, follow a path and witness a character’s untimely murder. After that, get whisked away back to the start of the day to try to take a different path and solve the mystery of whodunit. Rinse and repeat.

The aptly named Bloody Girl, who looks like an Inkling from Splatoon just covered in blood instead of ink, gives you a pocket watch that stays on the screen for the entire adventure. It’s constantly in motion, ticking down to the end of the day. And when midnight hits, the day starts over. Each day takes about 12 minutes, if that. As you progress, you unlock some more control over time, being able to jump ahead a few different hours and also reset the clock whenever. This becomes the core component of how the mansion is structured. Different areas of the mansion have different events taking place simultaneously, so rewinding time to start over is the only way to experience everything. A detailed, easy-to-read map gets filled in every time a new room is entered, which makes each day feel impactful and worthwhile even as content is repeated.

One of the coolest parts is the observation gameplay. So much of the game is based around patience and voyeurism. The idea is to follow other characters (good and bad) around in the mansion. You can’t be in the same room with them though, otherwise the mask that they are wearing will chase after you, and drain your health, which then results in the time resetting. To evade this, you can look through keyholes to see part of the room, and eavesdrop on conversations. Each character’s icon shows up in real time on the map, and stays there permanently as long as they have been observed. Underneath the map is a time slider, making it really convenient to see where everyone is in the mansion, and where they are going at different points in the day. It’s like a souped-up version of the Bomber’s Notebook from Majora’s Mask, and it is awesome. Without this feature, it would be extraordinarily frustrating to keep track of every character’s whereabouts and actions in the 12 allotted hours.

A consistent narrative plays out over the course of the game, but outside of heavy plot dumps at the beginning and end, it largely stays in the background to let the individual murders take more of the focus. The murders feel more like side stories in the grand scheme of things. I wasn’t blown away by the story in its totality though. The murder’s tales, however, are much more interesting, especially in how they play off one another.

Related to all the murdering, the audio design is fantastic. Because of how closely knit this game is, all of the sounds are happening and repeating every trip through time. I eventually began to expect the random gunshot off in the distance at just before 4:00 p.m., whereas the characters on the screen would freak out. And, it was also intriguing to hear sound effects that I had not seen the cause of yet. Why was there a huge glass shattering crash just a moment ago? I love how intriguing this game made me feel. Some noises were almost mandatory to hear, because they would cue the player to investigate a room based on playing a small “klink” when something important, small and metallic bounced off the ground. And the sound effects aside, the music is really jaunty. The upbeat tracks in the casino, the dramatic theater singing, and even the intense anticipation that was timed towards when someone was about to meet a grim end were engaging and great.

Long story short, this was a really immersive experience for me. Graphically, it has a distinct chibi-style look. I’m not one for chibi art, but the character models here are all very appealing. I’d call it a blend of colorful, edgy chibi. It is a murder mystery experience after all, so expect some flashy masks and gothic attire.

Now the downside to the visuals is that I have seen better versions of it running on different hardware. Despite the short adventure I had, this title really chugs on the Switch. Frame rates dropped every time I walked into a different room, interacted with an object, or a special effect showed up. Some of the rooms are larger, more detailed, and came across as rooms meant to bridge the loading times to other areas of the mansion. But the load times were rough, often cracking 35-50 seconds. While so much of The Sexy Brutale is immersive and engaging, the load times regularly tore me out of my immersion.  It didn’t matter if I had my Switch docked or in handheld mode, my experience was inconsistent and fairly choppy. Because of that, it really is hard to recommend this experience, which is disappointing. Everything felt catered to me, the atmosphere, the puzzles, the story and characters; it’s all stuff I really like. But the technicalities here show that this one could be better enjoyed on a console that has a better version of it.

Despite that, I did really like my time solving the murders. They weren’t that hard in the long run, and there were just enough for me to feel like I had my fill of the experience. It has enough content, complete with a variety of collectibles, for an experience like this to be satisfying.

If you can put up with the choppy frame rates and lengthy load times, The Sexy Brutale is a fun, worthwhile experience. The highs are high, but then the game chugs or hitches during a long load. Those ups and downs are present from beginning to end. No matter what though, I definitely recommend this game as something to be tried, just maybe not this particular version.

[I don't want strangers peeing in my brain!]

141

TalkBack / Stick it to the Man! Review

« on: November 23, 2017, 11:26:00 AM »

I don't want strangers peeing in my brain!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45895/stick-it-to-the-man-review

How can I describe my experience playing Stick it to the Man? A few different options come to mind: weird, fun, bizarre, maybe hilarious? Pretty much all of those, and more. I was not entirely sure what to expect going in, and I don’t think I would have ever guessed what my experience would look like coming out.

The main protagonist is a funny, little cartoon man, named Ray. Ray works as a construction hard hat tester. So needless to say, he’s probably earnedmore then a few bumps on his head. But he gets his biggest yet when a canister falling from a plane lands on him, and releases some kind of creature into his brain. When he comes to, he finds that he has a giant pink hand growing out of his head, but only he can see it. It isn’t long before Ray realizes he can use his new hand to reach into the minds of those around him, and read their thoughts. And that’s where everything kicks off. There are of course villains after Ray, and a bit of backstory behind the character in Ray’s head, but it’s nothing super deep. It’s a nice, fun and silly adventure.

What I noticed first, before anything else, was the look of this world. The visuals here are so surreal and wacky, I couldn’t help but find myself smiling. The characters are not quite as creepy as say, a Tim Burton work, but they are definitely not the usual NPC encountered in a game. And this heavy stylization is one of the best components of the experience. Most of, if not all of the characters don’t have a mouth that connects their head to their body. It’s just floating there, up and down when they talk. Also, this world while technically 2.5D in perspective, is handcrafted out of paper and cardboard. Thus, begins the comparison to Paper Mario. Both are made of paper-like items, both are very funny, and both are quite visually appealing. I think Stick it to the Man’s visual appeal is more of a grotesque/cool look instead of something clean and cute. Another really fun element is the voice acting. All of the dialogue is voice acted, and quite well. You can really tell that the team had fun giving matching zany voices to the characters, and I never felt overwhelmed. If anything, they added a lot to the immersion. And the writing is really funny. I had a handful of actual laugh-out-loud moments, and even more jaw-dropping moments because I couldn’t believe how weird some of the story was.

Ray often uses his hand to rip down sides of buildings, revealing their interior, as if the player was looking into a dollhouse. He can also listen in on the thoughts of those around him – and sometimes the NPC’s will create a visual thought bubble with a picture of something in it. Ray can also tear down those thoughts, and use them as stickers to interact with the world around him. See someone who looks tired? Read their mind, and see that they are thinking about trying to stay awake. Some cartoon Z’s will appear that can be ripped down, and then stuck on to NPC’s to put them to sleep. Again, this concept is very similar to Paper Mario Sticker Star’s mechanic of using the items around you to interact with the environment. The biggest difference though, is that Stick it to the Man’s core is designed around solving puzzle-like situations using the stickers. Whereas Paper Mario Sticker Star’s bumble was that a lot of the solutions to puzzles were guess work. Stick it to the Man is fairly clear on what needs to be used to complete a puzzle, it’s a matter of figuring out how to get what you need. One NPC is a ghost who doesn’t have legs and can’t get to the afterlife, while another NPC is a mean bully wrestler with long legs. It’s pretty clear that Ray needs to find a way to help out the ghost, but the puzzle is how he can get the wrestler’s legs to the ghost. There are still a few head scratchers, in the second half ofthe game, but rarely did I feel cheated. This adventure felt focused on using the mechanic of reading thoughts and using stickers to solve problems.

As far as the negatives, there weren’t many moments where I got annoyed. The only experience I had that dampened the overall play through was that in the later half of the game, I had a few buggy moments. There is an auto save, so thankfully I didn’t lose progress. But I soft locked the game once during a sequence where Ray uses his hand to grab a green thumb tack and fly to a far off part of the map. And, also I didn’t understand right away what the icons on the map meant. It’s well designed in terms of layout, but I was unsure of the pink dots and squiggly lines on it for the first few chapters. It didn’t take long to understand that the dots were places I had interacted with, and the squiggly lines were question marks, but it would have been nice to have been told what they were early on.

Lastly, I want to share that the HD Rumble was an unexpected, pleasant surprise while playing. It’s always difficult to describe, but essentially whenever Ray’s hand reaches into an NPC’s mind, the visuals shown are that of the NPC’s brain being read, and a swirly, cartoon-like effect spinning around. It was hypnotic. As the animation is playing, and it plays a lot – every time Ray reads a mind, the Joy-Cons/Pro Controller will simulate a spinning rumble. They use the pitches in the rumble to make a scale of sound that sounds like it is going along with the animation. Very outerspace-y and cool. Admittedly, I don’t know enough tech talk to go in-depth on what is happening, but you will have to trust me on this one. Think that Ball Count game in 1-2-Switch, but instead of rolling around aimlessly, the balls are circling in a perfect smooth circle, while also changing pitch.

 

I really recommend playing this game. It’s a quick play, doesn’t overstay its welcome, and is packed with a lot of love and charm. I really enjoyed the writing and voices, as well as the art direction. I’m unsure if the Switch version got this as an exclusive, but there’s a couple of Nintendo jokes to be found early on that started the game off with a great tone. It ran great in both handheld and docked mode. I recommend headphones to hear all of the music, sound effects, and voices as clearly as possible. It’s not a game I’d play on the bus, or in a busy area without headphones because of the great voices. But subtitles are an option as well. If you have a moment to try something new, and fun, give this one a look.

[A dark and messy Point-and-Click Adventure]

142

TalkBack / Violett Review

« on: November 23, 2017, 06:51:00 AM »

A dark and messy Point-and-Click Adventure

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45883/violett-review

The adventure in the twisted Alice in Wonderland inspired world presented by Violett, was not quite my cup of tea. The point-and-click journey through the puzzles felt both frustrating, and intriguing, but the interesting visuals, music, and scenery weren’t enough to keep my attention. I spent several hours, and a lot of willpower to get through just the first 3 levels but after too much headache, I jumped ship. That’s not to say this title is a dud, because it certainly is not. It falls into a very particular niche genre, taking items and using them on everything that can be interacted with in a scene. I recall having enjoyed these kind of experiences as a kid, but that is definitely not something I can handle now.

Violett tells the simple story of a girl (named Violett) moving to a new home with her parents, and coming across an amulet that transports her to a whimsical world based on our own. The world is filled with giant caterpillars, fairies, buttons, books, and other gnarly creatures roaming around the landscape. It can be best described as a Tim Burton dream, a mix of elements from all his famous movies that visually, result in a beautiful mosaic. Every level is detailed and fits the style of the world.  Some cartoon-y elements are mixed in with much darker ones to create a nice contrast. For example, one early level has a giant caterpillar chilling in the middle of the room, with giant spiders swarming around it. The caterpillar, Violett herself, and the spiders are all 3D models, but the world around them is hand painted and dark, in a surrealist fashion. The cut scenes are also nicely painted works, though not quite as stellar in the animation department. They’re more of still images being transformed through a scene. In retrospect, I believe one of the strongest parts of this game is how the 3D elements blend with the 2D, visually. The 3D renderings could look out of place, but are stylized in a way that seem to work well. One of the hub areas appears to be an illusion painting of stairs and doors connected to each other but not appearing so. Violett walks through them and becomes smaller as she is farther back in the painting, but is still a 3D rendering. And with a world as coy as this one, the music is an easy fix. Tracks that sound like they were composed by Danny Elfman hang over the world nicely. There was not a point where I wanted to play without headphones because the sounds were too interesting to pass up.

But I could not figure out this game, even from the very first interaction the game asks of the player. In Mario, you run rinto a Goomba and die, and then know you have to jump over it. In Violett, the same logic based learning doesn’t exist. From the beginning Violett is placed in a cage with no indicators on how to escape.   If you just start poking the screen trying to interact with the environment, Violett will just grunt, shake her head, and begin the never-ending wedge of disapproval that she coasts on throughout the rest of the game. There is a hint system, but frankly, I did not find it to be helpful. Sometimes, it was fairly obvious what to do, pull a lever to activate something, or turn all of the switches on to see all of the lights. Other times, the hints were trying to tell me to interact with a number of different items in a timed sequence. And the hints disappear fairly quickly after using them. They can be replayed, but in a puzzle game like this one, I often have to dwell on what abstract drawing is presented before I have that eureka moment. Having to constantly focus on memorizing an image before it disappears and then replay it was a distraction big enough to break that puzzle-solving process.

Thankfully though, this game auto saves, so I didn’t have to worry about losing progress in any of the puzzles. You’re actually able to (and in some puzzles asked to), solve part of a puzzle, leave, and solve another puzzle level, and then return to the previous puzzle. But this game likes to save. It auto saved in strange locations, but regularly every 45 seconds to 3 minutes. This wouldn’t be much of an element to talk about if it didn’t freeze the entire game every time it auto saved. That wonderful music I mentioned, gets sharply cut off every so often so you know the game is saving. And there’s nothing to do during that save sequence, just sit and watch the sad, cold eyes of Violett stare at you, wondering why you were both there. I jest, but honestly this was one of the biggest reasons I had a terrible time keeping my attention towards Violett.

There are lots of different items and what I guess are collectibles to be found in hidden areas. But I did not understand the incentive to finding them, nor did I see a way to figure out if I had missed any in a given location. Every level presents various items to be found and used in the puzzles, and also these small, colored spheres that can be collected. There was a “Diaries” option in the main menu, so I assumed they could be used to interact with that in some fashion. But there really is not a huge narrative here, nor one that is original. Girl moves to new house, finds a secret world, and has to escape from the bad things inside of it. Step aside Coraline, Alice, and Dorothy, Tim has a new but much more boring lead character. If I had to guess, the diaries showcase her memories from before she moved, explaining why she sees certain levels as she does, or they log the creatures she encounters. In the end though, I am not compelled in the slightest to find out. I found that finding these items was a hassle because while the environments were quite pretty to look at, the details were tricky to make out and it was difficult to comprehend that they could be interacted with in handheld mode.

I wanted to like Violett, but it just required more patience than I was willing to give.  . The opening hooked me, and knowing going in that this was a point-and-click adventure on Switch felt like it would be a good idea. But all of these problems really hurt my experience, which is a major bummer. Violett recommends being played portably because it relies on the touch screen (which I can’t bare to use…it’s like putting on a contact lens without washing your hands). But you can use the control sticks and buttons while in handheld or docked. It doesn’t feel great though, because the cursor isn’t just slow to move across the screen, but also slow to just shift icons from an arrow to the “yeah, you can interact with this” icon. If you want to spend a few hours pulling out your hair and testing the level of patience you have for puzzle games, be my guest and pick this one up.

[Admittedly it falls flat a few times. But I never really got too (card) board with it.]

143

TalkBack / Unbox: Newbie's Adventure Review (Switch)

« on: October 23, 2017, 05:06:18 PM »

Admittedly it falls flat a few times. But I never really got too (card) board with it.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45705/unbox-newbies-adventure-review-switch

Wow, has it been a great year for fans of 3D platformers and collect-a-thons, or what? Yooka-Laylee, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Sonic Forces, A Hat in Time, and very soon… Super Mario Odyssey! But leading up to Mario’s release, comes the debut of another charming game, Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure.

I’ve gotta give credit to this game for what it is trying to do, and where it succeeds. There are moments where I was genuinely impressed with the game, and other parts where I was left shaking my head. The premise of the adventure is that the player is given control of a brand new, sentient cardboard box that resides in the Global Postal Service. The cardboard boxes there are all self-delivering mail. They travel to three vast areas (an island setting, a snowy mountain, and the jungle) to fulfill quests of other boxes, collect items, and fight off the evil delivery boxes.

Controlling the avatar box, called Newbie, is a little awkward. It’s literally a cube rolling around. This makes basic movements like simply turning around a difficult task. You’re equipped with a double jump ability, called unboxing. What sets this aside from a typical double jump, is that Newbie can actually double jump like six times… so a “sextuple jump”, which is called Unboxing. Newbie’s unboxing ability to do this lends to some crazy travel systems. In the island setting, I found myself literally leaping from the top of one island all the way to the shoreline of another, carefully timing the jumps. It’s actually easier to get around using the jump mechanic, rather than rolling around. The rolling often lends to Newbie getting stuck in the environment, whether it be stairs, rocks, trees, or buildings. The unbox ability has it’s limits though. You can’t unbox unless you have collected small power-ups that provide the fuel for the unboxing. They’re fairly generously provided, especially in large clumps around each world, so it’s not a huge limit, but it’s enough to provide challenge in some of the timed quests.

But again, this is a glitch-filled game. I really hope some bandages, duct tape, patches are put out because this adventure feels like it was rushed for delivery. When I first turned on the game, in handheld mode, I was directed to a menu to name my character (the default is Newbie). I tried to pick a name on the in-game keyboard, but the screen froze. I then opted out of the game, and docked the Switch. When I was directed to name my box, instead of using the in-game menu, the Switch keyboard appeared in it’s place. The boss fights and quests are hard because of the glitched game mechanics, not because of the design of the fight. I often found that the enemies in the game, were inconsistent in the damage they would do to me. They all tend to do a ground pound move that would sometimes either knock me a few feet away from where I was, or send me soaring into the great unknown. Beware of the camera, and the controls. You can adjust them in the options. I found the default controls to be a little too loose, and often got stuck trying to find my character as the camera got trapped on objects in the very detailed environment. Sometimes the glitches extended outside of the gameplay and UI, into the soundtrack. I found that occasionally the soundtrack would skip along or get stuck during long loading menus.

Content-wise, Unbox is in the clear. Each of the three worlds, and hub world are packed with Stamps, Master Stamps, caged boxes called Zippies, and a whopping 200 golden tapes. If you were into the collecting from Banjo-Kazooie, this is pulled right from that. And that’s just the collecting, there’s still a loose story that ties in with the Stamps (basically your Power Stars or Jiggies). Though there are only three worlds, they are ginormous and will take awhile to become familiar with. There’s a mode called Box-o-Matic, in which you can customize your avatar box. You unlock more outfits and accessories via an in-game store, using the Golden Tape as currency. It’s a fun experience, and there’s a lot of variety in the quirky costumes. There is also a multiplayer mode which has several games that are similar to the single-player quests (using weapons to fight, collecting more of something before time runs out, etc.). You can dance between a free play mode, or even create tournaments, which is nice. But just a heads up: using one joy-con is not an option, so you’ll need either a second pair or a Pro controller.

Visually, Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure is pretty good. It’s a very colorful world that uses a lot of the bloom effect. I’d call the hub world a similar look to a Splatoon Turf War stage, being out in the ocean with lots of boats, pipes, grates, boxes, and the sort. Every object is fairly simple in design, but every world is filled with models, giving it a lot of detail. If you played Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, you’ll really understand that concept. The only caveat is that again, Newbie and/or the camera can get stuck fairly easily in the midst of all of the visuals. I found that the frame rate dipped during fast movement, which is a concern because of how often I used the unbox ability to jump around the world. I found that I actually got dizzy because I was trying to focus on landing my character on a platform, but the detailed, colorful world would actually distract me when the bloom effects would blur during frame drops.

If you’re a really, really, really, big fan of 3D platforming games like myself, you’ll get enjoyment out of Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure. But with it, you’ll find frustration. I’m not in a rush to come back to it and find everything, despite all of the awesome content it has hidden in the game, purely because I felt the game wasn’t ready to be shipped (no pun intended… just kidding, it’s impossible to avoid these!). If you’re a fan of 3D platformers that are polished to perfection as in the Super Mario series, I don’t think you’ll enjoy this game. It’s got a niche for sure. But it’s a nice-looking game. The music is pretty and the worlds are fun to explore for awhile. I think that it’s a little short if you’re not planning to collect everything, so if you want a quick 3D game to explore, give it a try. Don’t expect it to be a package that delivers though.

[Does the "S" mean, safe? Sure? Sorta?]

144

TalkBack / Picross S Review (Switch)

« on: October 09, 2017, 04:10:50 PM »

Does the "S" mean, safe? Sure? Sorta?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45619/picross-s-review-switch

It’s surprising how Picross S dropped so quietly on the Switch’s eShop in the midst of the raining Nindie titles. Picross is a beloved series and easy to access, so much so that I would have expected a version closer to launch. But instead I saw Puyo Puyo Tetris as my only available puzzle game in those early days. But now, Picross is finally here on the Switch. Does it meet my expectations on what I want a picross game on the Switch to look like? Simply put: yeah, it does.

It’s hard to mess up a picross game. It’s a game that by design, is just something to replicate formulaically. Picross S is exactly that. It boasts 300 unique puzzles, 150 being standard picross, and the remainder being a mode called, “Mega Picross”. As you’d expect though, it’s all here. The different puzzle sides, the hint wheel, a tutorial, times and records, and the questionable pixel pictures after completing a challenge. Don’t expect any 3D picross though, that is not included whatsoever.

This is a very accessible version of Picross. It has gone above and beyond to create struggle-free play for the most novice players. There are certainly increasing difficulties, as the grids become larger, but included are a number of options to allow for easier play (i.e. the cursor glows red in areas where there is a mistake, and the hint roulette reveals a whole section of solutions). There are three different background themes, and options for changing small customizations with the cursor (such as stopping at the edge of the screen).

Oddly, no touch screen in this title. It’s not a glaring problem, especially because the Switch doesn’t have an included stylus, but the opportunity to use a touch-capacitive stylus may have been a preference for some players because of the familiarity with 3DS picross titles.

Included is the Mega Picross mode, which if you’re not familiar, is like regular picross, but some larger numbers take up two columns or rows. This means that there must be that number of blocks filled in that are touching. It’s a bit of twist on an already addicting concept, but it adds to the enjoyment, making up half of the game. I do wish there was a way to share scores though. That’s absent from the game. All of those time records are just for your eyes. I suppose that makes sense because the nature of the game allows a solution to be copied and pasted after memorizing a puzzle.

Visually, the game is simple graphics and color. It’s clean, minimalist, and relaxing. Not a very flashy look, which is fine, because anything standing out outside of the puzzles themselves usually distracts me.

Picross S is a very solid, safe installment for the series. It captures the spirit and addictive nature of the concept, and it fits in nicely with the pick-up-and-play nature of the Switch. If you’re craving a Picross experience on the Switch, or if you haven’t tried the game before, this take on the series is a fantastic way to join in.

[Don't eat the brownies.]

145

TalkBack / Oxenfree Review (Switch)

« on: October 08, 2017, 08:45:42 AM »

Don't eat the brownies.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45607/oxenfree-review-switch

The story of a group of teenagers exploring in a mysterious setting is nothing new. Yet, Oxenfree finds a way to differentiate itself from similar plots like in Stranger Things, Harry Potter, or Scooby Doo. It’s one of those haunting, very intriguing tales that you learn more about when you come back to the beginning, or see earlier scenes from a new perspective. Often, particular moments in the story are revisited with a small change, that was noticeable enough for me to realize that there was something else happening and I wasn’t even aware of it. This is in due part to how the narrative operates. The mechanic itself is just the narrative. Players take control of the character, Alex, but the  main focus is around  the group of friends who Alex interacts with. Branching paths in the dialogue are not in short supply here. Every conversation, many of which can be cut short by the player, can be viewed in a way that makes you wonder where the story might go had you have chosen a different response. For example, do you agree with your stepbrother that you should enter the mysterious cave? Or do you agree with your friend, that you shouldn’t bother with it, in fear of the worst.

Alex is able to move around even in the midst of her conversations. Interestingly, while the player can explore while the conversations are going, they still are represented in a fashion that they are right there, next to the rest of the cast. Occasionally, that can lead to the quirk of the group of friends wanting to do something, but are waiting on Alex to return to where the conversation took place. The beautifully painted world contains many interactive features, giving a lot of character and nuance to what is a simple game (picking dialogue choices). Small details like stoking a fire, throwing rocks, and such are just examples of what Alex can do amidst the plot. This small mechanic, escalated the immersion I experienced in the game to another level. Imagine any RPG, but you can move around and interact with the environment while the characters are talking and sharing information.

Story-wise, it’s hard to share, because the core of the game is how the cast interacts with one another in the adventure. Simply put, the angst-y teen, Alex, is still trying to figure out her feelings over the death of her brother, while also battling feelings about now having a stepbrother. Alex takes a trip to an island with a group of friends: a stoner named Ren, and his crush, Nona. Also present is Alex’s stepbrother, Jonas, and Alex’s late brother’s ex-girlfriend. That motley group is definitely not a standard sort of cliché teens. At first, the plan for the group is to chill and get lit drinking. After some arguments, the group divides, and soon Alex discovers a cave with Jonas and Ren, which is where the story really unfolds. They come across the supernatural, opening the door to possession, time loops, and a whole other deal of weird anomalies. But again, the relationships that these characters have with one another is where I was enjoying the game the most. Sometimes, no matter what I could say of the three options provided as responses (or the ability to not answer and have those options time-out was equal to just not responding), I knew that Alex would end up hurting one of the other characters –like how life works. This game definitely has that movie-level script going for it. It’s trying to tell both a story, and immerse the player, balancing the thin line of being taken on a tour through a game and impacting the conclusion.

The only issue I found is that when finished with the fairly short adventure, I felt the urge to replay so I could see more of what dialogue was available, and to revisit moments from earlier in the game. Though, there are times where the conversations don’t branch off because they are tied to the core narrative. And so this leads to slightly more cumbersome pacing for replaying, because of drawn-out stretches of walking, climbing, and the sort.

Alex is also provided with a small radio that can be controlled just about whenever, which quickly becomes the central game mechanic outside of dialogue choices and basic platform movement. Changing the frequencies on the radio isn’t just the plot device for the story to unfold, but it becomes the tool used to solve puzzles in the world, as the supernatural is explored more. Expect to be listening to a very chatty group of characters, while switching through radio stations often.

Again, visually, it’s an impressive world, with a painted look to everything. I was reminded of the deep water color paintings, from Canadian artist, Zoltan Szabo, and then even the cleaner/minimalistic style you’d see with something like “Nimona”, from Noelle Stevenson. The visuals in the game focus more on the setting, balancing between dark paintings and graphic design traits. However, the characters are tiny. Really tiny, especially in handheld mode on the Switch. I wasn’t able to even tell what the characters looked like until the loading screen, where they show off a polaroid that the characters take during the story. I view this as a stylistic choice, helping the player stay immersed in the experience, mentally designing the characters as they learn more about them (as if they were reading a book or listening to a story), while at the same time being provided with context.

Oxenfree is fascinating. It’s best played in a relaxing spot, free of distraction, so the immersion can be best enjoyed. It’s short and different, but there is replay value. There’s not anything outside of what you can do with the story of the game, other then interact with the world itself. But it’s exciting to come back and see how choices can change the plot of the game. Not quite a Telltale-level game, but also not something to pass up. The beautiful visuals, characters, and choices are why I came back to it. And with that radio you just can’t “turn that down”.

[It's just bear-ly not Snake]

146

TalkBack / Astro Bears Party (Switch) Review

« on: October 03, 2017, 11:54:32 AM »

It's just bear-ly not Snake

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45578/astro-bears-party-switch-review

Nindies are here to stay on the Switch. They are pure fun, pick-up-and-play experiences that can be taken with you and shared amongst others. Some are designed to be solo experiences, while others lean towards multiplayer party sessions. Astro Bears Party is a fantastic example of a Nindie that pulls together a group of friends for a game of stressful and frantic fun.

In the game, players each choose a bear that roams around on a shared sphere. As the bears run around the space, they leave behind a ribbon that corresponds with the player’s color. The objective of the game is to survive. Running into any ribbon will eliminate that player, and the last player standing wins that round.

Prior to any match, players can choose the number of points it takes to win, how big the size of the map should be, and also which bear they’d like to play as (each having different stats). Some bears can run faster or dash longer. Others can fly with their jet packs longer then others. Simple strategic options, such as a dash and a jump button, help to complicate the proceedings. This is often used to cut off others, with the ribbon. Because the ribbons do not deplete right away, the planetoid that the bears run around quickly fills up with more and more obstacles. Rounds are short and quick to start, triggering that Super Meat Boy feeling of replayability.

Astro Bears Party can also be a solo affair. The rules are the same; avoid the ribbon that is coming from the back of the auto-running bear, but this time the objective is to collect a jetfish that is flying down. As more jetfishes are collected, the bear runs faster, thus making it harder to avoid the ribbon spewing from behind the furry friend.

Astro Bears Party offers a very fun party experience despite its simple content. Engaging in its straightforwardness, the controls only require movement and two buttons. One session of playing with a few friends can last a solid 20 minutes, and is chockfull of stressful arguments, frantic running and jumping.

If anything could be changed, it would be nice to be able to add some cosmetics to what is a such a fast-paced game. Simple things like bear costumes, different colored ribbons, or settings in space (like a different planetoid). Regarding the single player, it is a shame that the saved high score can’t be shared online. There is no online support in the game.

Astro Bears Party relies more on the experiences that can be made by everyone playing than raw content, as not much is in wait beyond the base concept. The more players, the more stressful the situation. Visually, the game has very clean 3D models of bears that have a simple, cute design. It really is a fantastic pick–up-and-play party game, and while it doesn’t aspire to be much more than a simplistic affair, it’s fun for what it is.

[Red Joy-Cons are a must.]

147

TalkBack / Butcher (Switch) Review

« on: October 03, 2017, 11:10:31 AM »

Red Joy-Cons are a must.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/45571/butcher-switch-review

“Paint the town red, in your enemies blood” – that’s what comes to my mind in the Nindie title, Butcher, which has now landed in the Switch eshop. A title developed by Transhuman Design, who also created similar works like Soldat, and King Arthur’s Gold. Butcher looks and feels like a 2D iteration of the Doom series. The story won’t get in the way of the action, as a cyborg designed to kill literally everything the only concern is which weapon you’ll use from the vast amount available. It encapsulates the frantic, fast-paced nature of a twin-stick shooter, while retaining it’s own identity (one absolutely covered in red).

Butcher has a great level of polish, filled with fantastic gore-y detail in what you would expect from a sprite based shooter. There are moments where the guts of a gunned down corpse get caught on the elevator, and they are stringed up, following the player. Lights can break after being smashed and that changes the visibility of some of the enemies. There is an atmosphere created by the game that challenges the player. Even the messages on the menus reminded me that the game wants me to challenge myself. At the same time, I can’t help but smile when I read “I cry when I die mode” as a description for the casual difficulty setting. Yes, there are difficulty options. The tag line for this game, is that the easy mode is the hard mode. In a way, there’s artistry in smearing the 2D planes with all of the blood. The stages are all fairly dark toned, but stand out more when a fight is over.

There are five different locations to take on, each containing four levels. These range from dangerous ironwork factories to deep jungle outposts. Levels are fairly short and straight forward. It feels more like a speed running focused game then anything. When you reach the exit at the end of every stage, the game tells you how many life forms you killed, the time it took to beat that stage, and your overall game speed. Unfortunately, there is not an online board to share these times. You can browse levels from the main menu after you unlock them in the story mode. This only took me about an hour to complete. It’s very short, but addictive to the point that I came back to try to get a better time. I just wish I could have shared it with others, or competed for a better time / higher kill count online.

Butcher is intense. You’re not going to be racing for Chaos Emeralds, or possessing a Hammer Bro in this game. It’s entirely focused on how quickly and creatively you can kill your target. You don’t even have to attack some of the enemies up-close. There are ways to kill provided by the stages themselves. Flip switches to activate some falling walls that will pulverize some, and throw others in lava pits. It honestly doesn’t matter how you kill the enemy, that’s not tracked at all, it’s just for the player to enjoy. The sound track is what you’d expect from this kind of violent, gut-wrenching game. It’s heavy, loud, and freaking awesome. It only adds to the immersive experience that this game is great at making. Headphones are a must in handheld mode as you might get some looks if you’re on the train and there is screaming and gun shot sounds coming from your Switch.

Butcher also has a few cosmetic options, if that’s your thing. You can turn on a CRT filter, which furthers that harkening back to classic shooters. You can also opt out of the decal effects in the game (such as smoke, and rain). There is also the option to clear away all of the blood smears when restarting, which is really handy if you’re enjoying the blood splattering. Playing in handheld mode felt great, but at first it was a little difficult to see what was on the screen. The game is naturally very dark, but in the options, there is a contrast slider, which helps fine-tune the visibility of the game. In short, this game has some options available, for the audio, visuals, and even the controls. It is a bit of a bummer that it doesn’t utilize the HD rumblewhich have only added to the experience. The flashes of firearms and explosions feel exhilarating to watch, and the rumble could have enhanced that.

Butcher is violent, fun, frantic, crazy…etc. It’s short, but a good play for the value. There are a good amount of options available, and it’s definitely got heart (granted, it’s dripping in blood). If you’re into the Doom series, or you’ve played other games like Quake, this game is definitively in that vein.

[Lucina is getting married. But not really.]

148

TalkBack / Fire Emblem Warriors Season Pass Announced

« on: September 24, 2017, 01:52:50 PM »

Lucina is getting married. But not really.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/45527/fire-emblem-warriors-season-pass-announced

Koei Tecmo is giving Fire Emblem Warriors DLC packs, and a season pass.

The pass was revealed today at the Tokyo Game Show, and the game's Japanese website gave the details on pricing and intended release dates for the region. There are three packs coming, each costing ¥1400 (roughly US$12.50 or €10.50) with the season pass being ¥3000.

• DLC Pack 1 – Focuses on Fire Emblem Fates (coming out at the end of this year)
• DLC Pack 2 – Focuses on Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (coming out early 2018)
• DLC Pack 3 – Focuses on Fire Emblem Awakening (coming out in the Spring of 2018)

Getting the Season Pass comes with a new version of Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening as she will take on the Bride class complete with a wedding dress. During the final TGS livestream for the game, Azura from Fire Emblem Fates was hinted at being included in the first DLC pack.

149

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #39: Super Mario Sunshine

« on: August 07, 2017, 09:20:59 AM »

I 100%'ed a bit ago. Honestly only had trouble tracking down the last blue coins, and the 5-6 shines.

150

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #39: Super Mario Sunshine

« on: July 30, 2017, 05:06:37 PM »

  TL;DR: It's a fun game, with great music. It ages decently for me, who has a good understanding of the controls because of years of playing, but it's still glitch ridden and can present a real challenge to players. It's extremely creative and takes many innovative steps for the series.


I grew up with Super Mario Sunshine, being a more youthful listener at the age of 20. I replay it occasionally because this was one of those games I played aimlessly as a kid; running around spraying everything, finding the most absurd routes to get the Shine Sprites, and just using my imagination to make Isle Delfino feel much bigger then it really is. I never actually collected everything in the game growing up, but I did make that my goal this week when coming back to it. And I succeeded. The only levels that I struggled with are the 8 Red coins/Lilly Pad/Poison River game (took three tries) and that infamous Pachinko level (took fifteen tries).


I loved the platforming sections without FLUDD, and even when it was brought back for those 8 red coin challenges. You can see some Super Mario Galaxy inspirations there. One in particular was fun to come back to, which was in Noki Bay (Secret of the Seashell). That level stumped me for quite a long time years ago, because it asks for some very difficult jumping for a kid to complete successfully. I found that after years of practice, I control Mario extremely well in this game, while other players often complain that Mario is difficult to control in this title. I think I can chalk that up to years of messing around as a kid and trying crazy things with what options were available to me. For example, in Pianta Village (The Goopy Inferno), I managed to beat the level as a kid without going under the city. I swam up the river near the waterfall, and when I jumped out, water would clean small bits of the goop, slowly making a path to the golden Mushroom where FLUDD was located.


One of the things I really like about the game is the outlandish plot. Mario was a simple story for me until I played that game. It was so cool as a kid to see an evil Mario imposter (whose design is still kind of awesome to this day) steal the source of happiness to those jerk Pianta people and frame Mario. Sure that court system was ridiculous, but it was in a Mario game. It helped me realize that I do enjoy when Mario games go weird, and it makes it that more excited to play Odyssey. That confrontation in Pinna Park where Shadow Mario's eyes glow red and he stands  like Moses ontop of the Mecha-Bowser, while the water is parted is ridiculous, but again I loved it. I didn't mind the voice acting (I liked it as a kid), except for Bowser. His voice did take me out of the experience. But all of the others sounded just like the usual grunts and one-word lines we usually get. Peach and Bowser Jr. sound like they do even now (and I suppose Bowser Jr.'s voice now is based off that initial voice act). It's also cool that they did some world building. Mario doesn't really need world building, but for me, I really enjoy when they connect the games (E. Gadd from Luigi's Mansion designed the Magic Brush, FLUDD, and the nozzles). I think I enjoy the world building because


As for the Blue Coins, I did collect them all. I found about half of them by the time I beat the game. I did't mind going back and looking for them, because a lot I had just passed over. But some of them are incredibly hidden, to the point that the last 30 or so, I did use a guide. Even after years of joshing around in Pianta Village, I never sprayed the sun on top of the tree to find a blue coin. What signifiers are there for that? I wish there had been a reward for collecting all 120 shine sprites (Maybe unlocking Shadow Mario? Plays the same as the regular glitchy Mario, but shoots out Goop instead of water?). You can tell this game was sent out unfinished. It's full of glitches (look no further then Pianta Village and Pachinko Machine), and that is a shame. It does make me hopeful for a remaster someday. It's definitely still the hardest of the 3D Mario titles. That horrible camera haunts this game. It's so easy to see more of this game like it would look in Maya or Unity because the camera can so easily reveal the un-modeled areas of the island.


All in all, this game is by far one of Nintendo's most creative takes on their existing series. Yoshi vomits juice, watermelons are rolled around the beach, Mario fights a mech while riding a roller coaster, the entirety of that Phantamanta fight at Sierna Beach, King Boo looks drunk, Bowser implies Peach really is the Mother of his child, it's remarkably insane. But it's still a great time all around. A lot of people say it doesn't "feel like a Mario game", because he has a jet pack, and he cleans up goop, etc. I think this was Nintendo's attempt at trying a new form of platforming, because it was the second 3D platformer from the series. When all is said and done, I loved the game. It's still glitch ridden, and frustrating at times, but is fun to explore and listen to. The music is still just as great as I remember, filled with tropical sounds that can be happy an exciting, or mellow and chill (or impish and mocking in some of those harder levels). Greg's ending music from a few RFN episodes ago was the "Sky & Sea" theme, and he's right in that it's a good calm song for some of the hardest levels.


That's about all I have to say on the game (well actually, I'm sure I could write another essay, but I fear no one will read it and reply). I hope my comments here are helpful in the discussion. Would love to keep up the talk. Thanks for making this the RetroActive. Looking forward to hearing the show, and playing Super Mario Odyssey!