Recent reviews by jinkies, mister

They said it was addictive. I laughed obnoxiously. How could it be, you play a character who runs around going pew-pew, playing tag (or murderball) with hordes of aliens until the screen clogs up with a CPU-throttling orgy of pixel confetti that would make a Michael Bay film look minimalist- oh ok yeah I can see how that's appealing.

I've spent 9 hours playing this. 9 out of 26 hours (18 if you discount sleep). Literally half of my waking hours. That's right, I crammed adulthood into 9 hours (cooking, eating, exercise, dumps, showers, all of which I savour) so that I could play this game instead. Priorities. Give me that sweet sweet survivor glory, the thrill and horror of an aborted run, the mulled justification that, yes, playing co-op with friends means that I do have a healthy social life, even though I sneakily play another couple of hours after they leave to, you know, engage in good sleep hygiene and manage adult responsibilities. Whatever, losers.

"Impressive" one friend says after listening to my overly enthusiastic recounts of my interplanetary exploits. "Sad" says another with a pitying eye roll. "Witness me Hopoo" I shriek as I launch into yet another run.

I'm gone. They got me by the achievement-unlocking balls. Well-played devs. This is my life now.

In a nutshell: Thomas Was Alone while tripping on drugs at a rave, with some occasional bullet hell.

If you like the aesthetics of minimalist, clean shapes and enjoy rhythmic based games, this is definitely one for you. The timing on some of these puzzles is ridiculous, which makes it so satisfying when you nail it that you'll have to fight the urge to scream "I AM THE RHYTHMIC KING" at the top of your lungs.

Furi.
A name probably intentionally chosen to describe the frenetic 'furi'ous bullet hell that this game is. Probably unintentionally chosen to describe the righteous rage you feel upon being killed for the 15th time in the final stage of a 5-stage boss battle because of some STUPID LASER THAT YOU JUST CAN'T SEEM TO DODGE.

Let's get a couple of things down:
- Easy to pick up, hard to master gameplay. Basically watch the trailers and if it looks good to you, you'll like it.
- Bullet hell, interspersed with melee battles. All intense.
- Boss' designs are super creative. Because each boss has at least 3-stages, it's always interesting (and dare I say exciting?!) to see how they ramp up the difficulty between each stage.
- Each stage/world is also really creative.
- Parrying and dodging feels really tight and responsive (even when playing on a mouse and keyboard like me) and very satisfying when you counter a blow.
- Potentially designed for masochists or at least people who are patient and don't mind losing a couple of times to figure out how to beat the boss.
- That dopamine high upon beating a boss faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar out yeah baby

Only ten bosses but it took me 7 hours because I suck but every death was a stepping stone to sweet sweet victory <3

Only downside is the walking simulator between bosses. Yes, what the rabbit says is interesting, and does make the battles/world more relevant, but for someone who can dodge lasers and gunfire, the main character sure walks slooooooooowly.
Also the camera angles during these walks are really weird and don't match up with your input direction most of the time but eh doesn't affect the actual gameplay so minor thing.

If you played Bastion and liked it, you'll like this. Similar sort of thing - beautiful art, interesting world, haunting kinda industrial always in a minor key soundtrack, and a plot or story that, while definitely coherent, is cloaked in mystery.

If you haven't played Bastion, then who cares. Just play this one.

The real seller of the game is its gameplay and just how versatile it is. It's a top-down action game (as you can clearly see in the photos/trailer). Over the course of the story you pick up lots of Functions i.e. abilities, of which you can generally equip 4 at a time. Each Function can be used as a power in itself (e.g. a linear, powerful shockwave) or can be attached to an equipped Function as an effect (the "shockwave" gives the equipped Function additional damage and piercing effect) or used for its passive ability (higher damage output in general).
So you eventually pick up around 16 Functions, I think. That gives a lot of room for experimenting, and you can definitely play the way you want. Want to feel like a ninja ? Equip the stealth Function and backstab everything for massive damage. Are you a pacifist and you'd rather have your enemies kill each other for you ? Use the brainwash Function (called "Friend", which is cuter than it sounds), and summon another minion to fight for you while you teleport around or hide in a corner. Have no gaming skills whatsoever ? Probably you want to equip the area of effect minefield Function and ramp it up to 1000. Everyone's a winner !

They've also cleverly tied up the game's lore with the experimental nature of the Functions. Each Function focuses on a person, and the only way to unlock their full history is by equipping the Function and fighting with it equipped in the three different ways - active, effect and passive. So if you really want to know what's happening (which you will), you'll be forced to use the Functions in ways you might not usually do - which has definitely opened up Function combos that I wouldn't have considered before.

Finally, there's a system kinda like VATS in Fallout called Turn(). In Turn(), everything is frozen, and you can plan a massive attack chain that can often decimate the enemies before they can do anything. The downside is that once you use it, you can't use any attacks for a couple of seconds, leaving you wide open to counterattacks. This adds another dimension to your battles, and it never feels stale or old.

So yeah, it's a good game. As soon as I finished it I started the New Game Plus - partly because there were achievements I wanted to unlock (I'm one of those people) and partly because the end credits were over so quickly that it started before I could really quit soooooo guess I'm playing again

If you haven't already heard of the hype surrounding the game, you may be forgiven for thinking it as yet another hack-and-slash. After all, similarities abound : strong female warrior (like Heavenly Sword, another game by the same publisher by the way) on a quest to save her dead lover's soul from hell (like Dante's Inferno) in a story steeped in mythology (like God of War) - Norse mythology, to be specific (like the upcoming God of War) - in a title that sounds deceptively and unnecessarily edgy (like Devil May Cry). Her actions are occasionally narrated by a woman (still God of War), and she even totes around the severed head of her lover (like Lollipop Chainsaw Massacre, except it's not cute).

In reality, it isn't really that sort of game. It isn't a game where you're fighting creatures constantly. It isn't a game where you upgrade your weapons and skills and slowly build yourself up to be an unstoppable human blood bank. In fact, the game is slower than I thought it'd be (but it's not a bad thing). And it's certainly a lot more emotional than I thought.

Let's start with what I think is the best thing about it : the main character and her voice actor. In the hands of a lesser actress, Senua's character would be a melodramatic but well-intended mess or, at best, unaffecting. But man, the voice actress really does Senua justice. You can really empathise with her, especially as the game progresses and her past is gradually dragged back into the light. The exploration of psychosis, so inextricably linked to Senua, her journey, and her character, is also done incredibly well, with the developer implementing an impressive array of textures, audio and colours to imitate psychotic delusions and hallucinations. It's clear they had done their homework. It's also clear that the inclusion of psychosis was not done as an afterthought or a gimmick, but was done deliberately and with a purpose, in a way that respects those who suffer from mental illnesses.

So story and character aside, let's talk actual gameplay.
Some complaints I am reading:
Walking simulator. At some parts/sections of the game, the walking may be a little long for some players - that I can understand. But every good walking simulator should have a good story to keep it interesting, and I never found myself bored. Despite the sometimes slow nature of the game, each time I had to stop playing, it was a real struggle.

Puzzles. I liked them, partly for their uniqueness, partly because of the way they subtly point out Senua's psychosis (seeing patterns in really unobtrusive things). None of them were particularly difficult, and I never had any difficulty lining them up, as some has mentioned. Perhaps they're just unlucky ? The only thing is that one or two puzzles are a little long for my liking, and affects the pacing. Still, I liked them.

Combat being too simple. Again, I liked it. I felt like the combat captured Senua's character well - it was powerful, no frills, with an attack style that I felt was almost frenzied and sloppy - makes sense, considering how she learnt to fight. More than anything there was something in her combat style that conveyed desperation, and I thought that was perfect, considering the story. So is it particularly difficult to defeat the enemies ? No. Can you button mash your way to bloody victory ? Also no. Do you require timing and reflexes, and being able to read the opponent ? Yes (like most fighting games). Can you spam combos/certain moves ? Generally, no. Are the creatures repetitive ? Well there are only around 5 different types of creatures, but it's not like it's a slog to fight. Especially once you start fighting more than one at a time, combat becomes quite intense, but like I said, not particularly difficult. It still is satisfying to beat them though.

so tl;dr I can definitely see why this is one of those games that people consider art. Some people have complained about the gameplay. I have no such complaints. Also, if Shadow of the Colossus can be considered a video game masterpiece/art despite its crappy controls (seriously I hate it), this game definitely beats it there.

Every computer/laptop that I've owned has always had Psychonauts installed (gone through 3 or 4 of them, and as some were before Steam, let's say it was not always a legitimate copy...)

Originally I played it on the PS2. It was good, fun yadda yadda but the loading was abominable. The computer port, I'm pleased to say, has no such issues. Graphics are good and smooth (lacking that nice sharp detail, characteristic of a pre-2007 game), load times are minute, no bugs that I've encountered. Controls and camera are decent too - I've read some complaints, but hey if I can bounce and levitate in rapid succession like a ♥♥♥♥♥ up psychic kid, that's good enough for me (and you too, first-worlder !)
The only downside is that the cutscenes are noticeably grittier/pixelated (having not been put through the high definition wringer), but hey if you can make out what blob is who and what smudge is doing psychic stuff on whatever blur, then that's fine. The voice acting and script make up 75% of the humour anyway.

Getting to the actual game, it's your typical platformer, with puzzles, powers and a pretty solid plot. The puzzles (for the main gameplay) are not too difficult. There are quite a number of collectibles too, and getting these (I'm thinking particularly of the scavenger hunt) can be challenging on the outset, so OCD-ers revel ! (or despair).
The powers are also incorporated well, and none feel ( entirely ) useless. Even Clairvoyance, having little use in combat, adds another dimension to the world and its characters.

Speaking of, probably what is so appealing about the game is simply how creative and unique the characters look. And how interesting and well-designed the worlds are. But what makes it even better is that the NPCs have HEAPS of lines. LIKE HEAPS. Just stand next to the fellow campers and you'll eventually find out how deceptively misanthropic some of them are, the sordid details of some of their pasts, their theories on what monster is stalking them in the campsite and... who's going out with who (well they are teenagers). I don't even need to know this but HEY might as well know it now that I'm here. You know they even created a fake myspace ? http://www.doublefine.com/campster/
Like who even does that ?

Get the game.

Mixed feelings :

Honestly most of the tension from the game was created from my fervent hope that my family members wouldn't burst into my room and see cutesy waifus posing all over my screen. Hard to talk my way out of that one.

The first hour is really quite slow. While of course it is necessary to establish character and setting and tone blah blah blah after the second or third poetry writing 'game', I was close to just quitting ESPECIALLY when you know it's meant to be a psychological horror ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM RIGHT

Storyline and all that jazz - yeah, alright. Some unintentional (or maybe it was intentional ?) dark comedy ("that escalated quickly" and "she's surprisingly blasé" were some thoughts that ran through my mind)
Gameplay - somewhat innovative, but I feel like it could've gone further. If you like what happened then IMSCARED is the game for you.

To be honest, what really made me think that the game was somewhat worthwhile was SURPRISINGLY the poetry. Thought the poems would be throwaway - some kinda were, some were actually not horrible. But what surprised me most of all was their poetry criticism and how incisive it actually was, especially with regards to the effective use of form in poetry; clarity and succintness of expression; and how vocabulary apparently reflects on the poet's skill and experience. I found myself taking mental notes, like what the heck is this did I stumble back into third year poetry workshop this is actually kinda helpful and interesting thanks for the tips Monika and Yuri

In other words, I think I got schooled in poetry by Doki Doki. What the

Game itself 6/10
Poetry criticism, theory and workshopping 9/10

Definitely one of my most favourite games. It may not have the best dialogue or voice acting and the controls are admittedly a little clunky, but what it does, it excels in.

So let's focus on what it is: a action adventure survival horror within a TV series trapping. Sounds bloated but it's done impressively well.
Action adventure: COLLECTIBLES BABY. If you are the sort of person to waste hours of your life collecting every single collectible and unlocking every achievement, BOY is this a treat for you. Not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE collectibles to hunt down obsessively and ruin all sense of pacing of the story. But while one of them is a collectible for the sake of collecting, the other four help to supplement the story and build the world in which Alan lives. Definitely worth collecting if you want to fully know the story.

Survivor horror: HOO BOY were there times when you're chilling with your flashlight and revolver and suddenly you're ambushed by four lumberjacks. Or you're heading over to the control room real casual like, and the door burst opens and this tracksuit wearing emaciated youth (a Tenenbaum?!) swings two knives wildly at you. Many scream swears to be had, but shock quickly changes into glee as your character gracefully dips and weaves under scythe, axe and knife before pausing to flash a torch in their face and following up with a double tap of the shotgun. It's a simple combat mechanic (the enemies are invincible until their shadows are fully dispersed by your flashlight, whereupon said double tapping may commence) but the game's audio, graphics and super-smooth bullet time dodging makes combat tense, exciting and surprisingly challenging/frustrating if you're swamped. When the screen suddenly slows down and you hear garbled speech and a high-pitched noise, you better start mashing the dodge button and try not to hyperventilate.

TV series: man the story is good. Genuinely interesting, and the cutscenes are done very cinematically. What I love the most is that the game really pays homage to all the horror/thriller movies/TV shows that influenced it. There are tropes and tropes galores, and many references to thriller/horror movies like The Shining and Twilight Zone. There is something unsettling yet fascinating about the story, world and environment in Alan Wake, and all the references really help to build this up.

So yeah buy the game, play it. Not only is it fun, has a lot of thrills, but it has some really good music (Poets of the Fall). Fighting off hordes of shadow people and dodging in slow motion with rock music pumping behind you ? Definitely cooler than it sounds haha

(I've actually finished the game but offline)

Cerebral. Boring. Fascinating. Pretentious. All of this and more.

"An experience", reviews touted it as (unsubstantiated claim, but for a non-game by a company with such a pedigree, it's basically a given). Basically it's a bunch of minigames with a plot concrete enough to be read at face value but vague enough to be open to some sort of highbrow (?) interpretation ("Consumerism ? Generation of technology addicts ? Vicarious living ? Social validation ? Soul selling to the man ? (I'm not a part of your system!) Whiny first world narrative ?" All of this and more !)

Anyway:

Creativity 8/10

Minigames are simple, but some are pretty cool conceptually, if not ridiculously short (cue narrator beating you over the head with philosophising)

Ease of play 10/10

No aim required.

Landscapes 9/10

Nebulas, blue skies, labyrinths, all beautifully coded.

Pretentiousness toinfinityandbeyond/10

Maybe it's because I'm studying to be a high school teacher, but a game about game developers analysing games and how they reflect the game designers themselves ? Uhhhh can anyone say 'critical literacy' ? (Everything's a construct - actually an interesting thought). But still, don't really want to be reminded of work while playing games (or of those assignments dayummmm)

But I digress. The game has high scores, as you can see. Interesting medium, using games to tell a story (has that ever been done before?) But to their credit each minigame helped to progress the story to a somewhat lackluster climax. And the soundtrack is pretty hit and miss too. But yeah exciting things. Monologuing. Repetitive easy puzzles. Trolling oneself with chat boxes. All of this and more in a two hour game that cost you $10.

(I'd give a thumbs flat but there's no option... so probably not for $10, get it free or get Stanley's Parable)

Wow.

Let me preface, I'm a horror movie buff, horror game chicken (my brother's the exact opposite, but that's beside the point), and while this game has its share of jump scares, it excels, I am relieved to say/play, rather in a sense of claustrophobia and dread. In other words, no, it is not so scary that you wake up your family with a scream-swear. Instead you just enjoy a refreshing cold sweat and a slight sense of bewilderment as to why you are forcing yourself through this game.

Baseline, it's a good game in itself. Considering its use of limited sounds and the pixels, it's really quite good. You can smash it within a couple of hours (achievements included, and you'll need them to complete the story fully). Loved the interplay between the game and the desktop folder. Story was a little confusing but hey it makes you feel something (them bittersweet feels) so I guess something was done right.

Try this game before you play something like Amnesia. (Played a third of that game, laptop broke, considered restarting, nope nope nope). TRY IT. IT'S CHEAP AND THE SCARES ARE TOO SOMETIMES BUT IT'S PRETTY GOOD, NO BUYER'S REGRET.