Recent reviews by Manly Muffin Man

Lots of games have great stories. But Outer Wilds is an experience. The way the gameplay lets you personally experience its narrative journey epitomizes the unique potential of videogame storytelling. It's the only game I'd ever describe as perfect.

Someone thought "what if we made Portal but without portals," and then instead of dismissing this as a stupid idea they made me lug around boxes and jammers and laser beams and keys for hours.

The description "most faithful representation of desktop role playing ever attempted in video games" got me really excited about this game. A game that simulates the fluid storytelling of tabletop RPGs, integrating your failures into the story instead of just throwing you back to the nearest checkpoint? Sign me up!

I sunk 5 hours into the game before becoming discouraged at how its method of integrating failures actually made the story less fluid and and greatly disrupted the flow of an otherwise compelling story.

There are a number of checks you have to make in order to progress in the story, whether it be the main storyline or a side story. When you fail these checks, you have to leave, grind your XP through side conversations, and then once you have leveled up, come back and try again. Sometimes the failure will also deduct a point of "morale", a sort of health system, in which case if you want to restore it, you will have to wander the world looking for healing items or money to buy healing items.

As you can imagine, having to leave and grind resources upon failure heavily disrupts the flow of the story. You might get into a heated argument with some bratty kid, but fail your empathy check to understand why he acts out. So you wander off, have random conversations for a half hour, and then come back, pick up your argument, and fail the check again. By the time you pass the check, you are not immersed into your argument with the kid. Your response to succeeding isn't "Ah, I understand why this kid is yelling with me" your response is "finally, I passed the check."

Other times, this "leave for a while before coming back" is more nuanced. Sometimes, you can't retry the same check, and you must instead attempt a different check that will accomplish the same goal. Initially, this narrative of "fail, then find a new way to succeed" was interesting. However, after a few times of this same formula, it stopped being a means of emergent storytelling, and started being yet another detour that interrupted the story and made it a slog to get through.

But sometimes this "leave for a while before coming back" isn't nuanced at all. Some solutions to problems use "thoughts" which straight up tell you "have other conversations for this many in game hours until the thought finishes processing."

Then, worst of all, for some of the side storylines, failing a single-attempt check just unceremoniously cuts you off from the rest of that story. The end. No more side-story for you.

I really want to like this game. The storytelling and worldbuilding is PHENOMINAL. In Disco Elysium each one of your stats manifests itself as a voice in your head informing you how to act. Your Physical Instrument stat is a voice urging you to solve your problems with violence; your rhetoric voice eggs you on to prove yourself right even when there is no personal gain to do so; your Inland Island skill is your impulsive voice, and prompts you to do crazy, often hilarious actions. The higher each stat is, the louder its voice in your head. This is such a cool concept.

I just wish the game wasn't such a slog so I could appreciate this more. Every time, just as I started to get invested in part of the story, I would fail a check and be forced to find a different conversation. So I'd find one, and just as I was getting invested in this new conversation, I would take morale damage from the conversation, die, and realize that I need to increase my morale before I can accomplish this new conversation.

In some ways, this game feels more like Pokemon than it does a storytelling game. Rather than reaching a boss fight, realizing you are too weak, and going back to grind combat like in Pokemon, you instead reach a boss conversation, realize you are too weak to get through the morale tax the conversation has, and go back to grind conversations. For some people, "Pokemon but with conversations instead of combat" sounds extremely unique and interesting, and if that's you, go for it. But for me, Disco Elysium combines the worst of Pokemon (grinding for XP) with the worst of point and click (wandering aimlessly for 30 minutes because you're stuck), despite having what looks to be an amazing story behind all that.

As a Metroidvania, Hollow Knight is characterized by the ability to explore its world, uncovering new abilities along the way which allow you to explore previously inaccessible areas of the map.

Hollow Knight takes this staple element and refines it to perfection.

The world you explore is gorgeous and varied, every location bursting with charm.
Each area has unique elements which mix up the way you explore the area, keeping things fresh.
The payoff for exploration is rewarding as well; each path leads you to something meaningful, whether it be a new area, a new ability, a piece of lore, or a secret boss.

Not only is exploring the world fun, but combat as you explore the world is top notch.
The boss fights are difficult, which may be a barrier if you're new to video games. However, if you are more experienced in gaming, the boss fights are a refreshing challenge that is difficult but fair. The tangible improvement you make in the game as you beat harder and harder battles is incredibly rewarding.

The jump physics in the game initially felt strange, but when you get used to that, you appreciate the precise control on how high you jump, especially during the jump puzzles. Speaking of which, the jump puzzles, like the combat, are difficult, but satisfying to complete.

The music is breathtaking, and the different scores perfectly complement the locations/battles they accompany.

The story isn't immediately front and center in the game, as you start off just exploring. This does mean that the plot of the game starts out slow. However, the story that eventually unfurls is simultaneously heartbreaking and touching, so don't let the plot's slow start deter you.

The characters have gripping character arcs. While they have limited screen time, with their stories unfolding as you run into them throughout the world, the stories that do unfold are profoundly poignant.

The compelling bits of lore and worldbuilding scattered throughout the world combine with its striking visuals and music to create a dark yet whimsical tone, enticing you to explore more of the world.

Not only is Hollow Knight's world crafted to perfection, but it is insanely large as well! Depending on how fast or slow you play games, you can easily sink 80 hours into the game by the time you reach the end.

And to think, you can buy this masterpiece for the absurd price of 15 bucks! 9 when on sale!

If you're a casual gamer, you might want to wait before checking this game out, since struggling with the boss fights can bar progression. I wouldn't want your experience of the game to be marred by frustration. I know when I first began playing, I became mildly frustrated by my inability to defeat an early boss. However, if you're a moderately seasoned gamer you have no excuse not to play Hollow Knight.