In 2020 a surprisingly good “Resident Evil knock-off” called Heaven Dust got released. And by “knock-off” I don’t mean “a classic survival horror game”, I mean a game that actually used some of the assets of the original Resident Evil games. Except it was done in an isometric perspective and had a few ideas of its own. I liked it despite its flaws and questionable “borrowing” from the inspirations and wondered what would be next for the developers. A direct sequel, as it turned out to be. Which clearly aims to be a full on improvement but in reality is more of a mixed bag.
Tag: game review
O tempora: Final Fantasy V (Pixel Remaster)
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Back when I was going on my Final Fantasy spree in the early 00s, trying to play all of the titles in the series, being late to the party myself, FF V left me conflicted. On one hand, I remember enjoying the vast majority of the game and the way the Jobs (character classes of FF series) were handled. On the other, I also remember serious difficulty bumps, most notable one being the final boss that I simply could not defeat no matter how hard I’ve tried, which lead to a long and exhausting grinding session, before I was finally able to finish the game. Yet, with recent years Final Fantasy V has become a very popular entry, leading to really cool charity events like Final Fantasy Four Job Fiesta, and I was curious about replaying the game myself.
Now with the Pixel Remaster version available, I was happy to see that my opinion on the game became more positive.
Happy about: Psychonauts 2
Ah yes, Psychonauts 2. The game that no one expected to happen, but many hoped. Psychonauts, the very first project of Double Fine as a studio (even though a lot of its talent had prior industry experience), was a game released in 2005 and despite positive reception it was a big commercial failure. Yet, as years went by, more and more people came to love and praise it so when the studio was able to purchase back the rights for the game, the first rumors of a potential sequel started circulating. But it wasn’t until 2015, when the crowdfunding for the project was announced. And after 6 years, with a VR-only mid-equel Rhombus of Ruin released released in 2017, the game was released.
Was it worth the wait? Well, only if you’ve been among those who’ve waited.
In love with: God of War (2018)
Given my previous experience with the God of War series, I didn’t really care about the announcement of the series return. Not that I didn’t like the games, but I only truly enjoyed the second game and since the third entry haven’t even bothered with the Ascension or the PSP titles. But then the game got released on PS4 and everyone praised… the story? In a God of War game? That piqued my interest, but the lack of a PS4 of my own (and the abundance of games I could play anyway) led me to safely wait until some later re-release or a port of the game will allow me to check it out.
Now with the exceptional PC port available, I was finally able to play and enjoy the game myself.
O tempora: Syberia I & II
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Twenty years ago in 2002 when Syberia was released, the point and click adventures were on a decline. It wasn’t like the genre didn’t have any recent fantastic examples, The Longest Journey being from a few years before. But otherwise, it felt as if nobody really knew at the time what to do with the genre and how to approach it. And to be absolutely frank, Syberia itself oftentimes felt like it didn’t really know how to approach the genre either, yet it so elegantly stumbled through its beautiful locations with its wonderful magic realist story that it pretty soon became a critical darling at least in some circles. And also started a short, but pretty decent run of adventure titles made by Microïds that ended around the time of the Sinking Island.
While I have played both Syberia and its sequel when they were new, and did enjoy them (the original more than the second game), I haven’t replayed them ever since until now.
Thoughts on: Moncage
Puzzle games or sequences in games built around perspective and optical illusions are tricky to do well. You have to direct player view to the patterns you wish them to see, but without robbing them of the eureka moment of finding it, provide them with a goal without turning the process into just solving problems, keeping the joy of discovery intact. Antichamber, Gorogoa or even The Witness (for all of its countless issues) are great examples of titles that do that well, at least for the most part. Moncage isn’t. It’s not bad, but playing it isn’t particularly fun.
O tempora: Final Fantasy IV (Pixel Remaster)
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Final Fantasy IV has not been the first Final Fantasy I played. But it is the only title in the franchise so far that I’ve played more than twice. In fact, this Pixel Remaster playthrough has been the… fourth playthrough, I believe. As I’ve previously played through the original “Final Fantasy II” release, the unofficial translation of FFIV, the Final Fantasy Chronicles release on PS1 and the Final Fantasy IV Advance version on the GBA. I’ve also attempted to play the 3D remake for DS, but extremely disliked the visual style and changes to the game. Hence, why I was so excited about the Pixel Remaster version coming – hopefully the “ultimate” remaster of the original version of the game, available for generations to come. And this version is pretty much exactly that.
In love with: Exo One
I remember seeing the Kickstarter for Exo One back in 2017 and being confused and inspired at the same time. On one hand, an idea about an exploration game where you use a spaceship marble to explore planets sounded extremely fun. On another – very limited and hard to imagine past the concept stage. Four years later Exo One is finally here to disprove my doubts. I mean, sure, it is still quite limited in potential. But what it does is still far more than I could ever expect.
In love with: Life is Strange: True Colors
I have a weird relationship with the Life is Strange series. I hated the original when I first played it and only after giving it a second chance three years later understood why people liked it. Even so, despite my newfound respect, I didn’t quite love it as much as I wanted to see it evolve and become as good as it could be. Before the Storm was also played late, mostly because of the reception the game got. And yet, I liked it far more and in fact, spoilers, it remains my favorite entry in the series as of now. Then there was Life is Strange 2 which had so many pointless and bizarre decisions and detours in the story that by the end it ended up feeling like a mess. So I was glad that True Colors was going to be handled by Deck Nine, who worked on Before the Storm, and had high hopes for this one. It didn’t quite stick the landing.
In love with: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
When I saw the announcement trailer for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the gameplay it was showcasing, I immediately wrote the game off as something that I’m not going to play. But then the game got released to extremely positive reviews and even some people I know personally played it and praised it. So I decided to give it a go and see for myself what was so good about this game that looked so boring in the previews. And, well, the bits that were shown are indeed quite boring. It’s just that the rest of the game is shockingly fantastic.