I’ve never heard about The Chant until it suddenly appeared at the storefronts and something about it made me curious. And now that I’ve finished it, I’d still call it “curious”. A pleasant variety of curious, though, and quite likely worth your time if you like horror themed action adventure titles of the survival action-esque variety.
Tag: Recommended
Happy about: PowerWash Simulator and Chop Goblins
Occasionally, it’s nice to play a simple game to relax. And I’ve got two different ones for you to check out. A quick tiny FPS from David Szymanski Chop Goblins and one of those simulator titles that aren’t really serious, but aren’t just a shitpost either – PowerWash Simulator. They’re different, relaxing in their own way and fun.
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Happy about: Return to Monkey Island
For a lot of people the original Monkey Island titles mean a lot. And for the game industry as a whole, not just the adventure titles, these games have had (and still have) a lot of influence. For me? I respect them and admire them, but the first time I’ve actually completed the first two entries was only after the Special Editions came out a bit over 10 years ago. I did encounter these titles as a kid, of course, but had far more experience with other LucasArts titles and adventures from other companies. The first game in the franchise I’ve completed was actually Tales from Monkey Island and I’ve still never bothered to play Escape and Curse.
Why is this important? Well, your enjoyment from Return to Monkey Island will depend greatly on your experience with the previous games. But what I can say for sure, is that if I’m anything to go by – you can still have a lot of fun with this game, even if you don’t know the classic titles by heart.
Happy about: Gerda: A Flame in Winter
It’s a bit of a shame that story-driven adventure titles, and I mean the ones that are almost purely story driven like Telltale titles or Life is Strange, became almost a separate thing, very disconnected from the “classic” adventure games, even the ones that were also heavily story-driven. But at least we’re seeing more of them trying to experiment with the boundaries of the genre more. Gerda: A Flame in Winter is one such title – it’s not about puzzles and free exploration of locations or even really inventory usage in a classic sense, instead it’s all about choices and consequences and the storytelling. But it has a few very cool tricks to achieve its goals, even if it ends up being somewhat rough around the edges.
Happy about: Super Lone Survivor
Ten years ago Lone Survivor got released to the market that was entirely devoid of titles attempting classic survival horror and for this alone received a lot of attention. That wasn’t the only positive feature about the game, of course, but for a lot of people it was somewhat of a symbol of how big budget companies were simply unwilling to make games like this and it was for the independent developers to finally revive the genre. Personally? I didn’t get into the game much for various reasons that I will outline below, but it was a title I remembered and at least respected.
Nowadays, classic survival horror is finally being revived with many titles attempting fresh takes on the genre, some of them even being good. And after many years of being hinted at, and a few years of development, Lone Survivor returns in its updated format as Super Lone Survivor. Is it interesting today?
Happy about: Broken Pieces
As more and more classic survival horror adjacent action adventure games arrive lately, I keep being occasionally pleasantly surprised by the inventiveness of some of the projects. Even if the title ultimately disappoints, the creativity behind it can show new ways this genre can be done, as if it’s finally trying to break the mould it has been stuck in for decades. Broken Pieces is not a disappointment, however, even if it is a bit of a mess.
O tempora: Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth has always been janky. Released in 2005 on the original Xbox and half a year later on PC it looked outdated, it had tons of problems and was ridiculously hard at moments. Nonetheless, it was also beloved by many despite its issues, because it created a genuinely fantastic atmosphere and was full of memorable moments and ideas unlike anything else in videogames. I liked the game when it got released, but always dreaded returning to it due to countless frustrating elements it had. But it was the time to finally take the dive and see how the game feels in 2022.
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O tempora: Final Fantasy VII
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
After revisiting the first 6 entries in the franchise due to fantastic Pixel Remaster re-releases, I decided that it was finally time to revisit the PlayStation 1 era of Final Fantasy. Starting with the game that is incredibly influential and possibly still most famous and successful entry in the series – Final Fantasy VII.
Thing about FFVII is that while it has been my introduction to the series, as it had been to many, it was still years after it originally launched and after the experience with other jRPGs. And my original copy of the game was used with a highly scratched disc, so I had to postpone the completion of the game several times because my PS1 would occasionally stop reading the disc correctly and freezing during scene changes. It wasn’t the best possible experience and for a long time I thought it was the main reason why I didn’t care about this title as much as many others do. But upon revisiting it again, I have to say that FFVII is just not quite my thing, even if I got to like it far more this time. I can’t say the experience with the current PC version is pleasant, however.
Happy about: Prodeus
The classic FPS revival continues. And by now the market is so saturated, it’s hard to care about most of these titles, especially since so many of them end up being mediocre. Prodeus was announced when people still paid attention, however, and after a Kickstarter campaign and several years in Early Access it’s finally out. And while it’s most certainly not mediocre, it is a very simple take on the genre. The one focused almost purely on fast paced action and style. Thankfully, it does it really well.
O tempora: Red Faction and Red Faction 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.
It has been a very long time since I’ve played Red Faction last time. So much so that I’ve actually remembered the game being about twice longer than it actually is. Luckily, it isn’t and it still plays surprisingly well. With the help of a few mods, this title is still quite exciting. Unlike its sequel, but we’ll get to that.