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Iiiii have three braincells today because I was up late last night thinking I was so close to the ending of one of these...
Both are games I've seen recced a lot, but the actual game not talked about much
* Return of the Obra Dinn
This is an interesting puzzle game with a weird aesthetic. It's by Lucas Pope who makes weird experimental indie games that gain cult followings. It's very simple and stripped down and also complicated. The design is very lean. It's like he made the most stripped down version of the game possible to still ship the core concept and it's a masterwork in that regard.
However, the core gameplay loop doesn't work for me. It took me a bit to figure it out because I went in blind. Everyone says this is a game to go in blind on, so I did. However, if I was going to make a serious go at solving this I would actually print out some of the pages of the book the player character carries for reference. I can't memorize pixelated faced while flipping through a complicated bookmarking system in the book. I would also legit take cell phone pics of the screen at times.
I may actually do that someday. I have solved sections of the plot and would be interesting in completing it. It is a project I can't take on now, but am tucking aside for if I want a project like that.
* I Was A Teenage Exocolonist. Man, if ever a game should get an award for me hearing about it and hearing about it, but noooo one seems to talk to talk about specifics, this might win. What little I thought I knew about the game turned out to be not correct. I had a suspicion that this game would annoy me in certain specific ways, and I was right about that. But I pushed through those parts out of curiosity.
Also, I am pretending that there aren't tens of thousands of games out there I could buy. I am pretending only my library exists. It's a different approach, esp to indie games, to pretend like there aren't tens of thousands of options and maybe just keep browsing... It's easier to get really engaged in a game if you aren't thinking about finding your perfect game and just focus on what is in front of you.
This game is unusual. Choices make impacts. Also, I had reactions to things in the story that I typically do not have in games. It's very interesting how the narrative is handled.
One problem is that if you really want to engage with the game and not just do a walk through, the game expects you to play multiple times. There are very few maps and all of the maps have a very limited number of events. You have to replay certain maps a lot to advance certain parts of the plot. It's like the problem people had with Dragon Age 2, but a lot worse.
Admittedly, I was looking forward to playing a game with a romance system and thought sexytimes were a thing and they are sort of? But not how I expected. Also, you can't talk to the other teens about what is really going on except for one and also dialogue options are very limited with most LIs. Basically, I wound up feeling like my character was isolated from the romance option I was after and I think that would be the case with most or all.
I had some reactions to things in this game that were very ... let's say mercenary. I am typically a goodie-two-shoes in games. This game caused very nihilist reactions in me, and I think that's by design. The moral situation is complicated.
I am curious about a few specific things about the game and possible plot branches. But I don't want to spoil anything and I don't to cycle through new games with more info, especially since you can't keep perks or gear.
Replays would mean dozens of trips to the far side of The Wresting Ridges, having to deal with the player character being ten again, dealing the with the player character and friends having the start of puberty/periods again.... some people really vibe on this slow, tender, slice of life stuff involving teenage years but I am NOT one of them. Pastels and music that sounds like a music box and... no I do not vibe with this.
Each level is a year of your life and you're only an adult for like 10% of the game.
I am glad I played what I did. The narrative is really complex and, again, I was not expecting the reactions I had or the underlying bleakness. I am really curious if it's at all feasible to figure certain things out in the first play through, if any of the romances go anywhere.
Watching characters stuck in a time loop is interesting and funny. Being a character stuck in a time loop is different... but time loop game play has been a big thing in the past few years. Also, people love this game. It is popular.
anyway, tl:dr obviously this game got to me in ways because I want to babble about it, but also am very conflicted about it in a few ways. I also found it absording even though some aspects deeply annoy me and now I've got no brain cells due to lack of sleep.
Both are games I've seen recced a lot, but the actual game not talked about much
* Return of the Obra Dinn
This is an interesting puzzle game with a weird aesthetic. It's by Lucas Pope who makes weird experimental indie games that gain cult followings. It's very simple and stripped down and also complicated. The design is very lean. It's like he made the most stripped down version of the game possible to still ship the core concept and it's a masterwork in that regard.
However, the core gameplay loop doesn't work for me. It took me a bit to figure it out because I went in blind. Everyone says this is a game to go in blind on, so I did. However, if I was going to make a serious go at solving this I would actually print out some of the pages of the book the player character carries for reference. I can't memorize pixelated faced while flipping through a complicated bookmarking system in the book. I would also legit take cell phone pics of the screen at times.
I may actually do that someday. I have solved sections of the plot and would be interesting in completing it. It is a project I can't take on now, but am tucking aside for if I want a project like that.
* I Was A Teenage Exocolonist. Man, if ever a game should get an award for me hearing about it and hearing about it, but noooo one seems to talk to talk about specifics, this might win. What little I thought I knew about the game turned out to be not correct. I had a suspicion that this game would annoy me in certain specific ways, and I was right about that. But I pushed through those parts out of curiosity.
Also, I am pretending that there aren't tens of thousands of games out there I could buy. I am pretending only my library exists. It's a different approach, esp to indie games, to pretend like there aren't tens of thousands of options and maybe just keep browsing... It's easier to get really engaged in a game if you aren't thinking about finding your perfect game and just focus on what is in front of you.
This game is unusual. Choices make impacts. Also, I had reactions to things in the story that I typically do not have in games. It's very interesting how the narrative is handled.
One problem is that if you really want to engage with the game and not just do a walk through, the game expects you to play multiple times. There are very few maps and all of the maps have a very limited number of events. You have to replay certain maps a lot to advance certain parts of the plot. It's like the problem people had with Dragon Age 2, but a lot worse.
Admittedly, I was looking forward to playing a game with a romance system and thought sexytimes were a thing and they are sort of? But not how I expected. Also, you can't talk to the other teens about what is really going on except for one and also dialogue options are very limited with most LIs. Basically, I wound up feeling like my character was isolated from the romance option I was after and I think that would be the case with most or all.
I had some reactions to things in this game that were very ... let's say mercenary. I am typically a goodie-two-shoes in games. This game caused very nihilist reactions in me, and I think that's by design. The moral situation is complicated.
I am curious about a few specific things about the game and possible plot branches. But I don't want to spoil anything and I don't to cycle through new games with more info, especially since you can't keep perks or gear.
Replays would mean dozens of trips to the far side of The Wresting Ridges, having to deal with the player character being ten again, dealing the with the player character and friends having the start of puberty/periods again.... some people really vibe on this slow, tender, slice of life stuff involving teenage years but I am NOT one of them. Pastels and music that sounds like a music box and... no I do not vibe with this.
Each level is a year of your life and you're only an adult for like 10% of the game.
I am glad I played what I did. The narrative is really complex and, again, I was not expecting the reactions I had or the underlying bleakness. I am really curious if it's at all feasible to figure certain things out in the first play through, if any of the romances go anywhere.
Watching characters stuck in a time loop is interesting and funny. Being a character stuck in a time loop is different... but time loop game play has been a big thing in the past few years. Also, people love this game. It is popular.
anyway, tl:dr obviously this game got to me in ways because I want to babble about it, but also am very conflicted about it in a few ways. I also found it absording even though some aspects deeply annoy me and now I've got no brain cells due to lack of sleep.
