Uh… Hm. This might be a damning way to open a review, but not every games needs to set your loins alight. I think a game industry where every title is tripping over each other in an attempt to be the most meaningful experience you have had would be pretty miserable. Developers should have fun with the creative process. It should be fulfilling to them. Otherwise, we’d just be getting our entertainment from workers on an assembly line. That’s not how art works.

This might be obvious, but I say that because Orbo’s Odyssey did not combust my crotch. I played it because I like the cut of the developer’s jib. Feverdream Johnny is probably best known for their work on Nowhere, MI. They’ve partnered with Ben Drury for this sort of spin-off or sequel to Peeb Adventures. So, I guess I’m here to spectate the creative process rather than have my genitals gelatinized. With that said, it’s still a fun time.

[caption id="attachment_398697" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Orbo's Odyssey (PC)
Developer: Feverdream Softworks
Publisher: Feverdream Softworks
Released: August 21, 2023
MSRP: $6.99

Orbo’s Odyssey opens with the eponymous meeple getting locked in their boss’s office along with Peeb. The door isn’t locked, but neither of them has arms, so they can’t work the doorknob. I can think of a few ways around this issue, but they decide the only two options are to either wait for the boss to come to the office (which he never does, typical manager) or use a device to craft a prosthetic arm capable of manipulating a door. I guess they don’t have buttcheeks, either.

They need to collect little Gear Parts that are conveniently located in product portals found in the boss’s office. So, you’ve got a little problem, a little hubworld, and Orbo’s Odyssey is a little platformer. It’s a micro-collect-a-thon. There are five gears in each world, and it takes a little over an hour to complete.

Or maybe I’m just amazing. I was told the controls are easy to learn and hard to master, but I had it down from the word "go." Actually, maybe I was just told that so I’d feel good about myself. In that case, it worked.

https://youtu.be/Ty8SJzoRNo0?feature=shared

Adventure vs. Odyssey

Beyond running and jumping, you can launch yourself through the air like a rocket. This is the big concept to wrap your head around, as while there’s more to Orbo’s Odyssey than just going ballistic, it’s all centered around your jet speed. There are time trials, puzzles, and battles, but they’re mostly all solved by ramming your head into them.

The real appeal is in the dreamlike visuals. Well, I say “dreamlike,” but my dreams usually involve a lot more noodles. Feverdream Softworks seems to dream about Draculas and businessmen. Their dreamworld is an awful little place where an unconvincing façade and awful corporate culture mix into something inhuman and alienating. Especially when you factor in all the house music that plays overtop.

There’s a lot of screwing around to be had. Scouring environments reveals a lot of strange displays, making it feel almost like a wax museum or an I Spy book.

If you look hard enough, you can see some of Feverdream Johnny’s trademark nightmarish existentialism. This possibly ties into the greeted Feverdream universe, but I can’t claim to be intimately familiar enough to know for sure. Standing apart, it’s mostly just confirmation that your discomfort is warranted. It reminds you that it might not be raining, but you're standing thigh-deep in a leech-filled swamp. It’s the good stuff.

[caption id="attachment_398698" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Box quote

Because of its brevity and whimsical apathy, it’s hard to really give a lot of feedback on Orbo’s Odyssey. It neither disappointed nor exceeded expectations. I doubt I’ll be doing an annual playthrough, but I’ll still be there for Feverdream Softworks’ next game. It’s not that expensive, and it’s maybe healthier for you than eating an entire bucket of ice cream by yourself. Hold on, I can do better. Here’s a good box quote:

“Orbo’s Odyssey is an adequate reason to put your fingers all over your mouse and keyboard.”

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Orbo’s Odyssey appeared first on Destructoid.

I’m not above being lured in by aesthetic. Draft of Darkness hooked me in with its grainy, pixelated photo manipulation. It looks like a tacky game that followed in the wake of Mortal Kombat. In fact, it would fit right in alongside titles that pushed the limits of tastefulness back in the ‘90s. It’s hypnotic.

In my experience, a well-executed aesthetic can be indicative not necessarily of a game’s quality, but of its inventiveness. Not always, but sometimes. My favorite type of game is one where the developers fucked around and found out. However, that methodology doesn’t always result in an appealing game.

Draft of Darkness is so well-executed in its mechanics that it makes them seem accidental. Aesthetics aside, everything I’ve seen surrounding the game makes it out to be this quiet little project by a solo developer. But when you get into it, you find a well-tuned machine. Yet, while I find myself captivated by it, there is one unavoidable flaw that I think is going to be very divisive for a lot of people: its roguelite backbone.

[caption id="attachment_398531" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Draft of Darkness (PC)
Developer: Crawly Games
Publisher: Crawly Games
Released: August 23, 2023
MSRP: $14.99

Dungeons and daggers

In Draft of Darkness, you pick a survivor from an ever-growing list of them. Each one is proficient with their own type of combat, from the knife-wielding Cara to the Chainsaw-swinging Rene. Each one plays extremely differently.

Draft of Darkness is a deckbuilder roguelite, but it plays a lot like a tabletop RPG. Or rather, it plays like a TTRPG if the GM had lost the will to live and was holding you hostage in a ‘90s metal music video. While your abilities in combat are controlled by the hand of cards you’re dealt, it’s backed by an abilities stat system and heavily reliant on resources you gather. If you’re carrying a chainsaw, you need fuel. If you’re carrying a shotgun, you need shotgun food.

Beyond that, the exploration system feels like something a dungeon master would draw out on grid paper. Each one is randomly generated upon entry and filled with a variety of encounters. They take place in an apartment building, in a factory, or on the streets, but they’re all very much dungeons. Your goal in each on is to try and gather power and resources for your party, then find the boss and escape to the next dungeon.

https://youtu.be/9sZE1xr7wvI

Smack the deck

Despite relying on the luck of the draw to give you a good hand, the combat is extremely deep and nuanced. While characters rely on sparse resources to use their strongest attacks, they always have a weaker alternative. The chainsaw maniac, for example, can deal an incredible amount of damage very quickly but is reliant on gasoline. She can still pull off some powerful attacks without starting her engine, which is best to do on weaker opponents.

Usually, you just want to start eating into your resources when the cards start looking stacked against you, like on bosses. However, there are characters who don’t require resources, like the knife wielders. For them, they can focus on critical hits and combos, but with Cara I liked to rely heavily on the bleeding status effect.

There are a lot of nuanced status effects, and playing certain cards in sequence can give you a huge advantage. There is a tonne of strategy from building your deck carefully so you can exploit even the most unfavorable of hand.

[caption id="attachment_398532" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Feed the TV

To progress through the actual story, however, you need to trigger various encounters. It can take multiple playthroughs and attempts before you gain any ground in the narrative. This is where I think Draft of Darkness is going to miss the connection with a lot of people. It is, at heart, a very slow and methodical game, and that doesn’t really click with the roguelite mentality.

It’s a game that asks you to be very careful about your strategy and resources, and then even when you do so, it’s possible to hit the jagged rocks of a difficult encounter. Since so much of the game is random and there’s very little wiggle room, it’s very easy to get your bones crushed between a rock and a hard place. And that can mean losing hours of progress with very little to show for it.

Specifically, a “complete” run can take three hours. If I wasn’t dying at the beginning from resource starvation, I was dying at the end from sheer blunt-force boss trauma. You’re always given tokens to spend at a store that allows you to unlock additional perks. Otherwise, you'll make progress through the various encounters that unlock characters. The store can allow you to customize your starter deck, but you’re largely starting from square one each time you start over. There are few advantages to be had.

[caption id="attachment_398533" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

It's time for plan B

To be fair, Draft of Darkness has an easy mode to help reduce the likelihood of sudden death. If it was such a big problem for me, I don’t know why I didn’t use it. Pride, I guess.

I feel like this is a game that doesn’t benefit from its roguelite trappings. I feel like a more round-based dungeon approach would have suited it better. Complete a map, and move on to the next one.

The mysterious narrative does make good use of the repeated playthroughs, however. The story involves the spread of something called “Darkness” which is used rather nebulously. Sometimes it sounds like a technology, other times a disease, and then others it just sounds like an abstract concept. It goes into a lot of detail without ever being clear on what it’s talking about. The Darkness really just seems to be all of the worst qualities of humanity lumped together. Good intentions marred by greed and paranoia. The inescapable need for progress and prestige. The disgusting aesthetics certainly suit the theme.

[caption id="attachment_398534" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Let the fists speak!

Despite the heartbreak from lost progress, I found myself glued each time I picked up Draft of Darkness. To be clear, you can always quit whenever you want and pick up where you left off. Throughout the review period, I preferred to sit down at the start of the evening and let myself get absorbed in the tacky, rusty visuals. Preferably with a nice greasy slice of pizza to really make things feel like living in the ‘90s.

I say that its successes feel almost accidental, but I know that it’s not true. Draft of Darkness is the result of a lot of careful prototyping and development, as well as inspiration from games like Slay the Spire. Crawly is clearly a developer who knows how to use feedback to create a tighter product.

While I think that the roguelite format is a hindrance on Draft of Darkness overall and will probably be the breaking point for a lot of people, I can’t get past my fascination for the game. While writing this review, I made the mistake of starting the game to make sure I had a few facts straight and started a new run. One hour later, I realized I was supposed to be writing, and had to quite painfully tear myself away. Even right now, Draft of Darkness is just minimized onto my taskbar, lurking and waiting for me to finish my job so it can capture my attention again.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Draft of Darkness appeared first on Destructoid.

My history with Armored Core started with the very first game on PlayStation. I was enamored by the cover the enticing giant mech on it; and kept it close while I experienced a whole slate of robot-based oddities like G-Nome, and Heavy Gear. From then on, I sought out every subsequent entry, until I finally put it together that From Software – who had also provided me with hours of entertainment with the King's Field series – was responsible for it all. By the time Demon's Souls came out the studio was a worldwide household name, but they were killing it before Souls changed the industry.

With a pedigree like that, you can see why so many people hold Armored Core in such high regard; so I'm happy to report that Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon keeps that legacy going.

[caption id="attachment_398039" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Released: August 25, 2023
MSRP: $59.99

Just so that you're current, let's take a deep dive into the Fires of Rubicon lore: Coral is a substance that leads to unprecedented technological advancements. Until it doesn't, and there's a massive fire that destroys everything. Following that, there's a recovery period populated with corps and mercs (that's you!), which is where you come in.

You're caught up! No literally, you're caught up.

That's pretty much all the background you need on Armored Core 6, as the crux of the experience lies with earning money, and buying/mixing/matching parts to form your custom-curated machine of destruction. The narrative goes in circles sometimes (especially with some of the listless pre-mission banter), but it's enough to propel you forward into more mech-based combat and keep you guessing. But really, the world of Rubicon 3 is a fascinating character in its own right. All of the biomes you'll adventure through (whether it's a product of artifice or natural beauty) are fascinating to witness, to the point where I'd definitely be interested in seeing more of this specific universe at some point.

Mission variety generally errs on the side of killing, but there are a few forked paths (in-mission) to follow on occasion, and the environments are varied enough to help funnel you into constant action. While some sandboxes are a little too corralled for my tastes, the illusion of freedom is enough, because of how dang good everything looks. On the flip side, the game's invisible barriers do help prevent mission locations from becoming pointlessly big and barren.

It really helps that Armored Core 6 is absolutely gorgeous. From Software's art department has been putting in work worthy of art books for decades, but they really outdid themselves here. One of the very first missions looked like something I haven't seen in any game this year, and helped cement the fact that this is an unforgiving universe that will crush you on a moment's notice, even if you are piloting a huge killing machine that looks like it came straight out of an anime.

[caption id="attachment_398049" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

What I like most about Armored Core 6 is how everything feels like a puzzle: from mech construction in the hangar to moment-to-moment combat in the thick of it, when you're managing your boost meter every so slightly to ensure you have enough to dodge a massive blast coming your way. The quick aerial boost system ties everything together. By pressing a button (Square on PlayStation), you can sacrifice a quick bar of boost to instantly dodge. This can be chained in numerous ways (including weaving it together through a boost dash, even in the air), but all of this finesse is governed by a boost meter.

It really is like a ballet, and you're in control of both the precise movements and the overarching song. If you like tanky builds, you can craft a giant literal tank tread mech that sacrifices maneuverability for staying power. Glass cannon builds are a cinch to create, as are speedsters who zip around and manually dodge everything the game can throw at them. Once you're done tinkering, you need to actually put your creation to the test and figure out the ins and outs of that particular build.

Boss battles are where everything really shines. The variety on offer is frankly overwhelming, from tiny little Kitfox-like creations that zoom about, to foes who can employ active camo, to gigantic monstrosities that can deal a ton of damage in a single shot. I found myself constantly on my toes, having to learn and relearn how I thought my mech worked and push it to the limit. That's exactly the kind of feeling you want in a game like this, where you get to see the fruits of your labor up close and personal.

If you're worried that Armored Core 6 will be insurmountable because you've never played an AC game before (or any mech games, for that matter), don't be. There are a number of levels that From Software has pulled to ensure that you won't be completely locked out, including a full checkpoint system. While you can go for an S-Rank and finesse missions all you want, dying right before a boss, in nearly every instance, will allow you to restart from a closeby checkpoint.

[caption id="attachment_398050" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Going a step further, you can even reconfigure your build from the garage in this checkpoint menu, which feels like a pretty big lifeline for a From Software project. For folks who have limited time to play games, this will be a Godsend, but it's also nice that you're able to repeat missions for cash or have a go at the arena (quick CPU battles). There is a PVP system (co-op is not present at all in any form), but I wasn't able to test it.

From Software also accounted for this with the timed unlock of specific mechanics. You won't be able to fully customize your mech from the start. Rather, you'll need to finish a few basic missions before you can purchase parts, customize them, and spec into specific builds (like kinetic or energy-based damage). You'll also unlock fully-constructed blueprints of mechs that you can use for testing, without fear of "screwing up a build" or overspending.

I was a bit skeptical that From Software would find a way to make Armored Core relevant again after a lengthy hiatus, but they figured it out. The spark of the series is still very much alive without giving up its soul and making it something else entirely, and a new generation will be able to appreciate why these games were so venerated. Just be ready to tinker a bit, and take some Ls.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher, and deals with the single player portion of the game.]}

The post Review: Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon appeared first on Destructoid.

Full disclosure to start off with: the reason I’m not doing a formal scored review of Wrestlequest is because I did a stint of remote freelance writing for the developer, Mega Cat Studios. It wasn’t anything glamorous, but I got the opportunity during one of the lowest points in my life. COVID was in full swing, and I had lost my job. It helped me hold onto a shred of self-worth for a while. I faded off shortly after, but I enjoyed the time I spent collaborating with them.

I didn’t work on WrestleQuest, though. The closest I came was when I was asked if it looked like one of the crowd members was flipping the middle finger. I didn’t even remember that until I noticed that same crowd member.

Anyway, the real reason I’m playing WrestleQuest is because of Macho Man Randy Savage featuring prominently. He was one of the finest entertainers of all time, absolutely captivating whether he was dropping elbows or hocking nitrite-filled meat sticks. Sometimes you just have to load up one of his promos to feel better. Unfortunately, WrestleQuest doesn’t carry the same macho charisma.

[caption id="attachment_398014" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

WrestleQuest (PC [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Switch)
Developer: Mega Cat Studios
Publisher: Skybound Games
Released: August 22, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

While WrestleQuest is chiefly an RPG in the Japanese style of wrestling, it has another wrinkle in the fact that it’s all communicated through toys. While everything is kept legally distinct, you’ll no doubt spot a few classic playthings scattered around the thematic world.

However, the most important part of the toy theme is that it allows for a divorce from actual wrestling history. It certainly taps into the ebb and flow of the industry and alludes to things like Vince McMahon Jr.’s crusade against smaller promotions in forming the WWF. However, the protagonists are all (mostly) original characters, and the events of the game don’t require any knowledge of wrestling to know what’s going on.

You play as alternating parties that you switch to throughout the story. Macho Man heads none of them, but one of them stars a Mexican counterpart named Muchacho Man. It works. The story about the protagonists taking different routes to rise in the world of professional wrestling is enjoyable.

At the same time, you’ll see greats like Andre the Giant and Junkyard Dog mixed in as summons. It’s a decent tribute to pro wrestling while also allowing for unique storytelling.

[caption id="attachment_398015" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Cuppa coffee in the big time

As a game, however, Wrestlequest is just okay. It uses a Super Mario RPG system where you can improve the effects of your attacks and defenses with timed button presses. The downside is that these are presented more as QTE, and some attacks are absolutely useless (or don’t work at all) unless you manage to pull off the QTE. It’s okay, at first, but having to repeat these sequences every time you want to use a move gets really tiresome.

Your characters also wind up learning way too many special attacks. One character learns multiple different versions of the same attack, each with a different elemental effect. However, if enemies are weak against certain elements, I never really found a good example of it. I mostly just rotated between them, trying to figure out if they were weak against fire or microwave.

The difference between attacks was often mystifying to me. What benefits did each hold? I could never tell. For every other character, out of the dozens of moves they learned, I’d often just stick to two or three that seemed to have the best effect.

The dungeons are another matter. I appreciate the fact that there are no random encounters and a dead enemy stays buried, but I feel like Wrestlequest’s wonky difficulty makes it necessary to fight everything. Or not. There were sections where I had to tip-toe between encounters to keep my party alive and others where it felt like I was extremely overpowered. I guess that’s the scripted nature of wrestling.

[caption id="attachment_398016" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Spice so nice, brother

I also feel like Wrestlequest doesn’t cash in on the wrestling theme very well. There are custom walk-ons, a hype meter where you excite the crowd for bonuses, and special goals in some matches where you have to put over your opponent to increase the drama. However, only the hype meter is present in smaller battles.

I think it would have been more beneficial to Wrestlequest’s mechanics if it focused more on boss battles. Less combat would have made the QTEs more tolerable and got more mileage out of the theme and the mechanics built around it. Even if some bosses repeated, it would still feel more like wrestling.

Actually, a lot of its design would have been better if it was smaller. I put dozens of hours into Wrestlequest and still haven’t seen the ending. I’m not sure I ever will. It’s certainly ambitious to try and meet the runtime of games like the genre greats like Final Fantasy VI, but it resulted in a lot of bloat that is difficult to sort through.

[caption id="attachment_398018" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Art thou bored!?

It feels like a lot of time was spent on crafting a big game, and not enough of it was spent tightening up what was there. At the very least, its themes and visuals help it stand out from the glut of Kemco JRPGs on digital marketplaces.

To be certain, Wrestlequest isn’t a bad game, but it doesn’t quite feel like the main event it should be. There are a lot of great ideas mixed in here, but they’re piled on by unnecessary bloat. An infectious love for the subject matter doesn’t quite manage to hide all the flaws. It’s got the spice, but not the execution.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post WrestleQuest brings the spice but fumbles the execution appeared first on Destructoid.

Quantum probably isn’t the first game that comes to mind when you think of the golden years of the arcade. The 1982 vector cabinet, designed by Betty Ryan, has maybe a less exciting concept than Asteroids or Centipede. In fact, the first time I played it was part of the Atari 50 collection.

Atari and Sneakybox’s Recharged line of titles aren’t leaving anything by the side of the road, however, as Quantum: Recharged is the newest release. Surprisingly, it’s low-key one of my favorites. I’ve never been a massive fan of score-chasing arcade titles, and that hasn’t changed with the Recharged games. I prefer games with a bit of progression to them, and there’s more of that in titles like Gravitar: Recharged. However, the simple and fast design of Quantum really sucked me in.

[caption id="attachment_397197" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Quantum: Recharged (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Switch)
Developer: SneakyBox
Publisher: Atari
Released: August 17, 2023
MSRP: $9.99

I need to stress that Quantum: Recharged is a rather small game. There’s no ending screen, there isn’t a tonne of modes, and your only real long-term goal is to climb the leaderboards. It’s at its best in short bursts. Even better, if you already own some of the Recharged games, it can be fun to sort of visit each of them in a row, like you might at an actual arcade. Just don’t expect it to sponge up your entire afternoon unless it really, really clicks hard for you.

Quantum Recharged is a rather simple game. You control a small… thing. Your goal is to create “dead zones” on the playing field to eliminate other… things. You do this by drawing an enclosed loop. Also, don’t touch anything that didn’t come out of you, because you’ll die.

The original Quantum required you to enclose an enemy in your loop, but for Recharged, dead zones stay on screen for a short while, and anything that crosses into one is eliminated. This means that you don’t have to enclose an enemy. You can simply anticipate your foe’s movements and drop a trap.

Your life bar can be filled to withstand up to three hits. There are a variety of enemies that move and attack in different ways. The goal of the game is to survive while building up your score. And that’s all there really is to it.

https://youtu.be/Tm3zhWvCOWk

Retro-pop

There’s a mission mode, but it seems that Sneakybox couldn’t really think of much else in terms of objectives beyond “defeat all the enemies.” However, it’s the closest thing to the progression we really get (beyond achievements), and there’s a separate leaderboard for your accumulated mission score. Even if it isn’t really much of a new way to play Quantum: Recharged, it’s not without its value.

However, there was something about the core gameplay that I really enjoyed. As I said, I don’t typically get too into score-rush games, but the Recharged titles are a decent take on the formula. Between the rippling neon visuals and the synthetic soundtrack (composed by Megan McDuffee of River City Girls fame), there was a lot keeping me glued. I kept learning new strategies and techniques in each run that made me want to try again immediately.

[caption id="attachment_397198" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Climbing the leaderboards

The PR person for Atari figured it would take me 2 hours to get deep enough into Quantum: Recharged to form a review. However, I wound up playing quite a while after it. I ended up chasing the high score on the sparsely populated pre-release leaderboards. Right now, I’m kind of itching to check if anyone has topped my record in the hours since the release day.

Quantum: Recharged didn’t set my world on fire, nor do I think it was really expected to. It’s a revival of an old formula intended to sit alongside the rest of the Recharged series. If you’ve already been following the series, you probably already know you’ll enjoy it. Otherwise, you can skip over it and not really miss much, but it’s definitely worth trying out. You might find yourself getting sucked in, at least for a little while.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Quantum: Recharged appeared first on Destructoid.

With its full release on PC happening back in October 2022, Vampire Survivors has quickly become a runaway success. Already, there are imitators popping up trying to duplicate the game’s special sauce. As with many games that have spurred a sudden explosion of similar titles, it tantalizes developers with its simple but malleable gameplay.

I did play the PC version a few months back and was lucky enough to eventually claw my way from its grips. But with the Switch version dropping, I felt it was time to fall back into its embrace for the sake of the review. Hopefully, I can one day escape again.

[caption id="attachment_396801" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Vampire Survivors (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch [Reviewed])
Developer: Poncle
Publisher: Poncle
Released: October 20, 2022 (PC), August 17, 2023 (Switch)
MSRP: $4.99

Vampire Survivors looks like a bootleg. It has an appearance like someone took one game, then changed all the characters to look like another game to capitalize on people’s affection for the property. In this case, it looks like a bootleg with Castlevania sprites.

The character movements also feel like they’re unchanged from that game developer milestone of putting a sprite on the screen and having it react to input. They just glide across a sparse, repetitive background. It’s minimalistic. Extremely so. Your character attacks automatically based on a growing number of cooldown timers, and you’re just left in charge of navigating the enemy-infested environments.

You don’t even have to press a button unless you want to skip the chest-opening animation. You just slide your character around the background, having them pick up items and slipping through the cracks that open between groups of enemies. It’s dead simple, but weirdly, there’s a learning curve and strategizing to be done.

https://youtu.be/ZZZArNBLrsA

Holy water, Batman

For the main levels, you pick your hero and get dropped into a big open area. Enemies start streaming in from all sides. As you defeat them, they drop XP crystals that you pick up. Each time you gain a level, you get to choose an upgrade between a number of passive and offensive abilities.

As the level progresses, larger groups of more powerful enemies start piling in. The goal is to power yourself up faster than the enemies can grow in strength. Ultimately, you need to last 30 minutes before the Grim Reaper takes things into their own hands.

While this is an incredibly simple formula, a lot of strategy develops in a lot of areas. You need to experiment and discover what sets of weapons work best for you. Since the upgrades are somewhat randomized, you then need to figure out what to prioritize. Then there’s a bit of risk and reward. Do you take a new weapon now or spend the upgrade on boosting the level of an existing one? If you decide to skip on a specific upgrade now, is it going to reappear later on when you need it? Do you need more attack power now, or can you spend some points on boosting stats like luck or attack strength?

And that’s before you incorporate the rather clever combination mechanic, where if you’re carrying two particular items and improve them to their maximum level, you can evolve the weapon into something more powerful.

[caption id="attachment_396802" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Cerebral bore

Then, after each run, you can spend money that you collected on permanent upgrades and new characters. There are also achievements you can aim for that unlock additional weapons and characters for each run. Both during a run and in the gaps between, you’re always improving.

It’s quite a well-executed mess of progression that creates an addicting experience. I don’t use that word lightly, and I don’t necessarily mean it as a positive. Vampire Survivors employs some pretty devious tactics to dig into your brain matter and make it difficult to stop playing. You’re constantly making progress, and you’re perpetually on the cusp of bigger and better things. Every upgrade promises some advantage for your next run, and every run provides a learning experience to employ.

And then luck is a factor, which means that after a bad run, you’re not necessarily going to want to take a break. Sure, maybe things didn’t go your way last time, but this time is statistically more likely to go better. It comes as no surprise to me that developer Luca Gallante has a history of working in the gambling industry, as Vampire Survivors incorporates a lot of the same tactics to keep people glued in place.

That would be awful, but Vampire Survivors doesn’t seem to have that much interest in your money. The price for the base game is relatively low, and the only microtransactions are DLC expansions. Even then, the DLC is very cheap and not essential. If Vampire Survivors had the clear goal of getting you hooked and sucking you dry, I’d be disgusted, but that’s obviously not the intent here. Instead, it just cracks open a can of dopamine and pours it over your brain. The only thing you’ve got to lose here is your time.

[caption id="attachment_396803" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Lots of math

The Switch port is exactly as it says on the tin. I played the PC version previously, and this isn’t really an upgrade. It’s just the same game on a new platform, which is fine. There is some slowdown when the enemies envelop every pixel of screenspace, but I didn’t find it to interfere with the gameplay. Cut the Switch some slack. There’s a lot of math going on in any one moment.

There’s also the new co-op mode for up to four players. It works better than you may think, as XP is pooled between players, and upgrades cycle between them. It’s a surprisingly laid-back multiplayer experience, and I’m actually tempted to break it out next time I’m visiting my parents. Although, I’m afraid everyone would just delegate upgrade choices to me since I’m the experienced one.

As an added challenge, you could just play co-op by yourself. Since you only use the left stick, that’s one for each thumb. Quite a brain tickler.

[caption id="attachment_396804" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Brain tickler

Vampire Survivors is also not content to just accomplish the bare minimum either. A lot of love has gone into crafting it, even if it’s not immediately reflected through the bootleg aesthetics and simple presentation. There are lore entries for each character and enemy, and there are plenty of bonus levels and secrets to tackle. There’s some depth an meat here.

I think it would be very difficult to dislike Vampire Survivors. Typically, I hate when a game just drills into my brain and starts pressing all the feel-good buttons. I usually feel manipulated. However, the fact that it doesn’t ask for money beyond the admission fee, and the fact that there’s something of a clear endpoint to the entire game, makes it feel benign. It wants to entertain you for a while but will eventually let you get back to your life.

Vampire Survivors is well worth checking out, whether you’re playing it on Switch or any other platform. Its simple gameplay hides an irresistible depth. Just keep in mind that once you’re in its clutches, it can be a struggle to get free.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Vampire Survivors appeared first on Destructoid.

I’ve never really gotten elbow-deep into the Quake series. Before the 2021 Quake remaster by Nightdive Studios, I was actually most familiar with Quake 4, and I really don’t remember that much about it. In 1996, I was into Duke Nukem 3D. And then after that, it was Goldeneye 007. I at least played Quake 2… The N64 version.

But after the first Quake was remastered and introduced me to the series, I held off on any more series exploration, anticipating the second one would eventually get the same treatment. My patience paid off, and the Quake II remaster has arrived. Once again, it’s a terrific introduction.

[caption id="attachment_396573" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Quake 2 (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: id Software, NightDive Studios, MachineGames
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Released: August 10, 2023
MSRP: $9.99

After the development of the first game in the Quake series was beset by creative differences, many members of id Software departed, including Sandy Peterson and John Romero. This is considered by many to be the end of classic id Software, as it seemed like the heart had left the brain with an empty bed.

You can sort of feel that in Quake II. There was something of an anarchic directionlessness in Quake that is replaced with something a lot more cohesive. Quake still felt like a first-generation shooter like Doom. Quake 2 is a lot closer to Half-Life.

You can see this clearly in the narrative. Earth has been under attack by the Strogg and hasn’t been faring well. So, the meaty humans launch a counter-attack, taking the fight to the meat substitute Strogg’s homeworld of Stroggos. Quake II and all the expansions are set around this counter-attack as you take control of different space marines attempting to hinder the enemy’s ability to wage war on humanity.

The first Quake really didn’t have much of a narrative, and this is definitely not a continuation. This comes with its pros and cons. The biggest positive is that a more defined narrative gives you purpose that helps drive you through the game. The downside is that the Strogg don’t care much for interior design, and there’s little visual diversity throughout the campaigns.

https://youtu.be/cyxBE163n20

Out of item

Nightdive’s remaster is similar to their approaches to the original Quake and the recent Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition. They have gathered all the expansions into one package, added a newly created campaign, and transported everything to their more modern KEX Engine, bringing with it a number of extra visual and gameplay options. And then, after already doing more than most would expect, they continue on to polish up the graphics and gameplay without tampering with the overall feeling and aesthetic of the title.

It’s extensive. They even upscaled the cinematics. Then, somehow, they ported all of the N64 version of Quake II’s levels. For whatever reason, when Raster Productions handled the N64 port, they wound up remaking almost all of the levels. It’s just as much its own campaign as the other expansions. It seems like it would be quite an effort to re-port the N64 version back to PC, but it was very worth it. It contains visual flourishes that make it, at the very least, aesthetically worth exploring.

The two expansions by Xatrix Entertainment and Rogue Entertainment are necessary inclusions, even if they mostly just feel like added content. Which, to be fair, is essentially what they were when they first released.

Meanwhile, the new campaign, Call of the Machine, by MachineGames is a great way of showing off the many successes of Quake 2 while minimizing its deficiencies. Visual variety is a lot better here, depicting a lot of different and interesting locales based on the Strogg War story but in places not shown in the games. It’s an effective way to demonstrate the outstanding gunplay, fast action, and interesting enemies without eliminating the unique flavor of the base game.

[caption id="attachment_396572" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Someone hang a poster

Which to be fair, as much as I hassle Quake 2 for its repetitive brown corridors, I do enjoy it. The main campaign is maybe a 6-8 hour romp. It kept my attention through to the end, even when similar games with shinier corridors failed to. Games like Dusk have demonstrated the lasting appeal of the clunkier and more straightforward games of yesteryear, and Quake 2 is an essential example of that.

But beyond that, Nightdive's remaster makes things a little more pleasant. One great feature is the compass, which draws a path to your next objective. It’s not that Quake 2 was obtuse beyond reason. Each of the “units” of the game is composed of a handful of small levels, so you’re destined to trip over what you’re looking for. It’s just a matter of how much backtracking you’ll have to endure.

For example, you might finish a secondary objective and see the message “turbine disabled.” Perhaps you won’t realize it’s talking about the fan that you just passed and can now bypass. So, you continue on your merry way, and then when you finally circle back, you say, “Ooooh. It was talking about this turbine.”

So, I mostly used the compass whenever I came back to a familiar-looking room and wanted to make sure I wasn’t just going in circles.

[caption id="attachment_396574" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

That's a lot of screens

As usual for Nightdive remasters, their all-encompassing approach to Quake II makes it the definitive way to play the game. Beyond just compiling all the expansions, certain features, such as AI, were buffed up, and cut content was restored. And then there’s also the multiplayer, which in some versions supports 8-player split-screen local. Or you can play online, if you don’t like sharing your screen.

But if, for whatever reason, none of that sounds good to you, the original versions are still available.

For me, it was a great introduction to Quake II. The PC version, I mean. It’s an oppressively brown shooter, but it still carries the speedy, lightweight combat that makes older FPS games still pop today. The changes that Nightdive brought in for the remaster make it even more enjoyable and accessible. It may not have the same experimental charm as Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, but it more than makes up for it with its tight and gory gunfights.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Quake II (2023 Remaster) appeared first on Destructoid.

My brain absolutely struggles to remember the name Turbo Overkill. It’s a combination of two words that are usually just appended to a game’s title to differentiate itself from previous games in the series, such as Street Fighter II Turbo and House of the Dead: Overkill. And then, with all the other retro-inspired shooters currently mixing things up, I can’t tell it apart from similarly titled games like Ultrakill.

In terms of standing apart with gameplay, the story’s a bit different. While many retro-inspired shooters attempt to gain success from excess, few are as successful at climbing over the top as Turbo Overkill, for better or worse.

[caption id="attachment_396189" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Turbo Overkill (PC)
Developer: Trigger Happy Interactive
Publisher: Apogee Entertainment
Released: August 11, 2023 (PC)
MSRP: $24.99

You play as Johnny Turbo, retired Turbografx-16 mascot, or maybe not. He’s sent by a shadowy corporate figure to the world of Paradise to take down a rogue AI that has infected most of the population with a meaty virus. It’s a simple enough premise, but over the course of three episodes, it builds and builds to a painful climax.

I’ve heard a lot of comparisons between Turbo Overkill and Doom Eternal, and sure, the similarities are there. Both games are fast-paced shooters where mobility is not just beneficial, but essential. However, I feel like Turbo Overkill fits more as a cross between Quake and Serious Sam. Doom Eternal has a great deal of combat emphasis on target prioritization, and Turbo Overkill subscribes more to the philosophy of “If it moves, kill it.”

You’re frequently swarmed with enemies who explode with gibs and particles when killed, and they die en masse. One of the most touted features of Turbo Overkill is Johnny’s chainsaw leg (or chegg) which turns you into a deadly projectile. Through upgrades, you can make the chegg useful against all enemies, but it’s at its best when you’re carving through all the low-level baddies. I got a lot of mileage out of the chegg, I’ll tell you.

https://youtu.be/Ry1TTG0xm48

Johnny Motherf*cking Turbo

Turbo Overkill’s combat is fun at the best of times, but it’s not very nuanced. A lot of the time, the screen gets filled with gore and neon. There isn’t often a tonne of difference between the heavier baddies, especially when it comes to visuals, so there’s not much incentive to pick out priorities and take them down quickly. Largely, you’re immersed in a cloud of foes, and you just choose the best way to disperse it in an expedient manner.

For that matter, once my chegg was in prime form, I didn’t really make much use of Johnny’s vast arsenal. Beyond just a buffet of different weapons, you’re gradually given upgrades, and it’s extremely difficult to keep track of them all. I got near the end of the game and realized that I had forgotten all about Johnny’s mini-rocket firing arm and the slow-motion Turbo Time. I was only cycling between a small assortment of weapons, with some of the leftovers being extremely situational.

There’s a great deal of bloat here. What’s the purpose of a chaingun when you have dual submachine guns that don’t need to be reloaded? How does the plasma rifle differ from a single-wielded sub-machine gun? Do I really need a telefrag sniper rifle when there’s already a grappling hook?

In a way, this might imply that Turbo Overkill has a high skill ceiling similar to Doom Eternal. But I rarely needed to play it smart. Doom Eternal heaped tonnes of abilities on you and rewarded you for being able to juggle them all effectively. Turbo Overkill seems to heap things on you just because it thinks they’re cool. I guess it’s better to have them and not need them.

[caption id="attachment_396186" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The floor is lava

It was only once I stopped trying to approach Turbo Overkill as a critic and instead met it as a gamer that it finally clicked for me. I had to stop looking for a purpose in its design. It was only when I finally switched my brain off from wondering about the environments, about flow, about its legibility that I became able to immerse myself into it. I had to stop comparing it to its predecessors and its contemporaries.

Turbo Overkill is in an arms race only with itself.

There’s a constant, ceaseless feeling of escalation through Turbo Overkill. It doesn’t matter if a gun is useful, if it supersedes a similar weapon, or if it’s merely only useful as a mode of transportation. Stick it in there. If it doesn’t fit, force it. The philosophy here is to impress through excess.

The story reflects this, where things start off screwed and then keep getting more screwed. The main driving force holding things together is Johnny’s unstoppable badassery. I actually found myself growing a bit attached to the character. A mute protagonist, you can still see the turmoil within him between enjoying his rampage while trying to hold onto some semblance of humanity. You’re left to fill in the blanks of his personality, but what’s there speaks volumes.

[caption id="attachment_396188" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Tiring to kick this much ass

Unfortunately, Turbo Overkill irks me almost as often as it excites me. Even after it finally clicked at the beginning of the second episode, it lost me again in the latter half of the third. It kicks the climax off way too early and ends it far too late. The last few levels are the longest and most boring, all played under a driven and intense soundtrack. I’m realizing now that an overlong climax is a pet peeve of mine. It’s edging. Stop edging us, Turbo Overkill.

I was very exhausted by the time Turbo Overkill wrapped up. My dreams of immediately launching into another playthrough had dissipated.

I really don’t want to imply that Turbo Overkill is bad or even just average. There’s a lot of power in its variety, and the narrative punches above its weight class. The soundtrack is often outstanding and is a great compliment to the carnage. Likewise, when you are able to lose yourself in the red fog of its combat, it can make hours disappear. For that matter, there are lots of extra modifiers and secret levels to unlock to extend its running time beyond the 15-or-so that it already packs across its three episodes.

However, Turbo Overkill loses itself in its constant push for escalation. It’s often not as clever as it thinks it is, and there’s a real sense of quantity over quality. Packing in more mechanics is certainly a type of progress, but a better focus on fewer concepts probably would have elevated the game as a whole. As it is, it’s still a perfectly fun time, and I’d be completely willing to revisit it in a sequel, but it just doesn’t quite climb to the lofty top of the retro-inspired scrap heap.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Turbo Overkill appeared first on Destructoid.

Growing up, musicals were a huge part of my life, from performing Charlie & the Chocolate Factory as an elementary student to co-writing a rendition of Romeo & Juliet as a modern-style musical for the local area. As a huge musical theatre fan, the idea of a musical game in Stray Gods is an exciting idea.

Add on the fact that David Gaider, one of the lead writers for two of my favorite games in Star Wars: Knights of the Republic and Dragon Age: Origins, is working on the project as part of his co-founded rookie indie studio Summerfall Studios, and it's promising.

Stray Gods' cinematic indie visual novel-style is unique, complementing gorgeous 2D character designs with solid voice acting, and a sometimes skippable but still noteworthy soundtrack. The result is an incredibly unique adventure game where your choices matter, the storytelling clicks, and the colorful characters carry the game, even if the musical element is a letdown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coQQ-K8Iwi8

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (PC [reviewed], Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox)
Developer: Summerfall Studios
Publisher: Humble Games
Released: August 10, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Stray Gods moves at a brisk pace during its opening moments, quickly introducing the protagonist of Grace, played brilliantly by the wonderful Laura Bailey. These opening scenes are arguably a bit too fast, introducing several characters and then showing Grace as the prime suspect in the murder of a modern-day Olympic god.

The crux of this story centers around Grace trying to solve a murder mystery, to save herself from being convicted by gods like Athena and Persephone before it’s too late.

It just so happens, though, that Grace now has the power of a muse and can basically turn any scene into a musical. And that is exactly what this story does over the course of the seven days Grace has to clear her name.

[caption id="attachment_395492" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Break a leg

To get it out of the way, while I was excited at playing my first musical video game, the songs and performances don’t offer much to write home about.

To Stray Gods’ credit, there are a lot of songs. Unfortunately, this also means there’s a lot of filler and throwaway songs, especially at the beginning. You can’t skip forward, either, unlike the dialogue, which made the awkward transitions, lack of intriguing music, and often arrhythmic lines all the more noticeable.

A huge part of this comes from the intriguing idea of letting you control the songs. Much like interacting with the characters, you can make choices during musical moments. You could opt to go for the “cool” line in a scene, or be a bit more heartfelt.

Another time, you might choose between a solo or doing a group number. This flexible nature could be the cause of some of the inconsistency in the soundtrack, as the best musical numbers came later in the story when the they were fewer and farther between.

That isn’t to say that the soundtrack is awful, as there are a couple of standout numbers. Two that come to mind are basically any time that Khary Payton’s Pan sings, and a memorable duel between Grace and Persephone that is almost the sole example of the choice-driven songs working out rather well.

[caption id="attachment_395491" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

An ovation-worthy cast

But the musical elements are only a portion of the gameplay in Stray Gods. The rest of the game focuses on the core mystery and the mythical characters you meet along the way. This is where you can truly see Gaider’s work, as these are the best characters I’ve seen in a long time.

The player has the option to romance one of four people, each of which is outstanding in their own right. Freddie is the classic casual best friend who has a sweet relationship with Grace. Alternatively, you could opt for Troy Baker’s troubled and depressing Apollo.

Each of these fascinating characters grew on me over time, giving some solid romance options worthy of competing with some of Gaider’s past works. Even outside of the romance partners, the other characters you meet have terrific and detailed writing.

Everyone has their secrets you uncover slowly over time, and it is hard to know who’s telling you the truth or what their agenda is. At its core, this is a character-driven tale, and it constantly gives its cast memorable moments to work with.

[caption id="attachment_395490" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Choices that matter

This is helped by the frequent choices you get to make in the dialogue. They seem to matter just enough, such as picking who to side with in arguments or what order to investigate leads in. There are even characters who live and die in surprising ways, depending on the choices you make.

Stray Gods has enough material to garner at least one replay, to see how things could have gone differently. There are even some emotional sequences worth experiencing again, including basically everything surrounding Aphrodite’s disturbing, unforgettable storyline.

The core mystery isn’t a throwaway, either, with layers of twists and conflicting agendas. While it was a bit predictable in some areas, there was enough to keep me engaged from start to finish.

[caption id="attachment_395489" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

There is nothing like Stray Gods at all. The daunting task of creating an entire interactive musical is an admirable one. Even if the songs were mostly a miss for me, I’d like to see it tried again.

After all, you’ll find some of the most engaging characters around since Gaider’s previous stint at BioWare, and a worthwhile story in this sleeper hit. I know I have my eyes on Summerfall Studios moving forward.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical appeared first on Destructoid.

Something I’ve come to appreciate more than ever is entertainment’s ability to introduce us to cultures other than our own. It probably has something to do with the fact that I live in a small, redneck part of California where white people loudly complain about the number of Mexican restaurants in town. Listening to that crap day in and day out, it’s no wonder I’m always jumping at the chance to discover something beyond my powder-white existence.

That’s why I was excited to play Venba, a narrative-driven cooking game that takes the idea of Cooking Mama and transports it to an immigrant family’s house in the 1980s. It’s a darling game, but it might be hard to justify the price, given how fleeting it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mV7d1Z5KxM

Venba (PC [reviewed], PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One)
Developer: Visai Games
Publisher: Visai Games
Released: July 31, 2023
MSRP: $14.99

Venba is a story-driven experience where you witness brief events throughout the lives of an immigrant family. Venba and her husband Paavalan moved from India to Canada in the 1980s to start a new life for themselves. As is the experience for many immigrants, it’s not easy for them, even with all that “free” healthcare lying around. Across seven chapters, you’ll witness snapshots of their lives and struggles, and watch as a couple becomes a family that tries to keep hold of their heritage. Heritage is a central thread throughout Venba, whether it’s the mother asking her son Kavin to speak Tamil or the delightful-looking dishes you’ll assemble.

While the trailers for Venba make it look like there is a great deal of cooking to do here, there are only a few meals to create. Venba relies on her mother’s cookbook to make traditional South Indian dishes to keep her family tied to their roots. But the book is old, faded, and ripped. You’ll need to rely on what is still in the cookbook or any other hints to properly make each meal.

This approach turns the cooking segments into something of a puzzle game, and I enjoyed deducing how to solve them. I don’t imagine anyone will struggle too hard figuring each recipe out. That said, if you make a mistake, the game is quick to give you another shot.

The food is lovely to look at, as is the rest of the game, but it’s all so brief. Venba took me about 90 minutes to finish. I felt there was more of this family I was meant to see, more dishes I was meant to make. I admire the creativity on display here, such as how the speech bubbles become muddled when Kavin speaks English words Venba doesn't understand.

Alas, Venba is an exercise in brevity. I greatly enjoyed my peek into the lives of strangers who exposed me to a culture different than mine. I just wish I could have got a longer look at it.

The post Review: Venba appeared first on Destructoid.

Rise of the Triad is a bit of a tough sell in today’s market. It was built on the same engine as Wolfenstein 3D, starting its life as a sequel to that. As such, it has many of the same strict drawbacks of that engine. Most notably, walls have to be at 90-degree angles, and the floors can’t change height.

I’m personally more of a Blake Stone girl, myself.

However, despite the way its development started and the shortcomings of its engine, the powerful collection of developers who crafted it has ensured that Rise of the Triad still carried with it a unique personality. It was never ported to console, but with Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, Nightdive Studios and New Blood are looking to fix that with one big celebration.

Later. The console ports were delayed, but I’ve been playing the PC version.

[caption id="attachment_393728" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition (PC [Reviewed], PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
Developer: Nightdive Studios, Apogee Software
Publisher: Apogee Software, New Blood Interactive
Released: July 31, 2023 (PC), TBA (Console)
MSRP: $19.99

Rise of the Triad tells the stories of an elite group of special operatives as they infiltrate an island monastery currently resided by a group of cultists who are definitely not Nazis. Okay, they’re definitely Nazis, but since this is not Wolfenstein 3D 2, they’re a cult now.

That’s basically all you need to know. Actually, you’d probably be fine not knowing that, but there’s a cutscene that lays it all out anyway. The important thing is the Monastery is a sprawling maze full of traps and Nazis. You have a hand with fingers that can wrap around a gun, and that’s what you point at the Nazis.

I mentioned that Rise of the Triad has all the trappings of Wolfenstein 3D with its level floor and 90-degree corners, but the developers went pretty far out of their way to get around it. There is a degree of verticality through the use of walls and floating discs. There’s also a bizarre number of power-ups, including a couple that allow you to fly. Meanwhile, there are traps everywhere, like spikes and fire-spewing cannons. It’s a lot. It gives Rise of the Triad this really abstract quality to it. It’s rather bizarre.

Unfortunately, there’s a limited number of weapons. There are pistols and an MP40, and then you can also carry a limited-use rocket launcher. The rocket launchers come in a few different flavors, from plain ol’ bazooka to a big wall of fire that engulfs wide areas. They have finite ammo, but a good Rise of the Triad level will have you tripping over them every few steps. It’s a game that really wants you to blow up Nazis.

https://youtu.be/vRdZEY6EL5I

Henceforth known as 'ROTTLE'

A lot of work went into making Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition the definitive version of the game. While its transition to Nightdive’s proprietary KEX Engine doesn’t really come with much in the way of new visual changes aside from lighting and a few other flourishes that you can turn off, they made sure to pack in as much content as possible. Then they just continued to pack more things in.

Beyond just the 33 levels of Rise of the Triad: Dark War, you also have access to The Hunt Begins, the 8-level shareware episode. There are also another 33 levels in Extreme ROTT, which is a more difficult expansion. They’ve packed in Return of the Triad, an excellent fan-made Doom mod. That’s added separately, still running in the GZDoom engine. Finally, there’s The HUNT Continues, which is an all-new set of 21 missions created by various developers. To give you an example of what you’re in for, the first mission in that campaign is by David Szymanski, the creator of Dusk.

This is made possible by a really simple level editor that is available for use. So, beyond just the dizzying amount of included content, you can make your own campaigns or share with others via Steam workshop. I think the only thing missing is the 2013 Rise of the Triad remake, but I feel that it doesn’t quite fit into this package.

Finally, a lot of cut content was re-added to the game. This includes the different visuals for Nazi types, so the female guards have been re-implemented.

[caption id="attachment_393731" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

God Mode

If you’re already a fan of Rise of the Triad, then you basically just need to know that this is a faithful port that features a decent amount of bells and whistles. If you haven’t played it before, then there’s more to consider.

Rise of the Traid isn’t Doom. It hasn’t aged as well. This is largely down to the limited level design. Each map has a different feel and demonstrates its creator’s design eccentricities, but they all look the same. This limited aesthetic has an impact on the gameplay, as even while the power-ups and weapons can be over-the-top, the drab backdrop sucks out some of the excitement. It’s a lot of people painting with a very limited palette.

That said, the limitations I just outlined do help highlight how much fun the developers had with this game. There are things like getting baked out of your mind on mushrooms or turning into a massively overpowered little pooch that makes the experience extremely memorable. For that matter, there’s a variety of cheats that can make things more ridiculous.

[caption id="attachment_393732" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Dog Mode

I’m definitely not saying that Rise of the Triad is a bad game. It’s very enjoyable, it’s just harder to recommend to modern eyes. It’s fast and carries a lot of small details that make it unforgettable, but at the same time, its levels are rather suffocating. It has definitely aged a lot better than Wolfenstein 3D, but not nearly as well as Doom.

It bears repeating that if you are already a fan, Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is a fantastic way to play it again. It’s not too much different than the old DOS version but includes cut features and all the content you could want. The new episode is a quality continuation that feels right at home with the rest of the game while still providing something new. It’s a great package all around.

Now, can I have a Blake Stone remaster?

The post Review: Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition appeared first on Destructoid.

Initially released in 1987, Double Dragon is one of the most important belt-scrolling brawlers in the history of the genre. While it wasn’t the first, and most of its mechanics were accomplished previously by Technos’ own Renegade in 1986, Double Dragon’s popularity both in arcades and through its home ports established the success of the formula. It has been cemented in the annals of game history (or however that saying is supposed to go).

Because of this, the series has never really died, even after the original developers, Technos, went bust. However, since 1995, it’s largely been remakes...or worse. In 2012, there was WayForward’s excellent Double Dragon Neon, but that kind of stands apart from lesser attempts to revive the series.

Now, we have Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, which is a fresh attempt by Secret Base, the creators of Streets of Red. Is it time for this duo of dragons to actually rise?

[caption id="attachment_393653" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: Secret Base
Publisher: Modus Games, Joystick
Released: July 27, 2023
MSRP: $24.99

Our heroes, "Bimmy" and Jimmy, are training in their post-apocalyptic dojo in the rotting remains of New York City when they get a visit from the mayor. He’s got Marian, who may or may not still be Bimmy’s boyfriend and who might or might not have died previously. I’m not sure if Double Dragon Gaiden is a prequel or a new continuity. I’m not sure that’s important.

What is important is where it takes its influence from, and it's a similarly confusing situation. I’m tempted to say that Double Dragon Gaiden is a one-button brawler, but it’s a little more nuanced than that. You technically have your default attack button, the “action” button, and the special button, which all do attacks. However, the special button requires you to build up a gauge (which generally happens quickly), and the action button is about as useful as a can opener on a jar.

With every character I’d try, they would invariably dash or roll past the enemies in front of them and then swipe at the air. The air was never impressed. To make use of the action button, you must have a really solid feel of where your character is going to land after their dash. Even if you do manage to get this technique down, the action button is far less useful than just landing a combo or special attack.

https://youtu.be/_c0ff_uZQrY

Sousetsuken

The combat system in general irks me. There is no real grapple mechanic, and jump attacks aren’t particularly useful, either. You’re mostly whittled down to spamming your combo and special attacks. To be fair, the enemies are brilliantly animated, and the combat at least has a sense of impact behind it, but that only goes so far. That luster is important to the genre, but it wears off quickly.

That’s not to say there’s no strategy present here, but a lot of it boils down to making good use of special attacks. As I said previously, your special gauge refills quickly, and there are things you can do to expedite it further. A lot of your success is to know how to make the best use of your characters’ three special attacks and pull them off constantly.

It technically works. Double Dragon Gaiden escapes the threshold of being a bare minimum brawler, but it also pales in comparison to some of the games that have been pushing the beat-’em-up towards a new standard. Compared to games like Fight’N Rage, Streets of Rage 4, and even the comparatively mundane Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge, Double Dragon Gaiden doesn’t stack up.

To make matters worse, it feels terrible on an arcade stick. It’s all that action button’s fault. That and the fact that the run is bound to a button and can’t be executed by double-pressing a direction. At least you can rebind buttons, which wasn’t an option on an earlier build I played.

[caption id="attachment_393654" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Dragon scales

I feel like most of the effort in Double Dragon Gaiden was spent on the art. It's funny, because when the game was announced, the gripe I heard people echo the most was that they didn’t like the art style. I love it! It’s colorful, clean, and well-animated. But whether you think it’s appealing or not, it’s the place where the love of the property is most evident.

The aesthetic is supported by the sound design. The music is decent, but the way that Double Dragon Gaiden screams at you in support of what a good job you’re doing is key. It feels very arcade-y, and adds to the impactfulness of the combat. On that note, I do think it’s kind of strange that there is no CRT filter option, but I might be one of the few people who care about that sort of thing.

And for as lacking as the combat is, you at least get some variety from all the characters. Beyond Jimmy, Bimmy, Marian, and Uncle Matin, you can also unlock all the bosses and sub-bosses. This means that, yes, you can play as Abobo. The single-player portion of the game also utilizes a tag system, which means that you’ll always have double dragons that you can swap between. You can only trade out when your special gauge is full, and there aren’t really any tag combo opportunities, but, at the very least, it works as a decent life system. When your main fight-person goes down, you have your second choice to back you up.

[caption id="attachment_393655" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Thanks, tips

One of the more unique mechanics that Double Dragon Gaiden implements is its progression system. There are four stages to select from at the beginning, and they change in length depending on the order you complete them. Your first choice is always going to be the shortest and easiest, with each one following growing harder and longer as you proceed (there’s an obvious dick joke there, but I’m not reaching for it). Beyond adding some much-needed replay value, it’s a great way of allowing you to personalize your journey. Got a boss you hate? Take them on first to make sure they’re out of your way.

On the other hand, there’s a lot of focus on gaining money that you exchange at the end of each run for tokens. These tokens can be used in a store to buy various things. You might think this would add a roguelite element where you buff your favorite characters between runs, but it totally isn’t. You have four types of things you can buy: characters, hints, art, and music. I only found value in one of those things. I’m not the type to listen to music or view art within a game, and the hints are things you probably already know or could figure out in a single playthrough. It’s things like “prioritize this dude first” or “try to group enemies together so you don’t get overwhelmed.” C’mon, guy. This isn’t my first rodeo.

I think that sort of outlines what a small production Double Dragon Gaiden is. It doesn’t really feel like it’s trying to be revolutionary in any way, nor does it seem like it wants to present you with a glut of content. It serves more as a tribute to the Double Dragon series but more in an aesthetic sense, as the combat system is unlike any of the previous games. You can tell that a lot of love went into making the game, but that doesn’t necessarily result in something indisposable or memorable.

It’s less a rise and more of a bow.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons appeared first on Destructoid.

I have never encountered a game that has made me feel as stupid as The Banished Vault does. There have certainly been titles with mechanics of abyssal depth or vast nuance that I don’t have the dedication to wrap my head around, but this is an absolutely new level. It’s layers of things that just make me feel mentally deficient.

And I actually had to stop playing far earlier than I intended, because there was this ever-present shame that kept clawing at my spine. I was hoping that if I kept scratching at the game’s layers, something would click and suddenly it wouldn’t seem like such a monumental task. Yet, the more I played it, the more uncomfortable I was. Enough is enough. I just need to unpack right now.

[caption id="attachment_393440" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The Banished Vault (PC)
Developer: Lunar Division
Publisher: Bithell Games
Released: 25 Jul, 2023
MSRP: TBA

The Banished Vault drew me in with its beautiful but highly unusual concept. It’s a strange marriage of religious imagery and hard science fiction. It’s monks in space, but the absolute literal sense. There’s nothing fanciful about its depiction of science fiction, it’s the most literal interpretation of both subjects.

The eponymous “Vault” is actually a space monastery where survivors of a strange phenomenon called “The Gloom” are taking shelter. The survivors spend their time traveling between star systems in suspended animation thanks to “stasis.” Every so often, they must stop at a star system in order to manufacture more stasis to allow them to continue their flight from The Gloom.

The goal of The Banished Vault is actually to find time during your escape to pen the Four Chronicles that can only be written in special buildings on hallowed planets. So, you collect resources, create stasis, and pen your diary. It’s not a particularly difficult concept. That’s not what makes me feel stupid.

https://youtu.be/l3NifGK7HfM

Getting closer to God

I think what poked at my insecurities most is the fact that there’s no real automation or delegation in The Banished Vault. Gathering resources isn’t a simple matter of plopping down a building and having it churn up the ground. Nor can you just assign an exile to a specific task and have them do it themselves. No.

Each of your exiles is given a certain number of action points a turn. Aside from when they’re in transit from planet to planet, you need to actually take these actions each time. So, if you need 4 units of CO2 from a harvester, you need to click for each one.

That’s not so bad on a microscopic level, but The Banished Vault will give you multiple exiles to keep track of. To optimize, you’ll probably be sending groups of them to different planets. You then have to perform a task on one planet, zoom back to the planetary map, zoom in on another planet, pick the factory that you need a resource from, and extract that resource. Over and over again. With 30 turns per star system.

And then you also have to keep track of how difficult it is for your ships to perform actions in certain parts of the solar system. The Banished Vault requires your ships to expend a certain amount of energy and have a certain amount of thrust available for each maneuver. You’ll expend more energy doing certain things or visiting planets with high gravity. You want to make sure you have enough fuel to perform the action, and then return once it’s complete.

[caption id="attachment_393441" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The merciless cosmos

Therefore, the overall goal of The Banished Vault in terms of design is forcing you to plan ahead. It wants you to know how many turns it’s going to take to perform a certain task. Wants you to have calculated how many action points you’ll need and how many turns it will take. This is something that I don’t do well.

Or do I? My bumbling did achieve success through a few star systems. I didn't stop playing because I was losing but merely because it made me feel insecure.

This is the problem here. It makes me feel stupid because I don't enjoy the complexities of its systems. I don’t want to play around with the energy calculator and take notes on how I’m going to perform certain action. I sure as hell don’t want to keep on swapping out exiles manually from the ship to the surface so I can get certain resources.

If some of this could be automated so that I could program multiple steps in advance, that would have been appreciated. Instead, I have to keep track of so much information in my head or write it down. Beyond that being something that I find very stressful, I also consider it uninteresting and unsatisfying. I’m sure that there is a type of person out there who finds this sort of thing to be the ultimate gratification. There’s also something to be said about a game that makes you get your hands dirty and takes away all those comforting little toys. For me, however, it just hurts to play.

[caption id="attachment_393442" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The unfeeling expanse

This is all played underneath an equally uncomfortable soundtrack. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it consists of a lot of deep, droning tones that I find difficult to listen to for extended periods of time. I even had the game alt+tabbed for a short while and found I couldn’t leave it running in the background, as it still provoked anxiety.

On the other hand, The Banished Vault has some lovely art design. It has ornate backdrops, wooden character pieces, and lovely hand-drawn cards. It can sometimes be difficult to discern the different ship varieties and building types, but it’s otherwise both beautiful and functional.

But that’s pretty small comfort when I don’t like the game. I was hoping that, at some point, the whole concept would click with me, but instead, I just found more complaints. I just became more and more uncomfortable and insecure.

Was that the goal of the developers? Probably not. It could, after all, be a problem with my brain worms and not with The Banished Vault at all. On the other hand, it’s such a deeply unfriendly title that marries simple concepts with a demand for particular skills. Putting myself aside, I don’t really see it connecting with a wide audience. I absolutely respect The Banished Vault for its unique approach and its wonderful choice of aesthetic. I just wish it wasn’t so aloof.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: The Banished Vault appeared first on Destructoid.

Oatchi is the DOTY (Dog of the Year)

One of my favorite series to talk about with colleagues is Pikmin. Each game impacts everyone in different ways, as evidenced by our multiple reviews of the originals and re-releases throughout the years. Pikmin 1 is short and sweet. Pikmin 2 is interesting and long. Pikmin 3 — up until the release of Pikmin 4 —was my personal favorite given that it was a nice mix of both (with the always-welcome-in-the-Carter-household Bingo Battle mode in tow).

Whelp, I may have spoiled the Pikmin 4 review already!

[caption id="attachment_392250" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Pikmin 4 (Switch)
Developer: Nintendo EPD, Eighting
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: July 21, 2023
MSRP: $59.99

After creating an avatar, it's your job to find out what happened to a crash-landed Olimar and save the day. Pikmin 4 still has the classic "grab treasure to power up your ship so you can explore more" conceit but with some worthwhile twists. You'll have a small team at your disposal for emotional support and mechanical bonuses, but you'll start with a humble small force of Pikmin and...a dog. That dog (Oatchi) is a game-changer. Even though you'll need to progress through the game and rescue research team members to fully upgrade it, it rules out of the gate.

Think of it like a catch-all Pikmin. It can fight, it can grab items (of increasingly larger stature as you upgrade it), and you can ride it like a vehicle. While that sounds overpowered, you do only have one of them. If you're sending Oatchi on an errand, you can't use it in a surprise battle in the moment, nor can you ride it and carry your non-swimming Pikmin across hazards like bodies of water.

Oatchi completely changes the way you approach the game, as you'll be able to casually walk (and jump!) to corners of the map that you wouldn't normally be able to reach in a typical Pikmin game. It adds a whole new layer of exploration to the franchise, and frankly, I bought in immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqpbMLVa9EI

It's a rush to be able to zip around medium-to-large-sized sandboxes, look at something far off in the distance, and ponder how to get there through a combination of Oatchi finesse and Pikmin strategy. The micro of Pikmin 4 rules just as much as the macro, as you're asked to practice the art of Dandori ("the art of organizing tasks strategically and working effectively to execute plans") constantly. Dandori comes into play even if you aren't actively noticing it, with piles of objects that have specific material counts alongside gates that require specific Pikmin to knock down, or enemies that require different Pikmin types to avoid mass casualties. Dungeons (underground levels) range from time trials, to CPU battles, to old-fashioned puzzles; all of which employ Dandori to some extent.

The more you play, the more you notice the philosophy sprinkled throughout the game. Some sandboxes require a specific amount of ice Pikmin to cross a lake, but you might need an answer to another puzzle on the other side. Select dungeons may task you with digging out multiple walls to progress while choosing just how many Pikmin to send off to get the job done in time. It's all seamlessly integrated into the game, and when it all comes together and you start making better decisions, the positive feedback loop hits just right.

As for more new stuff, Glow Pikmin make an appearance in night missions, which remix existing levels into a castle-defense-like minigame. Creatures go berzerk at night and attempt to sabotage your home base, and it's up to you, Oatchi, and your new Glow Pikmin friends to strategically take them out. Thankfully these night missions don't overstay their welcome, and only a handful of clears are required for critical path completion.

Nothing about Pikmin 4 is a chore or a bore, in fact. Whenever I found my interest waning a bit, I'd just leave and warp to a new level, uncovering a new path or divine a new concept on the fly that would lead to a new area. Without spoiling anything there is a post-game; and when everything is said and done, the story component will take you around 15-20 hours to complete. If you're going for a 100% rating (which includes all rescued captives, treasures, and so on), you can stretch it out even more.

[caption id="attachment_392253" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The game is relatively stress-free too. While there is a degree of strategic knowledge required to beat some of the game's later challenges, Pikmin 4 also has a handy rewind feature available at all times. Most players will never actually use it, but if you happen to lose, say, 50 Pikmin in one fell swoop because you misjudged an enemy, it's nice to...undo that perilous mistake and move on with your life.

Although the fan-favorite Bingo Battle mode is not present in Pikmin 4, it does have a versus component called "Dandori Battle." I was highly skeptical of this mode at first, as it seems like an innocuous "gather more items than your opponent" slugfest. But as I played through the main story and started to notice the level layouts a bit more (and subsequently unlocked more battlegrounds), I warmed up to it.

Dandori Battle is interesting, in part because it forces you to make sense of its chaos. Various objects will pop up as "BONUS POINTS" every so often, and success hinges on remembering where those items are, and if you can get to them quicker than your opponent. Items are still in (including defensive and offensive weaponry and tech) to add to that chaos, and micromanaging your Pikmin is as important as ever as you're fighting against a time limit. Dandori Battle has concessions for CPU play, as well as 1P+2P versus a CPU in a co-op fashion. It's enough to keep you preoccupied as you attempt to 100% the core story. Even if the game didn't have Dandori Battle at all, I'd be satisfied.

[caption id="attachment_392254" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The one big lamentation I have with Pikmin 4 is the lack of a true narrative co-op feature. In the campaign, "player two" can throw rocks and use items (a staple in many Nintendo games like Mario Galaxy), but they don't control an actual player character, and as a result, lack any real agency. It's a shame, but the general magnificence of Pikmin 4 more than makes up for it.

As I was playing through Pikmin 4 and things really started to click, I thought to myself (with a smile on my face) - "I just want to play this forever." It's a strategically satisfying game if you want it to be, and it's a chill rainy-day adventure if you're going for that vibe. This is one of the releases I'm going to set aside time to 100% this year, and like Pikmin 3's Bingo Battle (which I still play!), I'll be jumping into Dandori Battle from time to time with my family.

The post Review: Pikmin 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Who hurt you?

Turning beloved children’s characters into horror monsters isn’t something new. I think “nightmarish Alice in Wonderland” has been done roughly a bajillion times. So, My Friendly Neighborhood’s idea of murderous Sesame Street puppets may not seem that novel. Except that’s not what it’s about. I know. It kind of took me by surprise.

I’d also say it’s “My First Resident Evil,” and the argument could be made, but that’s selling the game short. My Friendly Neighborhood wears its inspirations, sure, but it’s more than just a horror game made friendly for a younger audience. Its themes of non-violence, its goofy characters, and its approach to horror all convey much more depth than you — or certainly I — might’ve expected.

[caption id="attachment_391837" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

My Friendly Neighborhood (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Publisher: DreadXP
Released: July 18, 2023 (PC), TBA (Console)
MSRP: TBA

In My Friendly Neighborhood, you play as maintenance professional, Gordon. For the last job of the night, he travels to a derelict television studio to disconnect the transmission tower on the top floor. It has spontaneously started airing a canceled children’s TV show over the normal TV broadcast.

Upon arriving, Gordon doesn't look too surprised to see that the puppets are alive and hungry for deranged hugs. In fact, rather than feeling horrified at his situation, he seems mostly just annoyed and inconvenienced. He just wants to finish the job, go home, and watch TV. The puppets have other ideas.

Your expectations may be that this is a hide-and-seek kind of horror game where you navigate the studio while avoiding confrontations with murderous puppets. That’s not the case. Instead, as I mentioned earlier, it has more in common with Resident Evil. You have weapons that fire deadly letters, and the puppets mostly just inhabit the halls, waiting for you to alert them. You then have the option to take them down with your alphabet or just avoid them and conserve your ammo.

If you choose combat, however, they won’t stay down. They’ll be back up the next time you enter the room. You can make sure they stay down by duct-taping them, but tape is in short supply. In a way, it’s sort of like the Crimson Head zombies in the Resident Evil remake, except you won’t be spared kerosene with a chance headshot.

https://youtu.be/l7XeUD-0f_o

The Neighborhood is coming to town

It’s largely a non-violent affair. The puppets, when hit by projectile letters, react like puppets and make a cute comment as they fall into a heap of inanimate fabric on the floor. When you’re attacked, there’s no real indication that Gordon is suffering any permanent bodily harm. Sometimes he comments that he’s “going to feel that in the morning,” but otherwise, he just sounds annoyed about the unwanted affection he’s being subjected to.

Likewise, the horror aspect feels somewhat understated. There are some attempts at jump scares, and the atmosphere can be a bit spooky, but there’s no grotesque imagery. In the dark, the puppets natter away to themselves about nonsense that might seem goofy to most but merely unsettling otherwise. It’s a good horror experience for younger people or those who can’t handle the gore and danger of typical horror.

With that said, your expectations might be on a low-calorie “Resident Evil,”  but really, My Friendly Neighbor doesn’t pull any punches. I played on normal difficulty, and it still included concepts like limited saving and sparse supplies. There are also multiple unlockable difficulties above Normal and Survival.

I never found any of the puzzles to be taxing, and there are clear signs of it being a smaller production than any big-budget horror, but I never felt like I was playing a lesser product.

[caption id="attachment_391836" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Unwanted affection

Really, though, the non-violent angle has more to do with the game’s overall message. It takes place in a different world, in a city that once waged war against its Northern Neighbor in a parallel to the Vietnam War. There’s a lot about corporate overreach, humankind’s collective obsession with negative media, and the resultant need to dull our pain.

The whole climax of the game is, unfortunately, a bit of a stumble. The last act of My Friendly Neighborhood is visibly less polished than the first parts of the game. Certain parts of the plot aren’t as fleshed out as they should be. There’s a moment right near the end where you can viscerally feel the message of the game, but rather than knock it out of the park, My Friendly Neighborhood chooses to bunt.

I think it would be less disappointing if My Friendly Neighborhood had fewer ambitions and was merely average throughout. Instead, you can absolutely see where it’s going, it’s exciting, and then when it pops instead of booms, it leaves an empty feeling. Agh, my heart.

[caption id="attachment_391838" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

My First Horror

On the whole, however, My Friendly Neighborhood is a terrific experience. It’s designed with a cohesive vision, and aside from a disappointing last act, it largely succeeds in achieving it. It’s the sort of game that gets me more excited as a critic than as a player. I find it difficult not to appreciate all of its layers. It's also about five hours long, which makes meeting deadlines easier.

Where it succeeds best, however, is in being a terrific introductory horror game. Whether or not you’re a youth whose parents disapprove of gore or if you’re just one to hide beneath a blanket when a zombie appears on screen, My Friendly Neighborhood provides the depth of the Resident Evil experience without any of the violence. Not only does it fill an important niche, it proves that this sort of horror game can stand on its own without any of the blood.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: My Friendly Neighborhood appeared first on Destructoid.

I wish there was a hole I could just crawl into and die

By 2004, the Gamecube was running out of steam. Nintendo had come out swinging with their new console, but their fists had hit very little meat. A number of certifiable classics beloved to this day came out in its first few years, but the console still managed to lose further ground to its competitors. Still, that year we got some memorable titles like Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Pikmin 2, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Of those games I just named, I only love one of them, and it’s not the one we’re talking about.

In preparation for Pikmin 4, Nintendo surprise-dropped HD versions of Pikmin 1 and 2. I’ve already covered their shiny new port of the first game, and now it’s time to delve into Pikmin 2. Delve deep down. Deep into its endless labyrinths that don’t end and drive me completely mad.

[caption id="attachment_390203" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Pikmin 2 (Switch)
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: June 21, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Okay. Deep breath. Pikmin 2 starts off strong enough. Olimar finally manages to return to his home planet of Hokotate after being stranded on a Gods-forsaken planet for a month (or 18 days). Rather than immediately taking the chance to spend time with his family, his boss turns him right back around. The company he works for was mismanaged and is deeply in debt. It’s Olimar’s job to collect enough treasure from his former prison to pull the company out of the red. Because shit rolls downhill, and it’s never the people in charge that have to take responsibility for their mistakes.

Anyway, while Pikmin was about trying to retrieve all the parts of your ship, Pikmin 2 is about collecting as much treasure as you can get your mitts on. By treasure, I mean garbage, because one person’s garbage is another person’s ticket out of debt. Apparently, all our litter is worth something on Hokotate, so those little spacemen are here to pick it up for us. Wouldn’t that be convenient?

So, really, you’re looking for things like discarded bottle caps and Famicom Disk System games. This is easily my favorite new part of Pikmin 2. However, the Switch port does something blasphemous and removes the game’s product placement.

https://youtu.be/_kKLW7_218s

Executive responsibility

As with the port of Pikmin, Pikmin 2 is largely just a straight port that is now in a higher resolution. It plays largely the same but offers motion controls if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s a pretty nice port, even if it doesn’t really change anything. However, I want the product placement back.

I hate advertising, but I’ve always thought it was a nice touch that all the garbage in the game utilized real-world brands. You weren’t just collecting bottle caps. You were collecting them from drinks like A&W Root Beer. A plastic lid would be from a recognizable yogurt brand. It never really felt like Pikmin 2 was actually trying to sell you things, it was just an extra touch that hammered home that the alien planet you were exploring was Earth all along.

Getting rid of the product placement didn’t kill me inside like I thought it would, but it does make the discovery of treasure a smidge less interesting. If you never played the original version, the change will be entirely lost on you, but for me, it feels like a part of the game’s personality has been excised.

[caption id="attachment_390204" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The value of life

Unfortunately, that’s not Pikmin 2’s biggest issue. Its real problem is going to be one that some people appreciate and others (like me) will absolutely hate: That’s its change in focus to being more about combat. This culminates in the introduction of underground dungeons. As you explore the various areas, you find holes in the ground that lead to isolated labyrinths buried in the ground. In these, you go floor by floor and try to loot each one of its treasures.

The floors are all procedurally pieced together. Rather than giving you the challenge of figuring out how to safely use your Pikmin to grab out-of-reach items, you instead must try and take down enemies while losing as few of your carrot-people as possible.

The most annoying part of this is that it gets really aggressive about killing your Pikmin. Bombs drop from thin air, enemies pop up in precarious spots, and some bosses make it feel that losing Pikmin is an inevitability rather than just the result of mistakes or poor judgment. In the depths of the world, you’re not given the luxury of taking care of your little helpers. They’re reduced to just a number; a health bar that slowly ticks down.

If you’re someone who treated the first Pikmin title more as a survival experience to be played with empathy toward your units, that’s just not allowed here. Pikmin 2 is more of a game than the first title. A series of challenges rather than an immersive experience.

[caption id="attachment_390202" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

One person's trash

The result is at least, a much longer game. Getting all the treasures, as Pikmin 2 encourages you to do, can take 20 hours or longer. However, you will spend most of this run-time in the dungeons. A comparatively small fraction takes place above ground, so if the caves don’t jive with you, then it’s hopeless.

Beyond that, this is the game that introduces white and purple Pikmin. The white ones are immune to poison and are, in turn, poisonous to anything that ingests them. However, the purple Pikmin are absolute beasts that clobber anything you throw them at. Throughout the series to date, the purple Pikmin are my favorite. So, at least Pikmin 2 has that going for it.

[caption id="attachment_390205" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Okay, throw her in the hole

The thing about Pikmin 2 is that there are some who will appreciate or even love the changes it made. To me, the reliance on procedural dungeons just makes the experience feel wrong-headed and heavily padded. Others are going to see them as something that makes the title feel bigger and badder than its predecessor.

I get that, but to me, Pikmin 2 is a misstep in the series. Pikmin 3 would delight me enough that I’ve been anticipating Pikmin 4 since Shigeru Miyamoto hinted at it back in 2015, and it’s the game release I’m most excited about this year. However, the inclusion of dungeons gives me pause. The demo for the game at least hints that they’ll be short obstacles and not just long chores that I slog through just to check them off the list. However, the first few hours of Pikmin 2 also mislead in that very same way. So, I’ll have to wait and see.

The new port of Pikmin 2 is a fine way to experience this game, but whether or not you think it’s trash or treasure is going to depend on your preferences. It’s at least cheap enough that you aren’t going to be too out of pocket to give it a try. It’s probably worth it just for the first few hours when it’s at its prime. But just beware that after introductions are made, it’s going to throw you in a hole.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Pikmin 2 (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

Trash Can Children

The Garbage Pail Kids are a bit out of my wheelhouse. I don’t particularly like gross-out humor. Even some of the stuff in Ren & Stimpy is too much for me. I respect gross-out humor. I think it’s probably healthy to find amusement in bodily functions that we all experience but, for some reason, choose to demonize. That doesn’t change things, though. It doesn’t tickle the atrophied humor muscle in my brain.

Except for butts. Butts are forever funny.

However, the NES is part of my domain. So when Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum arrived, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to pick up a physical copy of it for NES. To be clear, I bought this myself. When I covered Blazing Rangers back in February, First Press Games had offered me a copy of it. I’m not sure Iam8bit even has my contact information, and I’m too polite and shy to actually ask for anyone for review copies.

[caption id="attachment_390217" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum (NES, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Developer: Retrotainment Games, Digital Eclipse
Publisher: iam8bit
Released: October 25, 2022
MSRP: $9.99 (Digital), $79.99 (NES)

If you’re unfamiliar with the Garbage Pail Kids, it was an attempt to take the Cabbage Patch Kids and turn it into the most unwholesome, disgusting mutation possible. They were chiefly a series of trading cards, but they eventually spun off into a movie that has been described as “the worst ever” and a cartoon series that got canceled before it even hit the air. My husband says the cartoon is “interesting” but that I “definitely wouldn’t like it.”

Garbage Pail Kids went away for the ‘90s but came back in the ‘00s, as you can’t keep a good property down. They’re the perfect storm of parents hating them and kids loving them that made them memorable.

There was never a video game spin-off of the property, but there probably should have been, so Retrotainment Games got the license and went straight to correcting history. They created Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum for the NES hardware. Iam8bit picked it up as publisher, and last year it hit consoles and PC with the help of Digital Eclipse. Now, it’s been pressed to an NES cartridge, which feels absolutely poetic.

https://youtu.be/E4lcgpH6V88

Butts are forever funny

Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is a platformer that feels like a mash-up of a lot of different games while also being its own thing. You can swap between four characters at any time, which feels sort of like Little Samson or Bucky O’Hare. However, the levels, while linear, have some exploration elements to them, which prevents the game from just feeling like a clone. It still feels like a license-focused platformer but in a more favorable sense. Like Duck Tales.

Also, like Duck Tales, you get to select the order of levels. There are six in total that cover a range of locations and time periods. Your team of grotesque children doesn’t earn any new skills as they progress, so the order you tackle them is completely up to you.

The children themselves are diverse. They provide the skills of melee, jumping, projectiles, and also projectiles, but these projectiles arc downward. They each have their own health bar, but the different characters are one of the low-points of Garbage Pail Kids’ design.

Leaky Lindsay is easily the most useful, having a direct projectile attack that keeps you out of the way of enemy attacks. Mike is okay for dealing damage to bosses. Patty Putty is exclusively used for jumping, as Garbage Pail Kids doesn’t make for a good hop-and-bop. However, as each kid has their own health bar, they can also die individually. This means you might have to use Leaky Lindsay sparingly, and being stuck with only Patty Putty left alive is just a drag. As you lose children, the experience just gets worse and worse.

[caption id="attachment_390218" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Top of the trash heap

Otherwise, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is a pretty solid NES title. Some of the levels drag a bit, but on the whole, they’re diverse and interesting. The sprite work is solid, the music pops, and there’s a well-stocked buffet of bosses to take on. It doesn’t really feel like a homebrew game. You could easily mistake it as a title that came out in maybe ‘91 or ‘92 during the twilight days of the NES.

They even managed to work in trading and collecting cards. You pick them up from knocked-over trash cans and can swap them with NPCs scattered throughout the levels. Some of them help you out by resurrecting kids or nuking the screen, but others are just to collect. If you have them all at the end, you get a little certificate telling you that you managed to get them all. It’s fun stuff.

Of course, it’s also really gross. You could probably guess that by the fact that one of the children is perpetually caked in slime and shoots boogers as a projectile. It didn’t disgust me beyond my tolerance, but the gross-out humor is definitely still here.

[caption id="attachment_390221" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

The grossest gang of goofs ever

The cartridges were done by NESInfiniteLives. Some early images showed the two colors of cartridge, blue and pink, as being opaque. It seems like the production cartridges are transparent, as that’s what I got, which I’m not as much of a fan of. It’s still a quality product, though. They’re just not going to fool anyone into believing these are authentic. The game also doesn’t come with a dust cover, but the boxes are sealed and have stickers on them that look like price tags but really just denote the size of the production run.

Most importantly, though, it works in my NES. The manual it comes with is also very informative and includes a foreword by one of the developers. Iam8bit doesn’t seem obsessive about nailing the authenticity of the product, but they definitely get the job done. Although, it might be a bit more expensive than it should be.

Buying the physical copy also nets you the Steam version of the game if you don’t have it already. The PC version comes with bonus videos and filters that obviously can’t fit on the NES hardware, so it’s nice that you don’t have to miss out on the special features just because you want it on a cartridge.

[caption id="attachment_390219" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Better than the movie (probably)

Really, though, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is just a decent game. It’s top shelf for the console, but maybe not tippy-top. Like, it’s not a top 10 game, or a top 20. Top 50 is a bit more believable, but at the very least, it’s a top 100. It’s comparable to, say, Vice: Project Doom’s level of quality. Like Shatterhand or S.C.A.T. Not quite great, but better than good, you know?

In a lot of ways, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum demonstrates how far the homebrew market has come. Here we have a licensed game released nearly 30 years after the end of the NES lifespan. It contains all the graphical trickery and polished gameplay of a latter-day title, and you could almost believe that it really is a lost prototype brought back to life. It may be gross, but if you’re a fan of the console or the Garbage Pail Kids, you should definitely find some way to rub it all over yourself.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum appeared first on Destructoid.

Ray'zing the bar

If you’re only a casual or intermediate lover of scrolling shoot-’em-ups, it’s easy to drown in the deep end. The genre has been unfathomably popular in Japanese Game Centres for decades, so just about every publisher of arcade games at the time had multiple series going. So, you’ll have to excuse me if I haven’t played every game featured in the Ray’z Arcade Chronology. I mean, I’ve heard of them. Not that I could tell you when and where because the names RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis are so laughably similar that I can’t keep them straight.

That’s okay. A lifetime of experience with the genre has given me ample framework to appreciate each of these games, and appreciate them I did.

[caption id="attachment_389830" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ray'z Arcade Chronology (Switch [Reviewed], PS4)
Developer: M2, Taito
Publisher: ININ Games
Released: June 30, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

Ray’z Arcade Chronology consists of three games in the “Ray” series. This is 1994’s RayForce, 1996’s RayStorm, and 1998’s RayCrisis. This is why you need to be careful with your nomenclature. We’re left with Ray’z to cover the whole series. Who’s Ray? I don’t know. Some guy who likes arcade shooters.

In any case, each of these titles is fantastic and brings something of their own to the table. RayForce is 2D, using a layer stacking technique to give the whole experience some 3D depth. RayStorm takes the series into actual 3D, which results in quite a ride. RayCrisis has the whole thing take place inside a supercomputer. This might sound lame, but there’s a feature where you’re given a specific route through the game, and your initials keep track of which ones you’ve cleared so you’re presented with a different series of levels each time you pick it back up.

The collection was overseen by M2, which should tell astute readers everything they need to hear. M2 is generally considered the gold standard when it comes to porting games, and scrolling shoot-’em-ups are their specific area of expertise. I probably don’t have to tell you they did an immaculate job with the Ray’z Arcade Chronology, but I will anyway: They did an immaculate job with the Ray’z Arcade Chronology.

Rather than just bare ports, each of the games gets a bunch of bells and whistles. You can play with the DIP switches to customize the experience. The borders are filled with more UI stats than you could even need (including one that tells you the name of the music track currently playing). You also get an HD version of both RayStorm and RayCrisis that literally does just that. It increases the resolution so you don’t get a pixellated look. I love the pixellated look, but maybe you don’t, weirdo.

https://youtu.be/dm1DyVDmkV8

RayCast

Anecdotally, I see RayForce as being the most highly respected of the bunch. It’s not hard to see why, as the sprite work is fantastic. It also has a smooth transition from level to level, making the whole thing seem continuous. It introduces the series staple of having a lock-on, which is necessary for hitting enemies that appear in the distance.

RayStorm is a lot of fun too. It might be my favorite in the bunch, but it’s harder to describe why. On paper, it really just sounds like RayForce in 3D, but while it loses the stylish transitions, it still feels like a great trip. It really knows how to make good use of the backgrounds to heighten the action without getting in the way.

On the other hand, I enjoyed RayCrisis far more than I thought I would. It feels more innovative than the other games, and gives more incentive to replaying and building up your skill. Not only do you get a different set of levels on each playthrough, but you’re also graded based on how well you do. You’re given an incentive to prevent enemies from simply exiting the screen unscathed. Considering most shoot-’em-ups are less than an hour long and replay value is usually just reducing continues used and increasing score, I appreciate something more tangible to help elevate it.

The downside is that, because it takes place in a computer, the levels aren’t quite as cohesive. They just sort of happen. In a way, the progression of RayCrisis is the antithesis of the one-take of RayForce. It’s not a deal breaker. It’s more like a compromise to get the sweet, sweet replay value.

[caption id="attachment_389831" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

RayTracing

Unfortunately, if you want to play the prototype for R-Gear, you need to order through Strictly Limited Games. R-Gear was initially in development as a sequel to RayForce that would have retained the 2D art style, but development instead moved to RayStorm’s full polygonal 3D. It’s just a prototype, and it only includes one level, but it would have been cool to have it as part of the digital version. Maybe I’ll just have to pony up for a physical copy. Goodness knows I enjoyed Ray’z Arcade Chronology more than enough to justify it.

Oh, hey, that leads us to this little summary paragraph. Ray’z Arcade Chronology is really good. It’s a great collection of great ports of great games. That’s it. No notes (aside from the ones already provided). If you haven’t played any of these games, you definitely owe it to yourself to check out the collection. If you have played them, this is just a great way to get all the titles together with some bells and whistles. I could scarcely ask for more.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Ray’z Arcade Chronology appeared first on Destructoid.

This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about

One of the things I respect about the medium of video games is its ability to tackle difficult situations in a way that other mediums can’t. Even when it comes to non-visual mediums like, say, the written word, we’re only spectators. A video game can make things about us. Some empathy is still required, but we can be the ones trapped in an uncomfortable situation.

Sometimes this is too much. When I played He Fucked the Girl Out of Me last year, it actually dug up memories of (unrelated to the subject matter) trauma that I had repressed. It was for the best, but it was also a lot.

But it doesn’t always have to be a lot, as A Long Journey to an Uncertain End proves. You can approach difficult subjects carefully and with a light heart without minimizing the seriousness of it. If you asked me before playing it how such a thing would be possible, I probably wouldn’t have an answer. And yet, here it is.

[caption id="attachment_389209" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A Long Journey to an Uncertain End (PC)
Developer: Crispy Creative
Publisher: Crispy Creative, Mooncat Games, Fig Publishing Inc.
Released: June 28, 2023
MSRP: TBA

In A Long Journey to an Uncertain End, you’re on the run from your abusive ex. Also, you’re a spaceship. Actually, you’re the AI pilot of a spaceship, but you’ve been “unshackled,” so you can feel the full spectrum of emotions. Your ex wasn’t treating you well, and after a particularly violent episode, you’re liberated by a crewmember and are off to, well, an uncertain end.

That may sound rather ridiculous, but the presentation is eerily realistic. Someone smashing the control panels of a vehicle may sound more like property damage, but I feel really gross for just writing that sentence. If that’s too outlandish to really latch onto, your ex-partner is also psychologically abusive. And boy howdy, that gets across very clearly without being blatantly said.

As you travel, you meet a colorful cast of new crewmembers to recruit. Their antics do a great job of helping you forget that someone wants to emotionally beat you into submission. The sci-fi elements do a decent job of taking the edge off, the characters make things fun and entertaining, but the whole abuse angle is still there and capable of biting at you whenever a cutscene comes up.

I guess the best way of putting it is that A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is very careful and compassionate about how it handles the subject matter.

https://youtu.be/pbzXNf8TXkw

Dice or die

The game itself is sort of a mash-up of a visual novel and a simple tabletop RPG. There’s no combat, but there are a whole lot of dice rolls. Essentially, you move from planet to planet with the primary task of keeping your ship supplied for the next jump. You do this using simple trades, or by having your crewmembers do side-jobs. Sometimes these side-jobs will net you additional crewmembers or advance the plot in some way. People you help may also assist you in the final part of each sector.

Each member of the crew has expertise in a certain area, like tech or seduction. Then it’s just a matter of odds. You can call in favors to increase these and…

Ugh. Okay, so the gameplay is where everything breaks down with A Long Journey to an Uncertain End. As much as I have admiration for its unique premise and deftness when it comes to telling a difficult story, the gameplay is easy to get through at best and mystifying at worst. And it’s frustrating, because I don’t know where to begin.

I guess the best place is with its biggest issue: There’s very little feedback here. It seems like A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is trying to be an extremely friendly game, but part of the way it does this is by withholding punishment. If you run out of supplies on a jump to a new planet, for example, I’m not sure what the result is. Does this upset your crew members? I’m not sure. Can you fail a job entirely or just not complete it well? Why does calling in a favor sometimes wipe out all the crew mood increase that I get from a job and replace it with something else? What am I missing here? Why won’t you tell me!?

[caption id="attachment_389211" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

I don't like these odds

It’s not as though I had a difficult time getting through 2-3 hours of A Long Journey to an Uncertain End. Largely, the only credible threat I could find was a clock that ticked down to when your ex catches up to you. That’s not nothing, but it’s pretty easy to just make sure you just take off before they get too close.

But midway through, I noticed I was packing bags of favors that I could call in. You typically use these to simply increase the odds of success for jobs. Since I had dozens of these things by the mid-point of the game, I was suddenly able to just scatter my crew across the jobs on a planet, then whiff it through all the decisions. Once at the end of a job, I could just pile on the favors and walk away with the reward. I’m pretty sure that’s not how the game is supposed to be played.

It’s almost prototypical. The framework of the gameplay was laid down, and all the writing was dropped on top of it, but nothing was done to tweak or polish it into an enjoyable experience. It’s not a completely non-functional wreck, but you can see what it was aiming for, and it falls way short.

[caption id="attachment_389215" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A sloshing bucket

It’s a shame, because the characters are fun and the story is reasonably well-written. I feel that the actual sci-fi elements are a little trite, but its integration of difficult themes makes it a success. The characters are a splash of LGBTQ+ color, to the point where the spaceship is filled to bursting with gender fluid. Their preferred pronouns don’t necessarily play much into the narrative, but their identities help each feel distinct.

A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is just such a well-intentioned game that it’s a shame that it’s so limp where it counts. You rarely see its sensitive approach to difficult topics in video games. Yet, when it’s time to engage with it as a player, it falls into a heap on the floor. The cast of characters and narrative themes help elevate it above simply being average, but it’s hard to get over the nauseating sting of disappointment when you discover that A Long Journey to an Uncertain End isn’t quite where it could or should be.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: A Long Journey to an Uncertain End appeared first on Destructoid.

Please add Sissel to the next Marvel vs. Capcom

When it comes to Nintendo, you never know if its consoles and handhelds will go out with a bang or with a whimper. The GameCube, for instance, went out with an absolute whimper, as new releases had all but dried up by the time the Wii arrived. Yes, it got Twilight Princess in the end, but it was pretty sparse otherwise. The Nintendo DS, on the other hand, went out with one hell of an explosion. In the months leading up to the release of the 3DS, publishers dropped an assortment of gems for the platform, including Okamiden, Radiant Historia, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation, and Pokémon Black & White in North America and Europe. And that was just in the first three months of 2011 before the 3DS hit.

This is also when Shu Takumi’s follow-up to the Phoenix Wright series, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, arrived stateside. I remember picking this up at launch, captivated by its premise, and gorging myself on the game over a cold January weekend. It’s too bad not many other people did at the time, but considering this game is all about second chances, it’s fitting Sissel, Missile, and the rest of this well-animated crew get a second shot at the limelight with this new HD remaster.

[caption id="attachment_388884" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Switch, Xbox One)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: June 30, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is an adventure whodunnit starring a recently deceased man named Sissel. Found dead in a junkyard, face down/ass up, he has just one night to solve the mystery behind his murder before he moves on to the afterlife. His lifeless body is discovered by go-getter freshman detective Lynne, and the two cross paths throughout the night as Sissel has to keep saving her life from the assassins sent to hunt her down. Keeping her alive will take Sissel to various locations around the city, from a chic apartment to a prison to a chicken restaurant. Each location and the people who dwell there play key roles in keeping Lynne alive to sunrise and Sissel on the hunt for the truth of what happened to him.

Because he is dead, Sissel’s only means of protecting Lynne and anyone else who gets in harm's way is to manipulate objects in the environment. This is just one of his Ghost Powers, and it’s his use of these powers that make up the game’s puzzle-solving side. Each environment is an immaculately hand-drawn 2D setting stuff with objects Sissel can possess and occasionally interact with. Some objects are only there to provide a bridge for Sissel to reach the necessary tools needed to solve the puzzle. Other objects are interactive like an umbrella you can open up or a trash can lid you can pop. Using his Ghost Powers, Sissel can also travel between locations through telephone lines, but only if he isn’t in a flashback.

As I said, there are assassins out and about in the game, hunting down Lynne and whoever has the misfortune to get in their way. Most of the time, when Sissel arrives to save one of the victims, they’re already dead. With his final Ghost Power, Sissel can travel back in time to watch the last four minutes of the character’s life. Every time you travel back in time, you’ll be able to see everything that happens to the victim and decide how to protect them using the various objects in each setting. There is a time limit for getting this all done, but it’s rarely an issue. Even if you do fail, you can just rewind the clock and start again. Don’t be surprised if you have to watch the victim die more than once to fully figure out how to save them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiesBTPVc-c

The premise of these puzzles is sound enough, but seeing it in action can be riveting. You’re basically playing the role of an invisible stagehand trying to manipulate how a scene plays out while the actors are in the middle of it. It’s a clever concept with brilliant execution, though it doesn’t provide any sort of lightbulb-over-the-head aha moments. This isn’t the type of puzzle game where you’ll have a constant stream of epiphanies that make you feel elated. It’s more just being satisfied with figuring out how to get everything into place for the desired set piece.

Outside of the people-saving and puzzle-solving, there is a great deal of lore to lap up in Ghost Trick. Shu Takumi really outdid himself with solid writing and an engaging, eccentric cast. I’m sure the ending will be just as hotly debated as it was back in 2011, but know the journey to that end is brimming with great character moments and charming writing. There are so many memorable faces here, all brought to life with outstanding animation.

The original Ghost Trick was notable for its incredibly fluid character animation, best exhibited by the flamboyant Detective Cabanela. The look was achieved by creating the characters as 3D models before rendering them as 2D sprites. On the DS, it was smooth and crisp even if it was a bit pixelated (which was fine given the size of the Nintendo DS screens). On the PlayStation 4, it’s just as smooth and crisp, but with the power of the RE Engine, the entire look of this game has been cleaned up from top to bottom. This HD remaster gives the world of Ghost Trick a slick glow-up. It’s very polished, to the point where some might argue it’s too polished, but I could never seriously make that argument. I did notice a few very minor visual blemishes when some characters would walk, but outside of those moments, this is a gorgeous game. At least when you’re not in the UI.

[caption id="attachment_388885" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective’s origins as a Nintendo DS game are impossible to miss. For starters, only some elements, like a few of its new menus, are in widescreen. The game itself is full-screen with borders. I have to imagine this decision was made for the same reason classic fighting games are always presented in 4:3 with borders on the side. Giving players a widescreen video of a full-screen game may break whatever challenge there is. I’m fine with the 4:3 ratio for the gameplay, but there are moments where what originally looked good on the DS is a bit too much on a regular television screen. Some character portraits and speech bubbles are unnecessarily huge.

I understand that, in an age where developers keep releasing games with text sizes that would feel at home at the bottom of a pharmaceutical commercial, I probably shouldn’t be complaining about having an easy-to-read text size. But it doesn’t look great, and neither do some of the menus and other parts of the UI that feel unnecessarily big. It’s a minor complaint on my part, but I can’t help but notice when I see elements of the remaster that lack the slickness of the rest of the package. The game also lacks voice acting, if you’re wondering, but I prefer it that way. I don’t need some professional voice actor coming in here and messing up what Cabanela sounds like in my head.

As for how it plays—which I probably should have discussed earlier in this review—the conversion from touch controls to a traditional controller works well. I do think the control scheme, in terms of what buttons you use, could have been simplified (no reason to stipulate circle will exit the Ghost World when L1 does the same thing and it’s the button you pressed to get into it), but it’s not anything that’ll give you trouble. Because I played on PlayStation, I do not know if the Switch version has a touch control option. In terms of what’s new for the remaster beyond the visual upgrade, Ghost Trick includes challenges, rearranged classic music tracks, one new music track, a collection of artwork and concept art, and the sliding puzzles from the mobile version of the game.

All in all, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a fine remaster of a wonderful title far too many people missed out on. Shu Takumi has stated another entry in this franchise might happen if this game sells well enough, but I feel like that’s a statement we’ve heard dozens of times over the past 10 years with little of anything to show for it. Whether or not we get another game in the series doesn’t really matter to me. What matters is more people now have an opportunity to play an absolute gem of an adventure game.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

Accidental tourism

The Gamecube started off with a bang in 2001. As if Star War: Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader, Luigi’s Mansion, and Wave Race: Blue Storm weren’t enough to get fans through the year, Pikmin and Super Smash Bros. Melee dropped on the same day on December 3, 2001. It would be crazy to pit any game against such a titan today, but Smash Bros. wasn’t yet the institution it would soon become.

I have a lot of warm memories of Pikmin. I remember failing to get the last piece of the Dolphin on my first attempt and arguing about the existence of purple Pikmin on message boards. Good times.

In preparation for Pikmin 4 (which is one of my most anticipated games of the year), Nintendo has released the first two games on Switch in a nice, clear HD update. There's precedent. They previously surprised us with Metroid Prime Remastered, which was far more than just an HD port. Did Nintendo go to the same effort with Pikmin 1? No. Did I get the last piece of the Dolphin? You better believe it.

[caption id="attachment_388240" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Pikmin 1 (Switch)
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: June 21, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

Pikmin is the story of the intrepid Captain Olimar, whose intelligence is not up to par with his intrepidness. While cruising the galaxy in his favorite ship, he’s hit by an asteroid and sent crashing onto a nearby planet. With his only hope of escape in tatters, he enlists the aid of some indigenous root vegetables to help him piece it back together.

The original Pikmin is perhaps the most anxiety-inducing. You have 30 days to assemble your ship before Olimar’s life support runs out. There are 30 parts, though only 25 of them are necessary to prevent the spaceman’s posthumous metamorphosis. When you’re new to the game, maintaining a pace of obtaining a ship part each day can be a bit of a tall order. It’s sufficient enough, though. This time through the game, I managed to get everything in 18 days.

https://youtu.be/_kKLW7_218s

A new pair of glasses

While Pikmin 1 is largely a straight port of the Wii version played at a higher resolution, it’s been touched up. Mainly, this is just the interface, which displays in HD rather than simply upscaled from its original resolution. You can also play using either motion controls or joypad. Some people swear by using the pointer, but I feel most comfortable with two sticks.

At least I would, but the port also changes the use of the right stick. On the Gamecube version, simply pointing the stick would rally your Pikmin in that direction to attack or grab anything they ran into. In the port, it moves the camera. This makes a whole lot of sense to everybody except my thumbs. Holding the L button results in the right stick functioning as it did originally, but my muscle memory is so ingrained that I’d forget to do this when under pressure.

In any case, the point here is that you shouldn’t expect Pikmin 1 to have been given the tender, loving care of Metroid Prime Remastered. A closer expectation is that it’s more on the level of Super Mario Sunshine from the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection, which I still can’t believe is no longer available. That is screwed up.

[caption id="attachment_388241" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Root vegetables

In any case, Nintendo hasn’t imposed the same time limitation on the Pikmin remasters, which is nice. Pikmin maybe doesn’t top my list of favorite Gamecube games, but I still love it very much. It’s a survival game with none of the features that we would normally associate with the modern survival genre. It’s also interesting in the fact that you can grow hundreds of the little carrot people, and still, it’s hard not to feel bad when your judgment fails and a few dozen get squashed by a Wollyhop.

Poor identical little dudes.

Pikmin 1 is also the most straightforward in its concept. The only gating you run into is when it comes to collecting Pikmin abilities. You start off with only red, which are immune to fire and hit harder. Then there’s yellow that can carry bombs and fly farther when thrown. Finally, you obtain blue, who can breath underwater and that’s good enough. Once you have them all, the world is your oyster.

Actually, not quite. The different stages are unlocked after obtaining a certain number of ship parts, but the point is that, very early, you’re essentially let off the leash. The only thing between you and success is your vegetables and your brain. It’s quite refreshing, even if that means you can finish the game in 18 in-game days (8-ish hours for a fresh run).

[caption id="attachment_388243" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Carrot-kind

Pikmin’s unique premise and tight design have ensured that it remains rather ageless. Even the graphics, as aged as they are, still convey everything they need to. It’s every bit as enjoyable now as it was back in 2001. Pikmin nailed it so hard on the first try that its sequels could only really iterate on the concept.

Pikmin 4 is looking like it may be the biggest evolution the series has seen, but it’s unlikely you’ll need any prior experience with the earlier titles. Nonetheless, I absolutely recommend you check out Pikmin 1 if you haven’t already. If you are familiar with the original, just know that this is a solid port, but it doesn’t really add anything that wasn’t in the GameCube version. However, with its bumped-up resolution, it’s easily the best way to play this absolutely timeless fight for carrot-kind’s survival.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Pikmin 1 (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

Whoa?

Another live service game just came out in 2023 in Crash Team Rumble, and we're getting it instead of a Crash 5 for now. Wait, come back! If you're a Crash fan, there might be something here for you. Yeah, I didn't expect it either.

[caption id="attachment_387544" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Crash Team Rumble (PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Toys for Bob
Publisher: Activision
Released: June 20, 2023
MSRP: $29.99 (standard), $39.99 (deluxe)

So what the heck is Crash Team Rumble?

Despite the weird and somewhat pointless monetization angle (which we'll get to), the standard $29.99 edition (yes, this is not free-to-play) is a much simpler package than it seems on the surface. Crash Team Rumble is a 4v4 battle game that asks two competing teams to dunk Wumpa Fruit into their goal until they hit a score limit: at which point that team immediately wins. Easy to parse, right? It actually is! Matches are around five minutes to boot.

You'll need to roam across nine different maps (with more to come) that feel a lot like miniature Crash Bandicoot platforming levels while grabbing fruit, stopping other players from scoring, and causing havoc with power-ups. Those three core game loops encapsulate the trio of codified roles in the game: scorer, blocker, and booster. Actually fulfilling the core duties of your role (which is linked to specific characters) will shorten your ability cooldowns, but it's not completely necessary; as I've been in plenty of games where players flex into different jobs on a constant basis (and thrive).

The secret sauce of Crash Team Rumble is how all of this plays out. Given how easy this game is to pick up and put down, I was shocked to look up at the clock and see that an hour went by during multiple sessions.

[caption id="attachment_387597" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Breezy, fun, and cute mayhem

Crash Team Rumble controls a lot like a legitimate core Crash game, which is where it's going to make its mark for fans.

Crash himself still double-jumps, spins, and belly flops as normal, and each other character is different enough to justify their inclusion while mixing up how you approach each match. Platforming skills are paramount too, as swift jumps and air dashes can mean the difference between losing all of your fruit to a pit or scoring a game-winning goal. Coco in particular became a favorite of mine, as she can drop a digital brick wall behind her, with the option to trigger it during an air dash. It's immensely satisfying to block out an enemy while getting away for a breather, or drop them while mid-air to cause an opponent to slam into them and fall into the depths below.

I love how seamlessly Team Rumble eases you into all of this. The tutorial is short and sweet, and it's painless to pick up characters as there's a detailed move menu, just like a fighting game. What really surprised me is the high penchant for heroics in Crash Team Rumble's minute-to-minute flow. I've seen plenty of matches where individual players can make the difference in a marked way, cleaning up an entire team or blowing a crucial cooldown to defend a base when the enemy has the fruit they need to dunk and win. Hazards and other objectives (like taking control of extra score boost platforms or grabbing neutral power-ups) mix things up constantly, where no individual match feels the same, as different things are popping at different times and different roles of different skill levels are crossing paths.

The maps are just big enough to encourage discovery and small enough to create conflict: and the in-game iconography can help you make split-second decisions, like holding a large cache of fruit until the moment another teammate captures a bonus objective, to dunk in some extra points.

[caption id="attachment_387545" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

To reiterate the looseness of the role system gimmick, you aren't fully "locked" into being a scorer, blocker, or booster, but slipping into that role will make things a little smoother. Scorers want to actually score. Blockers block other scorers, naturally. Boosters want to manipulate the match using those aforementioned activities, providing power-ups for the team and locking down scoring bonuses. Shorter cooldowns through role performance mean more opportunities for bigger plays, but you can make those plays organically.

All of this action funnels into one core mode (competitive matchmaking), with the option for private matches and "practice" featuring bots. This ensures there's one major "pool" for everyone to funnel into, and the aforementioned loop allows for a lot of variety. It's kind of a genius way to handle an online competitive game.

Thankfully, Crash Team Rumble has cross-play on day one. For a game like this, it basically needs cross-play to survive more than six months. Even so, I'm still worried about this one just from a preservation angle. A bot mode is a decent addition, but it is ostensibly a live service game, and I don't magically expect it'll become more generous as time goes on.

[caption id="attachment_387542" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

What about those live service elements?

Outside of the 20 seconds or so it takes to connect to the game after the intro, it's hard to even sniff out some of the live service portions of Crash Team Rumble. This is partly due to the fact that the base game (again, $29.99) comes with the premium pass for season 1, while the deluxe edition includes seasons 1 and 2. Those passes are standard fare, containing emotes, backpacks, skins, and so on for each character...so a Fortnite lite style pass. The progression is what I'd call "slow-ish," which makes it feel all the more pointless; but individual character progression is kind of neat, as you can level up each cast member and unlock more cosmetics on top of the pass.

Even so, the slow-going pass is antithetical to the casual nature of how matches flow, and it's simultaneously confusing and innocuous. Those elements can feel tacked on, and although future seasonal content updates and monetization is up in the air (Activision is notorious for adding more layers after the launch of several similar games), all the core content (read: characters) is tied to in-game challenges, even future characters.

[caption id="attachment_387598" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

It's a bold move to go with a premium package on top of a season pass model with a smaller release like this, but that's what we have at the moment. It's hard to predict how Crash Team Rumble ends up in six months, but I hope it's still around, and the team is able to just facilitate what is working without corporate meddling. Whether or not enough people feel like spending $30 minimum to stick around and find out is up in the air.

_{[This review is based on a retail/launch build of the game provided by the publisher, as well as beta playtime.]}

The post Review: Crash Team Rumble appeared first on Destructoid.

Back to the Little Tail Bronx

It felt like we weren’t going to see a sequel to 2021’s Fuga: Melodies of Steel. For starters, it ended rather conclusively. It also only sold modestly, and it feels like Cyberconnect has been trying unsuccessfully to get the Little Tail Bronx series to take off since Tail Concerto in 1998. Yet, here we are, with Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2.

I couldn’t be happier. The original Fuga was a surprisingly well-executed design that got a lot of mileage from what could be considered very simple mechanics. So, how do you expand on that? What can you do to improve what has already been polished to such a gloss?

Not much, I guess.

[caption id="attachment_387012" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: CyberConnect2
Released: May 11, 2023
MSRP: $39.99

Taking place one year after the events of the first game, Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 sees the children reunite. However, before they even have time to catch up with one another, an ancient evil is re-awakened, a friend of theirs is killed, and they’re left chasing a new foe. Surprisingly, even though the kids still find themselves at the wheel of the giant Metal Slug-like Taranis, the plot manages to be mostly different.

In particular, I like the way Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 improves on its cast. While the children are all still children, one year is an eternity when you’re pre-teen. They’ve all grown from their experiences during the war and now have new strengths and insecurities. Characters who I maybe didn’t love in the first game, like Jin and Wappa, are given the chance to shine anew. Likewise, two boss characters from the previous title make their way aboard the Taranis, and in the new light of their diminished status, they add a nice flavor to the happenings on the tank.

That said, the narrative still has some of the same problems as the first game. The overarching plot seems to be stretched out to accommodate character growth. This time, it has trouble focusing on any significant event. Something happens to shake things up, and then it’s quickly resolved, and we move on. It’s definitely not terrible, but it’s not as interesting as the previous story, and that one was already not spectacular, to begin with.

https://youtu.be/hydneoxIkJ0

That's a big metal slug

The gameplay is more-or-less remixed rather than changed. Each of the characters has been gutted of their old skills, and they get an entirely new set of them. Once again, they commandeer either a machine gun, grenade launch, or cannon on the Taranis, and they may have something different this time around.

There are more widespread changes. The grenade launcher, for example, is where you’d commonly find the attacks that hit multiple targets in the first game. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2, these are spread out across the machine guns and cannons. The changes don’t make the game dramatically different, but they do mean that you’ll need to adopt new strategies to succeed.

The enemies have also been tweaked. While the enemy was defeated in the previous title, you still largely fight their tanks. This (along with many other questions raised at the beginning of the game) isn’t initially addressed, but you eventually do find out why you’re fighting zombie tanks. But while they’re the same old machines of war, various mutations within them mean that they have a lot of new tricks up their sleeve. Overall, there’s more variety here, even if some of the units are quite familiar.

[caption id="attachment_387013" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Powered by a forsaken child

Perhaps the most harrowing difference is with the Soul Cannon. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel, you could chamber a child in this massive metal appendage and destroy anything in your path with a single blast of terminated innocence. However, doing so would net you one of the less satisfactory conclusions to the game. Less tragically, it would kill the child.

That wouldn’t cut it for Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2. You’ve already had one game to build up your skills, and it’s less likely you’ll need to lean on a “get out of failure-free” card. Now, if you find yourself on a losing trajectory – say, your health drops below 50% in a boss battle – the Taranis will select a child at random to load into the cannon. You then have 20 turns to finish the battle, or that child gets a one-way ticket to the other side of your opponent.

To offset this, the Taranis also has access to the Managarm, which uses children as ammunition. However, the Managarm only leaves the child injured and isn’t a guaranteed win like the Soul Cannon. It also means you don’t get experience points from the battle you used it in, but it might be better than having to scrap unrealized potential off the wall.

[caption id="attachment_387014" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Unconventional ammunition

You’ve probably figured this out already, but it’s best if you play Fuga: Melodies of Steel before moving on to the sequel. There’s a recap available if you want to know what happened in the first game, but Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 works more as a continuation of the story rather than a completely new entry in the series.

To that extent, Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 might be a bit too conservative when it comes to advancing forward. Many of the assets are completely recycled, which I don’t usually count as a bad thing, but they’re not repurposed, just reused. So, many of the stages take place in the same areas of the first game, and the backgrounds feel mostly unchanged. Aspects of the game have been touched up but otherwise left the same. I feel like the intermissions and the plumbing of ruins for loot could have been completely revamped just to give players something fresh to do, but they weren’t. They feel the same.

To be fair, I played the two games back to back and didn’t really feel bored or underwhelmed. There’s an extreme sense of deja vu in Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2, but the core gameplay still proves to have longevity beyond its simple mechanics.

I have mixed feelings about how similar it is to the previous game. For one thing, the $39.99 asking price – while reasonable when you consider the length and quality of the game – feels like a lot when held up to its contemporaries in the small-budget space. On the other hand, if cutting corners was needed just to allow the series to continue, then I’m all for it.

[caption id="attachment_387016" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Old friends

That’s the most important thing to keep in mind: Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is a continuation of the first game. While it remixes a lot of things to give you a fresh experience, nothing has been overhauled or upgraded to give you something new. If you wanted more Fuga – and who could blame you? – then that’s what you’re getting here. However, if you didn’t enjoy the first title, then there’s no hope for you here.

Yoann Gueritot, one of the directors who has now moved on to Platinum Games, has stated that Fuga is planned as a trilogy. I’m definitely on board with that, but I also kind of wish the series was doing more to earn that. A cohesive series of games is fine, but I prefer to see things evolve, expand, and reach for perfection as CyberConnect2 soldiers on. Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is complacent. It’s great, but we’ve already seen its greatness. Eventually, it’s going to need to load something new into its cannon if it wants to get its dazzle back.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

In my armor-plated womb

The Phantom Limb from Venture Bros. explained to someone that “The Mona Lisa isn’t a better painting, merely a more famous painting.” It’s a quote that is an effectively concise way of explaining that something being mainstream is not necessarily an indicator of its quality. In the realm of video games, it is particularly useful, as the hyper-commercialized nature of it ensures that the cream doesn’t always rise to the top. Year after year, my favorite games are rarely the ones that are considered the period’s “big releases,” and that isn’t because I’m a snob. Sorry, I mean, that isn’t solely because I’m a snob.

2021’s Fuga: Melodies of Steel is an example of that. I personally overlooked the game for a couple of reasons. The first is that it didn’t get a whole lot of press, and the second is that, at $39.99, it has a high price tag compared to the games it appears to be competing against. Largely, the latter reason is a combination of me not having any money and small-budget games having been undervalued by a race to the bottom in mobile, PC, and XBLIG markets.

If my meandering around the point hasn’t made it clear, I think that’s a shame. Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a wonderful RPG experiment that shouldn’t be missed.

[caption id="attachment_386955" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: CyberConnect2
Released: July 28, 2021
MSRP: $39.99

Fuga: Melodies of Steel takes place in the Little Tail Bronx (Tail Concerto, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter) universe’s world of floating continents and furries. Unconnected to the previous games in the setting, Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a thinly veiled parallel to World War 2. The country of Gasco is suddenly invaded by the Berman Empire (I’m serious), who go to work rounding people up for unknown reasons. A group of children, narrowly escaping capture, find a massive abandoned tank – the Taranis – in a cave and set out with it to save their families.

Between this and Blaster Master on NES, video games really make it seem easy to just come across buried tanks. I feel like this is a widespread childhood experience that I’m angry I missed out on.

It may sound somewhat trite, but the mix of storybook whimsy and harsh reality is one of the things that makes Fuga: Melodies of Steel so interesting. Early on, you’re presented with a mechanic that allows you to load one of the children into a cannon that allows you to instantly kill any enemy at the expense of the child. Literally, and according to lore, someone developed a giant cannon that specifically uses children as ammunition. Finally, a way to make children useful.

I can make it sound as amusing as I want, but the soul cannon, as a concept, is dark as heck. Forget a good/bad morality system, Fuga: Melodies of Steel just allows you to sacrifice a character to prevent losing progress. It’s made somewhat obvious that by using the cannon, you’re setting yourself up for a less desirable ending, but there’s always new game plus.

https://youtu.be/CbjXMMH0JzI

Rhythms of Iron

Despite setting itself up as a narrative-focused game, Fuga: Melodies of Steel isn’t super heavy with exposition. There are plenty of cutscene interruptions, but most of them are quite brief. It makes the smart choice of spreading the tale out across the entire experience so it doesn’t get too bogged down.

The gameplay itself is quite unique. You build up a cast of 12 children, field 6 of them at a time, but only three are active in battle at a time. The other three you have in the immediate wings are there as emotional support, building up a gauge based on their relationship with the current gunner ahead of them, allowing you to unleash powerful attacks based on your combination once the gauge is full.

Each child commandeers one of three types of weapon: machine gun, grenade launcher, and cannon. While these are largely stacked in the order you’d expect – machine gun is light and accurate, cannon hits hard but is less reliable, and grenade launch is an all-arounder – that’s only part of the story. Enemies all have icons on them that denote a specific weakness, but they don’t take more damage from the indicated weapon. Instead, if they have three blue icons on them, for example, hitting them three times with a machine gun delays their next attack.

It’s a lot to get into, with the children’s skills, additional ammunition types, statuses, and good old-fashioned luck playing a role. The end result, however, is a deceptively engaging layer of strategy. In RPGs, I’m used to just leaning against a few moves and largely brute-forcing everything. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel, that isn’t really an option. I had to think ahead and consider my moves. Otherwise, I’d be firing children out of a cannon.

[caption id="attachment_386956" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Juvenile artillery

Each chapter has your tank lumbering along a set path, and you simply choose which direction you take whenever it branches. Again, this is deceptively simple. Tracks are clearly labeled as “Safe, Normal, and Dangerous.” Dangerous paths will put more enemies in your way, but you’ll also collect more loot for upgrading your tank. If your tank has gone through the wringer, it might be better to choose a safer path, but it’s always tempting to embrace the danger when it means it might make things easier later on.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel’s greatest strength is making the most out of very little. You alternate between upgrading your tank and keeping the children’s spirits up, making choices on the world map, plumbing ruins for loot, and being in combat, and that’s about it from start to finish. However, because it’s so highly polished, it feels like more than enough to carry it through its 20-or-so-hour length.

Its only real vulnerabilities are in a couple of areas. The first is that the narrative isn’t that great. It’s told with care for its characters and love of its settings, but the overarching plot isn’t anything special. It’s not bad, but it’s a lot of being led from location to location with nothing substantial happening.

It also has really specific criteria for reaching the best ending. It’s something that you’re given little heads up on, and unless you’re trying to achieve it, you’ll probably miss it. Originally, this almost necessitated going through again in new game plus, but a later update relaxed this a bit. Now, if you get the worst ending, you can start again from where you’re required to start working toward a better conclusion. It’s not exactly the most heinous sin committed by a game, and I’m not sure them blatantly telling you what the requirement is would be a better solution; but if you’re set on not getting a bad ending, you may want to look up the criteria beforehand.

[caption id="attachment_386957" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

King Tiger

Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a masterclass of efficient design. A lot of breadth in gaming is achieved through padding, and a lot of depth is created through the layering of mechanics. It’s rare to see a game that achieves so much simply by polishing its core to an absolutely lustrous shine. It manages to earn its considerable longevity despite having a very tight loop. I can't help but find it admirable.

That’s not to say it’s going to appeal to everyone. Its deceptively simple gameplay won’t likely appeal to a more action-oriented and straightforward mindset. Likewise, the cute animal children might be a difficult taste to swallow for those who prefer their drama to be between hairless bags of flesh and chemicals. However, there’s a thoughtful earnestness to Fuga: Melodies of Steel that should really connect with anyone whose soul hasn’t been used as ammunition.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Fuga: Melodies of Steel appeared first on Destructoid.

Three, two, one, go!

I was a Nintendo fangirl right through the GameCube. But in 2005, I needed a PlayStation 2. How could I resist? That year saw Shadow of the Colossus, Guitar Hero, God of War, and We Love Katamari. All of them were platform exclusives, and I couldn’t pass up any. I didn’t actually like God of War, but the rest of them? Those were the halcyon days.

We Love Katamari was my introduction to the series. I had wanted to play Katamari Damacy, but again, I was a GameCube jockey. It was also at a time when I was just learning that Japan is a place that exists. My frame of reference at that time was an anime called Sexy Commando, so it would take me about a decade to realize that Japan isn’t just this isolated land from space.

What am I getting at? I don’t know. It’s probably that We Love Katamari is awesome. It took Katamari Damacy’s relatively simple concept to its terminal location, which it would continue to spin on for each subsequent game. I mean, I love Katamari Forever, but the series definitely hit its peak at We Love Katamari because it couldn’t really go anywhere new from there. So, with that, the best version of a legendary series is here in We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie.

[caption id="attachment_385667" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: MONKEYCRAFT Co. Ltd.
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Released: June 2, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

You could just tell me that Bandai Namco was doing an HD re-release of We Love Katamari, and I’d take it. What’s the price? Doesn’t matter. Gimme.

To be clear, We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie is mostly just that. Very little about it is remade, and it succeeds mostly in giving We Love Katamari some modern comforts. There is some new content in the form of levels where you play as the King of All Cosmos back when he was just a prince. However, these are largely just remixes of stages from the main game with some cosmetic differences.

More disappointingly, however, is the fact the King of All Cosmos levels don’t count for much. You don’t even get some sassy comment saying how well you did, which makes them feel unsatisfying. The King just sits there. They’re not bad, but the complete lack of feedback makes them feel tacked on.

https://youtu.be/3L1HE7qYipM

Hop on. We're going to space!

Meanwhile, the main content is still there, and it’s still great. We Love Katamari’s greatest strength was its tangible progression. As you advance through the levels, it teases you by letting you build bigger and bigger katamari. This is drawn out by stages where you focus on soaking up fireflies, but eventually, you make your way to amassing Katamari of epic proportions. It’s all fed at such a pace that it feels earned.

This is all set against a backdrop of oppressive strangeness. Are you new to Katamari and wondering what Katamari is all about? It’s about Katamari. The narrative is literally about that. Katamari Damacy was really popular, so everyone is asking the King of All Cosmos to give them more.

So, as usual, he sends his son to give the people what they want.

This is actually a slight step down from the previous game’s story, in which the King of All Cosmos gets drunk and destroys the universe. To make up for this, we’re occasionally given vignettes of the King of All Cosmos growing up. His rebellious phase, his first romance, and even his relationship with his abusive father. It’s, uh, more charming than it sounds.

[caption id="attachment_385668" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Weaponized garbage

The game itself involves rolling a ball over garbage. As you amass trash, your ball of filth grows, allowing you to suck up more refuse. There are different objectives to this, such as trying to amass fireflies.

The absolute best is one stage where you roll a sumo wrestler over food until he’s heavy enough to defeat his opponent. Humans and animals don’t count as food, but just try and tell me that it won’t become your priority to get your sumo-man big enough to absorb people. Truly, the real appeal of Katamari is to amass a wad of catastrophe to devastate the world with.

We Love Katamari Reroll+ is definitely the best way to do this. But not by a lot.

It’s in higher definition, and it runs real well. It’s less blurry. Weirdly, though, smaller objects still pop in, which is just more noticeable in high definition. I don’t know how to illustrate this anymore clearly. This is absolutely the same game. The extra content is just kind of there.

But you know what? That’s a win. We Love Katamari is still a timeless and terrific game. A spit shine is really all that it needed to get me excited to play it again. If you’ve never played it before, you definitely should. If you have, it’s everything you loved about the PS2 release but less blurry. It’s one of the few games that allows you to weaponize a sumo wrestler to absorb bystanders on the street, and that's very important.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie appeared first on Destructoid.

The gladiators from my website will crush your team like nine flabby grapes

It’s the start of the Super Mega Baseball 4 2023 season. The Internet’s Destructoid is taking the field. We’ve got a great game tonight, as fans are hoping to see their heroes eat grass. Destructoid is the home of legends, such as Timothy “Drop-Taco” Monbleau, Chris “The Other Chris” Moyse, Eric “Mystery Meat” Van Allen, and Zoey “Small Tragedy” Handley. Perhaps the fans will be treated to the sight of magic taking the mound in the form of veteran pitcher Jonathan “Gravy-Drinker” Holmes.

It’s been three years since Super Mega Baseball 3. In that time, the series’ developer, Metalhead Software, has been bought by the evil corporation, Electronic Arts. Fans are being forcibly glued to their seats as they wait to see what delicious treats insatiable greed might bring to the table. Will this be the season it catches fire? Or will the series find itself rained out and left damp?

[caption id="attachment_385321" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Super Mega Baseball 4 (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: Metalhead Software
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: June 2, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

I’m not a massive baseball fan, but I’m also not-not a baseball fan. I played it when I was younger as my parents did everything they could to tear me away from video games. When was the last time I watched a game? Probably during my trip to Japan. That stuff plays on just about every TV there.

However, I love over-the-top sports games with lots of customization. I don’t watch a lot of hockey either, (please don’t alert the Canadian government), but NHL Hitz has a steel grip on my heart. The Super Mega Baseball series has been a bastion of this. In a world where MLB: The Show is practically the only show in town, it stands apart as a series that puts fun before simulation.

While I miss the stylized caricatures of the original games, Super Mega Baseball 3 was a new high-water mark for the series. Despite this, I still had a wishlist for Super Mega Baseball 4, and being purchased by EA was not on that list. And neither were real-world baseballers.

Did anything I want get added? No. So, that’s a good way to start.

https://youtu.be/alFTKIcYsRQ

I put my homemade football on hold

Super Mega Baseball 4 is very much built on the bones of Super Mega Baseball 3. So much so that the best parts of it were already present in the previous title, while the new stuff could have just been in an update.

That’s not to say that nothing is technically or appreciatively different. For example, I feel that Super Mega Baseball 4 slides further into the sort of hokey baseball cliches that I opened this review with. You can clearly hear hecklers among the crowd. Vendors are audible in doling out over-priced food. The umpires are more animated and exude more personality, and the announcer does advertising spots between innings. These may be needless distractions to some, but when I’m fielding my own team, having an equally developed world around them enhances the atmosphere.

What I don’t appreciate is the song selection. It’s not bad, but there’s no way to toggle off tracks that I don’t like. There’s a pop-country one in there that, to me, is the equivalent to getting a bamboo splinter. Being able to manage the jukebox feels like such a common feature in sports games, that I was almost in disbelief to find that it wasn’t there in Super Mega Baseball 4.

[caption id="attachment_385325" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Your right fielder has been dead for 130 years

The engine also got upgraded, and that’s sort of a mixed bag. The shadows look a little off to me, but I appreciate the greater diversity in weather and time of day lighting. There’s something weird going on with meshes, though. Logos get stretched on the chests of players, which is extremely strange to me. I don’t remember this being a problem in Super Mega Baseball 3. There are only seven body types across male and female players. It's not like you can change the dimensions. Considering there’s so much depth to the logo editor in Super Mega Baseball 4, it’s kind of disappointing to see your work get smeared across someone’s chest.

The players have had their animations expanded. There’s a lot of personality that comes through them. You're given a lot of power in making each of your characters distinct. The level of customization available is a bit wild. However, while there are a lot of distinct faces you can choose from for your players, there’s no way to actually fine-tune them to get a better likeness.

This is most noticeable with the flaunted real-world players. While Super Mega Baseball 4 retains its whimsy by mostly focusing on retired (or deceased) legends, they’re not implemented that well. It’s obvious that they’re all created from the same tools that you’re given for your own team. So… what’s the point? If I wanted Babe Ruth on my team, I could have just created Babe Ruth myself. He bears as much resemblance to his real-world counterpart as my Chris Moyse does to the real Chris Moyse.

[caption id="attachment_385328" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

If I want you to bunt, I'll touch my belt buckle not once, not twice, but thrice

Super Mega Baseball 4 also doesn’t really fix the complaint I had since the second title, which is that there’s very little curated progression. When you create a player, you can set their stats without any limits. If you want a team with completely maxed-out stats, no one will stop you from creating one. Even if you want to be more sparing with your point distribution for the sake of challenge, it’s hard to really know where your team sits in comparison to the ones you’ll be playing against.

You can temporarily buff your players between games, but I always find it more fun to develop their skills from a plucky little team struggling to compete to an absolute powerhouse. Instead, you’re left with the responsibility of setting your own difficulty, and there are just too many ways to do that.

Ego Mode was really enough of a difficulty adjuster to begin with. This lets you tweak the in-game systems to your liking. If things are a little too hands-off and automated, you can crank your ego up. If you would rather not worry about much more than pressing the right button at the right time, that’s an option too. You can also change each facet of the game’s difficulty individually. I personally liked to crank up the challenge on pitching while keeping fielding a little more breezy. I get overwhelmed easily.

[caption id="attachment_385331" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Some of these guys have a bad attitude, Skip

The customization in Super Mega Baseball 4 is extremely expansive. I’m a bit jealous of people who have enough friends to create a custom online franchise mode. Matching up teams in a big internet bucket sounds like a great time.

When it comes down to it, Super Mega Baseball 4 is improved, but not that improved. I’m not looking to downgrade, and I kind of wish I was playing it right now instead of writing this. However, I still have a wishlist for the next installment. This one feels like such an unneeded upgrade. Most of it feels like it could have just been in a patch. The more appreciable additions weren’t must-haves, and some elements feel more rickety. I guess what I’m saying is that Super Mega Baseball 4 gets on base, but it’s definitely not a home run.

No one’s ever used that analogy before, right?

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Super Mega Baseball 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

I did not spell the title wrong

We take for granted how difficult it is to do a bad thing well, especially in video games. There are plenty of bad movies intentionally made to be fun to watch. Digital marketplaces are full of bad games made badly and good games made poorly, but creating a game that is intended to reflect bad design but is actually fun to play; that takes work.

However, with the emerging sub-genre that I like to call jank-pop, there have been better examples of it. Cruelty Squad, for example, features eye-piercingly garish colors and spaghetti-nest level design, but it winds up being fun to play with its dark but off-kilter sense of humor and deep (sometimes unintentionally broken) mechanics.

Some people take Cruelty Squad way too seriously. However, I don’t think anyone’s really going to do that with Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer, which looks to be the embodiment of video gaming’s awkward adolescence. Yet despite the fact that it is set up as a tribute to the worst circle of the late-’90s FPS modding scene, Slayers X manages to find depth and value as an extremely unconventional character exploration.

[caption id="attachment_383401" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer (PC)
Developer: Big Z Studios Inc.
Publisher: No More Robots
Released: June 1, 2023
MSRP: $16.99

If you played Hypnospace Outlaw, you’ll no doubt remember Zane. He was a teenager during that game's events and was an accurate reflection of a certain type of internet denizen that still exists today. He was a very self-centric type who mistook his alienation as a sign of being above everyone else and destined for greater things. The type who would make up a story like, “A drunk guy stabbed me at a party, so I pulled the knife out and threw it back at him.” Someone who thinks that life absolutely revolves around them.

Of course, Zane is a fictional character, but it’s totally possible to forget that.

Jay Tholen, one of the people behind Hypnospace Outlaw, obviously holds deep fascination for the Zane character. So, he went back into the Hypnospace universe and asked what it would be like if Zane had created a mod for a first-person shooter like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. What he came up with is Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer, which is simultaneously ridiculous and compellingly believable.

https://youtu.be/M3dn445UJSM

Revenge her

The story around Slayers X is that Zane’s friend finds the incomplete mod that the two had worked on together in the ‘90s, finishes it, and releases it. I find that background hard to swallow because I feel like any adult would be embarrassed by Slayers X.

The idea is that Zane (not some Gary Stu, but actually Zane himself) is some mystical warrior-hacker called an X Slayer, who is still in training but quickly shaping up to be the best there ever was. A rival group called the Psykos attack one day, kill Zane’s mom, and do away with his fellow X Slayers. So, Zane goes out for revenge because he’s the best.

I don’t know if it was specifically a millennial thing to have a phase where you think you’re due for some world-changing event to prove yourself in, but I definitely had something close. The whole setup is intensely familiar to me. I even had a notebook back when I was a kid, where I was outlining the design of a game. Not strictly a self-insert thing like Zane did, but definitely an edgy shooter that I tried to replicate in Duke Nukem 3D. Slayers X just speaks to me at a core level.

The game even takes place in an early-3D representation of Boise, Idaho. Or at least a version that exists in Hypnospace’s parallel reality. One of the things that was most interesting about Duke Nukem 3D at the time was that its environments were more based in reality, whereas games like Doom, Blake Stone, and even Quake were a lot more abstract in their approaches. As such, the idea of setting a game in a familiar place was still very novel and tantalizing.

This approach rarely translated well to gameplay, which Slayers X actually replicates. Levels have a lot of pointless exploration available, the flow is often just… not there, and the critical path through levels doesn’t feel very well-curated. Duke Nukem 3D avoided this with some of the most clever designs in FPS history, but a lot of amateur-level designers didn’t know how to replicate this. You can just browse through Duke!Zone for clear examples of this.

Slayers X deliberately lets itself fall right into this, and it’s just so, so charming.

[caption id="attachment_383402" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The trial of the deuce

Slayers X pulls off the amateur aesthetic expertly. This isn’t just in regards to the level design. Some of the texture work uses digitized and hastily altered images of (fictional) real-world graphics. Some textures have been blatantly repurposed for new contexts, like the metal interiors of ventilation shafts just being grey dirt. I’ve never seen someone make shortcuts taken by casual developers feel so deliberate and difficult.

There are many indications that betray the amateur facade, however. For one thing, the CGI cutscenes, while intentionally done poorly, wouldn’t likely have been possible for teenagers at the time. Facets of level design wouldn’t have been easy to pull off in the days of the Build Engine, such as level-over-level stage construction. This can be explained by pointing to the fact that the Hypnospace Outlaw universe has a different approach to technology.

Despite this, Slayers X still feels like a classic FPS. The weapons are fun to play with and varied (though limited), and you’re frequently fighting hordes of identical enemies. There are some innovative wrinkles (like breaking glass to get ammunition for your shotgun), but it largely plays like a ‘90s FPS, right down to the exaggerated head-bob.

[caption id="attachment_383403" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Thou truly art the final X-Slayer

Whether or not you actually appreciate the deliberately terrible design, I enjoy Slayers X for its fascinating character exploration. The whole experience is absolutely believable as the product of an edgy teenager’s imagination. Zane put a lot of his own world – fantasy and otherwise – into Slayers X. We learn a lot about him, even as we cringe at the humiliating depictions of the people from his life. We see the world through his eyes. But Zane doesn’t exist.

It digs at me in the same way that Hypnospace Outlaw did. It is a clear window into a time that I remember so well. The exploration of a fog-enveloped place in my memory is just so deeply moving that I’m not sure it would matter if the game itself was any good.

In fact, as a game, Slayers X isn’t that great. It’s not bad enough to be repulsive, but you constantly bump up against problems that, while probably being deliberate, are still problems. Its flow isn’t great, it’s incredibly short, and there aren’t a lot of enemies or weapons. But it still manages to be innocuously enjoyable.

However, as a piece of fiction, Slayers X is something both indispensable and unique. It gives me goosebumps that someone could convey such a detailed narrative by indirectly telling it through a character’s unrelated creation. It’s an elaborate lie that feels completely honest. But with lots of poop jokes.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer appeared first on Destructoid.

A bowl! I got a bowl! Good for me!

I did an escape room once as an after-work company activity. I didn’t do too badly, but I wouldn’t say I was great. At least I wasn’t like the guy who was such a poor team player that he was fired, like, the last week. What I’m saying is don’t go to an escape room with your employer. It might actually reflect on your job performance.

Playing escape room video games is a lot safer. You (probably) won’t be fired if you do poorly.

Thankfully, there are a few of those. Last year, I played Madison and Escape Academy. But you know what neither of those had? Horror. Oh, no, wait. Madison was a horror game.

Anyway, here’s The Tartarus Key.

[caption id="attachment_383067" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The Tartarus Key (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: Vertical Reach
Publisher: Armor Games Studios
Release: May 31, 2023
MSRP: $19.99

The Tartarus Key is the classic story of waking up one day in a mansion with no memory of the preceding events. It’s happened to all of us at one point or another. However, this mansion doesn’t just have a pool full of discarded alcoholic vessels, it also has a lot of strange locks on its doors that require you to solve geography problems.

You control Alex Young, the only competent person in the room. All signs point to murder, so you don’t want any part of that. Your job is to try and thwart these puzzle-creating freaks and save everyone.

https://youtu.be/gOfpEme2xMI

Lock your doors

If there’s one thing to know about The Tartarus Key, it’s exactly what I’ve already told you. It’s an escape room game. It is such an escape room game that each escape room actually only consists of a room. Maybe two rooms, but the rooms will probably be joined in some way.

It’s actually a pretty smart design choice. Some games of the puzzle-heavy adventure genre will have you collecting random items like bowls that have no immediate function, which leads to moments where you’re rubbing everything against everything, trying to find the solution. In The Tartarus Key, your inventory only exists in the one room you’re in, and everything that you can fit in your pockets has a function. It doesn’t make The Tartarus Key any easier, but it does mean that you won't waste your time with backtracking.

In terms of puzzle design, The Tartarus Key is decent, leaning on the side of good. However, it does have an edge over other games of its sub-genre: death. As you journey through the death house, you meet other characters who need help with their puzzles. If you screw up, they might lose their lives. You don’t know these people. At least one of them actively sucks. But boy does The Tartarus Key turn the pressure on.

As you approach the final solution, you’ll get messages asking, “Are you sure about this? Like, really certain? ‘Cause this character is dead if you messed up.” That’s a pretty cruel thing to ask me because I have the self-confidence of a sparrow. I will readily doubt myself if you show the slightest hint of skepticism. So, while I’m not usually jazzed about having any added stress, I must say it’s an effective way of getting drawn in.

[caption id="attachment_383066" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Death house

I’m not sure what happens if you flub the puzzles. It never happened to me since I’m just so competent at everything I do. I’m guessing you don’t get to see the true ending, but that’s maybe not so bad. I have no information on whether or not I got the actual true ending, but I’m not sure what I could have possibly done wrong. It’s just such a bizarre way to close a game like this. I’m still reeling.

On the other hand, the characters are all pretty likable. Even the guy who completely sucks is enjoyable enough.

You won't find much reason to help these characters, either. They don’t actually help, leaving Alex to solve everyone’s problems. She gives her motivations in dialogue, so it’s not completely a mystery. But you, the player, don’t really wind up with much attachment.

This is all set under some lo-fi PS1-style graphics. These are rather well executed, as The Tartarus Key conveys all its necessary information with minimal clutter. However, the one thing that bothers me is the texture and model warping effect. I normally like this little curiosity from the days when 3D images went unfiltered, but it gets a little overwhelming in The Tartarus Key. The cinematics have a habit of slowly trolleying in on characters, and their edges start flipping out like they’re pasted over eels. You can turn this effect off, so it’s sort of a non-issue, but I just wish it was done a bit more sparingly.

[caption id="attachment_383068" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

What it's supposed to be

The best thing I have to say about The Tartarus Key is that it does what it says it does. Very little about it is new or unique, but it’s well-executed, and that’s an accomplishment in its own right. It’s maybe about 4-6 hours long, which means it doesn’t drag out. Unless you get stuck on a puzzle, but that’s your problem.

Really, I think I’m going to have mostly forgotten The Tartarus Key in a few months. It just doesn’t do enough to lock itself in my memories.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: The Tartarus Key appeared first on Destructoid.

Wanna be hackers, code crackers, slackers

Remaking System Shock was always a risky proposition. Even as a fan of Nightdive Studio’s work on game preservation, I wasn’t sure they could pull it off. Normally, their approach is to simply port games to modern hardware, sometimes fully transplanting them to their Kex Engine. Fully remaking a game, though? Hm.

It’s not that System Shock isn’t in need of a remake, either. Much like many PC games of its time, it’s extremely unfriendly. It’s not necessarily a difficult game, but the learning curve isn’t just steep; it’s also covered in dish soap and broken glass. Even Nightdive’s previous System Shock: Enhanced Edition doesn’t really manage to soften its disposition.

However, System Shock’s obtuse systems also served a greater purpose. Even today, it’s a much more tactile and effective game than many modern titles. If you soften it too much and sand off all the rough edges, you run the risk of losing that and, as a result, losing what makes it special.

The solution to this problem is both elegant and decidedly Nightdive.

[caption id="attachment_382374" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

System Shock (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: Nightdive Studios
Publisher: Prime Matter
Release: May 30, 2023 (PC), TBA (Console)
MSRP: $39.99

System Shock tells the story of a  future hacker who finds his balls put in a vice by TriOptimum Corp. He’s given a deal where, if he assists a crooked executive in removing the ethical constraints on the AI of a space station, he’ll be outfitted with some military-grade cyber dealies.

What a quaint notion: AI with ethical constraints. As if.

While the hacker’s cyber-bod is healing, the AI, SHODAN, turns predictably evil and begins turning everyone on the station into cyborgs, mutants, or corpses. When the hacker wakes up, he finds himself trapped on the station with monsters and an AI that is a cross between Santa Claus and your Mom. That is to say, she’s always watching and doesn’t think too highly of you. SHODAN has various plans for humanity, and none of them are good, so beyond just escaping from Citadel Station, you should probably stop her. This is kind of your fault anyway.

https://youtu.be/gf4vp_ir4TI

What kinda chip you got in there, a Dorito?

The opening is completely changed, and it’s one of the parts that’s overhauled for the better. Rather than just watching a cutscene, you’re dropped into the hacker’s eyesockets right after the opening credits. It’s a rather detailed prologue that isn’t much different than just watching a cinematic, but it gives you more insight into the character you’re playing.

One of the biggest questions I had going into the remake was how they were going to handle the level design. First-person shooters in 1994 weren’t the best at capturing realistic environments, and while System Shock did a better job than, say, Doom, the levels are still more akin to mazes than a habitat where people live and work.

Nightdive didn’t do much to address this. There are definitely changes, especially ones that make the station feel a bit more believable, but the maze-like layout remains. There’s an article of lore that tries to explain the inhuman layouts, but it’s important to keep in mind that it’s more of a dungeon than a space station.

[caption id="attachment_382377" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

In a 32-bit world, you're a 2-bit user

For that matter, in preserving a lot of what made the original great, Nightdive didn’t touch many of the more unfriendly features. Enemies still respawn, and while I don’t have any actual hard data on this, they seem to spawn less.

More importantly, though, is that System Shock subscribes to the same revival system that the later spiritual sequel, Bioshock does. That is to say, if you die, you just respawn elsewhere on the floor. The difference is that you first need to turn off the “Cyborg Conversion” that SHODAN converted the restoration bays into. If you haven’t done that, you’ll be respawned on a previous floor if you’re lucky, but often you’ll see a traditional "game over" screen.

So, when the restoration bay is active, you just get back up and do a walk of shame back to where you died with no penalty. That may make it sound like System Shock is really easy, and that’s only partially true. System Shock makes it easy to continually make progress, but you’ll still probably see the game over notification way more than you’d like to. Often, the restoration gets disabled, especially during boss battles, so you’ll want to get acquainted with the quicksave key. The gruesome cutscene, a reproduction of the animation in the original, is unskippable. Or it was in the build I was provided.

Combat isn’t particularly difficult, but the hacker is very squishy. There are various ways you can alleviate this, like a shield, but it drains from your battery, which you might need for any of the many other activities that require the battery.

On the other hand, the AI isn’t much improved over the original, but considering all the enemies are either robots or cyborg zombies, it fits.

[caption id="attachment_382380" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Where'd you get your CPU? In a box of Crack Jacks?

Nightdive went well out of its way to preserve what made the original so genuinely great. Many of their features, like the changes to the access panel mini-games and the overhaul of cyberspace, don’t feel so much like changes as they do expansions. Those concepts fit into the world in a way that feels like an enhancement rather than an attempt to “fix” something.

Some features were pulled from System Shock 2 but probably less than you’d think. The inventory, for example, feels more like the sequel than the original, but it’s one of the few changes that give the remake a more modern twist.

Yet, all the mechanics that made the original System Shock feel more satisfying than a modern shooter are still there. It’s still one of the pioneering immersive sims, meaning it drops you into the environment, gives you a set of rules, and leaves it to you to figure things out. This can mean backtracking (more than you’ll probably like), but it also means that progress is always rewarding and feels earned.

Quite a few mechanics were given a more tactile feel to them. Picking up audio logs and keycards come with new animations that actually have a lot of personality to them. Having a sort of “presence” in the game world is sort of cornerstone of the immersive sim genre, and it’s obvious that Nightdive is aware of that and incorporated it as part of their modernized features.

[caption id="attachment_382376" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

If I ever meet you, I'll ctrl+alt+delete you

Before summarizing my experience, I feel it’s important to note that the System Shock remake has a curious aesthetic choice. Most of the textures are extremely pixelated, and originally I thought this was because of a flaw in my configuration. However, this was apparently by choice, and it’s extremely strange. I’m someone who prefers the look of classic, unfiltered textures over the blurry smudges of filtered ones, but System Shock kind of lands in an in-between place. The lighting and reflections are all detailed, but then there are pixellated textures. Not entirely unappealing, but I don’t get it.

System Shock is an experience that doesn’t lean on artificial set-piece moments to try and control its pacing. SHODAN is simply an omnipresent antagonist rather than a physical threat. Or rather, she’s constantly a physical threat as you are in her very being. It creates a flow and atmosphere that are difficult to achieve. System Shock is the perfect nexus between design and narrative choices.

Nightdive has proven once again that they fully understand what made the classics so indispensable. Their reverence for the source material pays off, as while the System Shock remake is better tailored to modern tastes, it still has everything that made it special in its 1994 release. You do have to go in with the understanding that its old bones are still there, but if you bounced off the convoluted interface of the original, you’ll have a better chance of acclimating here. It’s really just the definitive version of a classic game, and it deftly demonstrates why Nightdive is the master of preservation.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: System Shock (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

The Shockmaster

It’s a weirdly good time to be a fan of Shockman. It’s not an extensive series, consisting of three games on the PC-Engine (the Japanese version of the Turbografx-16) and one title on the SNES via its Satellaview add-on. However, we only got one of these titles in the West, which was the second game.

However, we just recently got a fan translation of the Satellaview game, and not long after that, Ratalaika has seen to publish an official translation of the first game in the series, Kaizō Chōjin Shubibinman. Choosing the name Cyber Citizen Shockman to differentiate it from the 1992 Tuborgrafx-16 title, Shockman, it feels as though it came out of nowhere. And while it’s maybe not a must-play title, I’ll always celebrate a title getting localized.

[caption id="attachment_382114" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Cyber Citizen Shockman (PS4, PS5, Switch [Reviewed], Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: Shinyuden
Publisher: Ratalaika
Released: May 19, 2023
MSRP: $5.99

While Shockman was something of a Mega Man clone, Cyber Citizen Shockman has more of a slashing element to it. Your default attack is just a sweep of your sword, and if you want to fire rainbows, you’ll need to get permission from the sheriff. That’s just a fantastic assembly of ideas.

Cyber Citizen Shockman is a story about youths fighting Darth Vader. You’re maybe a robot. You get pushed out the door by a scientist who repairs you when you die. There are dragons? It’s a bit insane.

Rather than a series of levels, you’re given a map of the city, and you can choose your path and backtrack if you want to. After clearing a level, you’ll be rewarded by a citizen for saving them and can sometimes buy gear from specific spots on the map. It’s not a bad setup, though navigating it is strangely unwieldy. Most importantly, though, you don’t have to repeat stages if you die. You can just continue where you left off.

[caption id="attachment_382116" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Johnny Turbo

Speaking of unwieldy, however, Cyber Citizen Shockman controls like a dumpster on wheels. It was initially released in 1989, and I don’t know what it was about PC-Engine games at the time, but a bunch of them attempted some really half-assed approach to momentum-based movement. So your character is slow to get up to speed and difficult to stop, which makes platforming feel like you’re controlling it with a mouse ball.

The level design doesn’t help, either. It will use excruciatingly fast platforms and ones that will just drop or move in unpredictable directions. There’s no real instant death in Cyber Citizen Shockman, but it just sucks to helplessly watch your robo-teen repeatedly bounce on a hazard because they are only capable of running jumps, and the platforming won’t accommodate this.

To make matters worse, the hit detection is just balls. You can eventually adapt by figuring out what hazards should be ducked under and which should be jumped over, but it’s a needlessly painful process. The bosses, however, good luck. You can certainly learn the pattern, but you have to be overly cautious not to bump into the air around them. I guess they’re wearing too much Axe body spray because getting anywhere near them is hazardous for your character.

[caption id="attachment_382117" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Hero of justice

The port isn’t bad. I don’t have any complaints. Weirdly, it seems to be running on the same emulation platform as the recent Ninja Jajamaru-Kun Collection. At the very least, they share extremely identical UI. I’m not sure why. While Ratalaika was involved in both products, City Connection handled Jajamaru while Shinyuden localized Cyber Citizen Shockman.

Regardless, while the Jajamaru collection had, uh, problems, Cyber Citizen Shockman doesn’t share them. Most noticeably, the CRT filter functions without completely destroying the framerate on the Switch version. I also didn’t notice any functional issues as I encountered with the bosses in one of the Jajamaru titles. These menus make me very suspicious, but I never found a problem with the port.

The supplemental material isn’t anything special. They include the instruction manual, but it wasn’t translated into English. I think it’s worth noting that Cyber Citizen Shockman is being released at an extremely reasonable $5.99. So while the recent Assault Suit Valken re-release not only included translated instructions but also a previously Japan-only guide, it was significantly more expensive at launch.

I can’t speak for everyone, and I don’t usually like to incorporate the cost into my critique, but $5.99 is generally the price I expect for a straight retro port. The fact that Ratalaika and Shiyuden not only ported the game but also translated it is enough. The manual, even not being translated, is just an appreciated extra.

[caption id="attachment_382118" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Passionate effort

On the other hand, Cyber Citizen Shockman just isn’t a very good game. It’s hardly a bad game, either, but it’s not particularly enjoyable to play. Poor hit detection and control completely overshadow any of its inventive qualities. That said, I greatly appreciate the effort that went into localizing it. Good or bad, any PC-Engine title from 1989 is going to be very niche in this part of the world, so there’s obviously a lot of passion involved in bringing it here.

I can’t exactly recommend Cyber Citizen Shockman if you’re just looking for a good platformer to play. However, if you know what you’re getting into, you can rest easy knowing that it’s a decent porting job that does exactly what it says on the package. Then again, it doesn’t cost all that much to find out for yourself, and may also encourage Ratalaika to localize more niche titles. So, I guess what I’m saying is: Yes, definitely buy Cyber Citizen Shockman.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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