Limbo Review

I feel sorry for anyone adverse to indie games. It’s when someone has limited resources, time and money that they create some of their best work. Limbo is such a game where someone took advantage of what they had and created a wonderful piece. However, it doesn’t just stop there. Limbo also sets a new standard for puzzle platformers with its ingenious design and topnotch dedication to its presentation.

Dark.

Limbo is presented in black and white, and it’s an ingenious design choice. You play as a young boy cast into a place that lies between the land of the living and the dead, thus everything is dull. Nothing in Limbo is actually alive but nothing can really die either. It’s this reasoning that allows the player to respawn after they fail one of the many challenging puzzles. Dying is part of the experience. Decapitations, dismemberment and drowning (a classic) are only a few of the many gruesome ways to perish. Many deaths are shocking and sudden, and the fact these things are happening to a young boy give them much more of an impact.

However, Limbo is classy with how it portrays these ‘deaths.’ They’re meant to be gruesome, per say, so much as to give the player a sense of desperation in not wanting to ever see it happen again. The atmosphere of Limbo is dark as can be, and it doesn’t let up in the slightest. When there isn’t a tricky platforming section there’s a puzzle and sometimes a mixture of the two. These puzzles become increasingly challenging as Limbo progresses, but they never get too challenging. There were a few that I myself grew frustrated with, but once I realized the solution it was clear that I was at fault. Limbo makes its own rules and slowly bends them through its 3 to 4 hour run time. Learning to bend the rules yourself is necessary to overcoming Limbo’s greatest challenges, and you’ll feel like a genius doing it.

 

Arachnophobes beware.

To play Limbo right is to play it with a pair of headphones. The sound effects and soundtrack compliment the gloomy visuals perfectly. Audio cues will also be beneficial to some sections if you can hear them clearly. Despite the stellar presentation and design, one has to wonder: what’s the point? The story of the boy journeying through the hazards of Limbo is vague to say the least, and there’s no dialogue to be heard. This is a tale that must be strung together by the player as they make progress. Sharp eyes and an open mind can make for an amazing finale to the game. Otherwise, be prepared for a foray into some threads and forums in search of answers.

There are several platforms you can access Limbo on now. If there’s some chance that you missed this gem as I did, I insist you try it. If you’re sensitive to violence or an overly-dark atmosphere then I would warn you away. However, if you can get past the darkness in Limbo, I promise there’s an abundance of light to be found within its deepest recesses if you’re willing to seek it out.

 

Alien Isolation Has Changed Me

Alien Isolation has changed me. Quite a few months ago I wrote a small piece about my first impressions of the game. I stopped playing shortly after that. I swear the game is a new fear of mine. It takes me a couple hours to crawl my way through half an hour of actual progress. At the same time, it’s one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve had. My heart soars as I slip my keycard into a save point and it beeps acknowledgement of my prowess. My stomach aches as I hear the Xenomorph stomping around the hallways of the derelict station.

You would think the Xenomorph would be my biggest problem in an Alien game, but if only that were so. It’s the Worker Joes that make the chills run down my spine. I think it’s the way they talk to you as they slowly pursue you through the corridors. The fact that I can fight back against them makes it worse. The thought of them strangling me with their creepy synthetic faces filling my screen is far worse than the Xenomorph giving me a quick death.

The sparse checkpoints make things even more intense. The desperation that grows from the yearning of a saving station is almost unbearable at times. The persistent beeping they make is music to the ears. However, Alien Isolation can’t even give you that solace, as you can still be murdered while saving your progress – something that, thankfully, has yet to happen to me.

This is a common theme that creates the tension – no security. You may think you’re safe in the lockers, but eventually your Xenomorph pal will get wise to your favorite hiding spot. The save points are only a saving grace if you approach wisely. Vents may seem like a great alternate route or hideaway until the one time you’re dragged out. It’s the unforgiving nature of Alien Isolation that makes it so intense, though I’m slowly  getting used to it. Even fellow survivors give a false sense of security the first time you come across them while roaming the halls of Sevastopol. I once had a close encounter with the Xenomorph but barely made it out. Just as I thought I was safe a survivor rounded the corner ahead of me with gun drawn. I had no cover or hiding spots – just the hope that he would warn me to back off. Instead he shot me in the head, and I lost an hour of progress.

That’s probably the only issue I truly have with Alien Isolation that can’t be blamed on my own incompetence. It’s frustrating to make so much progress and then have it all for nothing. Granted, in the situation given above, I should have been using my motion tracker more efficiently. I appreciate the added tension that the limited save points give, but I think the game would still be terrifying enough even with an auto-save of some kind.

So for now I’m turning the difficulty down to easy. After browsing some forums and threads it seems that’s the way to go if I want to enjoy the story and atmosphere without the challenge of evading the Xenomorph. I thought it would take away some of the intensity, but that’s certainly not the case for me at least. The Xenomorph still comes down from the vents, and it’s still just as deadly as ever. It’s slowly becoming an old adversary rather than a terrifying new enemy – a game of chess that’s lasted hours with no sign of resolution.

I look forward to crawling my way through the rest of Alien Isolation and hoping that it helps open the door for more scary games in the future. There are so many fantastic horror games out there that I haven’t experienced because I let my fear get in the way, but that’s the whole point of a spooky game. It’s to be scared but act anyway. To face the fear and come out on top and relish in the victory. Someday I will outsmart this Xenomorph and beat Alien Isolation, and it will be one of the most satisfying victories of my gaming as a hobby.

Furi Review

Any game that can take the simplest concept and flesh it out into something remarkable has my respect. Most arcade games from yesteryear pulled it off all the time with their focus on fighting bosses. It’s in this respect that Furi takes gaming back to its roots. It’s bright, it’s fun and it’s difficult as hell.

Flashy, no?

Playing Furi is like staring at a bunch of neon lights – and I mean that in the best possible way. The vibrant color palette makes the world appealing, though the story shoots down that notion straight away. We take control of a nameless, imprisoned warrior set free from a multi-leveled prison in the sky by a mysterious character. With sword and gun in hand we fight our way through several bosses to make our escape back to Earth. This basic premise only works because of the mystery surrounding it. After the first couple of battles I began to wonder who I was and what had I done that warranted such extreme restraints. The paper thin story isn’t really built upon until the finale. Instead, the foes blocking our way are detailed through dialogue from the stranger aiding us.

That dialogue is delivered during extensive walking portions between each fight. These interludes may be a bore to some, but it’s also a way to reflect on your recent victory and embrace the satisfaction. They also provide some great views of the stellar artwork Furi possesses. If you’re restless to get to the next fight, a simple press of the “X” button will put the game on autopilot until the next challenge. While a few bosses are duds as far as difficulty, most are not to be trifled with. Combat is as simple as the premise, relying on attacking, firing your gun, dashing and parrying to overcome the odds. These few tools are all you really need, because your true weapon is adaptability. Your success in Furi hinges on your ability to observe your enemy and find their openings. This can make the game really difficult if you can’t get the hang of things. The bosses are impressively varied, though that focus on variety causes a couple disappointing fights. Some will require weaving through a bullet hell while others are more akin to a classic duel. The slow walks to the next arena build up anticipation to what the next foe will have up his or her sleeve. The stranger’s dialogue during the intermissions also help to build up expectations and backstory to these characters.

Pull off a perfectly-timed parry, and you’ll be treated to a complimentary combo for some extra damage. You’ll look good doing it too.

An interesting twist on Furi’s combat is the multiple health bars each boss possesses while you, yourself have three. For the player, these health bars are your lives. If you lose them all it’s game over, and you’ll have to start the fight from the beginning. For the boss, each health bar denotes a different phase – switching up tactics with every bar depleted. Sometimes you have to take down the same health bar twice – once in an open fight where you’re shooting and dodging, and another in an up-close melee duel. It’s a rush to play these fights that can last up to 15 minutes on your first playthrough. It can also be infuriating when you’ve spent that time fighting for your life and you get a game over screen on the boss’ last bar and you have to start from the beginning. A couple bosses took a couple days to beat, because I had to take breathers before I broke something.

The stranger’s only one of the mysteries shrouding Furi’s narrative.

Even if you’re not big on the difficulty of Furi, you can’t deny its stylish presentation. The aforementioned color palette is a feast for the eyes, and the designs on each boss is intriguing. The package is tied up in a nice little bow by the excellent soundtrack. It consists of various artists who put together an electronic soundtrack that hits all the right notes at all the right times. The story Furi so subtly tells blooms in its finale, but it’s also marred by a lackluster fight that is more frustrating than satisfying.

It’s hard to recommend Furi. It’s beautiful, challenging and fun, but the walking portions, difficulty and subtle narrative may be a turn off for some. It’s free for the month of July for Playstation + subscribers, so I highly recommend snatching it up and giving it a try. For me, it will be hard to forget the satisfying combat and beautiful design, and I’ll be jamming to Furi’s soundtrack on Spotify for weeks to come.

Tales from the Borderlands: Season 1 Review

I don’t know how Telltale keeps doing it. They just keep knocking it out of the park with their various series. I’ll admit Game of Thrones was a bit of a low point, but it was still a solid game. Tales from the Borderlands eradicates any shred of doubt I had about the developer’s ability to keep delivering great stories using the same formula and engine from the first season of The Walking Dead. They certainly can, and they certainly have.

Past games from Telltale focused on the idea of making difficult choices that will have an inevitable impact on the story. This is a dramatic concept, and as such the studio has been drawn toward serious source material to reflect that. Borderlands is as goofy and aware of itself as it is graphic. Humor is the staple of the series, and Telltale has followed suit with their own brand of humor which is largely more appealing than Gearbox’s series is known for. I’m not bashing the series, but the sense of humor (Claptrap. I’m not big on Claptrap) was a turn off for me. Telltale took a character-centered approach which could have easily fallen flat on its face if it weren’t for the (mostly) stellar writing. All of the characters (both old and new) do an exemplary job of being quirky individuals. Even the more reserved, serious characters have moments to shine and keep things light.

Meet you heroes. Two of which are you.

Tales from the Borderlands is the most self-aware game to exist. Straight from the beginning it’s made clear that this game is not taking itself too seriously and neither should you. Even the small act of skipping the credits at the end of an episode prompts text saying, “Telltale will remember that.” It’s seriously just hilarious stuff. The two characters you’ll control throughout the season (Rhys and Fiona) supply plenty of humor as a duo from Rhys’ overall incompetence and Fiona’s snarky attitude. However, Tales from the Borderlands manages to break out of that humorous mold by the tail end of the season with some seriously deep moments. The characters slowly but surely bond as the walls built from living in such a harsh world slowly crumble. It’s hard to see how decisions are affecting the game until this point, but they drive the end of the game. This creates some genuinely touching moments of which are unexpected in such a comic title.

From beginning to end, the game has no problem telling you how it is.

Segue. Telltale is still using the same engine as all their other previous titles. It’s getting a little dated, but it still gets the job done. I still wish Telltale would start using motion capture for their character models. That would make a world of difference, but it may be a budgetary issue. There are a lot of action sequences in this title in comparison to others (I haven’t played The Wold Among Us), and they’re a bit awkward to look at, but I was too busy watching for QTE’s and listening to hilarious dialogue to care. The overall presentation of the game is simply wonderful. Every episode has an opening credit scene set to some great music. A couple of them had me laughing out loud from the beginning, setting the tone for the rest of the episode. With that being said, I have to acknowledge that episode two was a bit of a dud. It wasn’t all that funny, and it was overall pretty unmemorable.

Tales from the Borderlands is graphic, memorable, hilarious, thoughtful and smart. I have to recommend this title more than any of the others that Telltale has made, and that’s saying something as I’m a huge fan of the ongoing Walking Dead series. I urge you to pick this one up if you’re a fan of Telltales’ work. It also acts as the perfect stepping on point for newcomers.

 

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Review

I didn’t get into the Uncharted series until way  after Drake’s Deception had released. If you haven’t played any of the previous games, I implore you to do so before playing Uncharted 4. Developer Naughty Dog has taken us on a journey through this series, and Uncharted 4 wraps it up in a wonderful package that simply wouldn’t be the same without the previous entries under your belt.

I honestly have no clear place to start when reviewing this masterpiece. Uncharted 4 does for action/adventure games what The Last of Us did for post apocalyptic dramas. I’m not being biased here just because The Last of Us is one of my favorites. Uncharted 4 simply soars in its presentation and execution and looks great while doing it. This is, for all intents and purposes, Nathan Drake’s last and greatest outing in the series. I won’t spoil for you exactly what that means as far as the plot, but Naughty Dog revealed that bit of information while the game was still deep in development. That naturally heightened my standards. I’m particular about endings. They make or break a story and it sucks for everyone when a great plot is fumbled by a weak finale. With that being said, I was nothing but satisfied with how Naughty Dog decided to end Nathan Drake’s story. That’s all I’ll say to avoid spoilers, but the studio has clearly learned much from their time on The Last of Us.

Epicness awaits.

That experience is evident in the gameplay as well. Stealth is a much greater factor in Uncharted 4 than it has been in any of its predecessors. You now have the ability to take out an entire group of foes without being seen, but it’s rather shallow as it depends on you hiding in tall grass and behind cover while waiting for your moment to strike. There’s no way to distract guards or silently take them out from a distance which would have been a nice touch. However, I understand why Naughty Dog chose not to flesh out the stealth aspect of the game as this is Uncharted, not The Last of Us. The latter focused heavily on using stealth to take out all your opponents and using brute force when that failed. Uncharted revolves around intense action sequences where you dive in and out of cover while firing bullets and lobbing grenades. Focusing on stealth would take some of the thrill of the fight away, so it’s cut back to compliment combat instead. Personally, I liked sneaking in and taking out a few guards to reach a vantage point before I started a fight. If things get hairy it’s easy to lose your opponents and start picking them off to level the playing field.

Combat is as tight and smooth as ever. It’s easy to slip in and out of cover (which in my experience always crumbles) while popping off shots. There’s also a handy roll that allows you to avoid gunfire when things get sketchy. I rolled a lot. I actually died more in Uncharted 4 than I did in the rest of the series combined. This is by far the most difficult entry (for me, at least) and I do wish I had played on “light” difficulty rather than “moderate” because it was frustrating when a death ripped me out of the experience. Note that I don’t think the game is too hard. I just wasn’t the best at it, and I thought it was worth mentioning. The introduction of some new mechanics, such as the grappling hook, brings some much appreciated flavor to the fight. It’s hard to describe the satisfaction of swinging through a hail of gunfire to punch a thug in the face and catch his gun as it pops up in the air. You’ll have to experience it yourself. Melee combat is also a blast because it depends on the player’s observation as much as his or her reflexes. Rather than QTE’s (or blocking) you throw punches until your opponent counters you, then you press triangle for a cool counter… counter? You know what I mean. It makes for a great moment when you’re focusing on getting out of a grapple when a guy with a grenade launcher is lumbering his way toward you.

The story of Uncharted 4 is a heartfelt one, that uses the series’  history for a huge payoff.

All of the aforementioned praises for Uncharted 4 are only amplified by the drop-dead gorgeous graphics. There have been some great looking games coming out (Witcher 3 comes to mind), but Uncharted 4 has them beat. I hadn’t installed the Photo Mode yet, but I was still capturing beautiful backdrops and moments with the Playstation capture gallery. There were many times where I wasn’t paying attention to dialogue because I was too busy admiring the scenery. Naughty Dog took advantage of the pretty graphics and took Nathan to some of the most gorgeous and varied locales seen in the series. This game looks so good it’s like playing a movie.

Just play the game. If you haven’t played any of the others, play them first. If you didn’t like those, then at least rent the fourth. It’s a heck of a game that should be experienced.

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Series Season 1 Review

Telltale games has yet to disappoint me. The first two seasons of their ongoing Walking Dead series were excellent stories of loss and survival that I just couldn’t put down. The bar was set high for Telltale’s work, and when I saw the first season of their Game of Thrones series on sale I couldn’t resist. What followed were two days of anxiety, depression and fury.

The fury wasn’t due to a flaw in the game, rather it was because of what it did right. My righteous fury was wholly focused on the incredibly unfortunate circumstances House Forrester, whose members you play as throughout the game, finds itself in. Season 1 puts you in a terrible position as you struggle to keep control of House Forrester without compromising your own integrity. You spend every episode in a corner being beaten down and humiliated if you want to avoid conflict. It’s a difficult balance to keep, and you will constantly be reprimanded by a cast of villainous characters who want nothing more than to make you take a wrong step so they can kill you off. Yes, the staple of the hit show is also prevalent here. You’ll see allies fall and sometimes even characters you’re playing as will meet an unexpected and shocking end. With each subsequent episode comes an anxiety of wondering if you’re past decisions are going to come back to haunt you.

These two are part of what makes Game of Thrones so frustrating.

Just as in The Walking Dead you’ll spend most of your time in conversation and enjoy the occasional action sequence sprinkled throughout. These action sequences are fun but easy. It also takes you out of the experience when you die and get a restart screen when just last episode your other character died and you didn’t receive such a luxury. A huge difference I never acclimated to in Game of Thrones is that nothing can be taken at face value. In The Walking Dead, if you’re notified someone will remember something you said or did, you know that means they’ve simply gained or lost a little respect or trust towards you. In Game of Thrones on the other hand, you never want anyone to remember ANYTHING. This is especially true in the portions that take place in King’s Landing, where words are almost never genuine. I feel I fumbled the grace of tongue needed for these portions, and I certainly paid a hefty price for it.

I found Game of Thrones to be a fairly ugly game–at least from a distance. It took an oil painting approach rather than a comic book aesthetic which I understand, but some of the textures are cringe-worthy. Some of the motions of the character models are incredibly awkward and distracting as well. It’s clear that Telltale didn’t use motion capture for the actors. After a while I grew accustomed to it, but it may bother others.

The game does, admittedly, look better up close.

In the end, I didn’t feel fulfilled at all by the first season of Game of Thrones. It may be because I don’t watch the show, but I found how my season ended to be incredibly depressing. Yes, I was able to gleefully murder some of that abusive cast of villains, but I had to pay a terrible price for it that I don’t think was worth it. I still look forward to season 2 which will hopefully bring forward a more hopeful story for my surviving characters and the wreckage of season one they now crawl out of. For now, I’m going to give the series’ start a 7/10 with the hopes that I’ll appreciate the seasons to come.