Last Game You Finished And Your Thoughts V3.0

I can imagine enjoying a sequel, but I don't think it can be just more of the same.

It's on the list it's on the list it's on the list... argh.  At least I've managed to get something off the list!


Yep, this is definitely a Mas game.

The gameplay is a decent enough idea (spinning the children and the timeline back and forwards to manipulate the island to get to the end with a glowing ball), hampered by the occasional silly solution (last island, penultimate puzzle) and - more crucially - the slow speed.  The game really could have done with some faster scrolling once you've scrolled past the events once already.

But of course, that would kill the ambience, and this game isn't about the gameplay: it's about the S T Y L E and S T O R Y.

The story's actually minimal, in that while you get that the constellations pertain to memories, you're not sure why until the end.  At which point you, or at least I, aren't quite sure how a lot of the game's elements linked in: the lantern, the boxes, anything but the islands themselves.  You're meant to have a bit of an epiphany, I think; as opposed to thinking, "[U-RATED FILM] told a better story about [MESSAGE] in around the same time without pretending it was a game," like I did.  (And then you get an original song over unskippable credits where the instrumentation sometimes drowns out the lyrics.)

As for the style, it's pretty enough, and has some cute and .gif-worthy set-pieces; and the game has an ATMOSPHERIC soundtrack (:= warbly notes, instantly forgettable).  And that's the problem really: the whole time I was playing it, I felt like the game was trying to be ATMOSPHERIC, to appeal to all the people who'll give it the awards it's apparently won; without actually being an enjoyable (or, if that's the wrong word, good) experience for the end user.  The gaming equivalent of Oscar-bait, if you will.  Add in the squib ending that everything builds up to, and you've got a game that isn't as magical or as deep as it thinks it is.

I suspect that maybe, like the last 'definitely a Mas game' in this thread, if the main message hits you you'll give TGB more than the 5/10 I'm giving it.

Really surprised about this one as unlike GRIS, I would have said its a neat puzzle game with a story on top not the other way around like GRIS and why it got some awards along with the likes of The Computer Game Show for instance almost gave it GOTY because it's more of a game then the normal Oscar-bait games.

Really? If I Google TGB I find, 'relaxing and contemplative audiovisual experience', 'A calm, beautiful game that rewards patience, curiosity and wonder, The Gardens Between tells a bittersweet story with no script,' 'A childhood bond reimagined as a series of elegant, time-based diorama puzzles' (bit of both), 'a pretty, bittersweet puzzle game that takes a single, simple idea and spins out a half-day's solid entertainment'... There's a lot of emphasis on the story and the style there, I'd say more so than the puzzles.

The puzzles, incidentally, get a solid /10 from me. There were clever moments, but also a lot of purple fog negotiation; and the whole thing was wrapped up in a very slow package. Like solving a good jigsaw at the bottom of a treacle vat.

I did say compared to other games like it, just read Drunka's review of GRIS that you could say has very little gameplay, where I personally thought TGB had a clever puzzle game mixed with stuff that makes GRIS, GRIS.

I would sort of compare to Thomas Was Alone but if it was a puzzle game not a platformer.

I think I fall somewhere between the two of you. The puzzling had some great moments but it could certainly have done with a speedier option in places. As for the story and atmosphere, it was alright but it didnt have me bawling my eyes out or anything.

The only verdict that matters: is it a banger - yes

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Drunkalilly wrote:

Yoku's Island Express

The Switch's other beetle-based Metroidvania. This was a sweet, fun little game. If you haven't heard already, you play as a dung beetle and knock yourself around the island with pinball flippers. Its super slick, the ball physics are satisfying but also digital enough to allow you to make necessary shots. The music and visuals are really pretty. The map was a little more confusing to me compared to most metroid-likes, but I think thats just because of the pinball mechanic and the subsequent whirling around here and there. It only clocks in at 6-8 hours for the main quest, but unlocking the whole map and polishing it off feels rewarding. It was actually quite nice to get that experience in a condensed form. Any longer would have overstayed its welcome, I think: the mechanics couldn't do much more beyond that.

10/10

Hurray for more Yoku love! I think I got through it a bit quicker than you, but I agree that the length was just right really

It only took me so long because I kept getting lost

I beat a couple of games this weekend.

Resident Evil 5

My first Resi game, which is sacrilegious according to most people I've spoken to. I had a fun time with it though, although part of that was thanks to playing it co-op with the Crumpster - I'm not sure how good it'd play relying on an AI companion for most of the game. It took a bit of getting used to having to stand still to aim, but I suppose it wouldn't feel like a Resi game without that mechanic. I do feel that the combat falls to bits in the boss battles where the fighting amounts to running away from the beastie, getting to a spot where you can hit its glowing weak spot and repeat till you win. Taking down the hordes of mooks was much more satisfying.

It does not hold up visually at all though - the washed out browns are indicative of the colour palette that so many games relied on back in the PS3/360/Wii era. It just looks ugly, these days. QTEs are a similar relic of that generation too and I'm glad they've mostly fucked off now. Oh, and the story and voice acting was utterly ridiculous, but that's par for the course for Resi from what I've gathered. 7.5/10

Steins;Gate

I've seen the anime, so the impact of the majority of the story was lost on me. Still, the new content was interesting and worth reading once I got to that point, but retreading the same story beats I'd seen in the anime was a massive slog to get to the new stuff. I found the art style to be pretty jarring coming from the anime too, but I suppose the remaster that came out this year fixes that issue by using the anime visual style instead.

If you've not seen the anime, then this is absolutely worth seeking out. The story is phenomenal and I'd love to be able to experience it for the first time. I really like the characters - most of them, at least - and the voice acting is very strong throughout with the main voice actors putting in a strong performance.

However, I'd honestly recommend the anime over this. The show does a better job of editing the storyline to its key beats and actually tells it better in my eyes as it doesn't literally reuse the same scenes several times as a story-telling device. I get that it's to tie in with the time travel storyline, but it's just boring sitting there tapping X to get to the new content again.

It's tough to score this as my opinion is so strongly coloured by having seen the anime first, so I won't bother. If you'd rather experience the story through a visual novel format and you've not seen the anime, then this is well worth playing. I'd say watch the anime instead, mind you - it's one of my favourite shows for a reason.

That's really weird - my buddy Rob and I have been playing an hour or two of Co-op Resi 5 every Saturday for the past couple of months! We'll be fighting the final boss this coming weekend. I'll wait to read your thoughts until I've put mine together. Expect to hear me quoting exquisitely dumb Albert Wesker lines on the reg from here on out, though.

Into The Breach



Now that I've done a 2 and 4 Island run along with my switch telling me I've clocked 10+ hours on this game I'm going to class this as finished. (At least for now as I plan to return when I have less of a backlog)

So, what is Into The Breach? It's a turn based tactical game with procedural generated scenarios (not one for Balla then) where you have a squad of 3 time travelling mechs that go up against Alien bugs called the Vek. The main rules of the game have you protecting civilian buildings that are attached to a power grid, this power grid also powers your mechs so if it hits zero it is game over, man. GAME OVER!

Each mission may also add various secondary objectives that entice you into making risky plays as these can give either more power for the grid or ways to upgrade your mechs. So it's a fun balancing act & is so satisfying when a risky move goes in your favour and everything seems to line up for that perfect mission but on the flipside you can feel so devastated when it doesn't. And it didn't feel satisfying on several of my first runs on normal where I couldn't even get past the first Island so I had to drop it down to easy, but surprisingly this still provided a good challenge & gives just enough breathing room so you can learn the ins and outs of the game.

There's about 8 different squads of mech to unlock and these honestly change the game up so much with all the different abilities they have and add another layer to the strategy, you can even mix and match your favourites together if you want to. My only downside is I wish this had a more linear campaign/story mode alongside what it already offers but even if you only have a passing interest in TBT games this is an absolute must have.

Without a doubt one of the best games on Switch.

Could have been worse Jay, you could have played 6 which does make the action trilogy worse than it might be.

I never heard of TBT till this week or so from you Jas.

Don’t worry, we’ll be playing 6 too

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Have you got something incriminating on Jay to make him play that?

mas wrote:

I never heard of TBT till this week or so from you Jas.

I think most just call it turn-based strategy and turn-based tactics is sub genre within that, I had a wee google just now & looking into further it just get's messy. I could be wrong calling Into the breach a TBT but I just like the sound of that name way more.

I've only just now in that post found out what the second 'T' stands for.

Got another game on the the finished pile which is Pikuniku and it's a very charming and happy little game but I think the asking price is a bit much, so I'd say wait until it's on sale.

Pikuniku is great, play the co-op levels if you can!

Not sure I'd call it great but I enjoyed my time with it.

Talking of Mas games and replaying games you love


This week was meant to be a retro week and we will do a podcast on that, yet EofGiz and Pete caved on Tuesday to play Apex Legends, they also have a few other reasons why concerning current gen.

I myself also played some Apex Legends last night after I saw it had downloaded whilst I was watching some anime but I wasn't going to leave Twin Snakes unfinished for the second time.

As I continued on with a save from 2015 to play this odd title with it being a remake of a PS1 game based on MGS2 which isn't on GameCube.

The other thing with Twin Snakes is Metal Gear fans don't seem to like it and Kojima himself doesn't either, reason Metal Gear fans don't is because it's to easy due to being in the MGS2 engine which now after playing again is crazy, sure it's easier then it was but what would have been QoL improvements in 2004 now seem ancient and would have to be improved on again, that going back now doesn't seem much different to going back to MGS.

With that said Twin Snakes or MGS as this is a 1:1 remake in terms of story is utterly brilliant, the boss fights especially mantis and the torture scene with the 4th wall breaking still seems groundbreaking in 2019.

I'd love to see MGS1 given a once over through the FOX Engine. I could see the brilliance there, but playing that was a slog at times and it was miserable to control for most of the journey.

I'd like to play The Twin Snakes at some point as I'd imagine I'd get on better with it in MGS2's engine as opposed to the PS1 version. Till then, my only exposure to the game is the ludicrous brilliance that is this cutscene.

The whole game is like that cutscene, and what I sort of meant about what I missed about Res Evil 2 with the remake.

I think you or anyone would find Twin Snakes a chore to play with it being 15 years old and very much feels it as well but when the story, the characters, boss fights are top notch still, you can look past its problems.

The First Tree

I saw this in a Nindies youtube reel and fancied the look of it. You play as a Fox moving through beautiful 3d environments doing very simple platforming and puzzle solving. The lighting and colour and sparse music are all great, the themes are nice, it all works even if it isn't super interesting.

Unfortunately the whole thing is interspersed with voice over from a really boring dude talking about his memories to his unbelievably patient girlfriend. He lays it all on super thick about his memories of his dad, how he was a dickhead as a teenager and how he had a dream about a fox which brought all these memories back. Subtle, it is not. Also, the point of all this is obvious from the start but the game treats it as a big reveal about two thirds into the story.



Anyway, it's alright. If you liked the look of it, I won't tell you not to play it. But I'm also not gonna tell anyone they have to. At the very least, check out some screenshots and videos, particularly of a couple of later levels.

I should have bought Firewatch / 10

I reckon I'll pass on that one - the animations looked clunky in the trailer I watched and something like that lives or dies by how pretty the environments and character movements are. I think that'd take me right out of it.

On a related note, have you played Firewatch Drunka? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you have.