It's that time of the year again where I am indecisive about what to talk about. And since I mostly play games, it sort of became tradition to talk about a batch of games I've played....
Astro Playroom
'Cause even after three years, the PS5 hasn't quite earned exclusive lineup to warrant purchasing over the PS4. There are only four that come to mind. One is a remake; the two others are respectively a iterative sequel and a glorified rogue like.
The outlier is Astro Playroom. Although if you're cynical, you can say Astro Playroom is Super Mario Galaxy if Sony branded over the Nintendo assets.
That said, I would be lying if I said Super Mario Galaxy was a bad game to emulate. And to its credit, it's no small feat to evoke the atmosphere and polish of one of the most well produced Triple AAA titles in the 2000s.
And to give the PS5 some credit, the innovations of this system hasn't gone unnoticed. The haptic feedbacks to this game are insane. Haptic feedback is pretty much the final frontier of gaming for me. Astro Playroom demonstrates just how further we can go than the uncreative notion of VR or Smell-O-Vision, or whatever. To name a few examples in Astro Playroom, your triggers can change in pressure depending on the action. So if you are pulling an arrow from a bow, it will simulate the effort it would take. Vibrations are more immersive, hitting different parts of the controller depending on where the vibration is located in game. This controller is essentially what the PS Move wanted to be. It only took a decade to achieve it.
Speaking of PS Move, this game's premise is a love letter to the Playstation brand. I don't have a nostalgic attachment to the systems, so it didn't have an impact on me. It was cute to see little references to classic games like Devil May Cry and Spyro.
The game itself is fine. It's derivative but effectively showcases the system. This game will lose its novelty in a number of years, but that's the nature of these types of games. It will join the ranks of Nintendo Land and Wii Play. Games that are still fun to play but aren't as mind blowing when they came out.
So that's Astro Playroom. Overall, I'm glad I don't have to review PS5 box covers. I just wish there were more exclusives. Maybe one day we will get Sly Cooper 5, Team Ico 4, and Kill Zone: More Killing.
High on Life
But enough about the complicated dilemma of ethical consumerism and death of the author nonsense, how did I think of the game? Well, I think it's fine.
I was kind of surprised this game got middling reviews. I guess Squanch games didn't bribe enough game journalists.
The most common criticism is that the humor fell flat. Some went as far as called it annoying. I found it tolerable all things considered. At its worst, it falls under the same umbrella of being very samey. It had two tricks: meta humor of either itself or gaming/narrative conventions or insecure rambling on brand from Justin Roiland's dialogue style. Part of me feels Roiland thinks he is the pioneer of this shit when this type of humor has been in games since forever. The parody and satire lacks depth or genuine exploration for modern comedic standards. The closest High on Life does to achieving genuine comedic parody is one sequence where you have to solve a mystery using an Arkham Origins style detective mode. The joke is that all the clues in each section are useless except one blatantly telegraphs the solution, but the game railroads you into scanning it regardless. Everything else boils down to "isn't it weird that ____?" Yeah High on Life, it is weird that this area looks like arena for some inevitable boss fight. That would be clever to point out if not for the fact Banjo Tooie made that joke over twenty years ago.
Fortunately for me, I was able to tolerate the pedestrian comedy. Everything else is pretty good. The combat, while a little unpolished, felt good and gives the player a lot of options. Some of the unpolished design like boss attacks feeling undodgeable or the shot gun being complete shit were more frustrating than others, but they didn't stain the entire experience. The narrative, during the few moments that took itself seriously, was surprisingly good. It's no Rick and Morty season 1 or 2 but it isn't Rick and Morty season 5 if you catch my drift.
I guess what quills my side after finishing this game is the same as South Park: The Stick of Truth. With the creative leads being outsiders in the gaming space, it's strange that the gameplay is uncharacteristically good and the story is uncharacteristically mediocre. You would think it would be the other way around. I guess the drawback of being an outsider artist is that you don't know what exactly has been done and so you make "ha ha, it's a video game" and think you're clever for it.
All in all, I thought the game was good. I had fun playing and it saved me the trouble in reviewing South Park: The Stick of Truth because they basically gave me the exact same reaction. The only difference is that only one game will piss off Twitter users if you are caught playing it.
Diddy Kong Racing
I don't know how many times I tried played this game where my reaction after playing it was "ehhh it was not really for me." I have seen countless people saying this is the preferred N64 kart racer over the amazing Mario Kart 64. I just never understood why.
That is until I saw Uncle Al's video on Diddy Kong Racing. You know it is a great gaming video when it compels you to play the game being discussed, and that was the case with this one.
It turns out. The secret ingredients to what makes Diddy Kong Racing enjoyable are twofold.
First, the drifting is very good. On top of your normal drift, you also have the brake drift that allows for tighter turns. And since the game warns you of said times when you need to drift, the game gives you more breathing room to think about positioning, when to throw items, and where to direct your kart.
The second thing is that the boost has a hidden mechanic that makes you go even faster. Apparently, if you just let go of the A button upon hitting a booster, it will sky rocket you in exchange for a little less control. I had no idea this was a thing.
The commonality between these two things are that both of these are somewhat hidden mechanics. Which, if you were a child like me, aren't going to find it important unless the game makes it apparent. You aren't encourage to use these mechanics the same way you are encourage to jump in Mario. Yet, they are so essential to making this game enjoyable.
The game is great. Do I find it better than Mario Kart 64? Fuck no. Yeah, you can laud the controls into high heaven, but Diddy Kong Racing doesn't top the personality of Mario Kart 64. The Mario branding is hard to top when it comes to spin off games. You take Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart and compare it to any similar franchise. And no matter the quality, the latter feels like shovelware. I suppose there are exceptions, but I don't think Diddy Kong Racing is one of those.
It's one of those cases where smoothing out the rough edges doesn't mean you're immediately a better game. For example, while Diddy Kong Racing has better designed stages as they utilize their controls, Mario Kart 64 is just more fun. They are so visually distinct, and the chaos of some of them are great. There are more crazy obstacles in Toad's Turnpike on Mirror Mode than all of Diddy Kong Racing combined. Yeah Diddy Kong Racing has a better single player (with bosses, extra modes, and a chill overworld) and a more balanced multiplayer with predetermined item placements and upgrade system. Mario Kart 64 is more electrifying. There is an unpredictability the items play in both singleplayer and multiplayer. You compare both games' battle mode, and Diddy Kong's clear dominant strategy of going for the homing missiles is less fun than Mario Kart's constant item box breaking for that right item.
I guess in the end it will come down to personal taste. I did find Diddy Kong Racing very enjoyable, and I'm glad I can finally click with it. It's always nice to find a new old game to love especially from the N64 catalog. I hold that system very highly.
Gorogoa
One of those games that came from this Great Indie Game Recommendation Migration was Gorogoa. And frankly, I am not even going to attempt to explain this game and how it works. You will just have to look up the description on Wikipedia.
What I will say is that Gorogoa is the ideal mobile game and reminded me of some of my favorites back in the days of Year Walk and Device 6. A short but creatively executed puzzle game whose only flaw is that I wish there was somehow more of it. And also for my phone screen to be bigger because an Iphone 8 is not cut out for this type of game. If you intend on playing this game, I think a tablet is the ideal way to play to get the full resolution of the aesthetics and fluidity of its touch screen controls.
Creative as the puzzles are. They are on the bit of the easy side. The very few I got stumped on can be easily brute forced since the amount of clues and options are limited to the level you are in. The "a-ha" moments only really happen early on only to be replaced by the blank input of sequences to complete the game. It's so clear what needs to be done almost immediately.
To its credit, with how visually confusing and overwhelming the game gets with its Inception like visuals and lack of bearings, more red herrings would have created more unintended confusion. It's impressive how intuitive the game is and how it strings you along. The art is likely the factor with strong focal points and composition teaching you the systems of the game.
And anything that feels unintuitive feels deliberate. Such as the story which is downright untranslatable on the first play through. But upon reflection, or simply a second playthrough, you can piece together a valid interpretation. It's certainly an avant-garde story but it is closer to the enjoyment of Angel's Egg than the frustration of a bad student film.
I was also surprised that this was a debut title of a fairly small team. Usually, a first title has some cracks, but this shows signs of polish right out of the gate. I better add this developer to the list and their future title that will inevitably be added to the pile.
*A quick recommendation to the Youtube channels: Amelie Doree (Visual Novels), Gaming Broductions (JRPGS), Gaming Shelf (JRPG), Get Indie Gaming, Splattercatgaming, Grimbeard (horror/gothic), and JerektheGamingDragon (FPS).
God of War Ragnarok
This leads to God of War (2018) which I loved when it came out to the point where I said it equals the original game. The story was great. And while the gameplay was rough around the edges, it was still satisfying to play.
And THAT leads to Ragnarok. And while many rightfully anticipated the game, I went in with mild hesitation. Of course, I wanted more God of War, but I knew Ragnarok could easily fall into the same trappings as God of War 2 & 3.
Now to spare you anymore buildup, Ragnarok is narratively a solid sequel to God of War (2018). The writing is fantastic. Some of the best dialogue in the Triple AAA industry. The graphics, being a Santa Monica project, are obviously some of the best in the industry. I also appreciate how little they retcon the series which would have been my first agenda if I was leading this reboot. Instead, they used the sequels as a jumping off point for Kratos arc, filled with regret and guilt. It's skillfully done both in part due to the restraint of when they explore Kratos and to Christopher Judge's performance.
That being said, Ragnarok suffers from the same sequelitis from every God of War sequel. It's just this time the problem isn't the story.
The gameplay of Ragnarok is what I would describe as obligatory. It was a problem in the first game, but it was the kind of problems that I thought would be fixed in Ragnarok. So what started as annoying but forgivable flaws are now less forgivable and even more annoying bull shit.
The Norse sequels suffer from inelegant game design that's new to the series. While I won't say the originals were masterclass in game design, one of its strong points was how lean the combat was. Everything had a point from enemy designs, the camera, and the powerups. Aside from the sex mini games, which honestly started out with narrative purpose only to be shoehorned into every sequel, the combat was mostly well designed.
The Norse sequels in almost every facet feels less thought out. The first example that everyone might point out are the RPG mechanics. And yeah, tacked on RPG mechanics that only serve to make the difficulty easier to curve while also littering the open world full of forgettable goodies, but there are other things seldom talked about. The third person camera does nothing for the combat; sometimes making it more annoying. Sure it makes the cutscenes more intimate, but the design could have used a sort of rare camera technique. I don't know if you heard of it, but it is called "moving the camera." Huh, isn't that unreal? Imagine going from the birds eye view in the old God of War games where you can see all the enemies and the bounds of the arena. Now imagine a cutscene and the camera pulls into third person to see all the hard work the developers put in the composition. It almost sounds too obvious.
Another benefit the original combat had was the enemies synergized leading to some memorable encounters. Here, aside from the occasional projectile enemy and optional superenemy, combat is more basic dodge and light attack affairs. And the only time combat is given any depth are annoying weaknesses to coax you into using new mechanics. You would think ten hours in they stop introducing new gameplay mechanics. But no, you will have a new medallion, new weapon, or doo daddy which will clog up the already messy pause menu. For how much money and effort that went into this game, you would think they spend as much of it making the pause screen from being one of the most unnavigable menus I've seen from a mainstream release.
It's really frustrating how a handful of design decisions can upend an otherwise beautiful and effortless game. I could go further, but I like to keep these reviews short. And lord knows, I don't want this review to be as padded as God of War Ragnarok itself *zing*.
