Hollow Knight, a video game released by three-man developer Team Cherry in 2017, is having it's final free DLC expansion released later on this month, so I figured it was about time I talk about what I believe is one of the best games I've ever played.
Oh, I'm sorry, did you miss that? Yes, that three-man team made ONE OF THE BEST GAMES I'VE EVER PLAYED.
And I've played a few.
Allow me to explain what I mean in further detail.
Hollow Knight is a metroidvania, which, for those of you who may not know, is a game about platforming through a world over and over again, finding secrets and upgrades, and eventually progressing due to those upgrades. Hollow Knight follows and refines this formula, as well as adds on it's own, somewhat Dark Souls-like elements, mostly pertaining to the canonizing of you character's death and you needing to return to that spot to gain back your money and part of your "soul" meter, soul being a resource that you gain from hitting enemies with your nail.
Soul allows you to heal damage, among other things, which is necessary with your inherent fragility. Of course, you can only gain soul back by being offensive, which wraps together, alongside tight maneuverability and platforming, to form satisfying and spectacular combat. Spectacularly, face-plantingly, wake-up-your-mother-with-swearing levels of hard, hard combat. You will (if you're anything like me) die many times over, meaning you will have to go back to get your things many times over, in which something quite eerie(which will not be covered here, go play the game you cheapskate) becomes commonplace.
You see, the tight combat and platforming makes exploration itself fun, fluid, and challenging, but its the world, the aesthetic, the beautiful visual style, the tone, that makes exploration worth it. The world you explore is an ancient and dying kingdom of bugs known as Hallownest. Yes, you play as a little bug man. But this is no It's a Bug's Life. An ancient infection is poisoning the underground kingdom, turning bugs into empty husk zombies. As you explore this land, you discover various areas, such as overgrown gardens, crystalline caverns, and HORROR INFESTED SPIDER CAVERNS OH GOD. They're all beautiful(even the horror caverns) and filled with lore to find and secrets to uncover. But the world as a whole is dangerous, and somewhat somber. In fact, it would be depressing if it didn't have one thing: charming characters.
Every single character glows with charm(except Zote), and they, alongside other things, balance out this bleak and somber tone with brief moments of pure joy(except Zote). It makes the world twice as fun to explore. Every area, you can meet Cornifer, a skittish map maker, and the vendors each have character and story related to this kingdom and the infection running through it. They all give the world enough light to keep it alive(except Zote).
That's the real genius. In a metroidvania, you have to explore a world multiple times. So the developers decided to make the world and the methods of which you explore it satisfying. They took the formula and perfected it into something entirely unique and brilliant. If you've been waiting for the next big indie metroidvania, here you go. If you've just been waiting for a brilliant game to play, go pick this up, it's only $20. It's truly one of the best experiences I've ever had, and will always be the first game I point to when asked "What makes you think a game is art." Hell, I didn't even get to the charms, which change up your combat style in order to ensure combat remains fresh, nor the unique and lore filled bosses which crushed me many times over. The genuine experience that this game gives is exceptional. You would be hard pressed to find something bad about this game.
(Except Zote. Screw Zote.)
Monday, August 6, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Review: The Stanley Parable: What Fourth Wall?
The Stanley Parable is a game about a man named Stanley, pushing buttons, walking around an office for a few hours, and the impossibility of choice within a video game. If this at all sounds interesting to you go play the demo. If you have thirty minutes (or forty-five to an hour, if you decide to actually wait for your number) that you were originally going to spend reading twitter messages that you already read because face it, doing anything productive today was going to be hard anyway, play the demo. It's entertaining in it's own right, and has a meta-narrative about demos, which is appropriate for a demo. I suppose that's what meta means.
Anyway, The Stanley Parable is a very good, very funny, narrative focused game, which means it's better to not spoil the said narrative as much as possible. The demo does this by avoiding the narrative of the full game entirely, so, as I said, if your interested, go. Download it now. Even if you're vaguely interested, go do it. Play it. Have fun. Come back and read the rest of this when you're done.
Done? Done. Good. Onwards!
The Stanley Parable is a brilliantly comedic game that has made me laugh at multiple points, and hasn't ceased to entertain me. It's varied and wonderfully absurd endings may be small in number, but each is a damn trip to get to. I've unplugged phone cords and broken universes. I've jumped off of ledges to spite omnipresent voices. I literally went mad one time. It was great.
That may make it sound like it's just a maniacal romp, but it's actually not. Between the bouts of madness is a classic British comedic setup, full of clever wit and humorous tendencies. And connecting it all is a well crafted narrative about the main characters, you, as Stanley, and the Narrator, and how choice in video games is nonexistent. It's actually rather fascinating to look into, and if you enjoy a little dip into thematic ideas, this might be worth the shot.
For anyone who has played video game since they were a kid, this game will be a must buy. For anyone who enjoys game design, development, or is just looking for a funny story, the same is true. For those of you who are sticks in the mud, 1) why are you even here, and 2) yeah, you won't like it. But apparently you don't like fun.
In conclusion, for those of you looking for a funny meta-narrative about how nothing you do matters, go ahead and pick up The Stanley Parable. I guarantee that the fun just won't end.
(Until you try getting the "Go Outside" achievement. Which is, by the way, the best achievement in video game history.)
Anyway, The Stanley Parable is a very good, very funny, narrative focused game, which means it's better to not spoil the said narrative as much as possible. The demo does this by avoiding the narrative of the full game entirely, so, as I said, if your interested, go. Download it now. Even if you're vaguely interested, go do it. Play it. Have fun. Come back and read the rest of this when you're done.
Done? Done. Good. Onwards!
The Stanley Parable is a brilliantly comedic game that has made me laugh at multiple points, and hasn't ceased to entertain me. It's varied and wonderfully absurd endings may be small in number, but each is a damn trip to get to. I've unplugged phone cords and broken universes. I've jumped off of ledges to spite omnipresent voices. I literally went mad one time. It was great.
That may make it sound like it's just a maniacal romp, but it's actually not. Between the bouts of madness is a classic British comedic setup, full of clever wit and humorous tendencies. And connecting it all is a well crafted narrative about the main characters, you, as Stanley, and the Narrator, and how choice in video games is nonexistent. It's actually rather fascinating to look into, and if you enjoy a little dip into thematic ideas, this might be worth the shot.
For anyone who has played video game since they were a kid, this game will be a must buy. For anyone who enjoys game design, development, or is just looking for a funny story, the same is true. For those of you who are sticks in the mud, 1) why are you even here, and 2) yeah, you won't like it. But apparently you don't like fun.
In conclusion, for those of you looking for a funny meta-narrative about how nothing you do matters, go ahead and pick up The Stanley Parable. I guarantee that the fun just won't end.
(Until you try getting the "Go Outside" achievement. Which is, by the way, the best achievement in video game history.)
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Review: Wizard of Legend(Nintendo Switch): A Wizard-like
Wizard of Legend is the first game out of brand new game developers Contingent99(and published by good old Humble Bundle), and considering it grossed an insane 300,000 sales within it's first month after release, I think its a good step forward. But is it?
The short answer: Yes, actually. Sorry to blueball you.
Yes, Wizard of Legend is a good game. And a damn good one at that. Wizard of Legend is, in the briefest possible way to put it, a top-down, magical, combo based, make-your-own-moveset rougelite where you play as a wizard from the future. That's a lot of adjectives, so let's unpack it a little. Wizard of Legend opens up with you, a random person, cosplaying as a wizard of "olde," going to a museum about ancient trials called the "Chaos Trials." This segment serves as the tutorial, as you get handouts of arcana, cards that allow you to quickly cast spells. After you partake in a mini-trial, you come across an arcane artifact that transports you back in time to when the Chaos Trials are still happening, and then you... just enter. Yeah, there's no real explanation for your partaking in the Chaos trails, and it's kinda off putting considering that's the only thing you do in this game.
However, once you enter the trials, things smooth out. The trials consist of three separate dungeons, one fire dungeon, one water dungeon, and one earth dungeon, all put in a randomly selected order. Each one has two randomly generated levels and then a boss. Each dungeon is progressively harder, then there's a final boss, you beat him, you win. Of course, to say it that way makes it sound easy.
It isn't. It took me almost 50 runs to beat this game the first time around. But it was a good time. Every run I unlocked more options as to what arcana I brought with me, what relic(essentially passives) I brought with me. as well as what I could buy and upgrade from within the trials. I found it especially satisfying as I learned what everything did. You see, nothing you get within the chaos trials has a tooltip explaining what it does, so you have to keep it in your own brain. By the time I finally beat the game, I knew what EVERY arcana did.
Combat is fast. Real fast. Your moveset consists of four options going in to the trials, one basic spell, which serves as sort of your base attack, one dash spell to help movement as well as adding more effects, a standard spell, and a signature spell. All of these can be chosen beforehand, and you can get 2 more spells from within the trials. Each one has an element, which is better against some elements and weaker against others, and they can all be upgraded( your signature is pre upgraded) All of this means that as much as the games is about reflexes and practice, it's also about tactics. You have to think ahead about what you get, what it would be effective against, what relics to use, etcetera.
All of this can be a little frustrating when you forget what everything does after you stop playing for a while. It can interrupt your planning when you come across a relic you don't remember or an arcana that you think you need but really don't and you ruin your perfectly crafted build. In stark contrast to this, the dungeons are extremely repetitive, and not very interesting the 30th time through.
But the variation of the arcana and builds you can plan out or improvise as you go along are what sell it to me. If you want varied, fast combat, that you can pick up and play(especially on the Nintendo switch) at any point in your day and have a reliably good time, you find it in Wizard of Legend
(PS: the devs have said that they will be adding new areas as free DLC later on.)
The short answer: Yes, actually. Sorry to blueball you.
Yes, Wizard of Legend is a good game. And a damn good one at that. Wizard of Legend is, in the briefest possible way to put it, a top-down, magical, combo based, make-your-own-moveset rougelite where you play as a wizard from the future. That's a lot of adjectives, so let's unpack it a little. Wizard of Legend opens up with you, a random person, cosplaying as a wizard of "olde," going to a museum about ancient trials called the "Chaos Trials." This segment serves as the tutorial, as you get handouts of arcana, cards that allow you to quickly cast spells. After you partake in a mini-trial, you come across an arcane artifact that transports you back in time to when the Chaos Trials are still happening, and then you... just enter. Yeah, there's no real explanation for your partaking in the Chaos trails, and it's kinda off putting considering that's the only thing you do in this game.
However, once you enter the trials, things smooth out. The trials consist of three separate dungeons, one fire dungeon, one water dungeon, and one earth dungeon, all put in a randomly selected order. Each one has two randomly generated levels and then a boss. Each dungeon is progressively harder, then there's a final boss, you beat him, you win. Of course, to say it that way makes it sound easy.
It isn't. It took me almost 50 runs to beat this game the first time around. But it was a good time. Every run I unlocked more options as to what arcana I brought with me, what relic(essentially passives) I brought with me. as well as what I could buy and upgrade from within the trials. I found it especially satisfying as I learned what everything did. You see, nothing you get within the chaos trials has a tooltip explaining what it does, so you have to keep it in your own brain. By the time I finally beat the game, I knew what EVERY arcana did.
Combat is fast. Real fast. Your moveset consists of four options going in to the trials, one basic spell, which serves as sort of your base attack, one dash spell to help movement as well as adding more effects, a standard spell, and a signature spell. All of these can be chosen beforehand, and you can get 2 more spells from within the trials. Each one has an element, which is better against some elements and weaker against others, and they can all be upgraded( your signature is pre upgraded) All of this means that as much as the games is about reflexes and practice, it's also about tactics. You have to think ahead about what you get, what it would be effective against, what relics to use, etcetera.
All of this can be a little frustrating when you forget what everything does after you stop playing for a while. It can interrupt your planning when you come across a relic you don't remember or an arcana that you think you need but really don't and you ruin your perfectly crafted build. In stark contrast to this, the dungeons are extremely repetitive, and not very interesting the 30th time through.
But the variation of the arcana and builds you can plan out or improvise as you go along are what sell it to me. If you want varied, fast combat, that you can pick up and play(especially on the Nintendo switch) at any point in your day and have a reliably good time, you find it in Wizard of Legend
(PS: the devs have said that they will be adding new areas as free DLC later on.)
Monday, May 14, 2018
Tuning Fork
AM I FUNNY YET?!
Go check Of Monsters and Men. They good. They reeeeal good. Video is property Of Monsters and Men. Image is courtesy of Amazon.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Hunter's Bestiary: Doctor Who: The Weeping Angels
"The Lonely Assassins, they used to be called. No-one quite knows where they came from, but they're as old as the universe, or very nearly. And they have survived this long because they have the most perfect defense system ever evolved. They're quantum locked. They don't exist when they're being observed. The moment they are seen by any other living creature they freeze, into rock. No choice, it's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any living thing, they literally turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone. 'Course, a stone can't kill you either, but then you turn your head away. Then you blink.
And then yes it can."
And then yes it can."
The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"
Chilling, don't you think? Welcome to the first Hunter's Bestiary! This horrifying nightmare fuel that the Doctor from popular British science fiction series Doctor Who is speaking about is one of it's most famous terrors: The Weeping Angel. They're deadly, nigh invulnerable outside of time erasing attacks, and are lightning fast and inhumanely strong.
So how do you hunt one?
Outside of the numerous questions I have about your sanity, I have one more. Do you eye problems? Because if you do, you might want to track down some other prey, cause these suckers will end you. (Sort of. More on that later.) The Weeping angels are unique in all the universe. They are, in essence, a statue. If you weren't paying attention earlier, here's the recap: Angels don't exist as a living being while they're observed, and are therefore pretty much unkillable, unless you have some very indiscriminate attacks up your sleeves. Even then, these guys seem to take gunshots like they were nothing in Flesh and Stone. So good luck. The only way to truly kill these beasts is to erase them from time, cause a time paradox (not recommended), and maybe starve them.
That's how to kill them. But what about personal survival? We've already covered their ability to "quantum lock," but what else about their biology is unique? How do you put them in a situation where they are starved to death? Do they eat? Well, yes. They feed on potential time energy. When one catches you, their touch will send you back in time. This destroys the timeline where you continued to live as you were, therefore creating a timeline's corpse to feed on. That's right. Rather than eat dead flesh, these guys eat dead futures. This does mean that you, in a way, survive the encounter, and if you can get a hold of a time machine, you can return to your own time. Of course, they sometimes just snap your neck for fun, so don't take any chances.
The easiest way to survive them is to just ensure that they are observed at all times right? Well, not really. Usually, Angels hunt in cities where their kin are numerous and they can easily disguise themselves as regular statues. Or maybe the Statue of Liberty. (Also, it should be noted that Angels can animate normal statues, usually with time energy, to reproduce.) This environment and pack mentality means that they can surround you easily, making your eyes useless. However, their quantum lock is activated by all observation, not just visual observation. If you can use your ears or nose to observe stone, you are one of the lucky ones with an upper hand on these things. For the rest of us, we can still manage. The quantum lock can be activated by instinct as well, meaning if you can convince the Angels that you can observe them, you're good. Just don't trip on anything.
The other way, you might think, to observe them with minimal risk, is to use a camera. But nothing is stupider. Why? For some god-forsaken reason, the image of an Angel is an Angel in-and-of itself, meaning that taking a picture of an Angel makes a new one, as long as the image isn't broken. This also has one side-effect. If you look an Angel in the eyes, it can "infect" your visual centers in your brain, since there is an image of the angel inside your visual memory now. Once fully grown, the Angel will burst out of your The only way to stop this is to shut down your visual centers. So now you have to be blind. Don't look Angels in the eye.
There just so happens to be a very, VERY effective survival trick you can learn from this "image-is-the-real-thing" ability. Angels are vulnerable to mirrors. Why, you ask me? Because that mirror makes an image of the Angel, who then look at each other. This is how the Doctor beats them in their first debut on television(see image above). Angels can be tricked to look at each other, trapping themselves eternally. This is why they are the Lonely Assassins, the Weeping Angels. They cover their eyes, and can never be observed, even by their kin. This is their ultimate weakness.
And that's that. Sorry for such a long one, these guys are hardy. Nothing but the hardiest prey for the hardiest hunters, I suppose. Next one will be shorter, promise. Until then, farewell, good hunting, and remember:
Don't. Blink.
Thanks to the Doctor Who wiki for helping me research this article.
So how do you hunt one?
Outside of the numerous questions I have about your sanity, I have one more. Do you eye problems? Because if you do, you might want to track down some other prey, cause these suckers will end you. (Sort of. More on that later.) The Weeping angels are unique in all the universe. They are, in essence, a statue. If you weren't paying attention earlier, here's the recap: Angels don't exist as a living being while they're observed, and are therefore pretty much unkillable, unless you have some very indiscriminate attacks up your sleeves. Even then, these guys seem to take gunshots like they were nothing in Flesh and Stone. So good luck. The only way to truly kill these beasts is to erase them from time, cause a time paradox (not recommended), and maybe starve them.
That's how to kill them. But what about personal survival? We've already covered their ability to "quantum lock," but what else about their biology is unique? How do you put them in a situation where they are starved to death? Do they eat? Well, yes. They feed on potential time energy. When one catches you, their touch will send you back in time. This destroys the timeline where you continued to live as you were, therefore creating a timeline's corpse to feed on. That's right. Rather than eat dead flesh, these guys eat dead futures. This does mean that you, in a way, survive the encounter, and if you can get a hold of a time machine, you can return to your own time. Of course, they sometimes just snap your neck for fun, so don't take any chances.
The easiest way to survive them is to just ensure that they are observed at all times right? Well, not really. Usually, Angels hunt in cities where their kin are numerous and they can easily disguise themselves as regular statues. Or maybe the Statue of Liberty. (Also, it should be noted that Angels can animate normal statues, usually with time energy, to reproduce.) This environment and pack mentality means that they can surround you easily, making your eyes useless. However, their quantum lock is activated by all observation, not just visual observation. If you can use your ears or nose to observe stone, you are one of the lucky ones with an upper hand on these things. For the rest of us, we can still manage. The quantum lock can be activated by instinct as well, meaning if you can convince the Angels that you can observe them, you're good. Just don't trip on anything.
The other way, you might think, to observe them with minimal risk, is to use a camera. But nothing is stupider. Why? For some god-forsaken reason, the image of an Angel is an Angel in-and-of itself, meaning that taking a picture of an Angel makes a new one, as long as the image isn't broken. This also has one side-effect. If you look an Angel in the eyes, it can "infect" your visual centers in your brain, since there is an image of the angel inside your visual memory now. Once fully grown, the Angel will burst out of your The only way to stop this is to shut down your visual centers. So now you have to be blind. Don't look Angels in the eye.
There just so happens to be a very, VERY effective survival trick you can learn from this "image-is-the-real-thing" ability. Angels are vulnerable to mirrors. Why, you ask me? Because that mirror makes an image of the Angel, who then look at each other. This is how the Doctor beats them in their first debut on television(see image above). Angels can be tricked to look at each other, trapping themselves eternally. This is why they are the Lonely Assassins, the Weeping Angels. They cover their eyes, and can never be observed, even by their kin. This is their ultimate weakness.
And that's that. Sorry for such a long one, these guys are hardy. Nothing but the hardiest prey for the hardiest hunters, I suppose. Next one will be shorter, promise. Until then, farewell, good hunting, and remember:
Don't. Blink.
Thanks to the Doctor Who wiki for helping me research this article.
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