It’s boom time for those pesky giant bugs and angry-ass aliens, finally!
Well, there goes the neighborhood as well as any free time I was thinking of dreaming about. Playing an Earth Defense Force game is a total commitment process if you’re a longtime fan. I actually didn’t import the Japanese version because I wanted to go in totally cold (other than watching a few gameplay videos to see how it ran and if some of the trademark wonkiness was still there), so I’d say after all this time, I’m ready to be overwhelmed by this latest alien invasion from developer Sandlot.
While this one’s a PS4 exclusive, I’d gather a PC version is in the works as Sandlot did a PC port of the last EDF game. Granted, the online mode was rife with cheaters and some players teaming up with them ended up with corrupted save files thanks to hacked weapons and other stuff that made for a less than stellar experience. Hopefully, PC fans will get this at some point, but me? I’ll be perfectly happy posting YouTube videos or doing a bit of rare live streaming just to show off my skills (or lack of them, as I’m betting myself a dollar I’ll be REALLY rusty at least for a quarter of Normal mode.
Back in a bit – I need to get a few other things posted today, so it’ll be sooner than later.
Do you love challenging puzzle games with a mysterious vibe? Well, Iris.Fall ($14.99) is waiting for you with open arms to tickle your brain for a spell. Developer NEXT Studio had crafted a lovely and often deviously designed game where your brain will get quite the workout and playing at your own pace is welcome. This isn’t any sort of action or platforming game where you’ll need to worry about enemies and assorted hazards. Nope, what you have here is a well crafted gem that plays with some of those conventional elements by adding them to the game as puzzles that need to be solved in order to progress.
Not a place to lose a contact lens, that’s for sure…
After awakening from a dream, Iris follows a black cat into a dilapidated theater, traveling back and forth through a strange labyrinth of light and shadow. As the story unfolds, Iris begins to realize that everything in this theater seems to have some kind of hidden connection to herself.
The story is played out wordlessly and is a bit vague at the start, but things fall into place as you play and pay attention to each reveal as well as interact with certain objects. I won’t go into detail because the game’s more of a “play it and see where it goes” deal and it’s also a relatively brief experience that feels like a bedtime with a somewhat unsettling tone. Puzzles start out simple enough, but ramp up to be some pretty solid brain twisters that require a bit of deep thought. Most of them will have you scouring the lovely artwork looking at and for clues to progression, but some are variants on classics found in plenty of point & click adventures. Connecting wires in a circuit box or shifting parts of a puzzle inside a small box, for example, and there’s a multi-part sort of Rubik’s Cube-inspired sequence in one area that’s a cool diversion while it lasts.
Deal of the month? Try YEAR, if you want to never see daylight until next spring or summer…
Okay, thanks to a few more codes that rolled in, I’m buried up to the gills in reviews (blub, blub!). So while you’re waiting (tomorrow will be a fun day for some new and older games I’ve been zipping through at various paces), why not pretend to be me by getting your own big-ass backlog? Fanatical’s really excellent Kingslayer Bundle offers up almost $190 of PC games (via Steam) for a measly FIVE BUCKS.
Yes, you read that right. If your PC meets the specs for even the pair of older Star Wars RPGs, those along offer upwards of 40 hours of play each. (and both Knights of the Old Republic games have multiple endings, so you may end up playing longer than that). The other games also come recommended (I liked The Age of Decadence, Shadowrun: Hong Kong, STYX: Shards of Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and what little I played of Oxenfree quite a lot). Metal Slug X is of course, pure arcade fun, as is The King of Fighters XIII. The only game I haven’t played thus far is The Sims 4, but I’ve never really neen much of a fan of that series (*shocking!*).
Anyway, this lot of ten games is only going to be available for a brief period, so jump on this deal if it floats your boat. It certainly won’t sink your wallet at all, that’s for sure.
Heh, oops. I had a little router issue not long after posting yesterday that had me a bit flummoxed after several restarts and too much waiting around, but we’re back on the boat and headed somewhat upstream, whee. Anyway, back to more of what you should be playing or at least looking at with a thoughtful gaze:
Forgotton Anne (PS4/Switch/PC/Mac, $19.99): No matter what you get this one on, it needs to be bought, played and thoroughly enjoyed. If the words “playable anime” get your ears perked up, you’ll be pleased to know that developer ThroughLine Games has created exactly that, as well as a love letter to the works of Studio Ghibli. A beautiful hybrid of adventure, platform and puzzle game with a bit of detective story for good measure, it’s also (in my opinion) hands down, the absolute best game to date to come out of the Square Enix Collective program which focuses on getting more indie games out to the masses. Go download and play the PC or Switch demo (the latter is on the eShop) and you’ll see this one’s an instant classic.
In addition to a memorable lead character and well-told story, the game’s visuals, voice acting and soundtrack are all phenomenal. The addition of multiple dialog choices makes the game quite replayable because the manner in which you interact with characters or solve problems alters a few plot points or closes off some paths. This isn’t a game about fighting tons of enemies, leveling up or the usual stuff you may expect. It’s a story-driven game where you’ll appreciate the quality of the finished work as you’re drawn into the plot and memorable characters for as long as the experience lasts. I’ll go as far as to say this one is one of my favorite indies of 2018 and it should be one of yours as well.
Everywhere you look, there’s something to see that catches your eye in this game.
This is a game I’d even highly recommend non-gamers have a go at, as there’s neither a life bar to worry about nor a true Game Over state. That and with a controller, even the slightly tricky longer jumps that need to be made aren’t a total pain. Just watching Anne’s animation as she gets around is a joy, and yes, the different Forgotlings are equally impressive. While this game probably won’t get a sequel, if ThroughLine wants to do another Ghibli-inspired game, I certainly won’t stop them. Hell, I’ll be cheering them on and hoping it’s as good as or even better than this is.
Also, if this ever gets a physical edition at some point down the road, I say get it just for anything art-related that comes as part of the package. Well, the game, too, but yeah, seeing more of this gorgeousness is a thing that’s necessary in a more physical over digital manner.
To paraphrase ZZ Top: “She’s got wings… and she knows how to use them…”
Way back in 2011, I spent about five minutes with Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery on a friend’s tablet, but I liked the tiny sample I played enough to keep that memory socked away in the brain files. Seven years later, I’m playing it on the Switch and so far, it’s quite an impressive experience. This isn’t a review (yet), but more of a recommendation if you’re looking for a game that’s quirky, amusing, and yep, maybe a bit pretentious (but in a good way provided you “get” its humor). Oh, and the soundtrack by Jim Guthrie? Perfection. That and it’s a mere ten bucks, people.
It’s been quite a good year for these sorts of indie games, so I’m pretty pleased that this one’s out in the wild and seeking new players as well as those Switch owners who’ve played one of the previous versions. Go get it, I say. Review incoming in a day or two, if you feel the need to wait.
Yes, we’re playing a bit of mega-catch up here, but it’s a weird and wild season on a few fronts and staying in an entertaining mood is quite tricky when the walls and floors are moving constantly. Anyway, here’s a few quick takes and hearty Holiday Gift Guide recommendations, kinda retro games division. Buy them all if you’re into what they bring to the table:
Little Medusa (Sega Genesis/NES/SNES): Mega Cat Studios has been pumping out some truly excellent retro content for those who still own either original hardware or the means to play cart games on those newer retro consoles. Little Medusa is a tough little number that will have fans of the classic puzzler Kickle Cubicle grinning and grimacing in equal measure as they play through this colorful, challenging update to the Irem arcade and later, NES hit.
As Artemiza, a young goddess transformed into a Gorgon by the escaped Titans, you’ll need to turn enemies into stone using her steely (stony?) gaze and quickly push them into place in order to clear five tricky levels of increasing difficulty. This one works best if you’ve a trusty, well-used controller or a new one that’s super responsive. Like plenty of classics from the 8 and 16-bit era, expert players can whip through this in a lazy weekend, but the thrill of a good game is always having it handy no matter how many times you’ve beaten it, so all hail Mega Cat for getting this out in physical form at a few price points so that collector side is satisfied.
Yes, it’s going to be total shopping frenzy for some of you out there in internet land and sure, you can go nuts looking for deals and getting elbows to the forehead at the local mall if you like. Me, I’m going to just sit comfortably at home and silently drop a few fine deals in your laps and let you deal with them as you see fit. Feel free to supplement those with other deals you find while poking around and you can pretty much sleepwalk through Black Friday, Cyber Monday, International Empty Wallet Day or whatever other day you want to whip out that credit, debit or gift card. If you’re into constant deals any time of the year, a handy app such as RetailMeNot will help out in tracking all sorts of deals whenever you’ve the urge.
Does whatever a spider can? Hah! Spiders don’t make anywhere as much moolah as this game has this year, that’s for sure.
PlayStation Deals! Sony’s got a fantastic set of sales happening from now until November 26. Start here for some great deals on a new PS4 Spider-Man bundle, two different PSVR bundles (I’d go with the PSVR+ Moss/Astro Bot deal, but if you prefer Creed: Rise to Glory and Superhot VR, it’s your call) and Dual Shock 4 deals (get a few of those at that price). There’s also a Black Friday Sale on digital games and other downloadable content that should have some of you stocking up on a few titles at temporary bargain prices. Oh, and for those of you with PS Plus or those interested in renewing the service at $20 off the standard price, that $40 deal for a yearly sub is not to be missed.
If you’re going to go all in with PSVR, go with two of the best titles VR titles on the system.
There are also Black Friday-related game deals on individual digital titles on PSN as well as plenty of in-store retail deals to check out, so feel free to poke around online or even pop into that nearby retailer if you’re so inclined.
“Forget about the check – we’ll get hell to pay!” seems like a fitting caption for this image…
File this under “Now I think I’ve seen everything, I gotta play this one!” division. Headup Games and developer Morbidware are currently hard at work on a crazy indie called The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia and yep, it’s looking like a hell of a game experience (pun absolutely intended). Check out the rather astoundingly cool trailer below:
I’ll admit to laughing so hard with the concept and execution above that it took me a few minutes to realize I’m going to be VERY bad at this game. Thank goodness for that casual mode noted at the end because it’ll at least let me see more of this one than if I tried to play it normally. Oh, I’ll post the hilarious press release below the jump so you can see what you’re in for when you pick this up nest year.
December 7, 2018 is the new release date for indie developer NEXT Studio and publisher Zodiac Interactive’s Iris.Fall. While you’re waiting for this gorgeous and atmospheric puzzler, here’s a new trailer that’s still more of a tease but still manages to be too tantalizing:
While the delay is slightly disappointing, any time spent adding more polish to a game that already looks spectacular is more than welcome. Keep an eye peeled for this one next month.
Ever hold a secret in for so long that you forget about it until you find out it’s no longer a secret, yet you still clutch that secret in a death grip? Well, that’s me and this news item on Grinding Gear Games’ great Path of Exile popping up on PS4 before the end of the year.
Earlier this year I’d gotten a hint of a whisper of a whiff it was on the way, but at some point after the ecently released Xbox One version and I filed that tease away until an actual confirmation was announced. Excellent. Now, all I need to to is figure out what game to drop off my MMO list. I really have less time to play online stuff and am supposed to dislike these types of games (allegedly). But I find myself interested in a few and will try them out for a spell. PoE is a free to play (NOT pay to win) game that I messed around a bit with on Steam and liked a lot but had to stop playing because I got busy trying to put a dent in my backlog. Anyway, it looks as If I’ll need to hop into this in December and see how well the PS4 handles the game.
Path of Exile Key Features Include:
Download and play for free, but never pay-to-win
A dark and deep action RPG
Unlimited character combinations with the game’s gigantic skill tree
Combine skill gems to create unique combat strategies
Explore a dark and gritty world rendered from a fixed 3D perspective
Explore randomly generated levels for nearly infinite replayability
Craft weapons, magic items and even end-game maps to become more powerful
Cooperate or compete with thousands of other Exiles in a persistent online world
Ascend online ladders in every game mode
Back in a bit. I was awake all last night concerned about voting, but did it early, came back and passed out for a few hours (oops). Going to put on some coffee and try to work while NOT watching any election coverage so I don’t keel over from the stress.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 