The Last Campfire is not the type of game I expected to see from Hello Games. Coming out five years after the disastrous launch of their massive, procedurally-generated space game No Man’s Sky, The Last Campfire feels noticeably restrained in comparison. It’s a small, relatively short puzzle game with a strong emotional core that’s leagues away from the infinite universe advertised by its predecessor. Huge scope has defined Hello Games in recent times (their next game promises “a fantasy planet the size of Earth”), and The Last Campfire has anything but, making it something of an odd entry in their modern catalogue. In this case, though, I think the old adage “less is more” definitely holds true, as The Last Campfire is a wondrous little puzzler that was a joy to play from start to finish.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Review
Lego Star Wars is pure nostalgia for me. As a kid, I was obsessed with the Star Wars franchise, but since the movies were deemed too intense for little ol’ me, playing Lego Star Wars at friends’ houses was my way of experiencing the galaxy far, far away on a TV screen. I distinctly remember staying up “way too late” (it was probably only 1 am or so) working through episode one in co-op with my friend, trying to grind out levels and money to unlock cool villains like Darth Maul and, eventually, General Grievous. Back in those days, the two trilogies of films actually got released as separate games, before eventually being united in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Fifteen years and three additional films later, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a game that would have made kid-Olivia’s head explode. It’s not just the sheer breadth of content on offer, but the presence of “open world” areas allowing free-range exploration of various iconic locales. Hell, knowing when to stop and write this review has been difficult to judge, as the game’s wealth of collectibles give it a certain magnetism that keeps bringing me back, even after completing all nine episodes. That said, 61 hours of playtime at time of writing is certainly nothing to sneeze at, so let’s see how The Skywalker Saga shakes out.
The Language of Food
I don’t like to cook. It’s not that I’m unable to do it; my parents getting me to make weekly meals in high school made sure of that. I just don’t get the same level of fulfillment from it that others seem to. I understand the joy of creating something to be enjoyed by yourself and others, and cooking allows for so much experimentation and variation that the possibilities are seemingly limitless. However, it hasn’t held any appeal for me. I appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating delectable dishes, but I struggle to find the energy to do it myself, often preferring instead to use meal delivery services. I think it’s kind of sad, though, because such services remove a lot of the personality of the food from the equation; I don’t know who made it, how they did it, or even whether or not they think it’s worth eating. Food can be a language all on its own, and yet my brain constantly fights against my attempts to speak it. I think that’s what made Venba so striking to me: it showed the range of possibilities when one engages with food. Note: Full spoilers for Venba to follow.
Frogsong Review
“What makes a game wholesome?” is a thought that frequently crossed my mind while playing Frogsong. Marketed by Wholesome Games (and featured in their Wholesome Direct) in the lead-up to its release, I assumed going in that I’d be getting a cozy, low-stakes action RPG with a whole lot of cute frogs and toads. While Frogsong does fulfill that, it also has a story that gets surprisingly dark given the setting, challenging gameplay (if you want it that way), and a creepy final boss. All this combined into an experience that kept me more on my toes than the marketing prepared me for, with Frogsong using its wholesome facade as a Trojan horse to tell a heartfelt, emotional story of a land being thrown into (and rescued from) chaos.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Review
It was a weird experience going from DmC: Devil May Cry to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Despite both games being developed by Ninja Theory, Enslaved is a noticeably rougher affair, with less refined gameplay mechanisms and presentation. With Enslaved being 3 years DmC’s senior this does make sense, but it was nonetheless jarring going from fast, free-flowing combos to clunky, plodding fights that had me wondering if my controller was experiencing input lag. Perhaps it was Capcom’s heavy involvement that allowed DmC to become a diamond in the rough, but that level of polish certainly didn’t make it to Enslaved. Whatever the reasoning, Enslaved sets out with grand goals, but it unfortunately flops in nearly every regard.
DmC: Devil May Cry Review
It feels impossible to talk about DmC: Devil May Cry without mentioning the discourse surrounding its release. In what felt at the time to be a trend-chasing move, developer Ninja Theory reinvented the wise-cracking, pizza-loving, white-haired protagonist of Dante into a darker, edgier, and possibly smarmier iteration. The fan backlash was swift and immense, with the redesign being widely mocked and reviled. Then when the game came out, many fans derided the changes that were made to gameplay and generally left feeling sour. Flash forward 11 years, and I decided to dive headfirst into this mire for my first experience with the Devil May Cry series. And what I found was a game that, while flawed, was off-the-wall enough to keep me glued to the screen and thinking about it long after I finished playing.
INSIDE Review
Following up on the success of their game LIMBO, developer Playdead released INSIDE, another game in the surprisingly extensive genre of, “small child tries to make their way through a big, scary world”. A relatively straightforward puzzle platformer at its core, what makes INSIDE stand out is its gradual descent into horror. As Jacob Geller points out in his excellent video essay “Fear of Depths”, this descent is not just metaphorical, but literal; geographically impossible as it may be, the game constantly sees you travelling down, deeper and deeper, with things getting more twisted as you proceed.
Flat Heroes Review
Deja vu is a sentiment I often find cropping up around games like Flat Heroes. Much as I love minimalistic art styles, there are only so many times I can play as a monochromatic quadrilateral before starting to wonder if maybe I should be asking for more. After all, appealing as I find flat-shaded shapes, others may see the aesthetic as little more than laziness on the part of the game’s art team. And with all the titles out there that do similar things with better art, it can be tough to justify the existence of another game like Flat Heroes.
Mothergunship Review
Prior to writing this review, I spent a decent chunk of time playing Mothergunship; nine hours, to be exact. Yet I feel like I spent twice that time contemplating one simple question: why doesn’t this game work for me? I’ve played and loved fast-paced first-person shooters like High Hell. Roguelite FPSs such as Immortal Redneck have brought me countless hours of bliss. So, the mystery of Mothergunship’s mediocrity has plagued me, to the point where I had to go back and replay some Immortal Redneck to attempt to glean some fresh insight.
Russian Subway Dogs Review
As some of you may know, I’ve never really been one for streaming. I find it difficult to make the show entertaining in a way that keeps people (even my friends) engaged. It’s why my forays into the world of live-streaming have been so short-lived; there’s only so much you can stare at a viewer count of 0 before you start to get discouraged. However, if there’s one game that’s made me think about getting back into it, it’s Russian Subway Dogs. It’s been a long time since a game elicited such visceral reactions; from joy to anger, and even soul-crushing disappointment in my skills and abilities. And though it took me in excess of a year to finally sit down and write about it (thanks, spontaneous hiatus), I can safely say that I’ve enjoyed it just as much (if not more so) than I did all those months ago.
Olive's Game Garden 