It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve played a good ol’ straightforward first-person shooter. The last one I reviewed is certainly a distant memory: that honour goes to Mothergunship in 2019, which was forgettable then and definitely hasn’t improved with time. It’s strange too, because shooters in general are a genre I tend to enjoy; I spent uncountable hours playing various Halo games in single and multiplayer as a teenager, moved on to Warframe in university, and have more modern releases like Robocop: Rogue City and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun sitting in my Steam backlog. Maybe it’s just that recently I’ve been more invested in narrative-centric (see: the several visual novels I’ve covered in the last year) and cozy games (Mika and the Witch’s Mountain and Tiny Garden both jump to mind) over the traditionally “shoot first, ask questions later” experiences of many shooters. Then again, perhaps that expectation has been clouding my judgement all this time, because while Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion is thoroughly a game about shooting stuff (I think it’s illegal to put “shoot” in your title twice and not be), it surprised me with how much of a story it actually wanted to tell.
Tag: Narrative
Lock & Key: A Magical Girl Mystery Review
I have a bit of a history with magical girl media. Growing up, whether it was due to gender expectations or just a lack of interest, I wasn’t particularly drawn to shows like Sailor Moon, though I do recall watching occasional episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura when they came on TV. In high school, though, a friend introduced me to Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Madoka Magica for short), and everything changed. Seeing a magical girl story that delved into mature subject matter (along with having stunning animation and music) was like a cosmic shift in how I perceived a genre that I had once written off as “just those silly shows about girls in frilly outfits”. I showed it to my girlfriend at the time. Hell, I showed it to my dad. I got low-key obsessed with it for a while, and even now it stands as one of my favourite anime of all time.
Battle Chef Brigade Review
The popularity of cooking shows is something that I completely understand. Despite previous discussions around my dislike of cooking, even I can appreciate the artistry that goes into prepping an expertly-crafted dish under a strict time crunch, or the schadenfreude of watching everything fall to pieces. So what would happen if you took one of TV’s most popular genres and made it so that — rather than simply collecting ingredients from a kitchen — competitors had to go out into the wilds and gather the freshest ingredients themselves? That’s a question that Battle Chef Brigade seeks to answer, and the result is a damn fine meal of a game.
A Tithe in Blood Review
It’s always challenging to go into a piece of media with preconceived notions. As a reviewer, I strive to approach each game I cover on its own merits, yet I admit it’s next to impossible to go into something truly blind. By the time I’ve looked at enough press material to determine whether or not it seems like a good fit, I’ve inevitably built up some idea in my head of what the experience will be. Plus, the very fact that I’ve determined something appears to be up my alley already means I’m going in with at least a hope – if not an expectation – that it’s something I’ll enjoy. Of course, this doesn’t preclude me from coming down hard when things don’t pan out the way I thought they might or heaping praise when they do, but at the bare minimum, it regularly puts a fear in me that I’m ill-equipped to fairly evaluate whatever game I might be looking at.
Going Under Review
Late-stage capitalism sucks. I like to think that’s not a deeply controversial statement to make, though I know there are those out there to whom such talk would be heresy. Seriously, though: it’s brought us the modern-day hellscape that is the gig economy, grift culture, and selling our privacy for the sake of convenience. Companies are increasingly unethical in their business practices, and even if you’re doing a good job, you’re at risk of getting laid off just so the execs can line their own pockets. And all the while, glitzy new Silicon Valley startups keep springing up, promising that this time they’ll make the world a better place. It’s a deeply depressing situation, and one in which it can be hard to find any sort of humour. However, with writing that deftly cycles between being severely cynical and surprisingly heartfelt, Going Under effectively satirizes the dire circumstances we all find ourselves in and even gives a bit of hope that things could get better.
Spoiled Milk
Generally speaking, games today try to be smooth, polished experiences. Easing the player in, providing room to learn the ropes and get acquainted with key characters and mechanisms, and avoiding technical hiccups are all important features in making games as enjoyable as possible to the widest audience. Certainly, I’ve been known to rain praise upon games that do these things well and criticism on those that don’t, because whether they succeed or fail, the fact of the matter is that most games are trying to do these things. This makes it all the more jarring when a game seems diametrically opposed to such ideas, not out of incompetence or inexperience, but out of a deliberate desire to make something off-putting. That’s the story with Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk (henceforth referred to as Milk Inside) and why it’s fascinated me to such an extent since playing it.
Wyrmhall: Brush and Banter Review
I find the popularity of games about work to be a bit odd. As someone with a day job that frequently drains me to the point where even fun extracurricular activities can feel like chores, it baffles me that people would want to spend their free time pretending to work at, say, a restaurant or grocery store. It makes a bit more sense for management sims; pretending to be the boss and run your own business can be an exciting and empowering glimpse into a world few will get to partake in. Yet for those where you’re a menial employee, I struggle to see the appeal of simulating the repetitive grind of a nine-to-five.
Mika and the Witch’s Mountain Review
Mika desperately needs a union rep. Her boss is awful, withholding payment at the slightest slip-up, believing the customer is always right to a harmful degree, and even telling her to smile more. It’s a depressingly toxic relationship for Mika and the Witch’s Mountain, a game that’s generally whimsical and chipper, almost to a fault. What makes it even more overt is that pretty much everyone else on the island is laid-back and supportive of Mika, even when she stumbles. It’s almost as though a more community-focused solution would be an improvement over the corporate structure of big business … I’m getting ahead of myself, though.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Review
Mental health representation in entertainment media is a bit of a thorny issue, mired as it is in all manner of problematic tropes. Horror properties in particular suffer here. Whether they’re painting the mentally ill as gibbering lunatics in insane asylums or serial killers without a semblance of a moral compass, horror books, movies, and games so often are the place where subtlety and nuance about psychological struggles goes to die.
Enter Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, a game which clearly wants to be a sympathetic, well-informed look at psychosis and how it affects people – so much so that the first names in the opening credits belong to mental health (as well as historical) consultants. And dammit, if any development team should need to front-load their consultancy credentials, it’s Ninja Theory, aka the same folks who (in this reviewer’s opinion) utterly botched their handling of slavery in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Of course, then the question becomes: is Hellblade a redemption story for Ninja Theory’s writing? The short answer is: … kinda.
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To Review
Lofi vibes have been a centrepiece of my life recently. Whether it’s booting up Spirit City: Lofi Sessions while writing, throwing on a chill playlist on Tidal while working or playing games, or just curling up on the couch with my phone and a hot beverage, I’ve been all about getting into a cozy, meditative mindset whenever possible. Perhaps it’s stress-related; working full-time as a software engineer and dealing with the current political climate isn’t exactly a recipe for low blood pressure. Or maybe it’s a general desire to feel more centred and mindful for my own well-being. Whatever the case, having Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To around to play these last few days has been a great asset, and it’s slotted itself right into my “good vibes” routine.
Olive's Game Garden 