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.
Tag: Skellingtons
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.
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.
The Story So Far: Conan Exiles
Releasing in early access on January 30, 2017, Conan Exiles is yet another entry in the seemingly endless “early access survival” genre. Of course, the core draw with this one is the Conan universe: savages, slaves, monsters, etc. Plus, it’s actually seeing regular updates, including the massive Frozen North expansion which was recently released for free.
The Top 10 Cutest Games From E3 2017 (GameSpew)
Video games have become increasingly dour over the last few years.
With a push towards more realistic environments, faces that are slowly crawling out of the uncanny valley, and the ever-popular greys and browns of most shooters, it’s easy to forget that video games were once primarily cartoony and colourful.
Thankfully, amidst the (admittedly gorgeous) vistas on display in games like Anthem and Forza Motorsport 7, several games slipped into E3 2017 that demonstrated the power of modern technology when it comes to creating imaginative, vibrant worlds. However, environment design can only get me so interested in a game; it’s what populates these locales that tends to truly make them shine. These are the games that had me clutching the sides of my face, ranting in all-caps to my friends, and trying not to squeal loud enough for my neighbours to hear, because OH MY GOSH DID YOU SEE THAT IT’S SO ADORABLE AND I NEED IT NOW!!!!!
The Count Lucanor Review (Cubed3)
Pulling off good horror with pixel art is difficult. Titles like Lone Survivor come to mind as somewhat recent examples of pixelated horror done right, but such games are far from the household names that Outlast, Amnesia, and even Slender have become. Part of the reason for that may be that it’s difficult to properly set up jump scares when playing from what is generally a pulled-out, third-person view; giving the player so much vision can undercut the effectiveness of such surprises. To combat this, many “bit horror” games choose the same tactic chosen by The Count Lucanor: the horror comes from the imagery and circumstances rather than their sudden presentation.
Slayaway Camp Review (Cubed3)
Video games have explored countless horror film tropes over the years: abandoned hospitals, possessed toys, and ghoulish monsters, just to name a few. Such games have, for the most part, taken themselves completely seriously, sometimes to their detriment. There’s been a drought of games that capture the spirit of schlocky, B-movie slasher films like The Evil Dead and Grindhouse. Slayaway Camp aims to fill this void with an interesting combination: the typically fast-paced thrills of the genre mixed with the methodical pacing of a puzzle game.
Immortal Redneck Review (GameSpew)
Move over, Indiana Jones. You too, Lara Croft. There’s a new tomb raider in town, and they’ve got one hell of a mouth on them.
That mouth certainly gets put to good use in Immortal Redneck, an Egyptian themed, rogue-lite first-person shooter. The titular redneck spouts countless quips as he traverses one of three pyramids, spewing everything from random expletives to Back to the Future references. Ordinarily, this would seem out of place, considering the myriad of mystical monsters in his way that would have most folks running in terror. Then again, most folks probably aren’t equipped with enough firepower to make Michael Bay shed a tear.
I’m Not Dead
I mean, the title really says it all, right? But seriously, I know that it’s been a while since I last posted. If you follow me on Twitter (@Olivigarden, for those of you that don’t know…hooray, self-promotion!), you may have seen my tweets about how everything basically went to hell and back. Well, at this point in my prolific (HA) games journalism career, I feel that it’s probably in my best interests to keep my personal and professional (HAHAHA) lives separate for the most part. Unfortunately, certain events have a way of making it so that focusing on anything (including being a functional human being) is extremely difficult. I’ll avoid going into the gory details, but since February 11, I’ve been dealing with some…ahem…distressing personal circumstances. Don’t worry, nobody died. But, well, something did.
Alice: Madness Returns Review
Alice: Madness Returns is a game that attempts to convey the realities of a descent into madness to the player, and in that regard, it is an unequivocal success. Unfortunately, that’s because it is one of the most maddening games that I’ve played recently. It’s a game that feels like it had so much effort poured into certain aspects, while others were left to waste away in irrelevance. And unfortunately, most of the latter were the elements that would make it a compelling and enjoyable game.
Olive's Game Garden 