Full Archive
A complete archive of every post, unsorted.
Chris, Joey, and Misfit join to talk about Nintendo. Mostly. They also talk about a lot of other stuff. But mostly Nintendo.
First impressions of how Exoprimal felt to play, as well as its potential based on the game mode available.
Exoprimal is a childhood dream game made real. It’s the figurative mashing together of plastic power armor against mouth breathing dinosaur models whose joints lack proper flexibility. The very premise is ripped right out of B-movie havens such as The Asylum, distributor of the intentionally bad Sharknado, but executed with a decently budgeted spit-shine polish that can only come out of a video game studio like Capcom. The network test’s introductory news reels and exposition indicate that the developers are self-aware enough regarding their silly, stupid, and ridiculous premise, but they execute upon it with a straight face.
It’s that Venn Diagram of dumb and cool, where a concept is so bizarre or implausible yet captures our very fantasies like no other. The sight of raptors literally raining from the sky, smashing and splashing onto the hard ground only to stand back up and charge forward in a flood of gnashing teeth and slashing claws, is simultaneously funny and yet wonderful. Despite the impossibility of a Tyrannosaurus Rex leaping into the air and performing a flying kick, the very animation and depiction activates just the right neurons in the brain to generate excitement. The logical parts of our brain clash with our most primal or childish, and in the end, it’s that youthful exuberance that wins out. Reject reality and accept the fantasy of robots fighting dinosaurs as the jovial dream that it is.
Despite this overwhelming sense of joy that the test delivered, there are still plenty of question marks left hanging over one’s head. Just how diverse will the final game modes be on release? Prior trailers, interviews, and marketing materials insinuated that there will be a story mode that follows some uniquely designed characters, but how exactly will they pull it off? Will it be a lengthy tutorial for the multiplayer disguised as a single-player campaign, or will it be a unique experience all its own? Does every game mode have a competitive element to it? What sort of monetization can players come to expect? Does Capcom plan on providing regular content updates to keep the community coming back?
There’s no doubt that Exoprimal made for a fantastic two hours of gameplay, but does it stand a chance of lasting for two-hundred hours?
The first in a series of posts analyzing Elden Ring, why it works, and where it falters, beginning with the strong foundation it has From Software's Souls lineage.
Back towards the end of March I wrote some glowing thoughts on the quality of Elden Ring. It was planned to be the first of at least two pieces, expecting to have at least a bit more to say once I had finished the game. The thoughts and opinions expressed in that post are, admittedly, a bit dishonest. They were rationalizations of things I recognized as flaws for other games, but twisted around to sound like compliments.
In other words, I wanted to try and convince myself why I’d been so light on this game despite committing crimes I’d otherwise be critical of elsewhere. The box art for Elden Ring might as well have the emblem of a recycling bin on it given just how much content is rehashed. Even Godrick, a unique character and the first of the Rune Bearers most players will likely face off against, has a clone locked away within one of the Evergaols.
There is a lot of recycled content in Elden Ring, but to simply point that out as a criticism is, I think, doing the game a disservice. This is partially due to the nature in which other games littered with recycled content are built, and by more closely looking at the manner in which Elden Ring is designed, I hope to highlight why so many more players are willing to tolerate it from From Software than they are the likes of Ubisoft or Activision.
Before we get that deep, however, we need to look at one of the earliest mixtures of praise and critique from the From Software fans themselves: core mechanics that are over a decade old.
Chris, Steve, and Joey unite once more to have a conversational grab bag, from games they have been playing to philosophical debates on appropriate open-world game design.
A look back at the first six months of 2022 and what I think of the games I've played, the games to come, and how I've been doing as a "content creator".
Once upon a time, when I was a member of forums and had a community I felt at home with (sort of), I enjoyed creating or participating in mid-year review discussions and evaluations as June gave way to July. By then E3 would be over, many of us would have had an opportunity to catch up on some older titles we fell behind on, and the releases ahead would be etched more clearly in stone and intimidating for our wallets.
Now that I am no longer a part of a forum and am looking to plaster some content onto this blog while I prepare more interesting works, I figured it’s as good a time as any to look back on what I’ve enjoyed most this year, what’s looming ahead, and how I’m generally feeling as a content creator. It might be a bit of a long read, but hopefully it’s varied and interesting enough to keep your attention.
This year has been a rather interesting one, so let’s waste no time in kicking things off.
Chris is joined by Joey, Zack, and Issuna to have the ULTIMATE discussion on Elden Ring! By which I mean we get our gripes out of the way but then sing its praises nonetheless.
A look at the final four games I tried out for Steam Next Fest 2022.
There Is No Light
I’m not sure the top-down hack-and-slash is quite for me. Perhaps if they took greater inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but these games tend to go for something else (and, more often than not, it’s that “Souls-like” tag on Steam). I cannot say that There Is No Light is without promise, but there’s just something about it that failed to hook me.
The narrative establishes plenty of intrigue and curiosity, for sure. There’s something going on in this post-apocalyptic world where humans live underground, an oppressive theocracy enforces its rules, and children are gladly offered up to a faceless, hand-shaped creature revered as a god. A horrific creature resembling a reaper and plague doctor combined has saved our protagonist and given him powers to combat this supposed god, though this supernatural Industrial Metal mascot keeps his reasons closely guarded. Narratively, there’s definitely a hook.
The combat is what gives me pause. It seems the primary gimmick is to wait until an enemy is preparing an attack before striking out and interrupting them while they’re vulnerable. The nature of enemy mobs makes such a strategy more difficult to pull off than I’m sure is intended, and as such it’s easier to just dodge, strike once, dodge away again, strike once more, and so on. Guerilla-style hit-and-run tactics are far more effective than attempting the game’s far more risky mechanics. There’s also a meter you can build up to unleash an ability, potentially releasing a health gem that will heal the player once shattered. The problem is that, even with a successful interruption, foes rarely seem vulnerable enough to make filling up that bar and unleashing an ability possible without suffering even more damage. The timing is incredibly tight and the risk-reward balances far more on the “risk” category.
Or, perhaps, I’m just not very good at the game. The top down nature also made it difficult to determine where certain hit boxes were, whether they were based on the x-axis or y. Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable enough experience with an intriguing narrative hook. It would not be the worst of the demos I’ve played, for certain. When surrounded by the promising games that had a far more enthusiastic response, however, it suffers the misfortune of seeming to lack the special ingredient each of those titles possessed.
Nonetheless, I may keep an eye out to see what shape the finished product is in. If another demo is released, I would likely check it out and see if they managed to tweak or polish the mechanics a bit further.
The impressions and thoughts on various Steam Next Fest continues with five more titles I played.
Ghost Song
There are a lot of game comparisons that came to mind when I booted up Ghost Song, each of them undoubtedly a source of inspiration. Metroid, Dark Souls, Hollow Knight; be it mechanically or atmospherically, I could tell each of these titles was informing the design of Ghost Song. However, it is the best kind of influence, for while I was reminded of each of those games, the mechanics and gameplay possess their own unique feel and atmosphere. It feels more unique and individualistic despite that combination of familiar inspirations.
I think much of this comes from the game’s combat, which is more slow and methodical due to both the enemy health pools and the protagonist’s arm cannon overheating. While the player’s rate of fire is at first rapid, it slows down as the cannon grows hot. However, that smoldering red gun barrel becomes a more powerful melee weapon, applying greater damage when striking a close-quarters blow. This developed a sort of careful rhythm to the game’s combat, where you’d focus your rapid fire on one or two enemies before carefully beating another one or two to death with the sizzling hot metal of your gun.
Checking the current feedback for the demo, it seems there are a number of complaints regarding how long it takes to kill foes. I have mixed feelings, as I am certainly not a fan of damage sponges soaking up so much weapons fire. At the same time, without those sponges, there would be no need to vary up your tactics between projectile and close-quarters melee. The demo also barely gives a taste of the modules scattered about the game world, providing the player with additional secondary fire and other boons and bonuses to customize their play style. Perhaps it would be more prudent to modify some enemy health pools while leaving others as they are, working with a scalpel instead of a chainsaw.
My only complaint was getting stuck at one point, though it’s partially my own fault for not experimenting. The dash ability the player unlocks can also be used in mid-air, though I never thought to attempt such a thing. For some reason I had assumed I could only use it while grounded, and thus found myself wandering around for several minutes without a sense of where to go. A single, additional line of information being added to the in-game explanation of the upgrade could fix any potential confusion, however.
Otherwise, Ghost Song is currently one of my favorite games to have played this Next Fest, and I was eager to venture deeper into its depths when I had reached the demo’s end.
A look at the first five games I played during the Steam Next Fest in 2022.
Last year I did not get to properly take part in Steam Next Fest, a veritable buffet of in-development indie games featuring a slew of playable demos. Part of the problem was my lacking awareness of the time limit; you only have so long before the demos become inaccessible. As a result, I have endeavored this year to set time aside to try over a dozen demos that captured my interest. Over the next few days I’ll be writing my impressions of each demo I played within the available time frame.
Note that this is not necessarily a recommendations list. While I came away feeling positive about most of the games I played, there were a few I bounced off of pretty quickly. The interest here is more in sharing my experiences with the different games I tried so that you, personally, can decide if you’d like to keep your eye on that particular title or not.
As can be expected, this series will be divided across several posts throughout this week. Please look forward to following along, and feel free to leave a comment beneath if you happened to try one of these games out yourself.
Chris, Joey, and Steve get constantly distracted while trying to discuss their thoughts on the state of Summer Games Fest in 2022.
The concluding round-up of games that personally interested me in the week-long celebration of Summer Game Fest 2022.
Read previous round-up impressions.
The Last Case of Benedict Fox
Like 9 Years of Shadows, I found myself immediately curious about The Last Case of Benedict Fox because it was a Metroidvania doing something a bit different. This game stands much further apart due to being a Cthulu-inspired period piece, of course, and is largely why I remember it more than many of the games I had seen at Microsoft’s showcase.
I must also admit that it feels a bit more fresh for an obviously Lovecraftian narrative. Our protagonist seems to have a voice haunting and guiding him through the adventure, immediately breaking from proper convention by allowing him to communicate with the unknowable. It feels far more interested in the aesthetic of Lovecraft than the actual descent into madness, though obviously it’s too early to tell either way.
Regardless, it looks to be a Metroidvania focused more on narrative and exploration than combat, and every so often those can be refreshing. I do wish I had more to say about the gameplay demonstrated, which looks to be some decently polished platforming over action. In the end, though, I’m afraid it’s the game’s style that wins me over more than the mechanics. I look forward to spinning it up on Game Pass early next year.
A glimpse at the first group of games that made some degree of impact on me during the week-long Summer Game Fest period.
Read previous round-up impressions.
It’s difficult to determine what games to outline as highlights of the show given how many of them were known quantities. Many of the unreleased games living rent free in my mind, such as Crimson Desert, DokeV, and Lies of P, were nowhere to be found. Microsoft’s first-party games in development such as Hellblade: Senua’s Saga and Avowed were also absent from the publisher’s showcase. As a result, most of the games that have stood out are primarily games I already knew about and have been following for some time.
Additionally, I was not capable of following all the showcases as they streamed this year. This left me scrambling to see what they revealed, the majority of which were outside of my wheelhouse. There are plenty of games that certainly look interesting, such as Nivalis, but I have no real interest in playing a cyberpunk-themed slice-of-life. Not outside of VA-11 Hall-A, at least.
It also doesn’t help that I’ve grown more picky as time progresses. While a game like Morbid Metal checks all the right boxes on paper, the lack of enemy flinch or proper feedback gives it a tedious, damage-sponge look. Those that read my Beta impressions of Marvel’s Avengers know that the feel of combat and tactile feedback in an action game are very important to me, and it is the one crucial ingredient this upcoming game seems to be lacking. My impressions are similar for Elsie, a Mega Man styled action platformer whose mechanics look just a tad jankier than Smelter, an indie game I overall enjoyed but found lacking in tightness of control.
This leaves me with a lot of games that caught my interest or had me curious, but aren’t really generating excitement or a desire to add to the wishlist. Nevertheless, I have been able to sift through enough trailers to pick out some highlights of this year’s Game Fest.
Our first glimpse at this year's Summer Game Fest focuses primarily on how effective the event is, whether it truly serves a purpose, analyzing the current strategies of Microsoft and Sony, and doing our best to keep our expectations of Capcom's output tempered.
It is the morning of Monday, June 6th, as I begin to cobble together these thoughts and drafts. There is a headline in which Geoff Keighly, host of Summer Games Fest and The Game Awards, warns viewers that the event will focus primarily on announced games. It is an understandable word of caution, with crazy and unfounded rumors flying left and right as eager consumers hope for some slew of colossal surprises.
This has generally been the state of things for several years now, and was something I had picked up on in Sony’s State of Play. Aside from the opening trailer for a Resident Evil 4 remake – long-rumored but never officially addressed by Capcom – every game showcased was a known quantity. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as last year’s Elden Ring reveal was for a previously announced title and yet managed to be the talk of the summer. Sometimes, the best source of marketing available is to answer a question, and for many games this year, that question is simply “what will it be like?”
It is now Monday, June 13th, a week after having written the above two paragraphs. I have deleted a page and a half of text I had written a week ago, abandoned after having been inspired to declare E3 dead. The majority of the Game Fest has concluded. Unlike last year, I’ve missed approximately half of the shows. I have not seen the Guerilla Collective showcase nor have I consciously seen anything aside from the PalWorld trailer from the Future Games Showcase. Capcom’s stream begins in less than two hours, Microsoft has an extension planned for tomorrow, Ubisoft has just scheduled a live stream focused on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Square Enix and Blizzard aim to have streams focused on Final Fantasy VII and Overwatch 2 on Thursday, respectively, and Focus Entertainment has also just announced today that A Plague Tale: Requiem won’t be getting a release date until their own stream on June 23rd.
E3 is most certainly dead, and Summer Games Fest is no festival of games.
A look back at what made the E3 of old feel special, and why that feeling cannot reasonably be captured again.
I am not reacting to the recently reiterated promise by the ESA that E3 shall resume in 2023. I am sure they will be holding an event that bears the name of E3 while Geoff Keighley and so many other companies continue to do their own thing. Last year, I spent many words lamenting the current state of E3, what it has evolved into, and what it has failed to evolve into. I also concluded that it was the Internet that had driven it to change both for better and for worse.
Despite knowing that Keighley’s Summer Game Fest was still going to occur this year and many other presentations would be happening, I had failed to muster the same type of excitement I had last May. Now that we’re approaching, there’s some degree of hype and anticipation. On the whole, however, I’m not really expecting much.
I couldn’t really put my hand on why until YouTube had suddenly recommended me this look back at E3’s 2004 showfloor. I was specifically seeking out one of Valve’s Half-Life 2 presentations when it popped up, and it led me to reliving the highlights of the 2004 press conferences of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. I was suddenly back in my College dorm room, just a couple weeks out from summer break, watching low-resolution videos and clips from the conferences over and over again in excitement.
We’ve theoretically come a long way since the early 2000’s in terms of video streaming and access to information. In fact, if you look at the Summer Game Fest schedule, we’ve never had such access to so many streams and presentations at once. There’s bound to be announcement after announcement after announcement, a veritable media blitz for the gaming consumer to drown in.
So why is it that I long for the days of low-resolution video and requiring three or four separate media players in order to watch a two minute clip that took thirty minutes to download?
My love for Nintendo's competitive shooter has been rekindled after some time away.
I’m not the most competitive of gamers. I enjoy going head-to-head with friends and strangers in competition to an extent, but I’ve never been skilled enough to regularly be a “top gamer”. The closest was during my teenage years where my brother and his friends from College would invite me to play some fighting games with them. I came off like some sort of prodigy, adapting to any new game’s systems within a few matches and becoming a top contender. I thought I was “skilled” until I began attending a university filled with fighting game fanatics that lived, ate, and breathed joysticks, frame counts, and combos. Simultaneously, my favorite modes during LAN parties of Unreal Tournament 2K4 were the PvE focused Invasion and the objective-driven Assault. Anything that counted on twitchy reflexes to stack on the kills was far less enjoyable because I would rarely break into the middle rankings.
I think Destiny 2’s competitive Crucible mode had left me feeling bitter towards any player-versus-player activity altogether. Games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe notwithstanding, I was sick of going toe-to-toe with players far more obsessed with Destiny 2 and its systems than I was, all while chasing bounties and quests that required me to stack up kills. It’s bad enough that I knew I wasn’t on top of the rankings, but to demand a specific kill-count with specific weapons is to effectively punish anyone that fails to measure up with the wannabe digital athletes that live on those maps. Crucible effectively killed my interest in anything that wasn’t player-versus-environment.
Then, on a whim, I decided to start playing Splatoon 2 on Saturday mornings. I wasn’t quite feeling the hype for its upcoming sequel yet, and I had long since abandoned it as my friends were all gaming elsewhere. Nonetheless, I wanted to brush my skills up a bit for the sequel and so decided to dip myself back into its reservoir of chromatic ink.
I can’t believe I had forgotten how much I loved this game.
