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[rousingloki]

Thoughts: Nintendo VR

 Oh Nintendo, you really have outdone yourselves.

So on my last “Thoughts” topic, I explored what Nintendo has done to keep its identity of Nintendo, and how Nintendo has managed to keep it’s core philosophy alive, and to pass on the dream of Mr. Iwata in keeping games affordable, accessible, and most importantly, fun. I mentioned that I noticed all this with Nintendo Labo, and the upcoming VR kit, and it’s that VR kit that I’d like to talk to you all about.

(Note, if you want to start a discussion about this, I more than welcome it, because discussions about this sort of topic are always great to listen to. I think it’s very important to hear other perspectives, and what other people have to say. With that in mind, however; please try not to start a flame war, or attacking other people’s opinions, I did say discuss, not argue. Thanks)

So before I get into the Labo, let’s look back on a little history. Nintendo has been involved with VR, or the realm of 3D gameplay multiple times. It started back with the Famicom, with a device called: Famicom 3D System. (If you don’t care for the history portion just skip ahead 5 paragraphs)

This pair of goggles basically allowed you to have the game right in front of your face, not really making it Virtual Reality, but it was a start I suppose. To compare it to anything, would be Sega’s Segascope 3D glasses. The system was a colossal failure, and only compatible with about 7 games. It would be about 8 years before Nintendo threw their hat into the ring with another Virtual Reality project.

Skip ahead to 1995. Nintendo was dominating the 16-bit market, with their Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Or Super Famicom if you’re from Japan), and they had complete control of the handheld market with the Gameboy. Nintendo wanted an edge though, to fill a gap before the release of the Nintendo 64. Thus was born, the Virtual Boy. (Then known as VR32)

The Virtual Boy was sold as a Virtual Reality console, and it also was deemed part of Nintendo’s “Portable” line of gaming. Most use that term very loosely though because even I, someone who had a Virtual Boy as a kid, could not see this thing as anything being even close to portable. The Virtual Boy also did not boast real Virtual Reality, what it did have, was 3D screening. Using Stereoscope technology, it tricked your eyes into thinking you were seeing true 3D, which worked, but it didn’t have anything like head tracking, and the constant red and black colors, mixed with having your eyes so close to the poor screen meant eye strain, and headaches.

In the end, the Virtual Boy was a catastrophic failure from the start. It was discontinued less than a year after it was released, with only 22 games ever made for it. The Virtual Boy does have a legacy however; and that legacy was picked up in 2011, by the Nintendo 3DS.

The Nintendo 3DS was everything the Virtual Boy wasn’t: Fun. Not only did games happen for console, but it met the many goals that the Virtual Boy didn’t meet: It was portable, had better 3D, was a social console, and had an excellent line of video games made for it. The 3DS still continues today, and even though it’s hard to say if it’s gonna stick around much longer due to the domination of the Switch, the 3DS is an excellent handheld, and loved by many. Although the one thing it didn’t fulfill, was a VR type experience, which brings us to today...

The Nintendo Labo VR Kit.

Being the first “VR” style platform Nintendo has attempted in 24 years, Nintendo is bringing VR to it’s beloved platform: The Nintendo Switch.

Where to begin with this... I guess I’ll just give my first impressions based on all the pics and videos I’ve seen so far. (Here’s a link to the video Nintendo posted on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOjcbdAU5Gw&t=2s)

So from just the announcement, before a video was even in place, I was immediately excited. I’ve bought every single Labo kit before this, and each one has not disappointed. As someone who’s involved very deeply with STEM, this type of kit is perfect for those looking to get interested in that sort of field, while also having fun, and learning at the same time. I don’t look at the VR as a plaything in the traditional sense, while I do want to have some fun with it, and see what direction Nintendo is taking with it, I’m mostly interested in how everything works, and why everything works about it.

(This is why I will die alone)

When it comes to the games, they’re honestly the least interesting part of the whole experience. While some games (e.g. Piano Studio in the Variety Kit, Adventure in the Vehicle Kit) do have some pull and keep me a bit more interested, the most fun part I’ve had is building them. Anyone who’s played with Lego’s, Bionicle, Gundams, or anything that requires any sort of building, and enjoys that aspect the most, would be absolutely delighted by how satisfying it is to see these creations come to life with each sheet of cardboard.

And once you’ve built them, even if the game doesn’t stay interesting for very long, there’s something very exciting about seeing the Labo work once you start playing the game. The actual reeling in of a fish on the fishing rod, listening to it actually make sounds was something that made me act like a 6 year old kid going fishing with my dad for the first time.

Once you’ve built, and played with the Toy-Cons, you can learn everything there is to know about them.

Ranging from just learning about the Nintendo Switch Hardware on its own, from the Screen to the Joy-Cons, to the actual Labo creations themselves. You can see how the games work, how the Nintendo Switch system is involved, and some general knowledge like fixing the labos is included here as well. As well as how to make your Labo your own, giving customization tips, and what NOT to do if you want to preserve the life of your Labo.

Of course once you’ve learned everything, you can open up the Toy-Con Garage and make your own creations, make your own Labo’s to play with, now that you have the knowledge and tools to make them. It’s what makes the Labo near infinitely re-playable. Ranging from simple games, to instruments, if you have the imagination, I’m sure you can find a way to build it.

After having said all that, let’s get back into the VR kit itself. The VR Kit comes in two different flavors: One with just the Goggles and Blaster, and the other has everything else. Because I’m getting the latter (And will be reviewing it so stay tuned) let’s talk about that one. The Labo comes with 6 different Toy-Con creations: The Goggles, Wind Pedal, Blaster, Bird, Elephant, and Camera.

If we were to go through each one of these, we’d be here forever (Plus I said I’m gonna review it next week, so we’ll do that there) so I’m just gonna say what I feel about the kit as a whole. I absolutely love it. The whole idea of the thing is just fantastic. Not only does it introduce VR at a more affordable yet still fun level, it introduces it to a younger audience, those who are too young to be able to use actual VR systems that were designed with an older audience in mind.

Sure the games look simple, but like I said it’s the experience as a whole, from building the labo, to trying it out, to learning how everything works that makes everything count in the end. Like I said, as someone who’s worked extensively in the STEM field, I’m absolutely delighted to see something like this. It takes the limitations of the switch and expands them to incorporate an entirely new way to play video games. It stretches the field of imagination to new heights, and showcases not only what the Switch as a system can do, but how you can do things with your imagination.

Like the other Labo kits, this one is getting a “garage” where you can create your own games. While you probably won’t be making much out of cardboard, you’re able to make games that would fit with the VR’s idea in mind. From exploration games, to rhythm games, it’s whatever you can think of and get working that makes it so much fun. Plus Nintendo is adding support to Super Mario Odyssey and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for free, so that’s a bonus.

Now this isn’t a full fledged review, and I’m gonna take advantage of that to ask a question, why do people give this thing so much hate? Why are people so against Nintendo Labo?

I’ve seen the hatred for Nintendo Labo since the beginning, it shows with the like and dislike bar of the original video that Nintendo posted before the first two kits were even released.

I truly do not understand the flak that the Labo gets. Most people seem to think that the cardboard is made out of 8x11 printer paper that would fall apart the second you tried to play with it, but after getting 15+ hours out of EACH of my Labo kits, I can safely say that they’re surprisingly durable, and none of them have received any real wear or tear to them.

Yet I still don’t understand the hatred towards them, people say you’re paying a huge amount of money for cardboard, even though people are content paying $60 for a piece of plastic and silicon (not even that if they buy a download code) People also don’t look at the fact that the PSVR, which is usually around $250 to buy new (about $350 if you include move controllers) and most of the games are still nothing more than tech demos, ones of huge games like Skyrim, or Borderlands, which you’re expected to pay for, for full price, and even then the games still feel like nothing but glorified tech demos. Maybe I’m just being cynical, maybe I’m just being a Nintendo Fan boy, but it’s something I really just don’t understand.

So yeah, these are all my thoughts on the VR right now, something I’m looking VERY forward to, and has me being all giddy and excited like a 7 year old kid who’s only a week away from Christmas. It’s something that I know will make people happy, and maybe even get more people interested in VR, and the STEM community as well.

Thank you all for reading (And again, please ask away if you have anything you want to tell me, I’d love to hear what other people have to say on this)

[rousingloki]

Thoughts: Iwata’s Philosophy

Hey guys, I know I do reviews on here, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the history of Nintendo, the key people who’ve been working with Nintendo, from Gunpei Yokoi, Mr. Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto, Reggie Fils-Aime, etc. And I’ve been going over and over in my head what has made Nintendo so lovable and so great, and I’ve just been thinking about what I would call “Iwata’s Philosophy.”

I know this isn’t a review (My switch is actually with my family in Florida so I won’t have any reviews ready till they’re back) and I might end up deleting this depending on the reaction or I might put it in a sub-forum somewhere, but I feel like I just have some thoughts I’d like to noodle out.

Lately all my thoughts have been with the Nintendo Labo VR kit, announced a few weeks ago, and now finally shown with a video, and more detailed screenshots. I have all of the Labo’s, and I can say I have a deep love for each one, even if I wouldn’t exactly say the games are great. Nintendo is probably the only company in my opinion that could make cardboard seem so exciting to purchase, it’s honestly kind of weird admitting that, but I fully stand by it.

(This is why I will die alone)

But I digress. After having a Switch for just over two years, and having all of these Labo kits, I can safely say right now, that the Nintendo Switch is my favorite system of all time. I’ve never had so much love for a device that I could gush about it for hours upon hours on end, and still have so much more praise for it. (And yet I still sent my baby to Florida with my family whom I don’t trust)

The fact that Nintendo could make something so fun, yet so simple and elegant is a testament to what the company has stood for since it’s introduction to the video game market.

This is what I’d call the Nintendo Philosophy. Ever since the president, Hiroshi Yamauchi took over, he turned Nintendo around and made them into one of the most successful companies in the world. From a scrappy playing card company, to one of the largest video game titans across the globe. He did so with an iron fist, intimidating and inspiring his workers to make more, for cheaper, and for the better. While not every decision he made could be considered a good one *cough* virtual boy *cough* He was someone who had a knack for talent, and knew that pragmatism was the core philosophy for any company that specialized in engineering.

He managed to keep costs among many of his products low, which his workers also fully embodied, from Yokoi, to Iwata. His philosophy fell down to Mr. Iwata, who took over the company in 2002. Iwata was able to keep the core of Yamauchi’s philosphy to keep things cheaper, while still being fun. However; Iwata didn’t like how strict the company was run, and decided to let developers figure things out by keeping to their own ideas, no matter how inane.

This is what would lead to what I’d call the Iwata Philosophy. Iwata had looked at Sony and Microsoft, and saw that they were battling by challenging each other’s hardware, and solely that. Iwata thought he could make consoles while not as powerful, but more fun. This is what lead to the Revolution.

Codenamed the Revolution, the Wii was a colossal hit. I had one as a kid, and I couldn’t put Wii Sports down to save my life. Nothing felt better than bowling or tennis, and the subsequent games to follow such as Skyward Sword, Wii Party, Wii fit, Wii Sports Resort, Dokopon Kingdom, and many more were all games I played with ease, and enjoyment.

Of course we can call the Wii U a... bump in the road. I won’t be dramatic like other journalists and people who claimed Nintendo was going to die due to ONE console failure since 1995, and since Nintendo has a huge amount of money, everything was to be fine. Of course, very unfortunately, Mr. Iwata passed away in 2015. Very unexpectedly at a young age, and to a company that needed a leader like him more than ever.

Nintendo, now with  Tatsumi Kimishima as president, pressed on, and in 2017, the Nintendo Switch was released.

Reaching phenomenal sales, and having a (now) fantastic library of games to support it, the Nintendo Switch is one of the most amazing devices, and probably the greatest consoles I’ve ever owned. Even though it’s not as powerful as the PS4, or the Xbox One, it’s still just as if not more impressive than both.

But this is where Iwata’s Philosphy kicks in, and where it lives on. Iwata didn’t care for more powerful hardware, his focus was on the games. The Nintendo Switch isn’t very powerful compared to the other consoles, but that doesn’t matter, the Nintendo Switch is still in a league of it’s own. It has some of the best exclusives, has a huge array of indie support, and it’s social nature is fantastic.

I’d compare the Switch to the video game Deadly Premonition, but that game is DEFINITELY not for everyone. While I laughed and loved that game, it wasn’t for most of the general public, in fact, I think a lot of people would dislike that game. A lot, and that’s ok. The Nintendo Switch IS for everybody, young and old. It’s so easy to understand that just watching the concept trailer that released in October of 2016 would be enough for anyone to understand what the thing is and does.

Now let’s look back on the Nintendo Labo. The Labo kits are as bare basic as anything, in fact, if you take out the switch, you literally have cardboard, with minimal amounts of plastic, string, rubber bands, and stickers. And it’s fantastic. Nintendo Labo is where Iwata’s Philosophy TRULY lives on. It’s so minimalistic and inexpensive, yet it’s more fun and intriguing where all else would fail. Xbox One and PS4 are looking too far into a different dimension to be taken seriously with this. It’s only fitting that Nintendo would, and COULD get away with something like this.

I mean this in no bad way whatsoever, in fact I love it. I know everything I said feels like some sort of pointless ramble, but it’s just some thoughts I had out loud and felt like I needed to say them, because after doing all the reading I’ve been doing, everything I’ve learned, and everything I’ve seen, I just really felt like I needed to say something about all of it.

If I could I’d thank Mr. Iwata for everything he’s done, and if he were still here, I’m sure he’d be more than proud with what the Nintendo Switch has done for NIntendo. Because it’s not about fancy hardware, or how expensive you can make a system. It’s about having fun, and being fun for everyone.

Thank you for reading.

[rousingloki]

The Flame in the Flood-Muddy Waters

Another Survival game with Hunger, Thirst, Tiredness, Stamina, and Crafting. Truly a memorable and unique experience.

The prospect of a survival game is endearing. I thoroughly enjoy the idea of having to maintain human needs while attempting to accomplish an over arching goal. Unfortunately, most of these games have either been done to death, or they don’t change up the formula whatsoever to keep the idea fresh, or just stick to such a rigorously established formula that even if you haven’t played the game, you’ve already played it. This game follows all of these problems, and then some.

The most interesting thing this game has going for it, is the premise. The world, through unexplained means, has plunged into an indefinite flood, destroying entire cities, drowning counties, and leaving only elevated bits of land as islands. The player Scout’s end goal is to discover the radio source a dog (Aesop or Daisy, depending on your choice) has brought to you via a backpack. That’s about it in terms of story.

There really isn’t room to grow on the story, because the game spends its entire time pestering you with constantly draining meters. The gameplay consists of moving between islands gathering resources to keep your hunger, thirst, temperature and tiredness in check... and it’s one of the worst things about this game.

This game basically makes you into a “Meter Maid” constantly annoying you how your player is hungry, so you eat, and now you need to drink water, but now that you’re full and quenched, you need to sleep. Now that you’ve slept, you’re parched and hungry once more. It’s a vicious and annoying cycle that NEVER STOPS. From the beginning of the game to the end, it’s nothing but making sure you have all those meters up, and only that.

You also have a temperature gauge that, if too low, can make you sick if you catch a cold, which could lead to pneumonia and eventual death if you don’t have adequate enough clothing. The only other way to stave this off is to get by a fire, or find a cabin to sleep in for the night, but that’s only a temporary solution to a problem that isn’t as annoying as the others, as you’re able to insulate your clothing and stave off the problem entirely, but it’s a rather difficult feat to pull off.

Other issues included is disease. Like said before, you can get a cold which could lead to pneumonia and eventual death. Other issues include things like “scoots,” or poison ivy, to parasitic infections and snake bites. These do nothing more than make sure you have to use up more inventory holding healing items, and another thing to make your meters go down faster, which too leads to death.

That’s another issue with this game: Inventory. You have extremely limited inventory, and when I say extreme, I mean extreme. You only have so much room to hold food, water, traps, weapons, medicine, parts, etc. The dog can hold a sparse amount of items, and you can also store items in your raft. But I swear no matter how hard I try, inventory management is always terrible. It doesn’t help that menu navigation is annoying, but it’s just the constant amount of things you NEED that will take up your space in no time. Stacks can’t be built very high, and some items, like jars and water, don’t stack at all. So storing anything long term is a very unrewarding feeling.

Let’s talk about the raft for a little bit. The raft is your mode of transportation in this game. Since the flood has taken away roads, or really any way for an automobile to get around, the only way around is by boat. Scout must use this raft to get between islands, keeping it maintained, and even upgrading it as she travels along the river. These upgrades are one of the better parts of the game. They’re honestly one of the better driving forces, as they really do help in the long run. Things like durability, control, inventory slots, they’re all very useful. 

Unfortunately, the actual steering and moving of the raft is not fun.

It’s an absolute dump truck to control. when on the current, moving left or right feels extremely unresponsive, and hitting anything feels extremely aggravating, especially when it feels like control was wrestled from you, instead of being an honest mistake. Shockingly, control is better when you’re on rapids, and you only have to worry about moving left or right, as slowing down or quick moving is out of the question. There is a “dodge” mechanic but it’s got several problems as well. First, it drains an abysmal stamina meter. One that’s got about 3 uses before needing refilling, and most of the time the effect is so negligible, that it hardly ever feels worth it. Even with the rudder upgrade, I still felt like I had just as much control without it. Simply put, the raft sucks.

Being in the water means you have to think about what type of island you’re going to land at. There are several different islands, all with different resources, with advantages and disadvantages. The camping islands always have fire, and copious amounts of flint. Liquor stores have alcohol, and clinics have medicine. There are plenty more, and once you’ve played through you’ll definitely learn which islands have which, and which ones might have resources that you’re hemorrhaging for.

Then there are the enemies. While there isn’t a huge variety of enemies, all of them are brazen idiots. The most threatening off the bat are wolves and bears. Bears are monstrous enemies that require far too much effort to kill, with the only reasons to kill being their hides used to insulate your mittens. Wolves aren’t as threatening, as even in packs you can just wave your staff and keep them away long enough to get away. Then there are the boars. Boars are shockingly the most annoying, and brutal enemy in this game. They charge at high speeds, cause a staggering amount of damage, and never leave you alone. There’s also snakes but you can just walk around those. They are difficult to see, but they don’t pester you like the other enemies.

The only point in killing enemies is for their hides. Because temperature needs to be kept in check, you have to keep upgrading your clothes as you move down the river. You can start with things like rabbit hide and cat-tails, but soon you need to get warmer clothes or else you die. This is quite literally the only reason you NEED to face these enemies. If not for that, it’s rather easy to get around them as you could theoretically just leave the island and move on to the next one, unless you’re in absolute desperate need of resources. 

Rabbits are honestly the only thing worth killing, as they’re stupid, will walk into a snare trap with no bait, and supply a copious amount of food that is easily turned into jerky. They’re also on a huge amount of islands so you never really need to worry about getting huge amounts of it.

I’ve talked about this game very negatively so far, because I do want to address what is bad, but to be completely honest, none of it is inherently bad. Everything from survival, crafting, and exploration are all done rather competently. My only complaint to add to that would be the lack of a rotating camera. Everything The Flame in the Flood does is done decent enough to function, but that’s about it. But it does have its moments.

The biggest moment for me was easily the music. About half-way through the game, I was wandering around a town like island, no threats, just lots of cars and buildings for me to loot. Out of nowhere the music that had been playing as only an instrumental a few regions back, added lyrics. This moment may have been small, but it was a very cathartic one. With no enemies to bother me, and all the gasoline and salt I could carry, I felt extremely optimistic and confident. It was as if I knew I was gonna be OK, and that everything was gonna be smooth sailing from here on out.

Then I left and that feeling immediately sunk to the bottom of the river I was traveling on.

The Music and Art style are both wonderful to say the least though. The Picasso style art is captivating, and the music is an interesting blend of grass roots, folk, and country. While the art is a bit more distressing to look at, the music is uplifting and upbeat. It blends two very different elements to create something more distinct, and in a way beautiful. It’s a shame I’ll have forgotten all about it in a week or so.

That’s where this game’s true fatal flaw is: It’s boring. This game is aggressively boring. While it doesn’t do anything truly bad, it doesn’t do anything truly new. There are so many of these video games that I’ve lost track. It’s so generic that it couldn’t even be a full release, it had to go through steam’s early access. Just like every other survival game released.

It’s so boring I started scrolling back and forth on the menu screen of my Switch when I took it out in public.

I have no problem with monotony in a video game. Games like Stardew Valley or Space Engineers are a couple of the many monotonous games I’ve played, but this game takes it to the extreme. From the beginning of the game to the very end, you are doing the EXACT same thing. Making sure you’re fed, quenched, warm, rested, and disease free. From beginning to end it’s nothing but being a meter watcher until you reach an end that does not feel rewarding for the time spent getting there.

In what seemed like a desperate bid to be completely different, this game ended up being just like every other survival game on the market. I would say that there was a flame in this flood, but someone didn’t even bother to light the fire in the first place

5/10 Mediocre

[rousingloki]

Human Fall Flat Review-Human Fail Flat

Can’t say I’m too proud to write this one.

You’d be forgiven thinking that Human Fall Flat is another “me-too” wonky physics game. Well I’m here to tell you that is not the case. Human Fall Flat doesn’t rely on glitches, or wacky physics to get its point across. Bear in mind it does have those, but that’s not the entire game, only part of it.

Human Fall Flat is definitely vastly more interesting when it comes to the “Physics” based games. Being miles ahead of Goat Simulator and quite literally any other “Simulator” games that can be found by the thousands on Steam. Given that context though, that doesn’t mean I’m giving it a huge compliment.

To give credit where credit is due, Human Fall Flat IS a fun, quirky, and cute game. It has a charm to it that, possibly due to its simplistic graphics and the ambiance of its music, gives it life that is usually very difficult to give to this type of genre.

Looking as if it’s powered by the bare minimum of what the Unity engine can offer, it takes this look and rolls with it the entire game, although growing in scale, and showing a moderately small but unique set of levels that will challenge your cranium and occasionally bamboozle your brain.

The premise of the game is very simple: get from the beginning to the end using both hands to push, pull, pivot, prod, and even punch your way through obstacles. Some of these can be as simple as pushing a button to open a door, or using a log to create a wedge. The puzzles are varied, and there always feels like there’s multiple ways to solve a problem. It all depends on the creativity and patience you’re willing to work with, or in later levels, put up with.

While the game starts off with the difficulty scaling relatively well, the puzzles themselves can almost begin to feel like a “Guess what the developer was thinking” game. The biggest problem here is the physics; they can be completely sporadic, and make little to no sense.

One example was me trying to make a bridge. I was able to do it right the first time, but after trying the level again to get fully acquainted with the multiple ways of completing puzzles, creating the bridge again was impossible. I went from every possible angle to do it, but no matter what I tried it just wasn’t working, and while I did find a way around the problem, it felt like the game was forcing my hand and making me do something different just for the sake of it. I know that could be considered versatile, but it felt extremely restrictive, and given that this is a physics based game, it shouldn’t have to feel that extremely precise, especially when your character is essentially the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

That leads me to another problem in this game: precision. While there are several puzzles that found the route on Super Mario 64′s non-precise control scheme to be the perfect match, some levels are just flat out obnoxious in their puzzle solving. Having to use machinery to latch onto anything is a complete crap-shoot. Either it works, or most of the time, it doesn’t, leading into a trial and error game that’s about as fun as sticking a fork in an electrical outlet.

This game also doesn’t know when to stop with tedious tasks. From having to wind up catapults, to having to fix your boat because there’s no reverse, it gets old insanely fast, and leads to frustration and contempt.

Speaking of boats, for the love of God is water truly awful in this game. It kills you, the second you go in too deep you’re dead, and that wouldn’t be such an issue if the boats actually worked half the time, but because of how your body takes up space or decides to handle boats, you won’t be able to turn quickly, properly, or sometimes not at all since your character can’t be fucked to move to get the boat moving swimmingly.

Remember how I said this game was Fun? Well I wasn’t lying, when this game is good, it’s good. Running around and solving puzzles definitely feels good. It does feel rewarding to know you’re making progress, to hear the sound of music letting you know that you’re doing well, or that you just accomplished some major milestone. When this game is not being a total pile of garbage, there’s a lot to enjoy here.

I do wish the music actually stayed around though, eventually it will pass and leave you feeling alienated in a world that almost beings to depress you as the sound effects are limp and you can only listen to your footsteps for so long before wanting to just shut the game off.

To get to a colossal problem that this game likes to pull, I absolutely must tell you about the glitches.

This was one of the killing points for me in the game. While I didn’t experience really any in the earlier stages, I kept experiencing plenty in the later stages. Sometimes late into the later stages, and these glitches weren’t just benign or could be shaken off, they’d either do one of two things: Freeze me up and I’d have to hit the buttons like a maniac just to get back control, or they’d break the game and I’d have the reset everything.

I can say right now that there is NOTHING more upsetting than getting far in a level, just to have to do the entire thing all over again, just because a lever decides to float in midair, or cause certain objects that are CRUCIAL to the game to just never appear.

That was when I about had it with the game’s nonsense.

I really wanted to enjoy this game, I really did. After playing it on PC when it was in a demo state and there were only about 3 levels to explore, there was a lot of promise. However; I really don’t think I can say I’ll be picking this one up again, this game has far too many problems for me to want to keep enduring, I wanted to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this game forces my hand by refusing to let me pursue. So I had to call it quits there.

However, I don’t want to end this review entirely negative.

To give the game a bit of a lifesaver, or to those who think they’d enjoy it still, I can tell you right now that the game is infinitely better with friends. Whether it be local, or online, having more friends to play this game makes it far more enjoyable. Whether you’re actually trying to beat the level, or just going Gang Beasts on each other, there’s a lot more fun to be had if you’re getting absolutely sick of the single player game.

This isn’t a game changer to me though, the game has left a very sour taste in my mouth, and it’s unlikely that I’m going to pick it up again. In game they say Humans must push every button they see. Well they’re right, because they definitely pushed all of mine.

3/10 Poor

[rousingloki]

Reviews

So after doing absolutely nothing with my Tumblr, honestly not knowing what I was gonna do with it, I’ve decided I want to go the video game route (because it’s what I know) and I decided I’ll do some reviews. They will primarily be switch games, even ones that have come out on different platforms from possibly years ago, as I’d like to cover games that received a physical copy and take it to task, even if it is older, and has already been reviewed to death.

So that’s what I’d like to start using this Tumblr for, if anyone would like to read, that’s great. The first review I have lined up will be “Human Fall Flat” Followed by “The Flame in the Flood” (The first set of games will be the Super Rare games lineup)

Hope you look forward to reading these as much as I look forward to writing them :)

(I was gonna host this under a blog post but I decided to keep it here on my main Tumblr, just because I honestly don’t know much about Tumblr whatsoever)