The title is very intriguing and unlike most game titles. Another game title based on a crime, Grand Theft Auto, is the single biggest video game franchise in history, so how does a white-collar crime-based game compare? Well, there are no data sheets or graphing in this game, but this is a 2D isometric Zelda clone where you are trying to stop a corrupt onion mayor from pushing his greed onto the vegetable people.
The game starts out with a short opening of you, Turnip Boy, who hasn’t paid the property tax of his greenhouse and owes a lot of money to the money. He is wanted for tax evasion and must work off the debt by helping the mayor collect four items for an unknown reason. These four items make up the entirety of the game as well as four small dungeons. There is a small world to explore with collectible hats that can be obtained by helping veggies around the area. Each dungeon contains a final boss and an item the mayor needs.
Wandering around the village is easy enough and memorable thanks to landmarks and great level design. There are signposts that guide you to the general areas and the mayor will tell you what area you need to be in. There are plenty of NPCs to talk to that provide fairly funny dialog. Nothing that will make you cry, but some funny tidbits and real-world references from the last 5 years. You start the game out with nothing and eventually acquire a sword and a watering can. The can is used more than the sword, but mostly for puzzle solving. You can make green lilies grow and this activates bombs, melons, and various other items. You also get a portal pot that plants portals (a call back to Portal with the orange and blue colors) and an upgraded shovel sword (maybe a nod to Shovel Knight?) There are a few passive things you acquire like a hazmat suit, boots to kick blocks, and a few others. These are all recovered relatively quickly. Each dungeon takes maybe 30 minutes to complete and that includes getting to the dungeon itself. Boss fights are the hardest thing in the game and that’s not saying much. The combat is really easy and similar to older Zelda games, but there aren’t as many enemy types and their movements don’t vary much. There’s very little challenge in this game.
Bosses usually require you to use the last acquired item to beat it, just like in Zelda games, and then you get a heart and move on. Once you give the mayor his item he sends you onto your next quest. Inside these dungeons, you can help other NPCs and acquire hats or smaller passive items like keys to get further inside. I never really got lost anywhere and I thought exploring the game was rather fun. Sadly, due to the combat being so easy and the game so short, about 2-3 hours run time even if you do side quests, it’s no more than a short afternoon gaming affair. There’s nothing quite memorable about this game either other than the title itself and the art style which is beautiful and well done. It’s a mix of 16-bit visuals and modern cartoon art. The music is fantastic as well, but there’s just not enough of all of this. Turnip Boy’s dungeons are fun and well laid out, but they’re very short and I feel there’s so much more potential here, but it’s all cut short right when you feel the game is getting deeper.
There is a free DLC update that adds a rogue-lite train dungeon with a final boss, but if you aren’t fond of the combat you won’t care here. Unless you really want to spend several hours swinging your sword at stiff baddies then the final game will be enough. There are a few more objectives to complete and more hats to collect, but the main game isn’t long enough to make you love this game enough to want to spend more time in its world. What’s here is a ton of fun and it’s a visual and comical treat, but it feels more like a sample of what a longer game could be. The puzzles are solid, the gameplay mechanics are great, the combat is simple, but works, and there’s tons of humor here. It’s a fun time and worth a purchase, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking.
The Game & Watch series is Nintendo’s first foray into video games and handhelds like the GameBoy Micro, and even the DS drew inspiration from it. It’s also not going to attract the attention of anyone under 25 who isn’t just curious or truly into retro gaming. The original Mario Bros. release was underwhelming as it didn’t have much value for your money. They could have easily added the entire NES Mario library at no extra cost but chose not to. It seems Nintendo listened this time as the entire Zelda NES library is included here in a nice package with extras.
The unboxing experience is quite nice here for such a small proprietary device. The handheld comes out in a display box (more on that later), some of the usual safety pamphlet stuff Nintendo does, and a code to redeem 300 platinum coins on Nintendo.com (which are used to redeem things that actually matter like physical items). The device itself is inside a foam sleeve and that’s your lot. The charger is hidden away inside a “compartment” of the display box and this is a tiny three-inch USB-C cable, but any cable will work. This one just so happens to be Nintendo branded so collectors might want to hold on to it and not lose it. When you power on the device you will be greeted with a splash screen of Link himself and plopped right into the “main” screen which is the clock. If you press the Pause/Set button you can enter the system’s settings that allow you to change the sound and brightness and turn off sleep mode (if plugged in).
Once you have your time set you can go into the game selection screen and can choose between the original Zelda, The Adventure of Link, and Link’s Awakening. You can also play the Game & Watch series Vermin which stars Link himself. You can then use the Timer app as well. So, these sound great on their own right? Well, this entire device is chock-full of Easter eggs and features that you will probably miss or never know about without playing around or reading about them. First, the Timer and Clock screens both have playable games built into them. The Clock features several screens and Link will take 12 hours to complete the “game” or you can control him yourself. There are hidden Easter eggs here such as fairies appearing when the clock says 2:22, and other things happening when all digits are the same number. The game’s lighting will affect the time of day as well which is really neat. There are also several language versions for each game and you can experience their regional differences. This is more of a historical curiosity thing for most, but it’s nice these were all included.
The Timer app has three backgrounds you can cycle through and a time attack mode. Every game has cheats built-in that will give you full hearts if you hold A for five seconds while starting a new game. The Clock screen can switch from the 8-bit ticking sound (which is really freaking annoying by the way) to the game’s music and sound effects. There is also an auto-save feature that resumes right where you left off. You can easily switch between all three games and never lose your spot. There’s also a manual-save mode by holding A+B+Select+Start. Vermin has an extra hard C mode if you press A for five seconds, and the Clock screen will also cycle through 11 different backgrounds before going into sleep mode.
If that isn’t enough to keep you busy for a while (seriously this would be a great stocking stuffer as it’s great value for your money) you get a nice little cardboard display that has a fold-out stand in the back which is made from the tray the device sits in. This isn’t going to hold up over time so I suggest you get a third-party stand or something that someone else made for the long-term. Collectors will probably not want to use this either. And, as a nice little bonus, the rear tri-force logo lights up when it’s on.
So, that’s your lot. Three fantastic and iconic Zelda titles and the Game & Watch title to tie it all in with fun interactive apps. The device itself is what you would expect from Nintendo. It’s lightweight but has sturdy plastic and the screen is gorgeous with sharp colors and a vivid picture. The speaker is great too and spits out 8-bit tunes clearly and doesn’t sound tinny or anything like that. While these games are emulated ROMs they don’t have any issues and work just fine. The D-pad feels amazing and while the two face buttons are a bit rubbery, they’re fine for this device. It just looks gorgeous and is a fantastic piece to display as well. Overall, this is how these need to be done in the future and is well worth the $50.
I personally love short indie games, especially if they can deliver something pretty crazy in at least one department. A great story, fun gameplay, or crazy visuals which Happy Game delivers here. There’s no story really, no dialog, no pretense. You just play as a ball-shaped headed kid who goes to sleep and has nightmares about three of his favorite toys. Each toy needs to be rescued and falls under one of three chapters.
The first nightmare is about the boy’s ball. He gets beat up and it’s taken from him and you use just your mouse to drag the boy around and manipulate objects. Pushing, pulling, twisting, rotating, and anything in between is the name of the game here and the only gameplay element. Every single screen is something completely new and it’s either gory, crazy, scary, weird, or creepy. I never got bored looking at this game and the few puzzles that got thrown in were quite fun as well. The game is never complicated or requires using your cerebral jelly, but manipulating certain objects a certain way is how you solve the few puzzles. The second toy is a stuffed rabbit and the third is a dog.
I can’t describe the game and give a clear vision without you playing the game. It’s just so much fun to look at. The game’s strongest point is the visuals here as every step of the way something new is presented. From pulling apart toys to revealing creepy things inside, murdering various oddly shaped creatures, helping other creatures, pulling eyeballs out of skulls, and the list goes on. There’s so much here in just one hour that I have to applaud the developers for giving us so much content and diversity in such a short period of time.
The game is also full of a lot of atmosphere. Most of the game is in black and white to emphasize blood and gore. There’s really creepy music, the boy grunts a lot and cries and shouts but never speaks. The facial expressions on every object are very detailed. This is a moving piece of horror art or even a hand-drawn haunted house ride if you will. Very rarely did I not know what to do or couldn’t figure something out. Maybe two or three scenes are a little obscure, but eventually, I did move on.
Sadly, there’s zero replay value other than to just experience the visuals again. It’s incredibly short-lasting maybe an hour, but it’s a very entertaining hour. It’s hard for me to score these types of games above an eight even if they are amazing because there’s the issue with the length and there’s almost no gameplay and usually zero stories or character development. These types of short indie games are mostly visual treats or just a quick fast-food type experience that’s rarely as endearing as games like Journey or Monument Valley but are just fun enough to warrant your time. Happy Game is by far one of the most visually striking games of the year and sadly it’s going to get looked past due to these negatives that most indie games get bashed for. I’m not personally bashing Happy Game for its shortcomings as it’s not trying to provide you with some of everything and presenting a mediocre package. Its strong points are worth noting and playing for and that’s just fine.
I love games like these. Short little indie games that do something AAA games don’t care to notice or even glance at. Unpacking is what you get on the tin. There’s no story here at all, no characters, you just get put into various years from the late ’90s to 2018 unpacking a person’s belongings in various homes. It seems dull on paper, but it’s actually quite satisfying, but the enjoyment solely comes from you wanting to decorate everything correctly and not just put things where they go.
Bedrooms consist of era-appropriate computers, lots of clothing, knick-knacks, plants, posters, frames, shoes, workout equipment, you name it. Bathrooms will have bathroom items, and kitchens will have things like food and utensils. There are also living rooms that have video game consoles, knick-knacks, frames, pillows, blankets, plants, and other items. There are a lot of items in this game, but here lies my biggest complaint about this game. It’s incredibly repetitive. After the second “album” that I completed, I pretty much saw every single item. Sure, unpacking boxes and putting things away satisfies an OCD in most people, but out of the six levels how many dozens of underwear, bras, and clothes do I need to hang? Things only got interesting later on when new objects did pop up or large items. Laundry baskets, trash cans, umbrella stands, and dish racks were far and few between, and it wasn’t until the last level where you get every room and pretty much unpack every item in the game.
As you start off in 1997, you may get a bit of a nostalgia hit, there are a lot of 8-bit style items laying around from the era. CD players, cartridge game systems, old stereos, crazy teen angst posters, and anything else you can think of from your childhood. The game is set in an isometric perspective so you can zoom around and that’s about it. There are numerous boxes in various rooms and when you click on a box it opens and inside you just see packing paper. Clicking the box has an item pop out and most are regular everyday household items, and most of the boxes are to be unpacked in that room with the occasional item being misplaced. You can rotate items and even activate some items for achievements, and the snapping feature works rather well. A book can lay flat or if you push it up against a shelf it will stand up and stack.
There are a few challenges when it comes to space. Some rooms will be very minimal with a lot of items and you have to be clever and organized to get everything to fit. Once you unpack every box items that are in the wrong place will flash red and most of this made sense, but some didn’t. Why do I have to put a backpack on a shelf when on the bed makes sense? There were a few cases in which I couldn’t make out what the items were at all and had me clicking and placing it on everything until I found the right spot. I also wish I could unpack the furniture and literally unpack an entirely empty home. Maybe some outdoor areas would have been nice like backyards, sheds, garages, or other settings like offices would have added variety.
What’s here is still rather charming with some nice music, that seems to stop for long periods of time which I hated, and there’s a seemingly pointless photo mode in which you can add borders and stickers. This feature just felt like filler content to me, but this is a very unique game and there’s nothing else out there like it. The game is so short that you can finish it in less than two hours, so it won’t offend anyone despite the repetition. What’s here is fun, charming, and satisfying.
The Nintendo Wii was everyone’s console. Your grandma’s and even your little brother’s. It was a household staple and was even used in nursing homes. Now that’s accessibility! However, the Wii probably has more shovelware on the system than any other console in existence. I mean just look at all of it! All that plastic. Usually when you put the words cheap and Wii together you immediately think Chicken Shoot or Carnival Games, but that’s not always the case. There are genuinely fantastic Wii games, some of the best on the system even, for under $20 complete inbox. So, if you just bought a Wii, have a Wii U collecting dust, or just want to see if there’s anything you have missed, boy do I have a list for you!
Like before these are all games in my personal collection, and there are more out there, but these are some of the best you can get on the system. Again, you won’t see any survival horror titles as these are niche and skyrocketed along with those on every other console, there’s a lot of JRPGs that are high in price and many indie developed games that didn’t get many points.
So, there’s a thing in the James Bond universe in which you are not allowed to take old James Bonds into the future. It’s dumb and the creators are stubborn assholes, but we got GoldenEye remade! Kind of! It’s more of a reboot of the original idea with Daniel Craig as the Bond here. It’s a fantastic shooter on the Wii and looks really good. Just don’t come in expecting good ‘ol Pierce on your screen.
Boom Blox – EA – 2008
Steven Spielberg said screw Medal of Honor! Jenga is where it’s at! This game took the world by storm with it’s Jenga style shoot-blocks-out-of-the-tower gameplay. We all did this as kids and it works so well on the Wii here. The game looks great too and the physics are awesome. There are a ton of puzzles to play through and a good amount of modes. It’s more addicting than you think.
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two – Junction Point Studios/Disney Interactive – 2012
This game came out late in the console’s life and the first game didn’t pan out too well for good old Warren Specter, the creator of Deus Ex. The game had an awful camera and just felt clunky despite the Disney aesthetics. Mickey 2 is a much better game here and while not the Wii’s swansong, it looked better on other platforms at this point. It’s still feeling the best to play thanks to the Wii remote. Still has flaws, but it’s a lot of fun.
Excite Truck – Monster Games/Nintendo – 2006
This was a launch title for the system and while it’s not very deep it’s fast-paced and fun. It looks halfway decent too and runs at a good speed. I don’t quite know why they took the Excite name and made a game out of trucks. Those aren’t something you think about when you see the Excite name. It’s cheap and good fun.
Ghost Squad – AM R&D Dept #2/Sega – 2007
This was an early game for the series and was released shortly after Link’s Crossbow Training so it used the Wii Zapper. It’s a fairly generic yet entertaining light gun game and feels just like Sega’s arcade classics. I would have liked something more fantasy-like than a dry military-style game, but it’s fun and back then you didn’t have a huge selection of games to play on Wii.
This was a late release for the system, and while very easy, it oozes charm, and the yarn style visuals were so popular Nintendo released more games in this style. It’s one of my favorite Kirby games and the boss fights, levels, and overall design are just so clever and addictive, this is a game you won’t want to put down.
MX vs. ATV: Untamed – Incinerator Studios/THQ – 2008
Racing games that aren’t Mario Kart were not very big on the system due to the underperforming hardware, but MX Untamed is a great motocross game that is fast-paced and has decent physics. You won’t get fancy terrain deformation or anything like that, but it plays well and just feels better than most racers on the system.
MadWorld – Platinum Games/Sega – 2009
This was a flop, but one of the few mature games on the system. It featured a black and white art style and tons and tons of gore and dismemberment. In fact, that’s the gimmick here. The game is very repetitive, but the different death animations and weapons to use are a lot of fun. It’s a short game and is made by Bayonetta creators Platinum Games so you know it’s still quality gaming.
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 – Team Fusion/EA – 2007
I don’t own the first game because there’s really no reason to. It was a light-gun on-rails-style game and this one is free moving. This was released during the steep descent of repetitive WWII shooters. It uses the Wii remote well here and is entertaining for a few play-throughs. If you can’t stand Medal of Honor or WWII shooters in general this won’t win you over.
Mercury Meltdown Revolution – Ignition – 2007
This was a fun game on PSP and it moved to the Wii and the combination with the Wii remote and the motion sensor just made sense. It’s fun, innovative, and has great physics and colorful visuals. The game isn’t just a Super Monkey Ball clone, but a puzzle game as well. You need to match colors and open gates and move things around to pass the level. It’s addictive and has more depth than you’d think.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption – Retro Studios/Nintendo – 2007
This was one of the most anticipated games of the mid-2000s. It pushed the system to its limits and really utilized the Wii remote. It’s surprisingly cheap too and is a great jumping-in point if you don’t want to shell out the dollars for the more expensive GameCube versions. There were ports to the Wii but that trilogy is quite pricey and one of the most expensive games on the system. The game is brilliant and just a masterclass of the genre.
Mini Ninjas – IO Interactive/Eidos Interactive – 2009
Mini Ninjas is a fun and cute platforming adventure game. It uses the Wii remote well here and looks pretty good as well. It was sadly overlooked by other games that came out around that time, but don’t let the kid-like visuals stop you. The game can get pretty tough and it has a lot of well-designed gameplay mechanics.
Monster Hunter Tri – Capcom – 2009
This is your typical Monster Hunter affair. The series grew kind of stale of me around this point, but this game works well on the system and introduced underwater combat for the first time. It looks great for a Wii game and any diehard Monster Hunter fan will enjoy this. If you own a Wii and never tried the series this is probably the best one to do so with.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon – Midway – 2007
Say what you will about the 128-bit era of Mortal Kombat games, but Armageddon had hell of a roster with every single character ever created in the game. They were stripped down to two fight styles instead of three, and the unique fatalities were cut out for generic “Kreate-A-Fatality”. A new create a character mode was added and was surprisingly deep and a much improved Konquest mode was added that felt similar to Shaolin Monks. Motor Kombat was passable, however. If you hated this era of 3D Mortal Kombat games then keep moving, and I also have to add that the motion controls are awful. Use a Classic or GameCube controller here.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Nintendo – 2009
This is where the New Super Mario Bros. gameplay stuff started to peak. It was introduced on the DS and this was the first 2D Mario platformer on a home console in nearly 20 years. It was a huge deal. People bought Wiis just for this game. If you like any current 2D Mario game today you will love this as well. It has clever level design, addictive gameplay, and the difficulty ramps up just right. This is a must-own for any Wii owner.
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams – Sonic Team/Sega – 2007
This was a long-awaited sequel to one of the best Saturn games released. People talked about this game for ages and it was a smash hit when it was released by the core Saturn fans. It looked amazing, played well, and was incredibly colorful, and had that classic Sega vibe to it. It’s a must-own for any Wii owner as it was the last game we’d ever see in the series.
Prince of Persia: Rival Swords – Ubisoft – 2007
This is essentially just Two Thrones. It was also released alongside the PSP and was great on that system as well. Rival Swords look great, plays well, and if you haven’t played a Prince of Persia game this isn’t a bad one to pick up outside of being at the end of the trilogy story-wise. It has great combat, fun time puzzles, and fantastic exploration.
Resident Evil 4 – Capcom – 2007
2007 was a smash-hit year for the Wii. Resident Evil 4 was a fantastic port and considered the best port to date outside of the HD versions. The motion controls just fit this game so perfectly, but sadly there’s no new content here. This is essentially the PS2 version with the added Separate Ways story. It’s still great despite looking a bit rough around the edges.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles – Capcom – 2007
This is an on-rails retelling of Resident Evil 0 through 3 and does a great job recapping those games. The game gets really hard very quickly and gun upgrades are a must if you are to survive at all. This is one of the best on-rails shooters for the system, and despite looking pretty ancient, even for the Wii, it’s a lot of fun.
This is a great compilation disc with many well-ported arcade classics. Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, Neo Turf Masters, Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters ’94?! This is a great list of games and will keep you busy for hours. You just can’t go wrong here if you are an SNK/Neo Geo fan.
Samba de Amigo – Escalation Studios/Sega – 2008
This is a great rhythm game and is a remake of the Dreamcast game. You play with the Wii remotes and use them like maracas. The previous game had to include expensive peripherals, but not here! The music feels like classic Sega and is quite catchy. It’s great fun and uses the Wii remotes very well.
Sonic Colors – Sonic Team/Sega – 2010
This was released late in the system’s life, but Sonic Colors is considered one of the few good 3D Sonic games. This game was unique to the system and so was the DS version, both are great. It’s the Wisp abilities that make this game stand out the most and it somehow worked. Sonic Team actually made a good game! While it’s been re-released for Switch, that version is better, but if you don’t have one or want a cheaper version, this is the way to go.
Super Paper Mario – Intelligent Systems/Nintendo – 2007
This is by far my favorite Paper Mario game and I loved it to death when it came out. I sat through and played this in one sitting it was so good. The game shifted you from a 3D perspective to 2D on the fly and the unique puzzles, platforming, level design, and animations just won me over. It’s one of the best games on Wii and feels very unique for the system.
The Conduit – High Voltage Software/Sega – 2009
This was released pretty late in the system’s life, but it was a big deal because it was a new FPS on the system that wasn’t an on-rails shooter. It had a sci-fi vibe to it and felt like something close to Project Snowblind. The game has a unique feature that allows you to see objects and enemies through walls to solve puzzles as well. It has a dumb story, but the action is solid and well worth the cheap price of entry.
This is a unique version of Anniversary as it features puzzles only seen in this version and excellent motion controls. It looks pretty good too. Better than the PS2 version, but not as good as the Xbox 360 one. This is probably the superior version over all of them due to the unique content and controls. It’s a must-have for the system and is also a remake of the first game, so now you don’t have to play that.
Trauma Center: New Blood – Atlus – 2007
If you didn’t like Second Opinion or any of the DS entries you won’t like this one. It looks the same, plays the same, and just features a different story and characters. There is a co-op mode and that’s about it. The game is still solid and the Trauma Center series would only live on Nintendo platforms due to the unique controls needed.
Trauma Center: Second Opinion – Atlus – 2006
This was an early title for the system and a port of the DS game. It’s still hard as balls and I still can’t beat this game, and I’ve tried three times on both versions. If you didn’t like the DS version you won’t like this one either. The controls not being a touch screen make you a little less imprecise which can lead to making the game seem harder. It features a crazy terrorist plot story and some anime tropes. If that’s your thing then pick this one up.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess – Nintendo – 2006
This was a launch title for the Wii and was a smash hit. Everyone talked about this game for a good five years after it was released. People cried at its reveal, and while it looked super ugly, it was a lot of fun and used the Wii controls very well. If you haven’t played a Zelda title before this is a great one to pick up, and until they finally port it to Switch, this is your best option unless you own a Wii U.
I’m really glad people are bringing back games that look and feel like original PlayStation games. There was something about the games on that system that just have a great feeling and the limited tech was perfect for horror games. It’s why that genre is so coveted on that platform and why every PS1 survival horror game garners high prices. Sure, they’re flawed, a little clunky, some might say ugly, but if you grew up with that system you would know what I’m talking about. The hardware limitations helped add to the mystery and creep factor.
Fatum Betula is one such game made like it was on the system. There’s no story, no characters, no goals, you just wander around the limited areas and try to get all 10 “endings”. There is a singular goal if you can call it that. You might put liquid in the water where a tree grows inside of a church of some kind. Each liquid gives you a different ending. The way you acquire these liquids is very abstract, confusing, and honestly, you need to play this game with a guide or you will never understand what to do. It’s almost a piece of art rather than a game.
When I first started out, I climbed the stairs inside the main “hub” and couldn’t figure out what to do. The controls are purposefully annoying with just a menu, save, and action button. The inventory menu looks like a PS1 one game, and I love it. The graphics are pixelated, blocky, and do the shifty thing that PS1 games did when moving the camera. It turns out that you’re supposed to stand still and stare into the void by the tree and a weird creature will come up and drop off the vials you need for the liquids. Then I had no idea what to do without addressing a guide. There’s one section where you are walking over a lake and must sleep inside an ancient Japanese hut. When you wake up the entire game is glitched out, on purpose, with just a red Japanese symbol texture as the skybox and it’s very disorienting. You then have to get a knife, cut a rope, and the character will give you the liquid you need to give to the tree.
Once you do drop the liquid off to the tree you get a weird ending of stock footage that’s pixelated and low-res with some sort of message. It’s bizarre but also so cool to see. This is where the guide is needed because technically you can beat the game in about 10 minutes. It took me an hour with a guide to get all 10 endings, and for a sale price of a couple of dollars, this was a weird and interesting ride that I quite enjoyed. Part of what the guides have you do is get a certain amount of items and then save them because you need to reload to do something different. There’s a cat you can kill, feed, poison, etc., and each time that gives you a new liquid. It’s better to save before doing each action.
Fatum has eerie sound effects, creepy music, random noises, and it’s just a super weird experience. If you ever played LSD Simulator on PS1 you may have an idea of what this is about. Don’t go into this expecting a linear adventure, horror story, or anything like that. It plops you in and you must figure out what to do by thinking very abstractly and outside normal video game conventions. The final ending would most likely be impossible to figure out as you must put immortality liquid in the autumn river, then enter the church, exit, and at random the moon will appear behind the church, but you must reload and try again if that didn’t work. Things like this would make 99% of curious players just delete the game and get a refund, but use a guide and just enjoy the visual treat.
Life is Strange is one of my favorite games of all time. It just captured the small-town teenage adventure that a lot of us can reminisce about. It was one of the few games that I played that were so emotional and really made you feel for the world and characters you were in. The series keeps trying to capture that lightning in a bottle and doesn’t quite do it as the first game did. That magic is hard to reproduce, but True Colors is still quite an emotional game with great characters.
You play as Alex Chen, a young woman who is leaving foster care life for a small town in Colorado called Haven. Not only is there a town mystery to solve, but you are also trying to find a purpose and reason to stay. You end up living with your brother, Gabe and slowly start unlocking your past and the mystery of the town. That’s as far as I want to go with the story, anything else will literally spoil the game as there are quite a few big twists and turns and even just revealing certain things that happen are a surprise and are unexpected. What I will say is that the story focuses a bit too much on this town mystery and less on your personal feelings with those around you despite Alex’s “power” involving raw emotion. When I first started the game I will admit that Deck Nine have a great way to get to the point of how the main character feels about the world around them. When you open your phone you can read text messages and bulletin posts that help explain what’s going on outside of Alex’s life. I recommend reading these texts at the very beginning of the game because she ends up blocking some people and after reading this long thread it kind of helps you see more of what Alex is feeling in her life.
The first chapter is slow to build, much slower than in previous games and the story doesn’t really pick up until right at the end of Chapter 1. The game also doesn’t have much gameplay. You do get to control Alex in certain areas to “explore” which only consists of hearing her internal dialog and commenting on things you can look at. I don’t feel this really adds to anything and just feels like an excuse to make this a game and not an interactive movie. This is a serious issue with adventure games these days. There are no puzzles, no real exploration, just lame gameplay excuses to make you feel like you’re controlling anything. I understand this is so it doesn’t scare off casual gamers, but adventure games are known for their puzzles. The only gameplay in here is a certain scene where you are doing a LARP (live-action role play) that the town takes part in and the game kind of has a light make-believe RPG thing going on. There are things to “collect” like looking at certain objects and interacting with things that can be missed and listening to people’s internal dialog with Alex’s powers.
There are major choices to be made in the game and that’s the true core of Life is Strange. These choices are pretty tough and really change the outcome of the story, but there aren’t as many in True Colors as in previous entries. There only are a few major choices where the game pauses and lets you chose. Other things are dialog options, but I never could really tell if these made a change or not and that’s a real weakness with this game. You could argue it’s so organic that you don’t notice, and maybe that’s better? I’m not quite sure, but I know only the major choices I made were obvious in their effect. I also found there may be too many characters in this game and we aren’t given enough time with any of them. Even Alex’s love interest, while touching and emotional, feels shallow and one-note. There isn’t enough time spent with this person to establish this connection. It’s more in line with just a few actions that took place and suddenly they love each other? It doesn’t feel super organic, and Alex’s other friends aren’t allowed any insight into their past like with Cloe or Max in the first game. I cared a lot about Alex, but not too much about anyone else because of these factors.
The game isn’t impressive to look at on a technical level, there are some last-gen textures here and there, but the lighting is great, and the facial animations are fantastic. The characters’ emotions really come across thanks to the details put into the facial animations. While the game looks miles better than previous entries it still feels like parts are older than others. The music is fantastic as always and carries the Life is Strange atmosphere from previous entries. It’s good enough to listen to outside of the game and I still listen to the first game’s OST all the time. The music plays in just the right moments and really helps carry the emotional scenes through to the end and adds an extra punch to the gut.
With that said, True Colors does what previous games did well in, but doesn’t quite capture the magic of the first game. There are too many characters and this brings the focus away from the core characters, and we don’t get insight into their past to care about them much. Alex’s love interest feels shallow and underdeveloped, and the mystery of the town itself also brings the focus away from helping the characters grow. I feel there are just too many distractions in the story to make it feel as wholesome as the first game. The visuals, while looking great in spots, feel dated, but the facial animations are fantastic. The music is amazing and helps Life is Strange to establish an atmosphere all on its own, but I also feel the choices aren’t as obvious in this game. What’s here is a great game with some seriously emotional scenes that are well done, but don’t come in expecting out of this world storytelling like the first game.
Beautiful indie games are something that comes only once in a while. When you think about these games like Journey, Limbo, Inside, Braid, Monument Valley, and Flower. These are memorable games that most core gamers know of and look up to when it comes to quality indie games, and what defines an indie game. Omno tries this but doesn’t quite reach that height for several reasons.
So, when it comes to these minimalistic indie games they usually try to tell a story with no voice acting through music and action of the protagonist. Games like Journey and Inside pulled this off amazingly well, and I even remember tearing up a bit with Journey despite no written or spoken dialog being present. Omno has some great music and tries to pull off the adventurous fast-paced snowboarding/gliding on linear pathways with epic music and opening up to a beautiful vista kind of like how Journey did, but it doesn’t quite work here. Once you land you get the camera ripped from you and your little guy walks up to the vista and the camera pans around. That detracts from the user’s perspective and takes away that epic experience. Diving into the open area without any cuts adds to the sense of exploration and discovery because now I don’t quite know where I landed, but if I get a camera cut it kind of ruins the surprise.
Most of what Omno consists of are repetitive puzzle-solving open areas that all play out exactly the same. There are white orbs you must collect to unlock the final puzzle to move on, but there are optional things you can do to get 100% in the area which isn’t hard. I was able to 100% the game on my first try without a walkthrough. You get an area map once you get to the waypoint and this shows where the orbs are. Each area has about five and one orbs requires gathering white cubes from animals and plants around the area. Once you have enough this unlocks one of the five orbs. You then have a few books to find that have a dialog about another creature going on their pilgrimage. Some orbs require platforming puzzles or moving blocks or shuffling things around. It’s very easy and I found almost no challenge in these puzzles. You do unlock new abilities as time goes on such as teleporting to certain waypoints, surfing on your staff, and dashing.
There is a small sense of progression and each new area is beautiful and looks great. However, I felt like it was a chore by the tenth one because I knew exactly what was coming up. Find five orbs, gather the cubes for that one orb, find the books, solve at least three puzzles, etc. It became predictable and there is really no story or character development between this so the game relies on pretty graphics and whimsical music to keep you going. The platforming and controls work okay most of the time but I felt dashing was a bit hard to control and landing was a bit slippery. Many times I slid off a cliff or block just to start over again.
If the game was just a linear adventure traveling through these valleys I feel it would be a better and more memorable experience. Having a dozen levels that play out exactly the same for literally no reason is boring and a chore despite how pretty the game looks. Maybe four or five spread out between more eye candy would have been better for this type of game, but what’s here turns into a slog towards the end. I still recommend the game as it can be finished in less than four hours and it is charming to look at and explore, but just be prepared for repetitive level design and unchallenging puzzles. The story is pretty much nonexistent and there’s no type of character development even through actions. Omno (I think that’s his name?) has a flying axolotl type creature flying around with him and the creature is sick maybe? At the beginning of some levels he picks him up and the thing looks like it’s dying? I honestly don’t even know.
UsTwo’s next game is a small adventure game where you play as a girl named Alba who is trying to save the local wildlife reserve from corporate hotel moguls. You run around the island trying to gain 50 signatures on a petition to give to the mayor in hopes it will stop the construction. The main gameplay loop of the game is taking photos of 62 different animals on the island via your phone and scanning them with an app. Other objectives include picking up trash, restoring birdhouses and feeders, and rescuing animals from toxic chemicals.
The island is broken up into small areas so it’s easier to navigate and find where you need to go. Side quests have a green arrow and main objectives have gold ones on the map. The entire game is broken up into three days and you will complete most of the game within two hours fairly easily. Sadly, most of the game is running around back and forth between areas with very little to actually do. Picking up trash and fixing items is about all there is to do here. You can also replace photos on info boards, but most everything is done during the main story as you will come across every area at some point. You can talk to most of the townsfolk, but they have nothing important to say except to waste your time as per NPC regulations. They don’t even offer side quests which feel odd.
I did enjoy taking photos of the animals as tracking them was a lot of fun, but sometimes there is just one bird you can’t find somewhere to complete a side objective and it’s quite irritating and frustrating. While the idea of respecting nature and animals is a great message to get across in a game I felt nothing for the characters as there wasn’t enough time to do any world-building. For most of the game, you’re just trying to get the 50 signatures and nothing really happens until the last 20 minutes of the game. For such a large island I felt there could have been more to do with maybe some mini-games or more side objectives. Even adding more animals that aren’t 90% birds would have been nice as well. Animals are categorized into rarity, but I don’t see how this has any bearing as there’s not point or rating system for finding these animals. Hell, there isn’t even an achievement for finding all the animals in the game!
The game at least looks really pretty and the low-poly art style with bright vivid colors is great. The game has good lighting effects and the sound effects of animals everywhere are a nice touch. Alba controls well as she runs around the island and I didn’t run into any bugs or crashes of any kind. However, on my iPhone 12 Pro Max, I still ran into frequent slowdown especially when zoomed in on the phone. This phone is more than capable of running this game at 60FPS stable, but it needs better optimization. You will end up seeing what the entire game offers in the first 30 minutes of the game, but that’s not to say this game is boring. Two hours is probably just the right length, to be honest as any more and it would overstay its welcome due to the lack of things to do. I highly recommend this game to young players for the message it delivers and any gamer for just a relaxing and chill game.
When I first saw Builder’s Journey the first thing that popped into my mind was Monument Valley. It looks similar with a bright and colorful art style, no voice acting, and a story told through actions. It features small spinnable tower-like levels that only take a couple of minutes to solve. The game is imaginative and a nice departure from the typical movie license LEGO games we get from Traveler’s Tales. It’s relaxing, fun, and feels like you’re using Legos to get around these levels to reach your destination.
You play as a boy and his father who essentially are trying to take down some evil company the dad works for. The game is so short that there isn’t time for a feel-good story or emotions to set in, but the game at least tries. You pick up lego pieces and set them down on the round pegs like you would in real life. You hold the pick-up button to let go and that’s about it. You can spin the level a little bit, but the great thing about this game is there’s no preset design you need to follow. You get a few pieces and the puzzle is to figure out how to put them together with the limited pegs in the level to get your characters across. Each character has two orange platform pieces that you use for them to hop around on. Sometimes you need to build something, but the game gets tough towards the end.
Puzzles towards the end involve two screens in which you need to either place blocks a certain way or get blocks to the other screen in a certain way. Each area has maybe five puzzles before the next idea is brought in. One idea is using race track-type pieces with curves and straights to get across on a roller skate. Another idea is using blocks to grow more are you put them down. It’s all very imaginative and never gets boring or old. The game has a “just one more puzzle” feel to it. You get breaks in between with a scripted puzzle that just requires putting a few pieces together, but it’s a nice break. I did have issues placing and dropping blocks as the camera would be at a weird angle. The blocks do snap over the pegs they need to go in, but sometimes I just couldn’t get it positioned right and required fiddly placement.
There were a few occasions in which where to go in the level wasn’t obvious or my character wouldn’t start hopping across the level because a certain block was too high or too far away and I couldn’t figure out which one. The levels that take this kind of trial and error are frustrating and ruin the pacing, but thankfully there were only a few. I also feel that this game could have been made without the Lego branding. While it feels and looks charming, generic blocks would have worked just as well too. There’s nothing that the Lego branding brings to this game to make it feel unique.
That’s basically it to the entire game. It ends in 90 minutes as it was originally designed for iOS devices with 5-10 minute pick-up-and-play sessions. There is an RTX option for PC, which is super weird for this kind of game, and it looks okay, but why cut your frames in half for a game like this? There are only a few levels that use light that uses RTX, so it feels kind of pointless. Other than that the game looks great and the physics are also good as well. I highly recommend this game if you want a zen-like relaxing puzzle game to kill a couple of hours. It’s not memorable, but it sure is fun.
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