techland |

Publisher: Techland

Developer: Piccolo

Release Date: 12/03/2019

Available On

Simple is a great word to put in the title because this game is very simple—almost too simple—and it’s a continuing issue with these “artsy-fartsy” games that have been out since Echochrome was released over 10 years ago. Journey is still the game that does this best and hasn’t been topped. While Arise actually has gameplay, unlike similar games, it still has no purpose, meaning, or story. You play as an old man who is clearly remembering his past, be it meeting his wife, surviving harsh journeys as a child, or various problems that arose with his own child, but these are told with just statues posing to show an image or an idea, and it’s never really clear.

The majority of Arise is composed of great platforming, with varied environments and time manipulation at your disposal. One level has you rewinding and fast-forwarding time to freeze or thaw water, causing platforms to appear and disappear underwater. Another is a level where you just leap across lily pads, and moving time makes the pads spin around. Another level is on a mountainside, and you use the time to rewind time to use the destruction of the cliffside as platforms. It’s very unique and fun, and I had a blast figuring out how to get across each level, which has different uses from the time manipulation and varied levels, making the 3-hour adventure never seem stale.

However, a few issues arose with weird camera angles, and I couldn’t make out where I was jumping and made poor judgments. I even ran into an issue where a sparkly wind would carry me across a level and dump me on a lilypad, only to fall right through it—about half a dozen times. Outside of this, the game wasn’t hard to figure out, and I flew through the game in no time. The music is fantastic and has a sweeping orchestral score similar to Journey. But, unlike Journey, there just isn’t a purpose or story really told here, and I want this fanciful art to stick with me. I know I’ll forget Arise in a few weeks, while I still remember my three playthroughs of Journey from 7 years ago like they were yesterday.

The visuals are superb, with a gorgeous art style and lighting effects. I particularly like how each level has a feeling behind the platforms. The lilypads feel squishy, while another level’s bouncy round cells feel like rubber. There’s so much to look at and take in that on a really nice TV or monitor, the colors will pop and dazzle you. The seven levels bring something new to the game, and each one takes around 20 minutes to finish. There are even some areas where ghosts will kill you if you don’t manipulate the forest fire around you to provide light, and another level has you pausing time to light up the area with lighting strikes. It’s just such a shame there’s no reason to finish the journey other than to see the gorgeous levels.

Overall, Arise doesn’t break the cycle of artsy indie games having no story or purpose, but it at least has great gameplay, unlike the majority of them. I wanted to feel the emotions the old man was going through, but how can I when there’s no context? Developers need to understand that they may understand and feel what’s going on, but we, as players, have no clue. A few statues and an old man looking sad don’t tell us anything. Play Arise for the visuals and platforming, but don’t expect something to tell your friends about.

Reviewed On

Xbox One S Controller

Publisher: Warner Bros. Entertainment

Developer: Techland

Release Date: 1/27/2015

Available On

Zombie games are everywhere now, but they have also gotten better over the years. Zombies are probably the most iconic horror character ever, and almost everyone is fascinated by them. However, a new fascination has started coming around: What would happen if we truly and honestly were hit by a zombie apocalypse? Gone are the campy days of old horror films where zombies were just scary and cool. People are even getting down to the nitty-gritty science of zombies, and it’s now showing up in video games. Dying Light is probably one of the better zombie games out there and, for sure, the best open-world one.

You play as a man named Kyle Crane who is working for the GRE, a group tasked with finding a cure in ground zero of the zombie outbreak. The story actually doesn’t get interesting until towards the end of the game. The actual story missions are quite entertaining and well put together. My favorite moments were chase sequences as these got very intense and pretty scary. Despite all this, the characters are a little weak and disappointing. The main antagonist, Rais, had potential in the beginning by being a sick twisted ass with a God complex, but in the end, he became cliché and it all went downhill. Other characters are bit parts and aren’t as strong as other open-world characters such as Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, or even Mass Effect. They feel generic and forgettable, and honestly, nothing all that interesting is going on in this world besides zombies.

That’s what I have to gripe about the most. Dying Light had a lot of potential to create some great lore around this fictional area and develop some memorable characters, but instead went the route of just getting as many missions out there as possible and relying on the open world itself. There is just so much potential here. The world itself is well put together and huge. There are some unique areas where pieces of the story could be told, but the developers just bypassed this all together.

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With that said, the combat is actually quite satisfying. This isn’t a game in which you kill everything in sight. The whole point is to run away and survive. Sometimes you will run across a bridge that has nearly a hundred zombies. It’s best to just run on top of the cars and stay away. The whole game is in the first person, so the combat is similar to Dead Island or even The Elder Scrolls. There are many different types of weapons you can create or buy, and the ones with mods are the most fun to use. Slicing off a zombie’s head is satisfying, as is jumping over a zombie to escape an entire horde. I actually like how the game forces you to only fight when the opportunity is right. Nighttime is the most dangerous, and fighting is probably mostly avoided. Dangerous, volatile zombies that are extremely hard to kill will chase you down in the dead of night. I mostly avoided the nighttime unless a quest required me to be in it. It also helps add to the atmosphere, and I was usually scared and very paranoid when traveling at night. There are guns in the game; however, using them is very dangerous since faster, more deadly zombies will hear the sounds and surround you. Shooting is very satisfying in the game, but it’s best used in isolated areas where runners can’t respawn.

Once the player reaches level 12, they can unlock a grappling hook, which is essential for traveling vast parts of the game. It has a two-time use rather than a 10-second cooldown, but it sure comes in handy when escaping hordes of zombies or traveling large distances. With all this combined, Dying Light has a great world to explore, despite how generic it may feel. Everything does get better towards the end of the game as you can use more powerful weapons, and fighting zombies (even the more powerful ones) becomes easier and less like a chore.

Graphically, Dying Light looks fantastic. There are some awesome lighting effects, and the draw distance is amazing. The textures are a little sketchy, as are some of the zombie models. However, the game really shows off the power of the next-gen consoles and is probably one of the best zombie games to date. Outside of the generic story, the combat is rewarding, as is leveling up your character, but I just can’t help but feel that there is something missing from this game. It feels empty and lonely, but not in the way it’s supposed to feel. When it comes to multiplayer, it’s nothing special and will probably be forgotten quickly. It’s fun for a little while, but you probably have other multiplayer games that are much better.