Stray Review – Everybody Wants To Be A Cat
For all it’s been reduced to being “The Cat Game”, Stray ends up being a visually stunning classical indie puzzle platforming adventure.
For all it’s been reduced to being “The Cat Game”, Stray ends up being a visually stunning classical indie puzzle platforming adventure.
It would be easy to dismiss Lake as another example of the “Pastoral Saviour” genre, akin to Animal Crossing/Stardew Valley. A stressed city slicker takes a break and goes out to the country to find themselves, their love and reset their life. They fix their life, and bring a little modern culture back to the boonies. You know this plot, because it’s also every other Hallmark movie. But that would be doing Lake a disservice. Because it is sort of that, but presented so beautifully and interrogated in such a meaningful way that it’s hard not to fall for the quiet pines and placid Lake.
A Trufflepig is a type of pig that sniffs through mud and find truffles. The Magnificent Trufflepigs is a grandiose name for a very sedate interactive drama that doesn’t quite reach truffle levels of richness.
We haven’t had a good single player 40k first person shooter in such a long time. Depending on your opinion of Fire Warrior, we’ve never had one. Necromunda: Hired Gun changes that spectacularly.
There was an idea. An idea for a game that would let you play as a group of remarkable characters. A combination of multiple genres in one title to see if they could become something more. Marvel’s Avengers is not quite that game.
It’s so easy to get lost in Mount and Blade: Warband. A game that offers you a world of politicking and trade and system driven combat. One of those games where systems drive everything that’s interesting about the game.
I thought I didn’t really like isometric RPGs. It turns out what I really didn’t like was how most isometric RPGs played. An endless slog of grids and turn based combat getting in the way of enjoying the roleplaying. Disco Elysium is an Isometric RPG. I love Disco Elysium.
The best games in the city building genre are time machines. A player should be able to run the game, begin building their metropolis and suddenly realise that they’ve lost an evening and gained an urban sprawl. Islanders manages to do this in a way most city builders don’t. It turns the whole process of building your city into a puzzle in and of itself.
Life is Strange 2 had a tough act to follow. The first season was an adventure game based around time travel and decision making with “intensely” loved female teen characters. This is a road trip story starring two Hispanic brothers where the main draw is that the younger of the two must be looked after and taught by the older of the two. For the most part in Episode 1, it’s impressive how well the transition goes.
An atmospheric blend of brawling combat action game and conversation based adventure game, Vampyr is the latest title from Dontnod Entertainment and Focus Home Interactive. Not a perfect game, but one worth your time even if you’re not fascinated by the gothic.