Friday, May 24, 2019

Skelly Selest (PS4)

Skelly Selest is an interesting indie of imaginative inspiration. It takes old horror movie tropes, and combines them with indie game ideas already done to create perhaps one of the more interesting mixtures of modern day gaming genres. The game's story alone is a bold reminder of a certain line quoted from a more well known zombie film franchise. The one going on about an overcrowded hell, and the damned walking the Earth. So forth, and so on. George A. Romero would be proud. While that quote sets the foundation of the game's given plot the developer takes that very premise a step further by adding that the damned are basically trying to knock down heaven's gate in true Diablo fashion, and bring heaven down upon it's metaphorical knees. That, and the key fact that heaven's guardians aren't themselves the angelic beings you'd think they would be, but are instead skeletal vessels wielding heavenly weapons.

As a skeletal warrior of God you basically take up arms much like the hunter from Bloodborne with a gun in one hand, and an axe in the other. Ultimately facing off against endless hordes of the damned across multiple modes in a neverending fashion similar to the torment of hell itself. You'll fight in hunts for Arch Lichemancers, do some dungeon crawling in a similar fashion to "The Binding of Isaac", face endless waves of increasingly difficult to defeat denizens in a coliseum, and even play against the damned in a single player versus CPU card/tile game that utilizes diamond shaped character cards with four numerical values placed at each corner. In an attempt to go up against similar cards that have lesser or greater values themselves. The goal of the latter being to flip as many cards in your favor as possible by either having greater numbers that beat the opponents play by single or double digits. Double digits basically flipping multiple opponents cards that are connected by adjacent placing on a playing field of diamond slots with a random centerpiece value set before the coin is flipped, and the first turn taken. Kind of like Tic-Tac-Toe, but not. Needless to say there's plenty to play, and get into if you are a brave enough soul to face the insurmountable odds.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Lapis x Labyrinth (PS4)

Whether you choose to play it on PS4, or Nintendo Switch the experience that is NISA's "Lapis x Labyrinth" holds the same context, and content regardless of platform. Unlike a lot of their more deeply involved, and campaign heavy JRPGs of the past though this platforming cute 'em up takes the allure of looting, combines it with NISA's character stacking antics, and throws in a short story to boot. At the heart of it all is the briefly disclosed legend of a highly sought after tree of unimaginable treasure. That, and timeless accounts of adventurers seeking to find it, but forever failing. As a named leader of a party of mismatched character class types seeking the same object of wealth untold you set out on perhaps the last chance at looting this fabled fortune that time could soon forget. With the help of a village filled with quest givers, and other individuals of interest you will embark on this journey as you face off against many a foe in a floor by floor vertical descent to claim the ultimate prize or prizes.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Feudal Alloy (PS4)

Often times in the heat and hype of Triple A, and indie game releases we see gamers prioritize their purchases more around the hyped bigger releases, than the ambitious smaller indies. I have no doubt most of you chose to skip out on this week's selection of odd PS4 indies in lieu of "RAGE 2". Much like I did. While "RAGE 2" no doubt deserves at least some attention the other developers unfairly face uncertain sales numbers, and unfortunately so in light of said scheduled releases. What if I were to tell you though that a certain indie titled, "Feudal Alloy" was good enough for your money? That it took an old genre that's been rung through the ringer time and time again, and made it it's own unique experience? An experience just as a good as some Triple A releases, if not better. Well, that's exactly how I feel about Attu Games' first indie entry on the PS4 store. I think that not only did the developer give their 110% in effort, but the presentation also reflects such quality. From the voice acted intro narration to the hand drawn, and animated art it all comes together better than a lot of the Metroidvanias I've see on the indie front in the past few years.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Lovecraft's Untold Stories (PS4)

Like one of my other all-time favorite Lovecraft inspired indies called "The Darkest Dungeon", "Lovecraft's Untold Stories" really captures the essence of Lovecraft's lore. The very effects of insanity, and fear in a world haunted by the Old Ones. This time around the developer in question allows the gamer to experience the disorienting fright in the roles of a handful of unique individuals. Each with their own backstory, locations to explore, and mechanics based on a sort of twin stick shooter build. Initially you'll get to reprise the role of a named detective who finds himself, as most unfortunate Lovecraft characters do, searching for clues pertaining to a missing individual in a mansion. Through the shotgun armed detective you'll search for clues in the form of items with textual descriptions, and face off against cultist, and other Lovecraftian horrors as you try to solve the mystery at hand without completely losing your mind. Choosing the wrong actions in multiple choice situations can make things hairy scary though by inflicting an abnormal sanity status. Ultimately warping your perception of the world around you, and bringing you closer to facing the sum of all humankind's fears. Those fears being the Old Ones themselves. Fear inducing Old Gods such as Azataroth, Shubb-Niggurath, Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, and Dagon. You will traverse various locales inspired by Lovecraftian lore including mansions, port city, hospitals, the jungle. and even the world beyond. Making rounds from area to area unlocking the mysteries through the roles of a detective, a professor, a witch, a thief, and even a ghoul. Each with their own unique play style.

Monday, May 6, 2019

Black Paradox (PS4)

Like so many other indie developers in the industry Fantastico Studios tries to capitalize on 80's pop culture in their pixel populated game. Through a rogue-like shoot'em up called, "Black Paradox" they take the gamer on visually VHS inspired galactic bounty hunt in a spaced out DeLorean against seven lieutenants of an organized galactic crime gang known only as the Hellraisers. This flight, and fight for monetary compensation across the known and unknown universe has you manning in both single player, and two player local co-op a decked out, and upgradeable flying DeLorean, of all things. An unusual spaceship choice of sorts with the capability to not only utilize an impressive array of technologically advanced weaponry along with shields, and other add-ons of use, but also associated boosted stats that change accordingly to said equipped items.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Sonic the Hedgehog | A Movie Mistake, An Artistic Pisstake, or A Proper Effort Not to Copy SEGA's Mascot?

There have been all sort of video game to movie failures over the years. The artistic direction behind these cash-in ideas always seem to miss the mark of the video game counterpart's greatness. Whether it be with the story being told, the lore interpretation, or character design directors just can't seem to understand what makes our favorite video game icons so memorable. Perhaps they try so hard not to create a clone that they end up creating something else entirely as a result out of respect of the source material. That having been said I've personally seen worse character design than that of the latest Sonic the Hedgehog depiction. Case in point the Super Mario Bros. movie that made King Koopa (aka, Bowser) into something totally different along with the Goombas, and Big Bertha. I get that Sonic looks more humanoid, and that he's on par with the furry fetish, but I do believe his design is not the worst. If anything my main concern lies with the story being told, and the chosen actors and actresses. None of which look fitting of a Sonic the Hedgehog tale ... outside of Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik imitation ... though even that is not purely Dr. Robotnik if we were to be honest.