Nerdie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nerdietalk) wrote2018-12-31 10:37 pm
nerdietalk) wrote2018-12-31 10:37 pmFiction of 2019
Hell yeah, a new and improved obsessive list
nerdietalk) wrote2018-12-31 10:37 pm
Games
January
A fun little action game where you make choices to see how a fox dies. I really enjoyed getting the wacky endings and seeing all the horrible ways Reynardo can die but WOW does this game start to drag after you've gotten far enough. I'm glad for most of the endings I got but jesus I could not play another ten hours.
West of Loathing
I've never played Kingdom of Loathing but this sure made me want to. It's a delightful RPG with stick figures and nonsense screwball comedy. Time is pretty split between building the strongest team and then discovering a non-violent way around even using your team. And it wasn't that I felt a big need to spare people, it just made things easier for me and I got more dialogue out of it. I really just went in trying to wring as much dialogue from the characters as I could. I dropped about 13 hours into it and wasn't bored for a second.
Unavowed
Another WadjetEyes point and click. I love this dev team and this might be one of my favorites. Dave Gilbert has this talent for wild but compelling story ideas. A local suburb becoming obsessed with creating art until they self-destruct. A protestor spitting out generic anti-corporate stuff, not because he wants to, but because that's all he's allowed to say. Another district where everyone reacts to death with the same chipper tone. And for once, I really enjoyed the ending. Gilbert's getting better at endings!
The main story itself is super compelling and the characters are strong (good work from ProZD). That said, they do get a little predictable. Logan just won't STOP talking about the alcoholism and Vicki's every other sentence has a variation of "when you're in a cop family." Please have.... other traits... but overall, in time, this might be my favorite WadjetEye.
The Hex
What the fuck.
I think its missing a few components to really tighten it up, but its an absolutely thrilling experience that I couldn't look away from. I went in completely blind and was on the edge of my seat throughout.
Lamplight City
Francisco Gomez's second game after Shardlight and very different from what he produced while working with WadjetEye. Dave Gilbert/WadjetEye games are great at creating amazing, layered characters and pushing their art and puzzles to the test. Gomez is aiming for something quite different. He's going even further old school and expanding on that style and gameplay. What he lacks in layered characters, he makes up for in just fun mysteries. It's a blast putting together all the pieces to the puzzle.
Okami
A beautiful, artistic, stunning game with character and style out the whazzoo. An absolutely phenomenal achievement. Its just so long, gang. It took me six months, fellas. It took me three years, on three separate attempts. Its so long. I love it! I enjoyed it a lot! But its so long.
Detention
A haunting, sinister game about the history of Taiwan. It takes place during a specific point in history, during Taiwan's state of martial law. Its a piece of history I was unfamiliar with and one I'm all the better for knowing. The tension and creeping dread wash over you quickly as the story unfolds. The question of the game isn't "what's going on?" Its "what did I do?"
What did you do, Ray?
February
Its using a lot of things that Paper Mario would do better but... its really clear why its so beloved. Its a hell of a game with lots of weird ideas. I totally get the appeal of Geno now. He's a hell of a character.
March
I dumped 50 hours into it. I love it a lot.
Ghost Trick (Replay)
God what a classic game. What an incredible, perfectly paced, insanely well done game. I both want this to have a sequel and to be left alone? I want Shu Takumi to get the chance to make more games that aren't Ace Attorney. He can make some incredible stories.
MySims Agents
Its goofy and its dumb but. God damn do I love this game. Its so charming.
April
A bizarre puzzle game with a nigh-incomprehensible plot. It feels very proto-Dangan Ronpa, with both less and more of Dangans problems. I think I liked the characters even if some are half-baked. Never forget upside-down sudoku.
Donut Country
A very charming fun little casual game good for planes and drives. Short fun but good fun!
The Sexy Brutale
Hell of a game! It made a lot of best game lists and I can see why. Its inventive, its charming, and it has a lot to say about redemption and when its deserved, when its not, and so on. Gameplay's great, game good.
Session Seven
Free point and click. Kind of a pixel hunter. Trying to tell something deep, success is debatable. Gives you small choices with some effect on story. Its an hour of your time and harmless.
The Darkside Detective
Fills out my itch for point and click, but lacks the story weight I need to be truly fulfilling.
The Journey Down
Little bit deeper than Darkside! I think the characters need... a bit more to them? But there's enough style and fun to carry it through. Final battle rests on the power of rock and that's great.
May
GREAT GAME. Its a game that pushes you towards the perfect run and its a blast every second. Excited for whatever the sequel/DLC will be. What a fucking game.
Helen's Mysterious Castle
Unique gameplay for a RPG that I've never seen before or since. It drops you right into a world pre-established and lets you discover the lore secretly right until the final hour. It did its on take on the Undertale idea and it really works. Try it out! Its $2.
Analogue: A Hate Story
Played it on a whim before I went to sleep. Kept playing until I finished it at 4 am. It sparks that same sort of rage you get reading racist/stupid comments online. Its so infinitely infuriating reading that same shit. But that's the point? Its about going through historical documents and confronting the worst of people head-on. Its puzzling through the past to put together the wider picture. And that's rad! It gets pretty Anime in HMM ways and I feel weird about Hyun-ae love arc but its. Still fun! Really interesting and worth a play.
Danganronpa
I watched the anime first and I never care about spoilers and the fandom can be pretty bad but somehow a lot of it still works. I'm always rolling my eyes at the whole "hope vs despair" fight but the whole series is so over the top anyway. And the mysteries are so fun. The anime is on such a tight crunch that the extra time the game gives you to develop each character is a welcome relief. Its fun but sincere, even in its meta jokes.
The Last Door: Season 1
Extremely creepy, somewhat half-baked. It just kinda falls apart when it tries to do bigger things, but the first and second chapter is phenomenal. I was real spooked.
Whispers of a Machine
Nordic cyberpunk mystery! Really fun mechanically with lots of replay value! The endings kinda bum me out! I don't know, I associate cyberpunk with like. Anti-authority and not straight people? This game puts you in a weird spot. Siding with authority gets you away from the weird straightness, but also makes you feel like shit if your character doesn't become a mom. Meanwhile, wanna join the crazy religious revolution? Well, you get two women on a cool roadtrip together, and then your ghost husband shows up to say "remember this is all for Straight Reasons, not gay ones, also don't think about how creepy I'm acting". Its just kind of a bummer!
Its also kind of weird how the power you from being empathetic to people is mind wiping. That feels fucked. Dislike.
June
A fascinating logic game that requires your COMPLETE ATTENTION. Never seen anything like it and it kept me captivated for eight straight hours.
Star Fox 64
Oh that's how this game is 1.5 hours and still beloved. Lots of replayability, lots of charm and character, a rocking good time. I'd love this franchise to do more because it seems like they've been put out to the pasture.
Heaven Will Be Mine
A great, gay as hell game. I think it gets a bit wordy and has characters talk about their problems rather than show them, which wasn't really a problem in We Know the Devil. Its weird. They're always talking about "here's your problem [character] which only I recognize" but it kind of seems like every character recognizes the problems. But its a game that's so much about fluidity and the abstract and trying to find something solid and real in space that maybe that's okay? Celestial Mechanics ending was probably my preference for this reason. Embrace the abstract, embrace the unknown, defy the set rules society gave us. Different is good. Different is great.
2064: Read Only Memories
A LGBT-friendly game about AI, technology, and the consequences we live with. I think they want you to feel that each ending has a consequence: like there's no "good" ending per se. But there's definitely a good ending so the attempts to make it seem muddled kinda fall flat. Characters are enjoyable and entertaining, the world-building is.... interesting but with some furry stuff that I feel vaguely weird about but fine otherwise. Its fun! Ten hours spent well.
Hollow Knight
I played fifty hours in like a week or two. What a fucking game. There's a lot of Metroidvania I've bounced off of, but this was a delight from beginning to end. You're rewarded no matter where you go and the world is engaging and well-developed. If I was going to show you a single game to pitch you on the Metroidvania genre, it would be this one. God damn.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
All Kirby games are basically the same but guess what. They're all good. Don't even try to complain. They're all great.
July
Game good! I might try other ones but as charmed as I was, a lot of this was a slog. It moves at a really good pace for a while but sometimes there's just long boring sections that lose me and then I stop playing for a month. I started it in February. Like woof. Still! Vivi and Steiner were great, Zidane won me over eventually, the girls were not as bad as they could have been, and the villain becomes real compelling by the end. A good time!
A Case of Distrust
A short mystery game. That's what I need sometimes. There's two clues that require you to pay attention to really specific details and actually think about them. Naturally, those are the ones that gave me trouble. But! It was still a beautiful, minimalist game and if you want to spend two hours problem solving, you deffo can.
Black Mirror I
Not the tv show. Its goofy ass point and click horror at its finest. Its doing its best to work and sometimes it lands but its mostly just campy fun. It does, however, have a whole slog of waiting around for the game to continue that just sucks. Its padding out the game for the sake of padding out the game. Its infuriating.
Persona 5
It just... works. 100 hour games is a hell of a time investment, but it absolutely sucks you in. Every character is incredible, the plotline is really engaging, the gameplay never gets tiring, and its just a wonderful time. People say it goes kind of off-the-rails and I do think the final hours could have been better established but... I still really enjoyed all 99 hours I played. I'd play it again even. Its a fun ride.
Nancy Drew: The Captive Curse
I missed Nancy Drew a lot. I haven't played one in years and I think I'm gonna quickly change that. There's something so charming about all the goofy puzzles and the voice acting and everything. But I think the games have really evolved since I dropped them off. There's more care into people's motives and stories than I remembered. The writing is more powerful and funny. Its a riot.
Day of the Tentacle: Remastered
By comparison, this has aged horribly. It was a fun ride but a lot of jokes don't land and its painfully 90s. Schafer games are certainly goofy, but the other ones just have much more depth and care into its characters than this. I don't... care about Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne. I want to- Laverne is a very different type of "obligatory girl" character that I haven't seen before. But it just didn't drag me in.
August
Hey! These games are about murder again! Nancy Drew moving up in the world! Taking some risks!
Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall
Liked it a little less that Deadly Device, but the character drama's much stronger. Big ol tragic family fucking up the world. Love that shit.
Monkey Island 2: Revenge of LeChuck
I was dreading starting this and put it off for years. Actually? Also a really good one! Guybrush turning into a dick wasn't as bad as it could have been. The ending twist better paced than I expected. LeChuck comes off much more terrifying than he usually does, Tales of Monkey Island aside. Chapter 2 goes on too long, but 3 and 4 knock it out of the park. A great piece of the franchise.
Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice
Somehow a stronger and weaker entry in the series! It starts a Phoenix Wright games and ends up more of an Apollo Justice 2. Some of the characters are weaker but the cases are better than usual! The cases all follow this idea of perception and people blaming others for mistakes they made. Shaming the outsider rather than examining their own failings. This works better in some cases than ever.
But more than anything, the game aims to give Apollo a backstory and a send-off. It took until Dual Destinies for Apollo to gain a strong, personal arc. This game goes further, finally showing his childhood and role models. His motive for becoming a lawyer. And this wouldn't work as well if Dhurke wasn't such an endearing character right away. He sells you as the guy that wanted to be there for Apollo, but couldn't. The guy who did inspire Apollo to become a lawyer, despite believing Dhurke abandoned him. Apollo just becomes a much clearer picture. He tries to separate his feelings and his work and fails constantly. He never brings up his personal life because he's completely ashamed to admit he still just wants his dad to come back. It's a total retcon, but it actually works so much better than it should. Apollo is finally a full picture.
There's another bit of this developing characterization: Maya. She's still the same girl, but she's grown up. She's less silly than before. And Phoenix, like the player, doesn't know how to deal with it. Phoenix tries to egg her into the stepladder debate and gets no response. She's not a child anymore.
SADLY, not everything works. They try to sell you on the tragedy of the new prosecutor, but I just don't buy it. Edgeworth and Franziska worked because their arrogance came from a place of desperation to prove themselves. Nahyuta being secretly good doesn't work for me because of the perverse pleasure he takes calling everyone a sinner. I can't buy that he's chill when he's doing these things even outside of the country.
I don't believe Phoenix is a father to Trucy. He's concerned for her safety once and then never again. The tight bond Phoenix has with Maya isn't given here to Trucy. Let Phoenix age.
Ema finally getting her forensic work fills like she's lost a bit of her edge that was fun in Apollo Justice. Apollo Justice is dedicated to showing characters fail, and seeing Ema's failure undone gives me mixed feelings! But she's still a little snarky and bitter and that time lost still matters. So there's that.
I think... older Pearl needs more. It's like the games don't know what to do with her. They wanted her to still be a child but she's almost an adult. And I think now, what I want, is to see her take a major role. I think I want Pearl Fey: Ace Attorney. Or at the very least, she could be an assistant character to Apollo or Athena. That would be awesome.
All in all, despite my grievances, I enjoyed it a lot! It was a challenge again and a thrill to unlock the clues you need to show that murderer who's boss. The new breakdowns are a delight, case 2 being the stand-out. I thought I would hate Khu'rain, but it comes together really well and it's built up carefully to make sure it works. A great game and a promising future for the franchise!
Loom
Its... really ambitious. Its gonna be noteworthy mainly for the Monkey Island gag on it, but there are a lot of really broad ideas its going for! Characters don't have long but their motives are so quick and clear you get what they're about quickly. Bobbin is endearing and grows surprisingly quickly. But its also such a short game. There's not much time for major depth. I wish it had gotten its planned sequels because the ideas are really impressive.
Curse of Monkey Island
Not sure how I feel, actually! Its good but I think some jokes go on too long. The game joking that its funny Voodoo Lady's the only female character isn't funny when its true. Elaine getting damseled is just disappointing. But the evolution of insult swordfighting is fun! And Guybrush has more of a personality than he did before. I don't want to claim Ron Gilbert would make a perfect sequel, but I do think... something has changed. Its unclear what, but something.
The Dig
Fairly compelling sci-fi story. Immediately shoots its theme in the foot at the end, so good job on that.
Full Throttle Remastered
I was sure I'd hate this but its definitely one of Schafer's best. Creative, hilariously unexpected puzzle solutions, and also a perfectly short pace. Worth a buy!
Oh... Sir! The Hollywood Roast
Fun party game. Same as the first, with a new theme. Perfectly serviceable.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: A Graphical Adventure
Oh you old point and clicks. Frustrating me at every turn even as I have a blast. That Nazi castle and final temple.... woof that was hard!
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
I can see why people wanted this to be Indy 4. Its an exciting story, well-done Indy action, solid puzzles, and its got the same uncomfortable gender/race dynamics.
Rusty Lake Hotel
These games exist and keep going and pretending they have a story and jeez louise.
September
The core premise relies on the idea that the final twist is... a twist. And its pretty clear what's going on really quick. But in spite of that, the journey is genuinely fascinating. The strange world and its complexities are made somewhat worse by the final reveal (doesn't matter! not real!) but the art direction is so stunning and creative. Its a thrill to behold. A short three hour game.
The Silent Age
Another short, three hour point and click. Much less interesting and memorable than Tormentum but basically fine? Its about time travel shenanigans and shifting between timelines is one of the excitement of the puzzles. But it doesn't try going beyond that mechanic and abandons it at the very end for a pretty disappointing final chapter. But there is some exciting concepts thrown around and I can't say it wasted by time. A nice short journey. Can't complain.
Post Mortem
OLD 3D POINT AND CLICKS. WHY MUST YOU VEX ME.
So many of these puzzles can screw you out of the good ending if you ask a question out of order. You lose opportunities to get evidence all the time. Its frustrating!
Still Image
Sequel to Post-Mortem. Quite a bit better! Gameplay is easier and more intuitive, there's no "wrong" question. In fact, interrogations are split into two easily labelled types of questions: plot and personality. The former advances the story, the latter helps develop the character if you're curious. Puzzles are much more intuitive too. Story kind of falls apart as the game runs out of money, but its still better than Post Mortem. I don't... think I'll play Still Image 2, honestly I feel compelled to push through more steam games. I did my time.
Nancy Drew: Labyrinth of Lies
Another great Nancy game! Even easier than usual because it was about Greek myths! That said, woof, the name Thanos is so goddamn distracting.
Blue and Bullets
God. The art and creativity on display here is astounding. Its so sad that its never getting a complete story but I adored what I got.
Virginia
Stunning. Incredible. Creative as all hell. One of my favorite games of all time for sure. What a ride.
Thirty Flights of Loving
Did I spend money on this? I don't know. Its a half hour game. Brief fun. Not much to say except that it inspired Virginia so.
Home
Serviceable point and click thriller. Not much to write home about.
Noir Syndrome
Randomly generated mystery game. Super not for me, even though it should be. Whoops!
Monster Loves You
Real cute and endearing. What kind of monster will you grow up to be? Its all up to you!
Later Alligator
UTTER DELIGHT. BAMAN/PIDERMAN CREW DOES IT AGAIN. 10/10
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
The closest a video game has put me in a rage in a long time because those combat sections are infuriating. However... its still such a compelling, fun game. The entire mechanic of selling things and racking up money is an incredible system that's a blast to play with. I really did enjoy is a lot. With more experience under my belt, I might even give New Game Plus a go.
Jenny LeClue
I love ambitious games, even when its sad it doesn't quite reach its goals. The game is a bit slow and plodding when it shouldn't be, the puzzles only really work towards the end, and I'm not sure about how "choosy" it actually is. But its dealing with really compelling ideas and its talking about my own love hate relationship with kid detective stories. The lack of danger is always a problem and the game has an open discussion about the values of thrilling murder stories vs. innocent playful stories. And I think its a discussion that needs to be had.
Untitled Goose Game
THE GOOSE IS LOOSE
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
GOD. The future of Metal Gear world makes perfect sense and its fascinating to behold. This needs a sequel so bad. The Rising series was exactly where the franchise should have gone. It sucks that this is it, but its still a wonderful journey. Blitzed through it faster than any other Metal Gear.
October
.......kinda wanna read homestuck
Old Man's Journey
This was fine! I hated playing it!
Submerged
Very Shadow of Colossus-esque, but they also knew they were on a budget. You can explore this flooded city with glee but there's only so much to do in it. But I enjoyed the story and had a fun time sailing along.
Death Mark
HATED THIS. I pushed through through sheer bitter. The thing that killed it, I think, was learning all the fucked up things they wanted to be the character backstories and then chickened out of. I'm glad they didn't do those things, but this game is so mean already! There's so many character choices they do that's just... what are you saying with that? And when girls get captured by monsters, they just happen to be in titillating poses. Its so gross. Insanely regret buying it. Might genuinely pirate the sequel just to spite through it. I'm so MAD that I'm curious.
Office Quest
I didn't actually beat this but I learned to accept that I was never going to. I can't... play point and clicks on the Switch. Its too frustrating and this was a Nothing game already.
Trace Memory
Goddamn I miss Cing. What a unique, incredible studio. They pushed out so many gems. Its astounding. Amazing stories with amazing gameplay. Icons of industry.
November to December
High concept, medium execution.
Portopia Serial Murder Case
I'm so glad for fan translations. Getting to play something so important to the genre of games feels amazing.
Frog Detective: The Haunted Island
Someone's unpolished quick game and exceedingly cute. A nice 40 minutes.
Detective Di
Also needs some polish and the stakes don't feel quite right, but still really good. A great point and click.
Gunpoint
Its fine.
Will: A Wonderful World
Half of the characters are insufferable, but the ones that aren't are really charming and you want to save.