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Life Is Strange 2 - Episode 1: Roads Review

Life Is Strange Season 2, Episode 2: “Rules” – Review [PS4]

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019 by Tanya Laolapha Pettersen, posted in Reviews

With the last episode that came out in September, Life is Strange 2 is now back with episode 2, titled “Rules”. I’m happy to return to the brothers Daniel and Sean who, after a tragic incident, got separated from their wolf father and their haven.

However, nobody said life would be easy for the two young wolf cubs. Because even though they are wolves, there are still hunters out there that mean them harm. In their hope to find peace, there are prices to be paid.

Finding themselves in the state of Oregon, the boys have found a temporary safe space in the form of a cottage, where they can practice Daniel’s newfound telekinesis abilities. It’s still winter, and they have not been sheltered much from the cold.

Being on the run for so long, one learns to appreciate the small things in life.

Daniel has been sick for a while, and he seems to only get worse by the day. They’ve learned the hard way that nature can be as cruel as people – but they have no other option but to move on. Not only do they not have medicine to cure his illness, but they are also running out of supplies. They have reached the bottom line: they cannot stay in the safe confines of the cabin anymore.

The boys decide to visit their grandparents: a decision they would gladly avoid if they could. Not just because they hesitate to ask for help considering their runaway-status, but also because these grandparents are the parents of their lost mother, who left them when they were young – leaving a void in the young boys’ hearts.

As they arrive in Beaver Creek, Oregon, they find their grandparents’ lovely-looking house. If you’ve played The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, you will recognise this place: because they are, in fact, the neighbours of Chris Eriksen’s family. Captain Spirit himself. Finally, this is where the two stories intertwine. They approach the grandparents’ door with scepticism, thinking about how this scenario can go in different directions: they can accept us, or they can banish us from the grounds. Luckily, the former seems to be the case.

However, Daniel really wants to get to know his mother, who she was and where she might be now. But we cannot hide the fact that this is a very sensitive subject for the two grandparents. They don’t want to talk about it, and they do not want the boys to sneak around in the house and find any information about her, either. More specifically, they are not allowed to enter her room. So what do two young, curious boys do? The exact opposite of what the grown-ups tell them to, of course!

The grandparents worry about their neighbours, the Eriksen’s, and we are told to keep an eye on them. Therefore, since Christmas is just around the corner, the boys decide to join Chris and his father to attend a Christmas market. The boys do what they can to make each other happy, and it often lies in those little moments where they can pause and just enjoy being boys.

As always with the Life Is Strange universe, this episode is an emotional rollercoaster. With a masterful soundtrack composition, they combine the soundtrack with the songs from Captain Spirit, which really brought back all the emotions I felt then.

Finally, a series of unfortunate events forces the two wolf brothers to leave Beaver Creek altogether. As I said; it’s not easy being these two young cubs. The episode ends as they are forced out into the great unknown. This episode contained so much emotion, and I’m excited to see where this adventure is headed!

Into The Dead 2 Is Bringing The Apocalypse To Nintendo Switch

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 by Chay Madison, posted in Indie, Posts

Versus Evil has announced that it will publish Into The Dead 2 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

Developed by PikPok, Into The Dead 2 started as a mobile-only title and this will mark the first time that the game will release on a video game console. The franchise has been downloaded over 100 million times on mobile phones.

Into The Dead 2 Nintendo Switch

Known for its exciting gameplay and visually stunning graphics, Into The Dead 2 puts you in the middle of an endless zombie apocalypse.

You must journey through to save your family. Unlock and upgrade various types of weapons to show those zombies who’s boss. The game comes complete with seven chapters, sixty stages and hundreds of challenges to complete. Multiple endings mean multiple ways to own zombies.

Into The Dead 2 has not received a release window at this time. For now, check out the original announcement trailer below:

Resident Evil 2 Remake’s Chances On Switch Look Slim

February 27, 2019February 25, 2019 by Nitchigamer, posted in Nintendo, Posts

Those of you that have played the recent remake of Resident Evil 2 will know what a horrifically good game it is. I’m still dipping in and out of the gore-soaked world myself.

Naturally then, some have wondered about the chances of seeing the game on Nintendo Switch.

The bad news? It’s looking increasingly unlikely.

It’s not a title that most would have expected for a while on the mobile platform, but Capcom UK’s community manager has now pretty much ruled it out:

No plans on that, no.

— Kat (@ImKatastrophe) February 20, 2019

The news is even more of a blow to Switch owners when you consider that Resident Evil had a strong history with Nintendo consoles at one point.

For example, Resident Evil 4 was, for some time, an exclusive on GameCube. Resident Evil Zero and the ‘Re’make of the first were the same, and Resident Evil: Revelations was exclusive to 3DS until later on. The DS even received Deadly Silence.

Without a doubt then, these aren’t the types of games Nintendo should be missing out on.

Can It Run It?

It’s likely it comes down to the fact that the Switch would struggle to run the game in the first place.

As much as we enjoy Nintendo’s innovations, you’d think giving the hybrid enough power to run key AAA games would be non-negotiable. It’s even more interesting if you remember that Capcom asked Nintendo to up the Switch’s RAM to 4GB, which they did.

Playing the Resident Evil 2 Remake anywhere you want, (or just on the couch) would be awesome. Well, don’t get too used to that idea — not until a possible Switch Pro is announced anyway.

In the meantime, ports of RE4, RE0 and the Resident Evil 1 Remake will be available on Switch on the 21st May. You didn’t already have RE4 now did you?

The Walking Dead: The Final Season “Broken Toys” Review [PS4] – An Emotional Comeback

February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 by Tanya Laolapha Pettersen, posted in Reviews

Wow. Who would’ve thought in September that we would be back here now?

The shot heard around the world was that Telltale Games had shut down. For good. In the process, we lost a fantastic game company, and games like The Wolf Among Us disappeared with the tide. Perhaps it was a good thing that, at the time, they had already started The Walking Dead: The Final Season. If not, chances are I wouldn’t be here now, writing this review.

Thanks to the creator of The Walking Dead universe himself, Robert Kirkman’s game studio decided to pick up where they left off, bringing people from Telltale in to help give the series the end it deserves. Since it’s been a while, let’s briefly summarise the previous episode, shall we? Reader warning: this review might contain some spoilers. However, I can say that the episode is good, and that you should play it.

We met a character we haven’t seen since season 1; Lilly. If you don’t remember her, she’s the mean one whom you may or may not have left on the side of the road. She was a bad person then, and she is a bad person now. The difference is that she now has a group of raiders supporting her, treating her as their leader. Things got heated when Clementine, AJ, and their group of rebellious teenagers had to defend the school from Lilly’s invasion. Sacrifices were made, and hope seemed lost.

We managed to capture Abel, Lilly’s right-hand man. As always, Clem has to do the dirty work and interrogate Abel to find out where the raiders have taken the other kids. We will find out where they are, no matter the cost. Even in a post-apocalyptic world where one would think humans have to work together to survive, they still choose to find reasons to hunt and murder each other.

There is a small war going on, and Lilly’s group of raiders are kidnapping people to fight for them. This ultimately means that their hidden lair is where we need to go to save our friends. Queue “Eye of the Tiger”. In the meantime, figuring out how to infiltrate their base might take some time; and they are going to need help. Who better to turn to than James, our only other friend outside the school? He has a different philosophy towards Walkers than most people, seeing them as innocent people rather than mere monsters; believing their soul still exists inside what deceivingly looks like an empty, broken vessel.

The night before everything is supposed to go down, Clementine has a dream. A dream which threw all the feels upon The Walking Dead fans who have been following this series since the very beginning. Flashback to the train-scene from Season One – and in comes our sweet, sweet Lee. Clementine’s substitute parent. This scene was one of the most touching since the first season for several reasons:

The fact that whenever Clementine needs a safe space, it is with Lee, on the train where he taught her everything she needed to know to keep her safe.
Whenever Clementine needs help and feels insecure, Lee is the one to give her advice.
The scene makes an incredibly touching transformation between child Clementine and adolescent Clementine.
This scene is everything.

When I managed to recuperate from this very emotional scene, I took a step back to look at the gameplay. Like I mentioned in the previous review, the combat system is still very unforgiving. One mistake, and you’re dead. But I guess that makes sense when you’re living in a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic world.

Since it was the first episode given out by Skybound Games, players were warned that the episode might contain some bugs. They were already aware of the problem and suggested to players what they could do to fix it. When playing it myself, I didn’t encounter any major bugs, just some audio disruptions, and some bad transitions between scenes. Nothing that ruined the experience, which I’m pleased with.

This was, all in all, a solid comeback for the series, and a worthy continuation of what Telltale started. I was impressed with how the episode was basically an emotional rollercoaster, and I’m excited to see what the final episode of The Final Season will bring. If everything goes according to plan, the last episode will be released on March 26, titled “Take Us Back”. I don’t think I ever will be ready to say goodbye. But all good adventures must eventually come to an end.

Still. Not. Bitten.

Reggie Leaves Nintendo This April, Bowser Takes Over

February 22, 2019June 6, 2019 by Guest Writer, posted in Nintendo, Posts

It what comes as the most surprising news of the month, Reggie Fils-Aime is leaving Nintendo.

The Nintendo of America president, known around the world for his meme-creating presenting style, has served 15 years in the position — it feels like longer — and will be replaced by the amazingly named Doug ‘Bowser’. (Nominative determinism anyone?)

Doug Bowser next to Bowser — Doug Bowser will lead NOA

Bowser is the company’s senior vice president of sales and marketing and has been mentored by Reggie for the last four years. Doug will be taking over from April 15th, which means the Regginator, sadly, won’t even be making another E3.

A Brief History Of Mr Fils-Aime

Reggie’s time at Nintendo has stretched across numerous consoles, including the following:

Game Boy Advance
GameCube
Nintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS
Wii
Wii U
Nintendo Switch

His grand entrance was in May 2004, at Nintendo’s E3 press conference, in which he said:

“My name is Reggie, I’m about kicking ass, I’m about taking names, and we’re about making games.”

Reggie’s exit is being marked with a goodbye message to his fans:

“I leave in good health and in good spirits, and believe me, my body is still ready.”

Bowser, no doubt, will be doing his best to take over the world and kidnap the prin… sorry — lead Nintendo of America.

Fork Parker’s Crunch Out For SNES Shows The Pressures Of Video Game Development

February 21, 2019February 21, 2019 by Chay Madison, posted in Indie, Posts

Devolver Digital, Mega Cat Studios and Take This Inc. have come together to release a brand new SNES title to raise awareness about time crunching in game development.

All of the proceeds from the game will assist Devolver Digital and Take This in combating mental health issues.

The game follows Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker as he does whatever it takes to hold onto his indie gaming market share. A new indie publisher comes forward, and Fork must motivate his team to meet deadlines by any means necessary.

Features

Crunch Out looks to portray a fun story with an even deeper meaning. Check out the following details below:

Furious task management and questionable motivation tactics are your tools. Coffee, discipline, and shock treatment are all in play if your team slips off their production schedule.
Spend your profits from each game wisely – do you invest in a new espresso machine to keep your dev team happy, or buy some winged wingtips to help you zip around the office?
Deploy strategic power-ups, like unpaid interns working for exposure and mandatory overtime to stay on track and hit that release date.
Take executive action in exciting and intense mini-games to keep the office in order. When the internet drops out, or your beloved wife calls in, only Fork and his pet piggy bank, Pork Farker, can save the game and the bottom line!

Fork Parkers Crunch Out is limited to just 1,000 copies and is available now from The Mega Cat Studios website.

It comes complete with a playable cartridge, a full-colour manual and classic SNES-style box. It retails for $49.99.

Omega Strike Review [Switch] – Bringing Back The ’90s

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by Jack Boyles, posted in Reviews

Jack Boyles reviews Omega Strike…

The ’90s were the golden age of action in popular culture. You had such great action movies, movies like Die Hard 2, T2 or Cliffhanger; movies that made you sit down and thrilled you with its set pieces. But these films know pacing — they knew not to shove you with stuff every two seconds.

Then there were ’90s video games. The arcades, light gun games, beat em ups; games like Final Fight, Metal Slug. You also had the console market boom with Nintendo vs Sega. Titles like Metroid, Earthworm Jim or Robocop vs Terminator; the action was everywhere, and it served one purpose, to entertain.

Nowadays, action movies and video games take themselves seriously, albeit ridiculous in nature. I feel that creators miss an important part of what made the action entertainment from this era great… Charm.

However, the team at Woblyware have reminded us of a simpler time of gaming with their title, Omega Strike.

Omega Strike has you play as three freedom fighters whose mission is to stop Doctor Omega and his mutant army from dominating the world. Playing as three of the freedom fighters, you must explore the world to find treasure and abilities in this Metroidvania game.

As previously stated, you play as three characters, the main character being Sarge, a Rambo inspired rifleman who has slick hair, the bulking muscle man Bear equipped with his grenade launcher and Dex the agility character with a shotgun. Each character has their abilities that help you access previously inaccessible areas.

The very start of the game has you with all three playable characters. Upon your first meeting of Doctor Omega, he captures Dex and Bear in a classic ‘removal of power’ move that is a staple of the Metroidvania genre. From here you must find Bear and Dex as well as the remaining power-ups scattered across the open world design. Exploring the map, you’ll come across treasure that gives you chunks of money. Destroying barrels and enemies also drops coins that can be used to buy weapon upgrades.

Though, exploration is a big part of the game. So is blasting down enemies. Bear’s grenades bounce and dip making it suitable for hitting enemies below you, Dex’s shotgun is powerful but has a small range, and Sarge’s rifle has the best range but medium power. Flicking through the players on the fly makes this an easy task.

It’s how solid the game feels that is one of the joyous parts of Omega Strike. The way the game plays is extremely polished and responsive. Jumping from platform to platform and dispatching enemies is generally satisfying; you easily slip into the game flow. At times, it doesn’t even feel like a Metroidvania title and would be more suited too a run and gun game from the ’90s.

Omega Strike is a love letter to ’90s video games on the SNES and Megadrive. The 2D pixel art graphics just spark nostalgia from that era of gaming, opting for a cartoon/simpler look than gritty details.

Furthermore, the soundtrack sounds like many of the instrumentals from a SNES cartridge. The tunes also are very hummable which is something lost from video games today; again, harking back to that ’90s generation of gaming.

Though, as polished as this game is, this becomes one of its issues; it never excels in any department.

The game offers no mini map, a staple in Metroidvania titles since Super Metroid. Unlocking the powers does no more than opening previously inaccessible areas and doesn’t change the way you play or think about the game.

As fun as shooting enemies is, it’s annoying not being able to shoot diagonally; meaning you must jump and shoot whenever an enemy is above or bounce Bear’s grenades off the walls in an attempt to hit an enemy below you.

Moreover, you can only switch the player in a preset way. So, if you want Sarge and you are Bear, you’ll have to scan through Dex to get to Sarge. I feel the ability to switch back and forth would add more depth.

Despite these issues, Omega Strike is a fun and polished game which makes these hiccups just bizarre. Though I cannot deny that is a good game and is enjoyable from start to finish. It may not execute everything correctly but what it does, it does it well enough to make the whole experience cohesively entertaining and engaging.

Both modern and retro gamers will find something in this indie title, though I feel people from the ’90s will get more out of this game.

So, grab your bucket hat and popper trousers.

Top Things I Miss About Retro Gaming

February 4, 2019February 14, 2019 by Jordan Scott, posted in Viewpoints

Jordan Zolan talks about gaming’s past…

A friend of mine was recently late to a meet-up we scheduled because he had to reach a save spot in a game. He complained how long it took to save his data, and that he was frustrated about being late as a result.

It all got me thinking about how things used to be back in the day, and that him having to wait a little bit to save is nothing like what we had to go through when I was a kid. We discussed what it was like oh so many years ago, and I started to reminisce about all the other aspects of retro gaming that I miss. Here are just a few things gamers today might not remember, but they were staples of my gaming experience growing up.

Cheat Codes:

Anyone who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s can probably still recite a cheat code or two. Whether it’s “IDDKQ,” “KDFM,” or “Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A B A Start,” these sequences are burned into our memories. With cheat codes, we could act like God’s among men, devilishly manipulating the world around us. We now had the power to grant more lives, unlock unlimited weapons, or bring ourselves back from the dead.

Playing through Doom II was fun but having the ability to equip the BFG from the very start made for a really great ride. Knowing the correct buttons to push or keys to input, made gamers feel like they knew something no one else did. It was a secret that made you feel larger than life. Sure, everyone knew these codes, but in the privacy of your own home, you were the sole wielder of such great power. To this day, I can’t pop in Contra on my NES without inputting the code for thirty lives. It’s ingrained in my muscle memory for all time.

This all still exists today, but it’s not as prevalent and just doesn’t feel as cool as it did oh so many years ago. What are some of the cheat codes you remember always using as a kid?

Save Game Passwords

Gamers today don’t know how easy they have it when it comes to saving a game. Most of the time you can just hit the start button and save your data on the spot. Occasionally, there will be a game that makes you work a little hard for it by having you find a save spot or wait until finishing a level. Either way, saving games in today’s world is a simple affair.

This wasn’t always the case, and I remember the pains of what my generation had to go through. Back in the day, we didn’t have the option of saving willy-nilly. What we had, were things called passwords or save game codes. If a game did allow you to save (which wasn’t always the case), it would give you a long string of randomized characters to input. This would allow the player to start at the most recently completed level, or at the spot where the password was received. I used to have notebooks full of passwords written down as to not lose them. I worked hard at advancing through various games, and those save game codes were of vital importance. I can’t imagine having to do something so archaic today, but back then it was the norm.

Instruction Manuals

I don’t remember when exactly it became a thing to get rid of instruction manuals with games. Back in the day, every title came packaged with a detailed booklet for all to read and enjoy. If you go back to the NES days, not only were they informative, but many had fantastic artwork throughout the pages. To see a great example, try to find an original Zelda manual. Each enemy and all the weapons were beautifully drawn with immense detail. Many times, there would be whole backstories written inside to build the world of the game.

I used to collect mine, never throwing any away. One day, all of my manuals were tossed, and it was devastating. Today, assuming you don’t buy a game digitally, all we get is a little insert, possibly a coupon or code, and that’s about it. I’m sure it was a cost-cutting measure to do away with instructions, but they used to add so much to the gaming experience. Even to this day, I think about my tossed books of fun, and I wish I had them to read through.

Nintendo Power

Sure, gaming magazines are still released on stands today, but none of them are as iconic or enjoyable as Nintendo Power used to be. When you received a copy of that larger than life magazine in the mail, it was a glorious day, to say the least. The wonders and thrills imprinted on each page always brightened my day. The cover art was always amazing, and the details within continually made me excited for what was to come.

From 1988 to 2012, Nintendo fans were treated to something special within those pages. The magazines released today still inform players of upcoming games and news, but it’s not the same. By the time an issue hits the newsstand, the information it contains is outdated and made irrelevant by the internet. I was given a subscription to Game Informer when I paid for my GameStop PowerUp Rewards, but I didn’t read a single issue. The magic that was Nintendo Power can never be recreated.

PS1 Power-Up Theme

This might be silly, but I loved the theme that played when you first turned on an original PlayStation. It gave the PS1 an instant bravado that made it say “I’m Different, and I’m going to kick butt.” When you heard that tone, you knew you were in for an experience. I can remember turning up the volume, controller in hand, and hitting that power button with the biggest grin on my face as that music played.

It truth, not all games lived up to the hype generated by that grandiose tone, but it always made you feel you were strapping in for a great ride none-the-less. Other consoles had their other start music after that, but nothing quite matched the grandeur of the original PS1. I loved the GameCube start-up music as well, but it didn’t have the same adrenaline-inducing magnetism as the PS1.

Peripherals

Nintendo was king of the peripherals. From the Power Glove, Super Scope 6, the Power Pad, and the Light Gun to name a few, gamers in the ’80s and early ’90s were inundated with first and third party peripherals.

So many of these add-ons were quite useless, but I’ll be dammed if they didn’t look cool on the shelf. The R.O.B for the original NES was probably the most confusing and nonsensical peripheral of all time, and yet there was something special about it. I still have mine, although it doesn’t work, and I’m missing all of the various attachments.

Steering wheels, flight sticks, brake pedals, and arcade-style lap controls were all a part of what gaming was all about. I know they still sell things like that today, but the newness of it all back in the NES heyday made it all the more special. If you loved playing Afterburn in the arcade, now you could have your very own Jet flight stick at home.

It was kitschy and pretty geeky to have some of these beautiful pieces of plastic, but it just made the who gaming experience so much more visceral. What are some of your favorite peripherals from back in the day? Are there any you always wished you had but never owned?

Simple Wired Controllers

I can remember getting so frustrated at games (I’m looking at you Battletoads), that I would throw my controller in a fit of rage. The NES controllers were built like tanks, and since they were wired, they couldn’t go very far.

I can safely say I never broke a single controller back then by throwing it. It was a great way to channel your frustrations and to take a minute to cool down and try again. Jump to today, and I would NEVER throw a controller no matter how blind with rage I’ve become. Aside from the fact that they can easily break, controllers are exceptionally expensive. Having to replace a first party Xbox One, PS4, or Switch Pro Controller will set you back $60 or $70 bucks. The Joy-Cons, as much as I love them are also exorbitant. Throwing your controller today is an expensive form of anger management, one which I highly recommend you do not do.

Makes me yearn for the little square piece of hard plastic with its two buttons and securely wired tether.

These have been just a few of the things I miss about retro gaming. Sure, many of the things I listed above aren’t practical today, but that’s not the point.

I realize gaming has evolved to make things easier and more streamlined for players, but that doesn’t mean I can’t reminisce about the days of yore. I wouldn’t want to go back to inputting a long password to start a game where I left off or be forced to use simple wired controllers again.

I enjoy how gaming has evolved, but a part of me misses the simple pleasures of how things used to be. Are there aspects to retro gaming you miss? Write in the comments below and let me know what you think of my list and what I might have left off.

My Big Sister Review [PC] – A Dark Comedy About The Love Between Siblings

January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 by Alisa Hail, posted in Reviews

Alisa Hail reviews My Big Sister…

Dealing with your siblings is a chore sometimes. More so for some than others. But, what if your sibling was turned into an undead ghoul with a ravenous appetite for raw flesh? Would you still be willing to help them out? More importantly, perhaps, are you still going to argue about those annoying sounds they make when they eat? My Big Sister is a story that explores the more mundane aspects of sibling love and rivalry, juxtaposed against an unsettling atmosphere of death, curses, and the invisible things we suspect late at night stalk us unseen in the dark.

Luzia is not your average little girl. Her jaded personality seems a bit beyond her age. Her regular annoyance with her older sister, Sombria, however, is easily relatable. Following an unplanned and ill-fated trip to a bathhouse, Sombria falls victim to a curse. Her form overly stretched and her skin too pale, she is clearly no longer human. Sombria’s salvation, if possible, lands on the young shoulders of Luzia. Thankfully, Luzia is perfectly suited to the task.

It is not often I have described a game with plenty of blood, and gore, and a few alarming instances as delightful, but that is the most accurate description I can give My Big Sister. Luzia’s childlike embrace of the strange world around her feels akin to Alice trapped in Wonderland. It is almost as if the dangers always at her heels can never quite touch her due to her innocence. For instance, early on Luzia runs across a demon in need of a face. The demon, surprised by Luzia’s unexpected desire to help, takes a liking to her, even giving her a candy bar as a reward after she delivers. But, therein also lies the persistent feeling of dread. When will her curiosity press her too far and the darkness finally closes in?

But, Luzia never loses her sense of humour despite everything. In fact, it is both Luzia and Sombria’s casual wit juxtaposed against the sinister reality of their plight that makes for most of the humour in the game. For example, Sombria loses herself to her new raging hunger and ends up devouring a deer. When Luzia arrives to find the gruesome scene she makes a Bambi joke. It is this type of banter that kept a smile on my face the whole time.

Gameplay is simple. Exclamation marks appear whenever there is an area that can be explored or an item that can be examined. Inventory requires you to scroll from left to right to look at and select items, but since you are never carrying more than four or five items at a time, this works very well. The developers have added save points throughout, but unfortunately you only have one save file. However, since there is no real combat in the game, so the possibility of death is rare.

The world of My Big Sister is so well crafted, particularly because the relationship between Sombria and Luzia feels so natural and heartfelt, that it is easy to feel comfortable in the world yourself.

Run across a noodle house for the spirits nestled in the woods? Of course. Why wouldn’t that be there? It is at once absurd, and terrifying, and yet familiar. In some ways, the childlike whimsy mixed with the darkness and danger makes me think of a classic Studio Ghibli film. It is a reminder of the curiosity of the childhood, the fear of the dark, and the relationships that make life worth the journey.

Metroid Prime 4 Delayed And Rebooted

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by Nitchigamer, posted in Nintendo, Posts

Metroid Prime 4, a title we knew nothing about anyway, is being rebooted, Nintendo has announced today.

It’s a move that is both welcome – Retro Studios and original producer Kensuke Tanabe will lead the project – and unwelcome too, development time will be extensive.

In classic (and somewhat admirable) Nintendo fashion, the event is being taken very seriously:

It’s a significant blow for Prime fans, and it could be years before we see game 4, but it should more than deliver when it arrives.

You better keep yourself busy for the next 48 months.

Indie Highlights Presentation Shows Off Wargroove, Double Kick Heroes, More

January 23, 2019 by Nitchigamer, posted in Indie, Posts

Nintendo’s Indie Highlights Presentation showed off some diverting looking independent titles today, including Wargroove, Double Kick Heroes and Inmost.

You can watch the full presentation below:

Personal standouts for this writer? Strategic thinker Wargroove, the atmospheric horror game – which looks like it has quite the story to tell – Inmost, and Image & Form’s latest SteamWorld title, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech.

What appealed to you? Let us know in the comments below.

Indie Title Disco Elysium – Deprived Fun

January 22, 2019January 22, 2019 by Jack Boyles, posted in Features

Jack Boyles takes a look at indie game Disco Elysium…

“When did it all change? When did we become so deprived? So feral? I see these streets, these deteriorating streets in denial with itself, desperately holding onto a more prolific time. And its citizens have all aged with it. Staring with their vacant eyes, expressionless, lost in their own refutation. But then there is me, I. What is I? Where do I fit? After all, I am no different from these inhabitants, dumbfounded and alone in an age of irrationality”.

As we know from my previous articles such as Pixel Noir (my first article for Nitchigamer) I’m a big fan of film noir. The pessimistic world view is something I can relate too. Being a working-class male brought up in a town ravaged by pit closures, not evolving and just lying there stagnated. So, to my pleasure, I got my hands on a new detective game that fits nicely in that world view, Disco Elysium.

Disco Elysium is an isometric RPG that is heavily inspired by tabletop RPG’s using a dice/luck mechanic to see if you are successful in your decision and dialogue. Developed by Zaum Studio and published by Humble Bundle, it markets itself as a hardboiled show in a fantasy setting.

You play as Revachol West, a shamed lieutenant detective of a shore town where misfeasance lays around every corner. You must keep your character’s sanity in check while trying to solve cases, interrogate suspects or explore the streets. The game features many open-ended cases leaving player expression to address them.

Glancing at the game, you are instantly drawn in by the visuals. The game looks beautiful, yet it still manages to have this sense of grit. A painted aesthetic gives a very expressionistic feeling to it, how it uses colour and shade to add detail to the environments instead of having each little detailed applied to them. However, this allows the developers to make the settings more nuanced; for example, a rug with a corner overturned or segments of the tiled flooring wear and tear. This is an excellent example of how strong rendered graphics are and how they can add so much personality into environments. Even the skill cards have the Francis Bacon look of body-distorted imagery. It’s these artistic choices that make Disco Elysium standout from most other indie games as well as showing the quality of the game and focus on encapsulating the mood of the world.

If the visuals weren’t enough for you, the gameplay follows suit with its same level of quality. As I previously stated, this game takes the tabletop formula of dice roll/chance gameplay. You’ll be given certain dialogue trees depending on your stats, though you will have a certain chance of this dialogue being successful which is represented by a dice roll. It’s no different to chance/stat based choices in RPG games such as the early Fallout games. Though it’s that dice roll that makes it more engaging and impactful; like the ball spinning on a roulette wheel, it reminds you that odds are just odds. Furthermore, the dialogue options are plentiful, sometimes hitting around seven choices and specialist choices appearing due to your stats; this game has the potential for many watercooler chatting moments.

Though it’s the skill system in Disco Elysium that surprises yet again, instead of going for your typical speech, charism skills; Disco Elysium goes with a more psychological skill base. You have four tiers of skills: Psyche, Intelligence, Physique and Motoric, all with there own attributes such as Empathy, Conceptualization and Composure to name a few. It’s here you craft what type of detective you are but not by the skills they have but by their personality, doubts and instincts.

The demo starts me with choosing a character type. I went with the alcoholic detective because that’s the type of detective I am. The intro had this inner monologue/debate my character was having with himself, the empathy side and the damn crazed one; me keeping them both in check.

Waking up in my apartment with a smashed window, it’s here you start to realise that as much of an RPG the game is, it’s also a point and click adventure game. Collecting and inspecting your environment and items to put in your inventory and/or for clues. Staring into a mirror, you once again have an internal monologue — to which I made my mess of a detective be that delirious he thought he was handsome (like I said, my kind of detective) which then displayed a character icon at the bottom of my screen of a crazed delirious man… Genius.

It’s from your inventory menu you can select items of clothing, and I refused to find my lost shoe, resulting in a detective walking around with one shoe on… Genius.

From here I spoke with many NPC characters to find out what happened and who I am (because of his drunk ways). I tried to hit on my neighbour. I spoke with the landlord who wasn’t my biggest fan and a colleague who I pretended to know what he was going on about. These characters were top notch and believable due to the excellent writing; I expect to see many memorable characters when the full game is released.

I loved this game and from speaking with other people (the lads at Special Moves Podcast when I bumped into them) are also enjoying this game. It’s just brimming with quality from top to bottom, in all aspects of the game – especially the writing; it’s really impressive. The level of choices you get, I walked away from the demo knowing that’s my detective, the alcoholic, one shoe wearing delirious man and because of those choices, it was my story.

It’s the grey choices that make these types of RPGs enthralling and the team at Zaum Studios know this. The choices I made didn’t feel like good or bad, they felt like choices that could go either way; making my decisions are more impactful because I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be. Likewise, the chance mechanic, sometimes that choice might fall flat on its bottom. They are mixing the adventure game genre with RPG elements with stats based on emotions and personality traits. You can see this game going into interesting territory and with the buzz already surrounding this game; so can everyone else.

Disco Elysium is one of the most original, unique and fun RPGs that diehard fans of the genre have been waiting for; this is one game that is going to be a highlight of the indie game scene.