Chowder
Bio
I like video games
I want to make video games
vampires are cool
lets be friends :)
Add me on Discord: .chowder
I like video games
I want to make video games
vampires are cool
lets be friends :)
Add me on Discord: .chowder
Badges
Donor
Liked 50+ reviews / lists
Replay '14
Participated in the 2014 Replay Event
Popular
Gained 15+ followers
Best Friends
Become mutual friends with at least 3 others
Noticed
Gained 3+ followers
Liked
Gained 10+ total review likes
2 Years of Service
Being part of the Backloggd community for 2 years
Favorite Games
086
Total Games Played
015
Played in 2024
014
Games Backloggd
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I gelled so much with the humor of Hypnospace Outlaw. It was such a joy to hang out and explore Hypnospace and even more of a joy to get lost in it. It's insane that an indie team managed to make a game this rich, full of really accurate FMV and music without any of it really feeling gimmicky and out of place. Whenever I booted up the game, my normal computer desktop ceased to exist in my brain and I was fully projected into Hypnospace.
Beyond just the humor and the aesthetic I was really surprised by how much I clicked with the dramatic elements here too. All of these characters were so well realized, and I felt like I was really getting a glimpse into the lives of other people and the ways they interact with one another.
I was also blown away by how well they captured the emotion of this time, not just the aesthetic. The quality of the music, the texture of everything brought me this intangible melancholic feeling that stuck with me whenever I played, it brought me back to times where I was playing TF2, listening to FragRadio on my PC and browsing internet forums. It even captured that weird feeling when someone has something going on IRL and you only hear bits and pieces, being left to your own devices to piece stuff together and wait.
This game was so special to me, even if I pretty consistently got stuck on puzzles and spent a lot of my time wandering aimlessly on pages I'd already seen. I saw that a lot of people ended up spending around 8 hours to see the ending, where I spent nearly 13.
What a special game, and I'm honestly in disbelief that it even exists at all.
Beyond just the humor and the aesthetic I was really surprised by how much I clicked with the dramatic elements here too. All of these characters were so well realized, and I felt like I was really getting a glimpse into the lives of other people and the ways they interact with one another.
I was also blown away by how well they captured the emotion of this time, not just the aesthetic. The quality of the music, the texture of everything brought me this intangible melancholic feeling that stuck with me whenever I played, it brought me back to times where I was playing TF2, listening to FragRadio on my PC and browsing internet forums. It even captured that weird feeling when someone has something going on IRL and you only hear bits and pieces, being left to your own devices to piece stuff together and wait.
This game was so special to me, even if I pretty consistently got stuck on puzzles and spent a lot of my time wandering aimlessly on pages I'd already seen. I saw that a lot of people ended up spending around 8 hours to see the ending, where I spent nearly 13.
What a special game, and I'm honestly in disbelief that it even exists at all.
When I started, I wanted to make a character that was completely different from the one I made for Fallout 1. I decided to pick two perks that looked fun and interesting, only to find they are by far the weakest perks in the game, and I would need to restart the game if I wanted to remedy this.
I was having a decent time with the storytelling, I really enjoyed the high concept stuff they have introduced here, with shamans and all that. I love the mystery they have set up here with the guys in power armor as well. For as cool as the concepts are, there's some truly awful dialogue in this game, featuring a malaise of sexism that is shockingly incessant. It also features constant pop culture references that I found to be so grating.
There's also some really frustrating quest design here that felt spotty, just like the first game. You're never really able to tell which of your actions have consequences, which makes it nearly impossible to dive in and roleplay.
I appreciate the improvements that have been made from the first game that help to bring this world more to life, with updated menus, combat, and random encounters.
I also really don't like that this game practically begs you to savescum, even more so than the first game, with the way that combat encounters, quests, and pickpocketing are designed. I'll probably come back later, but it sucks I'm not going to be able to play the character I wanted to due to the bad balancing.
I was having a decent time with the storytelling, I really enjoyed the high concept stuff they have introduced here, with shamans and all that. I love the mystery they have set up here with the guys in power armor as well. For as cool as the concepts are, there's some truly awful dialogue in this game, featuring a malaise of sexism that is shockingly incessant. It also features constant pop culture references that I found to be so grating.
There's also some really frustrating quest design here that felt spotty, just like the first game. You're never really able to tell which of your actions have consequences, which makes it nearly impossible to dive in and roleplay.
I appreciate the improvements that have been made from the first game that help to bring this world more to life, with updated menus, combat, and random encounters.
I also really don't like that this game practically begs you to savescum, even more so than the first game, with the way that combat encounters, quests, and pickpocketing are designed. I'll probably come back later, but it sucks I'm not going to be able to play the character I wanted to due to the bad balancing.
This review contains spoilers
After finishing Undertale, I can't help but feel like I missed out on something special, a cultural moment that people pretty unanimously love. It's a brilliant game, with music and characters so good, they have become internet culture cornerstones. But I think for me, that's where the problem lies for me.
This game has been spoiled for me in and out, I knew nearly every song of the soundtrack by heart from memes, and I knew a lot of the biggest jokes and events in the game just from hearing everyone talk about them. I seriously couldn't fight Asgore without singing ♪ fingers in his ass, fingers in his ass, Kanye West he likes big fingers in his ass ♪. And for the final boss, I just kept thinking of Gangnam Style. It was SO difficult to get into this game because it just felt like nothing surprised me. I knew every beat, in what order it was going to happen and in what way, and I have never even watched a playthrough of the game. I even found a Steam review that is currently on the front page that is just a beat for beat plot and character rundown followed by a recommendation. It's been so thoroughly picked by internet culture, it feels like there's not much left in the actual game.
Despite this though, it still moved me. It made me smile, it made me cry, and it made me think about my relationship to myself and the people around me. It's endlessly charming and most importantly unflinchingly honest. It made me want to be that honest myself, and make a game that is as heartfelt as Undertale. I think about what Tim Rogers said about this game making him feel bad for never being brave enough to make something as honest as Undertale, and I wholeheartedly feel the same way.
It makes me sad that generally, I feel like there's not much about my time playing Undertale that will really stick with me, aside from the snowy village and the insane creativity of the presentation. I feel like generally, it just kind of ran through me, rather than being something I could really digest. I feel sad because I feel like if I had played this not thoroughly spoiled, it could have possibly been an all time favorite.
I respect and love that Undertale exists, but I can't seem to love it myself. Hopefully I get to dive into Deltarune relatively unspoiled.
This game has been spoiled for me in and out, I knew nearly every song of the soundtrack by heart from memes, and I knew a lot of the biggest jokes and events in the game just from hearing everyone talk about them. I seriously couldn't fight Asgore without singing ♪ fingers in his ass, fingers in his ass, Kanye West he likes big fingers in his ass ♪. And for the final boss, I just kept thinking of Gangnam Style. It was SO difficult to get into this game because it just felt like nothing surprised me. I knew every beat, in what order it was going to happen and in what way, and I have never even watched a playthrough of the game. I even found a Steam review that is currently on the front page that is just a beat for beat plot and character rundown followed by a recommendation. It's been so thoroughly picked by internet culture, it feels like there's not much left in the actual game.
Despite this though, it still moved me. It made me smile, it made me cry, and it made me think about my relationship to myself and the people around me. It's endlessly charming and most importantly unflinchingly honest. It made me want to be that honest myself, and make a game that is as heartfelt as Undertale. I think about what Tim Rogers said about this game making him feel bad for never being brave enough to make something as honest as Undertale, and I wholeheartedly feel the same way.
It makes me sad that generally, I feel like there's not much about my time playing Undertale that will really stick with me, aside from the snowy village and the insane creativity of the presentation. I feel like generally, it just kind of ran through me, rather than being something I could really digest. I feel sad because I feel like if I had played this not thoroughly spoiled, it could have possibly been an all time favorite.
I respect and love that Undertale exists, but I can't seem to love it myself. Hopefully I get to dive into Deltarune relatively unspoiled.