TheRandomGajo
See the first one started great ...
This one didn't even do that.
I have no idea how the managed to screw the story so much and make it feel like half an episode of a show.
It's so rushed and nonsensical that i genuinely feel sorry for the team who were working on the gameplay and environment.
See the gameplay starts fun enough until just like the first game , it becomes a repetitive short loop of actions that you just get bored.
And the boss fights are so awful o applaud who made the decision to make Vader a bitch that sends clones instead of fighting you while he runs away.
This one didn't even do that.
I have no idea how the managed to screw the story so much and make it feel like half an episode of a show.
It's so rushed and nonsensical that i genuinely feel sorry for the team who were working on the gameplay and environment.
See the gameplay starts fun enough until just like the first game , it becomes a repetitive short loop of actions that you just get bored.
And the boss fights are so awful o applaud who made the decision to make Vader a bitch that sends clones instead of fighting you while he runs away.
All I can say is that the game starts great ...but God it ends so badly and rushed it could've been part of the movie sequels
2022
One of the most well written and genuinely captivating interactive games I've ever played.
From the art style to the frame by frame animation , the game manages to grab our attention early on when we realize that the whole actions have consequences mechanic isn't shallow.
In fact I was surprised on how much the game branched out with simple decisions, made me replay it as soon as I finished it and I did in fact get a whole different outcome in a whole lot of scenes that lead to some interesting moments that caught me of guard.
It's a game everyone can pick up , it's just interactive enough to be engaging and not at all difficult to play , hell you can play it with your phone if you want.
With streaming options(viewers vote on decisions), i believe this game can be a wonderful group activity as you and the viewers unravel all the twists in the narrative
The Voice Acting here is top notch, you feel the nuances in casual conversation and the tension in the more agitated events , its just so well executed that I'm shocked this isn't more discussed online.
I won't go in on the plot details, just know that as drama shows go , this game managed to be complex , intelligent and deep enough to stick out given the themes they explore.
Be sure to try it out.
From the art style to the frame by frame animation , the game manages to grab our attention early on when we realize that the whole actions have consequences mechanic isn't shallow.
In fact I was surprised on how much the game branched out with simple decisions, made me replay it as soon as I finished it and I did in fact get a whole different outcome in a whole lot of scenes that lead to some interesting moments that caught me of guard.
It's a game everyone can pick up , it's just interactive enough to be engaging and not at all difficult to play , hell you can play it with your phone if you want.
With streaming options(viewers vote on decisions), i believe this game can be a wonderful group activity as you and the viewers unravel all the twists in the narrative
The Voice Acting here is top notch, you feel the nuances in casual conversation and the tension in the more agitated events , its just so well executed that I'm shocked this isn't more discussed online.
I won't go in on the plot details, just know that as drama shows go , this game managed to be complex , intelligent and deep enough to stick out given the themes they explore.
Be sure to try it out.
2021
This review contains spoilers
Now here's a game that caught me so off guard that i couldn't shut up about it for a while weekend.
What feels like a love child between a Telltale game and Life is Strange, Road 96 managed to keep my easily bored ass glued in for it's "Campaign".
Yeah I said "campaign" because although there's a main goal throughout your playtime , the levels are somewhat random for each run you make and you never know what part of the story or how the Story will unfold next.
When I say each run , that's the main charm of the game, you don't have a main character, instead you have a random teenager who's trying to flee the country and trough a series of choices and runs you will affect the a whole cast of people who are the game's real main characters. And what's cool about the whole randomness is that you can actually go one or two runs without even meeting certain main characters (which can be frustrating as each one has a possibility of giving you a permanent skill that carries across all random teens)
You will be drawn to what can be described as a heavily political game that tries it's hardest not to be blunt about the modern problems it touches upon, but somewhat fails in certain aspects by failing to capture nuance and having certain characters feel too goofy in certain serious aspects.
Is it a bad thing being this political? No!
But I feel that even by going all the way to the 90's you can still feel that it's a modern criticism of America hidden in a fictional country and sometimes I wished I was not in the fictional country - Why?
Because then the Story would actually had more to work with in.
(But one can understand that going that route could've gone really badly in some parts of the internet)
That said , have no doubt about the quality of it , it's just my personal opinion and when dealing with all the real topics the game tries to work with , everyone will have their own opinion about it and you will never please all of them - and that's good!
Because it can create a moment of introspection and realization in certain topics.
The gameplay is both simple and engaging- it's mostly a game where you scour the level for all it hides while simultaneously interact with the level's characters - either by talking or puzzle solving your way out.
And although nothing is ever too hard , there is a certain level of finesse to achieve your goal and also not only survive but doing so moving the plot in your own way.
There's a whole lot of minigames too that break some of the repetition and add more too each run because you end up enjoying the thought of what may be next.
But remember - it's all about reaching the border so don't forget that , because although you can fail doing so - it will mean that a portion of the plot will have been lost to you.
And even reaching the border will be a surprise for everyone, as crossing it has it's share of drama and I loved all the ways I managed to do it and all the ways I could've done it if I was smarter.
Now , the story is good and the gameplay is fun but what about the rest?
The Voice Acting is all over the place and I can't figure out if it's intentional or just the downside of a small studio having so much dialogue options, either way you will laugh a whole lot more than you should and that's an issue.
The animations aren't the greatest either , when I compared the game to the telltale games, I guess I can say it feels like a rough version of their earliest work.
The art style although stylized, delivers awful facial animations and some stiff NPC movements in certain scenes.
But we gotta remember, it's an indie game from a small studio that still delivered big in a lot of areas where bigger studios fail miserably.
It didn't crash , found no bugs or glitches , ran so smoothly I was actually impressed by its optimization and even tho it can look rough - Has the charm and the momentum that some game developers should take notes from.
But the music - Brilliant!
From collecting tapes to listen in certain sections , to the main soundtrack … just brilliant.
I will not forget playing Bella Ciao in such a fun way!
I know I complained a bit and still gave it a 4 star rating, but when you look on how much fun you have and how much it can make you think and reflect - you can just about forgive it for it's shortcomings and hope more games like this come out to remind us that gaming is more about fun than money.
What feels like a love child between a Telltale game and Life is Strange, Road 96 managed to keep my easily bored ass glued in for it's "Campaign".
Yeah I said "campaign" because although there's a main goal throughout your playtime , the levels are somewhat random for each run you make and you never know what part of the story or how the Story will unfold next.
When I say each run , that's the main charm of the game, you don't have a main character, instead you have a random teenager who's trying to flee the country and trough a series of choices and runs you will affect the a whole cast of people who are the game's real main characters. And what's cool about the whole randomness is that you can actually go one or two runs without even meeting certain main characters (which can be frustrating as each one has a possibility of giving you a permanent skill that carries across all random teens)
You will be drawn to what can be described as a heavily political game that tries it's hardest not to be blunt about the modern problems it touches upon, but somewhat fails in certain aspects by failing to capture nuance and having certain characters feel too goofy in certain serious aspects.
Is it a bad thing being this political? No!
But I feel that even by going all the way to the 90's you can still feel that it's a modern criticism of America hidden in a fictional country and sometimes I wished I was not in the fictional country - Why?
Because then the Story would actually had more to work with in.
(But one can understand that going that route could've gone really badly in some parts of the internet)
That said , have no doubt about the quality of it , it's just my personal opinion and when dealing with all the real topics the game tries to work with , everyone will have their own opinion about it and you will never please all of them - and that's good!
Because it can create a moment of introspection and realization in certain topics.
The gameplay is both simple and engaging- it's mostly a game where you scour the level for all it hides while simultaneously interact with the level's characters - either by talking or puzzle solving your way out.
And although nothing is ever too hard , there is a certain level of finesse to achieve your goal and also not only survive but doing so moving the plot in your own way.
There's a whole lot of minigames too that break some of the repetition and add more too each run because you end up enjoying the thought of what may be next.
But remember - it's all about reaching the border so don't forget that , because although you can fail doing so - it will mean that a portion of the plot will have been lost to you.
And even reaching the border will be a surprise for everyone, as crossing it has it's share of drama and I loved all the ways I managed to do it and all the ways I could've done it if I was smarter.
Now , the story is good and the gameplay is fun but what about the rest?
The Voice Acting is all over the place and I can't figure out if it's intentional or just the downside of a small studio having so much dialogue options, either way you will laugh a whole lot more than you should and that's an issue.
The animations aren't the greatest either , when I compared the game to the telltale games, I guess I can say it feels like a rough version of their earliest work.
The art style although stylized, delivers awful facial animations and some stiff NPC movements in certain scenes.
But we gotta remember, it's an indie game from a small studio that still delivered big in a lot of areas where bigger studios fail miserably.
It didn't crash , found no bugs or glitches , ran so smoothly I was actually impressed by its optimization and even tho it can look rough - Has the charm and the momentum that some game developers should take notes from.
But the music - Brilliant!
From collecting tapes to listen in certain sections , to the main soundtrack … just brilliant.
I will not forget playing Bella Ciao in such a fun way!
I know I complained a bit and still gave it a 4 star rating, but when you look on how much fun you have and how much it can make you think and reflect - you can just about forgive it for it's shortcomings and hope more games like this come out to remind us that gaming is more about fun than money.