Whimsicalish
2019
This is definitely a game that's not completely "done" for me; I could create more in sandbox mode for HOURS. Plus I'm biased because I grew up on Zoo Tycoon. Those games were chefs kiss.
But I did complete some of the challenges and I completed my first sandbox zoo which was all the African animals. I love the creativity to build unique exhibits and decor across your zoo.
Hats off to the creators because the animals look and sound amazing! Their eyes look so lifelike it's beautiful. I love making the exhibits and just watch the animals. My lion would flick her ears like flies were bothering her. My hippo would swim under water. I built a ride through my Springbok exhibit...and then watched them sleep on the rail tracks to trap the ride.
There were some small annoyances like an animal would escape but it actually wasn't out of its exhibit. It happened every so often and wouldn't stop. I wasn't quite sure what the issue was either. There's an entire mode I haven't touched; there's so much to do and it's constantly being updated by the devs. You can tell love is put in the game.
But I did complete some of the challenges and I completed my first sandbox zoo which was all the African animals. I love the creativity to build unique exhibits and decor across your zoo.
Hats off to the creators because the animals look and sound amazing! Their eyes look so lifelike it's beautiful. I love making the exhibits and just watch the animals. My lion would flick her ears like flies were bothering her. My hippo would swim under water. I built a ride through my Springbok exhibit...and then watched them sleep on the rail tracks to trap the ride.
There were some small annoyances like an animal would escape but it actually wasn't out of its exhibit. It happened every so often and wouldn't stop. I wasn't quite sure what the issue was either. There's an entire mode I haven't touched; there's so much to do and it's constantly being updated by the devs. You can tell love is put in the game.
2012
Still one of my favorite MMOs. My partner and I convinced a friend to try out GW2. It's been years since I have fully replayed the core game's story. Overall, I like the main story. When you create your character, you get to pick a couple of choices for their backstory. That can be really fun when you're creating alts. You can make a serious or goofy character. It adds to role playing.
I like how they presented the dialogue. You can make the text read quicker by skipping lines, or skip entire dialogue if you're replaying for achievements. They get rid of this format right after. :(
You can complete main story missions with friends! You can't do that in other MMOs for some ungodly reason.
The game never felt like a slog to me, unlike other MMOs. I enjoy you don't have "quests." You just run into an area and start helping.
I do find Orr boring. They lay heavy on the backstory from the first Guild Wars. Really helpful for someone like me that didn't play it. However, I don't need to see it again with every character. It's the same info. The final three zones into Orr are too similar. The enemies are the same. The atmosphere is identical. I did play around the time when these zones were the end game. Even back then...it was plain.
I like how they presented the dialogue. You can make the text read quicker by skipping lines, or skip entire dialogue if you're replaying for achievements. They get rid of this format right after. :(
You can complete main story missions with friends! You can't do that in other MMOs for some ungodly reason.
The game never felt like a slog to me, unlike other MMOs. I enjoy you don't have "quests." You just run into an area and start helping.
I do find Orr boring. They lay heavy on the backstory from the first Guild Wars. Really helpful for someone like me that didn't play it. However, I don't need to see it again with every character. It's the same info. The final three zones into Orr are too similar. The enemies are the same. The atmosphere is identical. I did play around the time when these zones were the end game. Even back then...it was plain.
This review contains spoilers
I knew better than to pick this up, but I didn't listen to my gut. I knew very little about it and the title gave me pause; but I didn't want to judge without playing it. Now I'm here to say you can absolutely judge something exactly right before the experience. Somehow it's even worse than what I imagined. I am begging video game studios to stop writing about traumas they do not know. Or without any nuance. How this ever got published is beyond me.
And to reiterate from my experience with The Medium, you can tell dark stories with horrible events and horrible characters. I am not condemning that. Shit like this happens in real life. You can absolutely talk about it. But when it's so toxic, without discussion about the effect on the victims, and no discussion about why it's harmful, it's dangerous. Not a single voice in this game called out the harmful behavior shown here. It's one thing to have a horrible character do something, but when ALL the characters seem okay with the act, I'm looking at the writers. Because clearly they don't have a problem with the subject.
The ONLY thing that was a positive was exploring the setting, an abandoned hotel. As a typical walking sim, the playable character is painstakingly slow. But it was fun to walk around, even on day one to find hidden secrets. But that's it. Everything else? Pass.
You play as Nicole, who visits her family's hotel after being gone for a decade. She left with her mother when her parents divorced at 16. She is now the owner of the hotel and wants to sell it. First off, she comes off as a horrible...well, bitch. She's combative towards the one other character (Irving), denies her trauma, and essentially a miserable person. She immediately attacks Irving, that speaks with you over a cell phone. He's the exact opposite of her personality. Stumbling over his words, panicky, and constantly apologizes. You know the game isn't going to have outstanding characters or dialogue.
The real sin is the story. The awful, awful shit that did not need to be written or shared with anyone. I will be blatant with my words and that could be a trigger for someone. Please take care of yourself and don't read if you're not able.
I will try to summarize my disgust with the story. Basically, Nicole's parents split because her father had an "affair" with a 16-year-old high school student, Rachel. He was her instructor and he got her pregnant. Soon after, Rachel supposedly threw herself off of a cliff. Nicole's mother found out, took her and left her father and the hotel. The game starts with the mother's note calling Rachel a young woman. How her death destroyed their family. Nothing about the father's infidelity or, let's face it, pedophilia. It was all Rachel's fault the family split.
During the game, Nicole finds disturbing notes written by her father. His writings about how he "loved" Rachel. How she was a light in his life. A man nearing his 50s, talking about a 16-year-old girl. The fact this game is set in Montana is not lost on me. But there is no reason a man should be attracted to a girl 30 years younger than him. A girl still in school and his student no less.
Nicole says NOTHING about this. Not shocked at all the "woman" he had an affair with, was actually a girl her age at the time. In fact, she continues to reminisce about how he was an interesting and intelligent man. A father she very much looked up to. I thought, okay, maybe she's in denial after learning her father is a monster, a pedophile. That would shock me. Nope. Never. Not ONCE does she act disgusted by the fact her father groomed and raped a girl her age.
Instead, she has a memory where she viewed Rachel as "mature and elegant for her age." Excuse me? You were the same age Nicole. A child and a daddy's girl. But somehow this 16 year old is viewed as an adult? Further into the game, Irving talks about her father's and Rachel's "relationship." How her father was a good thing to happen to Rachel. He gave her strength. He guided her. Their love was pure. Fucking excuse me? He follows Nicole's behavior by putting her father onto a pedestal. Saying how her father was unfairly mistreated for their "love." The father, a pedo, is shown as a Christ-like figure. How his intentions was pure, and he suffered after Rachel's death. The entire conversation was all around fucking sick. They both missed this disgusting man, who was never punished for his actions. Rachel was the one that suffered. She was a child and she died because of it!
Later in the game, Nicole finds a horrifying room that her father constructed as a tribute for Rachel. A small room with a small child's bed, a chalkboard with the R-slur written on it, and toys: a rocking horse and toy blocks. There are drawings on the walls in crayon as furniture and windows. Despite Nicole earlier comment about Rachel being mature, she accurately describes this room as a child's room. This language is important because despite what the developers want you believe, Rachel was not a mature young woman. She was a CHILD. You can say Rachel was in a loving relationship with an older man. That she was "mature for her age" and could give consent. Yet here this scene shows me Rachel was, in fact, a child. Again Nicole does not respond to the fact her father was with a child! Always bounces around the fact her father was sick and had a sexual obsession with a child who could not consent.
Not one character with a voice in this game condemns her father and his actions. Not once. Nicole doesn't bring up the age gap or consent. Irving encourages the pedo behavior, saying it was pure love. The father through a recording, says he loved Rachel. The mother paints Rachel as a young woman who destroyed their family. You never hear from Rachel. How she felt, what she was experiencing through this. It's mostly from Nicole and Irving, who were not in this "relationship." The grooming is almost glorified at this point. Never says it's harmful. It's absolutely disgusting.
Then the big reveal. The big mystery. Nicole finds a hidden bloody blanket with Rachel's retainer and has a magical moment of memory and concludes her mother killed Rachel. Beat her to death. Then tossed her body carelessly over that cliff. Somehow made it look like a suicide. Now you found out, not only is your father sick, your mother was a damn murderer.
After all this talk, the game rewards you with one of the worst endings I have ever witnessed. Nicole decides, she better follow her father's and mother's suicide. By forcing you with a step-by-step suicide. You are placed in her car, in a garage, to die. You can stop at the very end; however, the ending with Nicole's suicide is considered the "good" ending because now she's with her family. Yep you die in the end. And it's not the guilt of what happened with Rachel, or finding out about her sick father or mother.
During her suicide, Nicole has a line of "I don't want to die!" as you are literally played to kill her. Then with the largest slap to the face, she says "I'm back home. And I'll stay here forever. When we see each other again, Rachel can come along." Fucking WHAT? Bitch your fathered raped Rachel and your mother murdered her for it. Why the fuck would she want to be with your family in any afterlife?? Are you shitting me right now?
Do not play this game. Do not even try for this short, easy platinum. It is not worth it. None of it is redeemable. There is nothing here but a fantasy of some very sick individuals.
And to reiterate from my experience with The Medium, you can tell dark stories with horrible events and horrible characters. I am not condemning that. Shit like this happens in real life. You can absolutely talk about it. But when it's so toxic, without discussion about the effect on the victims, and no discussion about why it's harmful, it's dangerous. Not a single voice in this game called out the harmful behavior shown here. It's one thing to have a horrible character do something, but when ALL the characters seem okay with the act, I'm looking at the writers. Because clearly they don't have a problem with the subject.
The ONLY thing that was a positive was exploring the setting, an abandoned hotel. As a typical walking sim, the playable character is painstakingly slow. But it was fun to walk around, even on day one to find hidden secrets. But that's it. Everything else? Pass.
You play as Nicole, who visits her family's hotel after being gone for a decade. She left with her mother when her parents divorced at 16. She is now the owner of the hotel and wants to sell it. First off, she comes off as a horrible...well, bitch. She's combative towards the one other character (Irving), denies her trauma, and essentially a miserable person. She immediately attacks Irving, that speaks with you over a cell phone. He's the exact opposite of her personality. Stumbling over his words, panicky, and constantly apologizes. You know the game isn't going to have outstanding characters or dialogue.
The real sin is the story. The awful, awful shit that did not need to be written or shared with anyone. I will be blatant with my words and that could be a trigger for someone. Please take care of yourself and don't read if you're not able.
I will try to summarize my disgust with the story. Basically, Nicole's parents split because her father had an "affair" with a 16-year-old high school student, Rachel. He was her instructor and he got her pregnant. Soon after, Rachel supposedly threw herself off of a cliff. Nicole's mother found out, took her and left her father and the hotel. The game starts with the mother's note calling Rachel a young woman. How her death destroyed their family. Nothing about the father's infidelity or, let's face it, pedophilia. It was all Rachel's fault the family split.
During the game, Nicole finds disturbing notes written by her father. His writings about how he "loved" Rachel. How she was a light in his life. A man nearing his 50s, talking about a 16-year-old girl. The fact this game is set in Montana is not lost on me. But there is no reason a man should be attracted to a girl 30 years younger than him. A girl still in school and his student no less.
Nicole says NOTHING about this. Not shocked at all the "woman" he had an affair with, was actually a girl her age at the time. In fact, she continues to reminisce about how he was an interesting and intelligent man. A father she very much looked up to. I thought, okay, maybe she's in denial after learning her father is a monster, a pedophile. That would shock me. Nope. Never. Not ONCE does she act disgusted by the fact her father groomed and raped a girl her age.
Instead, she has a memory where she viewed Rachel as "mature and elegant for her age." Excuse me? You were the same age Nicole. A child and a daddy's girl. But somehow this 16 year old is viewed as an adult? Further into the game, Irving talks about her father's and Rachel's "relationship." How her father was a good thing to happen to Rachel. He gave her strength. He guided her. Their love was pure. Fucking excuse me? He follows Nicole's behavior by putting her father onto a pedestal. Saying how her father was unfairly mistreated for their "love." The father, a pedo, is shown as a Christ-like figure. How his intentions was pure, and he suffered after Rachel's death. The entire conversation was all around fucking sick. They both missed this disgusting man, who was never punished for his actions. Rachel was the one that suffered. She was a child and she died because of it!
Later in the game, Nicole finds a horrifying room that her father constructed as a tribute for Rachel. A small room with a small child's bed, a chalkboard with the R-slur written on it, and toys: a rocking horse and toy blocks. There are drawings on the walls in crayon as furniture and windows. Despite Nicole earlier comment about Rachel being mature, she accurately describes this room as a child's room. This language is important because despite what the developers want you believe, Rachel was not a mature young woman. She was a CHILD. You can say Rachel was in a loving relationship with an older man. That she was "mature for her age" and could give consent. Yet here this scene shows me Rachel was, in fact, a child. Again Nicole does not respond to the fact her father was with a child! Always bounces around the fact her father was sick and had a sexual obsession with a child who could not consent.
Not one character with a voice in this game condemns her father and his actions. Not once. Nicole doesn't bring up the age gap or consent. Irving encourages the pedo behavior, saying it was pure love. The father through a recording, says he loved Rachel. The mother paints Rachel as a young woman who destroyed their family. You never hear from Rachel. How she felt, what she was experiencing through this. It's mostly from Nicole and Irving, who were not in this "relationship." The grooming is almost glorified at this point. Never says it's harmful. It's absolutely disgusting.
Then the big reveal. The big mystery. Nicole finds a hidden bloody blanket with Rachel's retainer and has a magical moment of memory and concludes her mother killed Rachel. Beat her to death. Then tossed her body carelessly over that cliff. Somehow made it look like a suicide. Now you found out, not only is your father sick, your mother was a damn murderer.
After all this talk, the game rewards you with one of the worst endings I have ever witnessed. Nicole decides, she better follow her father's and mother's suicide. By forcing you with a step-by-step suicide. You are placed in her car, in a garage, to die. You can stop at the very end; however, the ending with Nicole's suicide is considered the "good" ending because now she's with her family. Yep you die in the end. And it's not the guilt of what happened with Rachel, or finding out about her sick father or mother.
During her suicide, Nicole has a line of "I don't want to die!" as you are literally played to kill her. Then with the largest slap to the face, she says "I'm back home. And I'll stay here forever. When we see each other again, Rachel can come along." Fucking WHAT? Bitch your fathered raped Rachel and your mother murdered her for it. Why the fuck would she want to be with your family in any afterlife?? Are you shitting me right now?
Do not play this game. Do not even try for this short, easy platinum. It is not worth it. None of it is redeemable. There is nothing here but a fantasy of some very sick individuals.
2021
I did not realize this was a Bloober Team until the moment I started the game. I will now be extremely careful anytime I see their logo on a future project so I can stay the hell away. Far, far away.
The only positives are the pretty graphics and the unique perspective when you're viewing both worlds. The negatives here far outweigh the good. You can't cover up the absolute shit message with pretty graphics. Every time I think about The Medium, I remember the victims are portrayed as monsters.
I have no idea what's going on with their writing team, but they cannot handle traumatic themes at all. They have failed again, and again. This being the most egregious of all. It's not even "it's so bad, it's good." It's shameful. The entire message can boiled down to: Victims can never heal or overcome their pain. They can only pass it on with more pain by becoming a monster.
Also why the hell would you show me the depraved acts of a character and THEN expect me to feel sympathy afterwards? It doesn't work that way.
There's no reason to play The Medium. This has killed any future project of theirs I may want to try. I want nothing to do with them moving forward.
The only positives are the pretty graphics and the unique perspective when you're viewing both worlds. The negatives here far outweigh the good. You can't cover up the absolute shit message with pretty graphics. Every time I think about The Medium, I remember the victims are portrayed as monsters.
I have no idea what's going on with their writing team, but they cannot handle traumatic themes at all. They have failed again, and again. This being the most egregious of all. It's not even "it's so bad, it's good." It's shameful. The entire message can boiled down to: Victims can never heal or overcome their pain. They can only pass it on with more pain by becoming a monster.
Also why the hell would you show me the depraved acts of a character and THEN expect me to feel sympathy afterwards? It doesn't work that way.
There's no reason to play The Medium. This has killed any future project of theirs I may want to try. I want nothing to do with them moving forward.
2012
Essentially it plays as a menu, stat-check visual novel. There's lots of reading and the game switches paths depending on your choices and stats. In one run, you could be challenged to a duel! Hopefully you put points into weapons. Or maybe you decided to learn magic and medicine. There's many options and everyone is out to get you. You need to survive to make it as queen.
The audio is alright; music fits the theme. No voice acting but that's not necessary. The visuals are lovely. But the game shines in the written story. The story telling has depth. It gives you a wide cast of characters, a magic system, and world building complete with countries and politics. This game has more thought than fantasy books I have read. There are many paths you can explore and it's entertaining to keep starting new games.
The audio is alright; music fits the theme. No voice acting but that's not necessary. The visuals are lovely. But the game shines in the written story. The story telling has depth. It gives you a wide cast of characters, a magic system, and world building complete with countries and politics. This game has more thought than fantasy books I have read. There are many paths you can explore and it's entertaining to keep starting new games.
2016
The game was mostly enjoyable up until the final boss. Most of the characters are alright to play; easy to find your favorites. It's fun to discover combos and gain skills through items rather than leveling. Incredibly strange to unlock one of the team members literally right before the final encounter. I only used them when necessary because at that point I already had a favorite setup.
The bosses are frustrating with cheap trips and one-shot moves so be prepared. Thankfully there are saves before those battles. I do wish there was a skip option to save myself time mashing X to quickly skip dialogue. It would also be nice to swap party members during battle. I know they're standing right there watching you; there's no story or in game reason why they cannot hop in.
The real drag was the usual RPG grindy mess in the late game before the final showdown. Powering up levels, collecting gear, and triggering fluxes will consume hours of your time. Jumping into a fight, battle, collect rewards then rinse and repeat. Over and over and over. It is not relaxing to me. I hate grinding for something like leveling. It's boring and leaves a bad experience. Overall I do think the majority was fun but I am ready to move on. It overstayed its welcome.
The bosses are frustrating with cheap trips and one-shot moves so be prepared. Thankfully there are saves before those battles. I do wish there was a skip option to save myself time mashing X to quickly skip dialogue. It would also be nice to swap party members during battle. I know they're standing right there watching you; there's no story or in game reason why they cannot hop in.
The real drag was the usual RPG grindy mess in the late game before the final showdown. Powering up levels, collecting gear, and triggering fluxes will consume hours of your time. Jumping into a fight, battle, collect rewards then rinse and repeat. Over and over and over. It is not relaxing to me. I hate grinding for something like leveling. It's boring and leaves a bad experience. Overall I do think the majority was fun but I am ready to move on. It overstayed its welcome.
2018
I loved this stealth adventure more than I initially thought. Please give me more games that allow me to play as a mouse.
I wasn't thrilled with the stealth; however, the game does give you an option to essentially remove that aspect of the gameplay. (Thank you devs!) The characters are fun to get to know. The world is much more expansive and open. I thought this was a strict linear story. Nope, you explore a ton here. There's side quests, useful costumes with purpose, tools, and skills. It was a joy to play. Only a few frustrations.
The open world was fun to explore. They did a fantastic job bringing in castles, ruins, a forest, etc to life. It's a pro, but sadly, also a con. No other way to say it; there is a ton of running back and forth in each area between exploring and completing quests. There is no fast travel. You have to use your little mouse feet to get around these LARGE areas. It could have benefited from tightening the maps. It's easy to get lost and there are areas you can walk around with nothing in them. Sometimes bigger isn't better, ya know.
The other frustrations came from worrying if I accidentally broke quests. There are a handful of quests that seem a bit buggy, touchy? Thankfully after reading posts about other players having the same issues and yet able to continue, the anxiety would go away. But it doesn't feel great when a game isn't clear as it could be and you stress you broke something.
In the end, I adored Ghost of a Tale. I hope there is a sequel so I can join the world again with Tilo.
I wasn't thrilled with the stealth; however, the game does give you an option to essentially remove that aspect of the gameplay. (Thank you devs!) The characters are fun to get to know. The world is much more expansive and open. I thought this was a strict linear story. Nope, you explore a ton here. There's side quests, useful costumes with purpose, tools, and skills. It was a joy to play. Only a few frustrations.
The open world was fun to explore. They did a fantastic job bringing in castles, ruins, a forest, etc to life. It's a pro, but sadly, also a con. No other way to say it; there is a ton of running back and forth in each area between exploring and completing quests. There is no fast travel. You have to use your little mouse feet to get around these LARGE areas. It could have benefited from tightening the maps. It's easy to get lost and there are areas you can walk around with nothing in them. Sometimes bigger isn't better, ya know.
The other frustrations came from worrying if I accidentally broke quests. There are a handful of quests that seem a bit buggy, touchy? Thankfully after reading posts about other players having the same issues and yet able to continue, the anxiety would go away. But it doesn't feel great when a game isn't clear as it could be and you stress you broke something.
In the end, I adored Ghost of a Tale. I hope there is a sequel so I can join the world again with Tilo.
2019
New achievements but that Conqueror one sucked.
2020
Calico is a lovely, relaxing game about taking over your grandmother's cafe in a magical neighborhood. You can pet every critter you come across and invite them to stay at your cafe. You can decorate the inside of the cafe, your room, and your yard. There isn't a wide array of decorations but it is fun to see the different styles. You can make food and decide what to sell.
The art style of the game is very whimsical. The watercolor makes a peaceful atmosphere; everything feels bright and inviting. You don't take damage and there's no fights. The movement of your character and animals did catch me off guard at first. It's hard to describe. Not "janky" like it's bad, maybe more like everything "flutters." But animals can get stuck in walls/banisters, flip over themselves, float, etc. It would surprise me then it was funny to see.
My negative is the world feels a bit shallow. Once you get an understanding of the game, it's really fun to explore and meet new people. However, they're shallow. Everyone has three requests; some of the quests are just: speak with person "A", speak to person "B", then go back to person "A". Quest over. That's not fun. You don't get much out of that. The characters will sometimes talk about the world and others, but you don't get much information. I wish it was more fleshed out but it's still enjoyable.
The art style of the game is very whimsical. The watercolor makes a peaceful atmosphere; everything feels bright and inviting. You don't take damage and there's no fights. The movement of your character and animals did catch me off guard at first. It's hard to describe. Not "janky" like it's bad, maybe more like everything "flutters." But animals can get stuck in walls/banisters, flip over themselves, float, etc. It would surprise me then it was funny to see.
My negative is the world feels a bit shallow. Once you get an understanding of the game, it's really fun to explore and meet new people. However, they're shallow. Everyone has three requests; some of the quests are just: speak with person "A", speak to person "B", then go back to person "A". Quest over. That's not fun. You don't get much out of that. The characters will sometimes talk about the world and others, but you don't get much information. I wish it was more fleshed out but it's still enjoyable.
X: If you asked 15 years ago, I might have said this was my favorite game at the time. I must have blocked out the absurd amount of grinding if you want everything.
It's a hit of nostalgia playing through this for the second time after so long. I still love the music, the world building is fantastic, and enjoy the fact that there isn't levels. You have a large grid with your stats and skills that everyone can learn. You can out level bosses and hilariously one or two shot them with some grinding. The aeons and summoner aspect was well done in the story.
However, the dialogue isn't the best. There's awkward moments and odd facial expressions amplified by the weird camera angles.While I'm happy Final Fantasy didn't create another moody MC like Squall and Cloud, Tidus seems too cheerful or unfazed at times. (Especially considering what is happening.) The two big twists are revealed about 3/4ths into the story. They are strange choices...almost for cheap shock value.
If you want everything done, (mini games, ultimate weapons, all side bosses, grid completion) prepare for HOURS and HOURS for grinding. I did not want to grind one enemy 100+ battles for one item.
The optional bosses will act cheesy and can one shot you at max. It's insane how the difficulty goes up. But I was not going to kill the same enemy for hours to max items.
It's a hit of nostalgia playing through this for the second time after so long. I still love the music, the world building is fantastic, and enjoy the fact that there isn't levels. You have a large grid with your stats and skills that everyone can learn. You can out level bosses and hilariously one or two shot them with some grinding. The aeons and summoner aspect was well done in the story.
However, the dialogue isn't the best. There's awkward moments and odd facial expressions amplified by the weird camera angles.While I'm happy Final Fantasy didn't create another moody MC like Squall and Cloud, Tidus seems too cheerful or unfazed at times. (Especially considering what is happening.) The two big twists are revealed about 3/4ths into the story. They are strange choices...almost for cheap shock value.
If you want everything done, (mini games, ultimate weapons, all side bosses, grid completion) prepare for HOURS and HOURS for grinding. I did not want to grind one enemy 100+ battles for one item.
The optional bosses will act cheesy and can one shot you at max. It's insane how the difficulty goes up. But I was not going to kill the same enemy for hours to max items.
2017
Wonderfully illustrated puzzle told through a story. There are no words, no dialogue spoken. The story is told in an abstract manner, jumping from scene and different timelines. I knew very little starting into the game and I strongly recommend experiencing it for yourself.
The game has illustrations that feel hand-drawn from a story book. There is a wide range of emotional scenes: peaceful, somber, frightening, etc. The designers did a great job with the art style. The puzzles were unique and fun to find a new picture.
It was a short experience. I'm not sure exactly how long I played since Nintendo refuses to give us that option. I know I spent some time scratching my head on some of the puzzles but still felt short. However, the story did feel complete. I rather have a tighter, complete game experience than one trying to pad time with monotonous gameplay.
The game has illustrations that feel hand-drawn from a story book. There is a wide range of emotional scenes: peaceful, somber, frightening, etc. The designers did a great job with the art style. The puzzles were unique and fun to find a new picture.
It was a short experience. I'm not sure exactly how long I played since Nintendo refuses to give us that option. I know I spent some time scratching my head on some of the puzzles but still felt short. However, the story did feel complete. I rather have a tighter, complete game experience than one trying to pad time with monotonous gameplay.
2022
You play a cat. Need I say more?
First off, the studio did a fantastic job capturing a cat's movement and body language. From the constant turning of the ears, the tail flicking down and up, the back arch when threatened, etc. The cat felt realistic. They were a precious baby and I wanted to protect them.
The world felt dangerous and full of curiosities throughout the journey. It is a short experience, one trophy is to finish the game under two hours. But there's much to explore in the open areas. Those were my favorite. If they ever make another cat game with a huge zone like that to explore, I'd be all over it. Backstory and characters are scattered across the city. Plus the attention to detail: on the buildings, how the city functioned, all the clutter. It's enjoyable to explore.
I can picture myself replaying this one in the future. I loved it.
First off, the studio did a fantastic job capturing a cat's movement and body language. From the constant turning of the ears, the tail flicking down and up, the back arch when threatened, etc. The cat felt realistic. They were a precious baby and I wanted to protect them.
The world felt dangerous and full of curiosities throughout the journey. It is a short experience, one trophy is to finish the game under two hours. But there's much to explore in the open areas. Those were my favorite. If they ever make another cat game with a huge zone like that to explore, I'd be all over it. Backstory and characters are scattered across the city. Plus the attention to detail: on the buildings, how the city functioned, all the clutter. It's enjoyable to explore.
I can picture myself replaying this one in the future. I loved it.
2021
I have memories of briefly playing the original on Nintendo 64 so I cannot compare the two.
I was worried that either a) I would get bored of just snapping photos or b) run out of content early on. I'm happily wrong on both! I was satisfied with the number of islands and different types of biomes. I love that you level up the area the more you play. It was exciting to jump in and see what was new.
You get "tools" that can get a wide range of photos. For example, throwing apples (fluffruit) can anger or surprise a Pokemon. You can get new emotions or actions depending on what you use. The story took me about 24 hours to complete with requests. You could speedrun that much faster, but it's a joy to take your time. I did complete 213 requests.
Once you finish the story, you unlock new options and maps. This wasn't short of content. Super fun and adorable.
I was worried that either a) I would get bored of just snapping photos or b) run out of content early on. I'm happily wrong on both! I was satisfied with the number of islands and different types of biomes. I love that you level up the area the more you play. It was exciting to jump in and see what was new.
You get "tools" that can get a wide range of photos. For example, throwing apples (fluffruit) can anger or surprise a Pokemon. You can get new emotions or actions depending on what you use. The story took me about 24 hours to complete with requests. You could speedrun that much faster, but it's a joy to take your time. I did complete 213 requests.
Once you finish the story, you unlock new options and maps. This wasn't short of content. Super fun and adorable.
2012
I first experienced this gem when it was released in 2012. I only played it once or twice, but the journey stayed with me.
The experience is still magnificent. The music, the environments, and the bits of story you can piece together make Journey soulful. You can feel the love that went into this project. You can play solo (offline) or maybe a stranger will join you. The second player is what's unique. It can only be you and one other, no more. You cannot communicate through text or microphone. You can "ping" at each other. Your character makes a small chime and a burst of light will extent out.
Journey purposely hides your name tag, so you don't even know the name of the stranger your playing with until the credits. It may sound odd, but it adds meaning when you encounter a player. Running around, communicating "pinging lol" with a stranger and you feel an instant kinship with them.
The only negative to Journey are the achievements related to playing with others. If you're playing and not worried about achievements, then no big deal. But a few of them rely doing specific things with another player that can be difficult if no one is around. My playtime here is a bit bloated from waiting and checking if players were running around. Only negative, everything else is magic.
The experience is still magnificent. The music, the environments, and the bits of story you can piece together make Journey soulful. You can feel the love that went into this project. You can play solo (offline) or maybe a stranger will join you. The second player is what's unique. It can only be you and one other, no more. You cannot communicate through text or microphone. You can "ping" at each other. Your character makes a small chime and a burst of light will extent out.
Journey purposely hides your name tag, so you don't even know the name of the stranger your playing with until the credits. It may sound odd, but it adds meaning when you encounter a player. Running around, communicating "pinging lol" with a stranger and you feel an instant kinship with them.
The only negative to Journey are the achievements related to playing with others. If you're playing and not worried about achievements, then no big deal. But a few of them rely doing specific things with another player that can be difficult if no one is around. My playtime here is a bit bloated from waiting and checking if players were running around. Only negative, everything else is magic.
There is too much I could talk (rant) about for this one. I'll try to keep this condensed by mainly focusing on the combat and story.
THE GOOD: They changed the combat by adding the brave point system. This allows you to use orders that buff your party. It's a unique bonus that's helpful and even cheesy in some fights. You can "break" your opponent by depleting their break bar in battle. It allows you to do heavy and critical damage; incredibly useful if you can stop a boss from acting. I loved seeing character development for minor characters from the previous games. You meet a ton of previous Thors students and it's rewarding when they acknowledged events that happened and grew from those experiences. I was interested in some of the new characters they introduced here. They didn't feel like copy/paste.
THE BAD: The combat was very repetitive: break, then alt or S rank crafts. I despised all the mech fights. They were repetitive and boring. Hit a weak spot, unite, rinse and repeat. That's your strategy for every mech battle. The camera would constantly spin during combat and it was too close to your shoulder for large bosses. It was difficult to see the battlefield.
But the story...the f***ing vague storytelling. This game consistently fell into terrible cliche writing and tropes. Which is sad, considering the expansive and fascinating world they created. The magic, the orbment devices, the different countries and governments, unique cultures, etc.
I'm unbelievably tired of the characters not communicating with each other! Like someone will see or hear something fishy but instead of telling their companions, they'll go, "ahh it was nothing...maybe." This happens way too often. Or someone will go, "I need to tell you something important" and then literally wait to the end of the game to tell you. Why are you so being so vague? It got to the point, that a character even yelled about someone being too vague. The writers KNEW.
The whole game up till the last five hours gives you nothing for fact. The entire 90 hours: here's a mystery person! Here's a couple bad guys, what do they want, who knows? What's the plot here? Lol IDK. It leaves you guessing what is the absolute piss is going on until you get to the last dungeon; FINALLY they tell you what is going on instead of sprinkling the information throughout the game.
The convoluted plot (that may as well have been written by an amateur fan fiction author) and the pacing for storytelling is terrible.
P.S. Can we rid ourselves the trope that sexual harassment is funny? There are numerous instances in this game (and the previous ones) that someone will make a "joke" about a character's body. Usually at a woman's/teen's expense because they are shown embarrassed. It is not funny.
There's an elderly man that talks about how "sexy" the students are...they are TEENS. It's not funny, or endearing. It's disgusting and in case you're confused, it's literally sexual harassment. That's my TED TALK.
THE GOOD: They changed the combat by adding the brave point system. This allows you to use orders that buff your party. It's a unique bonus that's helpful and even cheesy in some fights. You can "break" your opponent by depleting their break bar in battle. It allows you to do heavy and critical damage; incredibly useful if you can stop a boss from acting. I loved seeing character development for minor characters from the previous games. You meet a ton of previous Thors students and it's rewarding when they acknowledged events that happened and grew from those experiences. I was interested in some of the new characters they introduced here. They didn't feel like copy/paste.
THE BAD: The combat was very repetitive: break, then alt or S rank crafts. I despised all the mech fights. They were repetitive and boring. Hit a weak spot, unite, rinse and repeat. That's your strategy for every mech battle. The camera would constantly spin during combat and it was too close to your shoulder for large bosses. It was difficult to see the battlefield.
But the story...the f***ing vague storytelling. This game consistently fell into terrible cliche writing and tropes. Which is sad, considering the expansive and fascinating world they created. The magic, the orbment devices, the different countries and governments, unique cultures, etc.
I'm unbelievably tired of the characters not communicating with each other! Like someone will see or hear something fishy but instead of telling their companions, they'll go, "ahh it was nothing...maybe." This happens way too often. Or someone will go, "I need to tell you something important" and then literally wait to the end of the game to tell you. Why are you so being so vague? It got to the point, that a character even yelled about someone being too vague. The writers KNEW.
The whole game up till the last five hours gives you nothing for fact. The entire 90 hours: here's a mystery person! Here's a couple bad guys, what do they want, who knows? What's the plot here? Lol IDK. It leaves you guessing what is the absolute piss is going on until you get to the last dungeon; FINALLY they tell you what is going on instead of sprinkling the information throughout the game.
The convoluted plot (that may as well have been written by an amateur fan fiction author) and the pacing for storytelling is terrible.
P.S. Can we rid ourselves the trope that sexual harassment is funny? There are numerous instances in this game (and the previous ones) that someone will make a "joke" about a character's body. Usually at a woman's/teen's expense because they are shown embarrassed. It is not funny.
There's an elderly man that talks about how "sexy" the students are...they are TEENS. It's not funny, or endearing. It's disgusting and in case you're confused, it's literally sexual harassment. That's my TED TALK.