Es increíble lo tantísimo que esto grita "soy de 2001". En muchos aspectos, Halfquake es la prueba fehaciente de que el modelo de juego que Portal hizo popular venía siendo habitual entre modders desde finales de los 90 si no antes. Aquí diría que demasiadas pruebas se basan en encuentros con enemigos y en hacerte caminar de un lado a otro del mismo pasillo mientras tratas de averiguar qué ha cambiado. Es un diseño bastante burdo y que espero que se haya refinado un poco en las siguientes entregas de la saga.

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It's amazing how much this screams "I'm from 2001". In many ways, Halfquake is proof that the gameplay model that made Portal popular had been commonplace among modders since the late 90s if not earlier. Here I'd argue that too much design is based on enemy encounters and making you walk back and forth down the same hallway while trying to figure out what's changed. It's a rather crude design and one that I hope has been refined a bit in the next instalment.

While Innocent Sin feels like the introduction in terms of gameplay, mechanics and story, Eternal Punishment ramps up its difficulty and stakes in terms of gameplay, giving more proper cohesion and make you fully invested during the combat (though, if you play your cards right, you could end up just spamming Last Quake or Meltdown for most of the game), the rumor system offers more fun results that gives you a complete edge on certain levels and the cast is fantastic.

Despite its reputation as "the snob's choice" in the series, it is just a really well made duology where every single theme, character and meaning come together into a full circle, a coming of age on the most extreme way possible with a nice sprinkle of lovecraft into it.

Jugando a esta versión tras la edición original sirve, fundamentalmente, para apreciar un poco mejor lo que años de progreso técnico pueden haber hecho más difícil de percibir, o para acabar con la ofuscación tirando de los comentarios del equipo original. Una parte mía lamenta la pérdida de esa ofuscación y no puede evitar tener sentimientos negativos hacia esta obra, a pesar de que, a todos los efectos, se trata de la misma. Pero otra se alegra de haber podido conocer de cerca los pensamientos y formas que hubieron antes, aunque sea a coste de esa pérdida.

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Playing this version after the original one fundamentally serves to appreciate a little better what years of technical progress have made more difficult to perceive, or to dissipate ambiguity by pulling the original team's commentary. Part of me regrets the loss of that obfuscation and can't help to harbor negative feelings at this edition for that despite being basically the same game. But another is glad to have been able to get a closer look at the thoughts and ideas that went before the final text, even if it meant losing that ambiguity.

Presentándose como una transcripción aleatoria de pensamientos inconexos e imágenes descontextualizadas, Loneliest Depths sólo funciona si consigues, de algún modo, situarte en una espiral de decadencia similar a la que podría tener alguien que sufre de catastrofismo. Esta es una forma un poco rebuscada de decir que no soy capaz de encontrarle sentido a esta sucesión de imágenes, independientemente de lo que algunas me atraigan o fascinen. Puede que el trasvase de imágenes siniestras asociadas a la metáfora de la zambullida eterna funcione para algunes, pero a mí, esta exhibición de decadencia indulgente me deja indiferente.

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Presenting itself as a random transcription of disjointed thoughts and decontextualized images, Loneliest Depths only works if you somehow manage to place yourself in a spiraling process similar to catastrophism. This is a very roundabout way to say that I am not able to extract any value of this succession of images, no matter how I may find of them interesting or fascinating.Maybe the sequencing of sinister images coupled with the metaphor of an eternal dive might work for you, but for me, this exhibition of decadent indulgence leaves me in the cold.

INDIKA: Self-described as a “subversive, self-endeavourus, multi-meta-layered, nun-perspective, conscience-driven, action answer seeker”, INDIKA is really just a very interesting and pretty walking simulator (which its trailer denies it is... but it is).

I suspect we have a bit of a Hideo Kojima situation on our hands with this one, where writer/director Dmitry Svetlov wanted to make a movie more than a video game. The world of INDIKA is beautiful and full of sights that you may have even seen before, but the world's tone makes everything feel uniquely dark. You've seen a giant fish, but in INDIKA, catfish the size of skyscrapers hang from hooks in a vast, grim, autonomous cannery. They're loaded into what looks like normal tuna cans, only these are the size of a small car and you'll use them for a stacking puzzle. How one begins to eat from these cans, you and Indika will never know.
The word “bleak” applies to almost everything you'll be seeing in INDIKA, from the vast, foggy, barren landscapes to the dismal, misshapen, near-empty cities.
However, Kojima games are beloved not just for their insane storytelling, but because the gameplay, while sometimes too infrequent, is usually very good or at the very least, interesting.

So it looks good and the atmosphere is perfect for a story, but is it a good “game”? I do not think so. Again, it's a walking sim, that's like automatically capping how good it can be. The occasional puzzle is barely even a speed bump and the switch to retro graphics when delving into Indika's past is interesting but always short-lived -- as is this entire adventure. Really, there's not much for you to “do”. If you try the demo, you've seen all you'll be doing (and some things, like its chase, you won't be doing again).

Were it to be a movie, I think they've already got an incredible director of photography. Even how the opening credits are shown is something I've never seen before. Almost every cutscene has a filmic touch with shots that feel inspired by an Aronofsky or Lanthimos picture. I enjoyed Indika's story and her crisis of faith; I was successfully hooked and wondered what would happen to her, her captor, and her personal demon. Indika starts asking some pretty important philosophical questions on her journey and I was quite proud of her for even considering it.
I liked the touches added to make her so meek and vulnerable: her gaze is always downward and dodgy and if you stand still, she picks or nibbles at her cuticles and nails. Left clicking will have her wipe away at her forehead, right clicking and she'll cross herself. Interestingly, there are moments where if you have Indika cross herself – like under a painting of Jesus – you're rewarded with experience (and you are not told this). Unfortunately, the game isn't lying when it tells you “Don't grieve over lost points, they're useless anyway”.

...but it was all too brief. This story can easily be completed in one sitting if you are unemployed and there's no replay value. While the ending is painfully relatable for anyone who has ever been in need of some serious introspection, it's also pretty abrupt and maybe a hair lackluster for a video game. There's also no skipping of cutscenes, so if a lengthy one plays and you quit? When you come back, you're watching all that again. Pretty frustrating stuff.

It's definitely interesting and I'm glad I gave it a shot, but I guess I'd be sure to say that when you go into this, you won't get too much of a “game” out of it. It's a bit of a ride but definitely feels like playing a movie, there's almost no “need” for players to interact. Some of the dark humor here reminded me of “The Crying of Lot 49”, too, not totally sure why.

I think I can sort of recommend it. Maybe get it on sale.

"Can you think of a miracle more amazing than that? I mean, cure blindness, sure. Or part the seas, all right. But a second chance? That’s the real miracle."

If only Father Hill was here to talk to these guys

Final Grade: A