emilem
Bio
emily 🏳️⚧️ ^^ 26
emily 🏳️⚧️ ^^ 26
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Played 100+ games
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Found the secret ogre page
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Gained 10+ total review likes
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155
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Played in 2024
152
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This review contains spoilers
So much said with very little words
Unpacking is a very short, very cozy, and yet somehow heart-wrenching title. The premise is exceptionally simple, you play a character who is unpacking into their new home at various stages of their life, from childhood to adolescence. Open the boxes, grab the things out the boxes, place them appropriately in the space provided, and you win!
To me, the gameplay loop could get a little tedious at times, especially in some of the larger levels. That’s not to say that getting everything in it’s right place wasn’t satisfying, it very much was, it’s just getting there could feel a bit of a slog sometimes, much like the actual act of unpacking.
But really that’s not even where Unpacking’s magic lies, this game does such an incredible job of telling a coherent story with the only dialogue being the footnotes your character annotates each “new home” picture with, which culminates to maybe a couple dozen words by the end of the game. The protagonist goes through the aching pains of growing up, making new friends, falling in and out of love, and exciting career opportunities, and you gleam all of this through the simple act of getting things out of boxes and putting them in places.
I was enraged when I was forced to put the diploma under the bed, I was concerned when it was revealed my character needed a cane to get around, I was giddy when I saw their table-top miniature had finally been painted, I nearly cried when I got the stuffed pig out for the very last time.
Make no mistake, this is a narrative game, one that trusts the player to understand what it’s trying to say, but Witch Beam have done such an immaculate job of telling the story that you really don’t need to do a lot of legwork.
Unpacking is a very short, very cozy, and yet somehow heart-wrenching title. The premise is exceptionally simple, you play a character who is unpacking into their new home at various stages of their life, from childhood to adolescence. Open the boxes, grab the things out the boxes, place them appropriately in the space provided, and you win!
To me, the gameplay loop could get a little tedious at times, especially in some of the larger levels. That’s not to say that getting everything in it’s right place wasn’t satisfying, it very much was, it’s just getting there could feel a bit of a slog sometimes, much like the actual act of unpacking.
But really that’s not even where Unpacking’s magic lies, this game does such an incredible job of telling a coherent story with the only dialogue being the footnotes your character annotates each “new home” picture with, which culminates to maybe a couple dozen words by the end of the game. The protagonist goes through the aching pains of growing up, making new friends, falling in and out of love, and exciting career opportunities, and you gleam all of this through the simple act of getting things out of boxes and putting them in places.
I was enraged when I was forced to put the diploma under the bed, I was concerned when it was revealed my character needed a cane to get around, I was giddy when I saw their table-top miniature had finally been painted, I nearly cried when I got the stuffed pig out for the very last time.
Make no mistake, this is a narrative game, one that trusts the player to understand what it’s trying to say, but Witch Beam have done such an immaculate job of telling the story that you really don’t need to do a lot of legwork.
Don't fix what isn't broke.
Nitro-Fueled understood what needed to be done bringing CTR to modern consoles; really not that much. It nails the feel of the original PS1 title and adds flare and the current gen graphics, makes some of the trickier aspects like drift-boosting a little easier to read, but by and large this is the same PS1 CD-R with a fresh gleam of paint and a Blu-Ray disc. It slathers on an extra helping of Nitro Kart levels, whcih was a fun new experience for me and many people because who the hell played Nitro Kart.
Having the option to play the Legacy Music was also a nice touch, I almost wish Legacy Voice Lines would be available too for that extra kick of nostalgia, but it's a moot point when you have one of the greatest kart racers here.
It gets 9 stars rather than 10 because of it's pissy little microtransactions, sure you can get everything without paying but I'd rather it not be there in the first place. Also Baby Crash/Coco/Cortex freak me out.
Nitro-Fueled understood what needed to be done bringing CTR to modern consoles; really not that much. It nails the feel of the original PS1 title and adds flare and the current gen graphics, makes some of the trickier aspects like drift-boosting a little easier to read, but by and large this is the same PS1 CD-R with a fresh gleam of paint and a Blu-Ray disc. It slathers on an extra helping of Nitro Kart levels, whcih was a fun new experience for me and many people because who the hell played Nitro Kart.
Having the option to play the Legacy Music was also a nice touch, I almost wish Legacy Voice Lines would be available too for that extra kick of nostalgia, but it's a moot point when you have one of the greatest kart racers here.
It gets 9 stars rather than 10 because of it's pissy little microtransactions, sure you can get everything without paying but I'd rather it not be there in the first place. Also Baby Crash/Coco/Cortex freak me out.
A genre-defining classic that's weathered with time.
It's undeniable that Fallout is a benchmark in CRPG's, it started a landmark franchise with unforgettable entries, and it's not difficult to see why. The original Fallout has so much going for it, a sprawling open world, fascinatingly intricate characters, an engaging story and some great combat moments, but it doesn't quite hold up by today's standards.
Everything that happens in Fallout is in the hands of the dice roll, for better or worse. Invisible numbers play behind almost every click you make, numbers you will never see the true results of, sometimes this will work in your favour (enemies shooting enemies, lucky repair win, good barter deal), sometimes it will work in the complete opposite of your favour (enemy does 400 points of damage to you in one hit bypassing all your armour).
You know how in a lot of TTRPG's, part of the DM's role is to read the rules and go "Hm, this is stupid, and kind of ruins everyone's fun, we'll tweak this a bit", Fallout doesn't have anyone at the steering wheel, just a random number generator deciding your fate, taking your stats into consideration only slightly.
Of course, for a game from 1997, it's a product of the time, and this system would become refined as time went on. And it's certainly not to say Fallout isn't a game worth playing, outside some of it's questionable design choices it's a simultaneously simplistic yet deeply intricately layered world, that'll reward you for taking the time to explore and talk to everyone. It sets the groundwork for the post-post apocalpyse that's explored further in Fallout 2 and New Vegas, and has some memorable talking heads with believable personalities.
Save scum your way through this game, maybe even tweak some of your stats using an external program, I won't be mad at you if it means you'll get to explore the wasteland in some capacity, it's certainly worth it.
It's undeniable that Fallout is a benchmark in CRPG's, it started a landmark franchise with unforgettable entries, and it's not difficult to see why. The original Fallout has so much going for it, a sprawling open world, fascinatingly intricate characters, an engaging story and some great combat moments, but it doesn't quite hold up by today's standards.
Everything that happens in Fallout is in the hands of the dice roll, for better or worse. Invisible numbers play behind almost every click you make, numbers you will never see the true results of, sometimes this will work in your favour (enemies shooting enemies, lucky repair win, good barter deal), sometimes it will work in the complete opposite of your favour (enemy does 400 points of damage to you in one hit bypassing all your armour).
You know how in a lot of TTRPG's, part of the DM's role is to read the rules and go "Hm, this is stupid, and kind of ruins everyone's fun, we'll tweak this a bit", Fallout doesn't have anyone at the steering wheel, just a random number generator deciding your fate, taking your stats into consideration only slightly.
Of course, for a game from 1997, it's a product of the time, and this system would become refined as time went on. And it's certainly not to say Fallout isn't a game worth playing, outside some of it's questionable design choices it's a simultaneously simplistic yet deeply intricately layered world, that'll reward you for taking the time to explore and talk to everyone. It sets the groundwork for the post-post apocalpyse that's explored further in Fallout 2 and New Vegas, and has some memorable talking heads with believable personalities.
Save scum your way through this game, maybe even tweak some of your stats using an external program, I won't be mad at you if it means you'll get to explore the wasteland in some capacity, it's certainly worth it.