gavinavenue
Bio
Raised on point & clicks, frequent defender of uniquely busted game design
Raised on point & clicks, frequent defender of uniquely busted game design
Badges
1 Years of Service
Being part of the Backloggd community for 1 year
Shreked
Found the secret ogre page
GOTY '23
Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event
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Become mutual friends with at least 3 others
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Gained 3+ followers
Liked
Gained 10+ total review likes
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Voted for at least 3 features on the roadmap
Gamer
Played 250+ games
N00b
Played 100+ games
Favorite Games
412
Total Games Played
030
Played in 2024
292
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Absolutely beautiful and genius in its simplicity. By giving you involvement in this passive game, it makes you really feel connected to these little encounters so much more than if you were just given the in-game dialogue. When the game moves back and forth effortlessly, folks will open up to you more easily, letting you in on glimpses of their lives, their dreams, their troubles. Despite them never being seen together or outside of the park, a web begins to form between these characters, with your games of catch allowing them a space to talk through their feelings and make decisions about their own lives.
As much as I have a desire for the game to delve further into the lives of these people, I know at the same time that its restraint is a lot of what makes it so endearing. You play as an observer, and in its best moments nothing is said at all.
As much as I have a desire for the game to delve further into the lives of these people, I know at the same time that its restraint is a lot of what makes it so endearing. You play as an observer, and in its best moments nothing is said at all.
This review contains spoilers
For being as accessible as it is while still getting across the feeling of helpless culture shock at the outset of every new civilization, Chants of Sennaar hits a remarkable sweet spot. It may be too hard for some, too easy for others, but anybody playing it will feel the satisfaction of both learning to understand each culture, as well as watching the big picture come together.
Personally, I think just about everything this game does could be taken a step further into the obscure and it would be for the better - more structural differences between languages, more emphasis on each language being a reflection of that culture's values, more context clues and less of the freebies/Rosetta Stones that are given to you frequently. The pacing in the final area is also a bit strange, but ultimately these are minor complaints when there's so much to love here.
Visually, this is one of the best looking games I've played in a long time and it's a shining example of why fixed camera angles should be used more in games. every single shot has so much attention given to the composition, and what the game wants to show you about the world. every single screen is a clue of some sort, guiding you towards learning about the meaning of glyphs, the things a culture revolves around, what they fear, etc.
The game also fully earns the message that it carries out about bridging cultures by putting effort into understanding one another. By having you go through the Tower's different civilizations one by one, understanding each new one through the lens of other cultures with different values, you begin to see through lines and learn how to find the meeting points between them.
Even with high expectations going in, it's far better than I had anticipated, and one I'll be thinking about for a long time.
Personally, I think just about everything this game does could be taken a step further into the obscure and it would be for the better - more structural differences between languages, more emphasis on each language being a reflection of that culture's values, more context clues and less of the freebies/Rosetta Stones that are given to you frequently. The pacing in the final area is also a bit strange, but ultimately these are minor complaints when there's so much to love here.
Visually, this is one of the best looking games I've played in a long time and it's a shining example of why fixed camera angles should be used more in games. every single shot has so much attention given to the composition, and what the game wants to show you about the world. every single screen is a clue of some sort, guiding you towards learning about the meaning of glyphs, the things a culture revolves around, what they fear, etc.
The game also fully earns the message that it carries out about bridging cultures by putting effort into understanding one another. By having you go through the Tower's different civilizations one by one, understanding each new one through the lens of other cultures with different values, you begin to see through lines and learn how to find the meeting points between them.
Even with high expectations going in, it's far better than I had anticipated, and one I'll be thinking about for a long time.
Played a bit of this a few years ago and didn't really like it at the time - Either I just gave up early on or Chulip hadn't yet done permanent damage to my taste in games, but yeah, this game rocks.
I'm very excited to play Giftpia now, because I think Skip's world/mission design in both this game and Captain Rainbow is the most satisfying way of going about the Love-de-lic format. When working with a time mechanic, it's hard to avoid a lot of waiting and aimless wandering. Both of these games combat this by always giving you productive things to do, organizing missions so that new quests or progressions are always being discovered, and making the player feel like they're making the most of their day. Exploring or talking to NPCs will always reward you in a tangible way, and even just spending a whole night wandering and cleaning the house will give you active progress towards your next goal.
The main quest in Chibi-Robo can sometimes not feel the most intuitive, but just by doing things around the house and following little sidequest paths, the main goal will always inevitably come back into focus. The characters here are also all funny and unique and more than enough to get you over the inconveniences that naturally come with being an inch-tall robot.
I'm very excited to play Giftpia now, because I think Skip's world/mission design in both this game and Captain Rainbow is the most satisfying way of going about the Love-de-lic format. When working with a time mechanic, it's hard to avoid a lot of waiting and aimless wandering. Both of these games combat this by always giving you productive things to do, organizing missions so that new quests or progressions are always being discovered, and making the player feel like they're making the most of their day. Exploring or talking to NPCs will always reward you in a tangible way, and even just spending a whole night wandering and cleaning the house will give you active progress towards your next goal.
The main quest in Chibi-Robo can sometimes not feel the most intuitive, but just by doing things around the house and following little sidequest paths, the main goal will always inevitably come back into focus. The characters here are also all funny and unique and more than enough to get you over the inconveniences that naturally come with being an inch-tall robot.