putrid
2020
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Parkasaurus is a management simulator focused on providing for both guests who decide to visit your park and various types of low-poly graphic dinosaurs. The premise is simple, and continues to be both simplistic and fairly easy throughout your playthrough. The game doesn't get very "deep" beyond digging for fossils, scientific discoveries, upgrades based on a system of hearts and love, and building the correct biomes/environments for your exhibit, but it's enjoyable (at least to me) regardless.
There are multiple types of dinosaurs you can obtain based on both types i.e. sauropods, theropods, etc., and the time periods these dinosaurs lived in, and they're all adorable (they can even wear hats). There are also tons of entertainment and food buildings you can construct for customers. There's a story mode and a sandbox mode to take advantage of, and you're also able to walk around in first person, similar to other tycoon games. As I mentioned before, the game is fairly easy, so it's almost impossible to lose or find yourself in a downward spiral (I haven't experienced this, at least). The difficulty is almost as if it were a child's game. Regardless, this game is cute and fun, and it can be relaxing if you don't get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of dinosaurs, miscellaneous decorations, and restaurants.
Parkasaurus is a management simulator focused on providing for both guests who decide to visit your park and various types of low-poly graphic dinosaurs. The premise is simple, and continues to be both simplistic and fairly easy throughout your playthrough. The game doesn't get very "deep" beyond digging for fossils, scientific discoveries, upgrades based on a system of hearts and love, and building the correct biomes/environments for your exhibit, but it's enjoyable (at least to me) regardless.
There are multiple types of dinosaurs you can obtain based on both types i.e. sauropods, theropods, etc., and the time periods these dinosaurs lived in, and they're all adorable (they can even wear hats). There are also tons of entertainment and food buildings you can construct for customers. There's a story mode and a sandbox mode to take advantage of, and you're also able to walk around in first person, similar to other tycoon games. As I mentioned before, the game is fairly easy, so it's almost impossible to lose or find yourself in a downward spiral (I haven't experienced this, at least). The difficulty is almost as if it were a child's game. Regardless, this game is cute and fun, and it can be relaxing if you don't get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of dinosaurs, miscellaneous decorations, and restaurants.
2023
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This game is very fun for early access and has quite a bit of content so far. A friend and I had fun playing for about 6-7 hours until the current end (until more levels are released). It's pretty scary because a lot of the levels incorporate not only freakishly horrifying monsters, but also near impenetrable darkness, the feeling of being lost and confused, eerie noises, and the notion that you're being followed and/or watched. It's even more terrifying when you find yourself alone in the maze without your partner, unable to quickly find them in a forest where nefarious supernatural beings are residents.
You can die in this game, and so far you're incapable of fighting back. Not only do you have to avoid monsters, but you also have to quickly figure out puzzles whilst being surrounded by the creaking of the forest and moans/growls of the thing looking for you; never knowing whether or not it'll suddenly appear to devour you. The maze routes are incredibly confusing to navigate, and the maps are pretty expansive. The eerie locations also feature tapes you can listen to and notes to read about the story, plus others who've failed to get through the maze. So far, this game is exceedingly promising and genuinely scary, and I can't wait to discover what the developers have planned for this game.
This game is very fun for early access and has quite a bit of content so far. A friend and I had fun playing for about 6-7 hours until the current end (until more levels are released). It's pretty scary because a lot of the levels incorporate not only freakishly horrifying monsters, but also near impenetrable darkness, the feeling of being lost and confused, eerie noises, and the notion that you're being followed and/or watched. It's even more terrifying when you find yourself alone in the maze without your partner, unable to quickly find them in a forest where nefarious supernatural beings are residents.
You can die in this game, and so far you're incapable of fighting back. Not only do you have to avoid monsters, but you also have to quickly figure out puzzles whilst being surrounded by the creaking of the forest and moans/growls of the thing looking for you; never knowing whether or not it'll suddenly appear to devour you. The maze routes are incredibly confusing to navigate, and the maps are pretty expansive. The eerie locations also feature tapes you can listen to and notes to read about the story, plus others who've failed to get through the maze. So far, this game is exceedingly promising and genuinely scary, and I can't wait to discover what the developers have planned for this game.
2019
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The game right now is very short and quite tedious, if I'm honest. I played with a friend on both maps (there's only two), and well, the house with the little girl that requires dolls is quite tedious. I memorized where to go and where each regular doll was (you have to give these "regular" dolls to the ghostly little girl or she will go berserk and turn you into a doll), and I got down to at least 3 corrupted dolls left to burn in the stove but my friend and I were never able to finish the map. This might be due to us not having 4 people to participate, but it's very mindless regardless, seeing as the little girl seems to get angrier and angrier the more corrupted dolls you burn. There are only so many regular dolls to give her to keep her docile, and only so many chances to evade her.
The other map is at a farmhouse with one or two humans turned into monsters that chase you around. It's kind of difficult to figure out what you're supposed to do while this thing is chasing you 24/7. This map also employs a similar mechanic as the other, where you have to feed the monster chickens to keep him from attacking you. The maps are almost copy-pasted in this sense (pick up weapons & clues -> pick up sedative-type objects or food for the perpetrator -> finish or die if all players are attacked without reverting back to original form first.)
Other than that, the game isn't scary to me in the slightest. Hopefully, the game will be updated with different/better maps. I think the $5 price tag is pretty reasonable, although I can't recommend this game. If you want a better co-op experience that's actually spooky, I'd advise you to pick up either Phasmophobia or Labyrinthine.
The game right now is very short and quite tedious, if I'm honest. I played with a friend on both maps (there's only two), and well, the house with the little girl that requires dolls is quite tedious. I memorized where to go and where each regular doll was (you have to give these "regular" dolls to the ghostly little girl or she will go berserk and turn you into a doll), and I got down to at least 3 corrupted dolls left to burn in the stove but my friend and I were never able to finish the map. This might be due to us not having 4 people to participate, but it's very mindless regardless, seeing as the little girl seems to get angrier and angrier the more corrupted dolls you burn. There are only so many regular dolls to give her to keep her docile, and only so many chances to evade her.
The other map is at a farmhouse with one or two humans turned into monsters that chase you around. It's kind of difficult to figure out what you're supposed to do while this thing is chasing you 24/7. This map also employs a similar mechanic as the other, where you have to feed the monster chickens to keep him from attacking you. The maps are almost copy-pasted in this sense (pick up weapons & clues -> pick up sedative-type objects or food for the perpetrator -> finish or die if all players are attacked without reverting back to original form first.)
Other than that, the game isn't scary to me in the slightest. Hopefully, the game will be updated with different/better maps. I think the $5 price tag is pretty reasonable, although I can't recommend this game. If you want a better co-op experience that's actually spooky, I'd advise you to pick up either Phasmophobia or Labyrinthine.
2017
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Cayne is a free isometric sci-fi horror point & click game that takes place in the same world (or universe, although the next games are very closely related) as Stasis, and The Brotherhood's next upcoming game by the title of Stasis: Bone-totem. You play as a pregnant woman named Hadley & are guided throughout a seemingly decrepit facility by the voice of a man who seems to be stuck in this same facility, with his eyes and limbs took away from him. You don't really know anything about him other than that, but the ending leads you to believe otherwise.
The plot is a little confusing (I had to look up theories on the ending because it was pretty vague), but it doesn't take away from the gameplay by any measure. You can ascertain what's going on very quickly, as the premise in the description accurately portrays the game's running theme; there are just other nuances at play, such as some biblical referencing. There's not really much else to say besides the fact that this game does include a lot of gore and morbid things in general, so if you're VERY sensitive to that material you probably shouldn't play this game. But, what can you expect of this genre?
Other than that, the game is extremely short (it took me exactly 3 hours to 100% with all achievements) and it's not too hard or too easy. You can die in this game, but I only found one encounter/instance where this is possible. Anyways, I think this game is pretty cool, it's not very scary to me but it's certainly unique. And free... so, I'd say everybody should try it. What do you have to lose?
Cayne is a free isometric sci-fi horror point & click game that takes place in the same world (or universe, although the next games are very closely related) as Stasis, and The Brotherhood's next upcoming game by the title of Stasis: Bone-totem. You play as a pregnant woman named Hadley & are guided throughout a seemingly decrepit facility by the voice of a man who seems to be stuck in this same facility, with his eyes and limbs took away from him. You don't really know anything about him other than that, but the ending leads you to believe otherwise.
The plot is a little confusing (I had to look up theories on the ending because it was pretty vague), but it doesn't take away from the gameplay by any measure. You can ascertain what's going on very quickly, as the premise in the description accurately portrays the game's running theme; there are just other nuances at play, such as some biblical referencing. There's not really much else to say besides the fact that this game does include a lot of gore and morbid things in general, so if you're VERY sensitive to that material you probably shouldn't play this game. But, what can you expect of this genre?
Other than that, the game is extremely short (it took me exactly 3 hours to 100% with all achievements) and it's not too hard or too easy. You can die in this game, but I only found one encounter/instance where this is possible. Anyways, I think this game is pretty cool, it's not very scary to me but it's certainly unique. And free... so, I'd say everybody should try it. What do you have to lose?
2021
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If you liked Pacify, you'll probably enjoy Devour. Both games have similar mechanics (where you have to collect certain things for the "tasks" you'll be doing), except Pacify is a little harder, in my opinion. At least with two people it's harder. The premise of Devour is about basically banishing your past cult leader because she's been pretty much possessed by the demon she's been trying to summon for years, Azazel. You run around and try to collect goats to burn in an altar outside (similar to collecting and burning babydolls in Pacify).
It's not the best game ever, but I played with three friends and we had a pretty good time. It's scary initially, but you get used to it quickly, and then it starts to become a little painstakingly tedious. But it's not as bad as it sounds. When you win your first game it unlocks a "nightmare" game mode, and they give you a new skin which is pretty cool. I think it's easier to appease the little ghost girl in Pacify than the possessed cult leader in Devour, and then if all your teammates are downed you of course lose the game. There are also demons that crawl around that you kill with a UV flashlight.
Overall this game is pretty enjoyable with friends but not worth raving reviews, and it's only $5 so I think it's worth it for a newer experience in the co-op horror genre. Also pro-tip: collect all the gas cans before you burn any goats and keep the amount needed at the altar.
If you liked Pacify, you'll probably enjoy Devour. Both games have similar mechanics (where you have to collect certain things for the "tasks" you'll be doing), except Pacify is a little harder, in my opinion. At least with two people it's harder. The premise of Devour is about basically banishing your past cult leader because she's been pretty much possessed by the demon she's been trying to summon for years, Azazel. You run around and try to collect goats to burn in an altar outside (similar to collecting and burning babydolls in Pacify).
It's not the best game ever, but I played with three friends and we had a pretty good time. It's scary initially, but you get used to it quickly, and then it starts to become a little painstakingly tedious. But it's not as bad as it sounds. When you win your first game it unlocks a "nightmare" game mode, and they give you a new skin which is pretty cool. I think it's easier to appease the little ghost girl in Pacify than the possessed cult leader in Devour, and then if all your teammates are downed you of course lose the game. There are also demons that crawl around that you kill with a UV flashlight.
Overall this game is pretty enjoyable with friends but not worth raving reviews, and it's only $5 so I think it's worth it for a newer experience in the co-op horror genre. Also pro-tip: collect all the gas cans before you burn any goats and keep the amount needed at the altar.
2019
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The Blair Witch game is a psychological and teemingly atmospheric horror game that has many similarities to the found-footage movie series but doesn't really follow the canonical plot. You wander through the Black Hills forest as part of a search effort for a 9 year old boy named Peter Shannon, and you do this mainly guided by your Belgian Malinois dog who's name happens to be Bullet (you can also customize him in the beginning). Despite this, the story seems to focus more and more on the main character Ellis' past, and less on the young boy you're looking for and the Blair Witch in general...
You navigate through the dark woods equipped with a camera recorder that lets you manipulate reality, a low quality flashlight, an old Nokia phone that you can play games on and call people with, and a walkie-talkie that you stole, all while fighting off stick monsters and being lead on by your dog. The game's progression relies on puzzles about changing the environment itself with the cam recorder and finding things in a spooky forest where you can easily get lost and fall into seemingly endless loops. My experience involved streaming to my friends and speaking to them vocally, but I think if I had played alone I would've developed more feelings of anxiety and fear.
My playthrough also ended because the entire game is a buggy mess littered with game breaking glitches and horrible artificial intelligence. The game is supposed to be about six hours long, but mine was cut short because Bullet refused to go into the small hole and grab what I needed so I could progress onwards during my trek at the decrepit mining camp level. I really wanted to give this game a good review if I were able to finally get Bullet to do what I wanted, but I was never able to continue without restarting from the beginning. I unfortunately just cannot recommend this game in good faith. Along with everything else I've said, about the only "collectibles" are small wooden idols that you sometimes find, literal garbage, and Peter's belongings. The story almost entirely relies on how you treat your dog and whether you kill the stick monsters and break sticks (which scare the dog but can give you a bad ending; which is nonsensical). It is objectively repetitive in its puzzle mechanics & the frustration devolves into boredom, eliminating any real fear you had while playing.
Regardless of all of its faults, I'd say that the graphics are pretty nice, and the unnerving/haunting atmosphere is probably the game's best quality; that is if you can get past the increasing lack of enthusiasm as you play. If you want this game, I suggest buying it discounted because the $30 price tag just isn't really sensible considering how poorly optimized and short this game is. They really could've done something better with this IP and kind of came up short... I mean, at least you can pet Bullet and give him treats.
The Blair Witch game is a psychological and teemingly atmospheric horror game that has many similarities to the found-footage movie series but doesn't really follow the canonical plot. You wander through the Black Hills forest as part of a search effort for a 9 year old boy named Peter Shannon, and you do this mainly guided by your Belgian Malinois dog who's name happens to be Bullet (you can also customize him in the beginning). Despite this, the story seems to focus more and more on the main character Ellis' past, and less on the young boy you're looking for and the Blair Witch in general...
You navigate through the dark woods equipped with a camera recorder that lets you manipulate reality, a low quality flashlight, an old Nokia phone that you can play games on and call people with, and a walkie-talkie that you stole, all while fighting off stick monsters and being lead on by your dog. The game's progression relies on puzzles about changing the environment itself with the cam recorder and finding things in a spooky forest where you can easily get lost and fall into seemingly endless loops. My experience involved streaming to my friends and speaking to them vocally, but I think if I had played alone I would've developed more feelings of anxiety and fear.
My playthrough also ended because the entire game is a buggy mess littered with game breaking glitches and horrible artificial intelligence. The game is supposed to be about six hours long, but mine was cut short because Bullet refused to go into the small hole and grab what I needed so I could progress onwards during my trek at the decrepit mining camp level. I really wanted to give this game a good review if I were able to finally get Bullet to do what I wanted, but I was never able to continue without restarting from the beginning. I unfortunately just cannot recommend this game in good faith. Along with everything else I've said, about the only "collectibles" are small wooden idols that you sometimes find, literal garbage, and Peter's belongings. The story almost entirely relies on how you treat your dog and whether you kill the stick monsters and break sticks (which scare the dog but can give you a bad ending; which is nonsensical). It is objectively repetitive in its puzzle mechanics & the frustration devolves into boredom, eliminating any real fear you had while playing.
Regardless of all of its faults, I'd say that the graphics are pretty nice, and the unnerving/haunting atmosphere is probably the game's best quality; that is if you can get past the increasing lack of enthusiasm as you play. If you want this game, I suggest buying it discounted because the $30 price tag just isn't really sensible considering how poorly optimized and short this game is. They really could've done something better with this IP and kind of came up short... I mean, at least you can pet Bullet and give him treats.
This review contains spoilers
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*Small disclaimer before you read this review (Do NOT look up any characters, or anything about this series at all if you want to remain completely spoiler free and dive in blind. I'm going to try to keep this review as spoiler free as I can, because it's hard to describe the story without saying too much.)*
The first in the series, the original Danganropa: Trigger Happy Havoc is the beginning of this franchise and the first of it's name. It is about 50% visual novel, 25% class trials (which include minigames) and 25% exploring the school. You're able to actually navigate with the WASD keys (although it does have controller support) throughout Hope's Peak Academy with both 2D and 3D elements. You're trapped in a school that's meant for the elites of the elites and only encompasses the one person who's the best in their field in about every field you can think of (detective work, the heirs to massive conglomerates, pop idols, programmers, gamblers, etc.) but that description doesn't fit the main character you play as in the slightest.
You play as a young and painfully average boy named Makoto Naegi. He's probably the most mundane & average person you could possibly think of. He wouldn't really even have his own personality if it weren't for the plot and the forceful ejection into such a harsh environment. Makoto would be just another fish in the sea. The only reason he was enrolled into this school is because he was chosen as the "Ultimate Lucky Student", and it is said that anyone who graduates from Hope's Peak is guaranteed success in life and any other future endeavor.
So, what's the deal with this school? You'll find out later on that Hope's Peak was closed down because of a catastrophic event that seemingly no one can remember. It was then overtaken by a mysterious & depraved figure that traps these high school students in the school & coerces them into murdering each other to "graduate" or escape, and that's what's presumed is the only way out. The only catch is you cannot be caught by the other students or "players" in this twisted game. If you wrongfully convict someone innocent during each trial, everyone except for the actual killer dies, so you have basically no choice but to investigate & debate efficiently. really makes you feel on edge and as if you cannot trust anybody, because anyone can die at any time (which is exactly why you shouldn't develop attachments towards the characters, to the best of your ability at least). During each chapter you slowly are able to put the pieces together and try and figure out what's going on behind the scenes at this peculiar school.
When you're not playing the Ace Attorney simulator, you can build relationships with whichever student you see fit during "free time". There is no romance option but interaction characters imply that something is going on between whichever female you get closer to. Every character has their own unique personality (even the bear named Monokuma), which I think is a big plus and rare to find in many modern games. The story is very well written and always feels encapsulating; I found myself exceedingly curious as to what was going to happen next. For as much content as you get and are able to theorize from, I think the $19.99 price tag is extremely worth it. There aren't many alternate endings for a visual novel style game, but I don't think it takes away at all from how enjoyable and intriguing this game is. The "overwhelmingly positive" tag for reviews is certainly accurate. There's also a little gacha simulator in the form of a coin machine that you'd usually see at stores in America where you can get little prizes to further your friendship with certain characters. You can obtain the coins from class trials or exploring the school and examining objects. It's not all just lines to read either, a lot of the dialogue (especially during class trials) is majorly voice acted outside of small ad libs the characters mutter while speaking to you!
This is an absolutely great and unique game and I think everyone should delve into this franchise at least a little bit. It's quite easy to get hooked considering how vast the lore is and the edge it brings you to. The soundtrack is also well done. Probably the only singular complaint I have about this game is that it's a little difficult getting achievements to pop, but nevertheless, don't let cringeworthy or toxic fans from this fandom lead you astray, I can assure you this game is super fun and worthwhile. It never feels predictable and is a wild ride from the start. I'd honestly give the first game at least a 10 out of 10. If you like dark VNs or murder mysteries, this is the game for you. Enjoy!
*Small disclaimer before you read this review (Do NOT look up any characters, or anything about this series at all if you want to remain completely spoiler free and dive in blind. I'm going to try to keep this review as spoiler free as I can, because it's hard to describe the story without saying too much.)*
The first in the series, the original Danganropa: Trigger Happy Havoc is the beginning of this franchise and the first of it's name. It is about 50% visual novel, 25% class trials (which include minigames) and 25% exploring the school. You're able to actually navigate with the WASD keys (although it does have controller support) throughout Hope's Peak Academy with both 2D and 3D elements. You're trapped in a school that's meant for the elites of the elites and only encompasses the one person who's the best in their field in about every field you can think of (detective work, the heirs to massive conglomerates, pop idols, programmers, gamblers, etc.) but that description doesn't fit the main character you play as in the slightest.
You play as a young and painfully average boy named Makoto Naegi. He's probably the most mundane & average person you could possibly think of. He wouldn't really even have his own personality if it weren't for the plot and the forceful ejection into such a harsh environment. Makoto would be just another fish in the sea. The only reason he was enrolled into this school is because he was chosen as the "Ultimate Lucky Student", and it is said that anyone who graduates from Hope's Peak is guaranteed success in life and any other future endeavor.
So, what's the deal with this school? You'll find out later on that Hope's Peak was closed down because of a catastrophic event that seemingly no one can remember. It was then overtaken by a mysterious & depraved figure that traps these high school students in the school & coerces them into murdering each other to "graduate" or escape, and that's what's presumed is the only way out. The only catch is you cannot be caught by the other students or "players" in this twisted game. If you wrongfully convict someone innocent during each trial, everyone except for the actual killer dies, so you have basically no choice but to investigate & debate efficiently. really makes you feel on edge and as if you cannot trust anybody, because anyone can die at any time (which is exactly why you shouldn't develop attachments towards the characters, to the best of your ability at least). During each chapter you slowly are able to put the pieces together and try and figure out what's going on behind the scenes at this peculiar school.
When you're not playing the Ace Attorney simulator, you can build relationships with whichever student you see fit during "free time". There is no romance option but interaction characters imply that something is going on between whichever female you get closer to. Every character has their own unique personality (even the bear named Monokuma), which I think is a big plus and rare to find in many modern games. The story is very well written and always feels encapsulating; I found myself exceedingly curious as to what was going to happen next. For as much content as you get and are able to theorize from, I think the $19.99 price tag is extremely worth it. There aren't many alternate endings for a visual novel style game, but I don't think it takes away at all from how enjoyable and intriguing this game is. The "overwhelmingly positive" tag for reviews is certainly accurate. There's also a little gacha simulator in the form of a coin machine that you'd usually see at stores in America where you can get little prizes to further your friendship with certain characters. You can obtain the coins from class trials or exploring the school and examining objects. It's not all just lines to read either, a lot of the dialogue (especially during class trials) is majorly voice acted outside of small ad libs the characters mutter while speaking to you!
This is an absolutely great and unique game and I think everyone should delve into this franchise at least a little bit. It's quite easy to get hooked considering how vast the lore is and the edge it brings you to. The soundtrack is also well done. Probably the only singular complaint I have about this game is that it's a little difficult getting achievements to pop, but nevertheless, don't let cringeworthy or toxic fans from this fandom lead you astray, I can assure you this game is super fun and worthwhile. It never feels predictable and is a wild ride from the start. I'd honestly give the first game at least a 10 out of 10. If you like dark VNs or murder mysteries, this is the game for you. Enjoy!
2021
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Depth 6 is a horror game kind of in the walking simulator genre (I'm not sure if you can die... yet, at least). It must be played all together within a 60 minute period, and there are absolutely zero save points. It's about traversing an old mining shaft and figuring out all the secrets enveloped in the shroud of mystery that surrounds it; before the military comes and cements the entire thing shut the next morning. Every person that has gone in this specific shaft has never come back out. You're going to find out why.
So, when you get a little further down into the shaft, you'll soon discover that some deep-state conspiracy ♥♥♥♥ is going on. I'm not going to include too much about the story so I won't spoil it, but there are tons of dead bodies you can find all over, and they all have a certain purpose as to being there. You'll discover written notes from the authoritative figures running the operation, and cassette tapes from victims: which help you to not feel so alone during your short journey. There are numerous collectibles and achievements to obtain, several endings, and you can also collect photographs. I think the camera works as some sort of banishing charm against evil. Not to mention, they'll be updating this game in the future so I'm sure there's even more content to come.
Overall, I wasn't too scared; except for the moments where I literally jumped because of the sudden horrific sights popping out at me. At $5 I'd say the game is worth the price tag and that you should pick up this game. The 60-minute playthrough rule helped me a lot because I like to procrastinate before I get around to finishing a game, so that successfully wards off any laziness. Try the game, you might like it.
If you're a baby like me, I also recorded my first playthrough on Twitch, so you can watch that here if you'd like. Thanks!
Depth 6 is a horror game kind of in the walking simulator genre (I'm not sure if you can die... yet, at least). It must be played all together within a 60 minute period, and there are absolutely zero save points. It's about traversing an old mining shaft and figuring out all the secrets enveloped in the shroud of mystery that surrounds it; before the military comes and cements the entire thing shut the next morning. Every person that has gone in this specific shaft has never come back out. You're going to find out why.
So, when you get a little further down into the shaft, you'll soon discover that some deep-state conspiracy ♥♥♥♥ is going on. I'm not going to include too much about the story so I won't spoil it, but there are tons of dead bodies you can find all over, and they all have a certain purpose as to being there. You'll discover written notes from the authoritative figures running the operation, and cassette tapes from victims: which help you to not feel so alone during your short journey. There are numerous collectibles and achievements to obtain, several endings, and you can also collect photographs. I think the camera works as some sort of banishing charm against evil. Not to mention, they'll be updating this game in the future so I'm sure there's even more content to come.
Overall, I wasn't too scared; except for the moments where I literally jumped because of the sudden horrific sights popping out at me. At $5 I'd say the game is worth the price tag and that you should pick up this game. The 60-minute playthrough rule helped me a lot because I like to procrastinate before I get around to finishing a game, so that successfully wards off any laziness. Try the game, you might like it.
If you're a baby like me, I also recorded my first playthrough on Twitch, so you can watch that here if you'd like. Thanks!
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(Light spoilers ahead.)
RE8/Re: Village, where to start... In full name, Resident Evil 8/Village is a first-person survival horror game similar to its predecessor Biohazard, in the vein of getting to explore several interconnected areas, along with being in first-person view instead of third-person like those before the two. You play as the same protagonist as before, Ethan Winters, and instead of trying to find your wife, the goal is to find your daughter, Rose. The game begins innocently enough in the Winter's household, with what seems to be your wife, Mia Winters, and then takes a turn for the worse. After this encounter, the game takes place in five areas, including the Village, which is located somewhere remote in Romania, Europe. The other four areas are Castle Dimitrescu, the Beneviento family house, Heisenberg's factory, and lastly, Moreau's swamp type area. There are various hidden locations and of course, the save rooms we all know of and appreciate.
The maps are interconnected in the sense that you must go through one first to unlock the next, and you must backtrack a lot. The village, whilst usually quiet and unassuming, is infested with fodder Lycan-type (werewolf) enemies, and sometimes their scarier, bigger, four-legged brethren. You must revisit a lot, and right outside the gates in the midst of it all is your usual merchant for this game, at least in later stages of the game. The four lords (Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento, Heisenberg, and Salvatore Moreau) are all interesting enough, but the Duke has his own intriguing ways and features, besides his readily available new weapons, ammo, & food dishes: as long as you can pay the price, amongst other things, like micromanaging your inventory.
Each microcosmic area is as horrific & beautifully rendered as the next, taking inspiration from real-life Eastern European castles, hallucinogenic plants, human experimentation (which is a running theme), and simply gut-wrenching environments (in a nauseating way.) Some characters will excite you, others will remind you of stories like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Jekyll and Hyde. Even the most predominant seeming villains are victims in a sort of way, at least once you realize what's really going on, and who's orchestrating everything behind the scenes; and while these antagonists are bioweapons, the Umbrella Corporation isn't pulling the strings this time (although there are easter eggs referencing the ways in which they are related.) There is a final boss for each area, being the lord of each area, and a conclusionary boss, who you'll come to know as Mother Miranda.
The game can take as little as one hour if you're a speedrunner, and as many as 10 to 13. The difficulties range from Casual (which is also known as easy) to Village of the Shadows, which is the absolute hardest. I'd say it has plenty of replayability features because there are tons of achievements, aforementioned secret areas, things to collect, & once you finish, there is also a game mode called Mercenaries waiting for you. There is tons of extra content to peruse as well, such as 3D models of characters, case files entailing information on the Baker family incident, concept art, and a shop where you can purchase things like infinite ammo for whatever weapon you prefer. The game is a love story to both Slavic folklore (which I believe we need more of in the video game industry), the RE Universe, and its lore in its entirety.
If you liked Biohazard, this game is a continuation of that story after a few years, and supposedly less scary, although that's up for you to decide. It has gorgeous photo-realistic graphics & tense survival horror elements, as well as hide-and-seek horror reminiscent of the old Amnesia games. RE8 is sure to keep you hungering for more as you play through and investigate the happenings of this derelict town, satiating you once and for all as the credits roll. The game is brilliant, and I'm eagerly bestowing it with a personal score of 10 out of 10. Play this game, I adore it, and I'm sure that you will as well.
(Light spoilers ahead.)
RE8/Re: Village, where to start... In full name, Resident Evil 8/Village is a first-person survival horror game similar to its predecessor Biohazard, in the vein of getting to explore several interconnected areas, along with being in first-person view instead of third-person like those before the two. You play as the same protagonist as before, Ethan Winters, and instead of trying to find your wife, the goal is to find your daughter, Rose. The game begins innocently enough in the Winter's household, with what seems to be your wife, Mia Winters, and then takes a turn for the worse. After this encounter, the game takes place in five areas, including the Village, which is located somewhere remote in Romania, Europe. The other four areas are Castle Dimitrescu, the Beneviento family house, Heisenberg's factory, and lastly, Moreau's swamp type area. There are various hidden locations and of course, the save rooms we all know of and appreciate.
The maps are interconnected in the sense that you must go through one first to unlock the next, and you must backtrack a lot. The village, whilst usually quiet and unassuming, is infested with fodder Lycan-type (werewolf) enemies, and sometimes their scarier, bigger, four-legged brethren. You must revisit a lot, and right outside the gates in the midst of it all is your usual merchant for this game, at least in later stages of the game. The four lords (Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento, Heisenberg, and Salvatore Moreau) are all interesting enough, but the Duke has his own intriguing ways and features, besides his readily available new weapons, ammo, & food dishes: as long as you can pay the price, amongst other things, like micromanaging your inventory.
Each microcosmic area is as horrific & beautifully rendered as the next, taking inspiration from real-life Eastern European castles, hallucinogenic plants, human experimentation (which is a running theme), and simply gut-wrenching environments (in a nauseating way.) Some characters will excite you, others will remind you of stories like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Jekyll and Hyde. Even the most predominant seeming villains are victims in a sort of way, at least once you realize what's really going on, and who's orchestrating everything behind the scenes; and while these antagonists are bioweapons, the Umbrella Corporation isn't pulling the strings this time (although there are easter eggs referencing the ways in which they are related.) There is a final boss for each area, being the lord of each area, and a conclusionary boss, who you'll come to know as Mother Miranda.
The game can take as little as one hour if you're a speedrunner, and as many as 10 to 13. The difficulties range from Casual (which is also known as easy) to Village of the Shadows, which is the absolute hardest. I'd say it has plenty of replayability features because there are tons of achievements, aforementioned secret areas, things to collect, & once you finish, there is also a game mode called Mercenaries waiting for you. There is tons of extra content to peruse as well, such as 3D models of characters, case files entailing information on the Baker family incident, concept art, and a shop where you can purchase things like infinite ammo for whatever weapon you prefer. The game is a love story to both Slavic folklore (which I believe we need more of in the video game industry), the RE Universe, and its lore in its entirety.
If you liked Biohazard, this game is a continuation of that story after a few years, and supposedly less scary, although that's up for you to decide. It has gorgeous photo-realistic graphics & tense survival horror elements, as well as hide-and-seek horror reminiscent of the old Amnesia games. RE8 is sure to keep you hungering for more as you play through and investigate the happenings of this derelict town, satiating you once and for all as the credits roll. The game is brilliant, and I'm eagerly bestowing it with a personal score of 10 out of 10. Play this game, I adore it, and I'm sure that you will as well.
2020
Follow my curator page for more comprehensive 100% reviews of other games!
(All Achievements/100% Review)
Coloring Game 2 is the second entry in the reoccurring Coloring Game series in which you color by number to reveal a pixelated and rendered image once finished. These games are available for either free or fairly cheap if you choose to purchase extra content. The images have different themes, ranging from pop culture references to biblical renaissance-style paintings. In this particular version, there is a Resident Evil save room themed reference, something cyberpunk related, and several nature scenes; one being in black and white. Each game is very relaxing, and the achievements are very simple to go about obtaining, considering all you have to do is finish coloring each image.
You can tweak the settings to your approval and are able to change things like removing the numbers or enabling fill color techniques. The game also includes a soundtrack, but I enjoy listening to podcasts or spoken story Youtube videos while I imbue the colors with my keyboard & the click of my mouse. The only parts I'd consider "stressful" to any extent are failing to identify required pixels to paint in, but you can fix this by turning the numbering back on. I'd also say that this game can be difficult for people with nearsightedness, but this can also be rectified by simply zooming in to the photograph. All in all, I'd recommend this game to anyone considering you have pretty much nothing to lose considering it's free. If you like the game enough, get the extra content. It's all up to you, so have fun.
(All Achievements/100% Review)
Coloring Game 2 is the second entry in the reoccurring Coloring Game series in which you color by number to reveal a pixelated and rendered image once finished. These games are available for either free or fairly cheap if you choose to purchase extra content. The images have different themes, ranging from pop culture references to biblical renaissance-style paintings. In this particular version, there is a Resident Evil save room themed reference, something cyberpunk related, and several nature scenes; one being in black and white. Each game is very relaxing, and the achievements are very simple to go about obtaining, considering all you have to do is finish coloring each image.
You can tweak the settings to your approval and are able to change things like removing the numbers or enabling fill color techniques. The game also includes a soundtrack, but I enjoy listening to podcasts or spoken story Youtube videos while I imbue the colors with my keyboard & the click of my mouse. The only parts I'd consider "stressful" to any extent are failing to identify required pixels to paint in, but you can fix this by turning the numbering back on. I'd also say that this game can be difficult for people with nearsightedness, but this can also be rectified by simply zooming in to the photograph. All in all, I'd recommend this game to anyone considering you have pretty much nothing to lose considering it's free. If you like the game enough, get the extra content. It's all up to you, so have fun.
2021
This review contains spoilers
Follow my curator page for more comprehensive reviews of other games!
(Heavy spoiler alert.)
It Takes Two is a cooperative split-screen tale by the same developers who gave you A Way Out, a game about two prison escapees that I can also recommend. Luckily, It Takes Two comes with a free friend's pass; which means that only one person has to purchase a copy of the game. The adventure delivers a story beginning that most of us have come to know either now or during childhood, given the 40-50% current divorce rate in America: one of two parents in a struggling marriage. The narrative is directed by the child's whims, which are simply for her parents to stop fighting, work out their issues, & eventually get back together. The child's teary anguish then puts her father & mother through a spell that relinquishes their humanity & turns the couple into wooden & clay dolls.
The game is enticing for multiple reasons; those being the fact that game experiences can a lot of the be times better-enjoyed w/ friends or family, plus, I'm sure more than a couple of us have had wistful desires for our parents to reunite after witnessing constant fighting & the lengthy processes of divorce & custody battles. In this game, you can finally fix that impossible issue. You and your friend take on the roles of May & Cody, the parents of your daughter named Rose, and you suddenly appear in your backyard shed, with much smaller perspectives than before; coming to the realization that you both have shrunk to inhuman sizes. This epiphany is followed by a hysterical freakout from the two, and then the plan of getting out of this situation and back into your regular bodies.
The very first level introduces you to Dr. Hakim, a.k.a. the Book of Love, who becomes the main driving force behind mending the broken relationship, although all May & Cody are preoccupied with is returning to your original forms. By now, you & whoever you're playing w/ have to learn to work together efficiently to take on the challenges, optional minigames, & eventual boss fights of each level, this one being about navigating through your abandoned shed & defeating your old vacuum cleaner & toolbox. You then learn that all of the inanimate objects in your house are actually sentient living beings, capable of having thoughts & feelings of their own; which leads you to discover that the aforementioned vacuum cleaner is upset about being replaced by a newer version of themself, & is now taking revenge upon both of you. You then comb through the dusty ant-infested corners of your forgotten shed, learning to put forth coincided efforts for traversing through each menial challenge with whatever new objects or weapons you're given (this time being a hammerhead and a nail shooter), finally coming to the conclusion: defeating the divided section's boss levels.
The next chapter takes you to the tree in your front yard, tasking you with becoming military operatives for the squirrels, who are in an ongoing feud with the wasps. May is given a bazooka & Cody receives a sap gun, & when both weapons are combined, you have the ability to make things explode, which is how you're expected to defeat the wasps. I'm sure all of us at one point have wanted to commit genocide against pesky bugs, & this section allows you to do just that. Even though every chapter has similar elements, there are always new and imaginative ways to go about proceeding with your missions. Each area, whether it be the shed, pillow fort, literal cosmos, or your child's room; is made with tons of scrutiny & thought, not only with the beautiful & sometimes nearly photorealistic graphics, but also the unique level design & clever mechanics of helping each other triumph through. Nothing ever feels overdone, & you're given ample opportunities to just release stress and have fun whether that be through sliding on massive slides, steering airplane maneuvers, sailing through seemingly "treacherous" waters, riding on hallucinogenic catfish, rhinoceros beetles, fluffy bees, frogs, dinosaurs, and just about anything else you can possibly imagine. In addition to this, the game is also littered with amusing references to both Hazelight's previous games and other things like Street Fighter & Dungeons & Dragons, for example.
The third segment contains your journey through Rose's room, which has you reliving childhood dreams by passing through a colorful pillow fort and ultimately flying to space to fight an astronaut baboon. The controls often invert depending on what you're currently doing, but luckily this circumstance, nor any of the puzzles or boss fights ever feel too bewildering or impossible to figure out, especially when you have the essence of collaborative teamwork. The only thing I'd really warn you of is the possibly seizure-inducing kaleidoscope part, but the difficulty remains intriguingly challenging whilst at the same time manageable.
After your stint on the messy floors of Rose's room, you're invited to the castle to unleash your depraved plan of kidnapping and murdering Cutie the Elephant, who is the queen of the stronghold. The ulterior motive here is to make your daughter cry, which the two parents assume is the way of undoing the spell placed upon them. The environment is always enjoyable to interact with, but the carrying out of the actual goal gives you a lingering feeling of brutality, considering the fact that you're literally tearing the sweetly pleasant child's toy limb by limb while it is alive, which can be slightly uncomfortable. When this evil plan fails to succeed, Dr. Hakim returns to harass you (which he does basically throughout the entire game) by forcing the couple to make it through three challenges, the main themes being collaboration, attraction, & passion.
The 1st part, collaboration, brings you to the guttural insides of your household wooden clock; which incorporates a Victorian era, Steampunk-esque village, farmlands, & the only actually difficult area in the game (a platforming puzzle aptly named Hell tower.) When you finish this place, the next segment shrinks you even smaller to the correct size for being inside a snow globe. You trudge through arctic depths where you swim in extremely deep waters equaling only the Mariana Trench itself, which I'd say for people w/ thalassophobia to take caution in only because of the creepy sea creatures that live below. But this level isn't all impending doom, you're also able to explore the lively and adorable holiday village where Cody first proposed to May.
After freezing through the ice & snow, the last area of the game guides you to your family garden. Cody is equipped w/ some newfound innate ability to transform into different plants, & May is given a water hose. The goal here is all about passion, & it is mainly expressed by the couple helping each other w/ things they both love to do because they failed to do so beforehand, both only caring to focus on work & maintaining the household. By the end of the level, Dr. Hakim believes that the couple has reconciled to at least the point of remaining friends, and gives them back their regular human bodies, but simultaneously; their daughter Rose has begun to believe that the fault of the divorce belongs with her. The 2 parents come together to collect Rose from a bus stop after she has run away, and the game ends.
Overall, the game takes about 16 hours to complete and it is appropriate for any situation, whether that be two friends undergoing an entertaining encounter together, or a broken couple looking for a profound experience full of metaphorical reasoning to stay together. It Takes Two deserves the outpour of overwhelmingly positive reviews, and it truly builds on A Way Out's strengths. 10/10.
(Heavy spoiler alert.)
It Takes Two is a cooperative split-screen tale by the same developers who gave you A Way Out, a game about two prison escapees that I can also recommend. Luckily, It Takes Two comes with a free friend's pass; which means that only one person has to purchase a copy of the game. The adventure delivers a story beginning that most of us have come to know either now or during childhood, given the 40-50% current divorce rate in America: one of two parents in a struggling marriage. The narrative is directed by the child's whims, which are simply for her parents to stop fighting, work out their issues, & eventually get back together. The child's teary anguish then puts her father & mother through a spell that relinquishes their humanity & turns the couple into wooden & clay dolls.
The game is enticing for multiple reasons; those being the fact that game experiences can a lot of the be times better-enjoyed w/ friends or family, plus, I'm sure more than a couple of us have had wistful desires for our parents to reunite after witnessing constant fighting & the lengthy processes of divorce & custody battles. In this game, you can finally fix that impossible issue. You and your friend take on the roles of May & Cody, the parents of your daughter named Rose, and you suddenly appear in your backyard shed, with much smaller perspectives than before; coming to the realization that you both have shrunk to inhuman sizes. This epiphany is followed by a hysterical freakout from the two, and then the plan of getting out of this situation and back into your regular bodies.
The very first level introduces you to Dr. Hakim, a.k.a. the Book of Love, who becomes the main driving force behind mending the broken relationship, although all May & Cody are preoccupied with is returning to your original forms. By now, you & whoever you're playing w/ have to learn to work together efficiently to take on the challenges, optional minigames, & eventual boss fights of each level, this one being about navigating through your abandoned shed & defeating your old vacuum cleaner & toolbox. You then learn that all of the inanimate objects in your house are actually sentient living beings, capable of having thoughts & feelings of their own; which leads you to discover that the aforementioned vacuum cleaner is upset about being replaced by a newer version of themself, & is now taking revenge upon both of you. You then comb through the dusty ant-infested corners of your forgotten shed, learning to put forth coincided efforts for traversing through each menial challenge with whatever new objects or weapons you're given (this time being a hammerhead and a nail shooter), finally coming to the conclusion: defeating the divided section's boss levels.
The next chapter takes you to the tree in your front yard, tasking you with becoming military operatives for the squirrels, who are in an ongoing feud with the wasps. May is given a bazooka & Cody receives a sap gun, & when both weapons are combined, you have the ability to make things explode, which is how you're expected to defeat the wasps. I'm sure all of us at one point have wanted to commit genocide against pesky bugs, & this section allows you to do just that. Even though every chapter has similar elements, there are always new and imaginative ways to go about proceeding with your missions. Each area, whether it be the shed, pillow fort, literal cosmos, or your child's room; is made with tons of scrutiny & thought, not only with the beautiful & sometimes nearly photorealistic graphics, but also the unique level design & clever mechanics of helping each other triumph through. Nothing ever feels overdone, & you're given ample opportunities to just release stress and have fun whether that be through sliding on massive slides, steering airplane maneuvers, sailing through seemingly "treacherous" waters, riding on hallucinogenic catfish, rhinoceros beetles, fluffy bees, frogs, dinosaurs, and just about anything else you can possibly imagine. In addition to this, the game is also littered with amusing references to both Hazelight's previous games and other things like Street Fighter & Dungeons & Dragons, for example.
The third segment contains your journey through Rose's room, which has you reliving childhood dreams by passing through a colorful pillow fort and ultimately flying to space to fight an astronaut baboon. The controls often invert depending on what you're currently doing, but luckily this circumstance, nor any of the puzzles or boss fights ever feel too bewildering or impossible to figure out, especially when you have the essence of collaborative teamwork. The only thing I'd really warn you of is the possibly seizure-inducing kaleidoscope part, but the difficulty remains intriguingly challenging whilst at the same time manageable.
After your stint on the messy floors of Rose's room, you're invited to the castle to unleash your depraved plan of kidnapping and murdering Cutie the Elephant, who is the queen of the stronghold. The ulterior motive here is to make your daughter cry, which the two parents assume is the way of undoing the spell placed upon them. The environment is always enjoyable to interact with, but the carrying out of the actual goal gives you a lingering feeling of brutality, considering the fact that you're literally tearing the sweetly pleasant child's toy limb by limb while it is alive, which can be slightly uncomfortable. When this evil plan fails to succeed, Dr. Hakim returns to harass you (which he does basically throughout the entire game) by forcing the couple to make it through three challenges, the main themes being collaboration, attraction, & passion.
The 1st part, collaboration, brings you to the guttural insides of your household wooden clock; which incorporates a Victorian era, Steampunk-esque village, farmlands, & the only actually difficult area in the game (a platforming puzzle aptly named Hell tower.) When you finish this place, the next segment shrinks you even smaller to the correct size for being inside a snow globe. You trudge through arctic depths where you swim in extremely deep waters equaling only the Mariana Trench itself, which I'd say for people w/ thalassophobia to take caution in only because of the creepy sea creatures that live below. But this level isn't all impending doom, you're also able to explore the lively and adorable holiday village where Cody first proposed to May.
After freezing through the ice & snow, the last area of the game guides you to your family garden. Cody is equipped w/ some newfound innate ability to transform into different plants, & May is given a water hose. The goal here is all about passion, & it is mainly expressed by the couple helping each other w/ things they both love to do because they failed to do so beforehand, both only caring to focus on work & maintaining the household. By the end of the level, Dr. Hakim believes that the couple has reconciled to at least the point of remaining friends, and gives them back their regular human bodies, but simultaneously; their daughter Rose has begun to believe that the fault of the divorce belongs with her. The 2 parents come together to collect Rose from a bus stop after she has run away, and the game ends.
Overall, the game takes about 16 hours to complete and it is appropriate for any situation, whether that be two friends undergoing an entertaining encounter together, or a broken couple looking for a profound experience full of metaphorical reasoning to stay together. It Takes Two deserves the outpour of overwhelmingly positive reviews, and it truly builds on A Way Out's strengths. 10/10.
2021
This review contains spoilers
Follow my curator page for more comprehensive 100% reviews of other games!
(100%/All Achievements Review/Essay)
Twelve Minutes is a top-down point-and-click game that plays like an interactive movie. As advertised, the main premise of the story is that you're a man who's being forced to live through a sickening but sometimes endearing purgatorial-esque time loop wherein a cop comes to the door of the apartment that you and your wife live in and accuses her of murdering somebody; that somebody being her biological father. As you go along with the narrative, you begin to learn more about your wife's past, the "cop"'s background, and yourself. It initially escalates from a murder mystery thriller to something much darker than you would be able to predict or imagine. There are themes of an affair, hypnotization, incest, family, & plenty of symbolism indicating these things all around you, which are manifested in the paintings and objects around your living space. All of this reminds me a lot of both simulation theory and the Sims, and sometimes it feels like the husband knows he's in a video game.
Even though the playstyle would seem as if it would be repetitive, it rarely feels that way. There are always new things to learn about your situation by exploring your environment, along with the items and decorations placed in and around it. Throughout my playthrough, I only encountered 2 to 3 glitches where I'd both clip through my wife and the blood on the ground, my wife had repeated herself like a broken robot, and I had gotten scene locked, but it wasn't detrimental to my view of the game in any way, and I quickly forgot about these things. No matter how biased we are in our opinions towards things, nothing is ever absolutely perfect; and imperfections show sincerity. Only one of these bugs was somewhat game-breaking.
In other news, I think the sound design of the game is masterfully done. The scores can induce anxiety, appreciation, and many other emotions. I really recommend turning on spatial sound to hear how realistically the thunder, rain, and lightning reverberate against the panes of your windows. The graphics are practically perfect except for the fluidity behavior of the liquid substances in-game, such as blood and water, and clearly, you don't just clip through people in real life. I think it appears a lot like whatever engine the Sims 6 would be advertised with.
The game does get confusing in its attempts to guide you through the story without holding your hand, along with other aspects like the father and the cop sharing the same voice actor. It can be fairly frustrating to figure out what your objective is without looking up a walkthrough, which I had to do at some points, especially with attaining multiple endings. Some actions you're able to carry out make you believe that you'd get a trophy for it, but overall the achievements are quite convoluted and you'd likely need outside help to 100% Twelve Minutes. Regardless, I still feel like the first half of the story is very captivating until the second twist, and then it becomes anticlimactic.
(Spoilers ahead.)
So, you eventually find out that your wife genuinely believes that she did murder her father, but this is not the case despite how it looks. It is heavily implied that the "cop" isn't even an actual cop, and is in all reality a man who knew her father personally. His motives seem simultaneously altruistic and nefarious, seeing as his intentions are to kill you both out of vengeance, take the family heirloom, and auction it off to pay for his daughter's cancer treatments. Some of the loops show you endings where nobody is hurt, some let you drug and/or kill everybody. You can interrogate both your wife and the "cop" (after incapacitating him by shooting him in the leg), you can look through both of their phone messages, and the paintings along the spaces of the walls show premonitions of the future conclusions.
In the second and last plot twist, you begin to realize that you are the one who killed your wife's father, and you're also the product of his affair with the nanny; making you and your wife half-siblings. Obviously, this is a sickening realization, considering you already have one child, plus another on the way. Everyone here is guilty in some way, your wife's sin being both lying to you about her past & shooting her father. Your sin is that you know that you're blood-related and yet you continue to either keep living with this thought silently or eventually tell your wife after it's too late (although there is an ending where you tell the father that you won't continue to pursue his daughter, leaving you with a clean slate and loneliness), as well as the fact that you're a murderer; albeit an accidental one since you were acting in self-defense. The cop's wrongdoing is evident as well; he's pretending to be an authoritative figure and in some parts he mentions that he doesn't even care if you and the wife are innocent or guilty, planning to sacrifice you both anyways to save his daughter Bumblebee.
Altogether, many of the themes are straight-up depraved and I sometimes wonder why the game developers chose to put these concepts in, the game is intriguing all throughout and I really did enjoy playing it, save for some of the lackluster endings. I feel as if the second twist was kind of unnecessary, and the game would've done a better job if it had ended with you both having a mutual understanding with the fake cop.
(Spoiler ending, continue here!)
Anyways, even though I had a few small qualms with the game, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I had waited for this game to come out for a long time, and I'm not unimpressed at all with my experience. The game can siphon you in for about a few hours or more if you want to get every achievement, but I loved playing it the entire time. I don't really understand or agree with the bad reviews at all, and I believe this game is worthy of anybody's playtime.
(100%/All Achievements Review/Essay)
Twelve Minutes is a top-down point-and-click game that plays like an interactive movie. As advertised, the main premise of the story is that you're a man who's being forced to live through a sickening but sometimes endearing purgatorial-esque time loop wherein a cop comes to the door of the apartment that you and your wife live in and accuses her of murdering somebody; that somebody being her biological father. As you go along with the narrative, you begin to learn more about your wife's past, the "cop"'s background, and yourself. It initially escalates from a murder mystery thriller to something much darker than you would be able to predict or imagine. There are themes of an affair, hypnotization, incest, family, & plenty of symbolism indicating these things all around you, which are manifested in the paintings and objects around your living space. All of this reminds me a lot of both simulation theory and the Sims, and sometimes it feels like the husband knows he's in a video game.
Even though the playstyle would seem as if it would be repetitive, it rarely feels that way. There are always new things to learn about your situation by exploring your environment, along with the items and decorations placed in and around it. Throughout my playthrough, I only encountered 2 to 3 glitches where I'd both clip through my wife and the blood on the ground, my wife had repeated herself like a broken robot, and I had gotten scene locked, but it wasn't detrimental to my view of the game in any way, and I quickly forgot about these things. No matter how biased we are in our opinions towards things, nothing is ever absolutely perfect; and imperfections show sincerity. Only one of these bugs was somewhat game-breaking.
In other news, I think the sound design of the game is masterfully done. The scores can induce anxiety, appreciation, and many other emotions. I really recommend turning on spatial sound to hear how realistically the thunder, rain, and lightning reverberate against the panes of your windows. The graphics are practically perfect except for the fluidity behavior of the liquid substances in-game, such as blood and water, and clearly, you don't just clip through people in real life. I think it appears a lot like whatever engine the Sims 6 would be advertised with.
The game does get confusing in its attempts to guide you through the story without holding your hand, along with other aspects like the father and the cop sharing the same voice actor. It can be fairly frustrating to figure out what your objective is without looking up a walkthrough, which I had to do at some points, especially with attaining multiple endings. Some actions you're able to carry out make you believe that you'd get a trophy for it, but overall the achievements are quite convoluted and you'd likely need outside help to 100% Twelve Minutes. Regardless, I still feel like the first half of the story is very captivating until the second twist, and then it becomes anticlimactic.
(Spoilers ahead.)
So, you eventually find out that your wife genuinely believes that she did murder her father, but this is not the case despite how it looks. It is heavily implied that the "cop" isn't even an actual cop, and is in all reality a man who knew her father personally. His motives seem simultaneously altruistic and nefarious, seeing as his intentions are to kill you both out of vengeance, take the family heirloom, and auction it off to pay for his daughter's cancer treatments. Some of the loops show you endings where nobody is hurt, some let you drug and/or kill everybody. You can interrogate both your wife and the "cop" (after incapacitating him by shooting him in the leg), you can look through both of their phone messages, and the paintings along the spaces of the walls show premonitions of the future conclusions.
In the second and last plot twist, you begin to realize that you are the one who killed your wife's father, and you're also the product of his affair with the nanny; making you and your wife half-siblings. Obviously, this is a sickening realization, considering you already have one child, plus another on the way. Everyone here is guilty in some way, your wife's sin being both lying to you about her past & shooting her father. Your sin is that you know that you're blood-related and yet you continue to either keep living with this thought silently or eventually tell your wife after it's too late (although there is an ending where you tell the father that you won't continue to pursue his daughter, leaving you with a clean slate and loneliness), as well as the fact that you're a murderer; albeit an accidental one since you were acting in self-defense. The cop's wrongdoing is evident as well; he's pretending to be an authoritative figure and in some parts he mentions that he doesn't even care if you and the wife are innocent or guilty, planning to sacrifice you both anyways to save his daughter Bumblebee.
Altogether, many of the themes are straight-up depraved and I sometimes wonder why the game developers chose to put these concepts in, the game is intriguing all throughout and I really did enjoy playing it, save for some of the lackluster endings. I feel as if the second twist was kind of unnecessary, and the game would've done a better job if it had ended with you both having a mutual understanding with the fake cop.
(Spoiler ending, continue here!)
Anyways, even though I had a few small qualms with the game, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I had waited for this game to come out for a long time, and I'm not unimpressed at all with my experience. The game can siphon you in for about a few hours or more if you want to get every achievement, but I loved playing it the entire time. I don't really understand or agree with the bad reviews at all, and I believe this game is worthy of anybody's playtime.
2020
This review contains spoilers
Follow my curator page for more comprehensive 100% reviews of other games!
(All Achievements Review)
About
Originally slated for exclusivity on the PS5, the Steam release of Bugsnax reintroduces us to the creators who once concocted Octodad, a title that exists in a similar conduit to this one when referencing Young Horses' whimsical but dark sense of humor. With an unusual premise & a themed score provided by Kero Kero Bonito, Bugsnax is guaranteed to invoke a feeling of curiosity, if nothing else. The game transpires in first-person, from the viewpoint of a journalist who is never named or shown & allows a singular customization option: the color of your fur. As a member of the Grumpus race, your destiny is to exert yourself in the field as an investigative reporter. With inadvertence to the commonly upheld silent protagonist trope, what remains of the cast (alongside the organisms themselves) is both fully & convincingly voice acted.
Amid your adventure on Snaktooth Island, you'll engage in the pursuit & capture of the game's namesake: bugsnax. Bugsnax are half-arthropod, half-snack creatures that assume the appearance of a myriad of different foods, the range fluctuating by size & method of transportation. The most substantial of these undertake the form of multiple-course meals, often capable of being separated into several components.
Scoopy Banoopy (a banana split comprised of ice cream and cherries) & the Preying Picantis (assorted Mexican foods, such as Tacroaches and Incherritos), are just two examples of these. In the averagely proportioned tier, you'll confront Flutterjams (airborne PB&J sandwiches), Spuddies (baked potatoes that exist in two variants, simplistic and loaded), & Bungers (plainly put, a wrapped burger coupled with fries), although there are more. Lastly, the miniature category embodies select rations, particularly provisions like Scorpenyos (Jalapeño scorpions), Snakpods (tiny, stationary, & rectangular bags of trail mix, jerky, pretzels, and so on), Noodlers (spicy Japanese ramen bowls), & fast-paced Kwookies (Oreos with legs), in addition to significantly more.
There are, of course, various legendaries to quarrel with; (spoiler warning) like the Mothza Supreme (an Icarian pizza topped off w/ pepperoni, black olives, & cheese), who you'll convene with whilst tackling the scorching heat of the Sizzling Sands, the oversized Megamaki (a draconic sushi roll) inhabiting the Boiling Bay, & the Cheddaboardle Rex, who materializes in the DLC. Obviously, there are a few more bosses in tandem w/ these three, but you'll discern that info near the finale of your playthrough. (Spoiler ending.)
There are over 100 species of bugsnax to collect if you're counting the DLC, which comes free with your purchase of the game. Don't allow the notion of this to overwhelm you, because this game is a perfect experience for someone seeking an ephemeral & pleasant encounter. Bugsnax necessitates about 10 to 25 hours to reach completion, with the second figure representing 100%.
While you're helping out the community that arrived here prior to you, you'll be well-qualified to form bonds with distinctly dissimilar characters, absorb data concerning their unique personalities, & assist them with their individual troubles. Commit crimes with Cromdo Face, the pragmatic businessman with a laser-eye focus on his monetary gain; scrutinize Snaxburg's residents with Beffica Winklesnoot; mediate the marriage disputes of Wambus Troubleham (the farmer desperately trying to provide sustenance for civilization) & Triffany Lottablog (an aloof archaeologist with a nihilistic streak), or witness the queer romance between Chandlo Funkbun (the town's resident himbo gym bro) & Snorpy Fizzlebean (a scientific conspiracy theorist that frequently goes off the rails). Regardless of who you converse with, it's possible to locate one's self in an array of admiration, irritability, and melancholy.
In your possession, there will be a journal that drastically reduces time spent on logistics, rendering it feasible to track your progress. This includes a section for side quests, lore involving new companions, a bestiary that even lists caloric intake, & the rest will be discovered during your run.
Sift through the remnants of your tools at your discretion, uncovering animalistic traps, a springboard that's known as the "Lunchpad," a puzzling apparatus referred to as the "Snaktivator" (which was designed by Flooty Fizzlebean, Snorpy's sibling and a stereotypically unethical scientist), the Buggy Ball (a clear hamster ball with a trained Strabby called Sprout encased inside), amongst many others. Whether you'd elect to use these contraptions by themselves or in combination with each other, there will always be innumerable available methods to ensnare the food that you supply the people of Snaxburg with.
Snaktooth Island has a variety of distinguished biomes to survey, attingent with plenty of endemic vegetation. Since the character you control "happens" to be allergic to bugsnax, you instead survive on sauce plants. Weenyworms (literal squirming hotdogs) are heavily dependent on ketchup; the critters living in the tundra-based habitat of Sugarpine Woods & Frosted Peak gravitate towards peanut butter; & the Pineantulas (a pineapple tarantula) & Crapples (apple-laden crustaceans) of the tropical beach cove labeled Simmering Springs prefer chocolate sauce, just to list a few cases. There are seven distinct condiments that you're able to utilize as bait with your trusty Sauce Slinger, in conjunction with hot sauce and cheese, accompanying grasslands, deserts, snowy mountains, & the foundation of a volcano.
Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter
Your journey begins on the precipice of a breakthrough; the intrepid explorer Elizabert Megafig (who can only be compared to a Grumpus-tinged manifestation of Indiana Jones) invites you to Snaktooth Island through the chassis of sepia-hued video tapes. Even though your editor seems overly pessimistic, she bestows the knowledge that Elizabert is a woman who has a rocky history, having previously been involved with some sort of hoax. Despite this realization imbuing Elizabert's basis with skepticism, you heed her summons anyway.
(Spoilers again.) After making an entrance indicative of a negative omen, you'll meet a fellow Grumpus known as Filbo Fiddlepie who appears to be on the brink of death. Following learning how to apprehend bugsnax through a brief in-game tutorial, you'll dose Filbo w/ this unfamiliar food source. Subsequently, the game began to exude a sinister quality. Disregarding a typical digestive process, bugsnax' alternatively induces the growth of regenerative edible limbs in place of their former ones, which regretfully prompted me to envision the consequences of radioactivity in earlier titles such as Fallout. The mutations turn Grumpuses into mangled desecrations of their past selves, & the most insidious part of it, in totality, is the uncritical acceptance that permeates the air. The sole one seeming to protest this phenomenon is Shelda, a spiritualistic guru who likens bugsnax to toxins. One of the academic researchers in town eventually goes so far as to coin this irregularity as "Snakification".
Others may not notice at initial glance... However, I found the game to be creepy. There is room for other emotions, but the alarm bells ring perpetually in the background.
(Spoiler #2 conceding.)
Final Thoughts
This rendition of the game permits controller support (which entails DualSense) & ran at a smooth 58–60 FPS for me on ultra graphical settings. I'm using a laptop containing 16GB of RAM, an RTX 2070, & an i7-9700 Intel Core, & I didn't come across any glitches, but there are a plethora of bugs, if you catch my drift. If you're a fan of Pokémon, you might appreciate this.
(All Achievements Review)
About
Originally slated for exclusivity on the PS5, the Steam release of Bugsnax reintroduces us to the creators who once concocted Octodad, a title that exists in a similar conduit to this one when referencing Young Horses' whimsical but dark sense of humor. With an unusual premise & a themed score provided by Kero Kero Bonito, Bugsnax is guaranteed to invoke a feeling of curiosity, if nothing else. The game transpires in first-person, from the viewpoint of a journalist who is never named or shown & allows a singular customization option: the color of your fur. As a member of the Grumpus race, your destiny is to exert yourself in the field as an investigative reporter. With inadvertence to the commonly upheld silent protagonist trope, what remains of the cast (alongside the organisms themselves) is both fully & convincingly voice acted.
Amid your adventure on Snaktooth Island, you'll engage in the pursuit & capture of the game's namesake: bugsnax. Bugsnax are half-arthropod, half-snack creatures that assume the appearance of a myriad of different foods, the range fluctuating by size & method of transportation. The most substantial of these undertake the form of multiple-course meals, often capable of being separated into several components.
Scoopy Banoopy (a banana split comprised of ice cream and cherries) & the Preying Picantis (assorted Mexican foods, such as Tacroaches and Incherritos), are just two examples of these. In the averagely proportioned tier, you'll confront Flutterjams (airborne PB&J sandwiches), Spuddies (baked potatoes that exist in two variants, simplistic and loaded), & Bungers (plainly put, a wrapped burger coupled with fries), although there are more. Lastly, the miniature category embodies select rations, particularly provisions like Scorpenyos (Jalapeño scorpions), Snakpods (tiny, stationary, & rectangular bags of trail mix, jerky, pretzels, and so on), Noodlers (spicy Japanese ramen bowls), & fast-paced Kwookies (Oreos with legs), in addition to significantly more.
There are, of course, various legendaries to quarrel with; (spoiler warning) like the Mothza Supreme (an Icarian pizza topped off w/ pepperoni, black olives, & cheese), who you'll convene with whilst tackling the scorching heat of the Sizzling Sands, the oversized Megamaki (a draconic sushi roll) inhabiting the Boiling Bay, & the Cheddaboardle Rex, who materializes in the DLC. Obviously, there are a few more bosses in tandem w/ these three, but you'll discern that info near the finale of your playthrough. (Spoiler ending.)
There are over 100 species of bugsnax to collect if you're counting the DLC, which comes free with your purchase of the game. Don't allow the notion of this to overwhelm you, because this game is a perfect experience for someone seeking an ephemeral & pleasant encounter. Bugsnax necessitates about 10 to 25 hours to reach completion, with the second figure representing 100%.
While you're helping out the community that arrived here prior to you, you'll be well-qualified to form bonds with distinctly dissimilar characters, absorb data concerning their unique personalities, & assist them with their individual troubles. Commit crimes with Cromdo Face, the pragmatic businessman with a laser-eye focus on his monetary gain; scrutinize Snaxburg's residents with Beffica Winklesnoot; mediate the marriage disputes of Wambus Troubleham (the farmer desperately trying to provide sustenance for civilization) & Triffany Lottablog (an aloof archaeologist with a nihilistic streak), or witness the queer romance between Chandlo Funkbun (the town's resident himbo gym bro) & Snorpy Fizzlebean (a scientific conspiracy theorist that frequently goes off the rails). Regardless of who you converse with, it's possible to locate one's self in an array of admiration, irritability, and melancholy.
In your possession, there will be a journal that drastically reduces time spent on logistics, rendering it feasible to track your progress. This includes a section for side quests, lore involving new companions, a bestiary that even lists caloric intake, & the rest will be discovered during your run.
Sift through the remnants of your tools at your discretion, uncovering animalistic traps, a springboard that's known as the "Lunchpad," a puzzling apparatus referred to as the "Snaktivator" (which was designed by Flooty Fizzlebean, Snorpy's sibling and a stereotypically unethical scientist), the Buggy Ball (a clear hamster ball with a trained Strabby called Sprout encased inside), amongst many others. Whether you'd elect to use these contraptions by themselves or in combination with each other, there will always be innumerable available methods to ensnare the food that you supply the people of Snaxburg with.
Snaktooth Island has a variety of distinguished biomes to survey, attingent with plenty of endemic vegetation. Since the character you control "happens" to be allergic to bugsnax, you instead survive on sauce plants. Weenyworms (literal squirming hotdogs) are heavily dependent on ketchup; the critters living in the tundra-based habitat of Sugarpine Woods & Frosted Peak gravitate towards peanut butter; & the Pineantulas (a pineapple tarantula) & Crapples (apple-laden crustaceans) of the tropical beach cove labeled Simmering Springs prefer chocolate sauce, just to list a few cases. There are seven distinct condiments that you're able to utilize as bait with your trusty Sauce Slinger, in conjunction with hot sauce and cheese, accompanying grasslands, deserts, snowy mountains, & the foundation of a volcano.
Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter
Your journey begins on the precipice of a breakthrough; the intrepid explorer Elizabert Megafig (who can only be compared to a Grumpus-tinged manifestation of Indiana Jones) invites you to Snaktooth Island through the chassis of sepia-hued video tapes. Even though your editor seems overly pessimistic, she bestows the knowledge that Elizabert is a woman who has a rocky history, having previously been involved with some sort of hoax. Despite this realization imbuing Elizabert's basis with skepticism, you heed her summons anyway.
(Spoilers again.) After making an entrance indicative of a negative omen, you'll meet a fellow Grumpus known as Filbo Fiddlepie who appears to be on the brink of death. Following learning how to apprehend bugsnax through a brief in-game tutorial, you'll dose Filbo w/ this unfamiliar food source. Subsequently, the game began to exude a sinister quality. Disregarding a typical digestive process, bugsnax' alternatively induces the growth of regenerative edible limbs in place of their former ones, which regretfully prompted me to envision the consequences of radioactivity in earlier titles such as Fallout. The mutations turn Grumpuses into mangled desecrations of their past selves, & the most insidious part of it, in totality, is the uncritical acceptance that permeates the air. The sole one seeming to protest this phenomenon is Shelda, a spiritualistic guru who likens bugsnax to toxins. One of the academic researchers in town eventually goes so far as to coin this irregularity as "Snakification".
Others may not notice at initial glance... However, I found the game to be creepy. There is room for other emotions, but the alarm bells ring perpetually in the background.
(Spoiler #2 conceding.)
Final Thoughts
This rendition of the game permits controller support (which entails DualSense) & ran at a smooth 58–60 FPS for me on ultra graphical settings. I'm using a laptop containing 16GB of RAM, an RTX 2070, & an i7-9700 Intel Core, & I didn't come across any glitches, but there are a plethora of bugs, if you catch my drift. If you're a fan of Pokémon, you might appreciate this.
2020
Follow my curator page for more reviews of other games!
This is my first negative review, unfortunately. I was really excited for this game because I love 3D platformers where you can collect things and the graphics were gorgeous. It turned out to be a huge disappointment. Only 20 minutes into playing, the camera angles kept going into unflattering and unfixable perspectives, the 3rd person shooting mechanics were terrible (the camera forcefully auto readjusts when you're aiming, which causes you to miss shots constantly. Bullets are also finite...) From what I can tell so far, the world seems to be very barren. All you do is run around and either shoot insects or get collectibles like some red things and birds. There is no keyboard and mouse support and even with a controller the controls are barely responsive or do the opposite of what you want.
There are barely any options in settings to tweak the game according to how you want to aim or camera controls or anything actually useful/important. The game in general is very bland and boring. I have no idea what any of the positive reviews are talking about because the controls, camera angles, and shooting mechanics make the game very annoying and pretty much unplayable. The only upsides are the graphics and I guess Tamarin is cute. If you want to play this game, wait until they patch these issues (if ever) and do not buy it at this price point.. Wait until it's significantly lowered. I really wanted to like this game but I just can't recommend it in good faith (unless it's at a non-expensive price point).
This is my first negative review, unfortunately. I was really excited for this game because I love 3D platformers where you can collect things and the graphics were gorgeous. It turned out to be a huge disappointment. Only 20 minutes into playing, the camera angles kept going into unflattering and unfixable perspectives, the 3rd person shooting mechanics were terrible (the camera forcefully auto readjusts when you're aiming, which causes you to miss shots constantly. Bullets are also finite...) From what I can tell so far, the world seems to be very barren. All you do is run around and either shoot insects or get collectibles like some red things and birds. There is no keyboard and mouse support and even with a controller the controls are barely responsive or do the opposite of what you want.
There are barely any options in settings to tweak the game according to how you want to aim or camera controls or anything actually useful/important. The game in general is very bland and boring. I have no idea what any of the positive reviews are talking about because the controls, camera angles, and shooting mechanics make the game very annoying and pretty much unplayable. The only upsides are the graphics and I guess Tamarin is cute. If you want to play this game, wait until they patch these issues (if ever) and do not buy it at this price point.. Wait until it's significantly lowered. I really wanted to like this game but I just can't recommend it in good faith (unless it's at a non-expensive price point).
2021
Follow my curator page for more comprehensive 100% reviews of other games!
(100%/All Achievements Review)
Prior to posting this review, I achieved my ultimate goal of manually and fully completing each game in this series, including the spin-offs known as Little City and Pixel. By this, I mean to say that I have received every achievement possible, in the base games, along with every paid DLC.
I believe this allows me to speak on this topic with a full grasp of the scope of each and every game, together with all of their respective extra content. The Coloring Game course exists as a casual, but soothing experience in which you are allowed the chance to steadily work at your own pace whilst listening to an audiobook in the background, enjoying music, or however you prefer to spend your time toiling away on the game. Although these games may lack the qualities of any other "normal" game, (such as a main story, or character progression) I feel that this is where many of its pleasantries are located. It's much easier to create something perfect when there are fewer details riding on that chance, and instead only simplicity in its stead.
For this game specifically, I was particularly fond of several of the DLCs, such as the Fine Art installation (which was a lovely callback to the vastly detailed paintings of the previous games), Cats & Dogs, Halloween, the Demakes, and many more. The sole DLC I would not recommend would have to be Insta, as it is repetitive and overall displeasing to view. Coloring Game 4 ushers in plenty of brand-new quality-of-life features, several of which I hadn't even discovered until a few pictures in, only because I'm not exactly privy to the technical aspects of each game. Some DLCs (like Sports) might also appeal to other individuals more, for different reasoning. My personal favorite ritual is to fill in the blanks while listening to Horror and True Crime YouTube videos, but yours can be fully customizable, in honor of whatever you are personally intrigued by.
In Coloring Game 2, you can even upload your own personally curated images; although it is somewhat tricky to resize, pixelate, and generally alter the things you upload, and while I wish that the game would do it automatically, a guide would also be sufficiently helpful. The only "issues" I would mention (I put issues in quotation marks because they're genuinely trivial) are that sometimes the colors are identical to the non-filled in spaces, which forces me to periodically change the color of them from grey to green and so on. I'd appreciate it if there were more colors for that, especially ones indicative of opposites on the color wheel, like red or maybe even neons.
Regardless, these games are a satisfying fit for any player if your main goal is to pass some time and relax. They're free, you have a choice to pay for extra photographs, and you don't have to give your full attention to the screen. I'd say it's a reasonable compromise, but I mean that in a positive connotation.
(100%/All Achievements Review)
Prior to posting this review, I achieved my ultimate goal of manually and fully completing each game in this series, including the spin-offs known as Little City and Pixel. By this, I mean to say that I have received every achievement possible, in the base games, along with every paid DLC.
I believe this allows me to speak on this topic with a full grasp of the scope of each and every game, together with all of their respective extra content. The Coloring Game course exists as a casual, but soothing experience in which you are allowed the chance to steadily work at your own pace whilst listening to an audiobook in the background, enjoying music, or however you prefer to spend your time toiling away on the game. Although these games may lack the qualities of any other "normal" game, (such as a main story, or character progression) I feel that this is where many of its pleasantries are located. It's much easier to create something perfect when there are fewer details riding on that chance, and instead only simplicity in its stead.
For this game specifically, I was particularly fond of several of the DLCs, such as the Fine Art installation (which was a lovely callback to the vastly detailed paintings of the previous games), Cats & Dogs, Halloween, the Demakes, and many more. The sole DLC I would not recommend would have to be Insta, as it is repetitive and overall displeasing to view. Coloring Game 4 ushers in plenty of brand-new quality-of-life features, several of which I hadn't even discovered until a few pictures in, only because I'm not exactly privy to the technical aspects of each game. Some DLCs (like Sports) might also appeal to other individuals more, for different reasoning. My personal favorite ritual is to fill in the blanks while listening to Horror and True Crime YouTube videos, but yours can be fully customizable, in honor of whatever you are personally intrigued by.
In Coloring Game 2, you can even upload your own personally curated images; although it is somewhat tricky to resize, pixelate, and generally alter the things you upload, and while I wish that the game would do it automatically, a guide would also be sufficiently helpful. The only "issues" I would mention (I put issues in quotation marks because they're genuinely trivial) are that sometimes the colors are identical to the non-filled in spaces, which forces me to periodically change the color of them from grey to green and so on. I'd appreciate it if there were more colors for that, especially ones indicative of opposites on the color wheel, like red or maybe even neons.
Regardless, these games are a satisfying fit for any player if your main goal is to pass some time and relax. They're free, you have a choice to pay for extra photographs, and you don't have to give your full attention to the screen. I'd say it's a reasonable compromise, but I mean that in a positive connotation.