2018 was a wild ride as I came crashing into the games media world after spending the last few years comfortably sitting on the sidelines – I’m very proud to have joined the GenerOZity team and put on an amazing show at PAX Australia. The world of video games has given me plenty of joy over the last year… here are my personal highlights.
Return of the Obra Dinn –
A beautiful surprise in the vane of a point and click adventure with a retro 3d twist, Lucas Pope as offered us “Cluedo of the sea” – Built around a series of flashbacks focused on the last breaths of the unfortunate crew of the forsaken vessel, you document the cause of death in a catalogue of adventure and tragedy. The opening murder can only be summarised with “Captain Robert Witterel ain’t nothing to f’ with.”
Best played going in with as little information as possible as you’ll only get those Eureka
moments once. I would not have completed this game without the help of pen and paper.
Tetris Effect –
Over the last few years, there has been plenty of horrible or overly priced Tetris releases and I’m so glad to see somebody bought the world of Tetris and made the experience transcendental. This love child of Tetris and Rez will shower you in synaesthesia… Visuals, music, and gameplay intertwined with the classic addictiveness is perfection.
I’ve spent hours on Tetris DX (Gameboy Colour) on my commute into work and I cannot stress how often I see those damn tiles in my dreams…. Tetris Effects levels and soundtrack will take you for a zen filled trip and remind us all “It’s all connected, We’re all together in this life. Don’t you forget it. We’re all connected in this love”.
I just wish it had local multiplayer.
Celeste –
An inspired 2d puzzle platformer with excellent responsive controls that allows for level design that pushes you into a god-like flow state of perfectly timed movements or pure stress as you fail for the 15th time to complete a series of jumps only for the tension to be released and quickly forgotten about as you finally reach safety.
The story is built around a characters pure will to climb the mountain and defeat her own doubts in the process much as you will feel while joining her up the mountain to battle her inner demons…
This game deserves special attention for the inclusion of the b/c-side remixes of the levels for those looking additional challenge, while also offering a set of assist mode options to allow people to enjoy a customised challenge specifically as they require.
Don’t give up – Believe in yourself.
Florence –
Believe me when I say Florence is going to spawn a whole subgenre of interactive graphic novels. I highly recommend playing the whole thing in one sitting with headphones on as the soundtrack is the emotional core of this game.
Set in Melbourne, the game felt like LALA Land without the fanfare. As a window into the life of a new couple from the infatuation, flirting, attachment and the slow drift towards heartbreak. A story of relationships shifting as the personal drives and ambitions of both partners fail to inspire as much joy in the other as they would like to believe. Failed ambition and growing resentment are something that is far too real for many early relationships.
The Red Strings Club –
A thought-provoking cyberpunk experience where your magic power is the power of alcohol.
I loved VA-11 HALL-A and was more than happy to throw myself into Red Strings… the pixel art world is beautiful in style. A narrative driven in a world of conspiracy and manipulation. The Philip K Dick style metaphors allow us to dive in and think about the human condition and the risks of technology in a world where an implant can solve everything.
The game empowers you to extract information out of people by making them euphoric or sad or horny is an interesting shift on the dialog tree…Well worth the four hours even if the ending is a more than a little iffy.
Subnautica –
“Fear of the Dark.. fear of the dark… I have a constant fear that something’s always near”
Subnautica has been one of the most interesting experiences and an unescapable experience that kept me coming back, all the while being completely aware I might easily fill my pants… It’s a game of Thalassophobia mixed in the joy of discovery. Each journey into the dark uncharted cave is likely going to find you trespassing into the home of something which is likely much larger with many more teeth than you will ever own….
A Survival game without procedurally generated maps and a story, which apparently is even scarier in VR. Ooh Captain my captain.
Night in the Woods –
“Sometimes… I like fruit snacks. Out by the train tracks. A juice box and headphones. I enter, the juice zone.“ – Selmers
Just play it.
