Press X to Not Die Review

I should add that I have no idea just how long this game is supposed to be. Judging on the speed of my QTA reaction-time, I’d say I beat the game at an average speed. I could have beaten this game in a much shorter time frame, if I’d have been faster. If my long, slender fingers were to adjust to a different game – say Smash Bros – my timing would be much better. And by admitting this hurdle I had to cross, I don’t mean to complement Press X to Not Die.

For a game that is riddled with quick-time action sequences every ten seconds, Press X to Not Die is a grueling experience to sit through. As I mentioned already, I beat the game at around 35 minutes, but I’m sure a speed demon could zip past it within 15 or ten minutes tops.

No matter how skilled you are, I don’t think it possible to blast through this game in less than ten minutes. This is simply because Press X to Not Die is plastered with QTA sequences every 15 seconds. I have not played a game where the quick-time actions felt like a lazy way to extend the game’s duration time – at least not since From Software’s Ninja Blade. Having QTAs as a primary gameplay mechanic that essentially becomes the game’s raison d’etre does not constitute amusing, and much less, edgy design.

To rub more salt on your wounded fingers – already swollen enough from the constant keyboard mashing – you don’t have the option to skip the cutscene prior to the QTA. Every time you fail to perform one of these sequences correctly, the game will send you back to your latest reload point. Unfortunately, this includes watching an aggravating cutscene involving the pestering male lead.

What makes Press X to Not Die even more insulting is how unfunny it is. Here’s another title that throws a bunch of random pop culture references at you in the form of Twilight, M. Night Shyamalan, Street Fighter, and a bunch of other nonsense. It is 2017, and apparently the only way to build a funny, obscure indie comedy is to mash together a bunch of pop culture icons and lunge them at the audience. The game does a very poor job of cracking a joke and oftentimes comes across as creepy instead… What was up with the John Wayne Gacy (the clown serial killer) reference?

I will give the development team a nod for at least trying to make a game – even if it’s an almost-completely broken one. Perhaps next time they should find a more suitable male lead. A guy who isn’t nearly as incompetent, unfunny, awkward, and annoying. Let’s be honest here: who is not fed up of the same old lardy, klutzy, unskilled 30-something loser-who-dwells-in-his-mom’s-basement male archetype? Considering that this was supposed to be a game with a comedic edge to it, there should have been more effort placed into the writing and characterization. This is supposed to be that crowd-pleasing hipster indie title shot in first-person, live-action found footage-perspective. It’s supposed to be The Blair Witch Project of indie gaming (or at least it should have been).

Even at the meager price point of $2.99, it’s quite difficult to recommend Press X to Not Die. Once you beat the game, you can unlock a behind-the-scenes option. I wonder if that’s where the comedy went. And this is supposed to be the “Full Release” version of this game. Either way, I didn’t feel like being in auto-flagellation mode any longer, so I let it die.

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Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2 Review

Actually, that’s not entirely true. There is one thing that Before the Storm didn’t completely ruin, but I will get to that momentarily. But what does the delinquent pothead turned-drug-money collector (or whatever the hell these people are called) have in store to redeem herself as a character? Is she the game’s sole saving grace that I mentioned earlier? Two words: hell no!

Life is Strange is too concerned in destroying any semblance of sympathy and rationality left in its feverish narrative. I mentioned in my review of the previous episode that there was something in the writing that seemed to carry leading girl Chloe in a better direction. How wrong I was about this. In fact, I was so wrong, that I’ve realized that no matter what my choices are, the narrative will automatically readjust to what Chloe wants. What I mean by this is that no matter what you choose your “answers” to be in certain pivotal moments of the game, Life is Strange will conveniently pull a deus-ex-machina plot device to shift the narrative in a certain direction. As a result, whatever you choose is essentially null. If such is the case, then why does developer Deck Nine even bother in giving the player the illusion of choice? Why pretend to give the player a sense of freedom when this is ultimately left in the hands of the insufferable leading characters?

Now, I say “characters” because not only Chloe gets to decide the direction the story will go, but her love interest Rachel does as well. And some direction it is…Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2 is not in the least concerned in what the player wants, but in fulfilling the selfish, immature irresponsibility of Chloe and Rachel. And there are three moments that defined this for me:

Chloe and Rachel are confronted by the school principal for skipping school. What do you choose: to save yourself or save Rachel?

Chloe and Rachel start becoming closer with each other? What do you choose: to accept Rachel’s advances or to reject them altogether?

Chloe and Rachel confront Rachel’s parents in a key moment at the end of the game. What do you choose: to support Rachel or to play it safe?

I actually went out of my way to pick the most negative outcomes for all three scenarios in order to verify my suspicions. And, guess what? I was right. My choices didn’t make a lousy difference. In the end, either Chloe pulled the narrative in her direction, or Rachel intervened in one way or another to make their will happen. I want to know why is Life is Strange: Before the Storm so concerned in having the player think he has a choice in these actions when it’s all left up to the developers (and the fans)? After all, Deck Nine and the fans are dying to see Chloe and Rachel sail away on the best “ship” since the Titanic.

Furthermore, the sleazy writing that watered down any sense of urgency and gravity in the first episode is back. However, this time it’s even more jam-packed of visual motifs that will cause a high school tween’s hair to turn blue from all the glee. The callbacks to other (more popular) icons are endless, but here are some of the ones I spotted: Breaking Bad, Birdman, Megan Fox, Mila Kunis, Illuminati pyramid (or Illuminati confirmed), Google Chrome, Twin Peaks, and arguably Wes Anderson’s filmography (to some degree). I could be missing more, but then again who knows. I might go back and revisit this aspect of the game once the entire series is complete. Does borrowing from all these cultural aspects make the game more relevant? Not in the slightest when it’s shoehorning these tips as plot devices: “how to delete browser history, how to use incognito tab.”

As for the only “thing” surviving the Chloe-&-Rachel hurricane is a character named Drew. This character in question comes out unscathed and is arguably the best one in the game. This is simply because he is the only character driven by an empathetic motivation. While the game showed him in a different light in Episode 1, his character blossoms into something much more believable, albeit melodramatic. The entire endeavor surrounding Drew makes me realize an even more tragic twist of fate: this series is a complete misfire because of the toxic femininity materialized in Chloe and Rachel.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2 continues the string of bad decisions from developer Deck Nine. Instead of constructing a cohesive narrative with genuine pathos, the developer is deeply concerned on whether Chloe and Rachel will be shipped together once and for all. Never mind all the other decisions you have made up to this point. Love conquers all in the end– even if you disagree. Oh, and it makes no difference that Chloe and Rachel’s “forbidden” ship is capsizing other key vessels in the vicinity, like their parents, their education, or their future careers.

The only thing Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2 confirms is that in the advent of the new generations, the only things that (should) matter are me, myself, and I. Do whatever feels right and screw everyone else. Such a lovely, all-inclusive and accepting message to impart to the youth. This message is most certainly not for an “old fart” like moi.

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Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 1 Review

Life is Strange: Before the Storm begins some three years before the original story, and focuses on the life of victim Chloe Price as she makes her way through school, her sassy diner mom, her jarhead-obsessed stepfather, and the strenuous difficulties of PMS. Eventually, you will meet Rachel Amber, the girl Chloe’s been waiting for in order to turn her life around. To get to her, you must go past the game’s opening act, which involves drinking booze, smoking a joint (or trying to), scribbling graffiti on things, and getting decked in the face for picking a fight with two drunk junkies. By going through that Real World segment, you understand that leading girl Chloe isn’t necessarily the most sympathetic drama queen out there. Eventually, you will meet Rachel Amber, the girl Chloe’s been waiting for in order to turn her life around.

Unfortunately, before that happens, the game actually encourages Chloe to be an even bigger bitch to people around her through the use of a “backtalk” mechanic. While you don’t have to resort to the Mean Girls’ comebacks, the game actually rewards you for doing so. Notwithstanding, the bitchy quips lead to some very interesting conversations. One of these happens between Chloe and the school principal, in which he points out her drug use and is about to bust her open after school. And how does a 16-year old, delinquent pothead squeeze out of this one? By telling the principal that she knows “too much” information about the school’s dealings. Immediately after, the principal replies that “he will let this go… for now.”

And that’s only the beginning of the awkward conversations. Life is Strange: Before the Storm features some of the most mind-boggling written dialogue that I have heard in 2017. I mean, I get it. It is 2017, and most kids probably do speak like cocky sailors on barroom stalls dropping F-bombs and “like” in every sentence. However, this does not excuse exchanges such as:

Hey, you didn’t get that scar from punching so and so.

Um, how do you know that?

Oh, because I reenacted a scene from Dr. Who during a play a few years ago.

And the pop-culture references don’t just build the dialogue, but the plot devices as well. The opening sequence finds Chloe sneaking into some backwoods concert of the band Firewalk (taken from Twin Peaks). And what is up with the “Illuminati confirmed” meme being plastered all over the game? There is the pyramid with the eye in the middle of it being used as the game’s saving icon. You can also change Chloe’s badass getup to something more hip and edgy that has a rocking butterfly…or you can settle for “Illuminati confirmed.” A colleague of mine once said something similar, but I have to say it again regardless: meme-dropping, pop culture references, “slut shaming” your classmates, and praising the Blade Runner Director’s Cut does not equate to solid storytelling.

Now, that’s not to say everything about Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 1 is bad. That is simply not the case. Buried deep within the game’s obnoxious interactions, there is a Chloe that wants to change for the better. A Chloe that wishes to switch the cattiness and dick jokes for something deeper, truer, mature, and much more substantial. The only problem lies in finding a player who will be engaged enough to stick around to witness it. Actually, what am I saying? I lie in the minority on this one. Plenty others will press on to see Chloe undergo the diaper-to-tampon transformation. I hope they don’t suffer from rheumatism or menopause in the process. This game can be a taxing experience on your system, and who knows exactly how long it’ll be before that change happens.

That being said, Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 1 is not for moi, and that’s final.

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Warriors All-Stars Review

Warriors All-Stars is another entry on the list of the perennial fan-favorite franchise Dynasty Warriors. As a result, much of the core elements remain the same. The gameplay, which involves making your way through a seemingly endless barrage of enemies hurling at you (most of them not even swinging at you), is quite traditionalist. You can, at times, activate special attacks involving other party members that you meet along your travels. These attack involve initiating a more devastating flurry upon your enemies by going invincible – while having your party members cheer on you – or by chaining combos in groups.

To keep the player engaged, Warrior All-Stars has RPG elements in the form of levels and upgrades. As you face stronger challenges out on the battlefield, your warriors will level up accordingly. Moreover, there are card-based upgrades dubbed “hero cards” that you can junction to your respective party members. The card-based system improves attack and defense, allowing for further customization.

Having said all of that, if you have previously played a Dynasty Warriors game, or any of the Warriors games, then you’re not really missing much here. While the gameplay can be quite addicting – especially on earlier stages – Warriors All-Stars is cut from the same [loin]cloth as the rest of its pedigree, and does not offer much else than what we’ve come to expect from the other finger-busting, grind-fest titles. And you will grind… If there is one thing I am sure about is that you will find yourself in an endless spiral of grinding for hours, and perhaps even days. This could be even longer, depending on whether the camera wants to cooperate or not. I was having a difficulty controlling it once the screen was filled to the brim with enemies and heroes, or whenever I cornered an adversary against a wall.

Developer Omega Force and  publisher Koei Tecmo made sure that despite there only being one game-mode (and that’s the single player campaign), that Warriors All-Stars had plenty of content therein to keep the curious occupied. You assemble your party with an assorted group of colorful characters to choose from, and you can embark on your quest immediately after. Keep in mind, though, you will be interrupted every other minute with pop-up screens that are meant to inform you on the many different elements concerning the gameplay, and other minutiae.

After you’ve assembled your roster, you’re free to take them wherever you want. Warriors All-Stars literally gives you the freedom to advance the game in any way you see fit. You can engage in any battle, mission, or sidequest, but you must keep in mind that if you’re not prepared accordingly, the game will suggest you do so before advancing. Additionally, there are tons of missions and sidequests that do very little to advance the plot of the game. However, these make up in the sheer amount of content available within the first hour of the game. This is one thing Warriors All-Stars can’t be scrutinized for though, is lack of content.

Warriors All-Stars is titled as such, since it takes heroes and heroines from a vast pool of universes of Koei Tecmo franchises. In one corner of the world, you will encounter William from Nioh, and in another, you’ll find Ryu Hayabusa and Ayane from Ninja Gaiden. Fans of the Dead or Alive, Dynasty Warriors, and Samurai Warriors series will all have something to look forward to; as Kasumi, Zhao Yun, and Sanada all make appearances from their respective universes. In my opinion, this is one of the Warriors All-Stars strongest assets: it promises a full roster of familiar faces from other (more interesting) series and pits them together in the fray, while faithfully adapting the “stars’” fighting styles and quirky personalities along the way.

Despite the fact that the Dynasty Warriors series has taken a page out of Chinese history to build its universe, Warriors All-Stars is quite lackluster in this department. The game’s plot is preposterously humdrum to the point of being a cookie-cutter excuse to assemble all these grand heroes into one game. The plot of Warriors All-Stars involves a spring drying up in a distant, colorful kingdom shortly after its king’s passing. As a result, a cat-eared girl named Tamaki has been ordained to summon all the heroes to help them restore the spring to its former glory. Otherwise, the kingdom and its inhabitants will be doomed for eternity (or something along those lines). I’ll admit, it’s a bit difficult to listen to a story so cliché, that it seems more fitting for fanfiction reading material at a Japanese maid café. Hell, the Kingdom Hearts universe isn’t necessarily known for its groundbreaking storytelling, yet even that has more backbone to support itself than the tripe presented here. All in all, though, Warriors All-Stars isn’t necessarily focusing on plot. The game just needs a reason to get all these characters on the same screen, even if it’s the biggest snooze-fest of an excuse.

At the end of the day, Warriors All-Stars is a mixed-to-solid outing for the fan-favorite franchise. The frenetic camera, repetitive gameplay, Cheesecake Factory-storyline, shrilly high-pitched voice acting (on Tamaki’s part) are grating. However, with these cons aside, the sweeping amount of content will surely keep the fans happy. As far as others are concerned though, Warriors All-Stars will be a love-or-hate relationship: one that will begin tumultuously and eventually blossom into something deeper. Or it could be one that will start platonically; only to descend into Dante’s Inferno to unleash an all-out-war. I, for one, probably belong in the middle of these two relationships. I can’t say I was displeased, but I also can’t say I was smitten.

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The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor Review

What does all of that have to do with The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor? Simple…I know I can’t dance, and was in desperate need of assistance in completing this game as a result. Unfortunately, for me, no one heeded my calls. And what did I do then? I tried to keep up as much as I could with the game’s rhythm, and by doing so, I realized that The Metronomicon is a game with a strong premise – just not strong enough for those uninitiated in rhythm games.

The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor is essentially the console version’s expansion pack on the 2016 original release. The game now features multiplayer, a new playable mode, a new character, new power-ups, different sidequests, and new “tweaks.” These tweaks in question are meant to be balanced, mind you. Does the game feature an easy mode? Yes, it does.

I want to clarify something right here and now: I never played the original Metronomicon game – however, I can safely attest that it’s quite different from the typical rhythm games we have come to expect. This game has sword-and-sorcery RPG elements, a fun story, good voice-acting (which is very unusual, especially coming from an indie title like this), a fantastic soundtrack – which is a healthy mixture of electronic, pop, techno-pop, etc. – and quirky aesthetics.

And if that wasn’t enough, the gameplay is actually quite deeper than it appears. Your characters are given primary abilities that you can switch back and forth depending on how you want to use them. The characters are also given secondary abilities that trigger automatically depending on how well you’re dancing through a song. There’s also elemental attacks, and different equipment you can use on your characters, and status effects; which can either assist or hamper your dance moves. All in all, it sounds like The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor is the definitive music/rhythm game to put an end to the search for that elusive, ultimate music/rhythm game.

Alas, I am saddened to announce that the never-ending search must continue…at least for me. The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor is not the best game in the industry to deliver the dance moves I want, even if it delivers the ones I need. And that’s partially attributed to a solid presentation. Here lies the biggest issue with this game: it’s very overwhelming. Aside from the fact that you have to face a horde of enemies through every beat and move on each particular track, you also have to keep an eye out for all the other things influencing your gameplay: the health bar, the status effect, the abilities you’re using, your equipment, and so on and so forth. You must do this all-the-while you deal with the dance move you’re supposed to perform.

This leads me to my next gripe: this is not an easy game by any means. If you don’t have fast fingers and reflexes, forget it… You will not find The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor fun by any stretch of the imagination.

I remember when I was younger, I used to play StepMania on my friend’s computer. We’d download track packages that included several anime-related songs like anime opening and ending sequences. The difficulty therein was determined by how fast the track was, and of course, who programmed the track to begin with. Now, I could toggle with the difficulty setting in that game like I can in The Metronomicon. That being said, the similarity and difference is that I was only concerned about one thing, and one thing alone as I played both games: to nail the next dance move correctly. That aspect alone made StepMania fun and enticing, even if I didn’t know how to dance (and I still don’t to this day).

The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor is still a fun game despite its issues. I just wish there was a way tighten its focus. Perhaps a dance pad would help make The Metronomicon zero-in more on the whole as opposed to the sum of its parts? I don’t know. What do you think?

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LawBreakers Review

That’s a rather significant thing to say, methinks. I didn’t mention it, because I want to open up a discussion on how much publishers should charge per game, according to how much content is included therein. While Cliffy makes a good point, no less, is LawBreakers worth even $30? I’ll keep it brief: yes and no, but mostly yes. Despite what many people say, this game is a decent, and even solid outing from the former Gears of War lead developer.

LawBreakers throws you into a world dominated by two factions: Law and Breakers. Within each group, you’ll find the usual suspects: the assassin, the gunslinger, the medic, the titan, and the enforcer, to name a few. All of these classes are found in another game – Overwatch, to be precise. Now, I realize that some people will say that if LawBreakers is imitating anything, it’s Team Fortress 2. However, how many people are playing Team Fortress 2 when compared to Overwatch? Moreover, the game that caused the first-person shooter that generated headlines throughout most of last year and even into this year has been Overwatch. If Cliffy B took inspiration from any game, it’s definitely coming from a more recent title.

That being said, I don’t think it’s a capital sin for him to do so. As long as he does pastiche correctly, the end result shouldn’t be uninspired. And this is where LawBreakers succeeds and fails; it is an excellent homage to a much popular game, but it still feels like a lesser game at times. In my opinion, the former overpowers the latter, which is why LawBreakers ultimately works and very well when it gets down the nifty details. One of which is the speed. The characters in LawBreakers move at a rapid-fire rate that seems to be focused more on strategy than camping. Some characters have more of an advantage on this. For instance, the assassin can rush past everyone else and get quick kills before retreating. Lawbreakers counters her quick ko-rate by upping her learning curve; she is not easy to control. Other characters move much slower. When the speed is added on top of the low-gravity aspect found in every map – which is basically a gameplay mechanic that allows every character to jump great distances and float momentarily without the need of a space suit – it makes the match much more interesting. Sometimes this low-gravity element will make the difference in the outcome of a match. That is how significant it is. All of these juicy details make LawBreakers feel like team-based multiplayer done right.

The characters themselves look less stylized than Overwatch, and definitely less anime-esque. That was one of my biggest problems with Blizzard’s game. The constant appeal to the safe-for-work crowd that ultimately neutered Tracer’s design in Overwatch is something that Cliffy B will never have to face, if the grittiness behind LawBreakers’ character designs is taken into account. There are no cutesy designs here, and certainly no sex appeal. Every character is treated equally and tastefully, as opposed to uninspired changes that seem like a last-minute effort to appease the self-righteous “internet gods.” I like that the game’s charm is left to the egregious (note the double-entendre) ragdoll animations that kick in after a satisfying or tragic death.

In spite of these positives, LawBreakers isn’t without its drawbacks. One of them is the lack of variety in game modes. There are currently four game modes to choose from: Blitzball, Overcharge, Turf War, and Uplink. Some are also more substantial than others. Overcharge, which involves recharging a battery found within the map at your base, is one of the better modes. The first team to successfully recharge two batteries will emerge victorious. On the other hand, other modes feel too much like Gears of War. For instance, in Turf War, the teams must capture and hold designated areas within a map and accumulate points while doing so. Is that a throwback to Gears of War’s King of the Hill?

As I said earlier, it’s not terribly bad for Cliffy B to be looking at other games, including his former own, for direction on where to go for his future projects. My biggest complaint is that LawBreakers is going to follow the same pattern that has become a norm within this gaming generation; that is to release a game that is almost-complete, but with limited amount of content – think of Killer Instinct back in 2013. The difference here is that LawBreakers feels and plays with a hefty amount of polish that is sidetracked by its lack of substance; or in this case, substantial content. Four gaming modes with solid gameplay is enough for a $30-dollar price tag? After everything I’ve gone over, I will leave that up to you to decide.

Another thing to note is the game’s lack of visual appeal. The characters may look fantastic, but the art direction is nothing to fawn over. I daresay, some of the map designs look a bit too uninspired. There is a map called Redfalls that looks a bit too much like a map out of Overwatch. The map is Asian-inspired and has its fair share of oriental visual cues: part tea-house, part Chinese temple, and part courtyard. Seeing as Redfalls isn’t as colorful as it should be (as its missing all the angry colors of a Zhang Yimou production), it makes me think that the problem isn’t really that the map looks similar to Overwatch’s, but the fact that LawBreakers’ color scheme isn’t particularly eye-catching or interesting. Having said all of that, the art direction does fit the game’s stoic look, even if it’s not the most appealing.

Despite the small stumbles along the way, Cliffy B has delivered a fun – if limited – experience with LawBreakers. Sure, there are references to other games to be found inside, but the end result is still quite satisfying. Whether Cliffy B’s claims of $30-dollar only-multiplayer warrant your hard-earned $30-freaking-dollars remains up for debate. The answer will depend entirely on your judgment, as well as his support for LawBreakers in the long run. This is Cliffy’s opportunity to demonstrate that games with limited content have lasting appeal. That appeal, however, will depend entirely on how long he’s willing to make it last – or in this case, support. Those details will make the difference.

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Death Squared Review

But that’s enough of the sympathy card for us critics. Believe it or not, I tried to find a way to make this review as interesting as possible. Which is why I asked myself as I was playing Death Squared, “does this game add any new gravitas that we hadn’t seen before?” I wanted to approach Death Squared without any prejudices on the puzzle genre as a whole. That being said, I also wondered “does this game live up to the hype that developer SMG Studio built around the short trailer (which you can view below) showcasing gamers of all kind having an absolute blast with this game?” In short, yes, Death Squared lives up to some of this, but not all.

Death Squared is essentially the answer to the Souls series in terms of difficulty for puzzle games. Strictly speaking, it’s a no-nonsense diversion that certainly adds its fair share of fun, as well as some much-needed difficulty to the puzzle videogame library. Some of the puzzles included in Death Squared will make you want to split your controller in half, whereas others will  genuinely challenge to move your pieces from a 5^th dimension perspective. All in the name of finding the piece that will solve the riddle. After all, as human beings, we are competitive in nature and we appreciate a good challenge. Well, for the most part. I can’t speak on everybody’s behalf, but to me, that was the best part of Death Squared: trying to figure out the answer to the puzzles. Some of them can be very inventive, and some can be preposterously frustrating. However, is the difficulty in this game warranted or not?

To find the answer, I needed to investigate further. According to the consensus, Death Squared is a game that is best played in co-op. And that’s the rather unfortunate part for me. I had to play a good portion of this game by myself, and I believe that’s where I missed part of its charm, as a result. This is all related to the controls too. Some of the puzzles are designed precisely with the left/right brain paradigm in mind; meaning that you have your block characters that you move independently from each other. Now, you must make sure that you don’t mess up your grip on each block, as the controls will shift from one hand to the other. In other words, you control the blue block with the right hand, and the red one with the left. At least that’s how it’s supposed to be. But it’s not always like this. Oftentimes, the controls will shift to the opposite hand via the placement of the blocks on the level’s surface. This will lead to many untimely ends for your blocks that cause Death Squared to live up to its title. I’m sure that these deaths are supposed to be fun, but I found them discouraging after ten tiring minutes. I had a feeling that the answer to my pressing issue lied in the co-op aspect of the game.

I played a few puzzles with my sister, and my results did improve. There were 80 of these puzzles to solve in the game’s “story” mode. Additionally, the game has a party mode with 40 levels to hack away at. Therein lies another problem with this puzzler though: if you lack any sort of cooperation, the game will wear out its welcome faster than an 80s Tetris arcade machine. The puzzles in Death Squared are meant to be played cooperatively. If you lack a partner by any means, good luck to you. These riddles will keep you guessing forever, and just when you think you’ve nailed the answer, it only takes a small rub on the Nintendo Switch joy-cons for your sand castle to crumble. That brings me to another problem: I found the controls for Death Squared to be quite sensitive. I wouldn’t say hyper sensitive, but they sure were close enough to this. A light tap on the joy-cons towards the wrong direction and I was Death Squared. Add that on top of the left/right brain dilemma and you can see how I was disheartened after trying to solve some of these puzzles by myself. Now, I will reiterate; having played the Nintendo Switch version, I am oblivious as to how sensitive the controls are on the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions.

I will stop my soapbox right here as I actually enjoyed Death Squared. I feel like I got my time’s worth out of the seven hours I invested in it. Moreover, some of the puzzles are super fun to crack and they’re a treat in themselves. Developer SMG Studio has created a puzzle game that can only be compared to From Software’s Souls Series in terms of difficulty. And Death Squared actually keeps track of many deaths you have on the upper right-hand corner. Moreover, there is a sense of reward you get from completing some of the more difficult puzzles. So you have to keep cracking away. Just make sure you don’t crack your brains out while figuring some of them out. Remorselessly difficult, yet enjoyably challenging, Death Squared is worth your time. It’s a game that is best played at parties with a bunch of drunk people. That will most certainly help.

As an addendum, SMG Studio has announced continued support for this game and are planning to release more puzzles to keep players busy for free. Now, how many developers and publishers have the courtesy of making that offer these days?

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Detention Review

Detention is a game set in the political upheaval of the 1960s, a time when the west was feeling the repercussions of social unrest. In America, the unrest involved civil rights and anti-war protests. Surprisingly enough, the east, or at least Taiwan, was undergoing similar events. This is where the game takes place. Detention is about a high school girl named Ray and her companion Wei who they’re trapped one evening at their school as a typhoon passes through their town.

This is as simple of a summary that I can provide for a unique experience like this one. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say that Detention is more of a dramatic venture than a horrific one. Many times while I played it I held my breath in anticipation of a screamer, or a “gotcha-moment” involving deafening noises and bleeding faces, but fortunately they didn’t happen. That’s not to say that Detention has none of these, which it does. However, Red Candle Games has made sure to use them to maximum effect and only when it’s absolutely necessary.

Detention accomplishes this by making excellent use of its side-scrolling, point-and-click gameplay mechanics: the player commands Ray to pick up whatever items might seem useful in order to advance the plot. Several items included in this game are worthy of notice. For instance, Ray might find a crumpled paper ball on the ground or the wall that might look strangely out of place. After she picks it up, the player will notice it might have some worthy clue or cultural note that will help shed light on some of the events transpiring in the game. These hints are then added to Ray’s notebook. Some of the notes have clues on how to deal with certain enemies: “you right-click to hold your breath as [insert enemy name here] approaches,” and so on. I was so interested in reading every bit of information available in Detention, that I actually went ahead and filled out the notebook. Some of the interesting things to look out for include the “lingered,” which are humanoid, spectral beings that the player leaves “offerings” to in order to distract them as Ray makes her escape.

If that didn’t seem relevant enough, Detention’s other half involves its socio-political spectrum. Red Candle Games did plenty of research to portray a realistic vision of what the socio-political climate was like in 1960s Taiwan. Anti-communist messages are hinted at throughout the narrative, as well as censorship of freedom of speech. The truly surprising aspect about it is precisely how relevant it is in today’s increasingly globalized society. Moreover, Detention doesn’t use these themes in a heavy handed manner and they don’t come off as preachy; much less shoehorned. This is something most videogames that decide to implement them fail spectacularly at doing. Additionally, these aren’t the meat and bones of Detention’s narrative, but tasty appetizers that complement the coming-of-age story with meaningful themes of depression and redemption that lie at the core of Ray’s adventure.

While this adventure is grander-than-life and even epic in scope, it is extremely short lived. Detention clocks out at around two and a half to three hours, which isn’t saying much for such a meaningful game. I actually saw some people on YouTube played through Detention in less than two hours. This is essentially a game like Journey: the first time the player experiences Detention, he’ll definitely be impressed. Will he want to come back and play it again, though? That’s the clincher here. Journey was a game that kept players coming back to do the collectibles. Detention, on the other hand, is a game whose appeal is seldom limited to curious risk-takers, arthouse gamers, and horror fans. Most people will not find mass appeal in a videogame like this: some will say it’s too gloomy; others will say it’s too short; but those who truly seek out a different niche will find a short adrenaline rush like no other.

Detention left me wondering about one thing: when will the industry see another burst of creativity that causes shockwaves like Super Mario Bros did in 1985? The gaming industry needs a major rehaul and pronto. Games like Detention and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are not released on a weekly basis. There is usually a large gap in-between games like this. Journey was the last unforgettable indie game I played, and that was back in 2012. I played Playdead’s Limbo back in 2010, but I skipped Inside last year (in spite of the positive coverage the game received). My point is, games like Detention don’t come every day, and they are most certainly welcome by my standards. Hopefully Red Candle Games announces their next project soon enough. With the creative potential they’ve showcased here, they could go pretty much anywhere next.

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