HIGH Buddy and Bag Boy are just too cute.

LOW Unimaginative use of an oversized world.

WTF The only surviving animals appear to be two miniscule cats who are real jerks.

If the machines eventually take over, I can only hope our new mechanical rulers are robots like Buddy and Bag Boy, the main characters of Misc. A Tiny Tale.

In the wake of humanity’s extinction, we have (unsurprisingly) left an assortment of junk and trash in our stead. Living amongst our refuse is a diminutive race of robots who have turned cans into homes and see couch cushions as mountain ranges. Late one evening, an explosion rocks their peaceful little world, prompting Buddy and Bag Boy (best friends forever, and the nicest little bots anyone could ever hope to meet) to venture out in search of its source — and, just maybe, learn a little something about themselves along the way.

Misc. A Tiny Tale is a third-person, 3D platformer with a heavy emphasis on collectibles. The challenge is light and there is no fail state. Buddy has just a handful of primary verbs, and most obstacles can be overcome with a standard double jump and glide.

Across its eight main stages, players are dropped into large, non-linear areas with the goal of uncovering the missing golden cogs necessary to open passage to the next level. Finding these is a matter of exploration and rendering aid to the local robot population. In addition to collecting the lost cogs, players are also asked to clean up the garbage and goo littering the world.

There is a general lack of complexity in Misc. A Tiny Tale, and most of the cogs are found through simple fetch quests. Others are tucked away behind basic platforming segments or awarded for cleaning up scattered garbage. I was disappointed that there was little evolution after the opening stages, and found myself repeating these same straightforward tasks in the final areas of Misc. A Tiny Tale.

As one could guess from the title, size plays an important role in Misc. A Tiny Tale.  The robots are rarely more than a couple of inches tall — blades of grass are jungle thickets, a coffee table is a towering mesa, and a child’s swing set becomes a colossus amidst the arid desert of the local playground.  Unfortunately, this sense of scale is rarely utilized in a meaningful way. 

Many of the stages take place outdoors, in natural environments lacking in a standard sense of relative size. Often, the oversized objects end up feeling like set dressing. Is the process of scaling a mound of dirt in a garden meaningfully different from climbing a mountain as a human-sized character? It wasn’t until the final stages, as I was bouldering up the side of a TV stand and running along the eye-level baseboards of a mammoth living room, that I began to truly feel how miniscule these robots are in relation to the human world.

For all the simplicity in its play, I was surprised to find myself hunting down every golden cog in each of the stages, something I attribute to how endeared I was by the characters and writing. I wasn’t anticipating being so emotionally invested in Buddy, Bag Boy, and the many friends they make along the way. Of particular note are the Bro Bots, a couple of workout-obsessed beetles that have a crush on one another but are too shy to admit it. Enter Buddy, matchmaker extraordinaire, to help break the ice. Moments like these ultimately overshadowed my disappointment with the core play and, after a surprisingly affecting late-stage turn (no spoilers here!) I was fully onboard with Buddy and Bag Boy’s odyssey across the tiny robot world.

Despite its lack of complexity and failure to capitalize on its oversized world, I found it easy to like Misc. A Tiny Tale. The chunky, expressive little automatons immediately drew me in, and its earnest narrative of self-acceptance and mutual aid proved a pleasant counterpoint to the ever-growing hellscape of the real world. While these elements aren’t enough to propel Misc. A Tiny Tale into the annals of the genre giants it’s modeled after, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a smile on my face as I watched the credits roll over a saccharine song espousing the power of friendship.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Buy Misc. a Tiny Tale – PC – Switch

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Tinyware Games. It is currently available on Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 6 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Violence. This game is generally appropriate for all audiences.  The violence is minimal, with the only enemies in the game being wind-up toys, and the only weapon being a safety pin. There is no blood or gore.

Colorblind Modes: There are no specific colorblind modes available, however there is a high-contrast option for the dialogue boxes that appear during gameplay.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles for character dialogue, however there is an un-subtitled song that plays during a late-game cutscene with lyrics that are heavily referential to the narrative and themes. For this reason, this game is not fully accessible. Otherwise, the subtitles cannot be resized, although there is a high contrast option for the dialogue boxes that appear during gameplay. There are no significant audio cues utilized during gameplay, and I experienced no issues when playing without sound.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

The post Misc. A Tiny Tale Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

Fighting games were never my specialty. My childhood best friend would always beat me at Soulcalibur II, no matter which character I picked – Astaroth’s axe could only take me so far, and Raphael could never save me from defeat. However, despite my struggles, I still came back to it… and many others like it.

While the competitive side of me wanted to improve at Soulcalibur, another part of me genuinely enjoyed the storytelling.

Fighters might not seem like they have substance beyond the mechanical aspects needed for mastery, but many of these titles offer so much more than just that. In addition to wild combos and flashy finishers, devs frequently give us character arcs and varying perspectives, which I find fascinating.

Soulcalibur was the first fighting game that won me over at a young age. From the first installment in 1998 to Soulcalibur VI in 2018, the plot has been compelling for over two decades.

The first Soulcalibur revolves around Soul Edge, a cursed sword that taints its owner and offers unlimited power. The weapon has corrupted a knight named Siegfried, who has turned into a bloodlusting monster named Nightmare due to its influence. While he’s already succumbed, Siegfried is determined to redeem himself and break free from its control.

The supporting cast have their own agendas. Heroes in Soul Edge want to destroy Nightmare and the sword, whereas others want to steal the sword’s power and claim glory for themselves.

Ultimately, the only way to stop Soul Edge is to wield Soulcalibur, an opposing holy sword. Along the way and through various sequels, we meet characters like Ivy Valentine and Xianghua, who fight to destroy the evil weapon and protect others from it.

The younger me enjoyed this plot, but focused more on the fighting aspect. However, the older and wiser version of me appreciates each game’s lore and how it all interconnects. With a wide cast typical of most fighting titles, players get different perspectives and viewpoints, enriching the experience.

In a way, I also felt like I grew up with the franchise. For example, Soulcalibur II was the first one I played when I was a kid, and it introduced me to Greek warrior Sophitia Alexandra. By the fifth game, we got to see her children, Patroklos and Pyrrha. While Soulcalibur V wasn’t a huge success, it provided nostalgia and plot continuity that kept me coming back.

While Soulcalibur was my first exposure, other titles made me appreciate the genre for more than just the battles. Tekken is one that has a special place in my heart.

I remember playing it on my dad’s PlayStation when I was too young to really know what I was doing, and I certainly didn’t grasp the more serious plot points. However, as I went through grade school, I connected the dots and realized how excellent its storytelling has been.

In this franchise we get plenty of drama worthy of a Shakespearean play with the Mishima and Kazama families. I remember my first time playing Tekken 2 and feeling shocked at seeing what Kazuya did to Heihachi — after defeating his father in the tournament, Kazuya threw Heihachi off a cliff, cementing a brutal cycle of betrayal and revenge within the Mishima family as one of the most important and frequently recurring plot points of the Tekken series.

Further, each sequel expands on core concepts like the Mishima Zaibatsu’s global influence and how they use it to host the King of the Iron Fist Tournament. This competition (and the premise of every Tekken installment) is that the event brings in fighters from around the world to win fame and money, but it’s also a vessel for the family’s power struggles and world domination plans. That’s a plotline I’d expect from an HBO show like “Succession.”

There are smaller stories in Tekken, though, to be sure. Take Anna Williams, who didn’t have much of a backstory in the first game. However, she quickly became an important figure when she thwarted her sister, Nina, from assassinating Heihachi in the Iron Fist Tournament.

Through the franchise, we’ve seen expansion on her grudge against Nina, her life as a bounty hunter and a rekindling of the siblings’ intense rivalry in Tekken 5. Fast forward to Tekken 8, and her DLC return as the game’s 37th character features an Anna that has evolved drastically from the one we were introduced to years earlier.

Anna and Nina have had a compelling rivalry for 30 years, and it hasn’t gotten old. I love seeing the clash of love-hate relationships in games, and while it might be relatable because of my own siblings… well, that’s beside the point.

While the two sisters captured my attention, there are plenty of stories for everyone to get caught up in through other franchises as well, not least of all, Mortal Kombat. For years, I associated it with spending a couple of quarters after eating Chuck E. Cheese pizza or throwing bowling balls in the gutter, but it doesn’t take long to see that the story is a central asset of the franchise now.

While the early titles were groundbreaking at the time thanks to digitized graphics and the controversial level of graphic violence, Mortal Kombat 9 is notable thanks to its improvements in the franchise’s storytelling abilities.

The title takes you back to the period of the first three MK games, and the writers seized the opportunity to reboot the narrative. From plot holes to retold stories, the production gave gamers the kind of storytelling richness the MK characters deserved in the original ‘90s titles.

For example, Mortal Kombat 9 provided more insight into martial arts fighter Liu Kang, who faced immense pressure to win the Mortal Kombat tournament and save Earth from invading forces from other dimensions. This would be crucial to the future of the series, as Liu Kang has quickly become the central focus of the new timeline.

We also got to see more details about individual character relationships, such as the rivalry between royal daughters Kitana and Mileena, or more insights into Scorpion, who’s hell-bent on revenge. Altogether, the reboot makes the concepts and content from the original games more cohesive and engaging through excellent storytelling.

Mortal Kombat 9 set the bar high, and the franchise has only improved since the 2011 release. Mortal Kombat 11 introduced Kronika, whose objective was to erase the existing timeline and bring more balance to the world. This gave us time travel and alternate versions of characters. Mortal Kombat 1 rebooted the series again, now in a new timeline entirely, with Liu Kang becoming the new godlike protector of Earth.

Thanks to the time and effort put into the script, playing Mortal Kombat today is much different than when I mashed buttons back in the arcade. Now I’m paying more attention to the plots and feeling more invested in the characters than ever. As a child, I never thought I’d be secretly rooting for Scorpion to get his revenge or that I’d feel so satisfied when Raiden finally accepts his role as a protector.

Despite “only” being fighting games, it’s easy to see the effort put into the Tekken, Mortal Kombat and Soulcalibur franchises. While some may only play these titles for their competitive or technical aspects, the plots have much to offer thanks to well-written and complex universes.

From power struggles to sibling rivalries, the creativity of the writing in fighting games keeps me coming back for more, despite being nowhere near the top when it comes to competing.

Now, with that said… let me call my friend to see if he’s up for a Soulcalibur II rematch. He doesn’t know I’ve been practicing for over 20 years!

— Jack Shaw

The post Why I Play Fighters (Despite Being Bad At Them!) appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Creative, thought-provoking worldbuilding that I will not soon forget. 

LOW A music-based game that forces players to dodge off beat still feels counter-intuitive. 

WTF Videogamedunkey is in this?? 

When I first started writing for GameCritics, one of the first titles I had the pleasure of reviewing was a strange looking title called Everhood. 

In my time with it, I was flabbergasted by Everhood’s commitment to storytelling, larger than life philosophical themes, and moral ambiguity — all of which have stuck with me. Four years later, when I saw Everhood was receiving a sequel, I jumped at the chance to see what else developers Jordi Roca and Chris Nordgren had up their sleeves. I’m happy to say, Everhood II takes all the successful elements of its predecessor, dials them up to eleven, and creates a superb experience that oozes with personality, comedy, and mystery. 

Everhood II takes its protagonist into a realm past death, riddled with danger and mind-bending realities. The player will befriend an enigmatic raven who encourages them to defeat an entity known as the Mind Dragon in order to escape this perilous dimension. Along the way, the player will travel across space and time, meet zany characters, and make critical decisions that will impact not just their story, but the entire cosmos. 

Though all of this sounds far-fetched, one of Everhood II’s greatest strengths is its cryptic, yet thought-provoking worldbuilding. Each of the realities the protagonist will visit feel lived-in, and are filled with memorable characters. From a battlefield decimated by the war between fruits and vegetables, to a digital circuit board riddled with viruses, exploring each setting without knowing who was truly friend or foe always kept me engaged.  

The main hook at the start is fighting against the initially-overpowered Mind Dragon, and upon the player’s defeat, traveling back to previously-visited worlds that will allow the protagonist to get stronger and more prepared for an inevitable rematch. However, each time a world is revisited, it changes drastically. Whether it’s the passage of 1000 years, or a town that once celebrated you as a hero but has now come to see you as the enemy, the choices made in-game will greatly affect the setting of the next environment, and perhaps the overall arc of the story itself, highly encouraging multiple playthroughs!  

Music-based combat as a concept remains mostly unchanged from the first Everhood. The player is on a five-note grid, and will have to dodge, absorb, and reflect incoming notes from their enemy. Though I found the musical tracks in the first installment to be mildly underwhelming, Everhood 2’s soundtrack is filled with psychedelic tunes that get the blood pumping with synth-based choruses when they’re not perfectly reflecting the personality of the opposing foe. 

However, the main issue I had with the first Everhood‘s battle system remains unchanged here in the sequel. Though the opponent is hurling notes in time with the music, it’s the player’s responsibility to dodge these notes when they arrive, and they’re usually off beat. There were times where I felt it was difficult to fully resonate with the music because I intuitively wanted to press buttons in time with the tunes, but succumbing to this urge would lead to my untimely death.  

Also, for an experience so entangled in its philosophical themes, music isn’t central to the plot, so it begs the question of why this combat system was picked in the first place. 

Apart from my modest frustrations with the combat system and a few too many time-shattering events to keep track of by the time I made it to the endgame, Everhood II is a triumphant follow-up to an already strong title. I will not soon forget the chaotic worlds visited, the eccentric friends made along the way, and the thought-provoking questions raised by my travels through the spirals of time. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 

Disclosures: This game is developed by Jordi Roca and Chris Nordgren and published by Foreign Gnomes. It is currently available on Switch and PC. Copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 12 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes. 

Parents: This game was rated E+10 by the ESRB, and it contains Fantasy violence and mild blood. Themes of death, conflict, morality, and philosophy are intricately woven into the game’s core. I wouldn’t recommend the title to anyone younger than their early teens. 

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes, but there is an image sensitivity mode for those who might be sensitive to flashing lights or bright colors. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game is fully subtitled. Though the speed of the text can be changed, the size cannot. The game is music-based, and though one could get away with playing it without sound, that lack of audio input adds another level of difficulty to the combat.

Remappable Controls: No, the game’s controls are not remappable.  

The post Everhood 2 Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

This is a transcript excerpt covering the score awarded to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on the So Videogames podcast, Episode 438. For the original coverage of the game, please listen to Episode 436 and Episode 437.

Final circle back is for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I talked about it last episode. Really liked it a lot. I ended up finishing the campaign between then and now. Took me ultimately about between 25 to 28 hours. And full disclosure, I just mainlined once I kind of got the grasp of the game. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is really a very interesting game on many levels, and I’m kind of toying with the idea of giving it a full review here, but I’m not sure.

Let me talk about it for a minute. We’ll see how I feel, I guess. But I mean overall. Okay. So let me just kind of nutshell, like I covered it pretty in depth last episode, I believe, or the one before, but recently. And anyway, now that I’ve kind of gotten into it, like I think there’s so many really cool things about it, I think the art design is great. I love the character designs, I love the vibe like their suits and the way they look like real people. And I think that a lot of the graphics are just really, really nice. The art style is definitely its own thing and it has its own style, and one of the things I was most impressed with in the campaign was how much they got across with just a look, a raised eyebrow when Gustav looks over and raises an eyebrow when he’s talking to someone. Or sometimes at camp, like two characters will kind of like look at each other and, you know, maybe a couple words will pass between them. But really, like, it’s just like a tilt of a head or the corner of a mouth raising up a little bit. I think they do a lot of really, really notable, um, expression work in this game that I think a lot of other games could take some notes from. So I think that’s pretty outstanding.

The music. I mean, probably the best soundtrack that we’re going to hear this year. And I really don’t think that I’m overstating the case there. I don’t think that’s hyperbole at all. I feel like every track is phenomenal. The overall composition for the entire piece as a game is phenomenal. I very rarely notice music, but this music, like, jumped up and slapped me in the face and said, you will pay attention to me. And I’m like, yes, yes, I absolutely will. Uh, all the different like themes and and moments that were supported and underscored by the song. The soundtrack is just like, you know, very rarely. If you listen to this show for any length of time, you know that I very rarely talk about music because I just, I don’t know, it just doesn’t factor in that much for me very often. But in this game, I think the music is an absolute triumph. Like just just off the hook. Amazing. In terms of the story not going to spoil anything here. This is not a spoiler cast and I okay, so I’ve got issues with some parts of it. I don’t think that it was 100% executed flawlessly as it could have been. I felt like there was a couple for me anyway, a couple beats where I felt like, okay, maybe that was a misstep, or maybe they could have sped something up over here, or they could have taken time over here.

Um, but talking about the main story itself, I know other people have described it like this, but wow, what a wild swing for the fences. And to be perfectly frank, I think it succeeds. I wasn’t sure where it was going. I was very curious to find out. And, and and the overall experience, I do want to say that the story is what carried me forward. I absolutely wanted to see how this was going to turn out. I was so curious to see what the writers had come up with. And they, they they surprised me, man. They really surprised me. It was nuanced. I think it was delicate. I think it was surprising. I think it was a really, really fine piece of writing. Overall. It showed restraint in some areas. It showed boldness in other areas. Again, not going to spoil anything, but I will say it is absolutely worth seeing to the end. And I don’t think that’s true of all RPG games. It wasn’t just a matter of what quests got finished and did the good guys win the end? It was absolutely about what is even happening and what is going on with these characters. And I was just so, so curious. And I do feel like ultimately the payoff was there. I do feel like it succeeded in that way. And it was really, really something else. Um, so yes, I think the story is a win. Absolutely not perfect. I think there’s a couple things I would change, but but a win.

And I think it’s also notable. Kind of like what they did with the facial expressions. I think there’s a lot of lessons to be taken from this story. I think it shows that we can reach for higher heights than perhaps writers have recently. I think that players are on board to be a little bit more challenged in some ways. I think that the writing really goes above and beyond, and I do want to celebrate it for that. So I think that’s incredible. Um, okay. As for the rest of it, I think that in terms of production and the gameplay, I think that’s where the game kind of, I hesitate to say it like it falls down for me, but I think perhaps, maybe that’s where I don’t click with it as strongly as I did with the other aspects. Um, I think that, I mean, number one UI is not great. The UI could be better. I think the tutorials are not great. Tutorials could be a lot better, especially for some of the systems, which I think are pretty intricate. Uh, some of the characters especially like CL like I just never fully understood her powers. And there’s a couple other aspects that I felt like really could have been tightened up a little bit. Um, I do think that the lack of a map genuinely hurts the game. I think the mini maps in each level are.

The lack of mini map is a big detriment, because I got confused and turned around all the time, constantly got lost. I can’t even count the number of times I thought I was moving forward, only to find myself back at the entry point of the map to realize I had simply retraced my steps and didn’t even know it until I got there. And I’m like, okay, that happened way too many times. And so these maps, I think are a problem. I think they need a mini map. I think also you need a quest list. I don’t think a quest list would be wrong. I think, um, being able, being able to put markers or just being able to like organize the world a little bit more, I think would have really helped. I know the team seems like they were kind of going for something outside the norm, and I think they did that in all the ways that really count. But I think taking away these kind of concessions to the player and quality of life things, that is not someplace that you need to push the boundaries. I think I think making the game easier to play for people who are busy, who have kids, who have spouses, who have jobs, who may have to be away from the game a couple days before they come back. I mean, those things are there for a reason. We’ve developed those things over time for reasons, and I don’t think it was great for them to, like, take that stuff away.

I will also say that. So I guess I’m of two minds when it comes to the main campaign. You can mainline the campaign, which is what I did. If you just go from hotspot to hotspot, boom, boom, boom all the way through. The difficulty is pretty easy and pretty straightforward, and I think I appreciated that. And I liked the ability to just go do the main story and be done, which is what I did. But that said, I would have liked more of an off ramp into some of the side activities. There’s actually quite a bit of side content which I did not engage in for a couple of reasons. Number one, I could never remember where it was after I decided I wasn’t going to do it at the time, I couldn’t come back to it. I just I didn’t have a notebook and a pen with me. I didn’t remember where things were and so I very often just forgot and I didn’t want to waste my time looking around. I don’t think that it’s easy to get around from place to place. I think fast travel at a certain point would have been fine. You do eventually get a flight ability, which helps, but it’s not the same thing as fast travel, especially when you’re trying to remember. Where was that one thing that I saw six hours ago? Was it here or was it here? Was it here I can’t remember, and being able to fast travel would have sped that up a little bit, just for practicality’s sake.

You know, I think also there weren’t very many pointers towards the side content. I know that there are companion quests, but I didn’t see any during my playthrough. I don’t know whether I just didn’t talk to people enough or whatever, but like a little more flagging, like I think would have helped. I know that they are kind of leaning into the exploration, but between the lack of a map and the lack of, um, the larger overworld map and the lack of fast travel and the lack of a quest list, I wasn’t really incentivized to do a lot of that searching for things. It felt like kind of a waste of time to just blindly go after things, and I just didn’t care for that. And I will also say that a lot of the side content was much, much, much, much, much harder than the main content, which I guess is fine, but I think having some of it be just easier and more approachable would be great. I felt like every time I tried to go off the beaten track, I got kicked in the face and that was a big problem. It really discouraged me from doing the other stuff. Um, so I think that was an issue.

I will also say that this game to me feels like it’s two halves on the one half. You have the story of the expeditioners and the cool narrative and the events of what happened. And then the other half is the combat system, and I feel like the game really hinges very heavily on the combat system, where I think anybody can probably make their way through it without too much trouble, as long as you’ve, you know, played a video game before. Um, but I think it, it is very specifically designed to appeal to people who like to tweak with the, um, the little bits and bobs, like the pick toes and the luminas and the, um, the different statuses and stuff like that. So like when I, when I beat the game, I think the highest damage I was ever doing at one time was probably something like 22 or 23,000, like for one hit, right? But I was talking to people, uh, some people over in the, uh, gaming the discord, and I’ve seen some people on YouTube and other people, I mean, I’ve seen some people like, hit like in the millions and it’s like, okay, that’s a cool thing that is optional and you don’t need to do it. But I feel like you have to kind of like to fiddle with those things a little bit. And if you don’t like to fiddle with equipping this, pick toe with this other thing that causes a status and then, you know, like you’ve got to really kind of like fiddle with all these little tiny settings.

And if you like it, I think it’s probably a, a tweakers Paradise. But if you don’t like it, I think the rest of the game is very harsh to you and does not make it easy to engage with the rest of the content. If you don’t get on board with what the developers want you to do. I think there’s a kind of rigidity there that I found a little bit off putting in terms of the mechanics. So so I felt like I really did lean into half of the game, but not the other half. I did kind of the bare minimum. I just wasn’t really that interested in trying to do all the tweaks and the Lumina tweaks and the weapon tweaks and stuff, like it just wasn’t that fun to me. Um, although I will. I mean, I can’t argue with the results. I mean, I’ve seen people do absolutely like crushing attacks that I thought were very cool, but I just didn’t get there. It didn’t click with me. Um, naturally, it just wasn’t something that that dragged me in. So I felt like I didn’t see as much as a game as I would have liked to, just because I didn’t feel very welcome, and I didn’t feel like the game was very open towards people who might be of a different persuasion, people who might be interested in other things.

And that kind of leads me to the other aspect of where this game can sometimes feel empty. If you don’t like the tweaking of the combat, like you’re going to be doing mostly combat, there weren’t a lot of side activities that you could engage in that would that would kind of expect in other RPGs of the type, like there was no village building. I mean, I guess there were character side quests, but I didn’t find those. I guess they were later, or maybe I just didn’t find them or I didn’t know where they were. Um, you know, there weren’t, like, all these other kind of, like, different types of activities for people who may want to engage in, like a broader, more well-rounded experience. Um, which isn’t to say that all RPGs need to be the same, but it kind of felt like it kind of felt like a lot of the stuff was gated out if you weren’t exactly in line with the developers, which it’s kind of frustrating. It’s kind of frustrating. I feel like this is such great content that it could have been opened up. It could have been rounded off a little bit. You could still have your incredibly difficult challenges, but I think more people could have been welcomed into the fold. And ultimately, you know, a more balanced experience could have been had. I mean, clearly that’s not what the developers are after.

And people are free to make whatever game they want to make, blah, blah, blah, I get it. For my taste, the game, overall, was a little bit too bifurcated for me — there was a big division between story and gameplay. But with that said, I did have a good time and have a lot of respect for what the story was going for. Nothing about it is perfect, but the developer is trying new things and bringing a lot of fresh blood and new energy new to the table, and I have the greatest respect for that.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is absolutely, without doubt, a notable title, and probably going to be one of the ten best of the year, even though I do have some issues with it. Overall, it’s something to be studied and learned from, and it’s got a lot to teach the rest of the industry. So fuck, I just talked for a million years. I should give it a review. Okay. So what? What score am I going to give it? I’m thinking I’m thinking, oh boy, I’m really I’m really divided here. I really am leaning towards 8.5 because I feel like the places where it’s strong, it’s extremely strong. But I will say that some of the drawbacks to me were pretty serious drawbacks, and they did hamper my enjoyment of the title overall. And they kind of reflected, um, maybe like some, some choices. I think that could have been a little bit more. Well considered.

Fuck it. Fuck. Okay, I’m gonna go with an official. Okay. 8.0. I got to do it 8.0. It’s really great. I think it’s notable. I think it’s going to be a landmark. Touchstone title for years to come. But I just have too many reservations about it to, like, embrace it fully. Wholeheartedly. Uh, yes. Eight.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Buy Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – PC – XB – PS

Disclosures: This game is developed by Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive. It is currently available on PC, PS5 and XBX. This copy of the game was obtained via Game Pass and reviewed on the XBX. Approximately 28 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, and Violence. The official description reads: This is an action role-playing game in which players assume the roles of expeditioners attempting to break a cycle of death. From a third-person perspective, players explore an open-world environment, interact with characters, and battle human and fantastical enemies in turn-based combat. Players select physical attacks (e.g., swords, guns), elemental attacks (e.g., lightning, fire), and skills from a menu to defeat enemies. Bloodstains can be seen on the ground in several environments. Cutscenes also depict instances of violence and blood/gore: characters stabbed; a character decapitated, with their headless body depicted in the background; characters shot; characters with large amounts of blood on their faces/clothes. In one area, players can stop in front of a brothel and hear sexual moaning sounds. Players are also able to advance character relationships, with innuendo in text (e.g., “Away from the others…[They] became a bit more than friends”; “They spend one final night together. It is truly passionate. [They] live something unforgettable”). The word “f**k” appears in the game.

Colorblind Modes: There are colorblind modes available in the options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: Almost all dialogue is subtitled. (I found a very few minor instances of dialogue in the world that were not subtitled.) Text can be resized. Names and colors can be added to the text. While parrying often relies on visual cues, some of the animations are quite tricky and some are easier to perform by listening for the audio cues, rather than relying on the visuals.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

The post SVG REVIEW Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Likeable characters.

LOW The slow pace.

WTF Animal animations are hard! 

From the same studio that created Life is Strange comes Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, a 3D story-focused adventure. Bloom and Rage follows a girl named Swann in her last summer in the small Pacific Northwest town of Velvet Cove in 1995. Making friends with three other girls, she records her adventures using a trusty camcorder. 

Recording moments is the central mechanic in Bloom and Rage. The player is asked to capture “memoirs”, which are presented as a selection of gameplay clips. This works by bringing up the camera, switching to first person, and recording what is highlighted in the environment. These clips will be automatically edited into “memoirs” and can be viewed in the menu.

For instance, at the beginning of the story, Swann wants to record objects around her room because she’s anticipating moving to Vancouver at the end of the summer. To complete the objective I recorded her cat, stick bug, desk, TV, and books. 

It’s also possible to edit these memoirs by recording more clips and swapping them out or changing their order. However, I never felt incentivized to engage with this mechanic. There was only one instance where the other characters viewed the work, and when they did, it had no effect on the plot.  

The remainder of the gameplay is exploring limited environments, interacting with characters, and finding items around the world to progress. Unfortunately, filming — even as the primary game mechanic — seemed to have little impact on the narrative and began to feel like busywork. 

While Bloom and Rage is pretty to look at, it doesn’t hold up to Don’t Nod’s most recent Life is Strange, especially the fantastic motion capture that game had. While the environments here generally look good, there are unpolished textures, lots of graphical pop-in, some janky animations and more. It feels unpolished in a way that is slightly detrimental considering that the experience relies so much on exploring and interacting with the environment. 

As to what type of story Bloom and Rage wants to tell, I don’t entirely know yet. That’s because almost all of Part 1 “Bloom” is setup. I had hoped that because this title was being released in two parts (rather than in several chapters like Life is Strange) it would establish and resolve more in the first section. However, Bloom and Rage part 1 is mainly focused on the bonding moments with Swann’s new circle. 

Initially, Swann is an awkward, nerdy girl who doesn’t have many friends. However, this changes after she’s saved from bullying by the other main characters, Nora, Autumn, and Kat, who welcome her into their group. Nora and Autumn have a garage punk band, “Bloom and Rage”, and they all decide to make a music video together. 

The story does do something interesting by cutting between 1995 (Swann as a teen) and 2022, when Swann is an adult, returning to Velvet Cove and reuniting with her friends. This “adult” section takes place at the local bar and is played in first person. Autumn is the first of the girls to arrive, and much of Part 1 is spent reminiscing with her.  

During these grownup sections, I learned that the entire friend group has strange gaps in their memories, and the characters had promised to never talk to each other again. In addition, a mysterious package was sent to Autumn, which is part of why she called for the reunion in the first place. The package is addressed to “Bloom and Rage” and the characters decide to open it only when everyone from the group has arrived. These sections were engaging because there was some payoff to branching choices I had made earlier.

I enjoyed that the choices would sometimes be referenced later in the story, but as the things went on, I realized few of these choices mattered to the overall story. Their influence mattered only to a few small scenes or instances of dialogue.

In a larger sense, the story seemed mostly focused on taking its time and showing cute moments of the girls bonding or exploring — perhaps fitting, for an installment entitled “Bloom.” The content here is mostly nostalgia mixed with slice-of-life drama, the characters are likeable, and I didn’t mind spending time with them. However, there was little payoff to any of the drama, with one exception as Part 1 ends on a cliffhanger. Because of this, emotional stakes often felt rather low, which made some interactions feel weightless or overly long.    

Apart from the circle ‘blooming’, there were breadcrumbs of a supernatural, or horror-like twist, but these were rare. Any suspense was undercut by hints that these moments could be interpreted as more of a metaphor for real-life drama, and less as something actually supernatural. 

Having a slow burn or a setup that takes time to build isn’t inherently bad, but there was something frustrating about feeling baited about a spooky mystery for seven hours that ultimately may or may not matter in Part 2. If Bloom and Rage was leaned less into the supernatural and presented more like a teen drama, I wouldn’t have found this as bothersome. Of course, all of this could play out satisfyingly when the conclusion comes out in April. However, at this point I have my doubts.  

While Bloom and Rage was an enjoyable romp through someone’s nostalgia, the frustrating pace of both the drama and the central mystery did not endear me to it. As is, I don’t feel as if I can recommend it the game until I see how things resolve in Part 2.  

Rating: 5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by DontNod and published by DontNod. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS5 and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 7 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes. 

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Nudity, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Violence. Underage girls smoke weed, and drink some beers. In addition, there is adult alcohol consumption. Talk of sexual situations such as kissing. There is light blood with cutting of hands and nose bleeds. Swear words like sh*t and f**k are said throughout. Antagonists use gay slurs and use fat shaming language.  

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and/ or resized. All dialogue has written text, and even visual cues on screen show an indicator of who is talking. Sound effects are given visual indicators and no gameplay is compromised with lack of sound. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls. 

The post Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, Tape 1 Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Likeable characters 

LOW Stealth Section!

WTF Animal animations are still hard! 

This is a review of the second part of Lost Records, released three months after Part 1. Please see Part 1’s review for an introduction to the content, more details about game basics and a general overview.

Now that the story is complete and I’ve played through both halves, I can say that while Lost Records: Bloom & Rage: Tape 2 delivers a largely engaging story, both parts of this game struggle with structural elements that don’t match the time and attention given to character interactions.

For example, we spend more time with the cast in the present day and discover how past events affected them. However, due to its overall shorter runtime, many of the developments come across as rushed, though exactly how the story plays out depends on choices the player makes throughout the narrative. 

With a story-based game like Lost Records, character writing must be the high point. Fortunately, the main cast in Tape 2 continue to be compellingly written and acted, with appropriate moments of embarrassment considering that the girls are teenagers. Although they are at times menaced by a bully who uses gay slurs, I appreciated how queer or queer-friendly most of the group appeared to be. All the women are romanceable, and they embrace the feminist ‘Riot Grrrl’ culture of the ’90s. Although my own experiences growing up in its time period were quite different, I still found the struggles and behavior of the characters to be relatable. 

Minor spoiler warning. With a narrative-heavy experience like this one, it’s difficult to review without talking about plot points and how they come together. I won’t get into anything specific, but for people who prefer to avoid any risk of spoilage at all, please skip to the last paragraph for my final thoughts.

*potential minor spoilers ahead*

The story and endings in Lost Records can come together in a few possible ways, but the climax always involves the supernatural mystery I referenced in the original review, and how Swann’s relationship with the other girls affects their interaction with it.

Relationship maintenance is important for this ending, with hearts appearing onscreen for successful interactions (or broken ones for failure) and in other cases, a leaf would appear indicating an impactful branching choice. However, without knowing that the hearts actually mean ‘successful’ and not ‘romantic’ upfront, it’s easy to pursue just one of the girls as a romance option, and accidentally spend too little time with the others. If any of the rest don’t feel close to Swann, they won’t stick around for the finale. Although this didn’t necessarily mean I got a ‘bad’ ending, it felt like failing and was disappointing after putting what I thought was the correct effort into forging good relationships with everyone. 

This leads to one of my biggest issues with Lost Records overall — dialogue choices and consequences for did not feel well-signposted. I often enjoy choices and consequences in games, but my results here lead me to believe that I would have to carefully gamify a full playthrough of Tape 1 and Tape 2 to get the best ending. I’ve also heard unconfirmed speculation that endings can be altered by glitches. Even if that doesn’t turn out to be the case, it feels too confusing and difficult to get a ‘good ending’ where everyone stays until the end. 

For example, in Tape 2 one of the characters has a panic attack, and Swann must find the correct objects to help her friend calm down. Some of these objects are obvious and others not so much, such as two unmarked purple toothbrushes — and I’m still unclear on how I was supposed to guess which toothbrush was the right one. It’s comically easy to fail this interaction, which was key to the relationship in the present day.

*end of potential spoilers*

In terms of gameplay, it remains the same between Tape 1 and Tape 2, featuring moving throughout small environments, interacting with characters, and using Swann’s video camera to record clips. The recording in Tape 1 didn’t affect progression in very meaningful ways, and unfortunately, it feels even more superfluous here in Tape 2. Using the camcorder is relegated to being a minor plot device at best, and a boring collection mechanic at worst.

Adding insult to injury, the ultimate payoff of this filming mechanic is a compilation of clips that I had no hand in editing. As it stands, apart from one or two brief instances, Bloom & Rage would have been served just as well by any other similar mechanic — there’s nothing about specifically using video that stands out, and capturing the footage feels like a chore.

The production values of Tape 2 are improved from Tape 1, the dev team apparently using the intervening months to polish things up. However, a few visual glitches still remain. Throughout the story, there were what some on the internet call “shadow people” appearing. At first, I thought it may have been intended as an atmospheric, spooky touch, but the timing at which these “shadow people” appeared did not seem to serve a narrative purpose, leading me to suspect that these unexplained images are actually graphical glitches.

Speaking of the shadow people, in general it feels like DontNod wanted to tell a more grounded story with fewer magical supernatural elements than Life Is Strange. Most of the supernatural elements in Lost Records were left ambiguous, to the point that they could even be interpreted as metaphor. Apart from a single scene at the very end of the story, the supernatural elements could have easily been removed and it wouldn’t have affected the experience at all.

Some players may love the queer, nostalgic coming-of-age tale that Lost Records is trying to tell. However, even as someone in the target demographic, I found that the structure, choices and consequences fell flat. I loved the characters and their interactions with each other, but the rest was shallow at best and confusing at worst. Lost Records is still an enjoyable experience, but those interested in the material should go into it with tempered expectations. 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Buy Lost Records: Bloom And Rage: PC — PS — XB

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Don’t Nod. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS5 and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5.  Approximately six hours (for Part 2) were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes. 

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Nudity, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Violence. Underage girls smoke weed, and drink some beers. In addition, there is adult alcohol consumption. Talk of sexual situations such as kissing. There is light blood with cutting of hands and nose bleeds. Swear words like sh*t and f**k are said throughout. Antagonists use gay slurs and use fat shaming language.  

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and/ or resized. All dialogue has written text, and even visual cues on screen show an indicator of who is talking. Sound effects are given visual indicators and no gameplay is compromised with lack of sound. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: This game’s controls are fully remappable.

The post Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, Tape 2 Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Narrowly dodging a budgetary issue that could sink a run.

LOW Why do I need to build more buildings just to talk to people?

WTF Nuanced critiques of morality in civic management… in a videogame?!

When I agreed to look at Technotopia, I’ll admit it had the odds stacked against it. I’m just not huge on card-based games, and it feels like we’re drowning in a sea of roguelites lately. Yet despite those trepidations it just looked so gorgeous and unique, I couldn’t pass up the chance. And you know what? I’m glad I said yes! It’s a legitimately outstanding title, even as it dances with the cliches-of-the-day in today’s indie dev scene.

The central conceit is rather simple — it’s a city management sim handled through random card draws.

Players inhabit the role of Iris, the city’s AI in a near-future society. She works alongside her father, The Architect, to please four corrupt faction leaders currently running the city. Together, Iris and her father strive to make the world a better place while uncovering the corruption that surrounds them. It’s not a story that will shock anyone with its twists, but the fact the writing in a card-based management sim is good enough to be enthralled by is one hell of a trick. 

Honestly, it would’ve been easy to simply not have a story at all, or it could have been something super bland, but instead I was foiling terrorists, trying to un-rig elections, deleting internet reviews for a terrible cabaret singer (yes, really) and meeting up with a hacktivist to screw over her corporate overlords. Every character boasts a distinct voice, and I appreciated how biting the script’s social commentary is. I genuinely wanted to see what happened next, even if, again, it’s nothing too surprising.

Now, the gameplay. Rather than only being able to build based on the current card hand available, Technotopia takes some notes from Tetris — or more accurately, it borrows a few shapes.

In order to get the most out of the city, a player has to arrange buildings into various shapes, which add massive bonuses — the fastest way to build up resources needed for each faction to stay functional, and racing against the clock is key here. While Technotopia can be played at a leisurely pace, every building placed moves an overall countdown one notch forward.

In addition to this clever formula, Technotopia will also throw moral quandaries at the player that can tip the scales between factions. Are the workers demanding riots? Call in the digital Pinkertons, hear them out, or automate the jobs with machines. There’s an athlete struggling in the ring? Maybe give him some dope, or stay out of it. What’s brilliant is that there’s no indication of what the outcome for each choice will be — players have to learn the hard way what the best course of action is, and sometimes there may be more than one worth contemplating.

All of this is bolstered with a wealth of new buildings to place as the campaign progresses and progress with the factions carries over between runs. I’m also grateful that story objectives don’t reset, so it’s feasible for everyone, not just min-maxing civic leaders, to actually see the story’s conclusion. Plus, as I progressed, I’d get access to key structures that made the overhead costs of resources much easier to manage for each faction. The persistent progress in Technotopia is well-done.

Truly, I’m stunned at how little I have to criticize. Probably my biggest issue would be that once I finished the campaign, there weren’t many achievements or bonus objectives to tackle. Some sort of random challenge modifiers or even a sandbox mode where players can tinker with things or design their ideal cities would be a welcome bit of variety, but this is such a minor point that it’s hardly worth mentioning.

As someone who predominantly plays games antithetical to this experience, the fact it blew me away should speak volumes on how confidently it presents itself. It’s by far one of the best things I’ve played this year, and it just works in a way that is almost magical when considering how many bigger titles have fumbled the fundamentals Technotopia handles with ease. Whether one loves or hates card-based games, this is one worth playing, hands down.

Final Score: 10 out of 10 

Disclosures: This game is developed by Yustas and published by Alawar. It is currently available on PC. This copy of Technotopia was provided via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 3 hours were dedicated to the single-player campaign, as well an additional 2 hours in the post-campaign and it was completed.

Parents:  This game is not rated by the ESRB, but contains Mild Violence and Suggestive References. This one is pretty safe when it comes to what’s depicted on-screen. There are references to terrorists, the mob, and at least two instances of murder, but it’s all purely through text, static images that obscure the actual violence, and vague references. It’s an otherwise relaxed, minimalist experience.

Colorblind modes: There are no colorblind modes available. This is accounted for with distinct silhouettes for each building type, varying substantially in height and design.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All in-game dialogue is delivered purely through text. It’s a reasonable experience to play without sound, and I would say that it’s fully accessible.  

Remappable controls: No, the controls are not remappable controls. There are, however, both keyboard and mouse options, allowing it to be played one-handed with minimal movement.

The post Technotopia Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Character animations and interactions.

LOW Some story resolutions and plot points.

WTF Cat DLC that adds barely two interactions.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure is the latest installment in the Life is Strange series, set once again in the shoes of Max Caulfield, the protagonist of the original Life is Strange.

Much like the rest, it’s a third-person adventure with a heavy focus on story. Taking place years after the events of the first entry, Max is now a photographer working as a guest lecturer at Caledon University, a fictional school in Vermont. Throughout the tale she wrestles with traumatic choices and experiences from her past while attempting to unravel mysteries that happen around her. She also quickly discovers new powers that let her shift between worlds and uses them to solve the murder of her friend. While not required, I would encourage readers to play the first Life is Strange before playing Double Exposure. Not only is it referenced throughout, but it remains an excellent title.

It didn’t take long for Double Exposure to pull me into its world and narrative. The first Life is Strange ended with a drastic choice resulting from a storm caused by Max’s powers. Near the beginning of Double Exposure I was asked what the resolution to that choice was — essentially, players who are new to the series can set the events of their past before beginning. Regardless of what the player decides, Max has been running from that trauma since then.

About these powers, Max has the ability to switch between ‘living’ and ‘dead’ worlds — without spoiling anything, a key character’s status is different in each one, and progress requires navigating between both timelines. This would involve talking to different versions of multiple characters, exploring the environments for clues, and solving simple puzzles. These puzzles often revolved around mechanics like switching worlds to get into locked rooms, or just playing the knowledge I gathered from one world against the other. They’re simple, yet most of the time cleverly done. For example, a teacher was frequently busy in their office, but I needed clues they had. A solution was to swap worlds to when they weren’t there to gather the info.

While the gameplay was solid, I was particularly impressed by the visuals in Double Exposure. I’ve played many story-based titles and RPGs, but the facial animation and character interactions in Double Exposure sucked me in like a movie. Even in projects that do their best to be ‘cinematic’ I often find myself skipping dialogue and simply reading the subtitles, but here I was drawn in by the animation and acting. I wanted to see their reactions and listen to what they said — not just read it and keep moving. It actually felt like an interactive movie in a way that’s rare for videogames. 

These interactions were some of the highest points I had, especially when the characters began to open up about their pasts and had genuine interactions with me. I was surprised by how drawn in I was, and that these interactions could radically impact my perception of them. Finding out more about Vinh, seen as shallow and selfish, was one instance where more info shed light onto his inner feelings of loneliness.

While it’s a great experience overall, throughout Double Exposure there were major decision points that would impact the story. Unfortunately, there were a couple of glaring plot holes and loose ends that were either entirely dropped or not explained well enough. I can’t go into details here for fear of spoilers, but these inconsistencies were noticeable. The script also ends with a sense that not every character’s story is completed, and then offers a message that there will be a sequel. This is fine and the series seems to be going in interesting directions, but a bit more resolution and clarity would have have made the ending more satisfying. 

Life is Strange: Double Exposure does a generally fantastic job of following up on Max’s story despite the plotholes and an ending that left me wanting. However, it still pulls off a (mostly) satisfying narrative while exploring trauma and interpersonal relationships via sci-fi elements. It’s a great continuation for existing fans, but I’ll say again that newcomers should definitely start with the original Life is Strange — still an excellent play!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Deck Nine and published by Square Enix. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 10 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Mild Blood, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, and Violence. The official description reads: This is an adventure game in which players assume the role of a time-jumping photographer (Max Caufield) trying to prevent a murder. From a third-person perspective, players explore locations around a college campus while interacting with characters. As players progress through the storyline, they are presented with dialogue and action choices. Some choices cause characters to engage in acts of violence (e.g., a character shooting someone in the shoulder). Blood is depicted on one character’s clothes and on the ground after a shooting. The game contains some suggestive material: black-and-white photos of female characters (fully clothed) lying in vulnerable positions; two characters playing Smash or Pass; dialogue referencing sex (e.g., “a high ratio of f**kable faculty”; “Did you get laid even once?”). During the course of the game, some characters are seen smoking marijuana. The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole” appear in the game.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and/ or resized. The game offers full subtitle support and all audio clues have a visual indicator as well. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

The post Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Colorful Characters. 

LOW All setup, no payoff.

WTF Make your friends kiss!

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is the latest game from developer Don’t Nod, famous for Life is Strange — a series I’ve been a fan of since its first installment. After playing through a preview chunk of Lost Records, I’m cautiously optimistic for this new work, though it left me with more questions than answers.

The preview starts with the player controlling a teenager named Swann. I was allowed to explore her room while looking at various objects that helped establish the setting as being in the ’90s. I was happy to have a protagonist who wasn’t a ‘traditionally attractive’ skinny girl (Swann is somewhat stocky compared to the average female protagonist) not to mention that Swann is somewhat socially awkward, which helps them feel grounded and real. 

After poking around, changing clothes and interacting with objects, I was introduced to the central mechanic — recording footage on my camcorder. To do this, I simply bring up the camera and wait for a gauge to fill while I targeted things in the environment such as my cat, or other objects in the room. it’s also possible to edit the order in which clips I recorded occurred. It’s simple editing, but it made for an entertaining minigame of sorts.

On the other hand, I had mixed feelings when it seemed as though editing the footage had no impact on gameplay. That might be a good thing for players who might not want to fiddle with the footage. On the other hand, I felt like making this mechanic possibly optional meant that a game about recording and editing would miss an opportunity. Of course, as the content I had was in alpha, it’s entirely possible that the footage element had not yet been fully integrated into what I saw, so the jury is still out.

After the tutorial and setup, I was told (via text stills) of what transpired between segments of Lost Records that were not yet available, after which I found myself in a garage and was introduced to the cast of characters. These included new high school friends Nora, Autumn, and Kat. They were showing Swann their music and I began to record them. 

Shortly after talking about a music video and interacting with them, Lost Records cut to a daytime exploration of the nearby woods where we went to shoot more footage. Here I recorded the characters at their request and occasionally directed them to do things, such as a cartwheel. I also shot  additional footage the game didn’t prompt, as I was curious if it would let me integrate “B-roll” footage  into the shoot.

During this session I got to know the girls more, but some of the interactions were a bit awkward. At one point Swann asks two of the girls to kiss, asking them to act as if they are a boyfriend/girlfriend couple. I wanted an option to stop it, but Lost Records only let me take her aside to talk after it happened. 

While I was progressing the woods segment, Lost Records would sometimes cut to the “present day” 27 years later. In a first person view I was still Swann, but now I was in a bar across the table from an older Autumn talking about the events I was playing through in 1995. However, here the vibe felt more ominous. There was a mysterious package, and hints that the “earlier” events had ended badly, or perhaps hadn’t been talked about for the last 27 years. 

When Lost Records returned to the earlier time period and we ended our shoot in the woods, events jumped ahead to when we were gathering to watch the footage. I hadn’t edited too much before but I had shot some B-roll, and to my surprise, a character emoted when they saw one of the B-roll clips I had filmed of a partial deer skull. It wasn’t much, but I appreciated the unexpected feedback. Towards the end, there were suddenly some strange lights and sounds that foreshadowed a creepy supernatural occurrence, and then the preview content ended, leaving me with more questions than answers — though not all the good kind.

From this preview content, I had hoped for a better idea as to what Lost Records was trying to do with its core mystery and gameplay, but there’s still a lot left to figure out. Will it be an emotional coming-of-age story or perhaps more of a found footage story? Will I revisit horrific events in the past? Will the filming and editing would tie into the gameplay in a more nuanced, relevant way? Does the order in which one edits or films footage matter?

Overall, I’m intrigued and Lost Records has a lot of potential, especially when taking the studio’s previous work into account. However, only time will tell what shape the final experience will take.

*

Disclosures: This game is developed by Don’t Nod. It will be available on PS5, XBO, XBX/S, and PC with a planned release date of February 18, 2025. This content was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC.

The post PREVIEW Lost Records: Bloom & Rage appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Giving into Lora’s darker impulses.

LOW Technical issues prevented me from seeing one of the endings.

WTF Did she just bite off what I think she bit off?

Loretta Lou Harris (Lora, to her friends) is not doing well. Trapped in a loveless, adulterous
marriage in rural America during the late 1940’s, our titular protagonist (or is it antagonist?) sees
only one path to freedom — the murder of her husband. But don’t worry, this is just the setup.
In Loretta, player choice, for better or worse, is what molds the proceedings.

Across my three playthroughs, I found an uncommonly flexible narrative with subtle points of
articulation, each feeling genuinely different depending on the choices I made. However, this
same mutability proves to be more of a burden than Loretta can comfortably shoulder, as radical
tonal shifts and inconsistencies left me wondering exactly what I was meant to take away from Lora’s descent into madness.

Loosely structured as a point-and-click adventure with visual novel elements, storytelling is
clearly the developer’s priority in Loretta. As I explored the two-dimensional, pixelated
environments, molding my bespoke tale through environmental interaction and dialogue choices,
I was struck by how significantly the story and characterization of Lora changed across my
playthroughs.

Does she kill that nosy P.I., or does she play it cool? What about the stepdaughter that keeps
asking about her missing daddy? More importantly, does Lora relish the opportunity to
satiate her bloodlust by covering her tracks, or is she racked with guilt, unable to live with
herself as her body count rises? Questions like these make up the backbone of Loretta, and their
answers build a unique path for Lora through each playthrough.

These points of divergence are also surprisingly understated — I could never quite tell if a certain
decision led to a given outcome, or if it was the cumulation of multiple events that created a new
path. Contributing to this, there is an emphasis not only on choosing what actions Lora takes,
but also on how she feels about those actions.

For instance, my first playthrough (as a remorseful Lora) led to a satisfying conclusion — however, after exploring other options, I realized my ending was premature and that I had missed nearly half of the story due to my choices. On a subsequent playthrough, I made many of the same decisions, but one small tweak changed Lora’s outlook on her actions, resulting in a totally different outcome. The complexity of these choices helps to create the illusion of a living narrative and an atmosphere of possibility, where there are no binary choices and slight adjustments can have significant consequences.

Unfortunately, this emphasis on flexibility cuts both ways. There were multiple instances where conversations between characters simply didn’t make sense — they would reference events that hadn’t occurred, mention people they hadn’t met, or react in a way that didn’t make contextual sense. Perhaps these discrepancies could be attributed to Lora being an unreliable narrator (a fact established early on), but more often, they felt like scripting oversights within Loretta’s complex web of possibilities.

Furthermore, some of the dialogue comes across as clunky, with southern accents that felt performative rather than authentic, and some use of profanity that seemed forced. With storytelling being the primary focus of Loretta, any moments of inconsistency stand out. Wwhile these didn’t ruin the experience, they did seem awkward and distracting.

As an extension of these issues, major tonal shifts left me questioning exactly what the developer’s thematic intentions were. Loretta is not shy about broaching difficult and multilayered topics — subjects such as miscarriages and oppression are common throughout. However, on the heels of these intense and delicate moments, the player might be killing an innocent person with a shovel and hiding their body, or fantasizing about jamming a letter opener in someone’s neck, all presented with an edge of dark humor. The juxtaposition of these pulpier moments with more serious discussions led to a feeling of thematic whiplash that permeates the entire experience.

There are also some mechanical and technical oddities that detract from Loretta. Between each
chapter is a puzzle of sorts, with some symbolic link to the narrative — most of these are simple
and straightforward, but others involve timing-based maneuvers with a digital cursor. While I’m
sure these play fine with a mouse, the Switch’s notoriously fiddly analog sticks were not up to
the task, and these sections ended up feeling frustrating and frivolous. Additionally, at the end of my final
playthrough, Loretta would inexplicably crash to the Switch’s home screen every time. I was unable to get around this, and as such, I was unable to see the conclusion of my final run.

In the end, Loretta is a conundrum — its greatest strengths and its most pronounced weaknesses both lie in storytelling. For every moment that worked, I found a moment that didn’t. However, despite its technical issues and occasional lack of coherence, Loretta ends up as a successful experiment in form — even if I’m still unsure of the developer’s ultimate intended message.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

— Ryan Nalley

Disclosures: This game is developed by Yakov Butuzoff and published by DANGEN
Entertainment. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4/PS5, Switch, and PC.
This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 8 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood, Violence,
Strong Language, and Sexual Content. This one is not safe for kids. Violence is a pervasive element throughout, and while the visual depictions of violence are generally not explicit, there are many explicit
descriptions of the violence. Additionally, there is at least one scene of implied sexual violence. Profanity is also a persistent element in the dialogue.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered or resized.
This game was completed in its entirety without sound during one playthrough, and is accessible. There is one scene during a specific ending that involves a puzzle with audio cues. I was able to complete this segment without sound, but it required some trial and error. Outside of this one moment, sound is not a major component in the gameplay.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. This game does not offer a controller map diagram, but most of the controls are contextual. The left stick is used for movement and menu navigation while the face buttons (A,B,X,Y) are used to interact with the environment. Certain scenes use the ZR button for interaction, and the puzzle interludes in between chapters use the left stick to control a digital cursor.

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