Recent reviews by .png

Moons gave me strength

It's a sci-fi visual detective novel; well-written and offering a blend of techno-futuristic themes. If you're like at all interested in science-fiction and love robots without faces then you'll really get a lot out of it. The game is short but I wouldn't be against replaying it in a couple of years. I also love the UI. It's bloody gorgeous.

Basically yes; I'm recommending it. To you. A stranger I never met.

Gosh it's okay, isn't it.

Surprisingly good. I wondered where it planned to go but it soon developed into a quaint little drama about artistic inspiration. Sure it's mostly just clicking and reading but for a game that's heavier on story than gameplay it's refreshingly not contrived. The artwork has a great level of detail too, surprisingly so for what is essentially pixel art. All in all, a lovely little game that does make me wonder why we don't see more anthology-type stories.

I'm a big fan of Blendo's games and this one is no exception.

The hacking mechanics work well. It has a quirky comic book vibe coupled with a lot of weird and wonderful set-design. And story is generally lovely: a minimal tale about three wistful, nerdy friends just hanging out and hacking.

If you're big into Wes Anderson movies then I'm sure you'll really dig it. I eagerly await whatever Brendon Chung comes up with next.

80 words to sum up 80 days:

Daring, bold, audacious, exploratory, exciting, adventure-seeking, risk-taking, thrill-seeking, venturesome, enterprising, intrepid, risky dangerous, daredevil, foolhardy, hazardous, headstrong, rash, reckless, temerarious, venturous, amusing, entertaining, enjoyable, exciting, pleasurable, cool, great, good, happy, lively, pleasant, boisterous, convivial, diverting, merry, witty, afoot, ambulant, ambulatory, floating, ♥♥♥♥♥, journeying, migratory, moving, nomadic, peripatetic, ranging, roving, shifting, travelling, wandering, wayfaring, absorbing, amusing, appealing, brilliant, clever, easy, eloquent, engaging, engrossing, enjoyable, entertaining, enthralling, exciting, fascinating, gratifying, gripping, ingenious, interesting, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, relaxing, rewarding, satisfying, smooth, stimulating, worthwhile.


Oh yeah and it's also well-written.

INSIDE's had a lot of hype so I find it utterly futile to add much more to this review other than to say:

It's good.

9/10 good.

Might play it again in a years' time good.

That good.

If you're looking to try this because you love Wadjet Eye games then don't bother. It's only an hour-long and feels like a prequel to what should be a longer game. I believe it's the developer's first effort so fair enough but it should be free. If you're spending money my advice is to try out the Blackwell games, or better yet Gemini Rue.

Good atmosphere, some suspense, but ultimately not much meat on the bones.

Perhaps at this point you have decided to spend your money wisely. Perhaps you are merely looking to consolidate your opinion and no money has been spent at all. If that's the case, then let it be known that this is a game which you would be wise to purchase. For you see it is through a series of luck and love that our lord and saviour Phil Fish has seen fit to bless us with a creation that will end all other creations. This is Fez, a videogame unlike any other.

Hush the applause please for I do not deserve it. At least not yet. On this perch I stand before you today to describe this piece of aesthetic bliss because I hope that one day your lives will be as blessed as my own.

I do this not out of narcissism but out of virtue for the lesser amongst you who have yet to experience the ecstatic thrill of what I am about to describe. For you see, as Dionysus would surely explain himself if he were alive today, Fez is not so much a game as it is a way of life; a philosophy to live by. It merges the boundaries of puzzles and platforms fulfiling its life spirit as an inter-connected adventure across the two-dimensional plains in which you must retrieve the hidden, mysterious, and darn right fabled puzzle pieces.

A landquake-like shift has occured and it is up to Gomez, and by extension yourself, to save the world from vice. Much like Achilles who set out to battle for the glory of Ancient Greece in Homer's Iliad, Gomez must traverse into the wild in order to save his own kingdom.

But as Achilles had Helen to serve as a motivating factor, Gomez has only his spirit - neigh - his unrelenting will to guide him. It is for this reason amongst others why we must look upon Gomez as not merely a type of cartoonish rabbit-thing but as an allegory for the struggle of humanity to overcome persecution throughout history. He embodies the determined movement towards divinity; towards the blinding light for which we shall all receive our due rewards in Elysium.

I ask of you what other games can we look upon as revealing and illuminating such depth? Only Halo bears the familiarity of which I speak, and it is a game which but pales in comparison to the glorious like of Fez.

Of cours, there is still one thing I fear the most and it is that I not yet have convinced the most stubborn of you to take a chance. For this I do not judge. It is without sin that the first stone should be cast. I know in my heart that you will come to see the truth in time and ask patience to reign over you and for our almighty lord Phil Fish to bless you with the spirit of reason.

For this you shall be truly rewarded.

The reward shall be Fez.

You know when you leave a pie on the shelf for 14 years and you come back and wonder if the pie is going to be as delicious as the day you first took it out of your easy-bake oven? Well System Shock 2 reminds me a lot of that kind of thing. Firstly, we're talking about a pie that has been on a shelf for 14 years so of course where as it may have been a looker in its day, it's certainly no beauty queen anymore. Secondly, much like the once flaky crust that lines the smooth delicious centre, things have gotten ever so stale a decade on; this mostly relates to the mechanics which you wouldn't be able to convince me were that good even back in the summer of '99. Lastly, because it's been around for so long, that pie now has many stories to tell and further more, it demands that you listen to them; thankfully it's pretty good at doing that and it's probably the only reason you haven't tossed that rotting pie in the garbage by the time you get to the Rickenbacker and you realise you're grossly underpowered.