Recent reviews by Lirod

So Clementine's journey finally comes to an end...

I've played every The Walking Dead game by Telltale Games and I've enjoyed all of them fully. Having followed Clementine's journey for several years made this final adventure quite emotional for me (especially one of the latter episodes in the season).

You should also be ready to replay episodes if you want to finish them 100% since it's easy to miss collectibles and other small achievements.

Strongly recommended for fans of The Walking Dead.

The game really delivers on the over-the-top arcade action with probably the most beautiful pixel art I’ve ever seen. And it comes with one of the best ’80 style soundtracks since… the eighties!

The game focuses on Kid and how video games and the escapism that surrounds them can help someone cope with the struggles of life. The story is well told, even if a bit ambiguous, with an especially amazing performance from Maya Tuttle. Her voice really captures that teenage anxiety and joy for new discoveries which echoes in Kid’s story arch.

Style over substance? Absolutely not! The game takes on five different arcade genres, and recreates the originals into what we think they looked like back in the day. The level of difficulty is just about right, it’s hard but at the same time forgiving.

The Beat 'em up (interestingly called Beating Heart) takes its cues from games like Final Fight and perhaps even more, Streets of Rage. Hitting someone with a baseball bat has never felt better.

Out of the Void is the name of the shoot 'em up and it makes me think of Super R-Type. It’s always nice to blast away at enemy spaceships with a fully loaded plasma cannon, fly past a bullet hell and take down the giant mecha boss at the end.

The racer is called The Runaway and looks to games like Crazy Cars III and Out Run for inspiration. The first part of the racer is straightforward, but takes an interesting turn (no pun intended) at the end when the game mechanics get to stand back while the narrative takes the wheel (sorry). It’s an interesting touch that brings the player in on what developers want to portray on a meta level while at the same time advancing the story.

The Ninja game is a mixture of an endless runner game and a game like Shinobi. It’s called Shadowplay and it brings some of fastest gameplay in 198X. If I’m being honest, this part of the game is the least nostalgic for me, not having played any Shinobi game and not being into ninja flicks. The gameplay is still solid and the artwork is just as good as in the rest of the game.

The last game, Kill Screen, is a dungeon crawler and probably my favourite part of the game. The game goes full on meta, blending game and reality for Kid, bringing the player closer to the game’s protagonist. That notion also ends this first segment of 198X and it at least leaves me with a wonderful feeling of wanting more.

Buy this game if you’re looking for nostalgia and a story driven game with amazing looking art work and fantastic music.

Buy this game if you want the developers to be able to fully realise their dream project.

For future updates, I’d like to see harder difficulty levels after beating the game, achievements and subtitles.

I completed this game 100%, loved every second of it!

Lite märkligt men samtidigt underhållande spel!

First of all, just buy the game, it's fantastic!

It has that right kind of retro inspired platforming adventure type of gameplay we all love from the NES days. It can be really challenging but you will only be mad at your own lack of skill, they game is not unfair in regards to difficulty.

Let's just hope for a sequel!

Firewatch is a great adventure game with a fantastic graphical style and a captivating story. The dialogue between the protagonist and Delilah, which constantly drives the story forward, is very well written and intriguing.

I first learned of this game when the Swedish game magazine Level wrote about it their August 2015 issue, and I immediately became obsessed. I tried to stay away from teasers and trailers (but couldn’t hide from all of them obviously), which serves the story greatly. The less you know going in, the better.

I played the game together with my friend Jens (who knew nothing of the game) and five hours later when we had completed the game we were both left with a feeling of wanting more, not because the game is short (which it is), but because we wanted more of the same kind of storytelling.

Firewatch will thus not be for everyone, it is linear and not very “game-y”, but if you’re looking for an (interactive) experience, look no further. This impressionistic game will take you on a suspenseful and often very amusing journey if you let it.

So sit back, grab a couple of Wyoming’s own Thornbridge Hall Bracia and watch the fire.

If you really like The Walking Dead games from Telltale Games, then yes, play it! If you're more mellow towards the games, stay away (if it isn't available on a sale that is).