We're back with another issue of Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, and this one marks the quarter-century point! We've gone monthly with this format, giving our writers the time to truly sink into the games they're playing. True to form, they've been toiling away at a wildly eclectic and diverse set of games, and they're dying to tell you about them! Enjoy this week's entries and we'll see you back here soon with more recommendations and odes to the games we love!
Charlotte Huston
I finished a replay of Portal 2 the other day and I was impressed at how well it still holds up; it's the pinnacle of the puzzle genre to me. The way it respects your time, and keeps you engaged is genius, since it gives the player a reason to want to complete all the puzzles in their way.
The main thing I've been playing is Disco Elysium. I'm not the biggest CRPG person, but Disco Elysium presents itself in such a way that I've been thoroughly enjoying it. It somehow manages to be utterly engaging almost immediately. I really couldn't bring myself to look away from it, and I was utterly enthralled by its writing and atmosphere. I do think getting into the world-building is a tad hard to wrap your head around since this is a fictional town with fictional countries and history. I've had an issue trying to establish that in my head from what the game gives you.
Beyond that, I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've played of Disco Elysium so far. I'd highly recommend playing it but without any prior knowledge. This feels like something you just need to play and experience for yourself. It feels like a visual novel a lot of the time despite being a CRPG, especially since the dice rolls don't feel intrusive. Sometimes you'll have to fail a dice roll in order to figure out what to do next, and I think that just shows how good the game is at putting the player in their world right away while making sure they feel comfortable and not overwhelmed at all. I can't wait to play more of it.
I also intend to play Star Wars: Bounty Hunter's re-release after a friend gifted it as a birthday present, really looking forward to that as well.
Source: Press Kit.
C.S. Voll
I finished 428: Shibuya Scramble's main story and most of its side routes, bonus stories, and bad endings. It's easy to see why Famitsu gave the game a 40/40 review score back in the day; it convinces you to care about all the characters, including the ones that are initially quite irritating, too. The team accomplished that largely through still photos and text; quite the accomplishment. It really goes to show that, no matter how you tell it, a good story can elevate an experience. It must have been a mammoth effort to fill out all those branching storylines on a board (my playing time clocked in at over 30 hours, and I didn't even complete everything).
Now onto another visual novel: Steins;Gate. I first encountered Okabe's story through the anime, when I was much younger. Back then, I was about the same age as the protagonist, and I admired his frenetic, mad scientist energy. Now, playing the game with a couple of years of added life experience, I kind of feel sad when I watch him act out his delusions at the start. It's interesting how the passage of time can change one's perception of a complicated character. It's still a special, if somewhat melancholic experience to revisit this story in a different form, though. When I started up the game for the first time, the distinctive notes of the theme song played, and I had to sit back and soak it all in for a moment. This is going to be quite a ride.
Abiotic Factor. Source: IGDB.
Taylor Levesque
If 7 Days to Die and Half-Life had a baby, it’d be Abiotic Factor. Recently my husband and I have been trying this game out, and we are absolutely loving it! It’s an Early-Access game that’s still in the works, and the Deep Field Games team is actively looking for feedback to improve it. I’ve already gone and convinced a few family members to get it because I was already having so much fun.
As you may have guessed by my description – or from what you've maybe even seen in screenshots or videos – this game is survival-by-crafting. You’re a scientist (or group of scientists) trapped in a research facility, aliens are on the loose, and you’ll need to use everything at your disposal to craft your way to survival. Cook up some dead aliens to keep from starving, get enough sleep, find sources of clean water, and ensure you can find a toilet in time, all while destroying anything in sight that you think you can use to make your next big invention. It may sound simple, but good gods, it is addictive.
Priya Sridhar
I started playing Princess Peach Showtime! and am having a blast. Part of me wants to make some of the cookies that she assembles and bakes in the Festival of Sweets. Also, I can dive into another world with my basic gaming skillset and receive a lot of forgiveness for failing to dodge or jump at the right time.
KinitoPET. Source: IGDB.
Ignas Vieversys
Besides continuously getting my ass handed to me by the creatures of The Realm of Shadow - special shoutout goes to Bayle The Dread, the Brobdingnagian proto dragon, the ugly sibling of Deathwing with broken hitboxes, who made me change my entire gear and took around 40 attempts in total, but rewarded me with one of the most epic boss fights so far (Shadow of the Erdtree players don't miss out on this!) - this month I've been playing KinitoPET.
For those who don't watch Nexpo religiously, KinitoPET is a little horror game inspired by BonziBUDDY, the infamous desktop virtual assistant from the 90s (think Clippy but more sinister and hairy). The game can be finished in an hour or two (there are multiple endings, as per the tradition of other fantastic fourth-wall-breakers like Pony Island and IMSCARED), but the tricks that KinitoPET pulls off in that short time - like turning on your webcam and opening the command prompt - do make you uneasy in the best possible way, especially if you're playing this alone in the dark (my salute to those daredevils). One piece of advice: go into this experience blind. Don't watch any walkthroughs, nor read any reviews - just download KinitoPET, have a glass of holy water by your side (just in case), and start the game.
If you love the cheap thrills of obscure horror games as much as I do, this one will blow your socks off. The most insane part is that KinitoPET was created by a high school student with no prior coding or interactive design experience if we were to believe that one Reddit interview. As a person who went through a game design course myself, to see people work full time on much lesser projects with additional help from experienced developers, I'm both in awe of the young lad and frankly, a bit scared. If he was able to make some players believe that KinitoPET is an actual virus as a first-time developer, who knows what thrilling horrors await us in the future?
Having polished off Dave the Diver not long after the last "Now Playing..." was published, I immediately jumped to another highly acclaimed title in my backlog - Tunic. I'd heard great things about the game while it was still an Xbox console-exclusive title, and I've been dying to get to it ever since it came to PS Plus. I'm happy to say it didn't disappoint, and I quite enjoyed getting one of several endings to the game's story. Though I found the game's main gimmick of playing rather blindly while you discover the instruction manual to be new and refreshing, it led to some WTF moments that seemed too cute by half. The minute-to-minute gameplay was almost always great though, and for me that is what matters most. I enjoyed my time with it and I can't ask more than that.
My most anticipated game of the year was EA Sports College Football '25. As a college football wonk and devotee of the games before their 11-year hiatus, I was beyond excited for the game to return. That said, I've barely played it because I was trying to finish Tunic, which I suppose is quite the recommendation for the diminutive fox and company. Now that I've had time to jump in though, the gridiron simulation is all I had hoped for and more. The on-field gameplay is a bit tougher than I remembered, which is appropriate, as defense can be a challenge even against "lesser" teams both in the game and in real life. Dynasty mode is where I'll spend most of my time, leading my beloved UCF Knights to an eventual College Football Playoff Championship with a side of world domination. Definitely pick it up if you're a fan of the sport.
Last but not least, the horrific reviews of the Borderlands film led me to jump back into Borderlands 2, which I started in 2020 and never finished. So now I'm (hopefully) about to face Handsome Jack for the final time, and I'm remembering why I loved (and occasionally hated) the game. Wave after wave of enemies can feel punishing to the extreme, but blasting them to bits is always mechanically pleasing. With death a mere blip with no real consequences, and each new weapon gives that sweet loot-filled hit of dopamine when you need it most. I wanted an FPS fix in the extreme and Gearbox's sequel hit the spot just right.
Be sure to tell us what you're playing in the comments and check back next month for more of what our team is getting into
Esports has come a long way: from high-score chasing, to the Battle By the Bay, the World Cyber Games, and much more. It wasn’t until the 2010s that the legitimacy and ubiquity of esports reached a fevered pitch, with studios chasing after this market and the push to give esports as big of a profile as traditional sports. But as I looked at genres like fighting and RTS, I started to think about whether esports has helped or hurt game development.
The Intended Effect
Esports and live service have gone together since the 2000s and the rise of League of Legends. The idea was that by creating an esport, a game would become popular outside of just playing the game; people would follow the esport and sponsors could sell ad revenue. There has always been this dream in the US to have esports reach the same level of recognition and impact that we saw in South Korea with StarCraft.
By continuing to support a game with more content, it would mean people would spend money on said content, and more support would keep a game going for years. When you look at the big successes — LoL, CS: GO, Rainbow Six: Siege, and so on – it does turn into that. For multiplayer, it has been a godsend in terms of keeping these games relevant and playable for years thanks to people continuing to play for the competitive side. This symbiotic relationship has been the envy of publishers and developers who all tried to make their own take on these games, as we saw with the numerous battle royales, MOBAs, shooters, and so on. And while esports has been good to these games it hasn’t been good to the health of these genres.
The problem is that making an esport and making a marketable game might not be as compatible as you think.
Making an Esport
Esport design is different from the traditional design and mechanics we see in other games. When you are building an esport, you must focus on the competitive side — all map design, all balancing, all future content, must be built around what the competitive people want to see. This has been the driving factor for fighting games for years and was part of what led to the decline of traditional RTS games in the mainstream in favor of MOBAs.
instead of flashy graphics, I have stats. These are the completion rates for Mortal Kombat 1 on PC and you can see that most of the people who bought it didn’t even finish the story mode, let alone get into the competitive play. Source: Author.
An esport is all about “the match” and everything that isn’t related to it is seen as fluff to the competitive side.
Matches are meant to be as balanced as possible and favor player skill above all else. With every esport game mentioned in this piece, you’ll find very little content outside of that. For the games that do add in single-player or story content, with rare exceptions (that I’ll come back to below), it is kept minimal and seems like something added to check off a list.
Casual vs. Competitive
When we look at games and genres that have gone out of their way to be the next esport, it’s time to face an important truth: esports suck the fun out of those games. From a community standpoint, some of the worst games imaginable, with regard to community management and moderation, are from the esports side. You have those who send horrible messages to other players, players who look down on everyone else, and reports of corruption and cheating from time to time.
From an onboarding and UI/UX point of view, these games are ineffective at providing accommodations and educating new players on how to play competitively. When it comes to the importance of UI/UX design, esports games fail this test time after time, and a lot of it comes down to their player base, specifically the esports side. Just as single-player gamers often fail to understand the difference between complexity and depth, so do a lot of multiplayer fans. Some immediately fume the second someone wants to change a game to make it easier to play or modernize it for audiences today, as we saw with the modern controls debate from Street Fighter 6. The problem is that teaching someone how to play against an AI is not the same as teaching them how to fight another player. For games that introduce new rules and mechanics, onboarding and tutorials may never cover those advanced elements.
In the last section I mentioned that esports players tend to focus on match design and match balancing above all else, however, the “else” in this regard is what attracts people to play these games in the first place. An esports player wants something that is consistent across however many matches they tend to play over the game’s lifespan and this is also why progression, outside elements, or those that don’t fit within the match are viewed as negatives. For everyone else, this kind of stuff is what makes these games appealing. Something I wrote about in my RTS book with unit design is that at the end of the day, cool trumps balance. Are the different factions in the Command & Conquer universe or the races in StarCraft 2 perfectly balanced? Heck no, and any self-respecting fan would say the same.
There’s a difference in design and thinking between making a game that can be adopted for competitive play, and making a game first and foremost for competitive play, and what led to the downfall of Command & Conquer despite the success of C&C3. Source: Author.
Keeping with StarCraft 2, it's the only game I can think of that came out with a fully supported esports model with its competitive play and a completely original campaign for each faction featuring unique units and progression not seen anywhere else. This is in line with how NetherRealm Studios revitalized the fighting game genre in the late 2000s by focusing on content for people who have no interest in the competitive side.
Esports players, no matter how much money gets thrown at sponsorships and tournaments, represent a fraction, of a fraction, of a fraction, of your consumer base, and it's why only catering to them does not keep a game financially afloat.
Where the Money Comes and Goes
Live service game design is all about money coming in and going out in a continuous cycle. If you’re not creating new content, money stops coming in, which means no more budget to create new content. And if you’re not creating “attractive” content for people to buy, then you are just wasting development time and money.
The issue with catering only to esports players with your game’s content and growth is that it doesn’t leave room for anyone else to keep playing. You’ll see this with any competitively-driven game — the first month or two will have peak player counts with new players trying to learn the game and see if it works for them. And then, without fail, those numbers plummet and the people who stick around are just the competitive side or those trying to be competitive.
Source: Author.
This group only cares about one thing: content that plays into the competitive side of the game. Anything else is not of interest to them, and if you think new cosmetics are going to be enough to bring casual players back, that’s not going to work. To that point, trying to create new game modes, new mechanics, or anything that runs counter to the esports/competitive side will be met with angry esports players, and still may not be enough to get people to come back. Blizzard’s strategy of splitting StarCraft 2 down the middle between the competitive and casual sides with its content was a brilliant move. Conversely, trying to shoehorn competitive and casual together is what doomed Command & Conquer 4.
The problem with trying to cater to an esports market is that instead of being able to grow your game with new content and interest over the months and years, it starts to shrink. Once a game’s audience becomes fixed like this, no one new is going to join, and if they do, chances are they won’t stay long. If players feel like they are just there to be served up to the expert players, they will leave even faster, as Activision’s report on Skill-Based Matchmaking covers in detail.
The Better Live Service
Some of the most popular live service games today come from the mobile space and are as far away from competitive experiences as a game could get. Creating attractive content for a live service game requires making sure that all segments of your audience can experience it. If there are new missions, storylines, etc., then they should be accessible to all groups. For bonus challenges or limited-time events, there needs to be content for each group of players.
Whenever there is content that only one group of players can use or will support, it’s going to push the other ones away; you need as wide of a consumer base as possible if you want your game to keep growing.
What Is the Future of Esports?
Esports is in a very awkward place now; it’s no longer the new thing on the market, and tournaments like the LoL Championship Series and EVO have reached the mainstream, but prospects for continued growth are debatable. Part of the problem is that it’s not about organically making a game an esport, where the process would look like this:
The game comes out
People like to play it
Tournaments are developed
The game becomes an esport
Now, many developers and publishers are chasing the market to will their games to become an esport. The ones that specifically are built for esport players are not finding a market outside of just those players.
Remember this point: initial sales and word of mouth don’t instantly create longevity of player interest. Even SF6 saw massive churn getting people to try out the multiplayer side. Source: Author.
Just as the RTS genre needs to have a hard talk about modernizing and appealing to more people, the fighting genre needs a similar one.
Despite how many copies Street Fighter 6 sold and how popular it was, less than half the player base on PC tried a multiplayer match. Designing additional content for mainstream and non-competitive players has helped, but it doesn’t fix the inherent problem of trying to get someone who isn’t a pro player interested in playing a game designed around that mindset.
What do you think: Is esports going to keep growing, or has it reached its limits?
If you would like to support what I do and let me do more daily streaming, check out my Patreon. My Discord is now open to everyone for chatting about games and game design.
On Wednesday night, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy sat down with four creators from Australia and New Zealand for a Q&A stream. The creators involved – 8bitElliot, JackHuddo, Carla, and Trash – were free to throw questions to Clancy and Twitch’s ANZ content director Lewis Mitchell about the state of its Australian business and support for local streamers.
There’s been a growing restlessness among creators in the ANZ region since a major wave of redundancies in January gutted its Australian operations. Previously clear communications and healthy support that local creators enjoyed before the layoffs have dramatically withered in the months since. Many of Twitch’s bigger local creators have found it harder and harder to draw the company’s attention as it focuses on more populous and lucrative North American and European regions.
Though Clancy stressed at the beginning of the stream that he hoped it would be a fun conversation, the creators came prepared to play hardball. What they were given was two hours of broad assurances that left Australian creators feeling uncertain and unsatisfied.
The future of Twitch ANZ
Trash did not beat around the bush, immediately hitting Clancy with what is, for creators, the obvious question: What is the future of Twitch ANZ?
It’s clear that the January layoffs – a global reduction of 500 jobs that decimated the ANZ team – have badly damaged Twitch’s operations in ANZ. In the months since, the lines of communication have gone dark. Creators are feeling under-resourced and unloved. What is Twitch doing about this? Does it even care about us anymore?
Clancy’s lengthy answer wasn’t as good at reassuring local creators as it was at covering the company’s arse. What he felt was “tricky to appreciate” about the layoffs was that, from the company’s perspective, Twitch ANZ was over-resourced compared to other regions. "For quite some time, we actually invested, in terms of the number of people working on ANZ, it was quite disproportionate, in terms of the number of creators, the number of partners, the number of streamers, everything."
"A big thing that we’ve been needing to do is kind of look (at) where we’re spending our money and being as efficient as possible, because every dollar we have is the cut we take from streamers’ rev shares. … Don’t take us feeling like there’s less resources as us not caring about ANZ. We do care deeply about Australia and New Zealand, I think it’s a critical market."
Translation: Twitch was spending too much on ANZ and not making its investment back. This comes as no surprise. Despite the massive influence it exerts on the livestreaming space, Twitch is famously unprofitable. In a livestream from January, Clancy admitted that, prior to the layoffs, Twitch had been relying on financial backing from parent company Amazon to remain afloat. The slashing and burning of regional offices, like Twitch ANZ, was done to keep the company from financially bleeding to death.
Asked by JackHuddo about the size of Twitch’s ANZ operations post-layoffs and whether Mitchell was now doing the work of what had previously been an entire team, both Mitchell and Clancy avoided a direct answer. A marketing team was mentioned, but not whether they were ANZ-based or resources allocated from a wider APAC (Asia Pacific) team.
Another answer about Twitch Rivals and its viability in Australia pointed to difficulties offering value to creators while paying the bills. Clancy spoke about how Twitch has been trying to evolve Rivals (the ANZ version of which didn’t even stream on the main Rivals channel) to ensure it brings in the kinds of views required to make it worth Twitch’s while financially.
This went down like a lead balloon in 8bitElliot’s chat, with creators wondering when the platform will start prioritising community sentiment ahead of metrics. The answer, even if Clancy isn’t able to say so, seems fairly clear: The business reality is that it can’t, not if it wants to survive.
However, Clancy does point out that he isn’t just keeping his eye on the region through the safety of a spreadsheet. The CEO is making several trips to Australia this year. His first was at Dreamhack Melbourne, where he roamed the halls and sounded out larger local creators. He will return in October for back-to-back appearances at PAX Australia and SXSW Sydney. Travel is a big component of Clancy’s role. As he correctly points out, Australia is not terribly easy to get to but he’s making the effort to get down here anyway.
I will give him this: three trips in a year is more attention than most American CEOs pay us in a lifetime. However, the frequent flier miles need to be backed up with results. The face time is good, but taking feedback gleaned from these trips and doing something with it is better.
A global approach (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere)
Since the January layoffs, many ANZ creators have noticed support from Twitch HQ drying up. Communication between Twitch and creators had become slower and more difficult. The transparency Twitch ANZ offered local creators around which new programs were geolocked was gone. Even the company’s local social media channels, which had been used to promote channels of all sizes, had gone dark.
Mitchell chimed in to note that Twitch ANZ socials were firing up again and that promotion would continue (though appears Twitch has contracted an external agency for help).
Answers around creator programs excluding ANZ creators were considerably murkier. According to Mitchell, programs like Twitch Ambassadors are being rolled out in larger markets before they can be rolled out in smaller ones like ANZ. This is an inversion of the previous strategy, where markets like ANZ were used as test beds precisely because of their smaller population. Curiously, Clancy puts this down to various languages and cultures, with the company focusing on English-language streamers in regions like APAC. According to Clancy, certain programs can’t "scale globally" (i.e. work in every region, due to cultural sensitivities or legislative concerns).
Even requests for smaller community programs, like a Twitch Unity Guild dedicated to First Nations and Torres Strait Islander creators were met with a similar response: we’d love to some day, and we’re working on it. Clancy appeared unaware of programs like Twitch ANZ Grassroots, a previous avenue for promoting smaller creators and affiliates.
Clancy then went on to say that his wider strategy revolves around putting money back in creators’ pockets, like lowering the threshold for entering the revenue sharing Plus Program, but did not get into any further specifics.
Even things like booths at shows like PAX have been de-emphasised. Twitch is not alone in this, many major parties in the games industry have been attempting to move away from conventions like PAX in an effort to save money. In Twitch’s case, it moved toward officially sanctioned Gatherings to give creators IRL spaces to socialise and network. Carla immediately disputed this, pointing out how successful the Twitch booth at PAX Australia had been in 2023, well beyond what local Gatherings had been able to accomplish. Clancy appeared unmoved, but admitted in regions as far-flung as ANZ there is a case for retaining the convention booth strategy.
Broadly, what Clancy and Mitchell are saying makes sense as a business case, but it also makes it clear what the layoffs have cost Twitch streamers in ANZ. In 2023, ANZ was using its resources to thrive. Now, we’re bundled up with much larger, more populous, far more important markets, and it shows. Despite Clancy’s insistence that we remain an important market, and his own regular visits, ANZ has plainly been shuffled down the order of priority.
Though Clancy stressed at the beginning of the stream that he hoped it would be a fun conversation, the creators came prepared to play hardball. What they were given was two hours of broad assurances that left Australian creators feeling uncertain and unsatisfied.
Live ANZ reaction
As the chat went on, sentiment from creators watching the stream began to roll in online, and few were feeling positive.
The anz region is irrelevant to twitch. We don't make enough money to be a second thought. It's why they gutted the staff in the last round of layoffs.
I don't think there will be significant support, you're on your own kids.
The reality? The creator industry is ass. Shocking.
I'm so sorry to all of my Twitch friends right now. Watching the stream was incredibly disheartening. Everyone who hosted did so well and you should all be so proud.
Twitch doesn't want ANZ to bleed purple, they want us to bleed out.
Here, the division between the needs of the region and the needs of the business are cast in black and white. Local creators want more, they want to be taken seriously and given the opportunities of their contemporaries in larger markets. That’s a fair request, but it seems clearer than ever that Twitch can’t help them without spending money it may not have.
Where to now?
For Twitch, Australia has become the same problem it has been to so many American companies: a region too small and underpopulated to worry about when money’s tight. Though I’m sure Clancy meant every nice thing he said about us as a region, his responses paint a picture of a company with too many masters and no money with which to serve their increasingly complex needs. It’s a battle that can’t be won – creators who’ve turned to the platform as a way to make a living are at odds with a company that cannot seem to turn a profit.
If Twitch hopes to take a global view of what it can offer creators and viewers alike, then it needs to ensure that every region gets a fair shake, not just those in the Northern Hemisphere. That feels like it goes without saying, but as Australians know, Americans rarely think about anything that goes on below the equator.
In the end, creators can only hope that the chat gave Clancy something to think about. And if it didn’t, he will hear about it in person in Sydney and Melbourne this October.
👋 Hi there! Welcome to the latest edition of SUPERJUMP Weekly. This week, we're delving into the worlds of the Soulsborne games - from Demon's Souls and Dark Souls to Bloodborne and Elden Ring. In this issue, we also showcase the works of Leah Isobel and feature Citadelum in our latest On the Radar update.
We hope you enjoy this issue. Please consider becoming a Backer if you would like to support our unique brand of independent games journalism. Thank you.
IN THIS ISSUE
✍️ Story Showcase: Soulsborne Games ⭐ Author Showcase: Leah Isobel 📡 On the Radar: Citadelum 📅 This Week on SJP 🏆 Backers
City builders and strategy games have been some of the most consistently successful titles in recent years, but they're not easy to make. Now, Abylight is making an ambitious attempt to wed the two genres with their ambitious Roman-themed strategy game Citadelum.
Source: Steam.
Citadelum takes place in a Classical-inspired world in which the Olympian gods are real and walk among the mortals. The goal is to expand from a city-state into an empire while staying on the good side of the divine. This begins by developing the player's city - gathering resources, constructing buildings, training soldiers, and currying favors with the gods.
Once the player is ready to expand, gameplay shifts to an overworld map with a 4X design. The player has access to the usual diplomatic options one would expect from a Civilization-style game: Trade, alliances and conquest. When combat starts, whether it's a skirmish with a barbarian tribe or full-fledged warfare against a rival empire, gameplay shifts to a third layer with auto-battler elements.
Source: Steam.
The developer suggests that there will be a narrative element as well, one based primarily on relations between mortals and Olympus. Greco-Roman gods are a capricious, self-centered lot, and there may end up being more to gaining favor than simply building temples and making offerings. Gaining the favor of one may mean incurring the wrath of another, and conflicts between empires may be driven by divine allegiance as much as by plunder.
Thank you to Berke, Brandon, CT, Cathie, Claire, Geena, Lexi, Nick, Oren, Peter, Troy, Radha, and Wes for supporting independent, cynicism-free games publishing.
Becoming a SUPERJUMP Backer means: • 100% of your contribution goes directly to our authors. • You'll receive a monthly 10% discount code for all purchases at PixelCrib and the SUPERJUMP Merch Store.
When I was a child, my mother picked up a little mystery game called Nancy Drew: Treasure in a Royal Tower. That single purchase would launch a lifelong love for the wonderful mystery series and would open the door for a wider interest in mystery games, horror, travel, and history.
From halcyon nights spent beside friends, clustered around a small screen screaming gleefully at the occasional jump scare, to seeing the beautiful rendering of Nancy's story in the newest game, each time I boot up the title screen feels a lot like coming home. It's why I was ecstatic to have the chance and honor of being able to interview the creative team continuing Nancy Drew's celebrated legacy.
HeR Interactive was founded in 1995 and has produced Nancy Drew mystery games since the first release of Secrets Can Kill in 1997. The teenage detective has a storied history outside of the games, but it's in the games where many fans found a foothold. Her influence remains significant in pop culture, and Nancy's stalwart curiosity and actualization in these games continue to enchant fans. The most recent entry, Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Seven Keys was released earlier this year.
The HeR Interactive Team members interviewed are as follows:
Suzy O’Hara, Chief Creative and Creative Producer - Games
Cacie Desautel, Production and Project Manager
Penny Milliken, CEO
Jared Nieuwenhuis, Communications & Marketing Consultant
SUPERJUMP
Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys is your first release since 2019's Midnight in Salem. How did you approach this game's creation with the longer hiatus between?
Suzy O’Hara
When it comes to development, there is no “hiatus” for us. Our team is continuously developing, refining, and creating for the next game. The transition from inception to development and then production is seamless and ongoing. Our approach to the game’s creation early on includes the game narrative design and technical engineers working closely with the creative team running on parallel development tracks.
For instance, after completing production on our first game on the new Unity engine, Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem (MID), we immediately began looking at what we wanted to implement in the next game. We especially considered the important fan feedback, brand elements, and the technology updates needed to improve systems. We are keeping in mind not only game 34 but also future games so we can make each new game even better while keeping those essential pillars of a Nancy Drew game at the forefront. We took time to create the new dual navigation system, develop new features, update the character production and animations, and explore ways to enhance the game's visual fidelity, making technical adjustments to the game engine along the way, all to be ready for game 34 production.
The creative team I work on has multiple stories in development as an ongoing focus. We like to have many mysteries in varying stages of development, from concept to pre-production, ready. This gives us the flexibility to select a mystery that is relevant to the timing of the release and also a location that fans have often indicated they would like to see Nancy go to for her next adventure. We consider many elements that take time to develop properly, so we select the mystery that fits perfectly with our 34 other games for the next case. Identifying story opportunities and development is an exciting part of my everyday life and what I love most about storytelling entertainment.
"As we work to adapt the Nancy Drew games for all audiences, we’re constantly looking for ways to reimagine old mechanics and design aspects in the 3D world of our new games."
Cacie Desautel PRODUCTION & PROJECT MANAGER
Source: Press Kit.
SUPERJUMP
Mystery of the Seven Keys is a beautiful game! I love the loading screen facts, the painterly style, and the cleaner UI. I also love that you have a first-person and a Classic setting – it's how I'll always remember playing! How did you decide what to keep or/and remix in this game?
Cacie Desautel
As we work to adapt the Nancy Drew games for all audiences, we’re constantly looking for ways to reimagine old mechanics and design aspects in the 3D world of our new games. In the future, we will continue looking for these opportunities and improving on what we have already adapted, such as the classic mode. The dual navigation system is a great example of what we are doing to appeal to both our longtime fans and new fans alike!
SUPERJUMP
Obviously, times have changed since the original game came out back in 1998, but it seems the heart is ever-present. How do you stay "true" to the Drew identity?
Penny Milliken
We start from a place where we understand the significance the Nancy Drew universe has played in the lives of many of our players. Nancy Drew is an icon for a reason – because much of our fan base has found themselves in her, found strength in her, and escaped with her. Countless fans and celebrities traveling different paths in life cite Nancy as a central figure in their childhood. So, it's essential for us to maintain those core characteristics that have made Nancy Drew popular for over 90 years, such as her intelligence, courage, independence, and curiosity. These key characteristics have made Nancy Drew an enduring and beloved figure, and we work tirelessly to ensure that those characteristics are seen in our games.
SUPERJUMP
This is the franchise's first venture to Prague. How did you research the location and the stories surrounding the mystery? I've always enjoyed the cultural snapshots of the games, from ranches to ryokans, that give a little background on where we are. What is that process for story conceptualization – do you choose locale or mystery first, or do the two sort of naturally intersect?
Suzy O’Hara
It is a pleasure to know that you are a longtime fan of the Nancy Drew game series. As you know, we are one of the longest-running series games,ever-evolving and our players, as Nancy Drew, have solved over 34 cases!
As noted earlier, development for Nancy Drew’s next case is a continuous process. With the rich legacy of the Nancy Drew franchise, we have a wealth of ideas and concepts to draw from. Nancy Drew, our iconic teen detective, is true to her roots but is also ever-evolving as the famed female detective. The settings, stories, characters, and crimes in our games are adaptations from the Nancy Drew book series or are original ideas and game worlds like Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys (KEY).
For the mystery, we like to consider current interests and unique crimes Nancy hasn’t solved yet. It could be a news story, a moment in history, or travel that sparks the idea. For KEY, the locale and mystery naturally intersected. The story is rooted in history with a modern cyber spin. It is a mystery plot that could only happen in Prague, and it was inspired by a family trip there.
While in Vienna working on MID, I visited Prague and was captivated by the Bohemian Crown Jewels and their protection by the seven keys and the key bearers. The haunted corridors and tales of royals and alchemists added intrigue. I was so excited that I called Penny, our CEO, and shared several ideas for a mystery set in Prague. Having visited Prague before, and then returning to consider it as a game story, she was equally inspired. The development of the game story, researching the crime, establishing the characters, so each is a suspect, puzzles, and experiences and how they fit into the game world were all part of the first phase of establishing the game story.
Turning the story into an immersive game experience makes it all come alive by working closely with the game design team. We had to ensure the narrative offered rich opportunities for player engagement through interactions, control, and Nancy’s signature snooping. Each story element needed to be translated into puzzles and challenges that felt organic to the history of Prague and the plot. Also designing an experience where players don’t just do things on Nancy's to-do list, but they have to think and reason like Nancy and become her. For me, working hand in hand with the design team, and our brand team to bring the iconic legacy game elements into the project is the heart of what transforms a story idea into an unforgettable game. We are so glad you enjoyed playing it!
"Nancy’s character, with her unique blend of intelligence, courage, and independence, resonates across generations."
Penny Milliken CEO
Source: Press Kit.
SUPERJUMP
The Nancy Drew games have a thriving fanbase, and I know many of us rediscovered a love of the games during the pandemic. From bake-offs to Q&As, how do you keep up with the social aspect of the studio? And do ideas or clamor from fans ever influence the next book-based mystery or location?
Jared Nieuwenhuis
I am so proud of the creativity the social media team shows daily. They understand the brand and our audience so well, which translates into great social media content and engagement. They collaborate seamlessly, and our team is constantly sharing ideas, being inspired by our passionate fans and their survey responses, and contributing to our social media goals. Additionally, they are disciplined and organized across different departments, which leads to a holistic communications approach. This enhances our overall success, aligns with the expectations of our fans, and grows the overall awareness of our award-winning games across multiple platforms. They also take a lot of inspiration from current trends and events. From International Video Game Day to the Olympics, we’re here to celebrate and cheer on our amazing fans while tying it back to Nancy Drew games and HeR Interactive.
SUPERJUMP
One of the things I always loved most about HeR Interactive is its centering on women's stories. Nancy was one of the heroines I resonated most with as a kid, even though I had no shortage of superheroes to look up to. Why do you think she's remained such a role model to people of all ages?
Penny Milliken
Nancy Drew’s enduring relevance as a role model can probably be attributed to several factors:
Timeless Appeal: Nancy’s character, with her unique blend of intelligence, courage, and independence, resonates across generations. Her relatability makes her a timeless figure in detective fiction or video games.
Adaptability: Nancy has evolved over the years, from her original depiction in the 1930s to modern adaptations. This evolution is a testament to her ability to adapt to changing cultural norms and interests, ensuring her continued relevance.
Diverse Media: Nancy Drew has made her mark in books, movies, TV shows, and video games. This multi-platform presence not only keeps her relevant but also makes her accessible to a wide audience.
FanCommunity: We are constantly amazed by our passionate fan base who continue to celebrate Nancy Drew. Be it fan conventions, online forums, or social media, the fans are directly responsible for Nancy’s ongoing popularity.
SUPERJUMP
I know development takes a lot of different hands to move the boat, and one thing I've often overlooked is the music. The soundtrack in Mystery of the Seven Keys is as enchanting and atmospheric as the past titles. How do you craft such a smooth soundtrack for the games?
Suzy O’Hara
The music in KEY was inspired by the contrast between old-world ancient Prague with the beautiful settings, and the modern world of high-tech crimes in the story.
Our composer, Ryan Ricks, is phenomenal, starting with the narrative and setting to craft a cohesive musical experience. We provide him with detailed scenarios and examples, for feeling and tone, and he transforms them magically into layered, dynamic pieces. These tracks often allow for a variety of combinations with different instruments, enhancing the atmosphere of each scene. Cutscenes, which are critical for story progression and emotional impact, benefit greatly from his unique compositions.
We're thrilled you enjoyed how we blended the sounds of old-world Prague, local street performers, marionettes, our cozy coffee cafe, and the whimsical elements of Old Town. The cello at the museum and the cathedral’s music pay homage to Czechia’s classic music, while medieval legends and mysterious happenings bring a haunting vibe and suspense. The Aparat computer store and certain puzzles transport players to the more high-tech elements. The music is one of the game's highlights, and we hope players will enjoy each piece.
"Nancy operates in a world of reality and crimes, but to me, the stories woven in the case that tie in history, fiction, and some fantasy into the adventure add to the mystery that Nancy has to solve."
Suzy O'Hara CHIEF CREATIVE & CREATIVE PRODUCER - GAMES
Source: Press Kit.
SUPERJUMP
Video game designs have changed a lot from the early aughts, but people still seem to like click-and-point-style adventures. Cozy games are fairly popular too. Do you have any games or game genres that you've drawn inspiration from? What about books or movies or music?
Suzy O’Hara
Inspiration from games I search out is usually very strong in story and character development. I simply love narrative mystery adventure games.
I play many fun casual games that are always inspiring for our activities and mini-games.
Those fun Nancy experiences give us the chance to develop new mechanics often played in more casual games and puzzle sim types. I like games like Monopoly, Portal 1 and 2, The Room, Countryle, and Papers Please.
Also, games rich in investigative clue-gathering and deduction. These games to me are among the best for their unique storytelling, investigative gameplay, and often innovative mechanics. Some examples that are top on my list are Return of the Obra Dinn, the Uncharted series, and Sherlock Holmes.
As far as books for inspiration, all Nancy Drew mystery books, of course!!
Also, fantasy books offer rich worlds and compelling stories, drawing on a variety of myths, legends, and folklore to create engaging fantasy elements in Nancy’s adventures.
Nancy operates in a world of reality and crimes, but to me, the stories woven in the case that tie in history, fiction, and some fantasy into the adventure add to the mystery that Nancy has to solve.
For movie inspiration for storytelling and mysteries, here is my list:
History! Drama and the classics all offer real situations told in universally appealing ways.
Spy and espionage
Classic mysteries well told: Agatha Christie's Orient Express, Glass Onion: Knives Out, and Sherlock Holmes films and series.
For Music inspiration: Music that inspired ideas for KEY drew from the classical to the mysterious and lo-fi moods, as we used in the Nancy Drew Café holiday mix that has a cozy café vibe with music from past games and as well as new tracks from KEY.
SUPERJUMP
Of course, I have to ask, what is one of the games in the franchise you consider a favorite?
Our favorite Nancy Drew games, not including Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys:
Penny Milliken - Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy
Suzy O’Hara – Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor
Cacie Desautel – Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy
Jared Nieuwenhuis – Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall
I want to sincerely thank the HeR Interactive team for taking the time to interview with us! And, of course, thanks to Nancy – who taught me to be brave, kind, and always curious.
Mystery fans old and new alike should give Mystery of the Seven Keys a spin, or any of her 34(!) other mysteries, including those mentioned as favorites by the team above. As a longtime Drew fan, my opinion may be biased, but the longevity of the brand speaks for itself – these games have always been wonderfully realized point-and-click adventures. They're charming, creative, and most of all fun; so, there's bound to be a mystery (or many) right for you.
You can keep up with all things Nancy Drew via blog, YouTube, and Facebook, and other social media channels.
Rocksteady’sSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was recently available for free on Amazon, so I decided to give it a try. Overall, it was a fun comic book romp, and I think it could have easily become a beloved franchise if not for the cascading ramifications of its live service trappings. These are my speculations as to how live service shaped its game design, and why some people believe it is responsible for killing the Suicide Squad (SS).
Source: Author.
One of the main criticisms I saw floating around was why all these iconic characters like King Shark and Captain BOOMERANG were given guns instead of unique combat styles. The financial incentive to keep players coming back for a live service model demands infinite scalability. A loot system based around guns is easy to make, can be given to any character, and can be infused with any number of stats and mods. It broadens the build variety, but the consequence is a homogenization of the individual traits that make each SS character interesting. It's a particular shame considering how different all their traversal styles feel.
This homogenization consequently affects enemy design, requiring all of them to be killable with guns. So despite the enemies' various gimmicks, your strategy ultimately doesn’t change very much no matter who you're playing. This lack of necessity in dealing with your foes is a sobering contrast to Rocksteady’s previous Arkham games, and even Guardians of the Galaxy, which had you coordinating with your squad to overcome certain foes.
The talent trees alleviate some of this uniformity to encourage certain play styles. Since the game is online co-op, I imagine Rocksteady wanted players to create unique versions of each character. One player's Harley might be a "Run-and-Gunner," while another might be a "Slugger", a decision that thematically fits with the narrative of multiple (Elseworld) dimensions.
Source: Author.
The financial incentive to keep players coming back for a live service model demands infinite scalability.
However, the talents still need to exist within the framework of the gunplay and live service model, which pumps out seasonal content in the form of new weapons and mods. Designing talents to be future-proof is no easy task, requiring a very rigid structure (see homogenization). The result is a lot of passive talents, further obfuscated by its dependence on a combo meter to activate. This makes it difficult to capitalize on or feel empowered by your talent choices.
While I feel the decision to include co-op was a bold and worthy pursuit, the homogenized gameplay and unimpressive talents across all characters don't fulfill the fantasy of making a character your own. This is further exacerbated by the requirements of a single-character/co-op shooter where players have to feel self-reliant. There can’t be “puzzles” that only one character can solve. All of this combined fundamentally detracts from the appeal of an SS game about a found family covering for each other’s weaknesses. There's a very clear mismatch with the thematic goals that should have driven the game, versus the retention model of the live service genre.
Source: Author.
While I feel the decision to include co-op was a bold and worthy pursuit, the homogenized gameplay and unimpressive talents across all characters don't fulfill the fantasy of making a character your own.
Ironically, SS’s best feature — its traversal – is also its least synergistic. It makes gunplay frenetic, with enemies occupying huge vertical swathes of the environment. It makes your proximity to your team unpredictable, which is probably why there are no team-up actions in the game. And I assume it made the camera finicky in interior spaces, which forced all the gameplay to occur outside. Who knows if traversal dictated mission design or vice versa, but the live service model necessitated a structure that could be repeatedly used anywhere. So they embraced the outdoor gameplay, where any and all objectives could spawn on rooftops no matter what district or dimension you’re in. The resulting lack of mission diversity is abundantly felt in a Metropolis that doesn’t feel lived in and is just a forgettable transitory space to move between repetitive tasks.
While mission modifiers are fun, you expect bespoke experiences from a premium game, especially when the Justice League is concerned! Rocksteady’s Arkham series blended the scale of gameplay brilliantly, from soaring over Gotham to entering a parlor on street level to confront Professor Pyg. That artistry in crafting memorable gameplay moments stems from its inherently singular nature — and nothing in a live service game can be made to be singular. (Except its cutscenes which are a definite standout here.)
Source: Author.
A co-op blend of Sunset Overdrive and Doom Eternal sounds like a home-run concept, but the additional factor of a squad, filled with iconic characters in their own right, goes wholly unutilized. The unfortunate decision to pursue live service cornered Rocksteady into creating a rote structure that they’re now caged in when the universe of SS called for bombastic set pieces.
I gave up on an official translation of Ace Attorney Investigations 2 some time ago. The game, released in Japan for the Nintendo DS all the way back 2011, seemed like the one title in the series that would simply never get an English release, even after the miraculous Great Ace Attorney Chronicles release for modern systems in 2021. The continued adventures of Miles Edgeworth, the dapper, goofy-serious prosecutor who I'm pretty sure has a huge following on Tumblr, were denied to us. It's unlikely, I reasoned, that it would happen 13 years after the fact.
I'm very excited to have been wrong. Ace Attorney Investigations Collection finally brings the sequel to modern consoles with an official English translation, distinct and different from the (reportedly quite good) fan translations. The game has been jazzed up with new HD art, and tweaked to work on a single screen. Having received a preview code I'm finally able to playthe spin-off, which, many fans contend, stands tall as one of the great games of the series.
After all these years, I can finally play Ace Attorney Investigations 2. I could stop writing this preview, step away from the computer, and finally see what all the fuss is about. But I'm not playing it yet. Instead, I've been replaying Ace Attorney Investigations, a game I already finished in 2010.
Source: Press Kit.
The embargo stipulation for the preview session allows me to discuss the first three cases of the original game, as well as the first two of the sequel - and for a moment, I considered getting through those first three chapters and jumping right into the game I haven't played yet. Ace Attorney Investigations is, after all, often talked about as a lesser game in the Ace Attorney canon - a cute adventure for Edgeworth that, in my memory, was a pleasant but slightly meandering distraction. The thought of playing it again first felt like (and please forgive this extremely Australian simile) eating the lumps of raw capsicum and rubbery tomato in a pub side salad before digging into the schnitzel I'd ordered. I like the side salad just fine! But it's not what I'm at the pub for.
But having revisited the first three cases of the game - which, as it turns out, I remember very little of - I can say that I was wrong again. Ace Attorney Investigations isn't an inessential spin-off. It's another properly wonderful Ace Attorney game.
Ace Attorney Investigations is a slightly different style of game than what fans are used to - there are no courtrooms, and you control Miles directly as he wanders through environments. The new chibi art style is a huge improvement over the DS pixel art original, even if a few of the animations have translated to it a little awkwardly. The narrative thrust of the whole thing is the same as the other Ace Attorney games - there's a series of murders to solve, and you need to investigate areas, talk to witnesses, present evidence, and eventually untangle testimonies to get to the truth.
Source: Press Kit.
But having revisited the first three cases of the game - which, as it turns out, I remember very little of - I can say that I was wrong again. Ace Attorney Investigations isn't an inessential spin-off. It's another properly wonderful Ace Attorney game.
A new mechanic, unique to the Investigations series, is the ability to deduce. Edgeworth collects facts as he investigates, and two facts can be snapped together in the deduction menu at any time to form a new piece of information. Miles is a prosecutor, but this is really a game about detective work, even more so than the other games in the series. Instead of surprise witnesses in the court, interviews are carried out in the field. Finding important clues often yields immediate results, and the cases aren't protracted over several court days. This game still has that incredible user experience touch that all the games in the series have, where a successful objection during a testimony leads to the music immediately cutting out. Even without a courtroom or a judge, it still feels like Ace Attorney. It's never quite as exciting as that feeling of stepping into the courtroom, but those court battle elements - the back-and-forth of dissecting a testimony - can pop up at any time in a case.
The first three cases of Ace Attorney Investigations, which ease you into the new gameplay concepts and characters, are great fun. Each one is more isolated than the sprawling investigations of the mainline series - you travel from room to room rather than location to location. They're also jam-packed with easter eggs and fan-favorite characters, all of whom show up to play on their pre-existing relationships with Miles. It's fun to see some of these characters again, even if I know, on some level, I'm being pandered to. Ol' Edgy is a delight, too: the character has always projected a sense of seriousness and competency that might collapse at any moment, and seeing him get flustered by the other characters is always so much fun. Playing as Edgeworth humanizes him a little bit.
The third case also introduces Kay Faraday, the fan-favourite new addition to the cast, and her ability to recreate holographic simulations of crime scenes with her super-fancy phone - the exact kind of silly science this series excels at. The third case uses Kay, and a handful of other new characters, to facilitate a great series of twists and turns. It's one of those cases where the broad shape of what happened becomes clear early, but piecing together all the specifics is quite thrilling.
Source: Press Kit.
This game still has that incredible user experience touch that all the games in the series have, where a successful objection during a testimony leads to the music immediately cutting out.
After digging into these cases, I can't help but wonder why I didn't remember it more fondly. Ace Attorney Investigations is the first game in the series directed by Takeshi Yamazaki, who would go on to direct its sequel and the 3DS games in the mainline series, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice (Shy Takumi, the director behind the first four games, helmed the incredible Great Ace Attorney titles, as well as Ghost Trick). It's possible that my memories of Ace Attorney Investigations have maybe been tainted by my opinions on Dual Destinies, the only Ace Attorney game that I flat-out do not like.
Beyond that, I think time has been good to the Ace Attorney series, and the slowed release schedule lets a game like this one breathe. When Ace Attorney Investigations originally released in 2009, it was, for those of us in the West, essentially an annual series. There had been a new Ace Attorney game on the DS every year since 2005 - and Investigations, as good as it is, wasn't as exciting as the bold (and slightly divisive) Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, not to mention the series highpoint Trials and Tribulations.
Now, releases have slowed - there have been five new games in English since 2009, one of them a crossover with Professor Layton. Revisiting a game like this means revisiting old friends, characters that the series has moved away from in more recent entries. If we ever see an Ace Attorney 7, Edgeworth could, theoretically, put in an appearance - but Dick Gumshoe has not shown up in one of these games for a long time, and neither have many of the side characters from the original trilogy who pop up in here. If there was a time where I felt like there were too many Ace Attorney games featuring these characters, it has long since passed.
Source: Press Kit.
Revisiting a game like this means revisiting old friends, characters that the series has moved away from in more recent entries.
Even with my renewed vigor, this isn't as good as peak Ace Attorney. The logic in the solutions isn't always as strong as they are in the best main series games - a few times in the third case I felt like my reasoning for presenting items on certain lines of testimony was just as solid as the actual answer. And for my money, the localization of this game - which is carried over exactly from the DS version - is not as strong as the other games in the series. There are more grammatical issues, more comma splices and run-on sentences, than you'd expect from an Ace Attorney game.
But these are minor quibbles, and I love this game. These characters, these cases, the feeling as the pieces start to fall into place: it's all vintage Ace Attorney. This just makes me all the more excited to move onto the sequel - the one I've been hearing good things about for over a decade now - for my upcoming review. Ace Attorney Investigations 2 is the headliner of this release, but - judging by the first three cases, at least - the first game is well worth your time, too.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection releases for Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox, and PC on September 6, 2024. SUPERJUMP will be publishing a full review, focused on the sequel, at that time.
First person shooters (FPS) have been around for quite a while. Of all the gaming trends to come and go over the last four decades, it seems like FPS games refuse to go down. Ever since the likes of Wolfenstein and Doom popularized the idea of shooting from a first person perspective, the genre has continually dominated as some of the best selling and highest rated games of all time. There's a huge resurgence of sorts happening in the FPS world right now with countless games attempting to recapture one of the best time periods for the genre itself – the 1990s.
Games like Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Hexen, Heretic, and the aforementioned Doom were at the top of the gaming food chain in the '90s. Recently coined "boomer shooters," these fast-paced shooters had an emphasis on movement, crazy over-the-top weapons, minimal story, huge set pieces, and intricate level design. This is in stark contrast to the more modern realistic take on the FPS genre we've seen over the last few years. Action was the name of the game. You didn't always need to know why you were shooting these awesome guns at these oftentimes disgusting and monstrous baddies, just that shooting them felt exhilarating and challenging. The point of these games wasn't to move you emotionally or challenge your world view; it was about turning you into an action hero defying the odds and (usually) saving the world.
Quake. Source: Steam.
Recently coined "boomer shooters," these fast-paced shooters had an emphasis on movement, crazy over-the-top weapons, minimal story, huge set pieces, and intricate level design.
The last 10 years have provided an influx of modern boomer shooters to introduce a new audience to the woefully underrepresented genre. A game like Doom Eternal is a perfect example of modernization within in the retro FPS space. Doom Eternal, and a lot of games like it, tend to skew towards a complete modern version of every aspect of the boomer shooter itself. This modernization arguably makes for an objectively better gaming experience overall, but it fails to scratch that itch of the pixelated masterpieces of the 1990s. Doom Eternal feels like the best Doom game, but it doesn't feel exclusively like Doom. That's where a game like Phantom Fury steps in, and boy does it scratch that itch hard.
Phantom Fury was developed by Slipgate Ironworks and Phoenix Game productions. It is the sequel to 2019's Ion Fury, which is itself a sequel to 2016's Bombshell. At first glance, Phantom Fury may not look like anything too unique. Like many titles in this genre, Phantom Fury presents itself with the modern retro aesthetic; pixelated textures, blocky and polygonal in-game models, and a vintage level design. The devil is definitely in the details, however, as Phantom Fury takes advantage of how many more pixels can be packed into these tighter spaces thanks to the "modern" part of today's technology. The game can look downright beautiful at certain points, especially during the outdoors sections, and it really captures that ever-so-important aspect of modern retro games – it feels like how I remember games looking like back then.
As far as gameplay is concerned, it is a little bit less exciting than the art style direction may make it seem. Phantom Fury covers the basics of what a boomer shooter should be: there's a huge arsenal of fun and inventive weapons that all serve different purposes, ammo can sometimes be hard to come by and as such forces the player to switch weapons and be thoughtful with their choices, staying in one spot for too long means you'll get chewed up by enemy fire, and your health and armor are pickups that don't regenerate when you're outside of combat. While this may be all pretty standard stuff when it comes to boomer shooters, Phantom Fury is still really fun to play. Guns feel decidedly punchy and devastating to use, with the aim of the game not necessarily being the best crack shot in the room, more-so just annihilating all of the enemies in front of you. So many of the weapons – like the main character's delightfully over-the-top triple-barrelled revolver known as "Loverboy" – look like they should put bowling ball sized holes in people, and Phantom Fury understands this. Many of the more powerful weapons will kill a weaker enemy in a single shot, making mowing down your combatants extremely satisfying.
The real beauty of Phantom Fury shines through in its loving depiction of those who came before. There are so many games in this genre (such as the much maligned Duke Nukem Forever) that takes these references way too far. This not only forces the experience to lose all of its own identity, but it causes the games to slide from "cheeky little reference" to "irreverence and envy for a game it considers its better." Phantom Fury doesn't do this, instead taking much of what made FPS games from previous time periods great and drawing from them exclusively.
Phantom Fury. Source: Steam.
Doom Eternal feels like the best Doom game, but it doesn't feel exclusively like Doom. That's where a game like Phantom Fury steps in, and boy does it scratch that itch hard.
So many times I found myself smiling at how well this game did at feeling like an experience I've had before while being something completely new. So many shooters from the past strove to be an example of how intricate physics engines could get and how to implement them in a fun and dynamic way. A symptom of this is that every single object in a lot of these games are interactable, oftentimes for no good reason. Appropriately, pretty much everything in Phantom Fury has some sort of physics. Whether you're throwing a bottle across the room for fun or spinning an office chair endlessly while it squeaks, if it looks like you can mess with it, you probably can. When you read computer terminals to activate objects or read information, it zooms in on the actual terminal itself; arcade and claw machines are totally usable, with some going as far as giving you ammo or keeping up with your high score; using keypads means physically manipulating each individual button with a virtual outstretched finger. It seems like a lot of these aspects of the retro shooter have been deemed unnecessary, but it all went so far in immersing the player in the world around them. Sometimes it can slow down the pace of the game, but for the most part, it's a net positive to make more of the world feel real, despite the pixelated textures. This goes as far as being able to use the physics to solve puzzles or circumnavigate an obstacle, which can show a real relationship between the player and the world they're in. One of my personal favorite aspects of boomer shooters makes a return here as well, being that you are able to get your health and armor over 100% if you're able to find health capsules and armor pieces after you're already full. It isn't a huge change, but it's enough to make diving after health and constantly checking every nook and cranny for secret areas (of which there are many if you look around) worth it. This includes the various food items found throughout the game, and there's something so charmingly video game-y about opening up a bedside table, seeing a half-eaten slice of pizza, and devouring it without hesitation for the single percentage of health boost. All of this speaks nothing to the literal references to other games found within Phantom Fury. Little extra details go a long way, and whether it's porta potties named after Portal or a soda brand named after Doom's cacodemons, there's always more fun Easter eggs right around the corner if you look hard enough.
There's a certain level of jank present in Phantom Fury that's very easy to adore. AI can sometimes be a little bit wonky, movement can feel a little bit strange, and hit detection can seem off. Even though these aspects can easily be interpreted as a negative, it truly does add to the feel that you're playing something from an antiquated era. Those of you who are familiar with boomer shooters may see Phantom Fury as just another entry in the popular genre, but for me, it helped satisfy a craving I've been having for a good long while. Even though it never hits the same level of high as these titles, there were multiple times throughout where I had the feeling I was playing the original Half-Life or even the cult-darling Timesplitters. If a $25 USD fps released to relatively quiet reception can do that, I think it hits every mark it sets out to.
Final Fantasy XIV is on its fifth expansion, and with that comes two new jobs for our Warriors of Light to master. Dawntrail's release means that Pictomancer and Viper – both damage dealers (or DPS) – are newly available to play. But they're far from the only options.
Final Fantasy XIV is now officially up to 21 main jobs, as well as one limited job with a second on the way. A continual evolution of specified playstyles means that with every new level cap, each job gets tweaked a little, making it the perfect opportunity to dive into something new.
SUPERJUMP has a handy guide for anyone not certain what job to level next, homing in on what each excels at, the drawbacks, and its playstyle.
2.0 A Realm Reborn
Final Fantasy XIV's base game includes the original base class to job evolution. Your journey from levels 1 - 30 are as your selected base class, and upon reaching level 30 you receive your corresponding job stone and are able to move through the job questline. You'll need to complete one of these regardless, as not only does the game require you to pick a discipline during character creation, but every other job introduced in the later expansions begins at or after level 30.
You'll progress through the job quests through to level 80. These job quests also grant certain actions upon completion, so not completing them means you'll be missing the necessary skills. They're a must.
Tanks
Class Quest: Way of the Gladiator - Level 1, Gladiator's Guild
Paladins are primarily party-defensive tanks, with a skillset suited to mitigating damage to the whole party. In comparison to the three other tanks, Paladin is more "buff"-heavy, meaning they can do more to protect the at-large group and even heal other members, but also have to balance the uses of their abilities. Play-wise, there might be a little negotiating with party-wide damages and preemptively knowing when wind-ups for big hits might benefit from popping a little extra protection on everyone. They also have some skills that require casting.
Class Quest: Way of the Marauder - Level 1, Marauder's Guild
Job Quest: Pride and Duty (Will Take You From the Mountain) - Level 30, Marauder's Guild
Warriors are tanks focused more on damage and self-preservation. They've got nifty self-healing abilities that are notoriously convenient for running content solo. They lack Paladin's more party-based defense strategy, but their invul ability – Holmgang – is an endure-like ability that keeps them from falling below 1 HP for 10 seconds and is similarly as basic in use. Warrior is often considered extremely beginner-friendly due to its self-sustaining abilities and a forgiving rotation.
So, if you prefer a bit of tunnel vision when tanking – in not necessarily having to worry about party buffs, and instead focusing on yourself and fight mechanics – Warrior is the way to go.
DPS
Class Quest: Way of the Lancer - Level 1, Lancer's Guild
Job Quest: Eye of the Dragon - Level 30, Lancer's Guild
Dragoons have a storied history in Ishgard. They're the poster job for Heavensward, and they also used to be affectionately known as floor tanks. They're very leap-oriented, so it's important when playing Dragoon to know your position on the board and be able to accurately understand where your dismount might land you, although this has become less of a pain in recent updates. Dragoons are also positional, meaning that damage is increased depending on the position in which you're executing certain skills.
These positions are usually the rear and flank (often on bigger enemies or bosses) and straight lines for mobs. Dragoons have a pretty solid starter kit with a very focused and straightforward rotation. Battle Litany, acquired at level 52 by way of job quest, provides more utility for the party, but otherwise, this job is a dedicated slice and dicer.
Class Quest: Way of the Pugilist – Level 1, Pugilist's Guild
Job Quest: Brother From Another Mother – Level 30, Pugilist's Guild
Monks move fast and hit hard. They're a close-range melee and are great if you're looking to be able to run around the board and dodge mechanics without having to worry about cast times or more explicit positionals. Unlike Dragoon, there's a fair bit of flexibility in how (and when) exactly you want to execute certain actions, but this also makes the job a little more of a balancing act. Monk has different "forms", and transitioning into these will determine the nature of the rotation in use. There are positionals in the coeurl form, but the other two – Opo-opo and Raptor – are more general in dealing damage. Monk has a generally loose, weavy feel during combat, with constant upkeep of moves and little downtime.
Class Quest: Way of the Archer – Level 1, Archer's Guild
Job Quest: A Song of Bards and Bowmen – Level 30, Archer's Guild
Bards are the songsters of the group, and like their inspirational counterparts, they have more utility for the wider group in the form of music-based actions that offer increased critical hit rates, healing, and more to all party members within range. Bards are also less strict in their rotations and have room for maneuverability in playstyle. Because of this focus on the wider group, Bards have somewhat of a responsibility (especially in higher-end content) to understand the use and timing of certain critical skill buffs.
In addition – you ever hear anyone playing the harp in the overworld? Leveling Bard also allows you to unlock instruments, which will provide you with a plethora of ways to play actual music on a variety of instruments.
Class Quest: Way of the Thaumaturge - Level 1, Thaumaturge's Guild
Job Quest: Taking the Black – Level 30, Thaumaturge's Guild
Y'shtola of the Scion is a dedicated black mage – a powerful spell-caster who can literally call down meteors on foes. Black Mage is a caster, meaning that you will have some downtime in readying spells, making the class a bit more difficult if you're dodging mechanic-heavy fights. There's a long-running joke that Black Mages refuse to move for certain AOEs when they're in their ley lines, which reduces cast time for a quicker rotation. It reflects a pretty real sacrifice of the playstyle, in that mistakes in your rotation when balancing the element gauge while having to dodge can result in a loss of built-up DPS. It is widely considered one of the best DPS damage-wise though.
Class Quest: Way of the Arcanist – Level 1, Arcanist's Guild
Job Quest: Austerities of Flame – Level 30, Arcanist's Guild
Summoners utilize the unique ability of summons, or "pets", to help deal damage. There are three main summons which, after the carbuncle phase, will become Garuda-egi, Ifrit-egi, and Titan-egi. Later levels see your ability to unlock Bahamut and Phoenix, which are pretty fun to unleash onto the field. Summoner is also one of the few DPS classes that has a resurrection ability, so they're able to assist healers if the party is taking heavy losses during a high-level raid or trial.
Class Quest: My First Daggers – Level 1, Rogue's Guild
Job Quest: Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night - Level 30, Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks
Ninja is a notoriously busy job, with high DPS and constant damage-dealing. There's little downtime, and there are windows in which you have to execute high burst damage. It's a very mobile class with some positionals, so there's a lot of flexibility in movement if you're trying to easily get out of the way of AOEs and other telegraphed attacks. This makes it a good choice for dodging mechanics, but the rotation can get busy, be demanding, and require focus.
Healer
Class Quest: Way of the Conjurer – Level 1, Conjurer's Guild
White Mages are the traditional healers, with the bulk of their actions focused on casting strong burst heals instead of regen abilities or shield actions, meaning the play is a bit more reactive to what's happening in a fight than it is preemptive. As casters, this also means you run up against a similar issue as Black Mage, although thankfully this is offset by a great set of off-global-cool down (oGCD) skills that consist of instant heals and a pretty big heal-potency buff. They're also the only job questline that gets a mount at low level, so if you want to snag a unicorn by level 30, this is your place to do it.
Class Quest: Way of the Arcanist – Level 1, Arcanist's Guild
Job Quest: Forgotten but Not Gone – Level 30, Arcanist's Guild
The great thing about Scholar and Summoner is that they're both derived from the Arcanist class, so you really can level 2 jobs for the price of one until level 30. Scholars have a little more of a detailed playstyle, considering they've got a "pet" that, while autonomous, can do with a little guiding. Scholars are considered shield healers, which means they have a heavier focus on regen abilities and protective spells, but they're also pretty flexible.
Since this job has designated pet commands, it allows for greater situational specificity and adaptable play. This also means it's a bit of a hard sell if you like a less cluttered hot bar.
Heavensward
2015's Heavensward brought three new jobs into the rotation, one for each of the roles. The starting city - Ishgard - is full of towering Gothic structures and continual gales of snow. You'll find each starting quest line for the new jobs housed here, with no more class quests as a prerequisite. While you'll need to have completed the base game MSQ to unlock them, they all start at level 30.
Tank
Job Quest: Our End – Level 50, The Pillars
Dark Knight is well-beloved for having one of the more emotionally potent questlines in the game. Some level it explicitly for that, but Dark Knight is a popular tank for a reason, and it's only partially because of its cooly gothic aesthetics. Like Warrior, Dark Knights can cause a lot of damage, but they have fewer self-sustainability abilities. You can also summon a shadow to fight with you at level 80, which adds to the whole job's vibe.
One of the more complicated aspects is in its invul ability, Living Dead, which allows you to essentially live past a hit that takes you to 0 HP, but you have to reach that 0 to activate your following ability, Walking Dead, which allows your dealt damage to provide big HP regens. This is a nifty ability when applied right but can also backfire in a way that Warrior or Paladin's invul abilities can't.
DPS
Job Quest: Savior of Skysteel – Level 50, Foundation
Machinists are the gunslingers of the group, able to fire off from a distance with consistent damage. Unlike Bard, they have no real party buffs, meaning they're more focused on dealing damage. By level 40 Machinists gain a rook companion that runs, essentially, on its "battery" charge, and can only be in battle for so long. Machinists have a fairly dedicated rotation, so there's less concern about how flexible a player has to be under pressure. They're great if you want to blend more into the damage-dealing background.
Healer
Job Quest: Stairway to the Heavens – Level 50, The Pillars
Astrologians are a bit more complicated than their other healing counterparts. They function on the use of cards that can be applied to certain members of the party based on their own job classification. For example, if the Balance card is drawn, it's best applied to a melee DPS or a tank for that extra few percentage points of buffed damage dealing. Knowing what cards apply to what classes makes this job a fair bit more difficult to master, in that there's some memorization needed under pressure, and the preemptive needs of the abilities means you'll have to read the tells of content mechanics more closely.
Stormblood
The third expansion arrived in 2017 and brought two new DPS jobs. This time the starting city is the jumping-puzzle playground of Kugane, but you won't find the jobs here – they're both unlockable in Ul'dah, and the only prerequisite is that you reach level 50, as they both start at level 50. This would start the trend of each new job introduction at expansion launch being twenty levels below the current max level. This also means they're only ten levels below the previous expansion's max, and since you're starting Stormblood at 60, you'll only need to level up by 10 to go through the MSQ with a shiny new job.
DPS
Job Quest: The Way of the Samurai – Level 50, Steps of Nald
Samurai is the heavy hitter of the melee DPS, in that it is a pure damage dealer. It lacks any party buffs, so the focus of the job is considered more selfish, an ideal choice for those who don't want to have to worry about when and how to execute certain buff abilities on other players. As a melee class, Samurai can also easily move around while still executing actions. It's a good starting class with high yields of damage, where you can focus, really, on just wailing on the enemy.
Job Quest: Taking the Red – Level 50, Steps of Thal
Red Mages are a bit of a mix between casters and melee classes. They see-saw between the white and black mana use and function slightly similar to black mages in the balancing out of particular spell affiliations. You also have engage and disengage abilities that, if well timed, allow for easy outs from AOEs as needed. Red Mages are also sometimes cheekily referred to as "Rez-Mages" for their Verraise ability when paired with their Dualcast trait (meaning the next spell has no cast time) for a great combo in high-end content. Conversely, it can also put some extra pressure on you if you want to fly a bit more under the radar. Luckily, you don't have to really worry about that until level 64 – and even then, its only real constant usefulness is in bigger party content.
Shadowbringers
Lali-HO! Shadowbringers is the expansion everyone talks about. It broke some ground after doing away with the slightly daunting job quests, and instead consolidated all roles into dedicated role quest lines. This was a four-way split to tank, healer, magical ranged DPS and physical DPS role quest lines. Luckily, these don't grant abilities like the job-specific quest lines do, so you can complete them at your leisure in later expansions – although they are required reading in Shadowbringers.
Tank
Job Quest: Makings of a Gunbreaker – Level 60, New Gridania
Gunbreaker is a high-damage tank with a rotation that feels very DPS-like to a lot of players. It's got flashy moves and versatility in what kind of tank it needs to function as, so in content with two tanks, like higher-end trials, Gunbreaker can more easily adjust to the playstyle best suited to complement the other tank. Its invul ability, Superbolide, is fun in that it immediately reduces your HP to one while offering a window of 10-second invulnerability. Superbolide does have a pretty big tell (in that the HP just whooshes to one) but hey, as I've been maining White Mage lately, that's what Benediction's instant full heal is for!
DPS
Job Quest: Shall We Dance? – Level 30, Lower Decks
Dancers fall in with Bards at the lower end of the damage-dealing spectrum in exchange for great party-wide buffs. Specifically for this job, you can select a "dance partner" with whom you can share all the benefits of your personal buffs, so it's best to choose a high-yield damage dealer like Samurai. There's a fair bit of flexibility with Dancer and it's an easy job to dodge with, making it a good selection for newcomers. It's also got something of a dancing mini-game at the end of a rotation, making it feel a little more cheerful than some of the serious jobs.
Endwalker
All good things end, and we mark the finale of a 10-year saga with the release of 2021's Endwalker. This also marks the first new job – Sage – that would be endemic to Final Fantasy XIV itself. These jobs are unlockable in the starting cities of Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa, so you can grab them as long as you've reached level 70.
Healer
Job Quest: Sage's Path – Level 60, Lower Decks
Sage is considered a shield healer, meaning that nearly its entire toolkit is dedicated to preventative or pre-planned healing. This makes the job the opposite in utility of White Mage, which excels in topping up low numbers. Sage is all about preventing the numbers from getting that low in the first place, and they've got quite a few skills aimed at assuring damage is mitigated. It's best suited to players who like to be proactive rather than reactive and works wonderfully if you can reduce greater damage right off the bat. If stuff does hit the fan though, Sages aren't necessarily equipped with instant burst heals as readily as White Mage or Scholar.
DPS
Job Quest: The Killer Instinct – Level 60, Steps of Nald
Reaper calls the aid of voidsent to assist in battle. It's a very aesthetic job, sharing the vibes of Dark Knight in its particularly emo attire. Unlike most other melee jobs, it doesn't have as many positionals to remember, and also features an ability to become possessed by a voidsent, allowing you a burst window of high damage dealing. Reaper is flexible and considered easy to initially learn, making it a great entry point for those new to melee DPS.
Dawntrail
Announced at 2023's Fan Festival in Las Vegas, Square Enix unveiled Dawntrail, ushering in a new arc for the game's central story. It's a much sunnier venture – with vistas and cities inspired by South American cultures and rite of succession on the line. The two main jobs each start at level 80.
DPS
Job Quest: Enter the Viper – Level 80, Steps of Nald
Viper is the newest melee DPS and boasts extremely high damage. It's also a much more straightforward job than some of the other melee DPS jobs, meaning your hot bar won't be quite so busy. Lacking any real party buff skills, Viper is a more selfish playstyle focused solely on dealing damage and can grant itself its own buffs. Its combo also has more tells, making it easier to execute under pressure, as there's more guidance for what to press and at what times.
Job Quest: The Joy of Pictomancy – Level 90, Old Gridania
Pictomancer is a unique job that's got an...interesting playstyle. There's also something unintentionally hilarious about seeing players bust out a giant cartoon hammer while fighting a massive enemy that might be responsible for ending the world as we know it. Pictomancer focuses on painting certain rotations for its job gauge, and these can be applied situationally. You can also "pre-load" certain skills by painting them on your canvas, allowing you easy access to them as needed. It's a change of pace from other jobs that follow similar patterns, making Pictomancer a pretty fun pick.
So there you have it, 10 years of Jobs in the epic universe of Final Fantasy XIV. Let us know if the comments if you'd like to see more guides from our team.
27 years ago, I returned home to Australia after two long years living in the USA. I was twelve years old, and my family was re-establishing roots in our old home. One of the first things we did was buy a new computer, with the help of my cousin. My dad only needed something simple for work, but my cousin had priced up a rig with me in mind too. It was a Pentium II 233 MHz, with 128 MB of RAM, a huge 20 GB hard drive, S3 VGA card and a 3dfx Voodoo 3d accelerator.
This was the era of demo discs - gaming magazines almost always came with one taped to the front, packed with the latest demos of new and upcoming games. Many retailers, keen to capture a slice of the growing games market of the Dotcom Boom, also released their own software compilations, usually available at the cash register in store. One of the largest home and appliance retailers in Australia then (and still to this day) was Harvey Norman, and for a brief period in 1997, Harvey Norman stores carried "Harvey Norman: The CD-ROM".
I don't recall exactly how I came into possession of this CD - it's possible that it came with our new computer, or that my childhood friend down the road had brought it by. I recall that my cousin had installed Civilization II on the computer, but other than that, my only access to games, for a while, was the demos on this disc - and what a selection of demos it was.
Source: Author.
The thing about demo discs that often gets forgotten is how brilliant they were at exposing gamers to a broad variety of games. In the days before digital distribution, social media, YouTube and Twitch, exposure to games and gaming news was mostly limited to a handful of early gaming websites and monthly gaming magazines. There were no Let's Play videos to watch - the only way you knew if you were going to like a game was if you had read a review, played it on a friend's computer, or tried the demo.
The Harvey Norman CD-ROM was a crash course in gaming tastes. Raptor, Death Rally, Need for Speed II, Wipeout 2097, Quake, Blood, MDK, KKND, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, Diablo, Fallout - this demo disc perfectly captured the zeitgeist of late 90s PC gaming, and was foundational in broadening my gaming palette and exposing me to genres and games that I would not have otherwise played.
Source: Author.
Like many others, I voraciously consumed demo discs like this every month, trying out every game I could to see which ones I could ask for at Christmas or my birthday. Shortly after settling back into our old home, I was buying monthly issues of PC PowerPlay magazine and methodically working my way through their demos every month.
While those PC PowerPlay demo discs provided many fond memories and exposed me to a vast cross-section of late 90s and early 2000s gaming, I had always placed the Harvey Norman CD-ROM on a pedestal in my memories. This was my first exposure to Fallout, and my first real foray into RPGs outside of Ultima. This was my first experience of Need for Speed, Quake, Diablo and Blood. Hornet 3.0 and F-22 Lightning II were my first combat flight simulators. Two of my favourite games in my youth had been LucasArts' X-Wing and the incredible sequel, TIE Fighter, and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter was a big leap forward in fidelity and into the world of multiplayer.
So cherished were my memories of this CD, that I had even falsely attributed it as the source of other beloved demos ("Remembering Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II" and "Remembering Rocket Jockey") - where I found those demos, I'm not sure, but my hazy memories of the era told me that of course it was this Harvey Norman CD.
Source: Author.
The CD was more than just memories of demos, however. As I have discussed previously, my father was not computer literate, and he didn't really "get" games. But I never stopped trying to share my beloved hobby with him. My dad was an avid golfer, and it was an activity I often joined him on. So, when I saw the demo for Jack Nicklaus 4 on the demo disc, I of course introduced him to the game. Dad had this demo installed on his computer for many years, and he probably played the three-hole demo hundreds of times. Years later, he was still playing it, and the image of him sitting at the computer playing the Jack Nicklaus 4 demo is burned into my brain.
At some point in the early 2000s, the Harvey Norman CD-ROM ended up in a box somewhere, or perhaps went in the bin. I'd long since upgraded my computer and moved on to more modern games. The rise of digital distribution via Steam and rapid growth of the Internet had begun to chip away at the dominance of print media like gaming magazines. I was growing up. I had stopped spending my money on games magazines and started spending it on beer, rent and petrol. I could rely on YouTube to gauge whether I wanted to purchase a game. Before long, the era of demo discs was a distant but cherished memory.
It was about ten years ago, during the rise of indie games and the nostalgia boom of remasters, that I started to pay more heed to these memories. I wanted to find those old demo discs, load them up and relive happy, carefree days. But the Harvey Norman CD-ROM was long gone. In 2013, I got in touch with Harvey Norman customer service to ask whether they had an archive of demo CDs, but to no avail. They had thought I was searching for the actual games themselves, but after clarifying that I was looking for the demo disc, they told me they had no archived copies.
Source: Author.
I tried again a few years later, this time through various Facebook groups, with no success. Then, again, I tried, about five years ago on the r/Australia subreddit, and two years ago in the r/Melbourne subreddit (Melbourne being my home town). That was the closest I came - one of the responses to my post on the r/Melbourne subreddit directed me to a 1995 Harvey Norman demo CD on the Internet Archive, but this was unfortunately the wrong one. I had all but given up hope. Unless the disc showed up in an old storage container somewhere, I simply had to accept the fact that this would remain nothing more than a memory.
A few weeks ago, I was tinkering with 86box, emulating a Windows 98 PC in order to get some old software running for a SUPERJUMP story. As I tend to do when tinkering with old software and hardware, I soon found myself distracted by nostalgic segues, such as installing After Dark screensavers or playing old games like Hover!. In this nostalgic mindset, I thought once again of the Harvey Norman CD-ROM, and decided to have another try at tracking it down. This time, I'd post on the Whirlpool Forums, a well-known Australian computing forum. If I was going to get my answer anywhere, it would be there.
Source: Author.
I began writing my post, explaining what I could remember of the demo disc, when and where I had obtained it. I linked a video of the Harvey Norman jingle that would play in the intro video. For clarity, I wanted to provide a link to that other 1995 Harvey Norman demo CD that the r/Melbourne subreddit had sent me to, and specify that this was not the CD I was looking for. So, to find the link, I went to the Internet Archive and searched "Harvey Norman".
But wait. My search had yielded two results.
Source: Author.
Staring back at me from the Internet Archive search results was that familiar rose-gold disc - Harvey Norman: The CD-ROM. Surely this couldn't be real? Is this the right disc? Where did it come from? When was it uploaded?
Hands shaking, I clicked the link, and saw that the disc image had been uploaded on 25 July 2023. I immediately downloaded the file and fired up my 86box Windows 98 virtual machine. I loaded the disc image. I waited. And then it began. That horrendous Harvey Norman jingle imprinted in my mind. The spinning image of the demo disc. The splash screen with the Fallout power armour and the F/A-18 Hornet firing a missile. I smiled in astonishment at the screen, overcome with joy. Tears welled up in my eyes, and the memories came flooding back. Sitting with my best friend, racing around the Pacifica track in Need for Speed II. Laying sticks of dynamite around the town in Outlaws. Watching a gang member get torn to shreds by the minigun in Fallout. Playing Quake Episode 1 over and over again.
0:00
/0:29
Source: Author.
Nostalgia is a strange thing. In my mind, I had attributed so much importance to this simple little disc. Hours of my life had been dedicated to it, replaying each demo dozens of times. It had fostered my interest in more than a few game series. There was never any possibility that revisiting it in 2024 could live up to the memories I had attributed to it. But, for a brief few moments, 27 years later, I was 12 years old again....
👋 Hi there! Welcome to the latest edition of SUPERJUMP Weekly. This week, we're exploring user experience design and its relationship with video games. These stories are crafted by UX professionals; either folks who are working on UX design within the games industry or who are working in UX across other industries. You'll enjoy these stories if you're a game designer - as some in our community are - but you'll also find these insights fascinating if you're interested in UX design or game design in general. In this issue, we also showcase the works of Anselmo Jason and feature Phonopolis in our latest On the Radar update.
We hope you enjoy this issue. Please consider becoming a Backer if you would like to support our unique brand of independent games journalism. Thank you.
IN THIS ISSUE
✍️ Story Showcase: Games UX ⭐ Author Showcase: Anselmo Jason 📡 On the Radar: Phonopolis 📅 This Week on SJP 🏆 Backers
Not long ago, we looked at a game called Barraka which aims for a distinctive visual style by using an actual physical medium - plasticine. Phonopolis is taking a similar approach to its own dystopian tale, this time using cardboard and paint for an avant-garde look.
Source: Steam.
The city of Phonopolis is ruled in a very literal way by sound. Loudspeakers throughout the city issue a constant stream of commands - commands which the citizens are powerless to resist. One day, an insignificant young man named Felix finds himself not only immune to the loudspeakers, but aware of their effects. Now a threat to the prevailing order, he must elude capture while seeking a way to end the tyranny of sound before the Leader's secret plan can go into effect.
The player's task is to manipulate objects in order to help Felix navigate Phonopolis and avoid the city guard. Many puzzle solutions will take advantage of the nature of the cardboard world. This may mean peeling a layer off of an object to reveal secrets underneath or moving chunks of the city around. The player can also gain control of the loudspeakers, using them to direct the actions of the citizens.
Source: Steam.
But once again, it is the visual aesthetic that is the central feature. In contrast to the dim and dismal style usually associated with dystopian fiction, Phonopolis is colorful and surreal. The game draws upon interwar and Soviet-era art styles for inspiration, particularly those associated with the Russian avant-garde. Combined with the use of stop motion, this gives Phonopolis a look that's caught between realistic and surrealistic.
Thank you to Berke, Brandon, CT, Cathie, Claire, Geena, Lexi, Nick, Oren, Peter, Troy, Radha, and Wes for supporting independent, cynicism-free games publishing.
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Whenever I speak to someone visiting Australia from overseas, there's one activity I always recommend without hesitation: get down to Melbourne, and as long as it's between March and September, get yourself tickets to an Australian Football League (AFL) game. I'm not a particularly "sporty" person; I've got the coordination of a drunk octopus, and I'm generally not a big watcher of sports either. But, like many other Australians (particularly those from the southern states), "footy" is more than a sport, it's a thoroughly ingrained part of our cultural identity.
What is AFL?
The first ever game of Australian rules football was played on 15 June 1858 in Melbourne, Australia. It was a match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College. Though the true origins of footy are mysterious, the game's creator is generally credited as Tim Wills, who was born in the New South Wales countryside near the modern-day Australian capital of Canberra. Wills was sent to England in 1850 by his father to attend the prestigious Rugby School, where the sport of Rugby had been born in 1845. Wills earned a reputation for his athletic prowess and love of sport, and upon his return to Australia in 1856, he became involved in local social sporting clubs. There were a number of nascent football-type games with varied rules played in Melbourne at the time, and by 1858, Wills, likely influenced by some of these games, began to codify the rules of what would eventually become Australian rules football.
The "speccie" is the most spectacular (hence the name) display of athleticism in AFL - when a player climbs or leaps up another's back in order to "mark" the ball, earning a free kick. Source: YouTube.
Over the following years, the sport built a devoted following in the city of Melbourne. It spread to South Australia almost immediately, and eventually to the other colonies - Tasmania, Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland. By the 1870s, the rules had developed a degree of consistency, and the game had become a huge part of Australian culture. Crowds in these early days regularly numbered between two and three thousand, with many games attracting 10,000 or more spectators, at the time making it one of the largest sporting events by attendance globally. Though the game was initially favoured in the colonies of New South Wales and Queensland, Australian rules footy eventually gave way to rugby - a divide that persists to this day. The geographic divide between rugby and Australian rules football is known as the "Barassi Line", with rugby being the predominant football code in the northeast, and Australian rules football being dominant in the south, west, and north-west.
The Barassi Line divides Australian football codes. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
It's hard to understate the cultural significance of Australian rules footy. Since the mid-1990s, attendance at games has consistently sat between 30-40 thousand spectators, with that number jumping to 65-75 thousand during the finals season in late August and September. By attendance numbers alone, AFL is one of the largest sports in the world - impressive considering that the sport is barely known outside its small nation of 26 million people. Footy is a defining element in the culture of cities like Melbourne and Adelaide and has long acted as an avenue of assimilation for each wave of immigration. Many clubs maintain deep and enduring ties with ethnic groups in Australia, such as the long association of Carlton Football Club with Italian migrants in Melbourne, or the Western Bulldogs' ties with the Vietnamese community.
The birth of footy games
AFL has a rich history in Melbourne, and it is impossible to go more than a day without hearing some sort of heated debate about the weekend game. And while not as old as footy, video game game development too has deep roots in Melbourne. Most notable of the developers is Beam Software / Melbourne House, a prominent studio throughout the 1980s and 1990s, producing games like The Hobbit (1982), Double Dragon (1987), MechWarrior (1993), Bug! (1995), Gex (1995), and KKND: Krush, Kill n Destroy (1997).
Surprisingly, it wasn't a Melbourne developer that produced the first AFL game - rather, it was the creation of UK developer Clockwize and UK publisher Again Again. Australian Rules Football was released for the Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC in 1989. At the time, the "Australian Football League" hadn't been established - the national contest was still under the banner of the Victorian Football League (VFL), even though it welcomed teams from other states. So Clockwize's game wasn't technically an "AFL" game.
Australian Rules Football on the Amstrad CPC (left), Commodore 64 (centre) and Sinclair ZX Spectrum (right). Source: MobyGames.
"Australian Rules Footie is supposedly the most violent 'sport' around - probably because there aren't actually any rules."
Rich wasn't far off either - AFL has traditionally been regarded as a fairly rough sport, though like many contact sports, concerns in recent years about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) have driven rule changes aimed at reducing injuries. And while the statement that footy is a lawless game is a bit of a misrepresentation, the comment does highlight a challenge that AFL games continue to face to this day - the somewhat dynamic and subjective nature of the rules.
Like in other sports, the referee (known as an umpire in AFL) is the arbiter of fair play. However, the fast-paced and dynamic nature of play, unpredictable movement of the ball, physical contact between players, and the fact that there are 36 players on the field at a given time creates a chaotic environment where umpires are frequently required to exercise their judgement. Modern technology has started to erode the singular reliance on the umpire (with assisted decision review technology), but many fans of AFL regard the unpredictability as one of the great hallmarks of the game. That doesn't make a programmer's life any easier though.
The birth of the AFL
In 1990, the VFL renamed itself to more accurately reflect the national reach of the game, and footy games soon followed suit. Melbourne studio Beam Software released the first game under the new league name in 1991, Aussie Rules Footy, on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was one of only two titles for the NES released exclusively in Australia (the other being International Cricket), but it was well received, and still comes up in AFL social media feeds.
Source: MobyGames.
A five-year hiatus followed the release of Aussie Rules Footy. Though the reception to Beam Software's AFL title was positive, the financial numbers might not have looked good enough for Mattel to invest in a follow-up for the SNES. But in 1996, footy re-emerged on the gaming scene bigger than ever with AFL Finals Fever, from Blue Tongue Entertainment.
AFL Finals Fever was my first exposure to an AFL game. This time, all 16 AFL teams were there in their full glory, along with up-to-date player and coach rosters, photos, team songs, and official AFL branding all over the product. Unfortunately, as professional as this game looked, the gameplay was a little lacking, as was the performance. Despite having stats for all the players, all the character sprites on the ground looked identical, so picking a player to kick to was an exercise in luck rather than strategy.
The EA Sports era
Sports gaming in the late '90s was a fairly common story: Electronics Arts' EA Sports division gobbled up sporting codes worldwide and released titles that, at least at the time, had a reputation for being polished, approachable, and enjoyable. AFL was no different, and in 1998, EA Sports published AFL 98, from developer Creative Assembly (who would eventually achieve widespread recognition for their Total War series).
Like AFL Finals Fever, AFL 98 was an officially licensed AFL product, and also like Finals Fever, was only available for Windows. Sports games are typically best enjoyed on the couch with a few friends, so the decision to once again release only for PC was rather limiting, but it was soon rectified a year later with AFL 99.
AFL 98 and 99 were the dawn of a "golden era" for AFL games; the production value was better than ever before thanks to the high product standard associated with EA Sports. The switch to 3D graphics was also a boon, with the 2D graphics of previous generations inherently limiting to a game with a significant vertical element. AFL 98 gameplay was positively received, and many criticisms were addressed in the 1999 follow-up. Most importantly though, this is when AFL games began to earn a true stamp of authenticity, with up-to-date player lists, and audio commentary from famous Australian broadcaster Bruce McAvaney and retired football legend Leigh Matthews.
AFL 99. Source: Author.
The IR Gurus era
For whatever reason, AFL 99 was the last footy game from EA Sports. The next generation of games would be created by sports game developer IR Gurus, starting with the management sim, Kevin Sheedy's AFL Coach 2002 for Windows. "Forgettable" would be an understatement for this game - outside of a few forum posts and a listing in Wikipedia, there seems to be little evidence this game ever existed. Was it any good? I can't honestly say, because outside of a few abandonware sites, it's difficult to track this one down, and even when you do, good luck running it on modern hardware.
However, it wasn't Kevin Sheedy's AFL Coach 2002 that gave the IR Gurus era its reputation as one of footy gaming's great highlights - it was their AFL Live/Premiership series. Starting in 2002, IR Gurus released AFL Live 2003, followed by AFL Live 2004, AFL Live: Premiership Edition, AFL Premiership 2005, AFL Premiership 2006 and finally AFL Premiership 2007. The IR Gurus games were the first truly multi-platform AFL games, with most being released on PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The graphics were (for the time) spectacular, the production value was high, but most importantly the gameplay was solid. AFL Live 2004 in particular is regarded among many fans as the best AFL game ever made, and the addition of Aussie band Grinspoon's "Lost Control" as the theme song added a truly authentic sense of modern Australiana to the experience.
Absolute banger. Source: YouTube.
The games in this era were sitting in a sweet spot. Gameplay was approachable and engaging, but not overly complex. Visual fidelity was detailed enough to communicate all the aspects of the game - tackles, height, and distance. Finally, after 15 years of footy games, IR Gurus had nailed the formula, and all they had to do was tweak it.
And that's mostly all they did, to the chagrin of reviewers. AFL Premiership Edition (essential AFL Live 2004 with updated player lists for the 2004 season) was criticised for making very few changes to the gameplay for the asking price. IR Gurus apparently responded to this with AFL Premiership 2005, but the result was derided as a buggy, poorly produced mess. AFL Premiership 2006 jumped up in the review scores again, yet it is barely mentioned by fans today. Then, AFL Premiership 2007 looked to capitalise on this success with the "don't fix what isn't broken" approach - and, like AFL Premiership Edition, IR Gurus were once again criticised for not changing enough.
The latter half of the IR Gurus custodianship of the AFL licence was marked with off-field drama. Publisher Acclaim Entertainment was facing bankruptcy in 2004, disrupting the release of Premiership 2005 and complicating distribution, which was split between THQ and Sony. Sony Computer Entertainment took over as publisher from then on, with Premiership 2006 and 2007 being PlayStation 2 exclusives, without a nod at the seventh generation Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The modern era
As AFL games entered the seventh generation era with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, they fell into a fairly predictable pattern - passable gameplay and middling review scores. From here on, AFL video games would be (mostly) developed by one of two Melbourne-based studios - Wicked Witch Software and Big Ant Studios. Wicked Witch kicked things off with AFL Challenge for the PlayStation Portable in 2009, as well as the rather bizarre Nintendo DS title AFL Mascot Manor, a 3D platformer adventure that seemed to be aimed at younger players.
The West Coast Eagle in AFL Mascot Manor: Source: MobyGames.
This is where things get confusing. In 2011 Big Ant Studios released AFL Live for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and Wicked Witch released AFL for the Nintendo Wii. In 2012, Wicked Witch followed up with AFL: Game of the Year Edition, which featured an updated roster of players for the 2012 season, and AFL: Gold Edition, a mobile port for iOS. Also in 2012, Big Ant Studios released AFL Live: Game of the Year Edition. 2013 saw the release of AFL Live 2 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 - by Big Ant Studios, right? Nope. AFL Live 2 was made by Wicked Witch Software. Only the sports genre could produce this sort of licensing shenanigans.
I should also note here that the 2010 - 2020 period saw no less than fourobscure and unofficial football management sims for PC released - Premiership Coach 2010 and 2011 from Southern Cross Studios, and Australian Football Coach 2014 and 2020 by Statto Software.
This highly congested and muddled mess of releases was followed by an extended hiatus until the next console generation, when Wicked Witch Software released AFL Evolution (2017) for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Another three-year hiatus followed before Wicked Witch released AFL Evolution 2 in 2020, this time adding the Nintendo Switch to the supported platforms. On the management front, Statto Software has continued to plug away with Australian Football Coach 2023-24, and finally in May 2023, Big Ant Studios returned with AFL 23, an unfortunately buggy mess on release, but now vastly improved thanks to post-release support.
For over three decades, footy games have struggled to translate to the video game medium. Review scores have been mostly average at best, and sales have never been spectacular, with studios relying on the devotion of die-hard Australian fans south and west of the Barassi Line who treat the game of footy like a religion.
The real issue with making a footy game is two-fold. First of all, the market for them is always going to be niche. As much as a studio can bank on sales to the cross-section of gamers who are AFL diehards, that number is still pretty small. Sports titles like EA's FIFA/FC series and 2K's NBA series are polished and impressive thanks to massive production budgets that are only possible due to annual revenues in the billions.
The other side of the footy game problem is the sport's unstructured complexity. As I've already mentioned, AFL is extremely dynamic. The bounce of the oddly shaped ball adds chaos to an already chaotic game. Players use their hands and feet in equal measure and weave the ball between them during play. Tackles involve unseen jostling that requires a close-in perspective for the gamer, but the kicks can be huge - over 50 metres - requiring the ability for players to easily switch to a wide angled view. The rules of the game are complex, requiring an extensive tutorial mode, but even then, many of the rulings made by umpires in a match are judgment calls that might be difficult to coherently communicate to a player not already familiar with the rules of the game.
Some great examples footy chaos in action. Source: YouTube.
Delivering a high-fidelity footy experience on par with NBA 2k, FC24, or Madden might very well be a pipedream; the required budgets are too large and the potential revenue too small to justify it. Perhaps the way forward isn't about striving for the sort of high-fidelity experience one expects of EA Sports or 2K, but about looking backward, focusing on gameplay rather than fidelity.
The future
What comes next for the officially licensed AFL games is anyone's guess. Big Ant has committed to further updates for AFL 23, but who knows whether Wicked Witch Software is about to deliver the next game. In the meantime, indie developer Boot Mode Games is slowly chipping away at Footy Showdown, and until we see some innovative design changes to more effectively translate AFL to the video game medium, I think this might be the way forward.
Footy Showdown harks back to the early days of footy games, most notably Aussie Rules Footy and AFL Finals Fever. The great thing about this approach is that you can ignore sinking development time into accurately modeling close-in contests, and just focus on making an arcade game that is fun to play. The othergreat thing about this is the knowledge that there's a market of die-hard AFL fans who have shown time and again that they are prepared to devour anything that looks remotely like their beloved game. For a small indie developer with low overheads, that's a pretty lucrative combination.
Full-time siren
When I think of footy games, I like to compare them to my beloved North Melbourne Football Club, the Kangaroos. They've got a long history, with moments of greatness, but plenty of pitfalls. They're not wealthy and successful - they're the underdogs. Most criticism is driven by the fact that everyone wants to see them succeed. They have a small but extremely loyal following. And most importantly, they have a promising future and they're here to stay.
So, I'll wrap this brief history of footy games with one final, obligatory statement:
I hadn't expected that we Americans would get access to Omori until next year at the earliest. That may still hold true for a full manga collection, but you can read the first chapter online right now courtesy of Kodansha, translated fully into English. The website also has accessibility pages to allow for easier reading. Nui Konoito is doing the adaptation with Omocat, writing and drawing the pages.
The responses I've seen have been mixed. Some people aren't fans of the art, and others are questioning why events are reordered. I feel it's a great way to enter a familiar world when we don't have the RPG framework as a guide to dreams and reality.
Omori, a 2020 RPG that was supposed to come out half a decade earlier, has become an international success. It depicts a boy named Sunny forced to either confront a great tragedy that weighs on him and his original friends or withdraw into his dreams to become a hero to dream characters. Since it was originally supposed to be a manga from the creator Omocat, the existence of a Japanese manga serialized in Kodansha may see her vision and original intentions mixed with a new interpretation of the source material.
Spoilers ahead for Omori.
Context matters
Manga can be trippy, and there are several contenders for zaniness from Kodansha, Viz, Shueisha, and other magazines. The problem, however, is that still art cannot convey the trippiness that anime or video game animation can. You can't have random jump scares or jumps to different forms of media to indicate a mood shift. Accordingly, when translating a video game into a comic, you have to know when to make sacrifices.
Manga creators also have less time to set the stage and win over the reader. You can't spend an hour in Headspace with Omori wandering outside and then pull a bait-and-switch when Sunny wakes up since that could take up twenty pages. The creator has forty or fifty pages at most to introduce us to this game and the world. They need to be pragmatic about the important details to show.
And we do see pragmatism, along with gorgeous art. Rather than follow the Main Route word-for-word (a wise idea since the Main Route in Omori takes 25 hours minimum to complete), we get the first night and day depicted in the story. The creators choose to start with Sunny rather than Omori in a happy flashback, hinting at the tragedies that have affected this friend group. Sunny, not Omori, is the real protagonist of the story, and you don't need to conceal this for the twist of what Omori really is.
The authors trust that most readers who will be picking up the manga already know what Omori's main story is. Ergo, we don't have to start with the bait-and-switch of Omori in Headspace, when Sunny is the protagonist. We also don't have to go through all the details of microwaving steak inside a fridge long after the power has been turned off when a few silent panels can indicate the depression and disassociation that Sunny feels. Detailed art can substitute for the many activities you undertake just to get Sunny and Omori through their first night in-game.
Source: Omocat Twitter.
The problem, however, is that still art cannot convey the trippiness that anime or video game animation can.
And speaking of detailed art, Nui Konoito goes all out on the scares. Sunny's hallucinations twist around him, showing how visceral his fears of heights, spiders, and deep water are. You feel for the kid, even if you know why he has become such a recluse. Little details, like him shielding his eyes when he goes outside for the first time in years, become very relatable for those that had to deal with the pandemic shutdowns. The Something and Hellmari hallucinations gain depth and texture. Without the limit of sprites, we can understand why Sunny sees long black hair everywhere.
Keep in mind that I'm not saying the manga is better than the game. Instead, it's a different interpretation, with varying visuals as a result.
What could the next chapter bring?
It's highly possible that the next chapter will take place exclusively in Headspace, now that we have set the scene. Omori has taken Sunny's place as the central character and is seeing his friends as they were six years ago. On the other hand, we could find out the aftermath of the fight that Aubrey starts in the real world.
Konoito has succeeded in keeping the wary reader guessing, and that is an achievement when most coming to the manga would already know the full story. We don't know what specific plot points will emerge in the dream world or real world, or what flashbacks we will see in which order. I'm looking forward to seeing how the manga unfolds.
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Josh Bycer
Desert Fox Games
Source: Steam.
A niche series I’ve been following for years now is Bad Dream, by Desert Fox. Over the past decade, they’ve released multiple adventure games under the series “Bad Dream” or recently with “Faded Stories.” Their style is about creating an unsettling atmosphere to tell a story in. In the Bad Dream games, it takes place in an abandoned world that was once set up to be an MMO, but it and its characters have been left to rot. While “Faded Stories” takes place in a city where the dead come back to life every once in a while and the people go about their business no matter what strange events occur.
While there are jump scares and some violent subject matter, it never goes into full-blown horror territory. The point is putting the player into a setting where at first glance things appear to be normal, but the more you look at it, the more “off” things are. You are often left with more questions than answers at the end of each game, and there are common elements between the different games.
Recent entries in both series have now moved into 3D exploration as opposed to just point and clicking. Source: Steam.
What is unusual for the series compared to other adventure games is that there is replay value with multiple endings, and this is tied to the puzzle logic that Desert Fox uses. Many of the puzzles in their games are built on event triggers – the player goes to X or picks up Y, and the next chain in the story shows up. Many puzzles are designed around the player having to find information in the world which acts as its own set of triggers. By replaying the game and knowing the information beforehand, you can break the sequences on purpose to find alternate routes and new lore. There is usually one special ending that requires a perfect run using the right items at the right time.
Unfortunately this kind of puzzle logic and storytelling does hurt the game in a way when it comes to the mainstream. Since each game has different characters, there isn’t anyone in them that would be considered “the protagonist”, so you don’t get the same connection as you would from other adventure games. The focus on sequences and event triggers also hurts when playing the game casually. This is not an adventure game where you can pick up everything in the world – you are only allowed to pick up or interact with items when they are relevant to the story. This means returning to previous areas to try and find a new item that is now required by the latest puzzle.
Darkness Under My Bed is another title that aims for a more claustrophobic feel. Source: Steam.
I still enjoy the series as a kind of throw back to the days of puzzle-heavy adventure games. Each game can be completed relatively fast if you’re not hunting for all secrets, and this makes them a really great pick up and play game when you’re in the mood for creepy puzzles.
Antony Terence
LEGO Batman (2008)
Source: Steam.
The first few LEGO games from the Xbox 360 era have a couple of flaws in common. Puzzles that didn’t make sense, near-impossible jumps, and simple AI were problems that troubled LEGO’s Gotham City rendition as well. But despite that, my brother and I had a great time as Robin and the caped crusader when we hunted Arkham Asylum convicts in a new story.
Stages consisted of straightforward button mashing to destroy enemies and the environment to collect LEGO studs between puzzles of varying difficulties. Vehicle levels add action-packed shootouts across air, sea, and land that keep the game fresh between the usual platforming segments. My brother and I usually managed to beat the game’s puzzles without consulting a walkthrough. When we got stuck, finding the solution only made us chuckle at how unintuitive it was. Since I had a partner, I didn’t run into the shoddy teammate AI that made puzzles more challenging to clear.
There’s no denying that LEGO’s innocent charm carries the game, even if Batman’s stoic nature and Robin’s mishaps don’t veer too far into the bizarre. This energy doesn’t bleed into Gotham City though, whose drab and realistic look doesn’t connect well with the cast of toy figures. Characters get unique abilities like Robin’s magnetic wall-walking suit and Batman’s batarangs. Levels also have secret paths that require new characters with abilities like super strength or poison immunity to access. LEGO studs collected across levels let you unlock characters like Nightwing and Batgirl. But that’s just one half of the game.
Source: Steam.
The second half lets you control Batman’s opponents right before the first half’s campaign missions play out. Poison Ivy can stun foes with her kiss, Mr. Freeze has his trusty freeze attacks, and the Riddler can straight-up control civilians. Killer Moth is in here too. While the visuals and story won’t win hearts, its LEGO-powered charm makes for a fun co-op romp through Gotham City. It’s no Rocksteady game but it doesn’t have to be.
Billing itself as a modern gothic tale, Frank and Drake is certainly that – but it's also a kind, winding tale of personal connections. Clocking in at a little over four and a half hours (at least, my first playthrough took around that long, spaced over a few days), developer Appnormals Team has managed to deliver a heartful rumination on the flaws that keep us from meeting others halfway, and the small moments of kindness to ourselves and those around us that brighten our lives.
I've lived in a city for nearly all my adult life. I know the backway graffiti, the quiet streets, and flickering lights in wide alleys. It's a vibe the game captures well, reminding me of nights when I stood by an alley close to home, looking at the neon-lit lights of a bar and hearing the raucous music inside as if it were a paean. I know how deep our connections go here, even if they feel as if they're surface level. People look out for each other. Neighbors take in mail, check on those they know live alone, keep an eye on the familiar paces we always see someone taking and worry when, one day, they're no longer there.
Frank and Drake illustrates this cohesive awareness of others in loving detail.
Between hours
The story revolves around two characters: the eponymous Frank and Drake. Frank functions in the daylight and has issues with memory, Drake is (literally) allergic to the sun and can only go out at night. They communicate, once Drake moves in, entirely through sticky notes left on the fridge. Through these, the relationship grows, moving from curious to caring as Frank and Drake begin to take on the burden of each other's troubles. This eventually unites them as they work towards the same goal. Something is afoot in Oriole City, and they both mean to find out what.
Source: Author.
I know the backway graffiti, the quiet streets, and flickering lights in wide alleys. It's a vibe the game captures well, reminding me of nights when I stood by an alley close to home, looking at the neon-lit lights of a bar and hearing the raucous music inside as if it were a paean.
We follow this branching mystery by taking turns playing through each of their points of view, with Drake at night and Frank during the day. It's through their "ships passing in the night" style of cohabitation that we learn what ails each of them, physically and mentally, and get slowly closer to finding out why.
The art style of the game utilizes rotoscoping, which traces animation over real movements, and these feel enlivened by the animations, given greater personality by the simple color and lighting. The movement is heavy, even, in something as simple as the contemplative lifting of a hand to draw a sticky note from the fridge after a restless sleep. These moments of movement are indicated by pressing the arrow keys in certain scenes, and they feel nearly meditative in their slowness. Take a moment, the game seems to say, relax with this.
The music moves between nascent lo-fi to soft jazz, echoing the lulling feeling of the game itself. Its decidedly reflective and moody, but that fits the nature of the game's mystery taking some darker turns. I played Frank and Drake mostly at night, which felt appropriate for me, glancing out occasionally over my own city skyline. It's a game with a comforting melody, a mystery to solve that's edgy but never brutal.
There's a lot to infer from Frank and Drake as well. It doesn't really hold your hand at all. I sometimes sleepwalk a bit through games, pressing buttons to progress without really putting thought into it, but this game requires more focus. Not by being loud and explosive and direct, but in the silent ways it asks you to put the pieces together. You move through its numerous puzzles without a real roadmap, but they're simple enough that a little bit of thoughtfulness can go a long way into solving what might otherwise be a frustrating thing when rushed. There was a small puzzle I had to do as Drake to make constellations, and I later realized these shapes corresponded with a pamphlet that I had on hand as a reference. I didn't know it then, but these tiny moments of realization tie directly into the narrative, even if they aren't always obvious.
At first, I thought this was a detriment (there were a few parts where I was left scratching at my head, wondering what to do next) but I also realized this was, in a way, user error: I was asking the game to tell me everything, when I should have been paying attention to what it was trying to say.
Longing for more
Frank spends his time chasing his own ghosts. There is a despondency to this – as if he's aware he may never catch them. Drake, meanwhile, moves with reluctance through his troubles, haunted by actual ghosts but lamenting the fact that they're even there. These are characters who have been through a lot, but still manage to exude kindness and a readiness to help, even if it's just to escape their own turmoil. I leveled up their relationship fairly quickly, moving them to intimates by the 3rd day out of a 6-day period, mostly because it felt the natural inclination of the game.
You're able to choose your direction, picking from two options on most days, sometimes more, and these actions affect the story's ending. I only got to one ending, but I was intrigued enough that I'll go back for more. I'm sure there's a load more to explore, but even so, I enjoyed the sparser aspects of the game's narrative. Some of the told stories or insinuated elements remain more elusive, but the art of it all – and the way it conveys these feelings through art – make those unknowns feel purposeful and vibrant, in that we might be able to put our own conclusions together.
Source: SteamSource.
I was asking the game to tell me everything, when I should have been paying attention to what it was trying to say.
The development team did a wonderful job with Frank and Drake's story, from the lovingly crafted soundtrack to the intimacy of its art style. Each playthrough offers a different set of options, the branching networks told daily by a small slip of paper. And there is a lot of little communicators in the game, between post-its, memories, hauntings, and journals, this gives us a deeper consideration of these characters, even given the brevity of the gameplay. Frank and Drake provides us glimpses into other lives, reads like a love letter to urbanity, and reminds us that good people are all around us.
A steady cadence of re-releases from Nintendo over the last few years has slowly but surely shone a light on the importance of looking back in an industry consistently focused on pushing boundaries. Nintendo has therefore become a bastion of embracing the past and allowing us to actually look back on it through the prism of our modern knowledge. Nintendo’s latest example of this is visually upgrading Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, a remaster of the 2012 3DS game and sequel to the GameCube classic.
Life of Luigi
Luigi’s Mansion 2 (LM2), considered the black sheep of the franchise, was definitively designed with the form factor of the 3DS in mind. Whereas the series' first game offered one large single mansion to explore, its sequel adopted a level-based mission structure that allows for play sessions to be neatly bookended. For those playing their 3DS on the commute to school or work, these digestible missions allowed for steady progress with specific goals in mind.
Source: Press Kit.
That structure is untouched in the re-release, which sets it apart as a distinctive aspect of LM2 when compared to the third game in the series, which was developed specifically for the Nintendo Switch. When LM2 was released, there were questions and concerns surrounding the potential future direction of the series; would subsequent releases be similar to LM2 or closer to the original game? Luigi’s Mansion 3 successfully blended the original game's open-ended structure with the sequel's panache, creating a package that a wide variety of players loved.
As a result, LM2 enters the pantheon of past Nintendo games being given the chance to once again bask in the spotlight. Here was a game that could exist on its own merits.
On a revisit, the game is a wonderfully digestible adventure with a variety of set pieces that each offer a unique spin on a goofily spooky vibe. Each of the five mansions Luigi visits across Evershade Valley is visually distinct and only enhanced by the generous visual upgrades across the board in this version of the game. From the familiar homely halls of Gloomy Manor to the frigid caverns of the Secret Mines, each mansion offers unique aesthetics and obstacles.
Source: Press Kit.
These impressive locales are only half of the story, complemented as they are by the presence of the classic ghosts. In an attempt to tone down the scares for younger audiences, the ghosts in LM2 feel far closer to slapstick villains but are delightfully entertaining in their own right. Each type of ghost has a distinct personality that consistently informs how it behaves and interacts with its environment. Greenies are the usual troublemakers, but Hiders are sneakier in their mischief-making. By understanding these archetypes, you not only gain insights on how to handle them, but it also enriches the comic relief for a complete package. The series as a whole is the gold standard for the wider Mario franchise when it comes to expressive enemies.
This stylistic leap is a broad-reaching one that has influenced the direction of the franchise, bringing it into an altogether unique experience that feels distinct from its predecessor. Unlike the original game, which is known for its unnerving atmosphere, LM2 stylistically aligns with the overall Mario universe. It features a synth-heavy soundtrack and a brighter tone, creating a distinct and different experience from its predecessor. Using rounded and abstract architecture creates a strong sense of being in the Mario world, in contrast with the intentional otherworldly feel of the original game’s mansion.
Source: press Kit.
Then and Now
Combat and movement have seen subtle but substantial improvements when moving from the form factor of the 3DS to a more traditional control scheme. Unlike the 3DS, which was largely limited to a single circle pad, the Nintendo Switch has no such restrictions. As a result, it is now possible to move Luigi and aim the Poltergust independently of each other. On paper, this doesn’t sound like a big change at all. In practice, LM2 HD handles significantly better on the Switch than ever before and can shine as a result.
I decided to dust off my 3DS and play the original version of the game, to truly appreciate the changes of this new version. In their remasters Nintendo has proven themselves to be canny at including changes that might pass us by on a surface-level glance. The average person might not notice the significant increase in character speed in the remastered Super Mario 3D World when compared to the Wii U version. The same is true for reducing player friction in the remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Very similar to those examples, Luigi’s Mansion 2 subtly changes controls that make a revisit to the original far more arduous (and cramp-inducing) than I had initially remembered.
Exploring rooms and clearing them out for treasures and gems, as well as wrangling unruly ghosts, becomes far easier with the luxury of the Switch's two sticks to coordinate the cleaning efforts. I felt far more inclined to explore and use things like the dark-light device on the environment when it feels more comfortable to operate. I had a real precision with the areas that I wanted to investigate and naturally engaged with the world far more than I had done in previous playthroughs, though that may come down to my appreciation of a slower pace as I get older.
Combat itself is still as tactile as ever, taking the classic tug-of-war formula and bringing it to strong and exhilarating new heights. Building up a meter by pulling in the opposite direction before unleashing a massive tug and dealing damage to a ghost is a cycle that never gets old, bringing a strong bit of kinetic energy to a game that otherwise has a slow pace. Watching Luigi being dragged around the room by a gaggle of aggressive ghosts is fun and keeps the energy high, as you are constantly pulling in the opposite direction.
Source: Press Kit.
The bosses also experience a new sense of grandeur on a big screen with the HD refresh. While I may miss some of the bespoke 3D effects from the original game, it’s hard to deny that the graphical refresh hasn’t had a major role in bringing these memorable encounters to a new audience. The menace of the Spider Queen and a foldable set of stairs are unmatched when allowed to have a bigger presence.
Although I appreciate the effort to include the Scarescraper from the original Luigi’s Mansion 2 in this remaster, it’s in this mode that I noticed the cracks and how much the third game’s multiplayer has improved. In the short period that I played this mode, I had a confusing and strange experience that was severely affected by latency and repetition. Scarescraper was a commendable aspect to bring back, especially with it still an option in the third game, but I was not excited to revisit it.
Source: Press Kit.
The Verdict
Luigi’s Mansion 2 is not a flawless game and ends up sacrificing some of what made the original so distinctive in trying to create a sequel. The cast of ghosts haunting Luigi in this title is a cut below the spectral family tree from the original game, an active point of criticism that was vocally addressed in the lead-up to the third game in 2019. Similarly, the level-based structure of the game can be considered the same, as it cannot be changed without completely reimagining the game from the ground up.
Where these aspects of Luigi's Mansion 2 might set it apart from the surrounding titles, and might be a reason that some do not see it as a worthy sequel, this remaster allows for the original game to shine alongside Luigi’s Mansion 3. The middle entry in the series offers a distinctive experience with a singular appeal.
More than anything, it's nice to see Nintendo continue to respect its heritage and catalogue with remasters like this, which should continue as we move ever forward toward the next piece of Nintendo hardware.
Destiny 2’s first season of The Final Shape, titled Episode: Echoes, is in full swing now with its second Act being added to the game just recently. As is par for the course, Episode: Echoes has brought with it numerous weapons, both new and old, and these weapons all have God Rolls. Some weapons are great, others are not so great *cough* Faith-Keeper *cough*, but here are the God Rolls for each weapon that is a part of Episode: Echoes (including three guns that aren’t available just yet but are in the Destiny API). A few of these weapons have multiple choices for each column which will be listed, you can choose which of these combinations best suits your needs/playstyle in both PVE and PVP (where applicable).
Veiled Threat – Stasis Auto Rifle (Craftable)
Source: Author.
This 720rpm Rapid Fire Frame Auto Rifle is the first weapon that this episode has to offer. While its perks aren’t the strongest, those who need a decent Stasis Auto Rifle can aim for one of these bad boys. For PVP I recommend using Arrowhead Break to bring in the weapon’s recoil pattern a little, but you can opt to use something like Hammer-Forged if you prefer the bump in range.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Stability
Hammer-Forged Rifling
Flared Magwell
Threat Detector
Surrounded / Headstone
Radiolaria Tranposer
PVP God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Arrowhead Break / Hammer-Forged Rifling
Accurized Rounds
To The Pain
Moving Target
Radiolaria Tranposer
Corrasion – Arc Pulse Rifle (Craftable)
Source: Author.
Joining the new Heavy Burst Pulse Rifle family alongside the likes of Aisha’s Care from Trials of the Osiris and Nullify from Salvation’s Edge, Corrasion looks to prove that this type of auto rifle is king in PVE right now. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a Heavy Burst Pulse Rifle in PVP, but there are still options here should you choose to go down that route.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Stability
Hammer-Forged Rifling
Flared Magwell
Enlightened Action
Voltshot
Radiolaria Tranposer
PVP God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Hammer-Forged Rifling
Accurized Rounds
Air Trigger / High Impact Reserves
High Ground / Eye of the Storm
Radiolaria Tranposer
Sightline Survey – Arc Hand Cannon (Craftable)
Precision Frame Hand Cannons aren’t exactly the strongest weapons in Destiny 2. They see little to no use in PVE, with a case being made for them in PVP with the Sightline Survey. Either way, PVE and PVP players alike should find various options here. For PVE, I would recommend Enlightened Action more than Triple Tap as it has more direct synergy with Voltshot, but either perk is good.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Hammer-Forged Rifling
Flared Magwell
Enlightened Action / Triple Tap
Voltshot
Radiolaria Tranposer
PVP God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Hammer-Forged Rifling
Accurized Rounds
Air Trigger / Keep Away
Precision Instrument
Radiolaria Tranposer
Timeworn Wayfarer – Solar Scout Rifle (Craftable)
Source: Author.
Joining the stylish but, for now, underpowered Tex Mechanica style Scout Rifle family is the Timeworn Wayfarer. While initially panned for being a member of the weakest family in one of the most consistently underwhelming primary weapon types in Destiny 2, this gun is surprisingly versatile and might see more use in PVE with the incoming buff to its damage. This weapon is incredibly potent in PVP when paired with High Ground and a Radiant buff, allowing the possibility of defeating opposing Guardians in two headshots. You can choose between Smallbore or Hammer-Forged Rifling for a PVP roll, as the latter has 7 less stability but will grant you an extra metre of range.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Stability
Smallbore / Fluted Barrel
Flared Magwell
Heal Clip
Incandescent
Radiolaria Tranposer
PVP God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Smallbore / Hammer-Forged Rifling
Accurized Rounds
Keep Away
High Ground
Radiolaria Tranposer
Aberrant Action – Solar Sidearm (Craftable)
Source: Author.
The hottest weapon in the game right now, Aberrant Action is the third member of the relatively new family of Rocket-Assisted Frame Sidearms. This is THE weapon everyone wants as the archetype is incredibly strong right now. I do NOT recommend using this in PVP, so I will only be providing a PVE god roll for this weapon. There are a number of choices but there are a few quirks to be noted with this weapon. For starters, despite being a special weapon, perks like Strategist, Pugilist, and Demolitionist provide the benefit of a primary weapon, so rather than the 20% ability energy generation, it is 10%. Either way, there is one very clear winner here: Incandescent.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Velocity
Hard Launch
High-Explosive Ordnance
Heal Clip / Beacon Rounds
Incandescent
Radiolaria Tranposer
Chronophage – Void Trace Rifle (Craftable)
Source: D2 Foundry.
One of the few weapons that are currently not available at the time of writing, but are viewable in the Destiny API, this Void Trace Rifle looks to replace Hollow Denial which has been dominating its Void Trace Rifle field since Season of the Haunted back in 2022. Like Aberrant Action, I am not providing a PVP roll for this weapon as I don’t recommend bringing this thing into the Crucible.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Smallbore
Enhanced Battery
Repulsor Brace
Destabilizing Rounds
Radiolaria Tranposer
Faith-Keeper – Void Rocket Launcher (Craftable)
Source: Author.
Look, not all weapons in each episode can be a banger, and Faith-Keeper immediately loses to stiff competition like the Apex Predator by proxy of its terrible archetype; Precision Frame Rocket Launcher. I honestly would not recommend bringing this into either PVP or PVE content, but if you did want to use this admittedly cool-looking rocket launcher, there is one roll that should have you covered (for PVE, not PVP).
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Velocity
Hard Launch
Impact Casing
Auto-Loading Holster
Lasting Impressions
Radiolaria Tranposer
Ill Omen – Stasis Sword (Craftable)
Source: Author.
Swords are quite strong right now. They have proven to be useful in Salvation’s Edge, Crota’s End, and even Root of Nightmares if you are crazy enough. Unfortunately for Ill Omen, Caster Frame swords just are not very good. There is one niche for it, however, and that is as an Overload and Unstoppable Champion stun machine. I wouldn't recommend it over something like the Aurvandil FR6 which can have Reconstruction and Chill Clip, but if you are so inclined to muck around with this sword, there is something for you here. I don’t recommend this at all for PVP so I will only provide a PVE God Roll.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Blade
Guard
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Impact
Jagged Edge
Swordmaster’s Guard
Relentless Strikes
Cold Steel
Radiolaria Tranposer
Speleologist – Solar Machine Gun (Craftable)
Source: D2 Foundry.
One of the other few weapons that are currently not available, but are viewable in the Destiny API, the Speleoligist has some interesting perks and can potentially fit right in as your heavy add clear machine. I can’t recommend this for PVP as I currently have no idea how it handles, but I can’t imagine it would stack up compared to its competition in the same slot.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range / Stability
Smallbore
Flared Magwell
Enlightened Action / Envious Assassin
Incandescent / Killing Tally
Radiolaria Tranposer
Patron of Lost Causes – Kinetic Scout Rifle
Source: Author.
The first of the reprised weapons from Shadowkeep’s Season of Dawn which are not craftable, this Kinetic Lightweight Frame Scout Rifle sees its perk pool revamped to include some more modern perks.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range / Stability
Smallbore
Flared Magwell
Triple Tap / Rapid Hit
Kinetic Tremors
Cast No Shadows
PVP God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Hammer-Forged Rifling
Accurized Rounds
Rapid Hit
Precision Instrument
Cast No Shadows
Breachlight – Strand Sidearm
Source: Author.
A fan favourite amongst the community, this reprised Season of Dawn Sidearm shows off its shiny new elemental typing, Strand. While regular Sidearms aren’t the strongest in PVE, there are some options here for you to have some fun. I do not recommend this weapon for PVP, as its perks do not seem to favour the Crucible sandbox, currently.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Smallbore
Flared Magwell
Demolitionist / Pugilist / Threat Detector
Adrenaline Junkie / Swashbuckler / Hatchling
Cast No Shadows
Perfect Paradox – Kinetic Shotgun
Source: D2 Foundry.
This slick shotgun sees a return but can only be looked at as an option for melee-oriented PVE builds, as Rapid Fire Frame Shotguns are not very good in the Crucible. There is still a roll here for those that don’t have a crafted Wastelander MK5 from Dares of Eternity. I would only pair Pugilist with Trench Barrel if you wish to use the former over something like Threat Detector/Remover which should be paired with One-Two Punch.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Full Choke
Accurized Rounds
Threat Detector / Threat Remover / Pugilist
One-Two Punch / Trench Barrel
Cast No Shadows
Martyr's Retribution – Solar Special Grenade Launcher
Source: D2 Foundry.
The first Solar Wave Frame that players will be able to obtain since Season of the Risen’s Explosive Personality, it seems that PVE players will finally have a PVE-oriented Solar Wave Frame Grenade Launcher. I do not recommend you use this in PVP as it will perform terribly in the current sandbox. This is the last of the few Episode: Echoes weapons that are currently not available.
Linear Fusion Rifles aren’t in the greatest place right now, and even if they were there would be a lot of very stiff competition for Line in the Sand. Regardless, there is hope for this Linear Fusion Rifle, with one perk in particular ensuring that it isn’t wholly left behind.
PVE God Roll
Masterwork
Barrel
Mag
3rd Column
4th Column
Origin Trait
Range
Hammer-Forged Rifling
Ionized Battery / Enhanced Battery
Rapid Hit / Clown Cartridge
Bait and Switch
Cast No Shadows
With that, we have all the weapons that should be a part of Episode: Echoes. Be sure to get those red borders for the Vex-themed weapons so you can enhance their perks!
👋 Hi there! Welcome to the latest edition of SUPERJUMP Weekly. This week, we're delving into the creative mind of the great Yoko Taro, an undoubtedly enigmatic figure in the games industry. His work is defined by both its innovation and depth. Our Story Showcase includes an interview with the man and a couple of his collaborators, along with some beautiful deep-dives on his creations. In this issue, we also showcase the works of SUPERJUMP Managing Editor Bryan Finck and feature Barraka in our latest On the Radar update.
We hope you enjoy this issue. Please consider becoming a Backer if you would like to support our unique brand of independent games journalism. Thank you.
IN THIS ISSUE
✍️ Story Showcase: Yoko Taro ⭐ Author Showcase: Bryan Finck 📡 On the Radar: Barraka 📅 This Week on SJP 🏆 Backers
As game discovery has shifted more and more to shortform video, distinctive graphical styles have become increasingly important. While a lot of games have that interesting look, none stand out quite like the plasticine world of Barraka.
Young Ainhoa didn't know what she was getting into with the Barraka fair. What should have been fun and games has turned into a deadly gauntlet full of traps, killer clowns and ghosts, all set in motion by the evil witch that's secretly running the show. Getting out in one piece will mean working with some of the friendlier carnies to find a way through Barraka's killer attractions.
Source: Steam.
Barraka's primary gameplay is a top-down action/puzzle game, resembling a lot of hybrid puzzle titles from the '90s. Ainhoa collects toys that can be used to solve puzzles and incapacitate or defeat enemies. That's just the core gameplay, though. Many of the attractions feature completely different gameplay styles, such as a driving-oriented bumper cars challenge or a merry-go-round that turns into a horizontally scrolling shooter.
But it's Barraka's visual design that's the most striking aspect. The game employs a blend of different animation techniques to create a world that looks like no other game out there. Most character animations are based on stop motion, but this isn't your old-school claymation - the animations are still fluid, with plenty of detail. The result is a game that feels like it has a material reality beyond the screen.
Thank you to Berke, Brandon, CT, Cathie, Claire, Geena, Lexi, Nick, Oren, Peter, Troy, Radha, and Wes for supporting independent, cynicism-free games publishing.
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Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice by developer Ninja Theory caught people by surprise way back in 2017. Widely acclaimed as a touching story of grief and regarded as a pillar of mental health representation, it won the Game Awards prize for Best Performance, Audio Design, and Games for Impact. Seven years later, the long-awaited sequel was quietly released to the public. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II was first announced in 2019, but due to the pandemic and presumably other reasons, it took longer than anybody expected. So, is it worth the wait?
Spoilers for Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II.
Lacking in mechanical innovation and gameplay diversity, Senua's Saga still maintains a spectacular story and bone-chilling audio design comparable to its predecessor, enough to give anybody goosebumps. Thanks to its use of Unreal Engine 5, the game flaunts breathtaking visuals and atmosphere, with well-realized Icelandic landscapes and hybrid Norse-Celtic attire. A relatively short romp compared to contemporary AAA titles, it follows the trend of indie games, carrying heavy stories of emotional depth in six hours or under.
The Sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Source: Steam.
Set in the late 8th century, Senua's story starts with her struggle dealing with inherited psychosis that came from her mother, the mental illness that caused people around her to see her as a curse and blight to the land. She hears voices inside her head, ones that confirm her self-doubt, yet also at her darkest moments, become her only friends. Because of this, her mother died at the hands of Senua's own father, burning her on a stake as a sacrifice for the gods.
This act traumatized her so much that she had to repress the memory and imagine her mother's death as suicide. Other than her mother, the only one who saw her as she was and wholly accepted her was her lover, and the first game depicted her grief over his death as well. For that, she blamed herself, just as her father taught her. Being used to alienation, she accepted that she was to blame for every death and misfortune that befell everyone she ever loved. People around her saw her as a curse, and that narrative burrowed into her heart, becoming what she truly believed.
The game ended with Senua fighting through hell for her lover's soul, the singular thing keeping her going, without realizing that it was herself who held it in place. In a metaphysical battle against the hordes of hell and its goddess, the voices in her head pushed her to the realization that she had to let go, that the alternative was an endless unwinnable battle, and that the real hell was holding on. So she listened. By moving on, she accepted all the deaths in her past, her part in them, but also her innocence. Her odyssey made her welcome her supposed curse and introduced her to a new way of seeing.
"Never forget what it is like to see the world as a child, Senua: where every autumn leaf is a work of art; every rolling cloud, a moving picture; every day a new story. We too emerge from this magic, like a wave from the ocean, only to return back to the sea. Do not mourn the waves, the leaves and the clouds. Because even in darkness the wonder and beauty of the world never leaves. It's always there, just waiting to be seen again."
The morning after
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. Source: Steam.
The sequel asks the question of what happens after acceptance, and the responsibility that comes with it. Senua has made peace with the loss of her lover and the psychosis she carries. But peace does not mean forgetting, and she carries the memories of her lost ones still. Now, her challenge and struggle lie in what she has to do with just the memories that remain, and what to make of peace. Without the clear direction and purpose of anger, without the emotional drive of grief, she must find her own way, and carve a path that makes sense for her. Senua has sacrificed her innocence by remembering the truth about her mother's death and her father's part in it, yet she has also reclaimed her innocence by not blaming herself for her lover's death. Now, she must make both losses worth it.
So she went to the source, the first blade that took her love away, the reason blood was shed. The second game starts with her pretending to be a slave and getting taken away by the Northmen who once came into her village and gutted her lover. While the predecessor showed Senua's personal journey of self-acceptance, the sequel shows Senua's journey in attempting to understand her worst enemy and despite their bad blood, empathize. Maybe she could make them see what she saw, and her journey need not benefit herself only. By healing herself, she could start to heal others who are similarly wounded by the world they all share.
In the course of the story, she shows mercy to the slaver who killed so many, and in the process learns about three giants that plague the land. These giants are the reason her village was raided, slaves were taken, and her lover butchered, all done as sacrifices for them. But as her psychosis is not the bane that many saw it to be, these giants are also not as they first seem. They are not as typically imposing as their name implies. The giants of Senua don't even stand up, instead, they crawl like newborns in pain.
The way Senua defeats them is also atypical. She first has to learn their names. Once known, she can begin to relate with them and figure out their pain. Senua sees through the giants' imposing size and booming cries, to the little hurt soul cradled inside. Through her eyes, they can accept their mistakes and injustices. Having them be seen and understood by an outsider, they do not have to be alone ever again. Through Senua's acceptance of them, the giants can claim peace. Like ghosts tethered to reality by guilt and grief, the presence of someone living to remember their life cuts them loose.
Source: Author.
However, not everyone is willing to open themselves up to new perspectives. The final giant couldn't see it, he didn't want to. It is revealed at the end that the last most powerful giant is in fact the slaver's father, the tyrant who sacrifices slaves from other lands proclaiming it was to keep his people safe. As it turns out, it was all a ploy to keep himself in power and keep his people obedient. Once Senua comes to challenge his rule and show people another way of living, one of compassion, the tyrant rejects her.
She sees her own father in this tyrant, the one who also weaponized lies and fear to diminish others. Coming out of the first game, Senua could now see past the lies of narcissistic men. She saw the motive, the original sin that took everything from her, how cruelty can come from fear, and evil from control. All of it is based on a lie that is only beneficial to its teller. Even in his absence, her father still gives voice to her doubts. Once gaining cult-like followers by soothsaying, her father had used his believers to gain control and murder Senua's mother. The true giant is the lie fed to us that we believe over our own truth, the one we must learn the name of to dispel it of its power.
Only after Senua redeems the slaver by making him oppose his father, that she frees herself of the fear of becoming her own father. By seeing another inspired by her and resisting their doomed destinies, she is inspired in return, instilled with the hope that she does not have to experience the same fate as her mother or father.
While the first game is more internal, dealing with Senua and her past and the voices in her head, the second game focuses a lot more on other people. She hears their voices, how they contradict or concur with her inner voices, and how their perceptions of Senua repair her broken self-image, an image cracked from trauma and grief haphazardly corrected by a shaking hand, needing outside perspectives to keep it from being fixed crooked. Other people's belief in Senua breaks her disbelief in herself. They are the tether to her reality. They make her realize that the burden of acceptance doesn't have to be carried alone, and that her grief and psychosis mean something good when turned into a helping hand.
Living with a different way of seeing
Both Sacrifice and Saga play with what's real and what's not, juggling the inner reality of Senua's mind with the objective outer world. It makes us question if the giants are real or just metaphors. But maybe they are real to her, and that's all that matters. Senua's Saga is partly about perspective, and by seeing the world through Senua's eyes, it does not matter much if a lie looks like a giant; all that matters is the problem takes shape in whatever way people see it. Maybe through seeing things in a new light, new solutions are born; maybe tyrants do not have to exist to replace each other' maybe none of us are our mothers or fathers.
There's a part in the game where Senua disarms herself, leaving herself vulnerable, to arm her future self. She passes on her trusted blade, her only defense, to a voice in need, and that voice is her own. By answering the call to help others, she is helping herself. She learns to take the leap of faith in helping others, despite her inner voices disputing her decision, despite her fear.
Source: Author.
Where in her younger years she is condemned for hearing voices and being different, here she is seen as special, as blessed with the ability to perceive a better path. Her compassion redeems a son not become his cruel father, ending a cycle of unnecessary violence. Monstrous giants see her as kin, recognizing the burden she carries on her shoulders, and how she was once like them. Senua uses what she has learned from her sacrifice to help others, to help those who are going through what she has gone through. The giants could not move on for one reason or another like she couldn't. So she helps them like she helped herself.
Monsters are just names we call things we fear, that we don’t understand. But through these names, we can see flawed things in a different light, as vile and dangerous. Names tell us how to see, so perhaps we need to believe in a world with kinder names, for a better way of seeing.
"All monsters were once men."
The story of Senua is twofold, about coping with her illness and what it does to the people around her, but also about being responsible with her newfound perspective, using it to show other people facing similar issues what she has learned. As she was once lost, now she leads the lost. It is about choice and agency, regaining control of your narrative, from your parents, from your illness, and your doubts. It is about the name you are given, and the one you choose for yourself.
Maybe the more dangerous and invisible darkness inside someone is not the voices you hear in your head, but the lies you remember, the abuse you bore all your life, and how that is also a responsibility you carry, to change. Senua is not her father's sins, her mother's psychosis, or the voices inside her head. She is all of this, and so much more.
In a vote on June 26, Microsoft employees who worked at Bethesda Game Studios voted to unionize. Microsoft acknowledged 241 union members on July 20, and the studio will now be affiliated with Communications Workers of America (CWA). According to reporting by IGN, the new union would negotiate with Microsoft for a new contract that would prevent any workplace abuses or exploitations. Bethesda Game Studios is the famed developer of several popular franchises including Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, and was Microsoft's biggest acquisition prior to their industry-shaking purchase of Activision-Blizzard-King in 2022.
Source: X.
The news of the studio's move to unionize is welcome, as other AAA companies have instigated mass layoffs for talented teams, with NDAs preventing them from sharing portfolios containing relevant assets. Bethesda Game Studios has also had its share of troubles with shutdowns and workplace controversies from its parent company. In May 2024, IGN reported thatMicrosoft shut down at least four Bethesda-owned studios and would not provide updates for games like Redfall despite retailing a DLC. The most that players could expect to receive is "the value of a purchased upgrade."
Bethesda employee controversies
In 2018, the development of Fallout 76 involved a high "human toll" with 10-hour, 6-day workweeks and employees not given time to rest and recharge if placed on that team. Contracted QA testers, in particular, were reportedly underpaid despite several being coerced to work on weekends, and the extra pay did not compensate for the physical and emotional demands. Paid employees would monitor and time the contractors' breaks. Complaints to upper management achieved nothing and Fallout 76's buggy release led to increased pressure and even death threats from frustrated players.
A 2022 report from Kotaku condemned this crunch culture and how it encourages burnout in creative fields, leading to entitlement in upper management and lower-quality output. Several employees even reported developing chronic conditions such as tinnitus and back pain, with low morale settling among the team. No one was trying to protect those working to find the bugs and remove them; in some cases, the recommended fixes were never applied.
Another troubling workplace incident saw a Bethesda employee posting an eight-paragraph pro-life rant on Slack in 2022 following the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. This rant contributed to what some employees felt was a work environment where affected employees, including those queer or identifying as female, already felt tension and hostility rooted in sexism and ableism as they inquired about what protections they would receive regarding contraceptives and abortions. Neither ZeniMax Studios nor Microsoft offered comments when Kotaku reached out to them. The existence of an unsafe environment is often cited as a reason for low morale in the workplace.
Possibilities of unionization
Unionization is one method to protect game developers and employees from these sudden layoffs, crunch culture, and hostile work environments. Workplace union protections may assist those who have gaps in their portfolios owing to NDAs or whose work may never see the light of day if a game gets canceled. Most importantly, vulnerable employee positions like QA testers could receive competitive wages and appropriate allocation of hours on projects that require large amounts of input and testing.
With luck, Bethesda Game Studios will report positive changes in the workplace. Concrete improvements could help prevent a repeat of the Fallout 76 controversies as well as chronic health conditions that overworking can cause. Employees can take pride in working at the company, rather than lose the spark that made them enter gaming with a desire to create. Unionization at Bethesda Game Studios was a long time coming and may represent a continuing trend in the industry.
A popular way to open an article about an interesting piece of media goes something like this: "There's a moment in X where Y happens. Here's what it made me realize/how it made me feel." It's a good entry point, not only because it illustrates something about the experience, but because it lets the author connect their emotional tether to the work right away. You tell the reader about this moment, and in the process, you're drawn back into it yourself. In some cases, the moment you share is the one when you realized that the game was special.
For me, Wide Ocean Big Jacket - a short, sweet game about two adults and two children who go camping over a weekend - is twenty-or-so such opening anecdotes stitched together. There's a moment in Wide Ocean Big Jacket where young protagonists Mord and Ben encounter a group of what the game assures us are "Mean Teens". There's a moment in Wide Ocean Big Jacket where one character tells the others a surprising horror story. There's a moment where the two adult characters, Cloanne and Brad, must decide whether or not to let their discussion simmer over into an argument. Stitch all of these moments together and you have a full game where nothing really happens but everything feels impactful.
I don't remember what prompted me to pick up Wide Ocean Big Jacket back when it launched on Switch, but I remember the dawning sense that it was something I liked. I am not sure at what point I realized that I, in fact, fully loved it. I know it happened within an hour because that's about how long it takes to hit the ending. And since then the four central characters have occupied a small space in my heart, setting their tent up and roasting wieners on the fire so that the smell sometimes wafts up to my brain.
Source: Wide Ocean Big Jacket itch.io.
"Stitch all of these moments together and you have a full game where nothing really happens but everything feels impactful."
Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a tiny narrative game about a couple, Brad and Cloanne, who have taken Brad's 13-year-old niece Mord and her boyfriend Ben away on a camping trip for the weekend. There are no huge revelations, no twists or subversions of genre or anything like that. You control all four characters at various points, and when they speak the screen displays their face and text over a black background. The animation is done with few frames, and the world is rendered in limited, blocky polygon shapes. It's absolutely gorgeous.
Many of the games I really love have a distinct voice, and Wide Ocean Big Jacket's sense of irreverent nostalgia feels unique from the nostalgia in other games - in part, perhaps, because it feels very modern. It's a celebration not so much of camping, but of the idea of camping - of what happens when you step away from the "real world" for a little while and live what feels like a short, separate little life. It's not an escape, it's a vacation, and that's how Wide Ocean Big Jacket feels, too. It's a little stopgap from the wider world of games, a calm little island that doesn't ask too much from you. There are no puzzles to solve or challenges to traverse. You're here to enjoy the characters, the art, the little slice of a world that the game has carved out. It's a holiday you can go on whenever you have a spare hour.
A huge part of Wide Ocean Big Jacket's power is in how short it is, how little time you have with these characters. It gives every choice the game makes an extra layer of significance, and you feel like you can capture the whole thing in your head. The dialogue and writing - the game contains 10,000 words of text, but feels much smaller than that - is evocative throughout. A text prompt might welcome you to "POP A SQUAT" or "PEE IN THE BUSH". At one point, as you roast hot dogs, the text prompt to progress the story just reads "OH YEAH BAY-BE".
Source: Wide Ocean Big Jacket itch.io.
"It's a celebration not so much of camping, but of the idea of camping - of what happens when you step away from the "real world" for a little while and live what feels like a short, separate little life."
The script is extremely economical in explaining who these characters are, and what their relationships with each other look like. Cloanne and Ben are more serious-minded, more introspective, but informed by different experiences and desires; Cloanne is a capital-A Adult, whereas Ben seems young for 13, projecting real "this child must be protected" energy. Mord, with her bright-pink elbows and spindly limbs, simply wants to absorb everything, to talk to everyone, and has no sense of how annoying she might be. Brad is in his element, quietly thrilled to be camping with his niece. The real meat of the game comes from observing them, thinking about how they fit together, enjoying their antics. There's not a lot to do in Wide Ocean Big Jacket, but that never feels like a problem. You can imagine the lives these characters came from, and the ones they're returning to, largely unchanged by the low-stakes weekend they've just enjoyed.
The dialogue does not follow any specific grammatical rules - Cloanne is the most grammatically formal of them all, whereas Mord and Ben are carried by the sort of vibes that will be familiar to anyone who has spent too much time online. "(ha ha i can not believe you yelled back)", Ben whispers to Mord after encountering the Mean Teens. Later, as he starts to panic about being away from camp as night sets in, he exclaims his fears in perfect Twitter-speak: "I Guess I Just Feel Weird How Dark It's Getting". It feels like these characters are in a group chat, which gives you, as a player, the feeling of having been invited into something personal and exclusive. When Mord uses the wrong "it's", I like to think it's not a typo, that's just her style.
Source: Wide Ocean Big Jacket itch.io.
This is the sort of thing that's very difficult to get right, a balance that few games manage - go too hard and it feels like a focus-grouped bit, not hard enough and it feels insincere. But Wide Ocean Big Jacket's dialogue is so sweet, so considered, so evocative. It means that the game can take you anywhere - into any of the moments that might have made for a good article opener.
Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a one-off story, with no branching paths, no meaningful player choices, no big hidden surprises beyond a few interactions you might miss. There's an extra little story that was added in a post-launch update - and also released as a standalone demo on PC - but the core game is just a small and beautiful thing. At one point in the game, Ben sums it all up: "(It's) like I'm living a 'Full Life' but just smaller." That's Wide Ocean Big Jacket - it's camping. A full life, but small.
I think I like the idea of the text parser-based adventure game more than I like the actual games themselves. You know, the kind where you need to type in all your actions. I’m not just talking about the old text adventures from the '70s and '80s, I’m also talking about new text adventures that you might find at IF Comp that push one of the oldest game genres to its limit.
I like games that are carried mostly by their writing and–well, if there aren’t any images the writing needs to be solid. But text parser-based games never seem to click with me. I think it’s similar to the point-and-click adventure game, in terms of my frustrations with the puzzle elements. Occasionally, I think to myself, “Lucas, why aren’t you really into point-and-click adventure games? It’s a genre full of funny games, and those are your favourite kinds.” Then I play some of them, butt up against that classic adventure game puzzle logic, and remember why I have not become an authority on all things point-and-click adventure.
This goes double for the text-only variety, where there aren’t visual clues, just a text parser with set boundaries that always get in my way. It’s more of a personal thing than anything else. With all this said, I’ve recently played Cryptmaster, a dungeon crawler that plays with the idea of the text parser in some funny and delightful ways.
Cryptmaster, from developers Paul Hart and Lee Williams and published by Akupara Games, is a monochrome, first-person dungeon crawler that sees four legendary heroes pulled out of the afterlife (sans memories) by a necromancer known as the Cryptmaster. The foursome is tasked with ascending through layers of underground cities to reach the surface while they recover their memories of past exploits along the way. All the standard features of a dungeon crawler are here — exploration, combat, puzzles, and loot – and basically everything other than moving around the world is done by typing single words.
The best example of how this works is what happens when you open a chest. The Cryptmaster will appear in all his camp glory (and with great VO work by Williams) with some blank spaces for letters. You will then have to guess what item is in the chest, which could be anything from a sword to a jockstrap to a loose eyeball. How you guess is by asking for a memory the Cryptmaster has of the object and using the five senses: look, touch, hear, smell, and the less useful and often amusing taste. If you’re successful, you get some loot. That loot, like everything else, is letters.
The Cryptmaster will always sniff it, even if he'd rather not. Source: Press Kit.
Combat is done by typing in your characters’ moves to whittle away their health bar (which for party members and foes is their name). Your four characters basically conform to standard fantasy classes: leader Joro is a hard-hitting warrior type, then there’s Syn the rogue, Maz the healer/support, and Nix the mage (who has many marine-life-based spells). There’s a nice synergy between the characters, especially as one of the big challenges is managing the cooldowns after each party member uses a move. In a nice accessibility touch, since you can choose between having the combat play out in real-time or be turn-based if your fingers can’t accurately type fast enough or you require the use of a controller.
Like the chests, the reward for downing a foe is letters, which are used for the leveling system. Each character has one blank word to fill out at a time, which can be filled out with the letters you collect. These words, which either unlock a move or a memory from the hero’s past, can be found early if you can correctly guess the missing letters.
Crypmaster's combat. Source: Press Kit
All of this would be novel, if not particularly thrilling, if not for a couple of things, which truly elevate this game to something great. Firstly, it seems the developers have thought through many of the things that players might put into the parser. And by that, I don’t just mean they have put in synonyms for common actions, though I do appreciate that. I mean that they have provided amusing, fully voiced interactions for many of the ways a player might want to dick around.
A great example of this involves the save system, which you have to do manually at Agda’s healing Altar of Life. Being undead, Agda has no time for you, so the Cryptmaster asks you to desecrate every altar you find so that you can use it. You can smash the altar, you can kick it, and you can do something that sounds a lot like desecrate. Juvenile, yes, but the encouragement to experiment with each altar, combined with Agda’s increased exasperation at your constant vandalism, never ceased to be funny.
The memory/ability screen. Source: Press Kit
Cryptmaster’s myriad of interactions, both with the parser and with the eclectic cast of characters, wouldn’t be as constantly delightful without the strong writing and voice acting on display throughout. This is a genuinely funny game, carried by the ever-present Cryptmaster and his constant droll commentary. But there are jokes all around, from the memories you unlock to the bigger quest beats, such as when you need to help a bard write a diss track.
There are so many fun ways to mess about with the game that you are unlikely to find all the gags in a playthrough. After I completed the game, I saw patch notes from the (in character) Cryptmaster Twitter/X account that mentioned “more flirt responses” and “I now respond to animal noises.” I did not think to do either of those things, but keep those in mind when you play. And you should play it, because it’s an inventive and welcome evolution of a niche genre.
There are some activities that should only be experienced in a bottomless pool of darkness (ideally after the witching hour unless prescribed by the author otherwise). Listening to Nick Cave; one night stands (if you're lucky and are not a suspender-snapping, fedora-wearing fan of Tom Waitts' music - he's okay as an actor, though); reading "House of Leaves", the pinnacle of creepypasta; drunkenly dancing in your kitchen, or watching every 'Disturbing Things from Around the Internet' video, to name just a few. Then, of course, there are horror games, the ultimate adrenaline rush simulator which leaves even the bravest of souls resting their finger on the "Esc" button as if it was some sort of virtual escape hatch.
Listen, I love horror. I might not be the bravest kid on the block nor am I young enough to be able to survive multiple jump scares without calling it a day (or an ambulance), but I watch Ari Aster's films religiously and have a tendency to scare off potential soulmates by telling them about Sad Satan (which was the basis for my dissertation, nonetheless). Like the nightmare-inducing stories by H.P. Lovecraft for the generation who kicked rocks for fun or "consulted" an Ouija board to pass the time, Amnesia games played a big role in fostering my love for screaming in a pitch dark room.
Those who are not familiar with the Amnesia series by now should, to begin with, know that it did as much to the survival horror genre as Dark Souls did for action RPGs or David Bowie for glam rock. That goes well beyond launching careers of numerous YouTubers who were first to realize how lucrative screaming at your monitor can be.
What the brilliant madcap minds at Frictional Games did with Amnesia: The Dark Descent back in 2010 was remove the only means of protection (i.e. weapons) from the standard equation, emphasizing "Capital-S" Survival Horror. This made horror gaming fans willingly and regularly change their pee-stained undies, and while that might not sound like a big deal today, back then it felt as revolutionary as putting Solid Snake in open-world Afghanistan or getting to fight a sadistic, overlord A.I. using only physics, science and Companion Cubes.
Fast forward 13 years, with a number of horror franchises spawned in the wake of the popularity of Amnesia: The Dark Descent - including my favourites, Outlast and Layers Of Fear - and nothing much changed. We still have our amnesiac protagonists, as dictated by the franchise's cursed title. We still hide under tables in the hope that the game's Lovecraftian monstrosities won't be able to smell our fear. You'll do all that while slowly losing your sanity - both in-game and IRL - a fantastic scare tactic that Frictional Games, like some Frankensteinian scientists, have been experimenting with ever since The Dark Descent.
Author's note: The team at Red Barrels deserves a shoutout for introducing a steroid-fueled spin on this bad trip-of-a-feature in The Outlast Trials. Also, while not an Amnesia game, Still Wakes the Deep, developed by The Chinese Room, the studio that made Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, is the latest specimen of this kind that you should go and play.
However, Amnesia: The Bunker, the newest installment in the franchise, does something different. Scratch that: The Bunker does a lot of things differently compared to its forebears. That's especially astonishing considering that, just like Assassin’s Creed Mirage or Fallout: New Vegas, this project was born as a DLC, originally intended for Amnesia: Rebirth.
To understand how The Bunker became its own thing, and how on Earth developers managed to raise the bar for interactive horror by including a gun (a series-first), I reached out to Fredrik Olsson, the Creative Lead behind The Bunker and co-owner of the studio, who was happy to indulge me in my quest for answers.
To my surprise, I wasn't met with some hooded, shadowy mastermind in a room lit only by candles and a single, dangling lightbulb, as I imagined most horror creatives to be. Instead, Olsson turned out to be a jolly, immersive sim enthusiast who, besides getting his kicks out of coming up with new and terrifying ways to give us heart attacks, also happens to be an avid streamer, which makes The Bunker even cooler somehow. That doesn't mean I'm stepping back into those monster-infested, maze-like bunkers that make Battlefield seem like a vacation spot anytime soon, though.
SUPERJUMP
Can you tell me what was the first horror game that you ever played?
Fredrik Olsson
Oh, it has to be Resident Evil. The first one, I think. I haven't been that much into horror games myself. It's not like I've been a big horror game or movie buff at all. But I played a few of them and that was the first one that really stuck.
I remember giving my friend the controller and having him walk down the corridor where the dogs jump through the window, and he just handed over the controller back to me... It's very terrifying! I remember playing it when I was little – it's just unnerving.
SUPERJUMP
Do you remember how old you were at the time?
Fredrik Olsson
I think it has to be when it was just released... I think I could have been 19 or 20 years old? I'm getting old... [laughs]
You know, I had Commodore 64, I even had a built-in TV console – that's really old stuff. So if you call Dungeon Master (1987) a horror game, that probably must have been my first one. I don't know if it counts as a horror game any more. But I remember us playing Dungeon Master a lot.
Source: Press Kit.
SUPERJUMP
You said that you didn't play horror games that much, nor did you watch a lot of horror films. Were there any other impactful horror experiences that you had like Stephen King or John Carpenter’s The Thing, then?
Fredrik Olsson
Yeah, I read a lot. I've read a lot over the past 10-15 years. I'm really bad at remembering names but there’s a lot of Stephen King books. I think one of the books that I really liked actually was "The Mist". I liked that a lot. It wasn't too long... When I started reading "It", it was such a long book that it kind of lost me halfway through. [laughs]
One of the books that really had an impact on me was "The Terror" [by Dan Simmons]. It's basically 1800s and [there's] a big ship that's supposed to try and get around the continent but then get stuck in the ice. There are tons of men on this boat and they start getting killed off by some kind of monster.
It had a bit of an impact on me because you never really see this monster. It’s more about the people living on this boat stuck in the most horrible situation. I like that type of horror where you have relationships but also have some kind of ominous being that always creates this kind of uncomfortable feeling throughout.
Actually, one of the recent movies with that guy from The Office - A Quiet Place – I really like that they based it around sound. There's one scene where they have zero audio which is very rare in movies...
It's kind of like the psychological aspect of what we did with The Bunker: when the generator is running, we have this kind of Shepard's tone that runs in the background. You can't really hear it, but if you listen knowing about it – you will hear it. It's an illusion basically of sound going downwards constantly. It creates this, 'Oh, the fuel is going out, the fuel is going out!' feeling. The second that the generator dies, the tone also disappears.
SUPERJUMP
So like some Christopher Nolan kind of mind-trickery?
Fredrik Olsson
Yes! And Christopher Nolan has that quite a lot in his movies. I think in Dunkirk there was a lot of focus on time. And so, that's where the idea came from.
SUPERJUMP
Is it true that The Bunker was supposed to be a DLC for Amnesia Rebirth? Also, how did you land on the idea to set it in a WWI setting?
Fredrik Olsson
Let's start with the second question. During the development of Rebirth, someone suggested it would be fun to have the WWI trenches. I think it might have been the writer on the previous game just mentioning [that] during a meeting. And we might have revisited it once or twice after that. The idea just stuck with us.
Then we came to a point where we came out from Amnesia Rebirth; I was supposed to start off the pre-production on a bigger project. But then I took over the creative lead role of Rebirth halfway through [the development], which meant that I came out of it having not been part of the initial design or story [development], feeling like I wasn't really done. I had more ideas. One thing I wanted to try was: 'Why don't we have a weapon?'
That kind of connected with the WWI setting, which was a setting that was not high-tech in any way. So I suggested that we make a DLC for Amnesia Rebirth. I pitched this idea because we had tried out stalking behaviour before; we tried it out on the ghouls in Rebirth, but it was such a linear story that stalking behaviour didn't make sense. (Actually, we had a version of this stalking behaviour where [ghouls] came out of holes. But we never used it in Rebirth.)
So that also tied into this idea of a bunker – now with a gun, one stalking enemy, and with WWI [setting], which was the previous idea. It all just came together that way. Everyone liked it, so we said, 'Let's try and do that!'
Very early we made a prototype and realized this is so different from Rebirth. Also, very fun. Honestly, not many weeks into the development of The Bunker as a DLC, we realized, 'No – this needs to be on its own thing.' Because we were having so much fun with it and seeing the potential, we kind of just allowed the scope to grow a bit.
SUPERJUMP
Should I ask about the gun(s) or about the randomization element first? Let's go with the randomization because that's a pretty unique feature that hasn’t been done in an Amnesia game before. Just to add, maybe you will agree, but Soma and previous Amnesia titles couldn't pull it off because they were more story-centric.
Fredrik Olsson
I think it's fair to say that if you replay Amnesia Rebirth or Soma, you replay it for the story. If you play The Bunker again – you play it for the challenge. That's why we have a Safe Mode for Soma. The narrative is that important.
So, yeah, randomization is there to make it more challenging. If you came in a second time and said, 'Okay, I need to get into that room because there’s a grenade in that drawer,' you wouldn't have to explore all of the environments anymore. Also, the codes are randomized [every time] – you can't look them up on internet and find out what's the code for that locker. You need to find a corpse with the right dog tag. Otherwise, you would have a very optimized path through the game and that would immediately kill replayability (for me, at least).
The core of The Bunker is to challenge the player. It's a fairly small environment, but we mix things up within that environment to make it fun. Especially with the dynamic monster as well. Which means that if the stalker had been scripted, that would also take away [from horror] because you’d know, 'Okay, when I step around this corner, he's gonna enter this room.' It's very rare that it pops up in the same place.
"Very early we made a prototype and realized this is so different from Rebirth. Also, very fun. Honestly, not many weeks into the development of The Bunker as a DLC, we realized, 'No – this needs to be on its own thing.' Because we were having so much fun with it and seeing the potential, we kind of just allowed the scope to grow a bit."
Fredrik Olsson Executive Producer
SUPERJUMP
Now, I want to ask about the gun. In one of his early blogs, Thomas Grip, the creator of the Amnesia franchise, wrote that there’s a prototype version of Amnesia: The Dark Descent with guns, and apparently it was "too fun." Like it distracted the players from getting scared...Now you returned to this idea but managed to pull it off. Can you explain how you came up with this idea of 'It’s time to give players the gun again'?
Fredrik Olsson
I think the very first small prototype that we had, you were able to fire the gun at a padlock. It was very early that we said the bullets are not going to kill the monster – it's going to be a tool. Then, of course, it's going to be very few bullets, so they will be valuable. As soon as you put a value to that, you have a whole different scenario. Add that firing the gun at the Stalker once will [make him] come back and take two bullets next time... That's like you just sacrificed something just by firing the gun at him.
What it does is that it gives you a tool that is much more fun. I mean, it is fun to use the gun. But it's also very much anxiety-inducing. [laughs] There's one place in the maintenance, for example, where there's a hole in the back wall. You can shoot the padlock through it. '[But] should I use it here?’ Should I use this bullet here on this padlock??'
Look at horror movies: if you have few bullets left, it's not a fun situation. I'm kind of surprised it's not been used that way before, to be honest. This way, what we could do with the gun now is that it doesn't only become this game about hiding – especially with the generator, which is running on time.
I love the fact that during design, every single mechanic we came up with we started looking at the Stalker behaviour. 'Can you just hide under a table for a while? Is that still the solution?' No. Because when you sit there, you hear the Shephard tone running in the background and you go like, 'No, no, no, no! I can't sit there for too long. The monster is here walking around. Maybe I could just shoot him and run.' That gives you more opportunities, different ways to approach the problem.
I think early on it was like images in my head that became [the Central Bunker]. Some people were saying, 'The generator might become this kind of shore that you need to fill up over and over again.' And playing the first prototype, it was a very small environment. We couldn't backtrack. We couldn't be far away from the generator. But I had this moment in my head, like video playing in my head, of you walking there having done certain things, having this progress with the save room way back there. And [then] boom! It goes dark... You hear the monster coming out. And that moment was what we wanted to achieve.
There were multiple of those moments actually with how you can shoot it. For example, loading the gun: you're sitting behind the shelf, you hear the Stalker coming closer and you go, 'Did I load that bullet I found??' Then you have to take [the gun] out and check if you have a bullet in the gun, then back and then up. It creates these kinds of [moments] you've seen in horror movies. All of those moments, they are dynamic. They're created in that sense.
SUPERJUMP
Have you seen a movie called No Country for Old Men by any chance?
Fredrik Olsson
Yeah, I've seen it.
SUPERJUMP
Do you remember the scene where the guy's sitting on his hotel bed and he's slowly turning the light off and reloading his shotgun before the psycho guy comes to the door? He's doing it all silently. So this kind of brings to mind The Bunker because you are forced to take notice of how much sound the reloading [of your gun] does.
Fredrik Olsson
Yeah, that’s cool. But I don't remember that. I've actually thought I need to rewatch that movie because I don't remember too much about it... [laughs]
SUPERJUMP
Well, it's great! Great use of tension there. Anyway, you might have heard this critique that Amnesia: Rebirth feels more story-centric compared to The Bunker, which is more gameplay-oriented. How do you balance both of these qualities without losing the best aspects of one or another?
Fredrik Olsson
I think it's very difficult. To make a story like Soma, that’s very difficult to do with systems and mechanics – it has to come from one or the other as a core. Hopefully you can find ways where the narrative can blend in.
The Bunker is gameplay-centric – it comes from that seed. We've kind of added the narrative on top of that. The setting was already there to begin with and that helped the gameplay. The narrative – the friend, the Stalker, all those things – came afterward,. Whereas in Soma, the story came first.
And I agree with you. Unless you are super lucky that they just come together, I think it's super difficult to create something that has both. When you have gameplay that is an immersive sim, the player’s mindset is like, 'I need to save this resource for later. Maybe I need this to open a door later on.' If you want them to be concerned and think about a deeper theme, for example, a philosophical theme, like you do in Soma, then you don't want them to start thinking about, 'How can I use this grenade to blow up a door later on?' You want them to focus on the narrative.
I think it's super difficult to get that strong theme and an immersive approach to gameplay. I can't really see myself like even trying that out, to be honest... [laughs]
Source: Press Kit.
"I mean, it is fun to use the gun. But it's also very much anxiety-inducing. [laughs] There's one place in the maintenance, for example, where there's a hole in the back wall. You can shoot the padlock through it. '[But] should I use it here?’ Should I use this bullet here on this padlock??' "
Fredrik Olsson Executive Producer
SUPERJUMP
In one recent interview, Thomas [Grip] said that for Frictional Games' next project, you are going to "cut back a bit" on horror games "in order to give greater focus on other emotional qualities." How do you personally feel about that? Aren't you afraid that you might alienate the player base that was so in love with The Bunker?
Fredrik Olsson
No. I mean, we have two projects in the pipeline. We always have that. The way we work as a studio is me and Thomas – we are co-owners. And also now we've become the creative leads on each project. So Thomas is working on his project now and that's going to be the next one that comes out.
We don't want to look at ourselves as genre-focused. I believe Thomas also mentioned in some [of his] blogs that there could have been fewer monster encounters in SOMA so that the narrative could've felt better. It would still be a horror game, of course, because of the setting and everything.
But for me, for the next project, I can't see going anywhere but more like The Bunker; More player freedom, player reward, and challenge. That's definitely what's going to happen. But that's further down the line. Even though it might not be a horror game, it's still going to have tension and all that.
SUPERJUMP
That's very interesting. And I do personally love SOMA. It’s one of those horror games that sticks with you.
Fredrik Olsson
And it's really popular, still! And it’s not an immersive sim – in fact, it's very far from that. So I guess you need to look at our games not as a studio releasing games, but as its own identity. Especially now that The Bunker took a step outside of what we regularly do.
You could have asked me the same question after Amnesia Rebirth and said, 'So are you making immersive sims now? How are people going to feel about that?' [laughs] We like to take things wherever we find the inspiration and where we want to do things because that's usually where the good stuff comes out.
SUPERJUMP
Can we talk about the blind shotgunner sequence? Because that's one of the more memorable sequences in the entire Amnesia franchise, at least for me. One aspect I really like about it – which was pointed out by the YouTuber called Purposeless Rabbitholes – is that if you put the gas mask on, you are going to have a completely different experience fighting the guy. Can you explain how you came up with that idea? Also, what inspired this sequence altogether?
Fredrik Olsson
We wanted to have something that did break up the gameplay with the Stalker, basically. Then we started thinking, 'Okay, if we can have a gunfight with a soldier, that would be absolutely fantastic. But we don't want to do it the regular way.'
That's where the narrative came in a way. By that point, we'd gone fairly far on in the narrative. We had written a lot of notes about people going crazy down there [in the Bunker]. So let's make a super crazy guy! I even suggested he cut out his eyes. I would say, 'We need more blood on the table. We need to see that he cut out his eyes.' So yeah, that created an interesting encounter with a blind enemy. Whereas the Stalker is not blind and can spot you.
Now, about the noise. If you go into that area, you can see there's tons of things you can throw. The idea of how that encounter could best be played is that you actually throw something at the other end of a room. He fires the gun, you see the flash and you know, 'Okay, that's the dude I need to take out.' But it became too easy...
We thought, 'We had already written about the fumes [in the Bunker]. We knew that the fumes were affecting the water that your friend drank and turned him into the Stalker. So let's do that type of gas.' We needed it seeping in through the walls to make it more interesting. It should affect the player as well. 'We can have silhouettes, too!' For easy purposes, I suggested that we add the Ghouls from Rebirth. And then we used just regular people as well. So you see those silhouettes because that makes it more difficult.
We took some creative freedom on the gas mask. In WWI, the gas mask wasn't actually covering the ears, but I said, 'We need to take that creative freedom because that changes the whole thing.' If you put that on, you get limited visibility and you get muffled hearing which made it more difficult to notice him. But you didn't see the silhouettes anymore. I mean, I don't think it ever starts as one finished idea. It's always a small idea that leads to something like this.
Also, one of the things I really wanted to do – since everything else is close combat – was an enemy that could actually fire at the distance. That also was an early part of the idea. That's where the soldier came in. Then we realized he should have a shotgun.
You can actually avoid him and not kill him. If you feel sorry for him and feel that he's better off just walking around, singing his song, or chanting his poem – then you can do that, too. But if you kill him, you get another tool. So yeah, everything fell into place nicely.
SUPERJUMP
Love that! How much research do you do before giving a green light to a setting for the game? Do you research a couple of different settings and see which one has more potential gameplay-wise?
Fredrik Olsson
I think for this one, no. We didn't do that with The Bunker because we kind of felt that it's going to be a smaller thing. As the scope grew, we already knew enough about the early-tech setting.
Then all of a sudden we realized that fuel could be poured on the floor. Someone on the team mentioned that if you can pour it [in the generator], you should be able to pour it on the floor. If you fire at the fuel puddle, it'll set the fire and if there’s an explosive barrel close by, it will turn into fire. So we worked within that framework. We just said World War I. It was very simple.
During the project, there were times when I thought going with early tech was both a blessing and a curse. It was difficult to find more gameplay mechanics. Fire, burning fuel, for example, opened up a whole new thing. At the same time, WWI was very refreshing because you didn't have to think about crazy ideas. It was very limited.
Early on we found this this idea for the flashlight. When we found out about the dynamo flashlight, we were like, 'That’s it! It’s World War I. We'll sort out the rest later.' [laughs] That was pretty much how it was. We fell in love with the idea and went with it.
Source: Press Kit.
SUPERJUMP
Will you continue on this path, taking an idea and going with it, then? Or you will research multiple possible settings for your next project?
Fredrik Olsson
It's probably the first [route]. Like, the idea is already set. I can't say much more. I hope it's going to be clear when you see it.
In a way, it's based on inspiration from literature and things like that. So you could say that there's been research done. But it's more like things that you picked up in your spare time – that becomes the research or the thing that indicates the kind of setting we will go for.
It's rather like, 'Oh, I like these types of aspects.' Then it starts to mould in your brain. You come to a conclusion where you can see the gameplay emerging and things like that.
SUPERJUMP
Do you think it's more difficult to scare players now than back in 2010 when the original Amnesia game came out?
Fredrik Olsson
This is going to be my very personal opinion, but I think it probably is. If you look back when games were newer, people didn't understand scripted events the same way. The fidelity is also higher, which means that if something looks off, it can ruin the experience.
With the Stalker, for example, very early on we came up with the idea to have the flickering light around him. First of all, that's a benefit for the player because if they have the generator on and running, it helps them to know that the Stalker is getting close – kind of like the scanner in Alien Isolation. The flickering light also disguises the Stalker. So you don't get a clear view [of him]. There's probably certain aspects of his animations that could make the Stalker look a bit silly. But you don't see those. It's also a camouflage to put him inside the holes. That was big and actually came about halfway through [development].
Previously we had the Stalker out in lit areas. Let's say you had the lamp turned on in the barracks, and while you were roaming around in the other barracks, you could hear the Stalker going around there. That just didn't work because players were saying, 'The generator's on [but] it doesn't have an effect on the Stalker.' They didn't know where he was [because] he was just contained in those dark areas. The moment we said, 'Let's try and put him in the holes more,' and not care so much about the lit areas – that just ramped up the horror.
I actually went to Thomas and said, 'Hey, I think we might have made this game too scary.' [laughs] And he was like, 'That’s good!' But I actually felt this might be too much for many players.
Now, if you really want to scare people – and I hope we managed to do that with The Bunker – then you need to tie it into the players' actions more instead of adding trigger points on the floor. For example, when you go there and something moves at the end of the corridor. Even moving a crate in the bunker could have a potentially disastrous effect on you. And that's playing with your head. I hope more games will do that instead of being almost like a movie.
"We took some creative freedom on the gas mask. In WWI, the gas mask wasn't actually covering the ears, but I said, 'We need to take that creative freedom because that changes the whole thing.' If you put that on, you get limited visibility and you get muffled hearing which made it more difficult to notice him. But you didn't see the silhouettes anymore. I mean, I don't think it ever starts as one finished idea. It's always a small idea that leads to something like this."
Fredrik Olsson Executive Producer
SUPERJUMP
To be honest, I haven't played such a scary game since the original Outlast... It’s so scary that I couldn't play it without my lights off. And that never happens!
Fredrik Olsson
That's nice. We like to scare people. [laughs] It's a strange line of work but someone has to do it.
SUPERJUMP
Okay, the final question: is there a feature/idea of yours you are most proud of?
Fredrik Olsson
The first thing I have to say is that every unique sequence that was created uniquely for the player – that's what I'm proud of the most. We managed to create a dynamic environment that creates war stories for the players. That was a big challenge for this project. I'm super happy with how it turned out.
If I had to pick a narrative point, I think it has to be the Pillbox. So many players go up there and say, 'Hey, I can climb out of this!' It's a very strong moment where people, looking down at the hole again, go, 'Oh, I need to get back there... This is not the way out. The sniper is ready to kill me.' It makes people think it's a safe area because the Stalker can't get there.
That shot is actually fun as well because the idea came from the audio guy who just put it in and said, 'I’d put an audio stinger here.' And everyone was like, 'Ooh, that's great!' Then we added on top [of it]: you can actually hold the helmet up, and if you do – it gets shot out of your hands. It's a very nice narrative moment where you get reminded of the setting.
I really like The Chapel in the maintenance area. I just love how people run back to the Safe Room, close the door, and then take a deep breath. You can hear it on so many playthroughs. [Laughs] That's the first time they take a breath.
We'd like to thank Fredrik for making time to sit down with us. If you'd like to read more in-depth developer interviews, check out our full interviews archive.
Over a year since its launch, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a rare example of a sequel that managed to invent the wheel for a second time. Where Breath of the Wild reintroduced the world to the sense of adventure that literally birthed The Legend of Zelda as we know it, Tears of the Kingdom builds upon the foundation that was laid by its predecessor and actively encourages players to go beyond the boundaries that were set in the previous title. The result is a revolutionary game that takes a familiar and well-trodden world and elevates it to - literally - new heights while similarly evoking a sense of nostalgia as players explore a world that has naturally changed with time.
My first playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was truly made when I stumbled upon one of the final areas of the game by complete accident. My own story of exploring the reimagined world of Hyrule will be very different from anybody else's and these are the stories we share. These memorable moments of discovery and excitement stick with players for years after they put the game down, even more than the so-called "Legend" itself.
Spoilers ahead for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Link’s new abilities in Tears of the Kingdom expand the scope of puzzle-solving, with a renewed focus on physics and building. This approach to puzzle-solving is completely unique to this title and flourishes at every opportunity it gets. One particular example manages to capture this extraordinary feat in what at first appears to be something completely mundane - an unfolding bridge. Polygon has already deconstructed this (and more) impressive feats hiding in the Shrines and Dungeons of Tears of the Kingdom - and so I link to their impressive analysis here.
I wish to focus on the game's physics because I want people to know that I do find Tears of the Kingdom to be an exceptional experience when I play it. No other open-world game has captured my interest in the same way, with almost boundless potential to experiment and create solutions to the game's various open-ended problems. And it’s precisely because of this innovation that I find Tears of the Kingdom is also one of the most confusing games I’ve ever played.
Source: Press Kit.
Where the gameplay (literally) soars to new heights, the story of Tears of the Kingdom is one that paradoxically represents the polar opposite, holding itself tightly to the legacy of The Legend of Zelda, at the cost of its own identity.
Leading up to the game's release, we were promised a Zelda experience unlike we'd ever had. A uniquely dark atmosphere was present all throughout the game’s marketing, with imaginations running wild about the depths to which Nintendo would go in this new entry. The image of Link losing his arm was particularly striking to veteran Zelda fans and Nintendo fans in general - not many of their characters are shown to effectively lose limbs on screen. The closest is Samus Aran and her experience with the X-Virus in 2004’s Metroid Fusion, and even this was portrayed mostly through text. Tears of the Kingdom was a new frontier for Nintendo as storytellers.
While Tears of the Kingdom manages to commit to this promise in its opening set piece - with the creative excuse of reducing Link’s health down to the classic three hearts - this promise of new ideas is quickly disposed of in light of a familiar structure and general progression that seemingly betrays the ambition that exists in the gameplay. On a surface level, Tears of the Kingdom is about metamorphosis and change. Characters we’re familiar with are distorted and changed to challenge our perception of this familiar world, exploring how these changes offer new opportunities. This extends from the large scale all the way down to the minute details. The geography of Hyrule has changed in the six years between Breath of the Wild and this game, with the addition of the Sky Islands and the Depths being the most prominent changes to the layout of the world as we know it.
Source: Press Kit.
While Tears of the Kingdom manages to commit to this promise in its opening set piece - with the creative excuse of reducing Link’s health down to the classic three hearts - this promise of new ideas is quickly disposed of in light of a familiar structure and general progression that seemingly betrays the ambition that exists in the gameplay.
The addition of layered subterranean cave systems similarly adds to this sense of evolution and natural change with time. The previously desolate Tarrey Town has burgeoned into an industrial hub for Hyrule’s rapidly developing construction industry, as a direct result of Link’s efforts in the previous game. This sense of consistency and tangibility between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is a part of the appeal of a direct sequel like this. Players are rewarded for having engaged with the previous game with their discoveries in the sequel. Even being able to call upon the same horse as you had in Breath of the Wild is a satisfying moment of continuity that reminds you that you are returning to this world as an experienced adventurer rather than beginning all over again. Despite being lowered back down to 3 hearts, you still have some tricks you can rely on, and knowledge that you’ve gained.
These subtle but meaningful moments of continuity are then confusingly undercut in this game’s complete refusal to engage with the main narrative of the previous game. While I wouldn’t expect every shrine from the previous game to be present in this one, I was expecting an explanation as to where all these old things have gone to make room for the new. This extends more significantly to the disappearance of the Divine Beasts from Breath of the Wild. The four Divine Beasts stood as the primary objectives in the previous game and also doubled as that game’s iteration of classic Zelda dungeons. They also stood as landmarks against the natural landscapes of Hyrule, with a distinct sense of purpose and style in the areas they existed in. They’re borderline inseparable from the places where they reside, and yet they’ve seemingly vanished without any explanation. Where Divine Beast Vah Medoh used to stand above Rito Village as a guardian protector, the robotic bird is conspicuously missing and leaves a massive void in its wake.
Source: Press Kit.
The ancient Guardians of infamy from Breath of the Wild have all but completely vanished in Tears of the Kingdom - with a single one being stapled to the top of an ancient laboratory, without any form of explanation. While it was clearly a focus not to alienate players who hadn’t played the original, there is something missing in not acknowledging the journey that most players will have been on in the previous outing. Tears of the Kingdom attempts to have it both ways and therefore succeeds on neither scale when respecting new and old players. This inconsistent approach to storytelling leads to an awkward outcome where no group of players can be fully satisfied with the way that things have been continued in this highly anticipated sequel.
Beyond the links to the original game, Tears of the Kingdom also betrays its innovative and transformative gameplay in terms of its own story above all else. Despite Link losing an arm and gaining Rauru's assistance, Mineru becoming a robot-possessing spirit and Zelda literally becoming an ancient Dragon, all of these elements are rendered moot by the end of the game. Link regains his own arm, Mineru disappears and Zelda is back to being a human again. These are pivotal moments throughout the story and are massively impactful when they happen - but I can't help thinking there should be some permanence behind these moments of sacrifice. In the case of Zelda, her decision to become the Light Dragon is one that epitomises a noble sacrifice that allows Link to take the final step to restore some semblance of order and safety to the world.
Source: Press Kit.
On paper, Zelda herself is left as a dragon for centuries; this moment is more than impactful on its own. So for her to be restored without much challenge by the game's end really feels like a "safe" option. Despite the time-spanning and long-reaching sacrifices that have been made to get to the end of Tears of the Kingdom, the game ends as every other - Ganondorf is defeated and peace is restored to Hyrule, with Link and Zelda standing on the other side.
Link travels to the four regions - again. Link fixes their problems - again. And then reclaims the Master Sword - again. For players jumping from Breath of the Wild, there is a recognisable formula at play that punctuates the experience with an odd sense of repetition, for a game built on avoiding linearity. Some interesting ideas and setpieces are held within a recognisable sequence that feels like it misses a beat or two through a dedication to choosing your own objectives. Open-world game design and linear stories can mix and often do so with compelling results.
This commitment to safety is prevalent to the extent that it feels like the game is actively acknowledging that the transformations that these characters undergo are harmful and the better outcome is to return to the status quo. Return to what we know instead of embracing new and exciting new opportunities - which is oddly self-fulfilling.
Source: Press Kit.
These subtle but meaningful moments of continuity are then confusingly undercut in this game’s complete refusal to engage with the main narrative of the previous game.
Herein lies the paradox at the heart of Tears of the Kingdom, and the greater trilogy that includes Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity. Despite pushing the greater Zelda series to new heights in terms of gameplay styles and ideas, the stories are so afraid of embracing those changes to create something truly new. The transformative nature of these games and their narratives contradict themselves to create an overarching series that feels muddled and lost in its own ideas while trying to please everybody in the process. The champions die in Breath of the Wild, only for the plot of Age of Calamity to be a time travel story about helping them to survive. There's no weight.
The so-called "Legend of Zelda" has proven to be a restrictive narrative framework where each story is almost obligated to end in the same way. And while I'm not daring to say that there should be a game where Link and Zelda canonically fail in their mission - it feels like this framework is really holding Nintendo back from exploring some exciting new potential for the series and the stories that it tells.
For how wonderfully innovative the mechanics of Ultrahand, Fuse, and Recall are, they deserve a far more exciting story to be used in than something as muddled as this. When all is said and done, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a game that is far more fun to play than it is to experience, thanks to the clunkiness of the story, and that's the biggest shame of all. I can only hope that by moving beyond this iteration of Hyrule, we're able to enter a new era for the series and really see some exciting ideas emerge.
👋 Hi there! Welcome to the latest edition of SUPERJUMP Weekly. This week, we're celebrating visual novels in all their diverse forms. In this issue, we also showcase the works of Abhishek Iyer and feature Hollowbody in our latest On the Radar update.
IN THIS ISSUE
✍️ Story Showcase: Visual Novels ⭐ Author Showcase: Abhishek Iyer 📡 On the Radar: Hollowbody 📅 This Week on SJP 🏆 Backers
As the definition of "retro" has grown, we've seen more and more old-school sensibilities emerge in new games. Hollowbody, a survival horror game with some definite sixth-generation horror flair, is definitely one of those titles. This might be the game that desperate Silent Hill fans have been waiting for.
Source: Steam.
Some time in the future, a technological disaster strikes that leaves parts of the world uninhabitable. There are people known as Shippers who've turned this into a business opportunity, retrieving rare objects from these exclusion zones on behalf of shadowy benefactors. Your business partner disappeared on one such scavenging mission, and now you're heading in to find her and get her out. You're not alone, however - something is lurking in that city, and you'd better get out before it finds you.
Source: Steam.
Hollowbody's inspirations are obvious. The puzzle design, combat mechanics and overall aesthetic are based heavily on Silent Hill 2 and 3, right down to the use of fixed camera angles. However, this isn't just another spiritual successor. All signs are that Hollowbody is building on that concept, with a novel setting and the quality-of-life elements you'd expect from a modern game. The techno-horror story is particularly intriguing, and it'll be interesting to see how the narrative pans out.
Thank you to Berke, Brandon, CT, Cathie, Claire, Geena, Lexi, Nick, Oren, Troy, Radha, and Wes for supporting independent, cynicism-free games publishing.
Becoming a SUPERJUMP Backer means: • 100% of your contribution goes directly to our authors. • You'll receive a monthly 10% discount code for all purchases at PixelCrib and the SUPERJUMP Merch Store.
The games industry in the late 1990s was in the midst of a technological arms race. The industry had been rapidly expanding for many years on the back of the Dotcom Boom, and the Internet was helping to proliferate gaming culture faster than ever before.
With the introduction of 3D accelerator cards, the arms race witnessed the emergence of its latest weapon. Specifically, PC games were transitioning from the pixelated 2D abstraction of sprites to the realm of three-dimensional models, bump-mapped textures, and real-time lighting, thanks to groundbreaking technologies like 3dfx Interactive’s Voodoo graphics cards. Likewise, the console market was leaving the sprites behind, with the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation both pushing the console market deeper into the 3D frontier.
Technological leaps forward were synonymous with progress in game design, while victory was decided by benchmarks and unit sales were the spoils of war. However, in the 2010s, the previously unmatched reign of high-quality AAA games was being eroded by the rise of a new era - low-quality indie games and remasters. What happened, and why?
Selaco (2024), developed and published by Altered Orbit Studios. Source: Steam.
The spectre of technology
More than any other art form, games have a deeply intrinsic relationship with the medium used to create them. A painting requires nothing more than a canvas and a type of paint. A book requires ink and paper, or in more recent eras, an e-reader and digital file. A film requires a screen and some method of projection. But games are complex, the result of commands sent to hardware, rendering processes, and translation of user inputs. They are often written in languages that are tied to a specific type of technology or platform. You cannot simply load a Nintendo game onto a PlayStation or a Mac computer. A game written for the IBM XT personal computer in the 1980s will not work on a modern Windows PC without a great deal of tinkering and emulation.
Other art forms, for the most part, do not suffer from the perishability of their medium. Paintings, sculptures, and books have existed for centuries and even millennia. Paper does not undergo “upgrades” that make previous types of paper obsolete and incompatible. Even with film, the ability to record and reproduce a film in a newer format offsets the obsolescence of older mediums.
Games do not have that luxury.
The technology we use to experience them is perpetually evolving and changing, and the rate of obsolescence vastly outstrips the best efforts of game preservationists. While preservation continues to be a challenge in all fields of art and history, the issue is most pronounced in the games industry.
Windows 98. Source: Author.
Though technology has been the source of an immense challenge for game historians and preservationists, it has also been an enormous boon to game designers. The rapid advance of computing technology over the past 50 years has provided developers with an exponentially expanding toolset to communicate their ideas. Only 20 years after 1972’s Pong, Nintendo released Super Tennis on the Super Nintendo. Fifteen years after that, thousands of living rooms worldwide saw friends waving their Wii remotes back and forth while they played tennis in Nintendo’s Wii Sports. It’s hard to imagine that Allan Alcorn could have predicted what tennis games would look like a mere three decades later.
Pong (1972), Super Tennis (1991), and Wii Sports (2006). Source: Wikimedia Commons, Author, and StrategyWiki.
Marketing departments have exploited this relationship between games and technology from the beginning. A 1996 magazine advertisement for The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall stated:
"Daggerfall's world is twice the size of Great Britain, filled with people, adventures, and scenery as real as reality."
In 1998, Epic Games (then known as Epic MegaGames) released Unreal, featuring the debut of the now-ubiquitous Unreal Engine. It was a huge leap forward for FPS gaming, and a chief reason for its critical acclaim was Unreal’s spectacular visual fidelity. I can recall my own feelings upon first stepping outside the crashed prison ship and seeing that iconic scene of a waterfall plummeting into a deep canyon below. “Games will never look better than this,” I naively told myself.
1998's Unreal broke new ground. Source: Author.
Competitors in the console market rivalry between Microsoft’s upstart Xbox and Sony’s sophomore PlayStation 2 frequently drew battle lines based on technical performance. Gaming magazines often compared the two platforms on hardware specs and game performance, rather than assessing games purely on their design merits.
Games rely on creating memorable interactive experiences, and when the latest tech allows you to craft an immersive experience unlike any that has come before it, then it is no wonder that critical success often accompanies technical innovation. But, as the perceived leaps forward become smaller, the benefits of technical superiority become less apparent.
The visual communication plateau
Back in 1998, I thought games would never look better than Unreal, and I was wrong. I'm not stupid enough to make that statement again, but the graphical leaps forward of previous decades are today more commonly “measured steps”.
Back in 2018, EA's Battlefield V arguably heralded the dawn of the "Ray-Tracing Era", being one of the earliest major releases to natively support a technology that had by then become relatively attainable on consumer hardware. However, for many gamers, the increased visual fidelity that ray-tracing offered in those early years wasn't worth the extra cost in hardware. This was compounded by the cryptocurrency bubble and then a global semiconductor shortage that vastly inflated the price of even entry-level graphics cards. Even today, with ray tracing being more widely supported, the performance cost is arguably not worth it for many games, which will opt for higher frame rates over greater visual fidelity.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (2019), developed and published by Rockstar Games. Source: Author.
Games rely on creating memorable interactive experiences, and when the latest tech allows you to craft an immersive experience unlike any that has come before it, then it is no wonder that critical success often accompanies technical innovation.
The Ray-Tracing Era has exacerbated what has been occurring since the early 2000s: diminishing returns on pushing performance. In 1996, a 3dfx Voodoo card retailed for around USD $299 on launch (that's about USD $600 today when adjusted for inflation), and the Voodoo was simply the best consumer-grade graphics card on the market. Compare that to today's graphics card prices, and the difference in the value assessment becomes quite staggering (even when you factor in that Voodoo cards were not standalone, and needed to be paired with a standard "2D" VGA card). More to the point, though, is that the difference in visual fidelity was staggering. Seeing a game with a Voodoo for the first time was a transformative experience, but the difference between a top card like the Nvidia RTX 4090 and a budget card like the RTX 4060 is hardly earth-shattering. The fact is that, even on lower-end cards, games can still look great.
Before going on, I want to clarify one point — the difference between game performance and visual communication. Game performance — framerate, number of computations per second, physics calculations, etcetera — has continued to advance at an impressive rate. On the other hand, visual communication is the ability of a designer to communicate a concept through graphics, textures, and animations.
With raw processing power, computing power has a limit – the speed of an electron moving through matter. Computing continues to push those boundaries, but the cost-benefit analysis for games is different from that of computer engineering, and there is a point where it stops making much of a difference to visual communication. The latest hardware offers incredible leaps in performance, with the ability to emulate accurately the path of light rays on reflective surfaces, create interactive physics between objects, or upscale textures on the fly. However, the concepts that this additional hardware is able to communicate are limited. There is only so much extra detail you can add to something like an in-game car, a dog, or a building. The average gamer won’t necessarily care if powerful and expensive hardware accurately models and animates the individual strands of hair on a character’s head. All they care about is whether it looks like hair.
Military-themed FPS games at 10-year intervals: Wolfenstein 3D (1992, Top Left), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (2002, Top Right), Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012, Bottom Left) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022, Bottom Right). Source: Author and Steam.
Back to basics
Since the dawn of the indie and remaster boom in the early 2010s, there has been a noticeable return to lower-fidelity graphics. The reasons for this are many; developers are banking on nostalgia, of course, and simple graphics require less development overhead. One might have initially argued that this was a fad, but 14 years later, I think it is safe to say that lo-fi games are here to stay.
I’d argue that one of the big reasons for the emergence of lo-fi games is the growing maturity of the games industry. The combination of the growth in indie/retro games and progress in graphics becoming more granular, with resources devoted to less obvious technical details has created an environment where audiences that consume games are assessing graphics in a more aesthetic frame of mind, rather than a technical one.
Perhaps another contributing factor is the increasingly uninspired state of AAA gaming. AAA developers have always focused on utilizing the latest technology, but despite their visually appealing nature, they have burnt much goodwill with excessive monetization, buggy releases, and bland gameplay.
The days of games being punished in reviews for not looking cutting-edge are, largely, a thing of the past. It still occurs, usually when a game advertises itself as groundbreaking when it’s not, but most of the time, criticism of graphics is more focused on artistic coherence rather than technical brilliance.
GameSpot's 2001 review of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. Source: GameSpot.
One of the great positive side effects of this change in perspective has been the reinterpretation of many classic games that were once criticised for their dated look. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura was one of these titles; it looked dated before it was even released and was judged accordingly. But as many players who braved the game’s many bugs found at the time (and many have since), Arcanum is an RPG with incredible depth and a truly unique world.
When there is no need to maintain currency with the latest tech, critics evaluate a game based on different aspects, such as mechanics, story-telling, aesthetics, and gameplay. The mechanics might still feel dated, but this allows for a reasonable comparison between many classic games and their modern counterparts.
Boomer shooters: A case study
The release of David Szymanski's DUSK in 2018 was a defining moment in the emergence of what would come to be known as the "boomer shooter" genre. After a decade of iron sights, regenerating health, and grounded settings, shooter fans were ready to return to the genre's roots: gore-soaked, lighting-fast, run-and-gun tests of player skills and reflexes. DUSK showed that, far from being a tired genre, there was still life to be found in classic shooter design.
The years since have seen an explosion of interest in the genre. HROT, ULTRAKILL, Project Warlock, Proteus, Ashes 2063, Amid Evil, Cultic, and Selaco are just some of the titles that have received acclaim. A poster child for this classic shooter rebirth was Ion Fury (Voidpoint Interactive, 2019), a game developed in the Build Engine. If that name sounds familiar to those who have been around the block a few times, the Build Engine was used for many of the games that were the inspiration for this genre rebirth, titles from the pre-millennium FPS heyday like Blood, Shadow Warrior, PowerSlave and of course, the mighty Duke Nukem 3D. Seizing on the popularity of this FPS renaissance, developers like id Software, Apogee and Nightdive Studios released remasters and remakes of classics like Doom, Quake, Rise of the Triad, Turok, and many more.
1993's Doom vs. 1999's Quake III Arena. Source: Author.
The days of games being punished in reviews for not looking cutting-edge are, largely, a thing of the past.
If you consider DUSK to be the beginning, then the boomer shooter genre has now reached the same age as Doom was when Quake III Arena was released in 1999. By most metrics, the genre is doing better than ever, but from a technical perspective, there’s been little progress. Released in 2024 by Altered Orbit Studios, Selaco was developed using the GZ Doom engine, a source port of the original Doom engine from 1993. Yet, while the tech hasn’t advanced at all, the technique has taken leaps and bounds. Developers are constantly finding new and novel ways to employ tech that is in some cases almost 30 years old.
The big reason behind the longevity of the boomer shooter revival so far, and other retro-revival genres like classic RPGs, driving sims, and strategy games, is that these aging engines and graphical styles can communicate design intent effectively, without relying on performance-taxing techniques. Yes, Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Forza Motorsport look spectacular, but clever indie developers have been showing for many years now that gameplay always trumps technical complexity, and an adept designer can deliver artistic impact in a dated style just as well as a designer using the latest technology.
Amid Evil. Source: Steam.
If games are truly art, then the medium used to create them is not central to their worth. I highly doubt that Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) viewed the works of Rembrandt (1606-1669) with any less admiration or respect, simply because Rembrandt was using a medium and style that, in Picasso’s day, was no longer current. Similarly, many contemporary artists strive to recreate the style and technique of Baroque masters like Rembrandt in 2024
Likewise, a game released in 2014, or 1992, or 1979 is no less important today than it was at the time. These games are not “obsolete.” They are merely of their era. The revival of classic genres is a testament to this. The games industry has reached a level of maturity where classics are being reinterpreted as a defined style rather than simply being dismissed as obsolete.
The intrinsic relationship between games and technology will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in game design, but it is design methodology and artistic interpretation that continue to broaden game design horizons. Progress is not framerates, clock speed, and polygon counts. It is the creative minds that drive the industry, perpetually reinterpreting their influences and breathing new life, innovation, and richness into the hobby.
Developed by Summerfall Studios and published by Humble Games, Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical was originally released in August 2023. Additional content known as "Stray Gods: Orpheus" was released in late June 2024 on all consoles. For the purpose of this review, I will only be reviewing the base game as I have not played the DLC yet.
Stray Gods tells the epic tale of Grace, a young woman and college dropout who feels directionless. After meeting a mysterious young woman named Calliope, Grace returns home only to have a fatally wounded Calliope die in her arms. From here, Grace finds herself becoming the last Muse, accused of murder by a chorus of Greek gods. Now, she has seven days to prove her innocence and find the true killer or be sentenced to death.
One of the first notable features in Stray Gods is the animated sequences. Consisting of 2D hand-illustrated visuals created by art director Benjamin Ee and illustrator Jess Lee, watching the animation feels almost like looking at a comic book. Characters are drawn realistically so that facial expressions and movement feel true to life. The designs are diverse in terms of race, gender, and body type and also vibrant and detailed enough to show facets of each character's personality.
Source: Press Kit.
Characters are drawn realistically so that facial expressions and movement feel true to life.
Speaking of the characters, they are a pretty lively bunch. Grace will be relatable to anyone who has felt stuck in life, while her female best friend Freddie is cool, optimistic, and knowledgeable about Greek mythology. Then, there are the Greek gods themselves. Hermes is a cheerful nonbinary Asian messenger with magic doorways. Persephone is a tough-as-nails club owner with a soft side. Aphrodite is beautiful, soulful, and deeply troubled. Orpheus is vindictive and musically gifted. These characters and their personal stories are dynamically enhanced by a stellar international voice cast that includes Laura Bailey, Erika Ishii, Merle Dandridge, and Anthony Rapp.
Moreover, the characters, story, and animated sequences are brought to life through fabulous musical numbers that change lyrically and genre-wise depending on the dialogue you select out of a series of timed, color-coded choices. The musical numbers are also affected by the color-coded traits you select for Grace at the beginning and climax of the game, which range from charming (green), kick-ass (red), or clever (blue). On my first playthrough, I chose the Clever trait, which made the song "I Can Teach You" into a fun jazz track. On the other hand, the kick-ass trait turned this song into an angry solo jazz number.
Source: YouTube.
In addition to making choices during musical numbers, the dialogue choices you select influence which characters you romance. Some choices come with heart options that allow you to flirt with a character and at some point, you get choices with an exclamation point. Choosing the right one allows you to romance a character and later get a musical number. There are four romance options, including Apollo, Persephone, Freddie, and Pan. I romanced Freddie on my second playthrough and found their courtship poignant, down-to-earth, and sweet. However, other players might want to consider using a guide if you are going for a certain character to ensure that you pick the correct dialogue options, as it is possible to get locked out of romancing a character if you pick the wrong ones.
Source: Author.
This brings me to the last two prominent aspects of the game. The first is the ability to reload your save from specific points in the game. If you dislike a choice you make in one musical number or a dialogue option, you can reload the chapter it is in and do it again. While you can't hit the "Y" button and fast forward through musical numbers you've already done, you can do this with the dialogue lines.
For those who want to do multiple routes, the replay value is very high. There are multiple save slots available for different playthroughs and the ability to skip dialogue lines assists with this. Not to mention, the rewards are worth it as you get to romance different characters, see what happens if you side with certain characters, and hear different versions of the songs.
All in all, this game is a campy and engrossing visual novel with a song in its heart. Visually striking animation, charismatic characters, and dramatic musical numbers come together to tell a magical story about gods learning to be human and finding a new place for themselves.
It's been a brutal summer - the perfect time to stay in and try out a few new games. While coverage of indie games has been dominated by the flood of quick-flip cash-baiting clickers, there were some more substantial titles on offer in July. That includes a nontraditional RPG, a nontraditional platformer, and a really traditional adventure game. Even if you overbought in the last Steam sale, you should at least give these a closer look.
If you'd like to see these games in action, check out the Find the Fabulist YouTube channel.
The world is full of creatures called schims, strange entities unnoticed by most that dwell in the shadows cast by people and objects. You are one such schim, living in a young man's shadow. One day, a fluke results in you becoming unmoored from that familiar shadow and launched into the world at large. Your goal is to navigate a world of light and shadow as you attempt to find your way back home.
SCHiM is a puzzle platformer seen from an isometric perspective, an unusual setup for a game like this. The player leaps from shadow to shadow while heading toward set objectives. A schim can last for short periods in direct light, but only enough time for one additional short jump. If the shadows are too far apart to reach by jumping alone, the player will need to hitch a ride with a moving object, find an alternate route, or solve a simple puzzle to create or move shadows.
The moment-to-moment gameplay in SCHiM is very simple. You might occasionally get stuck, but a minute of exploration is usually enough to get unstuck and keep the game moving forward. Similarly, the jumping mechanics are extremely forgiving, letting a typical player move between shadows quickly and with few errors. It is, overall, a very easygoing experience.
The main selling point for SCHiM might be its style. The high-contrast monochrome world is striking, with a remarkable amount of detail in the environments and animations. Many screens are also built around a wordless narrative - a simple story told through people's actions, vehicles, and even the weather. While a skillful player can hop through SCHiM in short order, it's worth taking the occasional moment to soak in the little details.
Galactic Glitch is a twin-stick shooter with a physics-based twist. In addition to the genre-standard armaments, the player's ship comes equipped with a gravity beam that can be used to grab debris, missiles, and even small enemies and fling them as projectiles. Using the gravity beam is strictly optional, one of several offensive choices offered to the player, but it's certainly a satisfying tool to use.
The objective is to reach a boss area at the end of a procedurally generated maze of rooms. Those rooms can contain enemies, shops, or teleporters that can be used for quick travel across the maze. A few rooms are also guaranteed to contain optional challenges yielding items that can be used to upgrade the player's ship later on. There is an emphasis on exploration, but a speed-minded player can also make a beeline for the boss and earn a separate bonus for being quick.
While there is a bit of a play-it-as-you-want vibe to Galactic Glitch, it's a pretty typical twin-stick shooter at heart. It is an above average shooter, one with solid controls and interesting visuals, but there's nothing revolutionary here. If you're a fan of arcade shooters and want something with some replay value, Galactic Glitch is a good choice, but it's going to offer less to those who are cold to the action roguelike boom.
Galactic Glitch is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.
The remote Mondoton Island is home to a facility that exists for only one purpose - MonCon, the world's most celebrated convention. A young man named Joey has just arrived on Mondoton Island in hopes of getting an autograph from the island's reclusive owner, the game developer Mr. Miyashiro. There's one big problem: Joey is painfully introverted and can't bring himself to speak to anyone. With the help of some new friends - the excitable, somewhat delusional geek Karl and Marnie, a podcaster with anger issues - he'll have to figure out how to navigate the con, deal with celebrities, uncover a conspiracy, and finally meet the legend.
MonCon is an RPG built around rhythm mechanics. The framing of the combat is very unusual - no actual fighting takes place, as the combat is symbolic of the protagonist navigating stressful conversations. Both offense and defense are conducted through a DDR-style rhythm minigame, which is fairly generous with the timing and isn't usually too hard. Enemies have weaknesses to certain attacks but there's no clear RPS system here - the player needs to figure out whether flattery, insults, empathy, or geek chat are the best options against any foe.
While there are specific objectives, MonCon involves a lot of wandering. New floors of the convention center and hotel open up after key story moments, introducing new characters and mechanics. There are a lot of sidequests, including minigames that spoof popular video games, trading, collecting, and a cosplay contest. Most of these are optional but expect to get pulled into several of them over the course of the story.
Since it's a rhythm game, it's worth mentioning the music. While the overworld BGM is pretty standard, the combat music is quite distinctive. Standard music is bass-heavy, while attacks from both PCs and enemies have their own distinctive musical character, drawing from many different genres and styles.
MonCon is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.
Dodger, a dishwasher on a space station, is about to become an unwitting hero. The station's computer has detected a temporal anomaly and with no one else available to deal with it, the computer drafts Dodger into the time engineering service. Armed with a time travel remote, Dodger will need to move across time periods and repair the damage to the time stream, all the while piecing together clues pointing to an undiscovered history.
Tachyon Dreams Anthology is a series of three short adventure games built around 1980s design principles. Visually, the game goes to great lengths to recreate the graphical style of a computer game released on a mid-80s system such as the Amiga or Atari ST. This carries over to the keyboard-only control scheme, with the player using the direction keys to move and a text parser to issue commands.
The games themselves are about what you'd expect. The player moves across different rooms scattered across space and time, collecting objects that are used to solve puzzles elsewhere. There are certainly some obtuse puzzles here and there, but most are fair and an experienced adventure game enthusiast should be able to finish the anthology in a reasonable amount of time.
Tachyon Dreams Anthology is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.
That wraps up our look at the games that caught our attention during July, be sure to come back each month for more indie games you want to look out for!
Thirsty Suitors is a unique, story rich game that features love, battles, and Asian family drama (and not the kind of drama that would end up in a soap, but the mundane ones that haunt a queer South Asian).
Player character Jala is flawed, funny, and relatable. She has to skateboard through her hometown and battle her exes, even if they're cool. With a month to go before her sister's wedding, Jala has to make amends, and find out if she's invited. That isn't a lot of time for reconciliation!
I've been looking forward to the full release of Thirsty Suitors for a while since playing the demo two years ago. You can find my thoughts here in a compilation of Superjump's October 2022 Steam Demo fest recommendations. A friend was kind enough to gift it to me, and I finally got a chance to play it this June for Pride month.
What I love is that this game understands how hard it is to be queer and Asian in a diaspora world. Some family members refuse to comprehend the meaning of the word "bisexual". While Jala's parents are more understanding, with her dad providing unconditional love and support with bad puns, her grandmother has questions about why Jala is not happily settled down with someone. Namely, settled with an Indian guy who has a job and a career. For Jala to assert she doesn't just want to settle, she has to fight. Literally!
Beyond the diner scene in the demo
The Thirsty Suitors demo starts with a bus ride and tutorial. We also start there in the proper game. After a messy breakup, Jala is homeless, and without anything but a skateboard and her backpack. She scrounges up her pocket money to take the bus home to Timber Hills. A chance run-in with an ex may provide her a ride home, or an awkward battle as she and her opponent fight, flirt, and flex. The flexing is literal since Sergio has been working out since their elementary school days.
Source: Steam.
Turns out that Jala has gotten around a lot, with enough exes to rival the ones that Ramona Flowers had in Scott Pilgrim. Some are not interested after she broke their hearts, while others seek revenge. A few, like Sergio, consider getting closure. Either way, it seems Jala will have to fight them with the power of thirsty or angry taunts.
So that's where the demo ended. But then the story really begins when Jala finds out over an awkward breakfast with her parents that her big sister Aruni is getting married. Their grandmother is coming for the wedding and has been sending suitors after Jala to court her. All Indian guys, of course, who have jobs and respectable backgrounds. Jala loves Patti but isn't ready for any sort of romance after her breakup. Heck, she doesn't even know if she's back in Timber Hills to make amends with the family she left behind or improvise a way forward. Talking to Aruni is a high priority, but so is avoiding all the Indian suitors. They appear in gift boxes around town last that I checked.
I'm so relieved that the game gives settings for adjusting the battle difficulty. The battles in the demo were difficult, especially for someone like me who is not coordinated in a 3D pixel world. I'm already having trouble managing Jala on her skateboard since it's easy to nearly run over people or crash into railings. Still, you get some time to practice and determine Jala's Thirstsona based on the points she earns from battles.
Caught between expectations and tradition
This game totally renders what it's like to be adult, South Asian, and queer. Specifically, when you are out of the closet and your family remains in denial. If you're a cis woman and Indian-Asian, you have to fit the mold that before you turn 35, you need to get married to an Indian guy. Sure, you may be able to avoid it if your sisters end up with non-Indian men and scandalize mothers with a divorce, but awkward questions will arise. And those who marry non-Indian guys will always face their parents' remorse about it.
Elephants in the room exist in the game. Jala's parents don't want to talk about the fact that she cut them off for three years following a nasty fight with her mother and moving in with a woman named Jennifer. Her mother instead expresses disappointment about how she didn't bother calling while her dad suggests activities to mend bonds with Aruni and other family members. Jala doesn't want to talk about why Jennifer kicked her out and didn't even let her pack clothes. She can admit that her mother was right about Jennifer, but that's about it. Time will tell if these people will open up about what really happened, without dramatic meltdowns.
Source: ThirstySuitors.com
On the surface, Jala meets some of her parents' expectations. She's skinny owing to her constant skateboarding and wears clothes that some consider fashionable. In addition, she's been independent for a while and doesn't have chronic health conditions. When you hear meltdowns and needling remarks about any of these things, it sets the tone for impossible standards to meet.
In private, however, Jala's mother expresses some of the traditional views and disappointments that can hit any queer Indian adult. Her younger daughter doesn't have a high-power job that earns a lot of money or any sense of direction in life. Not to mention she's single, and her choice of romantic partners has been questionable at best. Jala has no future right now, and her past is sordid by conservative Indian standards. These small jabs hit close to home, even with her dad playing good cop. Jala internalizes all these criticisms and repeats them on loop, another thing that hits very close to home.
Then there's Aruni. The older responsible sister, who has found a decent guy, moved out but stayed within walking distance, and apparently has no issues. Jala wants to mend her bond with her older sister but doesn't know how, since they ghosted each other. She may not even have a wedding invitation! Conversation has to happen, along with answers. But Aruni also represents everything Jala isn't: the model daughter for South Asian parents. Jala implies that's why the two haven't spoken in months but someone has to break the ice.
Source: Steam.
Skating to a new life
It will be interesting to see where the rest of the story will go. Jala is by no means perfect, but she is relatable to the Gen Y South Asian in the West. Her story is bound to have as many twists and turns as her skateboard routes.
I also can't wait to see how the game will address this awkward status that Jala has as a South Asian disaster bisexual. She will have to assert herself to her grandmother and figure out a way forward after a breakup.
For strategy fans, one of the biggest pieces of news from the barrage of summer showcases was the long-awaited announcement of a new Civilization game. We're certainly overdue; with Civ (like everything else) transitioning to a live service-lite model, brand-new releases are coming farther apart. The people who started frantically searching for Civilization VII around the time that Civilization VI launched can certainly sleep easy.
That being said, we don't have much information, or any specific information, aside from the fact that Civ VII is somewhere on the horizon. 2K and Firaxis have promised more details in August, which will inevitably lead to rounds of analysis, scrutiny, criticism, and planning. What are the key mechanics? Have they changed any of the things that people have complained about? Which countries will be available out of the gate? Will we once again be subjected to the worst people in the fandom complaining about how it "looks too much like a console game," whatever that even means? These are all questions waiting for answers.
I suspect that different people are anticipating different aspects. Some want to see what combat will look like. Some want to get a handle on unique units and civilization abilities. For me, it's all about the technology tree. As someone who's obsessed with being ahead of time in tech, this is what I always scope out first.
I anticipate being disappointed because no strategy game has ever gotten the tech tree exactly right. Frankly, I'm not sure perfection is even possible.
Screenshot from Civilization VI. Source: Press Kit.
This isn't to say that they're not trying. Civilization VI featured two very profound changes to technology: The Eureka system, which added little mini-quests to speed up research on specific upgrades, and the splitting of "social" technologies into an entirely separate tree. Both of these were significant improvements, but they still failed to address all the problems I've noticed.
So let's discuss those problems and all the ways that a developer might address them.
Issues with tech tree design
Most people probably don't have serious problems with the Civilization tech tree. It's certainly a functional mechanic, and the trees have improved greatly from earlier versions, shedding useless upgrades and making the overall design more intuitive, for example. That doesn't mean there's no room for improvement, though.
Balance issues and key technologies
The most obvious issue with tech trees is something that Firaxis has already been working on for a while now: balance issues. In older Civilization and Civ-type games, there were inevitably a handful of key technologies that any half-competent player would race toward, often ignoring everything else in the way. Often, these techs unlocked Wonders or their equivalents, which could be game-breakingly powerful in earlier games.
Both Civilization VI and Beyond Earth (and even Civ V to a lesser extent) showed signs of Firaxis trying to fix this. These games feature less powerful Wonders that are nice to have but not worth prioritizing, as well as more types of units to create more nuance in the combat. Even so, most victory types have certain essential developments that encourage this race for certain tech upgrades.
Contribution to third-act problems
Strategy games in general can have some serious issues during the late game. Put bluntly, the end of any strategy campaign can be boring. Civilization games in particular suffer from the "next turn" problem, with a player pursuing a Space Race or other late-game victory type, absentmindedly tapping the "End Turn" button for the last thirty minutes or so.
While this isn't directly a tech tree problem, the two issues are tied together. End-game technologies should feel really impressive, but the player is far more likely to just ignore anything developed in the last fifty turns or so. Either you're already on track to hit a victory condition, or you're falling short and whatever unit or building you unlock isn't going to be around long enough to change that. Technologies developed in the fifty turns before are unlikely to play much of a role in the game, simply because everyone's strategy is largely set by that point.
Narrative issues
The most abstract problem with the standard Civ tech tree is how artificial it feels.
This didn't matter all that much in older strategy games, which more resembled board games. However, strategy games have been developing in a more narrative-focused direction, and that includes Civilization. In Civ II, it was amusing that you could potentially start the Apollo program without having ever developed the wheel. It feels much more false in a modern game, and so does the idea that your country could so consciously focus its technological development.
Screenshot from Civilization VI. Source: Press Kit.
Alternatives to the standard Civ tech tree
While some variation on the tech tree is still standard in the strategy space, there have been plenty of games - ranging from very early 4X titles to recent indies - that took other approaches. Whether these are viable options depends on a wide range of factors, including the game's overall focus (big-picture strategy vs. turn-to-turn tactical), scope, setting (historical vs. speculative), speed, and complexity.
Linear tech tree/tech tracks
A few games have simplified their tech trees to the point where they feature linear tracks down which players can advance as far as they want.
An extreme example of this is Europa Universalis 4, which features three tracks for administrative, diplomatic, and military advancements. Each track consumes a different resource, so there are no real decisions beyond deciding when to unlock the next level. This is clearly too restrictive for a series like Civ; I'm not sure anyone would or should accept it. It works in EU4 because of that game's focus on strategy over tactics - technology isn't about specific choices, but rather a component of resource management.
A more robust version can be seen in some of the older Galactic Civilizations games, in which there are many tracks that represent specific upgrades - weapons, trade, industry, etc. This solves the problem of having to unlock undesired technologies - a player in need of happiness-generating buildings can simply pursue the appropriate track without needing to research anything else first. It's not a nice narrative fit for a historical game, though, and only feels natural in GalCiv because the upgrades are more abstract in its sci-fi setting. It's also worth noting that GalCiv has moved away from this in the most recent release.
Tech web
Firaxis' own Beyond Earth experimented with a nonlinear tech tree. Rather than moving along in a fixed direction, players can develop their technology down three distinct paths representing not just different scientific disciplines, but different philosophical approaches to the relationship between humans and the alien planet. There's no specific endpoint, and many upgrades feature ample "leaf technologies" - nonessential upgrades that players only need to pursue if they are useful.
The tech web is a really interesting idea, but like most things in Beyond Earth, it's not exactly well-regarded.
I think one of the problems was the attempt to connect technology with philosophy. The idea was that players would select whatever upgrades were immediately useful, and this would guide them down one of the three paths. For example, a player in bad starting terrain would seek out technologies that helped clear that terrain and make it useful, pushing them down the Purity path. The problem is that there were perks (including unique victory conditions) that really required the player to commit to one of those three paths from an early point in the game, so it wasn't exactly a natural exploration.
Besides that, this is another situation where it just works better in a speculative setting than a historical one. Real-life technological development isn't as linear as people assume, but in a history-themed game, we still expect events to proceed in a manner similar to history.
Screenshot from Civilization VI. Source: Press Kit.
Tech tiers
The tiered approach, as far as I know, has never been tried in this context. Tiered upgrades have been used as a replacement for skill trees (for which a tech tree is just the strategy equivalent), and even the Civilization series has experimented with tiers, such as in the ideology system in Civ V. The notion is that the player would not need to research specific precursor technologies to unlock the next one, but would unlock a new era of technologies after researching enough from the previous era.
Tiered upgrades are sometimes used in other games (such as action RPGs) because they are seen as less restrictive than skill trees. With tiers, the player isn't forced to take unnecessary upgrades to gain access to desired ones. Such a system would allow for a lot of flexibility while still keeping clearly defined eras in place.
The drawback (and the reason I think this hasn't been tried) is that it doesn't seem all that narratively satisfying. Research is an iterative process, and a tiered system would allow a player to skip what would seem like keystone technologies. Honestly though, if it's done right, a tiered tech upgrade system might actually be more realistic than a conventional tree, as it would capture real-world concepts such as the advantage of backwardness. Every society didn't have to invent the wheel ex nihilo - you ultimately know what your neighbors know.
Random/blind research
Alpha Centauri added an interesting twist to the tech tree, one that was radical enough that Firaxis enabled players to turn it off (and, full disclosure, I usually did). Technologies in Alpha Centauri are divided into four categories - Explore, Discover, Build, and Conquer, loosely mapping onto the 4X concept. Rather than researching specific techs, the player sets research priorities and then gets either a tech in that category or a precursor to one. Thus, a player looking to develop an economic base might set Discover and Build as priorities to gain new base facilities.
So what was so wrong with this concept that no one bothered trying it again for almost a quarter of a century? For one, Alpha Centauri has an old-school tech tree, with Secret Projects (their equivalent of Wonders) that can be so disgustingly powerful that some strategies are designed around them. When a single Project can make or break your playthrough, blind research is a massive disadvantage.
Alpha Centauri's tech tree is also big and messy, and that makes it too unintuitive for this system to work as intended. Say you're focusing on your military, so you do the sensible thing and focus on Conquer tech. You might not get a single Conquer tech for a while if you lack the prerequisites for them (which can include techs in the other three categories), but it doesn't matter because most of the weapons, armor, and unit types are unlocked by other tech types. It's simply not intuitive enough for blind research to work.
I think some variant of blind research could work with Civ's current style of tech tree. The more streamlined and balanced trees from the last few games are already split nicely into de facto categories (transport, civic, military) that make this much more sensible. But would players accept it? As I said, even the original version had an option to go back to the standard tree.
Civilization VI Title Screen. Source: 2K Games.
Narrative-linked upgrades
The most interesting prospect is foregoing a tech tree altogether. I don't mean eliminating tech upgrades altogether, though this has been done; tech-free strategy games are restricted to those with unorthodox settings, such as the high fantasy setting in Master of Magic. What I mean is getting rid of a purposeful tech tree in favor of tying tech upgrades directly to the player's actions.
This is another concept that Firaxis has played with. The Eurekas and Inspirations of Civ VI are kind of a lightweight version of this concept. Research speeds up based on how the player's civilization is growing - a country with cities on coasts will naturally develop sailing faster, those with lots of archers will gain access to better bows, and so on. It's an interesting way to blend mechanics and narrative in a way that really suits the new direction strategy games have been growing.
Would it be possible to go farther? I have seen games in which tech development is based wholly on the player's natural actions, but these tend to be city builders and base builders - distant cousins of strategy, with similar design principles but very different objectives and sensibilities. In a game that's innately competitive, a narrative-based tech tree becomes just another thing to manipulate, which is exactly what happened with Eurekas in Civ VI.
This is maybe the most interesting possibility, but also the hardest to put into effect. Maybe someday we'll see a system like this, but probably not in Civilization.
Non-tree tweaks
Most of the problems I've identified don't necessarily demand radical changes to the tech tree. A standard tree with some under-the-hood adjustments can accomplish the same thing without upsetting anyone.
I've already explained one way that Firaxis has done this - less powerful Wonders to discourage tech tree races. Other issues can be addressed in similar ways. Third-act issues can be overcome by staggering the emergence of game-changing developments. The slow pace of the endgame can be addressed with more flexible victory conditions that require more attention and input from the player. The narrative issue is trickier, but a few changes in how tech trading works and a sprinkling of random events could do wonders here.
Does it really matter?
Firaxis will almost certainly experiment with the tech tree, but I don't expect any game-changing differences. My guess is that you'll see an expansion and refinement of the Eureka system, more leaf techs to add flexibility, and perhaps some new mechanics to make the technology and civics trees feel more distinct. They may not even go that far, and could just move a few things around.
Why not make more profound changes? As much as we like to talk about "balance" as this perfect end-state of video games, it's not clear that the actual consumers really care. To the people who end up buying Civilization VII, what's important is that the tech tree be creative and intuitive, and these are things that Firaxis does reasonably well.
Honestly, it's probably for the best. I said at the beginning that perfection is likely impossible. It doesn't matter how flawlessly balanced your system is, someone is going to find a way to break it. For many strategy fans, that's the whole reason they gravitate toward these games in the first place. Make it perfect, and you're just going to encourage them to try harder.
So while I'm curious as to what Firaxis might pull, I'm not sweating too much over it. After all, I'll likely end up as one of those people trying to break the system.
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