Loop Hero [Four Quarters]
(Nindie Choice!) -
The thing I tend to love most about indie titles is their ability to
surprise with remixes of gameplay elements you’ve never seen before. Sure,
it can be risky business, and potentially crash and burn, but without such
experiments we’d never see original titles like Loop Hero. Part RPG, part
strategy, and part roguelike you won’t have an active role in the combat
taking place as your hero makes their way around the ever-evolving pathway
of the title. That said, you absolutely will be responsible for their
success (or lack thereof) through the careful management of their inventory,
the town you’ll slowly build to help support them, and shrewd placement of
various tiles along the path that can both help and certainly hinder their
chances for survival. The trick is that without carefully consulting a guide
(which, in this case, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend) how best to approach
these placements is a bit of a mystery, and for the best results will
require some experimentation and perhaps some luck as well. For people who
enjoy a challenge there’s simply nothing else like this on the system, and
while it lacks the satisfaction you’d have if you were actively involved in
combat there’s a great element of suspense every time you decide to extend
your current run just a little longer, hoping your battered hero can weather
the storm and bring back even more loot. It’s unusual, inventive, and
absolutely worth checking out.
One Hand Clapping [Bad Dream Games] (Nindie Choice!) - OK, so to start I’ll admit that this isn’t your ordinary
game and that’s both a good and a bad thing. At a minimum you’ll need to
have a microphone with a USB connector to even get started (plugging it into
the port in your dock), and a reasonable degree of confidence in your
ability to not so much sing as be able to somewhat reliably match and
control your pitches. Assuming you’ve got those bases roughly covered, One
Hand Clapping is absolutely a unique experience mixing up some puzzle
platforming with the use of your voice in a variety of ways. It starts
simple, just needing to sing to trigger elements on the screen, but as you
move on you’ll need to show some more refinement and sometimes a bit of
creativity to solve puzzles that will put some demands on your vocal chords.
While it generally works well I’ll admit that every once in a while the game
seemed to get confused about whether I was singing a high or a low note, but
for the most part it worked well enough to keep things moving. If you’re
looking for a new twist on a music and rhythm game that won’t penalize you
for not keeping up with the latest hits but still use your vocal instrument
this is a great choice to have.
Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders [Nupixo Games] - While there have
been quite a variety of point-and-click adventures on the Switch to date,
they’ve mostly been of a more humorous nature. Detective Di changes that up
pretty significantly, with more of a murder mystery tone that’s also steeped
in Far East culture and set in the distant past… all making for a
distinctive experience. Depending on your tastes in puzzles in terms of
complexity and inventory management there could be good or bad news. It
certainly doesn’t tend to waste your time (though you will need to do a bit
of backtracking between areas) with loads of convoluted or even useless
items laying about, but that also can make it feel a bit more linear in
nature which can rob you of the satisfaction of seeing the big picture and
working out some tougher challenges. Still, if you’re looking for some solid
story-telling and a change of pace in your adventure gaming this is a solid
option.
Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition [h.a.n.d. Inc] - As someone
who has taken my family to Disney World annually (sometimes more than once)
for the past 16 years (in fact, we just returned this past weekend, love the
holiday decorations) I absolutely have a love for the magic of Disney and
its characters. That said, as much as I appreciate the obvious effort that
has been put in here to try to bring many of its characters and essence to
life there’s no missing that the gaming experience suffers greatly from
“jack of all trades, master of none” syndrome. I have no doubt it is heavily
geared towards a younger and more casual audience, and perhaps the sheen of
Disney magic could help smooth over inconsistencies in the experience for
that audience, but so many of the mini game activities you’ll be engaged in
feel half-baked at best, especially when contrasted with activities in the
likes of Animal Crossing. I’d also consider the opening “on rails”
experience to be a bit on the long side without a tremendous amount of
return benefit since the most fun elements in the game are typically
centered around exploring the game world and discovering its many secrets
and characters. For die hard Disney fans who aren’t as seasoned it will be
easier to ignore the cracks in the facade, but for gamers who’ve been around
this would more likely play as an experience to be endured to see everything
more than whole-heartedly enjoyed.
Transient: Extended Edition [Stormling Studios] - I don’t doubt that
trying to craft games that blend sci-fi concepts with some Lovecraftian
horror elements can be a real challenge when also trying to make the
experience coherent… that said, even with that caveat in mind, Transient is
an odd bird. Aside from often struggling to keep up with precisely what all
you’re being told, its walking simulator meets adventure mechanics meets an
occasional mini game doesn’t make it any easier to love unconditionally. To
its credit, some of the game’s environments are impressive and even
detailed, but more often than not the majority of what’s around you is
simply dead and non-interactive, so it just ends up feeling like window
dressing as you poke around in search of something you can act on. If you
have patience, there are some narrative rewards awaiting you, but it’s a
very uneven experience getting there.
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