Category: Free

Games of the Month – January 2017

We’re back in this thing, huh?

While January was an epic garbage pile for a handful of reasons, the games weren’t one of them. A huuuge surprise came in the form of this month’s #1, and second place wasn’t too far behind. I wish I liked the Gravity Rush games but am glad that apparently a lot of other people do. In terms of indies…I don’t know! A few decent ones here and there but no early Pony Island like last year. AAA’s have my attention for the first time in a while this year, so I hope there are enough great indies to keep up.

#1. Yakuza 0

So whose job was it to let me know Yakuza was 100% my jam? It’s all I’ve been able to talk about this month. If you’re as new to the series as me, it’s tough to explain what exactly what this is. So let’s hit the questions:

Is Yakuza a serious crime drama? Yes, much of the game’s main story is focused around typical crime story scenes of family betrayal, honor, and that kind of stuff. It’s pretty good. Once a jumped through a window and punched a man into a toilet.

Is it a comedy? Yeah, it’s that too. Once you’re outside of the “main story” missions, the open world allows you to roam around and take on side quests. Hilarious side quests. Without spoiling anything, Yakuza 0 stands up as one of the most genuinely funny video games I’ve ever played.

Open world? Side quests? …Is Yakuza an RPG? Huh, I guess it kind of is. Yakuza 0 blends so many different things together that it’s hard to pin it down and give it a label. There are random encounters, multiple skill trees, side quests with branching dialogue options…so yeah, I guess. Yeah it is.

Is there good punching? Yes, the punching is very good. Sometimes you can punch someone while holding a bicycle. That is also very good.

I like punching, but what if I get tired of punching? Go sing one of the many songs and play the rhythm based karaoke mini games. Or the disco one in the dance hall. Or go win prizes in a crane game. Or go to an arcade and literally just play some other games made by Sega. Or go to the bowling alley or the Shogi with the old people.

Is there any reason not to play Yakuza 0? If you refuse to do anything other than the main story and you also hate melodramatic crime fiction. Otherwise, no. Not at all.

#2. Resident Evil 7

Attempting to play Resident Evil 7 in Virtual Reality with headphones on is the scariest video game experience I’ve ever had. You tiptoe through a claustrophobic house fully aware that awful things are going to happen to you, and when they do it’s not any less terrifying. If you’ve yet to try horror in VR, this is the end-all be-all of the genre so far. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the first hour after playing for nearly a month. It’s that rough. I swear I’ll see more of it by the end of the year…but man, it’s something you’ve gotta see for yourself to believe.

Honorable Mentions:

I didn’t like anything else enough this month to have a solid #3… but here are the good ones that are still worth your time!

Hidden My Game By Mom 2: A sequel to an original puzzler that has me hoping for a third one sooner rather than later.

It’s 2:51A.M. Can You Fall Asleep?: A return to form for ClickHole. This gives me hope that 2017 will have a good set of top tier adventures from some of the funniest people writing games.

ARACHNAFOE: A pretty simple dual stick shooter about wrecking shop on some spiders. They deserve it.

Ninja Spinki Challenges!!: Flappy Bird creator, Dong Nguyen, is back at it again with a mini game collection. Not quite WarioWare, but it’s a set of fast-paced challenges that kept me coming back all month long.

February 9, 2017
A Question From ClickHole: Can You Fall Asleep?

The last few months of ClickHole’s signature ClickVentures haven’t been doing it for me. Between being too on the nose and trying way too hard I feel like many of 2016’s ClickVentures got away from what I liked about the early ones.The best adventures ClickHole provides are the ones with a simple concept that spiral out of control very quickly. This one gets back to basics: It’s 2:51A.M. Can You Fall Asleep?

This one starts innocuously enough. You stayed up way too late and you have to be up at 6:00A.M. to give a presentation on salad at work. We’ve all been there. Where I, personally, haven’t been, is setting my couch on fire as one step in my sleep process. Don’t worry, it’ll make sense when you see it (or not).

You’ll learn about F.I.R.E., unlock dream achievements, and steal milk from poor people. One of the running jokes ends with maybe the most satisfying payoff ClickHole has ever done. My only knock against this one is that I think it needs a couple more branches to feel as good as some of the OG ClickVentures. Once you make a choice in Can You Go Fall Asleep?, you’re pretty much funneled down a linear path regardless of what you choose. Other than that, though, this is a good way for ClickHole to start off the new year.

If you’re ready to feel the pressure of falling asleep, head to ClickHole and give it a shot.

January 7, 2017
Hidden My Game By Mom is a Rapid-fire Room Escape

What if WarioWare were a fast-paced puzzle game? Like, more than it already is, I mean.

In hap Inc’s best series yet, you’re asked to find your not-quite Nintendo DS without mama catching you. She’s sneakier than you’d think. Hiding in secret compartments in the walls, dressed to blend in with the indoor plants, or pulling the old behind-the-curtain trick, mama’s gonna do what she has to.

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January 5, 2017
Comedy + Tension = Bomb Squad Academy

You have one minute to defuse this bomb. You’ve already cut a few wires that you know were correct, but the system still hasn’t shut down. There’s 10 seconds left and you notice a big red button in the corner that says “DISARM” and you push it. You nearly throw your laptop across the room because the explosion sound effect is so terrifying.

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December 14, 2016
Walkie Talkie is a Literal Video Game Chat Room

Imagine a chat room, right? Now imagine that the chat room is also Super Mario Maker. Wait, what?

Walkie Talkie is Daniel Linssen’s latest work of brilliance. Whenever Linssen puts out a new game, you should probably pay some attention. He’s one of the most consistently creative and talented people in the business, and I’m a little jealous that he apparently has more good ideas in a week than I have in six months.

Walkie Talkie can function as a pretty normal chat room as long as you never hit the enter key. People chat about nonsense, there are currently around 3000 posts, and it’s just a throwback to how people gathered and ideas collected in a never ending stream. And then you hit the enter key.

A tiny person appears, and you see that you’re supposed to run to the right and grab a small green orb. The text posts themselves form the platforms for you to run and jump across. The catch is, however, different keys provide unique platforming obstacles. An “o” makes a death orb float around, a “}” will shoot bullets at you, and “11111” leads to a stream of platforms that vanish when you touch them. There are many, many more. It’s an amazing idea, and one that leads to scrolling through post after post, reading these people’s conversations (i.e. trying to figure out if the chat is real or just part of the game) as you play through a game with them. Making my own levels brought me back to that Super Mario Maker mindset, which I needed after the abysmal 3DS release.

If you’re up for some creative social platforming, give Walkie Talkie a shot for free on its itch.io page.

December 14, 2016
Games of the Month – October 2016

Yeah, you read that one right. I never did October’s. Whoops! I didn’t forget, I’ve just been stupidly busy, and there were actually some really cool games to play in the free time I could find! How about we talk about those now…and then I’ll do November’s. 🙂

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November 30, 2016