There’s a good reason I held back on the publication of this by a week. I thought there was a \chance I would acquire a PS4 this weekend and I was right. The significant bump in pay from the camp job gave me enough to get a PS4 and squirrel away money for the fall convention season.
That means there are quite a few new games appearing on the Games I Can’t Stop Playing list this month, and one insidious game that has reared its ugly head again in a mockery of my two month moratorium on playing.
My review of Spoiler Alert just went up today at GIZORAMA. If the title sounds familiar, I wrote about the first game trailer a few months ago. It is a PC platformer played in reverse and it’s really clever.
Read the full review.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has been dropping little bits of knowledge here and there the past few months. Yesterday, we got some specifics from creator Ed McMillen himself.
For those unaware, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a 16 bit reimagining of the breakout indie hit The Binding of Isaac. Both games are Legend of Zelda-inspired dungeon crawlers about Isaac, a young boy whose super religious mother believes God has instructed her to sacrifice him. He escapes into her basement of horrors and must fight his way down and out. It features procedurally-generated levels and a roguelike style to make each playthrough a unique experience.
I don’t know what to tell you. I really wanted to like this game. I played the original browser game forever ago and jumped on the opportunity to review the full release. I wish it was as good as the original game.
Full review at GIZORAMA.
June is almost over, so it’s time to run down the games I can’t stop playing right now. There are a few repeats, and a few new games, as well.
Our Darker Purpose (PC)
My new review is up over at GIZORAMA. It’s the mini-sequel to Electronic Super Joy, one of the most entertaining and frustrating games I’ve ever played all the way through. The sequel is actually harder, but the significantly shorter length makes it a whole lot more manageable.
Electronic Super Joy: Groove City Review
Costume Quest, the 2010 Halloween-themed RPG from Double Fine Productions, is one of my favorite games of all time. It’s more than just the obvious reason (me being a Halloween obsessive). It’s funny, it’s clever, the combat is surprisingly nuanced for a turn-based RPG, and the game just looks great. The transformation from cutesy recycled costumes out of cardboard boxes and fishing line to action/anime style fighters with elaborate killing moves is stunning. The monsters are challenging and creepy without being super threatening and the dialogue from the NPCs is entertaining enough to justify meeting every person you can.
The story is pretty simple. Twin siblings Reynold and Wren are told they have to go trick or treating together. You chose one to control and the other gets kidnapped after he is mistaken for candy by monsters. The monsters are collecting candy to bring a giant baddie to life on Halloween in a plot by a sorceress to take over the world. Reynold/Wren has to find his/her twin with the help of trick or treaters, a lot of candy, and cool costumes made from material around town.
Just a head’s up. I’m supposed to have reviewed the PC adaptation of indie web/mobile game Pretentious Game for Gizorama already. I can’t. The game does not work on Steam at all if you have a 64 bit system. It’s been a couple weeks and the publisher is apologetic and working on a fix, but you literally wind up with an empty folder that causes an error on Steam if you try to play it. It’s $4.99 and I cannot in good conscience stay quiet anymore while the game is still for sale yet totally broken.