Hammerwatch

Hammerwatch is an arcade hack-and-slash created by Jochum Skoglund and Niklas Myberg with music by Two Feathers studio. Released in August 2013, the game is available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms.

I remember first seeing Hammerwatch when it made its debut on Steam and being immediately drawn in by its scenes of hordes of monsters and its pixel aesthetics. Say what you will about pixel graphics, I still think they hold up a timeless charm. Speaking of timeless charm, the game was inspired by the 1980s Gauntlet series and also contains elements from Diablo as well. Hammerwatch offers several hours of co-op or single player dungeon crawling hack-and-slash as players scour the levels for loot and secrets accompanied by an energizing (at times a little repetitive) soundtrack.

The co-op experience offers its own server hosting and supports up to four players with six classic fantasy archetypes for players to play as: Paladin, Wizard, Ranger, Warlock, Thief, and Priest. Starting out with only two abilities, players will smash through lines of enemies together and picking up coins and various upgrades, which include new and powerful abilities, increased speed, more damage, etc. There are no skill trees or level ups for players to advance through; shops and vendors in the game sell upgrades to players in a Diablo fashion with several stores hidden away in secret rooms.

insert 1 coin = 600 life. microtransactions!

As your party weaves in and out of terrifying traps, hordes of monsters, locating keys and opening doors, you may come across several hidden switches or cryptic puzzles. Secrets are an essential component of Hammerwatch as they can provide a great gold boost or a means forward. False walls, hidden switches, and mysterious sequences dot the map for players to find. Despite its dungeon crawling genre and appearances, the game is not procedurally generated; map layouts are constant which leads to some great speed-running potential and appeal.

Although the game may feel slow-paced in the first few stages, challenging difficulty modifiers can be activated to amp up the game. Play with only one life among all four players, one-shot deaths, and my personal favorite that calls back to the Gauntlet series, negative health regeneration. If you are having trouble just getting around the levels and are feeling frustrated, you can also turn on various crutch modifiers to ease your game. The challenges and crutches settings allow for a customizable, but slightly rigid, gameplay experience.

if you're at a puzzle, just push buttons randomly

Hammerwatch's pixel graphics are accompanied by tone setting ambient lighting and exciting particle effects. Sooner or later, the game will become a bullet hell as you duck and dodge between projectiles that fill the screen. The controls are responsive and comfortable, but some of the default keybindings can be a little awkward and may need some adjustments before you begin. The user interface is simple and easy to handle. The map is intuitive as well but you aren't able to zoom out, making figuring out where you've been or haven't been a bit more difficult.

If you thought the primary campaign was short, you'll be happy to hear that a free expansion was released back in September 2014. Titled Temple of the Sun, it's available to anyone who purchased the base game and is essentially a whole new campaign for you and your friends to experience. There is also a survival mode and a tower defense styled mode to play as well. Hammerwatch also includes a level editor outside of the game so you can create your own levels and campaigns for your friends or enemies to enjoy or suffer through.

here's a great tutorial on how to use the level editor

For me, it's interesting and fun to see how the precursors of modern games have created lasting impressions on the genres we know and love today. Hammerwatch successfully captures the charm of older titles and presents it all in an easy to access but difficult to master package.

By the way, if you're curious, here's the 2014 release of Gauntlet.

Don't Starve and Don't Starve Together Beta

From the Canadian indie development team Klei Entertainment, Don't Starve Together is a standalone multiplayer extension of the Minecraft and Tim Burton inspired 2013 release, Don't Starve. Don't Starve Together made its debut on Steam in late 2014 and is available to Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms.

you and your friends have one job

Passing through the great survival game floodgate of 2013 and 2014, Don't Starve was all about teaching kids a great life axiom: do not plunge into hunger and die. The parent game was met with critical acclaim with lauding comments such as "You will die," "A game where poop is more important than gems," and "I WORE A MELON ON MY HEAD AND DIED OF STARVING. BEST GAME EVER." However, the greatest sanity-draining-melon-hat simulator on Steam did not have multiplayer, which many players found odd. A survival game with crafting but no multiplayer? What is this? So amidst the historical 2014 cries of "༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ VOLVO GIFF DIRETIDE", the team behind Don't Starve decided to tap the multiplayer potential of Don't Starve. 

First off, I want to express how glad I am that Don't Starve Together has its own server hosting. No need to tangle with port forwarding if you aren't familiar with it. Games like Terraria, Risk of Rain and, for the longest time, Hammerwatch simply did not have its own server hosting capabilities. Hosting and connecting is simple and quick in Don't Starve Together.

If you've read my first impression experience with Unturned, another survival game that came through the 2013-2014 game industry floodgate, you wouldn't be surprised if I told you that I didn't plunge into the multiplayer experience alone on a random server. I gathered up two other well-fed friends, Ben and Mark, who were willing to starve with me and together, we made a pact to not starve. Random servers have PvP settings and likely more griefing and hostility between players which I did not want to dabble in. Throwing ourselves into Maxwell's nightmare dimension that is the world of Don't Starve, we were confident that we would forge the great state of Camp Carlos for the Oncadorian nation.

the melon is a historical symbol of power

Backed by fantastic art direction, sound work, and an eclectic cast of player characters each with their own unique abilities and drawbacks, the gameplay is relatively simple and easy to pick up on. Survival consists of three aspects: Hunger, Sanity, and Life Points. The early days will be spent collecting basic resources and exploring the lay of the land and players will find themselves in a relatively cosy encampment. A variety of odd flora and fauna dot the different biomes you will come across. Resources can be crafted into tools which advance players towards better structures, tools, and equipment. But be wary: you will most likely die before you can starve as the trial-and-error process takes its toll. You'll soon learn that darkness is fatal, frogs are assholes, and that a lush farm of reeds conceals something terrible (HINT: It's your death).

Although exploration and experimentation are the keystones of what makes a survival game (aside from crafting and never leaving Early Access), a majority of quality of life information is hidden from players, specifically tool-tips for items. Axes are no good for combat and log suits actually block 80% of physical damage. You will most certainly be tied to the Don't Starve Wiki to figure out a vast majority of the intricate mechanics at work—which isn't a bad thing, it's just that newer players may find themselves frustratingly lost without much direction from the game. However, there is an abundance of content to uncover, from cave systems to an Adventure Mode, provided you don't starve in your journeys. 

let's poke it

You'll most likely not starve but instead die a painful death brought by some strange beast. Combat in Don't Starve Together is similar to its parent game's system heavily involving kiting and exploiting the environment. It's rather mechanically simple but not as intricate as other mechanics found in the game. Fights are rather lackluster and involves watching for animation cycles and striking at the right time; a spear and log suit are dire necessities in fights. Some encounters can also take a long time as you kite a single mob out of a horde as dealing with multiple enemies is suicidal as they will stun-lock you with their attacks. Ranged weapons are scarce and difficult to come by in the early game, resulting in a rather underdeveloped and dull set of combat mechanics. Later on, players will gain access to magical abilities to set enemies on fire or freeze them, but these abilities and items take quite a long time to obtain. 

Although straight brawling mechanics are dull, environmental solutions can be creative and interesting. Should enemies chase you, one option is to run into a small pig village where the hostile mobs may fight the pigs instead. Setting a forest on fire to reenact the Vietnam War can also get you out of a tight pinch. Piles of gunpowder can be strategically placed to blow up slower foes. A corridor of traps can also be created to halt advancing enemies before they reach the Alamo to eat you and your friends. However, don't be surprised if you find yourself out exploring and get quickly dispatched by some ridiculous nightmare being. Beware of being too cozy in your Alamo: larger boss monsters can often force players to relocate to another camp, ever increasing the sense of urgency and dread.

noot noot

Weather and seasonal effects are also present and affect gameplay. Days are divided into three portions: Day, Dusk, and Night. The length of daylight changes with seasons as do mob behaviors and properties. Learning about how mobs interact with the environment and player can be very handy in learning the ropes of the game. Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer all bring their own unique mechanics such as freezing and overheating that must be overcome if you are to continue to survive.

If you die, I hope you at least didn't die hungry. Don't worry, death in Don't Starve Together isn't permanent; the dead player will return as a ghost player, but its presence negatively affects everyone on the server through a global sanity drain. Ghost players can haunt anything in the world environment for a variety of effects both helpful and detrimental. There are numerous ways to bring back dead players and if you're playing on the more relaxed Endless game mode, players can resurrect at the spawn point for a minor health penalty.
--

"GOLD!" Mark cried out. "MORE GOLD! I WILL BUILD MY CITY ON A HILL WITH GOLD! NOTHING BUT GOLD! I AM WEARING A MELON ON MY HEAD." Ben and I both knew the melon was draining his sanity, but the promised Golden Age of Camp Carlos arrived with our combined efforts and we prospered together for awhile. 

i'm a robot slave and ben is a harem girl or something

Lead on by visions of melon hats and the beacon of the golden shovel, Camp Carlos slowly grew until illiteracy took Ben's life as he failed to recognize what the big zero hovering over his hunger meter meant. The quest to revive Ben was long and trying, but our Pyrrhic victory over our challenges left us weak and insane. Pecked apart by the world, at the very least we didn't starve together. We only horribly descended into insanity to be eaten by our own nightmares together.

Tropico 4

Tropico 4 is a city-building and political simulation game developed by Bulgarian developers Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media, based in Germany. Released back in 2011 for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360, Tropico 4 saw a Mac OS X release in 2013.

Summer has begun! It's officially time to plan your perfect island paradise getaway. But what if that perfect island doesn't exist? Sure, you could go to Hawaii, Jamaica, or even Cuba now, but will it be the island experience you've imagined it to be? Even so, maybe you'll finally realize that the rent and utility bills actually won't even make your plans possible. You're behind on your mortgage, you've lost your job, and the love of your life has left you for some snob with his own island. You might as well unpack everything and sit down and sulk, staring at the posters of far-off lands you've collected over your youth. Take that bucket list and throw it away- it won't happen! But the good news is, you can simulate everything that could've been with Tropico 4!

my son left for tropico: now he's a sugar farmer and only eats 1 meal a day

City building has a relaxing charm to it; it's fun to watch your city slowly progress through time, slowly sculpting itself into your vision from scratch. Tropico 4 has the player taking on the role of the customizable, illustrious and industrious "El Presidente" to guide the nation of Tropico to glory, whether it be a Communist utopia nightmare dimension or a Capitalist industrial nightmare dimension. Hey, at least the zoos and aqua parks offer your unyieldingly loyal Tropicans some respite!

healthcare is terrible and his friends are dead

Set to the tune of a handful of dazzling and energetic Caribbean soundtracks, the game offers a campaign storyline and a sandbox mode, both similar in gameplay. The backbone of Tropico 4's gameplay has the player developing a nascent island economy by harvesting and exporting raw materials such as ore, farm foods, salt, and logs. As time goes on, industry and service sectors become primary forms of income. However, this must all be done while juggling favor among Tropico's multiple factions. El Presidente, the Communists are raving for adequate housing and better healthcare again; the Environmentalists are demanding more gardens and a demolition of every lumber mill on the island; the Militarists just want more soldiers in their petition- the list goes on and on. It is up to the player as to which factions will hold priority, but beware: unhappy Tropicans are likely to protest, stalling production, and ultimately may end up as rebels!

The buildings and structures available in Tropico 4 are vibrant and demonstrate great attention to detail. The camera level can range from omniscient Tropican god to street level plebeian where you can watch your people go about their daily activities. Tropican lifestyle is ultimately dictated by the player, but a variety of life comforts must be available: food quality, job quality, religious satisfaction, entertainment, etc. Again, if these requirements are not met, Tropicans may defect and rebel. Perhaps you've created a religious police state where any heathen against the personality of El Presidente is arrested? Maybe a tourist paradise, juxtaposed with the poor and ragged toiling away in chemical and weapons factories just the next block over? Although the threat of rebellion from Tropicans demanding freedom of speech and increased liberty sounds pretty scary, the actual consequences of a rebellion are rather low.

there's no fire department; only 6 casinos and a zoo

In the event that the rebels do decide to launch an attack on one of your buildings, your army will be called in to deal with them. Even if the rebel threat isn't dealt with, the worst I've seen in 30 hours of gameplay is simply a single building destroyed. Although Tropico 4 is a kind of laid back, relaxing city builder, the sense of agency it attempts to create with its political system (for example, if relations with the US or USSR get too low, they may invade your island, ending the game) isn't quite all there. Foreign relations are relatively simple to juggle; completing two or three objectives lands you in a pretty spot with world powers. This leads to much of the game's more intricate features being somewhat wasted: options to interact with citizens or bribe faction leaders will mostly go unused. More often, I will find myself in an awkward position where my economy is shot down the pipes, leaving me unable to spend anymore capital as my treasure descends into the nether world where the debts pile up. My island would still run and there wouldn't be any serious repercussion; even being down tens of thousands of dollars did not lead to any losing condition.

Micromanagement of buildings can also be a hassle as the game's interface only allows for a single building to be selected at once. This leads to a problematic late-game scenario where you'll want to adjust wages for all of a certain type of building and then having to hunt them down, one-by-one. User interface issues are extended in the event of natural disasters: tsunamis, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc. can damage or destroy buildings, leaving a small indicator as to where the building is (or was). Again, if you've gotten far enough into the game and are managing a rather well-to-do island, it can be frustrating trying to find every little building that was destroyed in your urban sprawl.

tropico's top selling book: the naughty toucan

Despite suffering from a rather underdeveloped political game and annoying interface issues, being able to create your own story and vision for how your island develops is at the core of what makes Tropico 4 so addicting and rewarding. Strategy games often have that "Just one more turn!" feeling where even after you've won, you just want to keep going. City building sims also exude that satisfaction of a planned and elaborate cityscape. Even after you've beaten the campaign and its various challenges, player made levels are also available, tacking on more content for the player to explore and share. Tropico 4 also boasts a great sense of humor; it's characters and voice-acting satirize real world counterparts and archetypes, fleshing out the entire experience and adding a great sense of aesthetic pleasure.

Take that bucket list out of the trash- your dreams come true in Tropico! Now get off the game and find a job.

Guild Wars 2

For the past three months or so my gaming library was collecting dust as I removed Dota 2 from its polished spot over and over again. Recently, however, Guild Wars 2 went on sale at an enticing price. I have spent the past two weeks immersing myself in the fantasy world of Tyria set in Guild Wars 2, an MMORPG published by NCsoft and developed by its subsidiary team ArenaNet. Released on August 28, 2012, Guild Wars 2 is available for Windows and currently has a Beta Mac OSX client.

With the advent of many successful free-to-play models for game revenue, the subscription based model has fallen into distaste for me. I was really hoping WildStar, another NCsoft game, would be the MMORPG for me, but a subscription model asked for more commitment to the game than I was willing to give. It's been awhile since I've truly experienced an MMORPG and the one barrier between them and I has finally fallen with the help of Guild Wars 2. Guild Wars 2 sports an immediately luring one time payment to full access to everything within the game; nothing is barred off due to some kind of premium membership.

Guild Wars 2 does offer a microtransaction system in the form of the Black Lion Trading Company. You can purchase gems, another form of in-game currency, with real world currency to exchange for various goods and services. There are various cosmetic effects and quality-of-life upgrades (extra bank space, more character slots, additional inventory space, boosters, etc.) available.

there are some pretty disgusting armor dye combinations out there

Character creation options and skill are liberal with five races to choose from and eight professions to go along with it. The lack of a rigid class system really opens up the game for any kind of style you want and also lets you easily change your gameplay according to different scenarios and situations.

Skills are generally divided into two categories: weapon and profession tied skills. Players, depending on their profession, will gain the ability to switch between two weapon sets. Being able to pull of combos using skills from both sets is critical to maximizing the effectiveness of a build. Utilizing skill combinations in conjunction with trait abilities (that you can respecify at any time!) ultimately dictates how you play your character.

Guild Wars 2 challenges the traditional MMORPG notion of having a specific DPS/tank/healer divide by allowing the player to take on any of those roles at any time, effectively creating dynamic battles and a fun and rewarding way of exploring different gameplay mechanics without having to solidly lock in everything along the way.

the game's concept art is amazing

The world of Tyria is rich and diverse. Some zones are absolutely astounding with breathtaking vistas and fantasy element while other areas can be dark and brooding with aesthetics and musical score to match.

Exploration is immensely rewarding with secrets and jumping puzzles dotting the landscape which yield great amounts of loot. Completion of a zone also yields furthered experience and item rewards. Zones are populated by vistas, points of interests, skill challenges, resource nodes, and quests in the form of "renown hearts." Guild Wars 2 prides itself in cutting out the backtracking portion of questing; as a matter of fact you don't even need to speak to the task giver to begin the sequence of events with some exceptions. Arriving at a renown heart zone triggers a pane on the left hand side with a description of tasks needed to complete. Simply complete those tasks and you are rewarded immediately afterwards.

There is a healthy variety of tasks and methods to complete them, but oftentimes the easiest way is to simply defeat a certain number of enemies and continue on with the exploration; while streamlined, the tasks are not free from a grind.

voodoo space magic

One of the most important aspects in any MMORPG is the social interactions involved. Guild Wars 2 is set in a persistent world with main story quests being instanced for players and their parties. Dynamic world events can be triggered by players or spawn by themselves in the zone you are in. Nearby players will be notified and a group event organically unfolds.

Players don't have to fight over loot or experience; everyone gets their own instance of loot and experience. This loot sharing mechanic neutralizes hostility among groups and players who would otherwise vie for the same kills. Giant world bosses also spawn in certain areas in time intervals. These massive bosses call forth a great deal of players that will band together to take down the boss. New players and veterans alike can all contribute to take down the boss to claim some epic gear. These events are immediately social with multiple people teaming up to accomplish the same objective.

some vistas are so infuriating to reach

My most favorite aspect of Guild Wars 2 is the variety of tasks, goals, and diversions there are. Gunning for 100% map completion; hunting down the rarest equipment; destroying foes in PvP; enjoying minigames (they are actually a lot of fun and different from the core game experience); there is something for everyone. From time to time, you may come across a secret jumping puzzle or a minidungeon, all of which have their own theme and interesting twists on mechanics.

I have reached the highest level in Guild Wars 2 and have waddled around the late game some, but I have only scratched the tip of the iceberg. I still haven't experienced big World vs World battles where coalitions of guilds battle around siege weapons and strategic points; there is simply an awesome amount of content for you to explore and engage with.

I'm really happy to be able to return to NCsoft having played Tabula Rasa, Exteel, and, my favorite, Dungeon Runners. Guild Wars 2 was an absolutely ridiculous steal at the $10 sale that it went on, but let me assure you, the game is worth every dollar, every penny. The Guild Wars 2 universe and community are full of unforgettable characters and moments. Guild Wars 2 is a great title for MMORPG beginners and veterans alike.

An upcoming expansion for Guild Wars 2 has been announced! Check it out here! 

TF2- Mannpower Mode Beta

Smissmass 2014 has come and gone and I'm happy to report that I did not get kidnapped by Old Nick to work at his South Pole weapons and hats manufactory. Instead, I have had the privilege of firing up Team Fortress 2 and enjoying this Smissmass miracle of a TF2 update with some friends.

New weapons- wow! A metric shit-ton of hats- can't say I didn't see that one coming! A new game mode- Mannpower beta!

The main feature of the new game mode are the permanent powerups that players can find and utilize throughout the maps. From the TF2 blog, here they are:

• Strength: Double damage for all weapons. Distance damage fall-off immunity.
• Resistance: Reduces incoming damage by 50%. Immune to critical hit damage multiplier.
• Vampire: All damage dealt is returned as health. 25% damage resistance. Max health increased by 40%.
• Warlock: 50% of damage received is reflected back to the attacker (reflected damage cannot directly cause death). Max health increased by 50%.
• Haste: Double weapon firing and reload rate. Double clip size and max ammo count. Movement speed increased by 30%.
• Regeneration: Ammo, health and metal regenerate. Rate of health regeneration inversely proportional to max health.
• Precision: Greatly reduced bullet spread. Distance damage falloff immunity. Rocket and grenade travel speed increased 250%.
• Agility: Movement speed increased by 50%. Grapple speed increase. Jump height increased by 80%. Instant weapon switch.
• Critical Hit: Temporary full crit power for 30 seconds. Respawns in the same place after 60 seconds.

Players are only allowed to have one powerup active at a time (with the exception of the Crit boost powerup), powerups drop on death, and there aren't enough of these for everyone; maintaining control of the powerups is crucial. Due to the race for the powerups, they reminded me of the big guns in the Halo games that everyone rushes to grab for a huge advantage in a fight. It emphasizes map knowledge and being able to reach the powerups quickly, but after that everything falls apart as balance becomes horribly skewed once the initial powerups are picked up.

Let's take a look at Vampire. 100% of the damage you deal returns as healing, you block out 25% of all incoming damage, and your max health becomes increased by 40%. These numbers and upgrades are absurd. Why does this powerup even offer damage block when damage block is the hallmark of the Resistance powerup? Why does Vampire offer a max health increase; 100% damage to healing isn't enough? Now let's assume you've just joined a server. There is a Vampire Pyro running around with 245 health, all your weapons have an intrinsic 25% damage reduction versus that monster, and the Pyro can grapple hook to optimal positions and deal/heal 153 damage/health per second.

Did I mention they added a grapple hook item for this game mode? It's an all-class item that everyone gets and allows the user to traverse the map like never before. The days of worrying about mobility are over; you can get anywhere with these grappling hooks. You can't use weapons while grappling, but it's a small price to pay for access to flanks and escapes.

I'm surprised that the developers released such a chaotic and unpredicted game mode. There are crazily overpowered combinations of powerups and weapons that remove a vast chance of counter-play from the player on the receiving end. It's fun to use the powerups; it should be fun to fight against them, too. There are so many variables to consider (class stats, weapon stats, and now powerups) that balance of powers is difficult to reach. I can only imagine the vast numerical changes or overhauls that will hit this game mode.

The powerups shouldn't be permanent. Why can't the powerups be like the powerups in Mann-Up mode where they activate for a short duration upon use? Or spells from Halloween events for that matter? The spells were short and plentiful enough that you could really use them to genuinely outplay or counter-play someone. Oppositely, the powerups are just straight up amps that when coupled with certain weapons, form god-like beings that are frustrating to deal with. Perhaps the powerups can be a one-time use (or cool-down based), ten second ability that can be activated when needed?

Mannpower Mode came out of nowhere into a seemingly untested beta state. The powerups don't offer much counter-play and could probably use a rework. The grappling hook undermines core aspects of the game and feels like a gimmicky server Source Mod. Maybe I'm being too harsh- after all, this is still a beta. Admittedly, Mannpower Mode stupid fun and that's a good part of what makes Team Fortress 2 great. How long can that stupid fun last? You can decide for yourself.

Transistor

Supergiant Games' second title, Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that carries over the core spirit of what made Bastion great all while innovating new mechanics without leaving narrative behind. The game was released for the Windows and PS4 on May 20, 2014, but also saw a Mac OS X release on October 30, 2014. 

everyone has a voice in cloudbank

If you've read my thoughts on Bastion, you might remember me writing about how much I enjoyed the game. It's been awhile since Transistor came out, but I've finally had the chance to experience playing the game.

--

music, linguistics

From the devs: "Note: We highly recommend playing through the game before listening to the soundtrack, since the soundtrack is deeply connected to the game's story."

Red, a citizen and influential artist of Cloudbank, finds herself with a mysterious sword-like artifact and namesake of the game, the Transistor, after an attempt on her life. People are disappearing from Cloudbank and the digital custodians of the city, the Process, are beginning to wipe the city back to a white void. With the Transistor in her possession, Red will piece together what is happening to the people and city by tracing the Transistor's previous owners. Players will take on the role of Red as she traverses through the various locations in Cloudbank in a linear fashion, combat encounter after combat encounter.

Combat is based around four active abilities that Red can use called functions- these can include simple melee attacks like Crash() and Cull() or more utility based like Jaunt() (a blink) and Mask() (invisibility). Functions can be used in one of three ways: active, upgrade, or passive. Active abilities are the primary abilities you use in combat. Functions being used in an upgrade slot can augment active abilities. For example, I can upgrade Crash() with Mask() to give Crash() a bonus to backstabbing enemies. Finally, functions can be placed in a passive slot to give Red various effects depending on the theme of the function. Transistor has 16 different functions for players to experiment with and any function can be combined with another. You'll also unlock slots for additional upgrade, more memory to hold stronger functions, and extra passive slots as you level up.

"you always have a plan"

Transistor also features a mechanic called Turn(). Instead of fighting real time, you can also freeze combat with Turn() to plan your next set of moves. You only have a limited amount of actions you can spend on movement and using your abilities that you "program." After you're satisfied with your sequence, end Turn() to have Red execute the sequence at blinding speeds. The Turn() mechanic adds a healthy degree of strategy and opens up another option for players to alter their gameplay if they so choose to. By no means do you have to use Turn(), but it sure is nice to have, especially in convoluted fights to plan every move to get everything out of your abilities.

Red has a traditional health bar, but once that hits zero, you aren't done. Instead, your Transistor will overload, causing one of your actives to be disabled until you hit a certain number of checkpoints called Access Points. Once all four abilities are overloaded, you're out. Luckily, Access Points are plentiful but just right in scarcity to encourage you to swap out broken functions and experiment with different abilities, upgrades, and passives. Additionally, each function is actually the consciousness of a person trapped inside the Transistor. A full bio of the person can be explored by using the different functions in the three slots to unlock more information.

mask() and cull()

Similar to Bastion's shrine system of customizable difficulty, Transistor features Limiters that can be toggled from Access Points. Limiters allow you to increase the difficulty of the game but offers a small experience boost in return. Some are simple whereas others are huge game changers. Keeping up the encouragement of exploration, each Limiter also features a file on an enemy type for you to unlock and read up about once you have completed an encounter with the Limiter active. You'll most likely be turning on a couple of these at least, for Transistor suffers from Bastion's problem of end game balance- combat without the Limiters becomes absolutely trivial once several devastating function combinations are discovered; I'm talking two-shotting bosses kind of devastating.

One of my most favorite features of Transistor was the Sandbox, a kind of hub area that Red can retreat to from several backdoor access areas. Here you can listen to the Transistor's thoughts and unlock musical tracks through a variety of different challenges that are sure to offer you different gameplay experiences. Given a preset of abilities, you must then satisfy each test's conditions to win. They start off easy, but will provide a fair challenge in no time.

"you have something more"

This all amounts to what I absolutely love about Transistor: instead of simply crafting an experience for players, the developers of Transistor have provided the tools for players to craft their own experience. I thought that gaming commentator and critic John "TotalBiscuit" Bain put it well when he said in his review of Transistor that the game "respects the player." Transistor does not force exposition or train you onto a "this-is-what-you-need-to-do" kind of hand-holding and instead allows the player to explore the game's deep mechanics and narrative at his or her own pace.

With regards to pacing, however, I do have a complaint that the first thirty minutes of gameplay was pretty confusing to me. Figuring out how the function system worked and navigating a fairly clunky user interface to swap abilities was a bit of a frustrating struggle.

spine of the world

I just want to emphasize how well meshed Transistor's mechanics and narrative are. Digital consciousness is a hallmark motif of Transistor and it is reflected in the game's atmosphere, presentation, and gameplay. Transistor's visuals, sound design, and soundtrack are all beautifully and masterfully done. Once again, the narrator plays a role, albeit a smaller one this time, proving that Supergiant Games don't have to rely on a simple gimmick to propel their games forward. The world of Cloudbank is interactive: terminals and observation points provide tidbits about the world and if the player plays detective for a little bit and place the puzzle pieces together, nuances and fine details about Cloudbank become clear. Isolation is also a theme in Transistor as only fledgling contact with peoples in Cloudbank and other players are also subtly felt and seen if you pay attention.

The attention to detail and direction all point to how much love and passion has gone into the development of Transistor. Without giving away too much, the story is satisfying and explores ideas such as transcendence and voter efficacy. Bastion set a grand standard of excellence for Supergiant Games and sure enough they deliver once more with Transistor.

Depression Quest

Developed and written by Zoe Quinn utilizing the Twine Engine, Depression Quest is a choose your own adventure interactive fiction that explores the themes and experiences of living with depression.

is this just a stock logo

“Depression Quest is a game that deals with living with depression in a very literal way.”

“The goal of this game is twofold: firstly, we want to illustrate as clearly as possible what depression is like, so that it may be better understood by people without depression.”

“Secondly, our hope is that in presenting as real a simulation of depression as possible, other sufferers will come to know that they aren't alone, and hopefully derive some measure of comfort from that.” 

“After all, that's all we can really do with depression - just keep moving forward. And at the end of the day it's our outlook, and support from people just like you, that makes all the difference in the world.”

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To me, one of the most fantastic things about video games is the active role of the audience; the experience presented is interactive and (hopefully) engaging. Games have been able to mold and explore all kinds of themes and messages both lighthearted and grim. Depression is certainly more on the grimmer side, but it’s such a fragile and personal experience; how can one even begin to explore it? —It’s like trying to explain what chocolate tastes like to someone who has never tasted chocolate before. Although Depression Quest holds good intentions in acting as a tool for someone to begin to understand depression, the game’s limited narrative presentation and lazy execution fails to uphold its goals of exploration and understanding of depression.

So here’s the premise of Depression Quest: you’re a male in his twenties working a dead-end job while juggling relationships with family members, a girlfriend, all while trying to stay motivated to continue functioning. As with most choose your own adventure games, Depression Quest offers you a prompt with options on how to act. There is musical accompaniment that is mostly a looping track with subtle changes in tone when the story takes place in differing areas and paths. And that’s about all you can say about gameplay, which is fine—by no means is complexity a singular ingredient for success. So what about the narrative and the depth of the choices available?

which one is the paragon branch

The choices in the scenarios are all black and white and carry no weight to them. Every time I was given a prompt, I knew what the “good” and “bad” options were. Now, I’ve never been clinically diagnosed with depression, but I think it would seem patronizing to any with depression to give a “right” and “wrong” response to everything so blatantly. The focus on actions rather than what prevents you from taking other, more positive actions (you can’t do that because you’re too depressed) is a hugely wasted opportunity to actually explore the intricate emotions associated with depression other than simple lack of motivation or stress. With a condition like depression, there are rarely any clearly defined paths to take and trying to present depression to people who have never experienced depression before in such a manner feels like a huge injustice. The choices in the game are boiled down so much—“Do you want to go to therapy?” the game will ask you; “Yes” or “No”? It’s a no brainer; there’s no point in thinking about the actions you take. Depression can be a chronic, lingering lull and to reduce it to such a small frame of reference is hardly effective in representing depression to others.

That isn’t to say the game isn’t noble in its intention. You have to remember: this game is meant as a tool for understanding and, despite its simplification and superficial outlook on depression, it is exactly that. Depression Quest gives a window into the world of depression forged by the developer but that window is small and murky. But Depression Quest is still an outreach; it’s an extended hand to show people with a similar case that they aren’t alone, and that is cause for applause.

I can’t shake off the feeling of disconnect between myself and “You.” I was thrust into the shoes of the protagonist “You,” but I didn’t feel like I could really empathize with “You” as a player. There was just such a disjoint knowing that “You” wasn’t me. It felt like the narrative was imposing a character onto me rather than me placing myself into the story, but in a forceful and unnatural way. The game was telling me how I should feel and that disconcerting notion simply did not resonate in my understanding of depression.

You know, in retrospect, maybe that’s what the game was going for all along: the seeming image of control and knowing what’s good for you, but having the simple inability to act on them because of unexplainable reasons. There isn’t a why or how, there’ just a you-just-can’t mentality associated and ingrained with depression. Perhaps this is what Depression Quest was trying to depict, but maybe I’m reading between the lines a little too much.

you can click to enlarge photos

To understand the abstract, it is often helpful to create a simplified model. Unless you have experienced depression first hand, there may never be an adequate recreation of the emotional and physical experiences associated with depression. Depression Quest tries to simplify depression with good intentions of deconstructing depression for better understanding, but instead it may have gone too far in its demolition.

There are a lot of reviews and critiques out there bashing the game for various reasons- it’s too short; I have depression and this game didn’t help me; the game misrepresents depression; I can’t get into the story—I can’t help but feel that these people have missed the point of what Depression Quest is really all about. The game is the amalgamation of the experiences of the developer and several other people; it’s like a case study. Depression Quest isn’t supposed to be a voice for people with depression. The game isn’t going to be representative for all cases, but it’s one of the small keys to unlocking an image and understanding of what really goes on with depression.

I’m all about taking anything from a bad experience so I’m just going to finish with this suggestion: Depression Quest, like depression, isn’t something you have to experience alone. Tell some friends about it and go through it and maybe talk about the game’s merits or demerits. It could be the worst game you’ve ever played, but maybe you can find something worth a pat on the back.