Tag Archives: Ashen

Blog: Hey December, Can You Chill? – 12/19/18

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Hey, what the actual fuck is going on?  December has been popping off in a way I wasn’t entirely prepared for in regards to game releases.  It’s borderline irresponsible how many really good games have come out this month.  See, traditionally game releases slow the hell down once Black Friday passes us by, but this year isn’t playing by the rules.  Let’s go ahead and take a quick gander at some of things I’m talking about.

Just Cause 4 (12/04/18)

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Just Cause 4 came out to a pretty mixed reception, but it’s still worth mentioning.  What’s more interesting about this is that Just Cause 3 also pulled this stunt 3 years ago on December 1st.

Ashen (12/06/18

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I wrote about Ashen and how updates about it were oddly silent.  Turns out, it just wanted to surprise everyone with a surprise launch at The Game Awards this year.  While I’ve been pretty excited to play it in the past, I’m finding it hard to get excited about it the more I see of it.

Katamari Damacy Reroll (12/07/18)

Katamari Damacy got a remaster this month, which while it isn’t a new game technically, it’s still a fucking awesome game that is worth playing.  It’s definitely one that’s fun to zone out with.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (12/07/18

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest Smash Bros. fan, but it’s still a really novel game in my eyes.  There’s something wonderful about getting all of these Nintendo properties fighting each other alongside some other notable characters from across the gaming landscape.  There’s something cozy about Smash, that is until you take even the slightest of peeks into the competitive scene.  That place is a nightmare.

DayZ (12/13/18

This isn’t a joke.  DayZ is a real game and not just the prime example of why early access is a dangerous bet.  I have zero interest in playing DayZ nor have I looked up anything about it, but I’m just amazed it exists at all.

GRIS (12/13/18

GRIS does the thing that I like where it looks fucking awesome.  I’m a sucker for style and GRIS is oozing with it to an unhealthy degree.  While some of the footage I saw about it made the platforming seem a little stiff, I’m still more than willing to give it a shot.  It’s a puzzle-platformer too, which is also kind of my jam.

Below (12/14/18

As if DayZ coming out wasn’t enough of a sign of impending apocalypse in 2019, Below actually releasing should definitely tip you off.  Like, I had no idea what Below was before it released, and even now that it’s out I’m pretty unclear.  I think it’s a rogue-like experience, but I can’t say for certain.  I’d say I’m going to give it shot, but I genuinely don’t know if I’ll ever get around to it.

2018 has been an unruly year that just wont end.  I’d say that this was it for games, but apparently stealth releases are in vogue this month and maybe tomorrow Half Life 3 will just appear on Steam.  Who fucking knows anymore?  Knock it off 2018, go to bed already.

 

Blog: PAX East – 04/11/18

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This past weekend, PAX East took place in Boston Massachusetts, a place where traffic laws are purely optional.  A friend and myself took it upon ourselves to buy some Saturday passes and go to our first PAX ever.

Look, I get it, PAX is a big event that everyone goes to.  I also am aware I went on the busiest day.  It would be absurd to expect to play everything I wanted, when I wanted.  I’m not stupid.  But I was not prepared for how many times I would be at an actual standstill because people had suddenly lost the ability to walk.

It was a sea of people, and rarely did they ever feel like actually moving forward.  I get that you want to stop and see stuff, that’s the point, but maybe move off to the side and don’t just hang out in the middle of the walkway doing your best cosplay of a wall.  That was the kind of shit that really irked me.IMG_1935

But what didn’t bother me was the pure spectacle of the entire event.  It’s kind of awe inspiring to be in a room of that many like-minded individuals, all there to celebrate games and the people involved in them.  That part was genuinely cool and kept me going for most of the day.

I didn’t really get to play much of anything thanks to ridiculously long wait times, but that was fine.  Would I have liked to actually have played Soul Calibur VI?  Yes.  But it was still cool to get to see it in action in the hands of real people.  I got to check up on Ashen, a game I talked about in another blog about games that have been radio silent, so that was nice.  One of the two demo stations kept going down constantly which was unfortunate, but I can confirm the game is real and totally exists and still looks rad.

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Most of my day could be summarized by saying, “I saw a bunch of games that looked rad, but didn’t have the patience to wait and play a lot of them.”

I did manage to play a bit of Extinction, by Iron Galaxy.  It’s part Shadow of the Colossus, part hack and slash, and part what I imagine Attack on Titan is.  It looked pretty alright, but the guy who played before me bailed on a harder level and I had to go in there without any tutorialization and got my ass handed to me.  So it wasn’t the best demo, but I’d certainly try the full version which is apparently out as of yesterday.

All things considered, PAX East was a hectic spectacle that I most certainly would attend again.  Except this time I’d go on a Thursday or something and avoid the massive crowds.

Blog: Investigative Video Gamesman – 03/21/18

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Y’all remember E3 2017?  It seems like an eternity ago, but hang in there.  So last year across all of the press conferences, I made note of some of the more interesting games that I saw.  One of those games was “A Way Out” and since that’s coming out in a few days, I wanted to check in on some of the games I saw.

THE ARTFUL ESCAPE OF FRANCIS VENDETTI

You can probably already tell why I’m curious about this game.  It was revealed last year, got nominated for a bunch of website awards, and then promptly disappeared.  To be fair, the trailer very clearly says “Coming when it’s damn ready.”  But even looking through the official Twitter doesn’t yield anymore information on the state of development.  The only thing I really want to know is if the game is coming along smoothly.  Hopefully we get a hint of a pulse sometime soon.

UNRULY HEROES

In stark contrast to The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti, Unruly Heroes is a very much in development game that even poises itself as having a release date sometime this year.  I love the entire look of this game mixed with the focus on combat.  On the surface it reminds me of Rayman Legends smashed with Sacred Citadel.  I’m super jazzed about this game and can’t wait for it to come out this year.

RIVERBOND

Riverbond is the perfect example of “shit I like cause it has a look.”  But like, it totally does have a look, you can’t deny that.  What makes this game notable for me, aside from its already established awesome aesthetic and slick looking combat, it’s also cooperative for up to 4 people which is a huge bonus for me.  It too bills itself as having a release date in 2018, and I can’t wait to check it out.

PROJECT CODE: SHIFT

So I don’t know anything about this game aside from it looks slick as hell.  Most of this trailer is just air combos and juggling enemies.  Literally that’s the only substance.  But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t 100% sold on it just based off of that trailer.  The only thing is that there has been no update that I could find since it was announced at E3.  So, who knows what’s happening here.

TUNIC

Do I need to explain anything about why I’m excited for this game?  Seriously?  After everything you’ve read so far?  Look at it, just look at this game and tell me you’re not smiling?  It’s adorable and looks challenging as hell and I want it.  Tunic is slated for 2019 which, while it sounds far away, isn’t.

ASHEN

Take a look at Ashen.  Look at this game.  Since it was announced at the Xbox press conference last E3 and immediately made an impression on me.  I was excited by the prospect of going on this spooky adventure with a friend but apparently that isn’t how the game will work.  From what I gather, it does the passive online thing in the way that Journey did, which is cool in its own right.  They are currently looking for in-house playtesters and according to their Steam page, are slated for a 2018 release.

So there it is, just some of my standouts from last year.  Hopefully they come out soon and I don’t have to write about this game next March.