Tag Archives: Vampyr

Blog: Bite Sized Impressions – 06/19/19

Now that E3 is over and I’ve had some time away from the annual gaming blitz that it is, I’ve been trying to take some time and play try out some games I missed over the years. Since signing up for the PC version of Game Pass, I’ve had access to some particular titles that I’ve wanted to try, but never got around to. It’s weird though, because I can’t seem to play games for more than like 45 minutes at a time these days without feeling the urge to go take a walk or something. With that being said, here are some genuine, super duper early impressions of some of the stuff I’ve tried thus far.

VAMPYR

I’ve had my eye on this one for a while, and it might be the only game on this list I actually stick with in any real way. Vampyr is a choice driven, action RPG by the people behind the Life Is Strange series. So like, choices seem to matter. From what little I’ve dabbled in, the combat is serviceable but simple so far, but the stuff that’s been hinted at as far as story mechanics are very exciting.

Since you’re a vampire in this game, you can just start going to town on just about everyone you meet. Different NPCs have different qualities of blood that have XP numbers attached to them. So the drunk guy in the bar had pretty poor blood which wouldn’t help me out that much, but the guy renting the room upstairs had some crazy alluring blood.

I assume that as you play on, whomever you choose to… drain, will result in something happening in the world. Allusions to quest lines vanishing and the way people react to you were hinted at, and that’s all very exciting to me. They also do this thing where blood acts like mana, allowing you to do special vampire attacks when you have it. So you can be the good guy and not feast on the townsfolk or enemies, but I guess you wont be doing some cool blood spells at anyone because of it. Seems pretty rad honestly.

WEST OF LOATHING

What a weird game this is. It’s this stick figure styled, adventure game with turn based RPG combat. It’s got some cheeky writing in it, but I constantly feel like I’m not doing the right thing. For instance, at the beginning you can choose one follower, so I chose the lady with a gun. And good thing I did, because she does way more damage than I could ever hope to. She’s one-shotting fools left and right, while I’m gently scratching the backs of my enemies.

I’m having trouble articulating exactly what this game is, because it’s this weird amalgam of different games and mechanics. The closest analog I can come up with is Paper Mario, and that’s me being generous. Despite how much I want a new Paper Mario game, West of Loathing just isn’t filling that void for me.

West of Loathing lives and dies by its sense of humor. If you’re not onboard with it’s snarky tone and stick figure aesthetic, nothing else in the game will end up winning you over.

RIVERBOND

It took me way longer than it should have for me to remember what game this was, because it turns out I actually wrote about it over a year ago. I liked the way it looked back then, and I still like it now. What I’m not enjoying so much is how repetitive and lifeless the gameplay is. Like I mentioned, I’m only an hour into this game at most, but all I’ve really had to do in Riverbond is skirt around enemies while hitting the attack button, and moving on. There are occasions where you’ll want to pull out your gun and press the attack button until a thing dies, but it really doesn’t matter what you do as long as you don’t die.

I hate to rag on this game, but it was just such a disappointment from the jump. It isn’t a bad game by any stretch, just a forgettable one.

CRACKDOWN 3

I have some pretty fond memories around Crackdown and considerably less that are tied to Crackdown 2, but this entry in the franchise is mostly confounding. I think I’m enjoying Crackdown 3 despite how flawed it is.

From top to bottom, there are glaring issues in Crackdown 3 that are absolutely infuriating. For instance, Crackdown 3 utilizes the basest concept of a “combat puzzle” by encouraging you to use different weapon types against certain enemy types. Fire and poison work great on people, but not as effective on robots. You get the deal. That’s a neat thing in concept, but it’s all kind of undermined by the fact that when I hit the button to change weapons, and the game just doesn’t do it, that’s bad. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve died because the game demanded that my character, in this superhero game about moving around and being badass, stand still in order to swap weapons.

And it isn’t exclusive to weapon swapping either. Sometimes you’ll try to climb a ledge or pull yourself up onto a flat surface, and the game just wont. Certain objects in the game will downright deny you the ability to climb, especially troubling when it’s the only surface in the ocean that isn’t covered in enemies.

Another wonderful thing Crackdown 3 does is recycle. Yes, it’s good for the environment, but when you literally are liberating the same exact outposts just in different locations, it gets really old really fast.

But despite how apparent its flaws are, Crackdown 3 is still just fun to play. It’s satisfying to throw a car at a mech. It’s satisfying to lob the lifeless husk of an enemy at a few of their surviving compatriots. It’s fun, mindless action and mayhem that in anything more than small doses, could be extremely frustrating and boring.

I still have some games installed that I need to get around to trying, but I feel like I should finish a game before I move on. It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually beaten a game. That’s incredibly weird to me.

Blog: Nobody Puts Game Pass in the Corner – 06/12/19

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There are tons of different services out there that provide what essentially is, “The Netflix of Games.” With EA’s Origin Access, the upcoming Google Stadia, the recently announced Ubisoft+, Discord’s Nitro offerings and so on and so forth. But let me tell you about what might be the best and most exciting one of all, Xbox Game Pass — specifically, the one for PC.

A few days ago at their E3 conference, Microsoft unveiled their $15 a month Game Pass bundle that includes both Xbox and PC Game Passes, plus an Xbox Live subscription. A few years earlier, they announced their play anywhere initiative, which said that all first party games will be playable on Xbox and PC. Now that both of these announcements have come and gone, and the Xbox Game Pass PC version (what a name) is available for only $5 a month, it leaves little reason for me to ever own another Xbox again.

But that isn’t the point here. What is the point is how good the offerings are on the Game Pass PC. I won’t go through the entire list here, but there are some bangers on here.

ASTRONEER

I really enjoyed Astroneer when it was in early access. Since it released, I shamefully haven’t tried it out, but I recommend anyone who is looking for a chill space, survival game, immediately check out Astroneer.

GEARS OF WAR 4/ULTIMATE EDITION

With the sequel only a few months away, now’s a great time to revisit the incredibly fun yet forgettable, Gears of War 4. Admittedly, I never finished it, but, now I have an avenue to do so should I ever want to.

Also, the remaster of the first Gears of War is on the service too. Just saying.

ORI & THE BLIND FOREST

The incredibly fun and challenging platformer, Ori & The Blind Forest is available too, which is good considering the sequel isn’t too far away and will also be on Game Pass. Also, this game will make you feel things. So watch out.

PREY

Prey was always one of those games that I wanted to try but never got around to. With shades of Bioshock and System Shock poking through, the game offered what many critics considered a fun, yet occasionally terrifying game with a great story.

SHENMUE I&II

I won’t attempt to defend Shenmue as a franchise, but it did have some pretty impressive stuff in it for the time. The clockwork world, quick time events, the densely populated areas where you can interact with everyone. All of it was ahead of it’s time and deserves that praise. Was it fun to play though? Not really. But you can experience the infamous hunt for sailors for yourself in preparation for the impending sequel.

STATE OF DECAY 2

While State of Decay 2 wasn’t the game for me, I acknowledge that for a lot of people, the zombie survival/management sim that released, was. It’s a game full of bold ideas, all of which circle around the concept of base building, and personnel management. Also there’s zombies everywhere.

VAMPYR

I really wanted to try out Vampyr for a while now. If I remember correctly, you’re a doctor who has been turned into a vampire, and has to investigate something? I don’t remember. What I do remember though is that you talk to a bunch of citizens, and shoot werewolves a bunch. It’s an action RPG in a setting we just don’t get enough of.

WOLFENSTEIN II

I think we as a people need to once again embrace the idea that eradicating Nazis is cool and not taboo. What better way to remind yourself of that fact, than by playing a game where you go around an alternate history version of America where they lost WW2 and the filthy Nazis took over? Oh, I should mention that you’re killing them with guns and bombs and stuff in order to free America from the Nazi menace. It’s fun and patriotic.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, “eh, none of those games did it for me,” and I get that. But there might be something on the list that might sway you. And look, I’m not doing this cause I want to advertise the service or anything, this was all spurred on because I genuinely enjoy the service. That, and the upcoming titles look great. Let’s take a look, shall we?

HALO INFINITE

Look man, I was gonna play this game one way or another, and knowing that I don’t need to buy a new console to enjoy it is all the better. When Halo Infinite launches next year, I’ll be there.

HALO THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION

What’s that you say? You don’t need Game Pass till the next Halo launches? But what about The Master Chief Collection then? Yeah buddy, you’re gonna get access to that entire package when it begins to roll out in a few months. Hot damn.

AGE OF EMPIRES I, II & III DEFINITIVE EDITIONS

In the past, I’ve heard people go nuts for this franchise. I’m actually curious to see what all the fuss is about. Considering the last actual RTS game I played was Rise of Nations, I’m curious if this will scratch a similar itch.

MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR

Shut up, I think it looks cool and fun. I wanna fly some sick-ass planes and do it in a world powered by Google Maps. I want to fly a plane over my house and go somewhere nicer, so I pretend I’m leaving here. Shut up.

That isn’t all of the upcoming games, that list has a few more on it. But more interestingly is what games they don’t have announced, that they’ll add to the service. Only a few days ago, critically acclaimed new releases like Void Bastards and The Outer Wilds were added to the list, so you never know what new game is going to make the cut.

Out of all of the available services, Xbox Game Pass PC has the best selection of games that I want to play on it. Also, I think it’s the cheapest of the offerings at only $4.99 a month. I’m enjoying Game Pass, and I just wanted to sing it’s praises a bit as we become more and more over encumbered with similar services.