Believe Your Dreams! || Arcade Spirits [PC]

 

“Success doesn’t mean something was or wasn’t worth the effort.” - Ari Cader, Arcade Spirits

Chapter title Screen

Arcade Spirits is a coin operated, filled with neon lights visual novel style game about romance and arcades by Fiction Factory Games. You play as Ari Cader (or whatever you choose to change the default name to), a down on their luck friend who has just lost another job and is struggling to get back into it. Their friend Juniper recommends a digital life coach to help them get back into the scene, and it sounds pretty sketchy… but what have we got to lose? We end up at an arcade, which is full of nostalgia and gum stuck in weird places (thanks little kids), but it feels inviting and… maybe we belong here after all?

I really likes the ideas in Arcade Spirits, both in the arcade setting and with IRIS(the digital life coach). The games presents choices as any other visual novel style game, but each choice has a personality type attached to it. Your responses can be Quirky, Logical, Caring, Bold or Neutral and those personality traits can effect your relationships with other characters. I found myself really enjoying all of the characters available for romance as well. You have the cold-on-the-outside-but-maybe-warm-inside Gavin, the loavable teddy bear Percy, fun tech guru Naomi, cosplay aficionado Ashley, smooth talking dancer Teo, and tough as nails gamer Queen Bee.

I mean, what would you do when faced with a gigantic flamingo?

I was immediately drawn to Percy, who’s affable personality and sad story tugged at my heartstrings in a relatable way. Gavin was a close second, followed by Naomi and Teo. They all have great points, and as much as I wanted to date them all, that’s not really a possibility in this particular game. I played through the game twice, once I romanced Percy, and then Gavin the 2^nd time. Honestly, I’m curious about all of them, but I don’t have that kind of time, unfortunately. Aside for the characters themselves, I was impressed with the choices and branches of the story overall. Do you want to build the next chuck-e-cheese? A Barcade? A retro gamer paradise? Do you focus on experience or profits? The arcade is yours to manage!

We actually have a Barcade that I’ve been to, the 16-Bit in Cleveland, Ohio. A group of friends all went and my friend Robyn and I marathoned Golden Axe while we were there. It was a fun time. If you ever get the opportunity to visit, I suggest you do.

That is one way to go...

Back to the game, while it is a romance game in a way, the focus of the game is much more on the arcade itself then it is about the romance. It feels like the romancing itself is a very small part of the game—which is fine! I might even enjoy it more that way. I both love, and am terrified of the idea of IRIS, a sentient AI program helping me sort out my life and even find my soulmate, but I still love the idea. As technologically advanced as we have become, it didn’t feel like it was a too far out possibility. There were a few customization options for Ari in the beginning, such as hair and eye color, clothing colors, and skin tone, although I especially appreciated the inclusivity of having the option of they/them pronouns. It feels like this is becoming more popular in these types of games and I love it.

The only real trouble I had with the game was the music level. I had to turn the music down to almost nothing to be able to hear the voice acting when it was present, which was a shame because I like ths music and I thought the voice active was wonderful and fitting for each character. You can, of course, alter the sound levels in the preferences, but I wish I could have been able to hear both. Even at 100% the voice acting was still quiet.

Gavin and Ari, looking dapper.

Overall, the game follows a rather classical formula for visual novels, with enough twists and additions that it feels fresh and interesting. The characters are well developed and have unique personalities and back stories, so there is something relatable for everyone. I really enjoyed playing through the game. The story was engaging, I love the characters, and it left me wanting to find an old arcade to play at. Unfortunately, little country towns don’t have arcades. I wonder if they could really make a comeback someday—outside of malls and movie theaters.

Thank you, as always, for stopping in and sharing some of your time with me today. If you’re interested in Arcade Spirits, you can find it on Itch.io HERE for $20 or on Steam HERE, for $19.99. I wonder why the difference in price, even if it is just a penny. If you’ve played the game, let me know what you think about it. Do you remember visiting any arcades when you were a kid? What was your favorite game? Let me know in the comments below!

Until then, take a deep breath, drink your water, have a snack, and remember that bad times will pass, and we’re all in this together. Hang in there my friends, and I will see you all next week!

Bell

Wow, So this is 2020, huh?

 Hello fellow gamers, 

It's been a while, huh? My last blog post was July of 2019. Oops. Suffice to say that keeping up with any regular task is difficult, and the end of 2019 saw me getting sick a lot and coming into 2020 was a league of it's own in terms of "How bad can things get?" I've gotten your emails and concerns about how I hadn't been writing, and I'm sorry if I didn't reply to them all as I wasn't sure at the time what I wanted to do. I've been struggling for motivation and energy to do anything, and while I have been playing games I wasn't thinking critically about them as much as just trying to fill some time and make myself feel like I was accomplishing something.

So here's the plan. I'm going to start writing again. Why not? I miss doing it, and I miss getting to be involved in the gaming community in a different way. Starting next week I'll pick up blog posts again and I'll return to the circles of people I have missed so much. Thank you everyone for your concerns. 

While I haven't been posting, I have been attending to my other crafty interests, like knitting and cross stitch, as well as spending extra time cuddling my dogs. I'll share some pictures below if you're curious how any of that is going. 

Thanks for sticking around, thanks for visiting, and I'll see you all next week! 

Bell

A beautiful shawl on the blocks

The cutest dog isn't he?

Hey... Nice cock

Who doesn't love the fat chocobo?

I just wanna fly! || Cloudtrail Island (PC)

"Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look up." --Leonardo Da Vinci

Title Screen

Cloudtrail Island is a relaxing game of exploration created by a small team of people known as Wing It Games. You play as Wendy, a young lady who, it seems, is moving to Cloudtrail Island from Obscondia. The world of Cloudtrail is a world of disconnected floating islands that require some form of flight to travel between them. Wendy does this using a glider, and there are also these large almost blimp like airships that travel between the islands.

I really love the concept of this game, the disconnected sky islands, with the air travel and a view of endless blue skies. When I was younger, I played a game called Skies of Arcadia that filled me with such a sense of wonder. It had a similar concept, you had an airship and you traveled between floating islands that were different towns and cultural representations. There was a lot more to it, but the idea of living in the skies is similar.

Ah, the age old fetch quests! Bring it on!

The controls for this game are not stellar. The movements feel floaty, you get caught on the terrain when walking sometimes (especially bridges) and Wendy will jump into the hair when she hits a bump. To use the glider, you hit space twice, but in the platforming sections Wendy would whip out her glider when I was just trying to jump, which caused issues and got a little frustrating. The gliding was considerably smoother and I had fewer issues. 

The graphics style of the game is really cute and the music is nice as well. I didn’t seem to run into a lot of characters, but it might have been a result of the day/night cycle and I just wasn’t getting there at the right time to see them. The characters that I ran into seemed charming, if a bit generic. Also, I wish there was a house for me. I kept trying to go into houses but couldn’t find one that I could enter. I feel like the game was trying to go for a relaxing Animal Crossing vibe, but I felt like it needed more to get there, and a house would have added to that.

There is a large variety of items to collect in the game, and you would use them for fetch quests I imagine. There was a shop set up on the main islands, and he said he was a shop but I didn't get any options to buy or sell so it seemed pointless.

Flying is admittedly fun, though.

Overall, there is a decent amount of space to explore, the graphics are cute, and it is fun to soar around through the air. I love the idea of this game, and I feel like with some extra work and tweaking to the design and execution, it could really be a fantastic game to spend time in. As it is right now, it’s still worth a play to experience soaring through the air and to have a relaxing jaunt around the islands. You can download the game for free from Itch.io HERE.

There was a surprising lack of fencing for living so high in the air. I would be concerned about losing my children or pets off of the edge. Do you think you would enjoy living in the sky on a floating island? Would you want to live in a community like the Cloudtrail Island, or off on your own little hunk of floating rock? Let me know what you think in the comments and I will see you all next time. Until then, friends, happy gaming!

I'm worried about this cow. Are they okay?

Reliving a Memory || When the Past Was Around [DEMO] (PC)

"Past is a nice place to visit, but certainly not a good place to stay." --Unknown

Title screen

When the Past was Around is a unique point and click, puzzle solving tale created by Mojiken Studio.  I played and wrote about another game by Mojiken Studio a while back called A Raven Monologue. Mojiken Studios branches out into these experimental types of story telling that are charming and wonderful to behold. If you haven't played A Raven Monologue, I suggest you do so because it too is quite a tale. 

In When the Past was Around, you unfold the tale of a young woman and a beast in a surreal world where the woman’s memories play out in vignettes. This game is still just a demo, so the game will be build up and things might change in terms of how the game plays, but for now we’re going to talk about the demo.

The art style used in this game is absolutely stunning. The colors are soft and gentle, the characters and the environments are crafted lovingly with great care. Everything flows together nicely from scene to scene, lead along by the beast. I have to say, it feels wrong to call him a beast. This game feels so gentle and loving that using a harsh sounding word like beast feels wrong.

Photos of Memories

The music and sound design are also delightful and add to the overall gentle and relaxing flow of the game. The puzzles are rather simple, and you can manage your way around simple by clicking on everything if you get stuck. Good old trial and error. Nothing was too difficult, and the game focused more on the journey than creating a struggle with the puzzles or mechanics.

There is no spoken dialogue in this demo, all of the story telling is told through the imagery and puzzle solving. This game manages to do that very well, particularly towards the ending of the demo when we get a small idea that perhaps not everything is sunshine any rainbows(and also a small assault on my ears). It reminded me that this was a demo and that there was something more to come.

Where will they lead us to next?

Overall, I think I fell in love with this demo. The art style was enchanting, the music was relaxing and the story was told in a beautiful way. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what more comes from this game in the future.  I definitely recommend that you pick up the demo and experience it for yourself. You can grab the demo free from Itch.io HERE.

How do you feel about a game that uses the art to tell a story as opposed to words? Have you played a game that plays in a similar way before? Comment down below and let me know what you think. Until next time, happy gaming, friends!

Parkour! || Stumblehill (PC)

“You don’t just stumble into the future. You create your own future.” -Roger Smith

Title

Stumblehill is an adorable, if frustration inducing, platformer adventure created by Hempuli. You play as a penguin named Ecki who wakes up alone in his nest and begins a journey to the tallest mountain. Ecki travels through fields, caves, windmills and faces all kinds of danger to reach his destination, but Ecki’s biggest danger is you.

The controls are the biggest obstacle in this game, and I struggled to get through. There are times where you have to be more precise in your jumps and the way poor Ecki stumbles, rotates in the air or launches himself off cliffs even can result in a lot of trial and error to get through some areas. Admittedly, platformers are not really my strong suit. I did appreciate the amount of checkpoint flags that were provided, so that if you fall a long way or get stuck you can just hit “Z” and restart at the last flag you touched.

I love the windmills

The art style for this game is adorable. Ecki is the cutest penguin I have ever seen, and despite the times I sighed in exasperation and resented him, I still wanted to give him a hug. The environments are vibrant, the colors are beautiful, and the levels are well crafted and thoughtfully put together. The Windmill area was my favorite, I think, although the caves were really beautiful as well.

The music was relaxing and enjoyable, and the sound effects were fitting, even if I got sick of hearing Ecki fall on the ground (I guess I just shouldn’t have fallen so much). Poor Ecki cries every time he gets up after he falls, the poor guy. He was crying the whole adventure for me, but he made it!

My daughter was sitting with me while I played through some of the levels. There are signs that sort of show a picture and a key as a helpful aide for controls. Though, they weren’t always clear what was being asked of us, so my daughter interjected, “I don’t understand SIGN language (paused for laugh).” There is a way to check the controls on the opening screen of the game, so it wasn’t hard to figure the controls out, but I wanted to share that story anyway because I love my daughter and it was cute.

Ecki continues on...

Over all I enjoyed the adventure. There were times I got frustrated, but thanks to the abundance of checkpoints I never had to redo a large amount of work to get back to where I was. The game isn’t long either, so it doesn’t become repetitive or boring. You can check the game out for yourself, it’s free from Itch.io HERE. Be sure to leave some feedback for Hempuli and let them know how you liked it.

As always, thank you for stopping in today. Have you played games where the controls are purposely(or unintentionally) frustrating? Do you think a little penguin could really make such a long journey? Let me know what you thought in the comments below. Have a great day everyone, see you next time!

Wow is it 2019 already? || State of the blog address

Oh, hey everybody. I haven't written in here since July, huh? That's my bad ya'll. I got caught up in school and trying to find a new job to support my life and this blog just got away from me.  I can say that I'll be better about that, but we all know I'm a garbage person and therefore I don't want to make unrealistic promises, or timelines, or anything like that.

So here is what I WILL DO. I have started a new job that occupies my time during most of the week. I got a grown up 9-5, desk job. I really like it, even though I have a ridiculous commute to make to get there... but I get paid enough to deal with it(at least while I have my Kia that gets 35 mpg so I'm not spending $200 a week on gas). Minus sleeping, getting ready and such, One an average weekday I get 2.5 hours to eat dinner, shower, catch up on my kdramas(really falling behind here), play games, practice my Korean, spend time with my daughter, etc. In short, the time component of all of this really blows.

Come 90 days, if I'm able to keep my productivity high and my ratings above 95%, I can work from home. This is my ultimate goal, which will open up an extra 2.5-4 hours of commuting(weather is a big factor here). For now, I want to try to just stick to one blog post a week. Now, classes are starting this upcoming week, so I have to see how to time manage all of that work into my week also, but this is my last semester which means I get to apply for graduation (hurray!) and that will open up more time for me also.

In short, I want to return to writing here. I made myself a promise to do this, and I want to uphold it as best I can. I have received some game requests for games to play, so I will be starting those soon. I don't want to let you all down, nor do I want to let myself down. Please keep an eye out for upcoming blogs, and fun times.

As always, be safe, and happy gaming,
Bellannmae

I'm Hanging On || Just, Bearly (PC)

“My heart was broken and my head just barely inhabitable.” –Anne Lamott

I love the style of the game. The drawings over irl backgrounds.

Just, Bearly is a collection of playable vignettes that revolve around feelings of awkwardness. Created by Daniel J Roberts, Just, Bearly encapsulates the feelings of unease and the challenge of stumbling your way through social situations. I’m not sure I ever related to something to closely.

The vignettes give a variety of short interactive parts—sort of like a Warioware game. You mash, drag, push, and pull your way through a variety of situations while trying to appear like a normal being. You come across another character who seems to help put your character at ease a little bit, which is nice.

I relate so much.

The only issue I had was that sometime when the vignettes were loading, I ended up with lag that interfered with me performing the requested tasks. While it was a bit frustrating, it didn’t ruin my overall experience. Other than the lag on a few select vignettes, the rest of the game ran smoothly.

I appreciate the almost sketch book quality of the character art. The backgrounds often seem to be images of real life places, which is interesting to me. Having the drawn characters on the still images helps to make a connection to real life (in my eyes anyway).

In any case, I highly recommend giving this game a try, particularly if you’re a wreck like me and like to play games you can relate to. It’s free to download from Itch.io *here*. The game is also available for download on Steam *here*. Did you succeed in pretending to be normal?

Thank you, as always. Until next time!

Bellannmae

Los Locos! || Choreo - The Legend of Loco [DEMO] (PC)

"Uno se hace el loco, pero sabe quien es quien?" --unknown

I love the logo

Legend of Loco is a demo created by MegaSloth. The game is set in a colorful world with Lovecraftian undertones. With inspiration from early Disney cartoons, Aztec and Mayan culture, as well as the Cthulu Mythos, the world is sure to be filled with adventure and danger.

The artwork and environments that MegaSloth are charming and they make me want to explore the world. There is an interesting concept where you collect followers who provide different instrumental tracks, that all combine into the game score. That’s something I don’t think I have ever seen before, so I appreciate the thought that went into it.

I'm not sure what... but something is about to go down.

The controls need a little work. The platforming feels a little floaty at times, and fighting isn’t all that interesting to me. There are different things in the world to collect—skulls, tacos, flowers that bloom… but I’m not sure what any of them are for. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure what my goal is as I play the game. It’s fun, don’t get me wrong. But when I play, I like to have a goal in mind.

I made a friend!

This game did have a kickstarter, but unfortunately it did not get fully funded. Despite that, I hope that MegaSloth is able to continue working on this game, and retry for funding in the future because I feel that this game could really be enjoyable. Please stop by the Itch.io page and download the demo for free to try it for yourself *here*.

Let me know what you thought in the comments below! Do you want to see a full game in the future?

 

Thank you, as always. Until next time!

Bellannmae

So I'm gonna fly! || Mimi's Delivery Dash

“We need to find our own inspiration. Sometimes, it’s not easy.” –Ursula, Kiki’s Delivery Service

Even the title screen throw me back to the movie :)

Mimi’s Delivery Dash is a short game created by Caffinate for the Movie Game Jam 2018. The game was created in 10 days, which is impressive for the amount of polish this little game has. I may be a little biased since Kiki’s Delivery Service was the movie that introduced me to Studio Ghibli and holds a dear place in my heart. Kiki’s Delivery Service is also the movie that Caffinate based this game on.

In the movie, Kiki is a young witch who leaves home to begin her training. She uses her flying abilities to make deliveries for a bakery to get by, but one day she finds that she has lost her ability to fly. Kiki spends the rest of the movie trying to find her spirit within to regain the ability she lost.

Someone has a delivery to be made!

In the game you play as Mimi, and you are making deliveries on your broom. The controls are simple enough, and you have a select key and a boost key. I like the various references in the game from the movie also. The music and sound effects are all very pleasing, and the visuals are beautiful.

Overall, this game gave me a wonderful sense of nostalgia and made me very happy. I want to go watch Kiki’s Delivery Service now (which I also recommend)! There is only one level, but I definitely wanted more because I enjoyed it so much. You can download this little for yourself free from Itch.io *here*. Let me know what you thought down below! Have you seen the movie?

Thank you, as always. Until next time!

Bellannmae

It's that time! || E3 (Thoughts and Excitement!)

I missed the first day of E3 because I was deathly ill, which sucks, but I was up and ready for day 2 with the Ubisoft conference, and Sony of course. I was caught up one the other E3 showcases, so I wanted to just write a bit about what I’m excited for going forward, or any surprises.

Vacation, anyone?

I think one of the biggest surprises I got out of E3 was a teaser for a new Elder Scrolls, and the speculation of where it takes place—Hammerfell perhaps? Or High Rock? Wherever it is, it’s beautiful. I’m excited to see what new stories will be told, and where we will go from there. I guess maybe I should stop fooling around and finish Skyrim, then…

One of the games I think I’m most excited for is Skull and Bones. It’s about PIRATES, ya’ll. If you know me, you know I love pirates. My love only grew a few years back after I watched a Starz series called Black Sails—which I also recommend. Back to the game, it looked stunning. The character models, the water effects, the ships… they all looks so realistic. From what I gathered, it also looks like there will be realistic changing weather, boat customization, and probably much more. The combat looked challenging, but interesting as well. I am really looking forward to seeing this game in the future and hope to get my hands on it.

I’m not a big player of Assassin’s Creed games, not because I don’t enjoy them, but because my stealth ability in games is… pretty sad to be honest. I have to say that I am excited to see the new Assassin’s Creed teaser. Ancient Greece? Sign me up!

Playstation had some big offerings with a new Destiny expansion coming in September, and The Last of Us part 2. Control looked interesting, and very physics based with what looks like a lot of anti-gravity going on.

Well look at you now.

What’s this? A Resident Evil 2 REMAKE?! Color me excite, guys. RE2 was one of my favorites. And it looks quite good. It gave me an immense sense of nostalgia to see it, and I hope that it lives up to the expectations.

Even games that I haven’t played much of or haven’t heard much of looked good. Such as The Division 2, or the next For Honor game. Also, a new Dragon Quest!  And Kingdom Hearts 3, of course.

Nintendo made some big impressions also. Even though I don’t personally own a Switch, they got me excited. Daemon X Machina—I have a soft spot for giant mech suits, so this made me all warm and fuzzy. A new Xenoblade Chronicles, new Pokemon adventures, Super Mario Party… there was a lot to love from Nintendo this E3.

I appreciate a good epic battle.

I was surprised to see Fortnite being brought to Switch! Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised, since Fortnite has made quite a craze of itself.  I WAS excited to see a new Fire Emblem announced! I do enjoy the tactical battles, beautiful environments and story.

The future of gaming looks good, at least for now. There were also a lot of indie titles announced that I’m stoked for! Like a DLC for Cuphead, Tunic, After Party, Harold Halibut (SUPER excited for that one!), Children of Morta, and more.

What games are you most excited for in the coming months/year? Let me know down below!

Until next time, friends!

Bellannmae

The gift of Myrrh...dur! Murder! || 1st Degree [DEMO] (PC)

“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” –Mark Twain

I love the intensity

1^st Degree is a murder-mystery 18+ BL visual novel in the works by Parival. You play as Rei, a detective / copycat murderer, who is trying to catch / understand the methods of a killer that has been dubbed “The Doctor”. Outside of the whole murder thing, Rei is a typical smart ass, sarcastic protagonist that we all know and love. The game is still in demo mode, but it has me excited to see a full version.

You meet a large cast of characters in the demo, each with a unique personality. I love that this demo is fully voiced, since it really helps to bring something a bit more personal to the characters. All of the voices seem to fit the characters, but man… Aiden’s voice gives me shivers (in a good way). But in terms of looks, I think it’s a tie between Leo and Minami.

Good ol Rei

I like the story of the game. I’m always a fan of murder-mystery, and I think the twist of having the killer (or one of them) as the main character is interesting. I also wonder how his… extra-curricular activities will cause conflict later in the game. 

The artwork is very nice, and the designs for the characters are all lovely. I love the variety of expressions, as well as the well detailed backgrounds. The sound and music are well done as well.

One thing that I really appreciated with this demo was the use of a glossary. 1^st Degree uses a lot of different medical terms which can be confusing some someone who doesn’t have a lot of medical background. While I didn’t need to use the glossary, I think it’s a wonderful thing to include for players.

Everyone has to relax somehow

Overall, I’m very excited to see how this game develops. Rest assured I’ll be buying the full copy when it releases! If you’re interested, you can download the demo free from Itch.io *here*, and there are also links on the page to follow the game as it progresses. Let me know what you think down below!

Thank you, as always. Until next time!

Bellannmae

I Had to Fold! || A Tale of Paper (PC)

“As long as we don’t die, this is gonna be one hell of a story.” –John Green

Our little paper friend looks like a KH Heartless

A Tale of Paper is a daring adventure created by OpenHouseGames. You play as an Origami figure trying to survive in an unknown world filled with water, murderous Roomba vacuums and spiders. Let’s jump right into talking about the game!

I enjoyed playing this game despite some issues I had—particularly with controls. As much as I love my little origami friend, I really struggled at times to get them to do what I wanted. Jumping was awkward, especially as a frog. It felt I needed for control over the distance I was trying to jump.

Found a... friend?

I like the variety of origami transformations you get, and the functionality of each. I love the environments (particularly the room with the planets) and the music is fitting. I really like the premise, and I feel the developers had a great idea with this game. Some parts of the game feel a little unpolished or awkward, but it doesn’t take away from the overall feeling.

I wasn’t able to finish this game, because I had issues with the controls. I wasn’t able to make it past the part where you’re running from a spider, Crash Bandicoot style. I kept getting stuck on things in the environment I shouldn’t have gotten stuck on or falling into the puddles of water because I couldn’t see them quick enough. After 15 minutes, I had to quit to save my sanity. I may try again another day, but for now I will appreciate what the game has given me thus far.

It was fun to hop around as a frog

I hope that OpenHouseGames continue to create interesting and unique games like this in the future. Be sure to download the game to try for yourself, free from Itch.io *here*. Let me know what you thought down below. Did you make it past the spider?

Thank you, as always. Until Next time,

Bellannmae

There's Something Strange Going On... || The Librarian (PC)

“Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures.” –Lewis Carroll

A Cozy Opening Screen

The Librarian is a short little adventure/puzzle game created by our friend Octavi Navarro. You may remember his name from a previous post for his previous game called Midnight Scenes:Highway. I was greatly impressed with the previous game, so when I heard that Octavi had created a new game, I couldn’t play it soon enough! My excitement was well warranted.

In The Librarian, you play as a young Librarian who’s reading is interrupted by a strange gust of ominous wind. They find an owl with a note telling them that something is wrong at the Library, so our dear Librarian gets ready to investigate. What wonders could await?

Not in any way ominous...

As with the previous game, I was very pleased with the pixel graphics and aesthetics. The colors fit the mysterious and slightly ominous tone of the game, and the animations were smooth. It was all very cohesive and worked well together.

The music and sound effects are well done, and Octavi does a spectacular job of crafting the environment and atmosphere of the game. Although the game is short (took me about 10 minutes) and the puzzles were a bit to easy to me, I greatly enjoyed the adventure. In the end, that’s what really matters.

Who you gonna call?

I hope that Octavi continues to make more games like these in the future, as I’ll be first in line to play. I encourage you to download the game and play for yourself. You can download the game free from Itch.io *here*. Be sure to leave a comment down below and let me know what you thought of the game.

As always, thank you for stopping in to share some time with me today. Remember to take some time for yourself, and have a momentous day, friends.

Until Next Time,

Bellannmae

Hold onto your Cats! Er, Hats! || Boneko [Prototype] (PC)

Title

Boneko is a platformer game in the works from Patchoid. The prototype available to play was made in 2015 and has a different story than where they are taking the game now, but the prototype is still fun, and the project is worth watching, so I’m going to talk about it anyway!

The story follows a girl names Bony, who enters an old mansion to recuse her cat Boneko, only to find he has been transformed into a hat! Now Bony must traverse the mansion, looking for her friends, and a way to restore Boneko to his original self.

No boot big enough to squash that spider...

The graphics are downright adorable, and the animations are smooth. I like the variety of enemies, and the level design. I had a few issues with controls, and the game does crash when I die. The developers know this, and it’s an issue with the game maker save system. The final game is being made with Unity, so hopefully there won’t be similar issues. I love the music, and the sound effects are fitting.

The fighting system involves Boneko shooting furballs at the enemies. You also get upgrades, the one I got involved a ground smash. You collect keys, and yarn balls that the enemies drop when you kill them. The keys are needed to advance, of course, but the purpose of the yarn balls was not discovered by me on my play through before I died. Does Bony knit upgrades for Boneko too?

These are big enough for those spiders!

Overall, this prototype is so charming and worth playing. I’m excited to see where this game goes in the future, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the full release. You can download the prototype free from Itch.io *here*. Be sure to leave your feedback and encouragement for the developers. And, as always, happy gaming, Jammers!

Bell 

Looking for the Light || Actual Sunlight (PC)

Title

Actual Sunlight is an “adventure” game created by WZOGI. I put adventure in quotes because the game doesn’t quite fit what I expect my adventure games to be, in terms of gameplay. You play as a character who feels stuck in his daily life, and is having trouble finding the willpower to move on. This game tried to deal with some heavier and more complex issues, like depression, and suicide, but it fell short in a few areas for me.

I want to make a note that I could not finish this game. I have a pretty good idea of how it ended, though. I’ll check to see if I’m right before I finish writing this to see. Anyway, you follow your character through his daily life, and almost every object you inspect or person you interact with will give you a little blurb about something—like a memory, or an information tid-bit. I think this can be a useful tactic in the game, but when it’s almost the only way to get anything from the game, it because tedious. I’m talking about walls of text. If you wanted to make a point, this same thing could have been achieved by writing a short story, or an online comic or something. What’s the point of making this a game, if there’s not actual gameplay(other than walking around).

Wall o Text

The graphics are not spectacular. Keep in mind that I’m not a stickler on hyper realistic next gen graphics. But because I felt this game was, frankly, boring, it would have been nice to have something to keep me interested.

The theme of this game is meant to be depression and thoughts of suicide, but other than a few explicit mentions of it, I didn’t get that impression from the game. I felt that the character was unsatisfied in his life and harbored a lot of resentment and self-loathing, which can be a part of depression, but are not exclusive to it. Even so, this game could have been better if it used character development, interaction, or anything to help build a story, rather than the wall of text style that was used.

The office

Overall, I feel that this game could have been much better, but simply fell short. I got this game on a steam sale for, I think, 50 cents or so. So, it’s not a huge loss. Normally the game is 4.99, and I wouldn’t recommend it for that price. In case you want to read on it some more, or even try it yourself, you can check out the Steam page *here*. 

As always, thank you for sharing some of your time with me today. Hope everyone is ready for the holidays! Until next time, happy gaming, Jammers!

Bell

Prepare the Toilets || South Park: The Fractured but Whole (PC)

Title

Almost everyone I’ve met has at least heard of South Park, so I won’t bore you with a lengthy introduction. It’s a mature cartoon that has been running on Comedy Central since I was a kid, and I’ve always enjoyed the show… for the most part. TFbW comes after Ubisoft’s previous South Park game, The Stick of Truth (Which I really enjoyed). You’re playing as the same “new kid” as you did in that game.

 Where Stick of Truth was about wizards and elves, magic and swords, TFbW is about super heroes. It has a big Marvel vs DC feel between the South Park groups: Freedom Pals, and Coon and Friends. You are a part of Coon and Friends. The main story revolves around a missing cat named Scambles that you are looking for, in order to collect the reward. As always, however, there is a lot more going on in South Park than just that.

Battles in the street! Unless a car comes along...

The character customization is good, and there are a lot of options to choose from—as well as more you collect in game. Hair styles, make up, facial hair, costumes, and more. So, you can always change it up if you get bored. There is also a wide array of costumes for your hero to wear. I’ve played about 13 hours’ worth of gameplay so far, and I have collected around 30 different costumes. I found a style and design that I liked, as you can see above.

Playing a South Park game is like playing through a long episode. It’s great to see the easter eggs from the show, and to play alongside your favorite characters (Butters, Tweek, and Craig are mine). It has the same fart humor that you either loved or hated in the first game. I happen to be a 12-year-old boy in disguise, and I find toilet humor hilarious.

All hail King Douchebag

I did have a few issues with controls, particularly during the toilet sequences. I tried 2 different controllers, but I still had issues getting the analog stick rotations to register properly. My ps4 controller worked a little better than my Logitech, but still had issues. I didn’t have any issues during any other parts of the game, though.

The graphics are nice—just like watching an episode of South Park—and the music is great. While a lot of South Park is ridiculous in your face humor, there are some serious moments too, which are also well captured in the game. The game isn’t for everyone, of course, but I personally found it fun and interesting. Who doesn’t want to be a superhero (even if it meant having to see your dad $&#^ your mom).

It's a-me!

I recommend picking it up, and giving it a chance. Maybe wait until it’s on sale though, since the $60 price tag might not be entirely worth it, unless you’re a big fan of the show. Also, if we’re comparing TFbW and Stick of Truth, I think Stick of Truth is the better game. Anyhow, check out TFbW on its Steam page *here*.

If you’ve played the game, let me know what you thought, and until next time… happy gaming, Jammers!

Bell

Sniping for You || Long Gone Days [DEMO] (PC)

From Steam Page

Long Gone Days is a 2D RPG game with visual novel and shooter elements in the works by BURA. You play as Rourke, a young man who has dreamed of being a Sniper for as long as he can remember. He gets his chance, and becomes a sniper in the Core—a highly isolated area that exists below the surface of the Earth. From the Core, squads can travel to the surface, to Kaliningrad. Rourke fills his post as sniper, believing that he is fighting against violent enemies…. But something seems a little strange, doesn’t it?

After he has exposed to the truth, Rourke decides to desert his post. Adair, the medic in his squad, decides to come along also. Together they want to escape the cruel reality they have come to find themselves in, but will they be able to handle facing their brothers in arms?

Adair, the optimist.

I did play through the demo of this game, and it looks really good. The game has beautiful pixel graphics, and visual novel style sprites as well. They work well together. The music is well composed and fitting for the scenes. I like the dystopian future vibe that the game has, and both Rourke and Adair are likeable characters. I feel for Rourke, as I imagine is his shoes I would have had to defect also (or die).

Okay, let’s talk about some of the features that the developers are promising for the full release! So, besides the classical RPG staples, LGD will also borrow mechanics from visual novel style games, puzzles, and shooters.

I really like the battle mechanics that the developers used, so I want to explain it a little better. On the battle screen, you’ll have the opportunity to fire at different areas of the body. Headshots, arm shots, body shots, and leg shots. Each had a different possible effect. For example, you can disable an enemy shooter by hitting them in the arms, or lower their evasion by making leg shots. I think this is a really interesting mechanic to use, and it helps spice up the battle gameplay a little.

In Battle

The game also says that it won’t have any random encounters, which is strange to hear for a game with so many RPG elements. Any battle will be plot related. Instead of leveling up with EXP, characters will learn new skills, upgrade weapons and craft new items. There is also no magic in LGD. Instead, characters have morale, which directly affects a character’s stats in battle. To keep morale up, you’ll need to know each character so that you know how to properly encourage them.

Overall this game looks really stylish, it has a good plot developing, the characters seem unique and have interwoven relationships with you that are important to maintain, and the battle system seems sound. I’m greatly looking forward to the full game release, which is set for February 2018. You can watch the trailer below or visit the Steam page *here* to try the demo for yourself, or get more information.

You can also watch my playthrough of the full demo on my YouTube Channel. There's a link to the demo video *here*

Thanks for shooting by to say hello. I hope you’ll take the chance to check out this game. Let me know what you think in the comments below! Until next time, happy gaming!

Bell