Phil Villarreal's Blog, page 106
June 26, 2018
"Destiny's Princess: A War Story, A Love Story" Switch Review
Despite the growing legions of hardcore, lifelong female gamers in the mix, games geared toward women are infrequent. "Destiny's Princess: A War Story, a Love Story" is the exception to the norm, telling a story that eschews male bravado to appeal to traditionally feminine qualities.
Ported to Switch two years after dropping on PC, the game is something of a visual, fantasy-tinged romance novel. Set in Japan during its 15th century Warring States period, you play a princess in a beleaguered kingdom who summons five mysterious heroes from realms beyond.
The heroes are your only hope to ward of a plague of marauding demons, and it's up to you to manage the oft-conflicting yearnings and impulses of the spirited charges. As you can glean from the title, romantic battlegrounds are intertwined with those of combat.
The writers, as well as publisher D3, deserve credit for laying on the mature content thick and heavy, without regard for how it might negatively impact sales.
The game sets out to tell a decidedly grown-up story, complete with the language, nudity and intensely uncomfortable situations that entails. The story is moving and thoughtful, earning its hard M rating with romantic and thoughtful prudence.
Publisher provided review code.
June 24, 2018
"Paranautical Activity" Review
Those who miss the fast-moving FPS heyday of "Doom," Quake" and "Duke Nukem" may feel "Paranautical Activity" call out to them.
Whether or not that call is worth answering is up for debate.
A hit-and-miss tribute to a bygone era, the speedy, visually retro-styled throwback carries both charms and hindrances of the games to which it pays tribute.
There is fun to be had for those willing to overlook choppy movement, cheap enemy exploits and erratic hit detection. Inventive weapons satisfying methods to dispatch enemies and slick pacing helps you to overlook the problems and keep coming back for more.
Hidden items, blowout boss fights and a springy dubstep soundtrack help had pep to the affair, but the construct tends to wear thin during extended play sessions.
"Paranuatical Activity" may struggle to hold your interest, but if you're willing to revert back to the patience level you had when you were 20 years younger, you'll experience more joy than annoyance. You could do better for your gaming dollar, but you could also do plenty worse.
Publisher provided review code.
"Angels of Death" Review
You are Ray, a woman stricken with amnesia who wakes up in a concrete room with no idea how she got there. Slinking along the corridors, you take a quizzical look at your image in the mirror, then chance upon a room with a computer card lodged inside that you will need to open a door, which appears to be the only way out.
Beyond the door lies a complex web of a story that only draws you in deeper the more layers you manage to peel back.
The question of how to unlock the computer and provide access to the door is the first of many conundrums you'll encounter in "Angels of Death," a story-driven adventure RPG that calls you to navigate menus and juggle items in the vein of "Maniac Mansion." Obtuse challenges have a way of making the linear story seem sprawling and complex. You can breeze right through on intuition or find yourself wandering in the dark until a walkthrough comes to the rescue.
Based on the cult hit manga, the game is broken up into four episodes, which allow the writers to tell the saga in a traditional graphic novel structure. The fact that all four are included in the initial released rather than teased and released sporadically allows you the satisfaction of bingin.
The 16-bit visuals grant the game the sense of a lost classic. You truly get what you put into "Angels of Death" -- a game meant to be obsessed over, analyzed and deconstructed. Probing and dense, it's a game to wrap your psyche around as you plunge into the dark with only your wits and determination to guide you forward.
Publisher provided review code.
June 22, 2018
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" Review
For my written review, click here.
June 21, 2018
"Pode" Review
Built from the ground up as a co-op puzzle game meant to get two players -- each using a Joy-Con -- solving problems together.
Traveling through a whimsical yet foreboding 3-D world, you and a friend take control of characters with complementary abilities to solve the tasks at hand. Coordination is key to endure. Timed jumps, cooperative boosts and strategic placement help you make your way through the clockwork-like challenges.
While also playable solo -- a tricky task that involves alternating possession and rhythms for button taps -- the game reaches its greatest potential when played by a duo. The bickering and shared sense of triumph when you work together to overcome adversity yields rewards you just can't touch when playing on your own.
One of 12 Nindies that Nintendo has lined up in a partnership with innovative indie developers this year, "Pode" taps the quirky system in a heretofore underserved application. Now that the system has been out for more than a year, with Nintendo swinging the doors open for those with innovative ideas, "Pode" seems like a sign of not only how far the system has come in its first several months, but how bubbly the upcoming potential seems to be.
Publisher provided review code.
June 20, 2018
"Pub Encounter" Review
As a young lady seeking to blow off some steam after a rough day at work, you slip into an upscale pub, where you turn the heads of a cadre of middle-aged men on the prowl for a girl like you.
Welcome to "Pub Encounter," a Dogenzaka Lab visual novel that lets you explore romantic possibilities, as well as act as a friend and counselor of sorts. Navigating the minefield ahead of you, your conversations spark jealousy among the men, unlock deep thoughts about lives well wasted, past loves squandered and opportunities seized.
The writing has much to say about the nature of romance and its function in both salving and wounding the human heart. The lonely characters, who ranged from meek to self-absorbed and predatorial, are all nursing severe damage and hoisting up fronts that mask their true yearnings and deficiencies.
While sometimes a bit too personal for comfort -- the writing has no qualms with venturing into overshare territory -- there is grace, subtle humor and quiet beauty amid the maelstrom of posturing and superficial banter. "Pub Encounter" is a rush of flabbergasting emotions in a small, unassuming package.
Publisher provided review code.
June 18, 2018
"Ink" Review
"Ink" makes a splash buy letting you romp your character through invisible levels, splattering paint everywhere to clear your path.
Taking cues from "De Blob," "The Unfinished Swan" and "Splatoon," "Ink" sets you loose on an invisible obstacle course, using trial and error to splash paint on your surroundings, allowing you to see what course you need to take after you respawn.
A game that will drive perfectionists and speedrunners crazy, "Ink" forces you to accept continuous failure and incremental improvement. The methodical pacing works to its advantage, allowing you to appreciate the intricacies of the levels as you make your way through them.
Complex puzzles prevail across each new challenge, tasking you to dispatch enemies, use double jumps and wall jumps to wend your way around and below choke points and cull your momentum in time to make it through the goal door to move onto the next stage.
Designed to be played in short bursts, "Ink" justifies its challenge with reward. Making a mess of a blank slate and overcoming stubborn obstacles with newfound savvy and strategy never loses its draw.
Publisher provided review code.
June 15, 2018
PHIL ON FILM: "The Incredibles 2"
For my written review, click here.
June 11, 2018
"Omega Strike" Review
Part Metroidvania, part Mega Man and part Contra, "Omega Strike" is a side-scrolling, exploration-based action game with loads of charm along with a satisfying challenge-reward loop.
You hot-swap among a squadron of teammates with varied talents, in the vein of the old "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" titles. A strongman can shove heavy objects, an athletic gunman can double-jump, and a quick, shifty figure can scamper from outmatched battles, avoiding conflict altogether.
The writing, which references gaming culture and action flick tropes through the ages, is one of the high points, providing welcome comic relief from the often brutal challenges that await you.
An archaic save system -- you have to check into a portal to record your progress -- both dampens the fun and imbues the combat with a sense of urgency. Robbed of the typical auto-save handholding, you find yourself heading into choke points with a fevered drive to succeed rather than a lackadaisical outlook, because failure could set you back several minutes.
Level design is compact and efficient, with devs cramming 12 bosses and 45 enemy types into the circuitous catacombs.
The lighthearted tone keeps things from getting too tense, with the story segments easing in welcome breaks from the do-or-die moments. "Omega Strike" plays just like your favorite game from when you were 12 that didn't happen to actually exist back then.
Publisher provided review code.
June 8, 2018
"West of Loathing" Review
If Buster Keaton made a stick-figure Western game for the Switch, it would have turned out a lot like "West of Loathing," an old-timey comedy with a look and playstyle that is barely echoed by anything else in gaming.
With a touch of the adventure RPG-stylings of the recent "South Park" games, "West of Loathing" sets your 2D cowboy off on a side-scrolling, branching-path journey that plays a little like a pre-rebellion "Westworld" story paid handsomely for by one of the patrons.
Traipsing through the dusty, rolling-tumbleweed-lined paths, you match wits with gunslingers, ladies of ill repute and real and supernatural creatures of the day and night.
A "Maverick"-style self-awareness fuels your renegade protagonist through his misadventures. Slick dialogue, scores of hidden items to track down and plenty of winking pop culture nods await you.
While not overly challenging and sometimes paced with a lolligagging sense of non-urgency, "West of Loathing" packs enough chuckles, facepalms and delirious non sequiturs to keep you longing for the next tip of the 10-gallon hat. Overall, the game sets out to remind you of the old Olsen Twins aphorism -- how the west was fun.
Publisher provided review code.
