Another month in gaming is in the books! Life continues, God is good, and this medium of videogames never ceases to amaze me. There are so many games with different themes, graphics, music, experiences, and gameplay that there is always a new one that explores roads that other games did not. Below are a few games that some of the writers and I played in the month of February, and we would love to know what you have been playing also! I look forward to trying out some new videogames next month and explore their individual worlds.
Samuru
I purposely chose the image that says “Demo Available” because that’s what I played, the demo. After playing it though, I definitely want to get this game! I have not, sadly, played many Legend of Zelda games as I did not own a Nintendo system since the 3DS. I never purchased a Wii or Wii U, not even a GameCube, since I stuck with PlayStation like a loyal soldier. Now with my Nintendo Switch, I can play all these LoZ games I missed that are remastered, like Skyward Sword HD that is coming out soon again.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a game based on the gameplay of Dynasty Warriors, similar to other genres that have had the same spin done to them (Gundam, One Piece, etc). You play as heroes from various LoZ games, each with their own fighting style and special moves, to prevent Calamity Ganon from destroying Hyrule. The gameplay is a lot of fun, music is amazing since it’s Legend of Zelda, and I also like the voiceovers. Sometimes I switch them over to Japanese, but I will keep this one in English as the voice actors did a fantastic job thus far. If you’ve been able to play this game, let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Andrea (Hope, Play, and Love)
I’ve been fortunate to play and complete two different games this month, both on the PC. I began with Dontnod Entertainment’s latest release Twin Mirror, which borrows a lot of the same mechanic as its hit series Life is Strange. In contrast to Life is Strange’s episodic release, Twin Mirror is a full-length story set in West Virginia. The gameplay is similar to Life is Strange, however, the interactions with characters you meet and the relationships you form with them being key to uncovering clues to a mystery that has the whole town in turmoil. You play as Sam Higgs, an ex-investigative reporter who returns to his hometown of Bassword after self-exiling himself from there a couple of years, after his best friend is mysteriously killed. Sam’s reputation in Basswood is tarnished thanks to an expose article he wrote that resulted in the town’s mine to shut down, resulting in the loss of many jobs. Despite this hostility, Sam takes it upon himself to investigate the death of his best friend when he finds that the cause of death doesn’t make any logical sense, and begins to suspect that foul play may be involved.
Sam is naturally logical and builds his hypothesis by delving into his Mind Palace, uncovering clues and evaluating the scenario based on observations and previous knowledge. He is helped by a mysterious stranger who offers him feedback and emotional support throughout his journey, although some of his suggestions may actually harm the investigation depending on the person Sam is speaking to. There are other characters as well, and all are colorful and diverse in appearance and personality, which is something I also enjoyed seeing in the Life is Strange series.
That being said, I didn’t enjoy Twin Mirror as much as I did its sister series. The concepts are great on paper, but I find that I didn’t connect with Sam or the other characters as much as I was hoping I would. There were still things I enjoyed about it, such as the graphics and the locales that were created in the game, but the story and character development could have been much stronger.
The other game I completed this month was the first season of Batman: The Telltale Series. This one was much more enjoyable, albeit a darker and more graphic take on the Dark Knight than I think most people are used to. In comparison to the popular Arkham games which also star Batman and his colorful rogues’ gallery, the Telltale version of Batman takes the dynamic of the choices both Bruce Wayne and Batman have to make, which I found wasn’t always an easy thing to do. Unlike the Arkham series, where I felt gameplay was a higher priority than its storytelling, story and character development are the biggest focus, with gameplay being minimal and pretty simplistic, in fact. I really enjoyed this mature Batman story and loved seeing how my choices played out by the end of the story. I’m looking forward to playing the second season really soon, and I hope I enjoy that just as much.