Playing video games is something I always wish I had more time to do, but because it requires significant mental energy and engagement, after long days of reading, writing and talking in class, I tend to opt for curling up with hot tea and a TV episode or book. Nevertheless, there were some great gaming moments from last year!

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

As a kid, I used to sit on my mom’s lap and play video games like the King’s Quest series with her and my brothers. Now I’m all grown up, but I still love the collaborative experience of playing video games with family. That family happens to be just Josh for now, but playing games together constitutes some of our favorite date nights. This game, in particular, was a total blast. It was a fantastic end to the full Uncharted series (and yes we did also go back and re-experience the series through the awesome remastered Nathan Drake Collection that was released right before). The story was strong, and the gameplay was the best of the series yet. My only regret was how little time we got with Elena on this chapter.

2. The Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey

This is the one game on my list that wasn’t released in 2016. I stumbled across it during a Steam sale and completely fell in love. (It’s quite long so I’m still steadily working through it.) In the game you switch between two parallel (I think?) worlds: one is a cyberpunk hyper-modernist future, where totalitarian governments sedate their populace through “Dream Machines”, and the other is a fantasy-inspired realm whose human occupants are trying to eradicate any magic folks. The game is actually a sequel to two other Dreamfall games, which I haven’t played, so I’m not entirely sure how the two worlds connect, but I do know that the female protoganist, Zoe, has recently awoken from a coma and in her coma she advocated for those trapped in the dream world (due to the Dream Machines). The dream world touches both the cyberpunk and fantasy realms. However, now that Zoe has woken from her coma, she has no memory of what she saw and learned in the dream world. Kian, the male protagonist, lives in the “fantasy realm” and is a recent traitor of his fellow humans. He is now advocating for the magic people of the realm. So, the story is extremely rich and the characters are complex and nuanced. The narrative also does some really interesting critique of modernist assumptions about progress and reason through extending such ideas to their logical, dystopian outcome. So basically Dreamfall Chapters is everything I love in a game: great female characters, awesome story, good graphics, fun puzzles to solve, and some intellectual nerdiness. The only sad thing is that I have to play it on a Mac, which trips up the gameplay at times.

3. Rise of the Tomb Raider

After a long wait, the latest Tomb Raider was finally released for PS4. Josh and I played this one together as well, and it was a lot of fun though not as satisfying as Uncharted 4. The animation and world-building has advanced significantly since the last iteration of Tomb Raider, and Lara now has a better wardrobe of practical clothing. I really love her as a character, and it’s fun playing as a tough, ambitious female, but the narrative and character development was still not as advanced as it could have been. The ending was also quite anti-climatic. Nevertheless, it was still a lot of fun!

4. Lifeline

Thanks to John D. for telling me about this game. Lifeline is an iOS text-based adventure game that requires the player to make different decisions to see how the story will unfold–like a choose your own adventure. Mechanically, the game functions as a text conversation between you and the main character, Taylor, who has accidentally crashed on a strange planet and needs advice and guidance in order to survive. As such, time factors into the developments–you have to wait for Taylor to respond to your texts so several days pass as you play. The game is surprisingly addictive and immersive. I was quite fixated on keeping Taylor alive, and I was increasingly fascinated by the mysteries that this weird planet holds. Plus it was fun to play simultaneously with a number of my friends; we were all texting each other about our progress (or failures) so it felt somewhat communal.

5. Pokemon Go

And finally I can’t leave without acknowledging that I too got caught up in the frenzy that was Pokemon Go. I loved Pokemon as a kid, so running around in real life to capture charmanders and pikachus was pretty fantastic, even if the excitement was short-lived. Go Team Red!

Special Notes:
I want to acknowledge a couple of games from last year that I’m still dying to play but haven’t had a chance to yet. First, there is Firewatch about a lone park ranger in the Wyoming wilderness who stumbles into a mystery. (Which I know nothing about since I haven’t played the game yet.) This story reminds me one of my favorite Jack Kerouac narratives from his novel Lonesome Traveler about spending a summer alone in the Cascade mountains just reading and enjoying the solitude while watching for fires. Mmm lovely. Firewatch sounds a little more dangerous than that though.

And then there is the latest Witcher 3 which got great reviews. Josh played it but I didn’t have the time to play it myself…so eventually I’ll get there.
Finally, That Dragon, Cancer also came out last year. It’s an indie game that immerses you in the lives of a family whose youngest son was born with cancer. Apparently the game is life-changing and extremely profound not just from a narrative perspective but also from the perspective of the mechanics, which challenge your standard video game expectations about control and action as a player. To be honest, I haven’t had the guts to play this one since I know it’s pretty emotionally devastating…one day.

Any other good games from last year? I’d love to hear what you enjoyed playing.

This edition will be another mixture of games that were released last year and games that I just happened to play last year. I’d love to hear everyone else’s favorite games from last year because I simply did not have the time to explore as many games as I wanted. Let me know and I’ll add it to my list for post-graduation in May.

  1. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

    I reviewed this game back when it first came out, so I recommend read that post for my expanded thoughts. In short, Rapture is a haunting and mesmerizing indie game, in which you play as somebody sent to investigate what happened in a sleepy English village after all its inhabitants suddenly disappeared. The game is experiential, rather than puzzle oriented, which threw me off at first, but I have grown to really love this genre of games that make the player slow down and let go of self as they immerse you in a new world and story. Rapture is a spectacular example of what this genre can do, from the cinematic visuals and musical score to the complex and creative character development

  2. Fallout 4

    Everyone has been talking about this game for the last couple months and for a great reason: Fallout 4 is truly fantastic. Somehow the developers made traipsing around in a post-apocalyptic nightmare version of Massachusetts while one fends off radioactive mutts and raiders reminiscent of The Road quite fun. Well actually, I’m not sure fun is the right word–the game can be pretty bleak, and it forces the player to work through some difficult decisions about the role that technology should play in human society. For instance, will you choose to treat sentient robots called “synths” as human or merely machine? The outcome of the game depends heavily on which post-war factions you decide to work with and subsequently what kind of missions you embark on. All of this, however, is built into a world that feels believable and open enough to keep a player occupied on side missions for many, many hours. If you are curious about what makes such a bleak world appealing, I recommend watching PBS Game/Show’s video “Why Do We Love Fallout 4’s Awful World?”.

  3. Gone Home
    "Gone Home" by The Fullbright Company - http://www.thefullbrightcompany.com. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
    “Gone Home” by The Fullbright Company – http://www.thefullbrightcompany.com. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
    After spending a few months abroad in Europe, you return to your family’s home to find it deserted. Where are your parents and your sister? What happened while you were gone? This game is a first person narrative puzzler in which you have to use what you find in the house to solve the mystery. What is remarkable is the compelling story and characters that emerge as you literally walk around an empty house. I have played many puzzlers in this vein, but I was not expecting to become so invested in that family and the events that unfolded in their lives. This is another example of a game that exhibits the power of the experiential gaming genre. It’s also available for Mac/PC, so even if you don’t have a console, you should be able to play it.

  4. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery

    I actually haven’t finished playing this one, but I have really enjoyed it so far. It’s quite unlike any game I have mentioned in this post. The graphics are reminiscent of gaming’s early years–pixellated and flat. The story is simple, and the characters are not the kind to whom you become attached. But all of these simplified elements contribute to the stylized and quirky nature of the game, in which you play as a Scythian warrior conquering her quests by solving puzzles, battling mystic creatures, and exploring her dream world. In fact, the simple aesthetic is so evocative that it received several awards in the gaming world. My favorite part of this game, however, is the tongue-in-cheek dialogue and snarkily worded narrative observations. (Click for an example.)
    The game is available for iOS, so you can play this on your tablet or phone.

  5. The Nathan Drake Collection

    The Uncharted games are really familiar to most gamers, so I won’t say much here. For those who don’t know the franchise, it’s a first person adventure game where you play as Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter and pseudo-anthropologist, who traipses around the world, getting in trouble, while he tries to uncover historical secrets. It’s a bit of a modern-day Indiana Jones with lots of puzzles and an equal amount of bad guys. The Nathan Drake Collection is a rerelease of the original trilogy in which each game was remastered to match contemporary video graphic technology. Despite the many video game tropes and subtle (or perhaps not so subtle) misogyny built into these games, they’re a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to the new edition coming out this year.

Special Mention: Depression Quest
This is the game that sparked the whole Gamergate controversy. It’s a text-based, choose-your-own-adventure game about what it’s like to live with depression. I was skeptical about the game’s efficacy (though I’m very supportive of the women targeted in Gamergate), but the game proved me wrong. It’s definitely simple, but I found it to be thoughtful and enlightening. If you know anyone battling with depression, or if you think you might be depressed, I recommend checking it out. It’s a quick game that you could finish in one sitting.

I’m cheating a little bit with these next two games, but I couldn’t remember the year in which I actually played them. And they’re just too good to ignore!
Special Mention: A Dark Room
This is also text-based, but in the sense that old-school video games were text-based. There’s a whole world to be explored outside of the dark room in which the game begins. I was fascinated by how quickly I became immersed in a world described but not illustrated for me. As for the narrative, well that you just have to find out for yourself. You can play on your iPhone or tablet or via this link on your computer, so it’s very accessible for all.

Special Mention: The Room series
This is purely a puzzler with only the vaguest semblance of a story, but it is SO good. The visuals and music are so atmospheric, lending a gravity to the quest of breaking out of each room. I have played the first two, and now a third game is out which I’m excited to try.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...