Coelacanth

I have a feeling this will be to Owlcat was BG3 was to Larian.

INMOST

I have been hit by open world fatigue in my Rise of the Ronin playthrough and so I needed an intermission. INMOST is on 70% sale and has been on my radar for a bit after being recommended to play it some time ago, so I finally got around to it. It's only a 5-6h game so it was perfect to sneak in, played through it in two sittings over two days.

I really loved this game. Puzzle platformers are not my genre of choice but this one felt perfectly fine for me. Not really any precision platforming to speak of and the puzzles were all intuitive enough that it never felt frustrating. Overall the gameplay felt smooth and tight and the generous save states on death further minimized frustration.

This game is not really about the gameplay though as much as it is a work of art. The pixel graphics are stunning, the art direction is perfect and the music is absolutely breathtaking. On top of that the writing is also quite good. The ending is a little on-the-nose for me for what is otherwise a nicely allegorical game, but even so it doesn't bring my ratings down. There are even some quite funny moments here and there, despite the otherwise heavy themes.

Recommended for anyone that likes artsy indie games, especially if you enjoy darker themes and depressing vibes.

Out Fishing Demo

Wishlisted this when I saw the announcement trailer so I had to check out the demo when it dropped last week. It was... okay. It was much worse than it looked from the trailer and worse than I had hoped in general. It's a shame because the concept is great and has tons of potential. Fishing and horror is a great combination that fits together perfectly. Unfortunately the fishing mechanics are too simple to be really engaging and the horror is pretty bland. It also goes too hard and fast into shock value and jump scares and whatnot instead of doing what a horror fishing game in an isolated setting should do: slowly build suspense and unsettling atmosphere and work with creepy environmental storytelling.

I'll still keep it wishlist to keep track of it as I like fishing games but I am much less hopeful now than when I first saw the trailer.

Can't really say this makes me particularly sympathetic towards Max. The question was pointed for sure, but still completely within the limits of reasonable journalism. Max has no obligation to answer, but he shouldn't have this power to control the narrative either. He's there to answer questions from accredited reporters, not talk to select few people who can spin him softball questions. Excluding journalists whose reporting you don't like, throwing tantrums, carrying a petty grudge for months and acting on it unprovoked much later... All very Trumpian honestly. Don't really like any of it.

Also if you don't want to face questions about deliberately driving into people, maybe you don't deliberately drive into people?

Suprised to not see any footage of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, but happy to see some mentions in the comments at least. That game still holds up in terms of ambience.

French Canal+ have been producing some bangers. They also had an amazing Star Wars themed trailer for Abu Dhabi last year.

I never played it but I watched the ChristopherOdd Let's Play of it and enjoyed it. Fun little game for sure.

Combat looks so-so but the card based abilities sounds cool enough for a wishlist.

• Withering Rooms - 2.5D horror roguelike in a procedurally generated victorian manor. I've only heard great things and it looks phenomenal and unique.
• The Drifter - Australian point and click with beautiful pixel art, a supposedly amazing story and some stellar voice acting.
• Death Howl - turn based strategy meets deckbuilder meets Soulslike!? Looks beautiful and interesting.
• Radiolight - Horror walking simulator that looks inspired by Firewatch and Alan Wake. Looks interesting.
• Seance of Blake Manor - Was a huge hit last year, I'm keen to try it. Agatha Christie simulator in a mysterious manor sounds good to me.
• Murders on the Yangtze River - Chinese Ace Attorney but more serious and less silly is what I've heard it described as. I'm intrigued.

I get that they aren't cheap but the quality of life for me was so worth it.

Oh right, this game is coming. Might check out the demo it looks pretty cool.

I bought an Ember Mug and despite it being pretty pricey I haven't regretted it one bit.

A lot of people play the first Disco Elysium run very milquetoast and timid and end up missing out on a ton of content as a result. One thing about the game that is counterintuitive compared to other games is that you're never really punished for picking crazy or deranged dialogue options, and in fact many of them reward you, often with some of the best content in the game. So that's my first advice - don't be afraid and instead just commit to the crazy. Don't back down if given the option, commit. Even seeing the various unique game over screens is worthwhile.

As for political vision quests, my personal favourite is the communist quest. The moralist quest also has some interesting world building and a very interesting conclusion, but the communist vision quest has some of the best writing in the game I think and offers a very valuable counterpoint of optimism that feels very needed in the game. I really like the contrast between the conclusion of the communist quest compared to the dialogue with the Deserter. At least if you succeed on the final red check and get the "true ending" or whatever you want to call it of the communist quest.