you know it has been a pretty good
season for games so we figured we would
do a games you might not have tried
episode before all the holiday sales hit
it's been a while since we've done one
of these so as always the same rules
apply
we don't promise all of these games are
good just that they all are interesting
there is something you haven't seen or
some idea that isn't often explored in
every one of these even if that
ingenuity makes some of them a bit of a
mess so with that disclaimer out of the
way on to the games first up undertale
we have to start with undertale because
it takes some of the oldest conventions
in gaming and rethinks them to deliver a
beautiful touching story while at the
same time wrenching some of those old
JRPG mechanics into the 21st century
this is an RPG along the lines of
earthbound or the old dragon warrior
games but instead of just having
menu-driven combat when enemies attack
the player the game turns into a micro
schmuck where the player has a chance to
dodge whatever's coming at them and
although eventually some of these
battles can get a little tedious the
shmup angle makes them so much more
interactive and engaging than the
menu-driven games it draws inspiration
from
one of the most novel elements of this
game is that you can talk the enemies
into not fighting you and not through
some bloated dialogue tree but through
an elegant system where you simply have
to choose what approach to take with
them and as you discover a tiny bit
about them you can decide if they need
to be complimented or if they just need
some space and some time alone and this
made it one of the first RPGs where
winning a battle actually made me feel
good about the world watching the
enemies do a little happy dance because
you treated them well or because they
simply ceased to carry all that anger
that made them a bully is one of the
most rewarding experiences that I've had
on a victory screen
the big reason to play this is for the
story and the last thing I want to do is
spoil that because you really really
should experience this game fresh trust
me go into this one as blind as you can
you'll be glad you did
warhammer end-times vermintide this
games on the list because it carries a
powerful message this game proves once
and for all that yes you can use both a
Cohen and an em-dash in your game title
and to get away with it it's a brave new
world folks seriously though the game is
actually kind of Awesome
one of my designer friends put it best
this game is bad in all of the ways that
don't actually make it not good
no it's graphics aren't top-of-the-line
yes it sometimes crashes when you're 35
minutes into a mission that has no
saving points no it doesn't have host
migration but man it's still a blast
imagine left for dead but set in the
Warhammer universe with gear loot drops
in the crafting system if that sentence
doesn't sell you nothing probably will
and if you have a few friends to play
this with it's ridiculous over-the-top
exactly what I would want out of such a
game
just know going in that it's hard like
really hard
the default difficulties probably higher
than you're gonna be able to handle when
you first drop in luckily there are two
difficulties below that one to get your
feet wet and to gear up on and the
maximum difficulty is just nuts so if
you get into this this game will easily
last even the most hardcore player the
whole holiday season the beginner's
guide hi there thank you very much for
playing the beginner's guide we're going
to look at the games made by a friend of
mine named Koda what was going through
his head as he was building this I want
us to see past the games themselves I
want to get to know who this human being
really is and that's exactly what we're
going to do here okay full disclosure
here Davey is a good friend of ours and
a brother-in-arms regardless this game
is worth looking into if you've ever
struggled to create is it perfect no but
it does deal with issues that games
usually don't tackle it addresses
personal imperfection self-doubt and the
need for validation in a way that I
don't think I've ever seen a game
attempt it's one of those games that
stuck with me long after I played it one
where I just had to sit and think for a
while after reaching the end if you're
ok with a heavy game that's light on
gameplay this one is easily worth a few
hours of your life
read only memories
I like this game because it's a good
adventure game but I really like it
because it's a game that is overtly
about bringing more diverse characters
into gaming and yet it manages to be
about that in such a way that rather
than beating you over the head with it
it simply shows how interesting and rich
a cast you can make when your palette
isn't limited to the standard racial and
sexual tropes we find in games oh and
because it's cyberpunk did I mention
cyberpunk James really really liked
cyberpunk but yeah this is an old-school
adventure along the lines of shadowgate
one that ditches most of the pixel
hunting or item fiddling time for more
in-depth conversations one that presents
a rich near world future and brings up
questions of obedience to Authority
use of Technology and personal freedom
and one that has a cast that you will
fall in love with so if you're okay with
point-and-click definitely check this
out
black Watchmen
this is one of the last games we covered
on James recommends so I won't spend too
long on it but this is probably the best
digital wrapper for an Arg that I've
ever seen many people have tried to tie
a computer game and an Arg together over
the years but usually it's resulted in
both pieces being less than either would
be by itself
black Watchmen on the other hand focuses
on the Arg element and lets the computer
game side simply serve as a platform to
allow you to solve many of the puzzles
on your own even if the community has
long since solved them just so you don't
miss out on the experience
it also provides an easy way for the
community to communicate and a channel
for people to work together if you're
looking for some good if occasionally
frustrating puzzle solving over the
winter especially if you like a bit of
horror and some x-files type conspirator
thrown in try black Watchmen
and finally mini Metro mini Metro is the
most elegant new puzzle game I have
found the concept is simple you're
building a subway by drawing out the map
the goal is to keep traffic flowing to
keep the passengers getting to their
stops on time but the beautiful
simplicity of the design and the
elegance of the UI make this the sort of
experience you can lose hours to cities
will grow and expand in different ways
each time forcing you to adapt and to
find new strategies as you go
if you want to explore and examine a
game that really does an incredible
amount using very little or if you're
just looking for a strategic puzzle that
can keep you busy for 20 minutes and
possibly 12 hours
check out mini metro
I hope some of those help keep you busy
throughout the long winter months thanks
for watching and we'll see you guys next
week