Mini Reviews

Mini Review 4: Still Wakes the Deep

Still Wakes the Deep was on my most anticipated games of 2024 list.  The trailers for this horror game had excellent sound design, a great visual style to the aquatic weirdness it showed, and a big ol’ question mark as to what the majority of the threats actually were.  Having played it, it’s really those first two things that make the game noteworthy: great voice acting, the creatures sound terrifying, and the ribbony appearance of the organic goop is distinctive…but the monsters design makes it very clear this is pretty much just The Thing on an oil rig, and being very Scottish sadly isn’t enough to give SWtD enough of its own identity.

There are some very tense chases, and moments where you have to get uncomfortably close to people who haven’t fully “turned,” but the game leans pretty heavily on the human element.  This works in a few cases, but there are a lot of extended crew members on the rig, and you don’t get a chance to know most of them before they start dying.  Don’t expect any explanation for the bio-horrors at all though: why getting too close makes you hear voices; where all the extra mass is coming from; why the central mass seems able to manipulate gravity.  No answers to any of it—and the last bit doesn’t even come into play, except to look cool at a distance.  The game also uses a LOT of “look for the yellow paint to see where to go next” design choices, and I’ve never been a fan of that.  Let me figure out how to pick my path through the collapsing superstructure, rather than holding my hand the entire way.

All in all, Still Wakes the Deep is a sentimental story about people trying their best, and not always succeeding, wrapped in a short (5 hours) horror wrapper.  But aside from a few exceptions, neither the people nor the horrors are developed enough to stick the emotional landing.  A few decent scares, some great-looking set pieces, but ultimately nothing groundbreaking.

6/10 stars 

Mini Review 3: The Kaiju Appreciation Society by John Scalzi

Seeing the world through the lens of COVID is something I suppose we should get used to. But a damaged economy and fear of contagion leads the protagonist of John Scalzi's The Kaiju Appreciation Society to find a new line of work...in a parallel Earth filled by giant Kaiju, huge creatures similar to Godzilla and King Kong. A veil between realities has been manipulated by various world leaders and governments in this alternate history of Earth. The titular Kaiju are complex creatures that have been studied for decades by these shadowy world leaders who use a nuclear reactor to activate the ability to pass between realities. 

While the plot is intriguing, the motivations of characters and twists are expected at almost every turn. Still, there are a few things that take the reader aback. But the real strength to this novel was the sharp dialogue between characters. The conversations seemed to be like ones you would have with your best friends. I actually chuckled out loud on at least five occasions--a rare occurence. The character's relationships are close and the comfortability that they gain as the story progresses seems very realistic. The writing is sharp when it comes to the dialogue and above average to for the plot writing. I greatly enjoyed my time with the book. 

8/10 (Cody)

Mini Review 2: Lords of the Fallen (PC, PS5, XBox Series X/S)

2023 was an almost unparalleled year for great games, to the extent it was hard to keep up with all the big releases.  One of the titles that I think fell through the cracks was the reboot of Lords of the Fallen (developed by Hexworks, published by CI games for PC, PS5, and XBox Series X/S).  Put Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro in a blender, add a healthy dose of Blasphemous for flavor and the world-shifting mechanic from The Medium, and what you get is Lords of the Fallen.  But if you're going to copy from things that came before, you may as well copy from the best.  And the result is...actually pretty damn good.

The story is more cohesive than the usual labyrinthine allusions you get from a lot of Souls-likes: A religious order managed to seal away a dark god, but in the years since, their zealotry has driven them to acts of barbarism that make them nearly as bad as the followers of their foe.  Now that god is stirring, and your actions as the prerequisite Chosen One will determine the fate of the world.  It's simple, but the presentation really nails the atmosphere of religious fanaticism and a world falling apart.  But the real innovation is the inclusion of a world overlaid on top of our own, called the Umbral.  Your character has a lamp that lets you see (and cross over) into the Umbral, and it's put to great effect in some really creative puzzles.  Stuff that exists in reality might not exist in the Umbral, and vice-versa, and it never failed to make me jump, when I was taking a peek across the veil to see if this wall existed on the other side, only to find some astral horror lurching toward me.  And really, Lords of the Fallen manages to inject survival horror elements here and there, that I've never seen in a souls-like; when you're in the Umbral, there's a timer of sorts that measures how aware its denizens are of you.  The longer you stay, the more (and more dangerous) of them show up.  Trips to the Umbral frequently become races for your life, as you're trying to find an anchor point back into the real world, while not missing any items or secrets, as hordes of misshapen monstrosities endlessly emerge and give chase.  It's fantastic, and really amps up the tension at times.

I know these reviews are supposed to be short, but the fact that I just want to keep on gushing about this game should be a testament to how fun it is.  It isn't perfect; enemies sometimes have a problem with elevation, so it can be easy to cheese your way through fights on, say, staircases.  And as of this writing, the rune system is glitched, where their effects aren't reflected in the UI--e.g. if you equip a rune to a weapon that reduces its weight, that weight reduction won't be shown in the description of the weapon, even though it seemingly does take effect.  Also, the voice acting is hit-or-miss.  Despite all that though, I've had a blast with this game.  It forces you to think on your feet, take chances, really consider your equipment loadout, and rewards you for checking every corner for secrets even (especially) when it's really freaking dangerous to do so.

9/10 (Justin) Sometimes imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery.

Mini Review 1: Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Switch, PS4, PS5, XBox One, PC, mobile)

This is the...fourth?  Fifth game in the Shantae series?  I'm not 100% sure, and while the story is simple, it does help to have played one or two of the earlier games, so you'll know who some of these characters are.  Shantae has been invited to a remote island, along with several other half-genies for a celebration, and all of them but her end up disappearing.  It's up to Shantae to get to the bottom of it, in this nicely-animated 2D action platformer with some light Metroidvania elements.

While the game is pretty, and the characters are lively and fun, that doesn't do much to elevate Seven Sirens past being a very mid experience.  Aside from a few creative bosses, the action here isn't anything you haven't seen before--and indeed, some of what should be here (the ability to jump down through platforms comes to mind) is missing.  You don't even get a double-jump until near the end of the game.  Shantae's normal attack also has a frustratingly narrow hit box.  Still, if you're in the mood for a colorful platformer with quirky characters and gameplay that's fun enough to see you through about 8 hours of playtime, there's a decent experience to be had here.  Just don't expect to be blown away.

5.5/10 (Justin)