40 Juegos / 40 Noches: Semana 5
Con el lanzamiento de PlayStation 5 en el horizonte, me puse a pensar en mi enorme acumulación de juegos en la generación actual. Por lo tanto, pensé en ponerme un desafío. 40 juegos en 40 noches. ¿Puedo hacerlo? No estoy seguro. ¡Aunque me divertiré intentándolo!
La semana 5 es la semana más grande y productiva que he tenido haciendo esto. Si tan solo hubiera podido mantener un ritmo constante a este ritmo y no me preocupara terminar esto para el día del lanzamiento el jueves.
Solo me quedan 8 juegos hasta que lleguemos a ese número mágico e, independientemente de lo que suceda, ha sido un experimento interesante sobre el que espero reflexionar en The Finale la próxima semana. Pero antes de llegar a eso, repasemos los juegos de esta semana.
Astro Bot: Misión de rescate
Una de las pocas ‘aplicaciones asesinas’ de PlayStation VR, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission logró convertir a un personaje irreconocible y, francamente, descartable en una auténtica mascota de PlayStation. Astro Bot regresa en el juego Astro’s Playroom de PlayStation 5 y, como no había terminado la salida de realidad virtual del pequeño robot, sentí que era lo correcto superar su excelente desempeño.
Un brillante juego de plataformas con mucha variedad dentro de su vibrante mundo, utiliza maravillosamente la tecnología PSVR. Flotar sobre Astro y guiarlo a través de cada nivel es genial y algo tan simple como mirar por una esquina para encontrar un coleccionable o detectar un enemigo siempre me hace sonreír. Y no es solo la tecnología lo que hace el juego. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission es un juego maravilloso por derecho propio, es sin duda uno de los mejores juegos de plataformas lanzados en años. Si tienes un PSVR y no lo has jugado, te lo debes a ti mismo.
Simulador de cabra
Escuché hablar de Goat Simulator como un clásico de culto. Una parodia de los diversos juegos de ‘simulador’ que a menudo han plagado la PC, este juego hilarantemente (y deliberadamente) roto no es un buen juego. Sin embargo, su capacidad para subvertir e imitar tantos estilos de videojuegos diferentes y la abundancia de formas en que pueden desmoronarse es excelente.
La hora más o menos que jugué a Goat Simulator fue muy divertida. Sin embargo, aunque disfruté de la naturaleza ridículamente exagerada del juego y toda la destrucción desenfrenada, no puedo decir que volveré a jugarlo. Tampoco puedo recomendarlo fuera de la curiosidad morbosa. Sin embargo, ese impulso podría ser lo suficientemente fuerte, después de todo, lo era para mí.
La aventura de Adam: Orígenes
Tengo una confesión que hacer. Tengo el trofeo de platino en Adam’s Venture: Origins , uno de los peores juegos que he jugado.
Imagina, si puedes, un juego similar a algo de la serie Uncharted . ¿Entiendo? Ahora trata de visualizar ese juego funcionando mal en una PlayStation 2. ¿Vale? Ahora imagine que cada parte se siente inacabada, rota y en mal estado. Eso es Adam’s Venture: Origins , un juego que no recuerdo haber comprado o descargado.
Este juego de imitación muy pobre está protagonizado por un explorador bromista y encantador llamado Adam Venture. Digo eso, pero él es más un idiota sexista mal escrito y, sí, ese es en realidad su nombre. Junto a su compañera Evelyn, se encuentra en una búsqueda para encontrar el Jardín del Edén. Así que sí, Adán y Eva van a encontrar el Jardín del Edén. Me alegro de que nos hayamos puesto al día. La pareja también termina descubriendo el Templo de Salomón para mantener los temas religiosos abiertos. Resulta que nuestro chico malo quiere hacer estallar todo para unir a las religiones en una guerra entre sí, ¿o algo así? Realmente no lo sé. La historia tenía un ritmo tan pobre e inconsistente que me desconecté y pensé en los trofeos desde el principio.
A pesar de sus muchas, muchas deficiencias, tengo que darle algunos apoyos a Vertigo Games. El estudio independiente holandés tenía mucha ambición para este juego y claramente pensó que tenía piernas dado que el juego se lanzó inicialmente para PC en 2009 y luego vio dos lanzamientos más (ambas versiones alternativas) en PlayStation 3 y luego en PlayStation 4.
Basado únicamente en la resolución de acertijos en lugar de los juegos más orientados al combate que imita, la ambición de este juego claramente superó los recursos que el equipo tenía disponibles. Los entornos son grandes, pero en su mayoría lineales y vacíos. Las pocas secciones densamente pobladas solo arrojan más luz sobre el hecho de que el juego parece tener varias generaciones. La actuación de voz se siente como si se hubiera dejado el diálogo de marcador de posición, los acertijos van desde ridículamente fáciles hasta frustrantemente sin sentido y visualmente apenas se mantiene unido. La cereza en la parte superior de este pastel realmente terrible es que el juego es rígido y no responde y todo lleva una eternidad.
Emular lo que se ha convertido en una de las franquicias con más historia de PlayStation requiere algunas agallas, que es algo que supongo. Aunque cómo esto realmente logró salir por la puerta por tercera vez está más allá de mí.
So yes, this is a bad video game. Probably the worst — or perhaps that’s Defunct? — I’ve played for this series. And yet a mix of a short runtime, morbid curiosity, and an easy platinum trophy meant that I put some decent time into it. What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment.
Tower of Guns
Tower of Guns does a lot in a short space of time with purposely limited resources. Heavily inspired by is Software classics DOOM and Castle Wolfenstein, this first-person shooter blends that old school feeling with more modern run-based gameplay and the result is a whole lot of fun.
A game that’s easily played for a few minutes or a couple of hours, it’s a great pick up and play game with a wonderful style and sense of humour that changes just enough with each new run. Unfortunately, the game’s biggest feature — its distinctly throwback style — can also be its biggest flaw. It often felt clunky and far too rough around the edges, but with the turnaround on a new run a matter of seconds I always found myself jumping back in for one more round during my brief play time.
Virginia
A Lynchian detective thriller set in a small American town, Virginia is one of the most intriguing stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing in a video game. Proudly wearing its influences on its sleeve, this narrative-driven game makes up for its incredibly simplistic gameplay with a head-scratching story layered with symbolism.
I don’t want to say too much more for fear of spoilers. However, if you like what you’ve read above you should absolutely play this. The visual style is also incredibly eye catching and evocative whilst being incredibly simplistic, and the way it tells its story — particularly the editing — will most likely have you playing this in a single sitting. At least, that’s what I did.
What’s more, by the time the game ends, you’ll likely be itching to play it again to see what else you can pick up on.
Saturday Morning RPG
Saturday Morning RPG is a game that I’m not sure actually made it to the UK. However, I remember seeking it out following a few recommendations a little while ago. Unfortunately, it seems I probably should have played it at the time.
An episodic JRPG rooted in 80s American pop culture, complete with parodies to Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe and more, it sounds right up my street. However, the first episode didn’t do enough to grab me. Very straightforward with a limited battle system, all it really has going for it is its references.
It’s also very possible that this isn’t the best game to be played on a home console. Portable versions of the game are available on Vita, iOS, and Nintendo Switch and that could be the ideal way to play this game.
Trine: Enchanted Edition
A side-scrolling action platformer with plenty of physics-based gameplay, Trine follows three heroes who have been merged together after uncovering the titular MacGuffin. A knight, a thief and a wizard, this trio naturally must traverse this fantasy world to discover the true power of this object and set themselves free.
As simple as it is, this setup is great and allows the player (or players; I played in co-op with my very understanding girlfriend) to solve puzzles in a variety of different ways. Whether you want to get crafty as the Wizard, zip through the world with the Thief or brute-force everything as The Knight you have plenty of options. It’s not totally open-ended however and there’s usually one ideal solution to each puzzle, but that feeling of freedom is great.
Exploring each ability and figuring out not only how to beat each level, but pick up the variety of collectables strewn throughout the world, is really fun. Sure it can feel a little clunky to control at times and the high reliance on physics can prove to be a nightmare with multiple players, but it’s still one of the most original-playing platformers I’ve ever played. I’m really hoping we can go back and finish this one up quickly. I wouldn’t mind giving the sequels a go.
Tales from the Borderlands
Another week, another Telltale game. What can I say, I like the way they tell stories. However, whilst I was quickly burnt out by the team’s somewhat shoddy take on the Guardians of the Galaxy, Tales from the Borderlands is something else entirely.
Taking a series that is best known for shooting and looting and forcing it into the far more restrained setting of a point and click adventure game should not work. However, somehow Telltale managed it. All the action, humour, wacky characters and even the looting from Borderlands is here — it’s just presented completely differently.
To call it the best Telltale game since the early series of The Walking Dead may sound like hyperbole, but it genuinely is. Troy Baker and Laura Bailey are fantastic as our two leads, whilst a host of other famous voices really help to flesh this oft forgotten chunk of the Borderlands world out. The tone is spot on, the story structure made me want to dive into the next episode immediately, and I was genuinely invested in the characters of Rhys and Fiona almost immediately.
Alongside this ridiculous 40 Games task, I’m currently playing through Borderlands 3 with some friends. I wish the storytelling in that game was this good. I also wish Rhys was still voiced by Troy Baker, but that’s another story. Due to its relative separation from it’s AAA cousins, Tales from the Borderlands is the red-headed stepchild of the franchise. The thing is, it might secretly be the best Borderlands game — hot take!
Sayonara Wildhearts
We end this week with one of my favourite gaming experiences of the year — Sayonara Wildhearts. It’s a game I once heard described as ‘a better album than a game’ and whilst that person may be correct — seriously the soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard in years! — it’s a treat for the eyes as well as the ears.
Each level of the game is a different song, and the player is tasked with guiding an unknown woman through each environment, collecting hearts and avoiding obstacles as you go. It’s super simple, but something you’ll undoubtedly go back to upon completion.
I beat the game in one sitting and I recommend everyone else try to do this too. At about 1 hour 30 minutes long, you should just put on your headphones and glide through these surreal, colourful environments and take on each song. When you’re not simply collecting hearts and avoiding your doom, there can be some light combat elements or quick time events. But again, these are relatively simple.
One level has the player shooting pickups and enemies with a machine gun mounted to a motorcycle whilst another adds a bow and arrow to the mix and has you painting targets like you’re playing Rez. Other than that it’s simple. Collect hearts. Score big. Listen to the awesome electro pop soundtrack.
Whilst it may just sound like the best music visualiser ever — and you’re not wrong — this very simple game is so stylish and so fun in its simplicity that I can’t help but tell everyone I know who plays games, from casual players to the more hardcore, that they have to play this game. And yes, that means you too. Play Sayonara Wildhearts. You won’t regret it.
***
So that was week 5. The most packed week of the lot, which hopefully bodes well for a strong finish. I kind of hoped this is how the experiment would start, and we’d trail off to a solid finish. Alas, that’s not to be. With only four more days to pack in eight new games before The Finale, it’s going to go down to the wire.
Who’s excited to welcome the PlayStation 5 into their homes next week? That is, if you happen to be outside of Europe and haven’t done so already. Have you said goodbye to your backlog or will it follow you into the next generation? Let us know in the comments!
