VIDEO GAME: Monument Valley 2 (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Monument Valley 2Year: 2017Rating: ETime Played: 96 minutes / 1.60 hours Video game sequels have this fine balance between continuing the gameplay that made the original successful enough to warrant a sequel while also innovating with new ideas to make the sequel its own thing. There are lessons to be learned from the original that can improve a sequel because it refined what made the first game good. Monument Valley 2 attempts to do a few things differently than its predecessor, but it still feels too similar to stand out on its own. Once again, I enjoyed the calming experience of Monument Valley 2, even if the narrative elements were meant to invoke reminders of the global collapse in the real world. While the first Monument Valley was about the right length for this kind of game, this took an hour less to complete. Perhaps this was due to the learning curve from having beaten the first game so soon before playing...
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VIDEO GAME: Monument Valley (2014)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Monument ValleyYear: 2014Rating: ETime Played: 144 minutes / 2.40 hours There's something about the simple calming aesthetic of Monument Valley that made me want to binge the game in a single night. It has that visual feel of Journey or Alto's Adventure but with the three-dimensional puzzle elements of Fez. And while it's not particularly difficult, Monument Valley was this Zen experience that I have to recommend. After all, I like to de-stress with video games and experiences like this one are definitely built to reduce stress with every element of its being. If you can imagine M. C. Escher designing a video game, Monument Valley would be it. These impossible shapes are fun to traverse but require a bit of thought to get the character from point A to point B. The fixed camera angle helps simplify things while also emphasizing the beauty of each level. The game introduces new mechanics and builds upon them organically and in a way that...
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VIDEO GAME: Sable (2021)

by benmweilertNo Comments
SableYear: 2021Rating: ETime Played: 1,092 minutes / 18.20 hours Every once in a while, I’ll get a game for free via Epic Games that makes me want to jump right in and play it. Despite having hundreds of other games I’ve claimed for free in my library, I loaded up Sable and started exploring. I’m still trying to fill the “climb things, then jump off and glide” game mechanic that I enjoyed in Breath of the Wild that Genshin Impact partially met. The adventure aspect of Sable appealed to me, but the art style made me want to download it and play through it immediately. The cel-shaded style of this game is something I hadn’t seen in other games before. Honestly, it’s the game’s greatest appeal. The scenery feels hollow and desolate, which matches the sci-fi sandy crash of a group of colonizing spaceships. And while there’s not a ton of lore to speak of, there are definitely a lot of interesting...
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