VIDEO GAME: The Messenger (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The MessengerYear: 2018Rating: E10+Time Played: 867 minutes / 14.27 hours For years, I had heard The Messenger was a great game that evoked the nostalgia of retro video games from the early home console eras. I picked it up on sale, but didn’t start playing it for a while. When I did, I found myself struggling with some of the bosses and had to put it down for an even longer time. Finally, I determined I was probably close to the end of the game and forced myself to finish it. I was pleasantly surprised to find I was only half-way through the game and the second half completely changed my opinion of it. While I love the retro pixel art aesthetic that games like The Messenger try to achieve, I tend to like the 16-bit style more than the 8-bit one that this game starts with. As soon as the game introduced the mechanic to switch between these art styles, the...
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VIDEO GAME: Minit (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
MinitYear: 2018Rating: ETime Played: 3+ hours I love it when simple games take common aspects of gaming and explore them as a key gameplay mechanic. For most games, a timer doesn’t necessarily force me to play in a certain way. Sure, I might not spend a ton of time exploring if I know there’s a time limit to get through the level. But what if you’re only given one minute before your character dies? How much can you do in that time? That’s the premise behind Minit. With a gameplay loop that resets every minute, you start to realize just how much you can do in 60 seconds. The strategy in a game like Minit is finding ways to move faster or using the knowledge you gained in one life to get through a section in less time. Like a time loop (or micro-roguelike). Of course, this limitation also makes exploration difficult when you get stuck. If you only have a minute...
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VIDEO GAME: Loop Hero (2021)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Loop HeroYear: 2021Rating: TTime Played: 2,842 minutes / 47.37 hours While it seems like every third game these days is a Roguelike, I have occasionally come across a few like Loop Hero, which successfully makes the iterative gameplay loop fun. As a metanarrative on the larger Role Playing Game structure, Loop Hero is strangely fun for a game that automatically fights every battle for you. After all, everyone knows the best part of an RPG is finding better gear and trying to determine which one provides better stats for their character. This is Loop Hero in a nutshell. Perhaps it's the combination of Roguelike, Deck Builder, and RPG genres that makes this game stand out. With each round, the player character walks around a randomly generated path. By playing cards obtained through battle, the landscape can change to help (or hinder) the hero. If the hero can survive long enough, a challenging boss appears. It's sometimes a gamble to obtain more materials...
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