VIDEO GAME: Prune (2015)

by benmweilertNo Comments
PruneYear: 2015Rating: ETime Played: ~4 hours When I picked up a few months of Apple Arcade for free, I downloaded a handful of games to play on my phone. Prune was one that looked soothing, like Monument Valley. It also looked short, which I could appreciate. Once I got into it, I wished it was perhaps even a little shorter. The concept was solid, but the way it was executed on the touchscreen of my phone made me wanting more control over different aspects. If I wanted to play longer and complete the rest of the secret levels, I could...I just didn't want to. The objective of Prune is to let a tree grow until it flowers. This requires trimming off branches and limbs as it grows, allowing it to get around corners and eventually find life-giving sunlight to bloom. The almost random way these trees would grow was one of my frustrations with the game. I had to re-start so many...
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VIDEO GAME: Donut County (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Donut CountyYear: 2018Rating: ETime Played: ~2 hours Most indie games these days make up for their limitations with stylized visuals and tongue-in-cheek humor. One of the current visual styles favored by developers is the cel-shaded look that gives us games like Untitled Goose Game, What the Golf? and Donut County. While Donut County predates those two other games, it definitely has its moments of humor that likely inspired its predecessors. It might be a bit goofy at times, but Donut County is fun for a few hours of gameplay. There's not much to keep you playing past the end credits, though. The basic gameplay premise of Donut County is similar to Katamari Damacy, wherein you have to make a hole big enough to swallow up larger and larger objects until nothing is left. There's a bit of a puzzle element to some of the levels, where you have to use consumed items to trigger other parts of the level so you can...
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