Resident Evil Remastered
What was the last game you played where the biggest enemy that you’ll encounter is the atmosphere itself? For me it’s Resident Evil. The original is a highlight in my gaming life and having never played the original remastered version on Gamecube, I couldn’t be more excited and hesitant at the same time.
It’s like playing Resident Evil for the first time expect because I know the Spencer Mansion like the back of my hand, I’ve never gotten too lost going through. The new content that was added in the Gamecube version is a complete mystery for me, so I become extremely stressed out when I come to new areas like Lisa’s House.
Resident Evil Remastered is a clean case that even though we’ve evolved from this formula in modern video games maybe it wouldn’t be so back to look back where we came from and try to implement it in a more polished light.
~~~~Nabeshin
Dying Light
I was hesitantly excited for Dying Light since the first time I saw it. I had the luxury of skipping Dead Island completely, so all the ideas here are fresh and new to me, which I think adds a whole new layer of awesome to everything Dying Light brings to the table.
The game makes mobility and zombie-fighting different and interesting. It takes an approach similar to recent survival shooter types, by making zombies hard to kill and encouraging you to be careful and take your time. It’s reminiscent of Dark Souls in that way. Running around and climbing up just about anything you can see works, and works well. Parkour mixed with scavenging for supplies and building/crafting new weapons just works in harmony.
Above all, Dying Light just feels clean and polished. Coming off of last fall, it’s a nice change of pace, and I appreciate it. It doesn’t feel buggy, it feels smooth, looks great and just does exactly what it sets out to do. A great surprise from Techland, and one I look forward to playing for a while to come.
~~~~Alex
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I don’t know about Dying Light.
It looks good and feels pretty great to run around and bash zombies. It also asks you to make a pretty big subconscious choice from the get go: disregard the story and any attempts at narrative for the remainder of your experience, or play a game that feels schizophrenic and half assed throughout. This doesn’t make Dying Light a bad game in either case, but it the disappointment is thick. This could have crystallized the most fun things about Dead Island with a more mature and developed writing, to avoid the fate of its predecessor (a silly game simply for cathartic zombie smashing).
It won’t.
See my full thoughts in my review.
~~~~Jarrett
Life Is Strange: Episode 1—Chrysalis
There is something about Life is Strange that really suckered me into whatever it’s churning out. I don’t mean to make that sound like it isn’t good, because I think it’s great!
Life is Strange really takes a new meaning to its title. Weird shit happens in Arcadia Bay, and it’s all surrounded by a charming, I-know-what-I-am kind of exterior. It never pretends that this isn’t a supernatural teenage drama, instead it uses that precious time to do something not enough video games seem to do: it embraces what it is, and has a little fun with itself.
The simple mechanics and slight change from the Telltale formula make this first episode from Dontnod Entertainment hugely successful.
You can see my full thoughts here in my review.
~~~~Alex
