Review: Olija
When it comes to storytelling in games or movies, tone and style are often conflated. In reality, you’re looking at different perspectives of something. Style is the rhythm of your work while Tone is the author’s own outlook on the story, and how that affects the audience. I mention this because Olija is a seldom-seen gem regarding style and tone in a game. Created by the highly talented Skeleton Crew Studios based out of Kyoto, Japan, Devolver Digital has published yet another pixel art banger to its growing roster. Storytelling & Narrative In Olija, you take up the mantle of Faraday, a fisherman shipwrecked in the cursed chain of islands known as Terraphage. Broken by the circumstances that led him to these oil-slicked shores and without his crew, Faraday stumbles across a cursed spear that allows him to teleport to the spear and vice-versa. Steeling himself and armed with this cursed weapon, he sets off to lead the numerous castaways out of these islands and back to their respective homelands. That’s the simple gist and I wouldn’t dare spoil any of it beyond that, but it’s honestly compelling beyond its premise to an outstanding degree. The atmosphere oozes shades of cosmic distortion with characters talking of curses and magic just subtly enough to catch your ear. Bosses speaking of past encounters with the harpoon before revealing what some of the darkness of Terraphage truly looks like. The world around you is cracked and bled dry but you’re breathing life back into it for the lost people trapped on these islands. Grappling Hook Supremacy Grappling hooks make everything better, right? We’ve agreed on this without having to say it, but in Olija, this the core of the game. Your harpoon allows freedom of traversal…almost too much freedom. Just about anything you stick this into lets you choose to call the harpoon back to you or vice-versa. This gives you immense control over platforming, puzzle-solving, as well as combat. Enemies you stick this into can be teleported through, leading to follow ups from numerous weapons you collect in your adventure. This statement also fails to touch on how surprisingly varied your attacks can be. Striking enemies repeatedly will build up into super attacks that do immense damage, and directional inputs will give you different attacks. This even applies while airborne, letting you dropkick an enemy into a wall from a jump and following up with a plunging ax kick on an enemy below. You’ll never find yourself falling short in combat, which might be one of the few true criticisms to be leveled at Olija as a whole. Your abilities far eclipse just about any enemy you will encounter, including bosses, which some may consider a true detriment, I consider it something that could be improved in games the Skeleton Crew Studios develops in the future. Home away from Home As you explore, you’ll have access to a hub area full of castaways you can find and rescue on surrounding islands. Every time you rescue one, they come back to the hub and you can devote resources to them to restore the town. This also unlocks additional access, including max health upgrades, ammo creation for your weapons and the all-important “magic hat” shop. You can choose a different hat to wear whenever you leave for an island and each grants a bonus in combat or traversal. Some might cause teleporting with the harpoon to throw out daggers, another might resist acid traps. This gives some level of customization but it’s ultimately window dressing for your playstyle. Criticism While I wholly endorse you to go out and try Olija, supporting the developer and games like it, Olija is not perfect. Completing the game took me roughly 4-6 hours, by which point there isn’t a lot of reason to come back outside of re-experiencing the same story and atmosphere you already went through. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, you will never truly experience a tough encounter to defeat through combat. So if you’re looking for a challenge, you probably won’t find it here. Verdict Olija is a great game and one that Skeleton Crew Studios should absolutely commend itself for creating. The story, atmosphere, and combat are incredibly satisfying when explored, but the brief foray ends too soon. I think there are a great many things worse than wanting more though, and we should all eagerly look forward to what we’ll see next from this promising developer. Olija is available now on Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Steam, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.
Review: nerdytec Couchmaster Cycon²
As time has passed, everyone has decided how they enjoy playing their favorite games. Most of my friends have some variation of desk setup for their towers, but some, including myself, have turned their game center into a work center, converting their TV & couch into a PC workstation. In this scenario, NerdyTec has created arguably the best lap desk on the market to date. The Couchmaster Cycon² turns any couch (with enough wiggle room) into a desk for you complete with proper armrests for long game sessions or workdays. Ultimately, the pieces remain separate and it acts as a superior lapboard/USB hub combination with 6 USB 3.0 connector ports which was more than what I needed to connect every peripheral I use. This won’t rest on your lap though as the armrests are robust enough to give your legs the necessary wiggle room to sit comfortably. The main thing that might catch you off guard (like I was) is the size of everything altogether. After setting up, I was surprised how much space everything took up but it’s honestly for the best. The soft, fusion grey armrests are supportive, and couch seating really takes away the strain of sitting down to work. If anything, depending on your couch, you’ll feel like you “fell in.” Everything is freely adjustable from the armrests to the lapboard positioning so the comfort is really in your hands. The instructions to assemble are pretty bare bones but enough to help you hook up the cables necessary to run every cable you need without having any exposed wiring. Coming with the assembly are a couple of rolls of velcro tape that let you attach more slippery peripherals to the lapboard. The mouse bag that comes with the box also has its own, smaller velcro tape but positioning it is more convenient than I’d expected. just attach what you’d like, where you would like it. I found myself not needing the spare rolls of tape but the addition is there for anyone who needs them. Now for the most contentious part: the price and feel of materials. While the plastic board feels relatively cheap, It has no issue holding a weighty laptop, mouse, and microphone altogether (just as a weight test on my part). I cannot argue with the results, not to mention my back is particularly thanking me for this product granting some relief from years of sitting upright. That being said, the price point of the Couchmaster Cycon² is a bit hefty at $179.00 USD. This is without considering your peripherals not being included on that price tag. But while the price is a bit up there, the Couchmaster Cycon² fills a role that is, at the current moment, the benchmark for computing lapboards. Sure, it’s bulky, but the armrests, 6 USB 3.0 hub ports, and freedom of positioning the product provides are impossible to ignore. If you find yourself seeking a new office or gaming station, perhaps nerdytec could convince you that your couch is the place to convert. I’m certainly a convert and I’d highly recommend you try it out for yourselves. Follow the link here to check it out!
Review: Paradise Killer
Paradise Killer is a combination of the most disparate ideas into a cohesive package I’ve seen in a videogame yet, And from my investigations, It’s done this all immaculately.
Review: Carrion
Okay. Here’s the premise that’s given to you: You are a giant flesh-eating monster that absorbs the biomass of humans you eat to grow in size. Escape your containment. That’s all it is…and it’s bloody fantastic. As with most metroidvanias, there are obstacles in the way of your escape of course. You have to periodically stop your relentless traversal of the base to pick up…unique biomass for your flesh body. These pieces of yourself are stored in the same containers you broke out of at the start of the game just to keep things clear cut. They give you new powers and abilities you didn’t have before. This just begets more questions: Why haven’t you escaped until now? Just what are you capable of? What AREN’T you capable of? And lastly, what are you actually after besides continuing to break through the levels and eat people? These questions filter in as you continue playing and, surprisingly, the completely wordless storytelling answers almost all of them. Granted, this is all in the context of playing the role of a monster straight out of John Carpenter’s nightmares. The art, animation, and music in Carrion need to have special attention brought up as it’s much more impressive than you’d initially notice. The motion that accompanies dragging your fleshy mass through each area is incredible. Individual tendrils reaching out to grab onto the environment pulling you forward is truly disturbing and mesmerizing at the same time. Phobia Studio described this motion in an interview with Tweaktown as “procedurally generated movement physics,” and spent a painstaking amount of time to really sell that you are a monster and not just a bunch of meatballs linked together. The music, composed by Cris Velasco, also sells the techno-organic horror of you being the monster, the boogeyman these scientists and soldiers are not prepared for. It even has audio stingers that echo through the steel cage-like walls as you reach areas of immense threat. I recommend you stop and listen to the music as you play, it really is a treat. Then there’s the detail in the levels. Only on a second playthrough did I stop and see the details…and the level variance only adds to this. A claustrophobic series of lab rooms filled with steel walls? Check. An overgrown natural forest on an abandoned part of the facility? Check. There’s even a Reef base with a water filtration system, flecks of dust visible in the water as you swim your way through to the next objective. I wish I could show you these without actually spoiling any of these because you really should see them for yourself. Alright, let’s talk about the gameplay. I would argue that Carrion has, arguably, one of the simplest control schemes of any game I’ve played in years. Hitting the movement button drags you towards your cursor. another button extends a tendril out to grab onto things. This changes as you acquire new powers for different sizes of your body. Your body will grow in size as you play and at varying levels of mass, you have different capabilities. Your smallest form might not be able to smash open tough barriers, but it can extend out to hit levers. This isn’t to say it’s all puzzles, levers and such. Combat in Carrion is, like a card-game, about threat assessment. How do you, the sapient creature fight against enemies that can hurt and kill you? You use your tools to your advantage. Some enemies are people with handguns, but as expected in a facility containing a flesh monster, the enemies you run into will have effective measures against you just simply engulfing them. So you have to be smarter, using the physics the entire game is based around to survive. There is only one thing that might be off-putting in regards to gameplay however and It goes in tandem with the game’s design: Lack of explicit instruction. You may find yourself lost in the corridors, vents, and sprawling levels of Carrion due to there being no map system aside from echo-locating the general direction of a save point. This also left me scratching my head at points as skipping a reveal scene after solving a puzzle left me lost as to where I had to go. This wasn’t an issue on my second playthrough but it’s something to be aware of going into this game: You might get lost. There’s also a bit of a spoiler I can’t go into explicit detail without posing the wrong kind of questions to you, the audience, but I will say this: Certain sections of the game slow down your enjoyment to a crawl, but add great contrast to the experience you’ve had. Lastly, I want to talk about the length and replayability of Carrion. I managed to finish my first playthrough relatively quickly in about 5 hours. However, my second playthrough was significantly quicker on account of knowing most puzzle solutions and ended in roughly 3 hours. And the thing is…I loved just about every second of both. In a stark contrast from my last chat with you all about how games can focus on a message and a story, this game tells you the story while focusing on your hyper-violent quest for freedom. Just running around, tearing through levels and humans alike, This game is so much fun. I cannot recommend this game enough to anyone who wants a unique opportunity to romp around in a puzzle-solving, hyper-violent platformer. Go give it a shot, you will not be disappointed. Carrion release on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Steam July 23rd, 2020.
Review: Neversong
Once upon a time, I played games just for the fun of it. I mean, of course, you play the games you play because they’re fun, right? But, there’s always a little more to why you enjoyed certain games and stories. Maybe a story has more of a message than just it’s gameplay or campaign mode. See, Neversong is the rekindling of a flame that has burned for a nearly a decade. Thomas Brush, the owner and art director of Atmos Games, released their first video game, Coma, back in 2010. This simple but compelling flash game on Newgrounds.com was the basis for the Kickstarter that would eventually be rebranded in late development to the game we see now. So how has Neversong turned out? Pretty damn well, I’d say. But it’s not a story for the faint of heart. I suppose if it had a larger team behind it, it could have had a larger scope but in its bite-sized form, it tells its story, sends its message and it does it poignantly. And it is bite-sized: Neversong can be played to completion in only a few hours. A few dark, imaginative, and introspective hours. Story So let’s start from the beginning: The story begins with your girlfriend, Wren, being kidnapped by the disturbing Dr. Smile, the shock of which puts your protagonist, Peet, into a coma. Upon awakening in a dark, almost flesh-like hallway, you must venture forth to figure out what has happened since you collapsed. You also know you need to rescue Wren from the “doctor’s” clutches before she succumbs to her debilitating epilepsy. All the while, Dr. Smile taunts you with the clear threat of devouring her if you don’t hurry and catch him in time – no pressure. Visuals The world you wander is full of very strange and bleak visuals: children running amok without guidance, the adults of Red Wind Village disappearing (or potentially worse) after going to look for Wren, and Burton-esque monsters crawling around. The other children all sound like they’re glad the adults are gone, but there’s something else going on and you know it. The mystery is there, but there’s plenty of symbolism, observable detail, and nuance to the world you’re exploring that fleshes it all out as you play. The art is phenomenal and in still imagery, it’s inviting you to look closer. In motion, however, it’s a warmly colored and dimly-lit nightmare that only becomes darker as you progress … and it’s beautiful. The music compliments this further with tracks that are equal parts relaxing, ominous and uplifting. I would highly recommend the soundtrack even on its own as it works even independently of the game it breathes life into. Gameplay I guess I’ve gone on long enough so maybe I should talk about the gameplay already. The controls and feeling of movement are simple enough, with basic 2D platforming and some minor directional controls with your tools. You gain access to new tools like a skateboard for momentum platforming, a baseball bat for attacking and breaking things, and an umbrella to ride the wind occasionally. However, these tools seem like they’re more gated progression than they are mechanics that augment your gameplay. Not a negative, but something that could have been much more. Combat is incredibly simple with the only minor challenges coming in the form of boss fights. These take advantage of whatever tool you’ve used to navigate their respective dungeon and beat the song you need out of them. Once they’re done, I didn’t find myself lingering on them too much as they, similar to the mechanics, felt like gates to the story progression. Outside of these aspects, the dungeons leading up to the bosses themselves were filled with incredible environments and frightening visuals. Wrap The game is fantastic for what it is, but I can’t help feeling that there’s something missing from the game once the story is over. For the price, however, its story and atmosphere absolutely make the game worth experiencing at least one time, because it’s tough to forget how this makes you feel. Neversong begins with opening a children’s book and once you close the back cover, the message echoes long after.
Review: Trials of Mana (2020)
Take a role-playing videogame, any single one that has released in the last 5-10 years and mull over for a moment about what made it special. Just for a moment, narrow down your favorite aspect of it to a single piece of that experience. For me, that RPG was Fire Emblem: Awakening for the Nintendo 3DS. When I picked up that game 7 years ago, I played it until the trigger on my 3DS broke. It took me a while to figure out why it all worked but it just…did. Fundamentally, everything about the game was so sound and pushed me to keep playing. The story and characters were engaging, the gameplay encouraged me to keep going and reap the rewards of my travels around the world of the game. Where am I going with this? Well, it’s a long-winded way of saying that the 2020 remake of Trials of Mana is a functional improvement in most areas over it’s 1995 counterpart. It’s whimsical, vibrant and, most importantly, fun for just about anyone looking for a classic JRPG in the modern landscape. As a remake of a beloved classic that established some of the fundamental aspects of the fantasy JRPG genre, this game wears what made the original special like a badge of honor and improves the gameplay itself with modern updates. While both the visuals, story and dialogue are filled to the brim with JRPG tropes, that’s…kind of the charm with this – it’s what you would expect in a faithful one-to-one remake. The voice acting is serviceable, but I found that the dialogue doesn’t translate over to English too cleanly, so I’m recommending you play with Japanese audio and English subtitles. When you boot up the game, you are offered your standard difficulty selections followed by your choice of the main character and side characters from a group of six: Duran, Angela, Charlotte, Hawkeye, Reisz and Kevin. The characters you pick here are your party members throughout the story and directly influence which villains your playthrough will focus on. The overarching story itself is unchanged from 1995, but in this case, the twists and turns throughout don’t feel as earth-shattering as other story-driven video game remakes today, and that is completely fine. The beats are one-to-one with the original and honestly, the incredible replay value is shared by only a few other JRPGs like it. That said, it seems like first-time players should take up specific characters to gain a better experience. I would recommend Duran as the protagonist with any set of side characters working out in the long run, but I recommend supportive characters like Angela and Charlotte. I chose Hawkeye over Charlotte just out of a coin toss and I’m immensely happier for it. I found that I would run into other playable characters throughout my travels and have minor interactions with them, just like back in 1995. Hawkeye was just more my speed. Simple 3D-combat takes center stage in the remake with loads of improvements over the original. Universal light attack into heavy attack combos give utility to every character, which is fantastic. Notably, the evade button takes the place of the RNG dodges of yesteryear. This removal of randomness is pervasive throughout the whole experience. Combat encounters aren’t overwhelming, with plenty of space to move around and clearly outlined zones that the enemy will strike, letting you dodge telegraphed AOE attacks pretty easily. The only issue I have is when you see how your AI companions handle this. Admittedly, expecting a lot from friendly AI isn’t something I normally put stock in, but here it was particularly rough to watch at times. You can manually switch what party member you control on the fly completely independent of combat, but in doing so, you may doom whoever you’re not in control of. In my case, the less durable party members would frequently take serious damage by just failing to dodge attacks from bosses, attacks that had massive wind-ups and were easily avoidable for myself. This is also exacerbated by one of the few features missing from its 1995 counterpart: multiplayer. You cannot mitigate this by handing a controller to a friend. Thankfully, there’s (sort-of) a workaround for this in the game and it’s so close to being great. You can give strategic commands to your AI companions in the pause menu which mitigates, but does not perfectly solve, the issues they have. Tell them to only use a certain number of items? Yup, they’ll do it. Tell them to target the same enemy you do? On it, boss. Tell them their new strategy is to hang back and attack from a distance? Well, you can’t quite tell them how to attack and heal, but they’ll certainly try their best. It’s a bit frustrating at times when you run into an enemy they just can’t seem to dodge and they frequently go down, leaving you to hit the boss instead of spending resources to revive downed allies. Certain bosses in the game were egregious examples of this, including the Zhenoa Door and one of the later Benevodon bosses (you’ll know which one). These represent some out of nowhere difficulty spikes that are, thankfully, short-lived and ultimately don’t rear their head often. Want to know what’s going to completely change combat in a great way though – class changes, abilities and training. At various points throughout the game, you’ll level up to the point you can change classes. This is framed in the game’s story as you rising up to meet the demands of the overarching conflict. It’s fantastic. Depending on the classes you change to with each character, you’ll gain access to different abilities which you can equip in your gear alongside weapons and armor. These can be simple jumps in stats like +5 to strength or a skill that empowers your damage at the cost of taking more damage yourself. This is a true modernization and improvement in my opinion over the original’s
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a landmark for platforming games. Here’s Why.
Alright, confession time. I LOVE Ori and the Blind Forest. As in, it’s been one of my favorite games I’ve ever played ever since its release back in 2015. So when I heard about a sequel, naturally I had my concerns, questions, and doubts rise up. What’s going to be different? What’s going to be the same? How is Moon Studios going to adjust things with their team expanding from 20 people to 80? Well, I can tell you exactly how things have adjusted now because the results speak for themselves. I want to clarify that I can’t say the game is flawless because It does have it’s fair share of hiccups. However, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is just shy of being a masterpiece and, in a lot of ways, it already is one. But even more importantly, Will of the Wisps has set in stone how platforming games have evolved as a genre…and possibly where it could go from here. This isn’t going to just be a retread of our review though, but rather a discussion of just what makes this title so special compared to both it’s predecessor as well as it’s companions in the metroidvania and platformer genre’s. What defines platformers has remained largely the same since the biggest names in the genre established themselves in the late ’70s and ’80s: Mobility and Level-Design. Mobility is what makes or breaks any self-respecting platformer and the kings of the genre have established that these factors are the most polished aspect of their respective games and franchises. Mario, Donkey Kong, Sonic the Hedgehog, Hollow Knight, Ori, they all have these factors in common. Levels and play areas will have a clear direction and a defined, successful method of traversing them with the tools at the players’ disposal. As time has passed, platformers have continued to expand on the myriad of ways you traverse environments. From the original ladders back in the early 1980’s to trendsetters in gaming history like Super Mario 64’s plethora of options (Triple jump, wall jump, ground pound, Cartwheel jumps, the list goes on), there’s always a new mechanic in advancing platform games to keep movement fresh and fluid for players. Back in 2015, Ori and the Blind Forest introduced Bash, a move that allowed the player to jump off enemies, the environment and nearby projectiles to move from place to place while also “bashing” that interactable in the opposite direction. This is almost wholly unique mechanically and, in my opinion, is just one of several defining mechanics that Ori brings to the table. Other games have similar mechanics such as Shovel Knight’s Specter Knight using a dash-slash to pull themselves to enemies for traversal and combat, but otherwise, this is completely unique. This mechanic (Spoilers) makes a return in Ori and the Will of the Wisps and it’s just as transformative to your experience there as it’s predecessor. There are plenty of other new and returning mechanics that I will not mention here that are just as transformative in the game as well, but the important takeaway is how Ori as a franchise removes limitations from the player. Every mechanic used resets the ever-present ability for you to jump and there is no limit to the number of times you can bash from point to point beyond what the environment provides. This isn’t even accounting for the mechanics I haven’t name-dropped. This is about when I move to where Ori succeeds next: Level Design. Ori’s levels fit classically into the Metroidvania subgenre of video games, with a massive interconnected map the player can explore, but with restricted areas that are only able to be accessed once you find the proper tool to progress. And I know, Metroidvania titles have been talked to death over the past few years, but there’s a damn good reason for it. The maps in Will of the Wisps take this concept to another level (figuratively speaking), by adding connections indirectly all across the game. You keep descending into an abyss you have no mechanical ability to escape from…but at the bottom lies the ability to double-jump. Another area is filled with glowing lanterns and the next skill tree you find in the area rewards the aforementioned bash attack. It’s this inherent control of pacing baked into the game that seamlessly challenges you and gives you a solution immediately after. When you take all of this together, you have these traits of successful platformers represented beautifully. So how does Ori’s new entry add to this? I said that it sets itself apart from the pack so how does it do that? It’s weird to say, but, Ori combines all of the successful traits we see in these other games into one and that is the difference. You can have your cake and eat it too. The combat prowess of Hollow Knight and Guacamelee, the spectacle and exploration of Super Mario Odyssey, and the calloused, hands-off instruction and progression of Dead Cells. All of this, while giving you control of a character that moves like water through it’s living, breathing world. So what’s the catch? It sets itself apart and takes the best traits from everything we know and love but why wouldn’t that be perfect? Well, to me, It would be, but interestingly enough, Ori and the Will of the Wisps learned from everything around itself, but forgot one crucial thing that set Blind Forest apart from the pack: It’s save system. In Ori and the Blind Forest (2015), the first (and arguably most important) mechanic of the entire game was the Soul Link feature. By spending one bar of your energy, you created a save point wherever you were standing that was both reusable for no cost that gave you, the player, complete control over your incremental progress through the game’s upcoming challenges. Ori and the Will of the Wisps instead leaves manual saving only at Spirit Wells, which still double as beacons for fast travel
New Guilty Gear title announced at Evolution 2019, Releasing in 2020
After the Tekken 7 Grand Finals at Evolution 2019 this past weekend, Arc System Works and Team RED announced a currently unnamed new Guilty Gear title for estimated release in 2020. Few official details were shared beyond the announcement trailer but the impressions are nothing short of breathtaking. From what could be gleaned in the brief footage we saw, series mainstays Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske were on full display with completely new visual designs (although there is rough speculation that the character featured in the trailer is actually Ky’s son, Sin Kiske). It’s also relatively apparent that stage transitions are making their way to the franchise as well as a yet-unnamed character sporting a wicked mask and two killer looking swords. It’s hard to hold back the hype with such a rocking tune to go with it all as well, not to mention they managed to make one of the most visually impressive games in the genre look even more stunning, especially in the art style penned by its predecessor, Guilty Gear Xrd. It looks like there’s plenty more that Team RED and Arc System Works have in store for fans of the franchise and fighting games as a whole in the future though, so check out the trailer below and get ready to rock next year! Source: Arc System Works
Big D takes 9th place in Mortal Kombat at Evolution 2019
Rectify Esports continues making waves in the FGC with an outstanding performance at Evolution 2019 from Ryan “Big D” Domenico, taking 9th place in Mortal Kombat 11. In a tournament stacked with killers and nearly 1600 entrants, by far the largest number of entrants ever for a Netherrealm studio fighting game, Big D started his tear handily placing in top 128 on winners side helming his tried-and-true Cetrion. His patented space control would carry him above the competition, even going on to eliminate DJT the God 2-1, qualifying for top 32 on the winner’s side of the bracket. But a reckoning came when he fought PG Hayate and his Erron black sending him to losers side. Big D was not done though and a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Noble Kombat proved it. Unfortunately, the losers side had been populated by threats such as Tweedy, another heavy hitter and his Evolution run ended in 9th place. None of this changes that Big D had an emphatic performance at the biggest fighting game tournament in the world with more entrants than any tournament of it’s kind prior. So far in 2019 alone, Big D stands among the best of the best having placed 17th at CEO 2019 and 7th back in May at Combo Breaker 2019. Keeping the momentum from this, it’s very clear that BigD gives even the toughest Mortal Kombat players a reason to “Fear the Sting.”
Review: They Are Billions
Video games are at the mercy of many different things: the developers, the publishers, the reviewers (like yours truly), and even the players of the game after release. One thing could compromise the goodwill that a game earns and make people question it in the hands of any of these people. Why bring this up? Because today’s topic is a game I do believe you should support, especially if you’re a fan of the genres and gameplay it represents. The only caveat is that it has some…problems, that are hopefully slated to be fixed in future updates. With that being said, let’s talk about They Are Billions on Xbox One. They Are Billions is a single-player, isometric, real-time strategy (RTS) survival game with a steampunk setting developed by Numantian Games and published by Numantian Games and Blitworks. Your goal in this game is very simple: survive the nearly endless hordes of zombies that would overtake your populace and claim victory by preventing their relentless advance. The title is also no exaggeration – you will occasionally see your entire isometric horizon blotted out by a seemingly infinite horde of zombies, usually followed by a swift and merciless defeat on your part. Going into this game blind, the atmosphere is spot-on for its subject matter. The world is filled with the ominous sounds of monsters lurking in the shadows as you tirelessly work towards building up for the oncoming waves of enemies. The sense of impending doom is in the air at nearly all times and only drowned out by the sound of your production lines roaring to gather resources and your constant attention-shifting between your controlled units. There are unfortunately some hiccups in your way of a perfectly efficient survival plan though. The game plays like a traditional RTS title in all of the ways that count – mass selecting units with click and drag, gathering resources and placing structures near their appropriate environments (ex. sawmill next to a forest), creating macros to select specific units on your board so that you can play as efficiently as possible, etc. You’ll build housing structures like tents to create workers/commoners for your settlement, but in order to go further and actually stand a chance, you’ll need to research better ways to defend yourself, which will take precious time and resources. As you progress like this, you’ll begin to notice that there’s plenty of complexity but not much explanation beyond what I’ve mentioned so far as to how you progress. Additionally, you may have already lost and not known why, and this applies to just about any difficulty or environment. It’s at this point that I think it’s important we talk about the game itself in its current state on Xbox One. This game is a ported version of the original PC title, which recently left Early Access on Steam. In the current PC version of the game, there have been major updates compared to this console version, including a full-length campaign mode that will walk you through how to play. The console version sports Survival Mode exclusively and carries no such tutorials for the uninitiated, making this version of the game exceptionally brutal if you don’t have the persistence of a marathon runner. In my case, I persisted and attempted to play through the game’s Survival Mode on various difficulties and settings, but this is when the real glaring issue with this port reared its ugly head – the console port controls are abysmal. At times, using a controller was borderline unplayable and left me with nothing but frustration. Even the most basic in-game actions required me to practically research the control scheme and, even then, it was far more trouble than it was worth. But I wanted to learn and succeed. And so I did. Trial and error is your best friend when playing They Are Billions, and it takes every shortcut to remind you of this. It can take just a single zombie breaking through a wall you’ve placed or a single combat unit of yours dying to the endless horde for an unceremonious end to your otherwise perfect run. Your attention to detail (and liberal use of the pause button to monitor the mini-map) is something you need to perfect to really experience what this game has to offer. So what’s the verdict? I want to recommend this game desperately, I really do. In fact, it’s absolutely worth buying and playing…on PC. The gamepad support for the Xbox One port is almost unbearable and hinders a player from truly experiencing this game the way it’s meant to be played. The good news is that They Are Billions supports keyboard and mouse functionality on the Xbox One. I have to mention this because it is crucial for anyone looking to play this game on systems outside of the PC. I would not wish the gamepad controls for this game on anyone, but if you’re going to play it and enjoy it, it will most certainly be with a keyboard and mouse. If you do play it that way, it’s near certain that you’ll have a great time. They Are Billions is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows and Steam on PC.
