Some Games I Played in August
Bit of a down month as far as my enjoyment of games went, but I'm glad I did try some new things
Halo Studios' (a rebranded 343i) remake of Halo: Combat Evolved. It's a largely faithful remake of the gameplay of the original, with the added bonus of prettier graphics (the new flood details in later levels are great), a few extra weapons, and some slight improvements to level design (looking at you, The Library). At best, it an optimistic statement that Halo Studios is willing to re-trace Bungie's footsteps, taking old lessons and reframing them in a new lens for whatever might be next in the franchise. But after completing the game, I'm not convinced that you couldn't give Activision, Blizzard, iD, Infinity Ward, heck, Santa Monica Studios the same blueprint and miss something from those studios that HS was able to capture here. Of what is new: The "prequel" missions are essentially gold and silver reskins of the "Pillar of Autumn" level that, arguably, nullify how alien it is to step foot on a covenant ship for the first time in sequence. There are new characters here that are given no breathing room to make an impact, and when they do ultimately sacrifice themselves for the greater good, it's treated with the same delicacy in which you might dispose of a banana peel. There's a space dog-fighting mission, but it's a retread of what we've already done in Halo: Reach, and it oddly had no real failstates that I could find. The remade cut scenes (and in many cases, the re-recorded dialogue) do not hit the mark. Cut scenes are sauceless and have no urgency. I'm not sure what the direction was provided from the voiceline team, but what's here isn't convincing from returning nor new actors (with exception that the character I remember least from the original is now my favorite voice performance here from Foe Hammer - performed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates). HS also can't decide if they want to keep Chief from being a (slightly) silent war machine in the main campaign, or an upbeat jokester in the prequel missions, leading to an overall uneven character that goes from asking solid questions of Cortana to numbly following an unknown sentient AI (which...why?). So what does that leave us with? A slightly better gameplay experience, surrounded by shoulder-shrugs? I suppose for PlayStation fans who have never played, you have a definitive version here. But for everybody else who's played the game before, why bother (other than to try the Library in its new state)? Soft 5 out of ten. I'd prefer you play Master Chief Collection.
A well-done replica of N64-style shooters, specifically, Goldeneye. For better or worse, this game takes the structure, gunplay, and mission structure of the N64 era shooter and - while it doesn't put it in a new light or gives it anything to say that's remarkably different - brings it to 2026 in all of its glory. There are a variety of weapons, three difficulty modes (harder modes will have additional objectives as well), and a multiplayer mode just as you remembered it. I think what's most commendable for the solo developer here is that the clunkiness of aiming in those games is replicated perfectly either via a controller or mouse and keyboard here. Enemies still react to being shot in the limbs, and also telegraph their motions so you know when you'll be hit. It's a remarkable oddity that this game exists, and it is intriguing in a nostalgic kind of way. On the negatives, the presentation falls a bit flat. Objectives in levels aren't exactly engaging (one level has you intercept radio comms by standing next to a radio, pulling out a hacking device, pressing the trigger, standing still for 5 seconds…and that's it). And, whether intentional or not, there's very little that expands on the Goldeneye or Perfect Dark formula here. Again, it's a fun oddity and it's nice that it's accessible in a modern way. But the adults in the room have played this. And I'm not sure the kids will feel as favorably to it as we were in the day. Soft 6.
If Doom Eternal was entirely linear with no exploration and was maybe just a little less intense. METAL EDEN is a very competent shooter, where you'll essentially be getting an arsenal of weapons that each have specific utility to fight enemies who, as seen in Doom Eternal, may have specific ways of beating down their defenses before you can ultimately extinguish them. You'll traverse linearly from arena to arena, using a jetpack, dashes, wall runs (and a gravity-gun lite) to defeat small waves of enemies, collecting "dust" to upgrade your weapons before grappling and dashing your way to the next arena. There's some easy-going enjoyment to the simpleness of it all, and the devs do a great job of filling your surroundings with interesting locales and viewpoints. The art is dripping with sauce - I had to screenshot the intro screen to the second chapter because look at how pretty this is:
On the downside, traversing between arenas is filled with exposition that's narrated in what I'd describe as "frustrated Jared Leto" that is simply uninspiring to hear. While enemy variety does tend to pick up a bit later in some of the later chapters, there isn't really enough to keep battles engaging with the combat puzzle that the game tries to implement. Overall - it's a short experience that doesn't overstay its welcome. It could be better though. Solid 6.
Roguelike where you use the arrow keys to move on a small grid to defeat enemies. This game markets as a bullet-paced game where you'll navigate a small avatar over a grid to knock out enemies, trying to avoid traps and causing chaos along the way. But. That's really about it. After each round, you've either hit enough enemies to accumulate enough points to continue to the next grid, or you haven't. You'll get to pick from a selection of boons after every round that allow you to shoot lightning bolts or fire arrows or swing a sword at other points of the grid or generate more points. However none of these abilities really matter if you're not moving your fingers fast enough to hit enemies. It all feels a little useless and a little more "look how fast I can move". Not really anticipating coming back to this. I do appreciate the different art styles though. Soft 3.
Dungeon Lurker (DEMO)
If Golden Axe were a rougelike (not entirely dissimilar to Absolum) and was lightly Saltbae-salted with the more "meta" elements of Inscryption (or the 2010 Majora's Mask creepypasta). Dungeon Lurker is a beautifully pixelated game, taking a very familiar SEGA-genesis styled beat-em-up and pairing it with a roguelike, Souls-ish combat structure. You'll be balancing dealing damage with your trusty sword and shield with dealing magic damage to enemies, carefully dodging attacks and timing your attacks correctly. Combat doesn't inspire a ton of variety, other than the occasional boon that will affect critical rates of heavy or light attacks. I suppose whether you like this game will depend on how familiar you are, or enjoy, escaping telegraphed attacks from enemies and simultaneously taking advantage of open points to do some variation of the X X Y combo in these types of genres. You might instead get more enjoyment from the more meta/jumpscare creepy moments that provide an intriguing throughline through each run. The levels themselves do offer up some differentiation from the left-to-right format, occasionally offering verticality or a need to backtrack to get to an exit point. Overall I enjoyed this demo, but felt underwhelmed by combat interactions. Would be curious how a full release might shake things up. Leaning positive.
September is on it's way, meaning we're not only approaching fall season and my birthday, but CONTROL: Resonant is almost here as well. That's going to be my big target this month, in addition to whatever other small gems I can find.
Mike