UnexpectedGames

Paragliding into the Backlog

2023 has been and continues to be a wild year for games. My busy season is over and my surgery went well (although my fingers have improved, they are still not fully recovered), so the past three months I’ve been mostly trying to take it easy (and playing a lot of Zelda). At the time of writing this, I have now completed 30/52 games for the year, so without further ado, here are the games I managed to finish during the second quarter of 2023.

Tchia, developed by Awaceb, is an open-world, action-adventure game based on the culture, history and geography of New Caledonia. The feelings I had while playing Tchia were similar to my experience with Nodding Heads Games’ Raji: An Ancient Epic, a game developed in India; It’s always great to see more games from parts of the world that aren’t always represented. With that said, it’s very clear that the developers here were inspired by traditional, Ubisoft-style open-world games and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Despite the game’s checklist-like structure and non-linear progression, what sets Tchia apart from other games is the fact that you can inhabit both inanimate objects and animals. If you see a crab walking around the shorelines, you can posses it and make your way to the ocean floor without worrying about your oxygen, for example. The best way to get around in Tchia, however, is to posses a seagull/bird and fly to your destination (although launching yourself from palm trees and catching the wind with your paraglider is extremely satisfying, too).

Tchia takes place in a fictional open-world, but it’s an action-adventure game based on the sights, sounds, culture and history of New Caledonia. I think one aspect of Tchia that really surprised me is the fact that the game is practically a musical! There’s so many vocal tracks and a lot of them play during musical sequences that feel like they’re straight out of an animated Disney/Pixar film (and they’re quite lovely too). I particularly like one of the main town themes and enjoyed exploring the islands, collecting all of the goodies, and soul-jumping into a bird to reach my next destination while listening to this track. I love title-cards for game’s intros or say, when you arrive to a new area. Although I believe you can turn off the pop-up notifications in the settings, I left everything on default when starting the game and a Ubisoft-style pop-up displaying that I had unlocked a new location appeared over the game’s title-card during the opening sequence! At the very least, I would have made sure to move the pop-up off to the right/left side of the screen or just disable them until the title-card sequence finishes. It’s not a deal breaker or anything and I know the developer is a small team but seeing this completely broke the immersion for me.

The hardest thing about the game is getting Gold trophies on the Diving Board challenges. The controls and scoring are so particular and frustrating, especially when you make a poor landing and have to climb back up to the starting area. Outside of an optional treasure hunting quest, the game doesn’t ask you to use most of the animal’s abilities. I don’t think there’s a single spot in the game where you’re asked to use night vision, for example. Digging up holes as a dog is exclusively tied to unearthing optional treasure chests that’s part of the aforementioned quest. There are also great accessibility options available including the ability to turn off all of the notifications and pop-up menus while exploring. I approached the game as a Ubisoft-style checklist and left mostly everything on, however. Tchia is collect-a-thon through and through; there are fruits to collect which increase your stamina and treasure chests to find which reward you with cosmetics, among other goodies. If you do play the game with notifications turned off, the game does a good job of highlighting points of interest and collectables visually. When you’re gliding through the air, almost everything that can be interacted with/collected gives off a shining glint from a distance. Even the buoys in the water flash until the treasure chest that’s anchored below them is collected. I really enjoyed my 30 some hours with Tchia and I hope the developers make a sequel or something new again inspired by this part of the world. I completed the game at 100% with the Platinum trophy earned.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, developed by Nintendo, needs no reintroduction. Originally released back in 2017 for both the Nintendo Wii U and Switch, Breath of the Wild has since gone on to become one of the most popular and successful Zelda games of all time. I had originally played through and finished the game back in 2017, but I never completed the game at 100% (which is a massive undertaking). At the time of writing this, Tears of the Kingdom was right around the corner, so I figured a “quick” replay on Master Mode for the first time was long overdue. Not to my surprise, I became immediately enamored and fell back in love with the game again, but this time, I appreciated more of the game’s systems and mechanics due to the increased difficulty on Master Mode.

Since enemy placements are rearranged (with more difficult variants right out of the gate), the stealth approach became more vital to my survival. I never had an issue with weapon degradation in the original game and on Master Mode, you’ll find yourself burning through equipment more quickly, so finding new gear becomes even more rewarding. On my initial playthrough back in 2017, I also rarely engaged with cooking, but this time, creating dishes with the various offense and defense buffs was paramount. I completed the game on Master Mode with 88 Shrines completed, a decent amount of the Side Quests completed, all Memories unlocked and 160 Korok seeds collected. I’m not sure if Breath of the Wild is my favorite Zelda game still, but time has done wonders for the game and I like it more than I ever did.

Go! Go! PogoGirl, developed by Ohsat Games, is a 2D platformer where you bounce through each season of the year as a girl on a pogo stick. Each season is comprised of 5 levels, including a boss encounter. There are hidden gems and other goodies to find in each stage in addition to secret codes and unlockable levels after you beat the game. The level design isn’t very inspired, however. The developer does a decent job of creating new obstacles and hazards for the player as you progress, although there doesn’t seem to be any cohesion between each world. Outside of the background art and music, you’re more or less doing the same thing during each season; bouncing over pits, stomping on enemies, hitting switches, collecting gems and avoiding spikes. Winter, for example, throws slippery ice tiles at the player for some added variety and challenge, but I was hoping each season was going to be more unique than the last.

Despite by best efforts, I wasn’t able to unlock all of the in-game challenges. There’s an in-game achievement for bouncing on your pogo stick 10,000 times. When you finish the game, you’re presented with an end screen that shows you the total amount of bounces you made throughout the game. After I hit 10K and the challenge still didn’t unlock I knew something was wrong. I then went and “grinded” out more bounces by simply selecting the first stage and idling on the screen for about an hour or so. After 20,000+ bounces, the challenge remained locked and I found myself searching the corners of the internet trying to find my answers. Unsurprisingly, it’s hard to find conversations online about Go! Go! PogoGirl. Most of the conversation was held on the Steam forum, but apparently the problem may have been exclusive to the console ports. I reached out to the developer on Twitter and to my surprise, he answered! From what I was told, the developer thinks it’s an issue from the publisher’s end and while he said he would reach out and send them my feedback, he couldn’t make any promises that it would be fixed/patched. If there’s one thing Twitter’s still good for, it’s having the ability to reach out directly to developers and (sometimes) getting your answers.

Metroid Prime: Remastered, developed by Nintendo and Retro Studios, is a remaster of the 2002 original GameCube (GC) release. As someone who’s first Metroid game was Super Metroid back on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), playing Metroid Prime for the first time felt as revolutionary and groundbreaking as the jump from Super Mario World to Super Mario 64 (SM64) on the Nintendo 64 (N64). Not only did Metroid finally jump to 3D, it was a first-person shooter (FPS) yet the game still retained the exploration elements the series was known for. The game felt like the perfect blend of old-school, western FPS design combined with Japanese sensibilities; it was and still is a masterclass in game design. The remaster is beautiful with its enhanced textures and visuals, although the art direction remain as strong as it ever was. It’s clear that Retro Studios and company are competent in utilizing Switch’s dated hardware.

Finding all of the item pick-ups in any Metroid game without any assistance is quite the endeavor. Metroid Prime, however, cleverly uses its sound design to give players hints. If you’re within proximity to an item pick-up, you’ll hear a consistent, unique sound, which lets the player know that something is nearby. While you have the various scanning visors to help you find hidden secrets, revisiting every are while being in X-Ray mode isn’t exactly a fun time. I don’t think I ever collected everything on my own before, not even back on the original GC release. I really didn’t want to resort to a guide this time around either, but I also don’t have all of the time in the world right now (and 2023 is a monster in terms of new releases I’d like to play). This time around, I decided to turn off the game’s music in the option settings before setting out on my hunt for all of the upgrades. By doing this, I now have a newfound appreciation for the game’s sound design. I had no idea Samus’ ship made the sounds it did in the starting area, for example. I found nearly all of the remaining items I was missing utilizing this technique. I completed the game on Normal difficulty at 100% completion. Bring on the rest of the trilogy and where’s Metroid Prime 4?

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, developed by Platinum Games, is a prequel story of sorts where you play as Cereza, a witch-in-training and her stuffed animal turned demon, Cheshire. Cereza and the Lost Demon feels like what Capcom’s Okamiden was to Okami. The game has a beautiful watercolor art style and a whimsical storybook-like presentation. The entire game takes place in an interconnected forest comprised of multiple locations with their own unique aesthetics and themes. The forest is extremely dense too; there are shortcuts and areas you cannot access until you unlock certain abilities, it’s very Metroid-like. With that said, it’s very easy to get lost and the map isn’t always helpful. Accessing certain areas of the map might have its path/entrance in an entirely different section, so trying to find everything on your own can become quite the endeavor. While it’s most certainly a side story to Bayonetta proper, the game still feels like it has a relatively large budget. Each area culminates with a unique boss battle and while they’re not as impressive as mainline Bayonetta titles, they’re still quite the spectacle. It’s not a super short game either, you can spend somewhere between 15-30 hours if you want to complete the game at 100%.

Bayonetta Origins is incredibly easy on the game’s default difficulty. I was unaware that there was a “Platinum Games Code” that you could enter on the title screen to unlock the hardest difficulty, too. You do unlock this same difficulty when you beat the game once, but I wish it was just available from the start. Bayonetta Origins has a fair deal of combat despite mostly being an puzzle-oriented adventure game. While I was playing through the game as thoroughly as I could, I was almost always at max health with a maxed-out item inventory at the end of every battle (including the bosses). Similar to how I feel about most Kirby games, Bayonetta Origin’s difficulty lies in the optional content. There are what the game calls, “Tír na nÓg”, which are essentially the hidden verses/secret missions from Bayonetta/Devil May Cry, respectively. In various spots of the forest, there are pocket dimensions which transport the player to battle arenas or puzzle-platforming sequences. They’re honestly some of the most rewarding/engaging sections of the games, especially if you’re replaying them from the save menu for the best rank in the time trial mode. I completed the game on the default difficulty at 100% and loved it.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, developed by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, is a port of the original Wii release from 2011. It’s overwhelming how much content there is in Deluxe; it’s much more than just a port. Return to Dream Land wasn’t (and still isn’t) my favorite Kirby game, but I enjoyed revisiting it for what it was worth. I’ve always likened the game to what New Super Mario Bros. was to the SNES era of 2D Mario (okay, it’s not that soulless). Return to Dream Land feels like “regular ol’ Kirby”, but with a fresh coat of paint and a new idea or two. The main “gimmick” here is the ability to use Super Abilities; exaggerated powerups based on existing Kirby abilities. In one level, for example, you turn into a giant snowball and hurl yourself down a path to hit giant pins. These sequences are typically saved for the culmination of particular stages and while they are mostly fun, they’re not particularly challenging and are more of a set-piece than anything else.

Kirby is known for its mini-games and they are probably some of the best the series has seen yet. In addition to the mini-games, there are 120 missions to complete. These missions are essentially in-game achievements tied to each mini-game and they provide some of the more challenging content the game has to offer. In one mini-game called Ninja Dojo, for example, you must hit 8 bullseyes with your shuriken to complete one of the missions. The targets that appear during this mini-game and their positions are randomized, so completing this challenge takes a keen eye (and a lot of luck). Ironically, finishing all of these missions was probably one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had all year. I also played through the new Magolor Epilogue campaign at 100%, which acts as a post-game story to the vanilla story. In this mode, you play as the antagonist who’s been stripped of his powers and your goal is to regain your strength. It’s a relatively short adventure, but it houses the true final boss and some challenging levels if you want to get the highest medals/ranks for each stage. I’ll always like 2D traditional Kirby games, but now after experiencing Kirby and the Forgotten Land, I’m kind of ready for more 3D titles going forward.

Resident Evil 4 (Remake), developed by Capcom, is a remake of the 2005 GC release. As someone who grew-up with the original Resident Evil (RE) games on PlayStation (PS), I have always preferred the older games with pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles. RE4 was a groundbreaking sequel that sent shockwaves throughout the industry. It paved the way for games like Gears of War and other over-the-shoulder 3rd-person shooters. Playing RE4 on the GC for the first time was an amazing, unforgettable experience. So, “remaking” a game that didn’t necessarily need a remake was a tall order for Capcom. RE and Capcom treaded some dark waters during the post-RE6 days, but since the success of RE7, the series has been back on track. I think if RE2/3 remake didn’t exist and they decided to remake RE4 first, I would have been more impressed with the final product. RE4 remake is a super competent, extremely polished package that doesn’t necessarily replace the original release and instead, compliments it (which is similar to how I feel about the more recent RE remakes).

I completed the game on Professional difficulty for my first playthrough and it was relatively difficult at times. I think it’s meant to be played on subsequent playthroughs, but if you stick with it, the difficulty feels balanced and rewarding. New to the remake are Merchant Requests, the game’s side quests; shooting all of the blue medallions in an area, killing special (more challenging) enemies, killing rats and selling fish, for example. I completed all of the requests and collected all of the treasures (outside of one I missed in the starting village, which you can only access for a brief period of time). I’m not sure if Capcom is going to remake the rest of the mainline Resident Evil games (I have no idea how you would salvage RE6 unless you scrap and reimagine the whole thing), but considering how well the remakes have been doing, it’s only a matter of time before we (hopefully) see Sheva make her triumphant return.

Bat Boy, developed by Sonzai Games, follows the school of Shovel Knight very closely. Although it’s “just another” 2D action-platformer with Metroid-like sensibilities, it’s strikingly similar to Yacht Club Game’s indie darling. The game starts with a group of young kids who, at night, become a night watch of sorts, donned in sports gear. Something is amiss at the school nearby and the gang find themselves transported to another world after encountering an evil overlord. Bat Boy is a fairly linear game despite its illusion of choice. After you complete the introduction stage, you’re presented with a Super Mario Bros. 3 style world map, which slowly reveals itself (similar to Shovel Knight), fog of war style, as you progress. While you can choose between two different stages at once, you need to complete each available level to proceed to the next set of stages. Each main level is comprised of platforming sequences, enemy encounters, and secret chests culminating in boss battles. After you beat a boss, you learn a new ability which can be used in combat or for traversal (like an aerial slash that can be used to cross gaps or launch off of enemies).

There are also optional challenge stages on the map that make use of your abilities and after you complete them, you’re rewarded with an ingredient which can be used to purchase support items. In the introduction sequence, the evil overlord essentially brainwashes your friends, which become the main bosses in the game. There’s a safe haven of sorts where the friends you’ve defeated find themselves occupying after you save them. Here, you can listen to the game’s soundtrack and talk to bar patrons for side quests and such. One missed opportunity is how the game handles deaths/game overs. When you die, the game calls it a “Strike”. Unfortunately, there’s no penalty for getting “three strikes and you’re out”. The game isn’t super challenging either, but the difficulty feels just right if you’re a seasoned 2D action-platformer fan. I completed the game at 100% with the Platinum trophy earned.

Bramble The Mountain King, developed by Dimfrost Studio, is an adventure game in the same vein as INSIDE or Little Nightmares steeped in Nordic fables and folklore. You play as a young boy who sets off on an adventure after his sister goes missing at night. Everything in Bramble is larger than life; outside of the gnomes and living acorns that inhabit the surrounding lands, every creature and person you encounter is a giant. The game looks beautiful too, almost photorealistic at times. Visually, it reminded me of EA’s Unravel. The soundtrack is excellent as well. There’s one sequence where a beautiful vocal track played and it’s a moment that has stayed with me weeks after finishing the game. Bramble’s pacing is nearly perfect; you’re constantly moving forward and no puzzle or platforming sequence overstays its welcome. The levels naturally feed the player into some incredibly shot vistas with excellent usage of camera panning and positioning (something Little Nightmares also does very well). The items that you can pick-up have 3D models and can be rotated like they’re something out of an old-school Resident Evil game inventory. The game also goes into first-person where you can inspect the environment to solve simple puzzles and it feels like an old PC-style adventure game at times. In one instance, you’ll find a matchbox and you have to rotate it so a key falls out of it and in another scenario, you’ll have to pull cold fingers of a dead person so that they loosen their death grip on an item that you need in order to proceed. It’s cool stuff.

Bramble is a relatively linear game, but there are a handful of collectables to find throughout your journey. There are collectable wooden figures to collect which sort of represent the area you’re in. In addition to the figurines, there’s books to read in various spots throughout the game. There’s trophies tied to each of these collectables, but your figurines get displayed in your bedroom at the end of the game, which can be accessed at any time through the chapter select once you reach that level. I completed the game with everything collected and all but one trophy unlocked. Similar to Little Nightmares, there’s a trophy to complete the game without dying. Unless you abuse the PS+ backup saves (where you just redownload your save prior to dying during a playthrough), completing this challenge legitimately is an endeavor I’m not particularly interested in at the moment. Due to the camera angles at times, it’s very easy to misjudge your jumps and fall into a pit. The boss encounters can be relatively tricky too as your character dies in one hit. With that said, I really enjoyed my time with Bramble and I can’t wait to see what these developers do next.

Decarnation, developed by Atelier QDB, is a 2D, top-down, narrative-driven indie game with light puzzle-solving made in RPG Maker. It’s a horror story soaked in surrealism about a struggling woman living in Paris looking to do more with her life than dance at a cabaret. Decarnation is the type of game where it’s best to go into it without knowing a whole lot about it, so the less I say here the better. With that said, if you were browsing the Steam or Nintendo eShop storefronts, the banner art and name don’t do the game any favors. It’s a hard sell unless you’re an enthusiast who’s plugged into Twitter (which is where I heard about the game first, from Jill Grodt’s The Indie Informer) or maybe you would have read about it on a dedicated gaming forum through word of mouth. Despite being an RPG Maker game, the character sprites are expressive and brimming with personality. Each character comes with unique animations and facial expressions. The background art is highly detailed and colorful, despite being a dark game tonally. The soundtrack is great too, with vocal tracks and contributions from legendary Silent Hill composer, Akira Yamaoka.

You can tell a lot of love and care was put into each frame of the game. Decarnation is practically a visual novel, you’ll mostly be reading and walking between scenes, solving simple puzzles on the occasion. There are also mini-games/QTE events woven into the experience, along with “boss” battles that require a degree of hand-eye coordination. While the game certainly pulls from a variety of genres, it’s kind of doing it’s own thing. The Steam version has a handful of achievements to earn, but it’s mostly a one and done experience for what it’s worth. I played through the Switch version and it performed and ran well, outside of some audio issues which I believe have been patched since the time of writing this. There’s also a chapter select so you can revisit each scene from the six acts/chapters, if you feel so inclined. Decarnation is one of my biggest surprises of the year and it’s a story I won’t forget about anytime soon. I can’t wait to see what these developers do next.

Smushi Come Home, developed by SomeHumbleOnion, is a a 3D platformer of sorts that’s in the same vein as A Short Hike or Lil Gator Game. The game’s premise is simple; you play as a little mushroom who gets kidnapped from their home by a giant bird. After escaping the bird’s nest, you must travel across three distinct environments, as the title suggests, to find your way home. Smushi is an adventure game at its core; there’s no combat and you’ll often find yourself collecting items for various NPCs in order to progress. Smushi is a relatively linear game, but the areas are open-ended and objectives can be completed somewhat out of order. There are Metroid-like abilities, however, that you earn throughout the game (like the ability to dive in water or gear to climb up walls), which allows the player to reach new areas or complete certain objectives. Smushi is clearly inspired by the likes of Breath of the Wild, too. Your mushroom earns a glider/parachute relatively early in the game and there’s even a circular stamina bar that can be upgraded.

Most of the puzzles and exploration have the player hitting switches, climbing up surfaces and gliding to platforms while managing your stamina. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but it feels good to control Smushi and the game is fun to explore. The soundtrack, by FailPositive, is most excellent too and the music stood out to me more than anything else in the game. In each area, there are also a handful of unique mushrooms to discover, which are based on real mushrooms, and they get logged in a journal of sorts with descriptions. I completed the game at 100% with all of the in-game achievements unlocked. Unlike Decarnation, the Switch version retains what are presumably the achievements you can earn on Steam, which is appreciated for completionists like myself. Smushi Come Home was the perfect chill game to finish on a Saturday with your morning coffee. I hope SomeHumbleOnion gets the opportunity to make another game in the near future.

See you next quarter…

-Matty