Mysterysheep

@gamer_152: When I say goofy/crude I'm talking more so about the suicide scenes specifically, but yeah, it's crazy to me that that second ending even exists in the first place. I had an issue with the game before even finding out about that, but that takes the cake as far as muddying the game's message!

You did a really good job of putting down in writing many of the reasons why I felt so conflicted about DDLC. Also, that was a great primer on depictions of mental illness in media and how they can fail to respect the subject matter. Great read, overall!

@kowbrainz: Felt exactly the same way. While it's a completely intended tonal whiplash, it ultimately feels tone-deaf. I fully expected the suicide to occur, but the way the game parades it in your face felt so utterly mean-spirited that I couldn't care less about whatever broader commentary it was trying to offer on the visual novel genre.

I think that's ultimately the problem with DDLC; it tries to juggle actual, quality character development with this grander meta-narrative that is in direct opposition to the legitimacy of those very characters. Both elements end up invalidating each other to different degrees and the whole game's statement of intent feels weaker for it. I think that's a large part of why so many people simply view it as "a 'creepypasta' with some 'cute' girls in it", as @gamer_152 said, which is major bummer.

The game gets so close to offering some valuable insight to the player, it just ends up muddying it by splitting it's focus in two very different directions.

@braves01: Pikmin 3 is definitely solid, and the visual splendor that the HD visuals allowed that game was fantastic. It's what I imagine those games should have always looked like. I'm still a bit of a stickler for the time-pressure of the original game though. Loads of people hated that and felt it was too stressful, which is why I think 2 was so embraced despite it having a bit of a bloated size with very little stakes to the gameplay (and a bunch of randomly-generated, less interesting levels). I appreciate that they tried to tow the line a bit more in 3 by having you collecting fruit and needing to have a food buffer. I felt like it was very easy to have a buffer at all times naturally as you played though.

I dunno, I feel like there was something very singular about the dynamic of the first game. You'd be forced into situations where'd you have to improvise with the resources you had and actively avoid certain enemies in order to make a beeline for necessary ship parts. It was weird mix of lighthearted and dark, with you exploring these natural, calming environments but with the possibility of death looming over you at all times. As refined as 3 is in all other aspects (to the point of maybe being one of the only games I know that has like, what, 5 different control schemes or something?), I still think it misses a pretty fundamental thing that made that first game so unique. Granted, I think I'm probably in the minority though.

EDIT: Also, apologies for being such a lunatic about Pikmin!

Having played the demo version of this available on the eShop, seems like a bit of a quick-and-dirty spin-off (developed by Arzest of Yoshi's New Island "fame", no less) without too much depth. None of the open-ended level design of the original games, no resource management, no constraint like a time-limit to keep you on your toes (I still insist that Pikmin 2's greatest flaw was removing the time limit, resulting in a massive collect-a-thon that became increasingly boring over time). It just seems to be mostly going from point A to point B, with every obstacle solved by just throwing pikmin at it.

If you've always been interested in Pikmin, but don't know where to start, AND you happen to have a Wii (or Wii U) lying around then try the "New Play Control!" version of the original Pikmin. It made me a Pikmin convert and includes a bunch of improvements to the original game, including widescreen support and the ability to aim with the wii remote.

I was also pretty suspicious about this game when information about it came out, thinking it seemed a wee bit TOO similar to Super Meat Boy. While it is also totally a platformer in that vein, and since SMB was originally released there have been a LOT of those, it's still definitely a distinctly different beast.

The pacing is a lot slower than SMB with more of a focus on precision platforming and and a bit of exploration, as apposed to speeding through Meat Boy levels and dying until you discover that specific level's "rhythm". I will also say that having gone back to the original Super Meat Boy since, the controls for this game feel way more precise and that the visuals, while definitely lacking some colour by comparison, seem way sharper with some of later worlds having unique lighting and effects that really give them a unique sense of character.

I know Jeff mentioned not being sure how to feel about certain platforms moving and shifting without warning and this seeming kinda unfair. This game has a strict adherence to single screen levels though, making trial and error way less problematic. In order to get past a level you'll only ever have to travel the distance of one end of your monitor to the other. Levels never scroll like they could in SMB.

As you can probably tell, I definitely changed my mind on this game and think it's really well put together overall. The slightly unusual level progression mixed with more measured pacing and the partial focus on exploration makes it feel different enough from SMB for me to really enjoy it as a separate game. I know for some people though, those differences to it's structure and style might make it seem like some bootleg-ass, bad version of Meat Boy. I would recommend at least giving it a spin if you can. There is some really nice design and effort put into this thing and, while it isn't an entirely different genre to SMB, I do feel like it genuinely offers something new.

It's how you'd pronounce "northern" if you had a Northern Irish accent.

@adetheterrible: Yeah, with almost a hint of Scottish thrown in. The steam page mentions the two actors' names. The guy who plays Stanley is indeed Irish and the woman who plays Leonore isn't.

It kinda sucks that, for a game so focused on the character performances (and audio logs specifically), they didn't make sure the accents were on point. I don't hold it against the actress, it can be a hard accent to emulate, but the people making the game should have either invested in a proper voice coach or hired two Irish actors.

EDIT: Also, I dunno if it's just a typo but the subtitles label "bollocks" as "bullocks"... God damn it.

Kinda surprised to see this on here, to be honest. I got the impression it was just being shared with backers as a kind of proof of concept. As you can tell it is SUPER rough and early. People are right though, it hasn't been the smoothest of Kickstarters messaging-wise. I do really want to see this game exist though.

I never played the original HD Remix. Were the character sprites as grimey in that as they are here? There's some weird pixelation going on or something, like they downscaled a high-res sprite without applying any filtering. The backgrounds and character portraits don't seem to share the same problem, which is odd...

Oh man, thanks a lot for featuring my list! Talk about a nice surprise :)