Twisted found itself a nice warm little crevice in my otherwise cold and wrinkly heart because it was built from the ground up using C++. Ironically, the games that choose this route are usually a lot more stable than the games built with the aid of third party engines (*cough* zero engine *cough*). When a game is made entirely of C++, it gets a special kind of admiration from me because my knowledge of coding stops at if-else statements.
Let it never be said that I'm biased, though. I know I have to judge a game on its merits as a game and nothing else; and as a game, Twisted is like oreo creme smushed between two dirty rocks. Sure, the meat of the game is well crafted, but good luck enjoying it through the broken teeth and worms. What I'm talking about, really, is loading screens. It's a little ridiculous how much loading the game has to do from the start, but at least the pace picks up once the tutorial ends.
But then we're greeted with the ever-wonderful color-switching mechanic. you can only land on certain colored platforms depending on what color you are...you're all familiar with this, I'm sure. You use "J" "K" and "L" to cycle through three of these colors, but the game is NOT designed to complement such a mechanic. It's simply too fast. You fall like a rock, so unless your sense of timing is absolutely impeccable, you're going to take a few headers into lava pits and have to start all the way from the beginning of the level.
In all honesty, though, I appreciate a game that's not afraid to beat you to a pulp, and I might even come back to thins game to test my reflexes some time in the future. I just think that the challenge could have been presented without such self-contradictory mechanics. Remember, kids, a hard game is not always a good game. Tell that to anyone who claims to like Battletoads or I Want to Be the Guy.../minirant
Next up we have Unfolding Tale, and I wish I had a more interesting review for you, but literally all this game is is...well...and unfolding tale. A tale of what? I'm not sure. It has something to do with fish...and birds...and maybe the sun?
In terms of challenge, there is none. You just click in the direction you want to go and, eventually, you will get there. Now, let me just say that the gaming medium SEVERELY needs a game that eliminates the idea of death being the only consequence or punishment, so I think it's great that Unfolding Tale tried to present everything it needed to without any threat to the player. But the problem with that is that a game still needs some kind of challenge. There's a reason experiments like this never work (unless I'm missing some brilliant example, which I probably am): if the player is never punished, the game swiftly becomes a movie that occasionally solicits input from its viewer.
So yeah, I think it's safe to say that this game is centered around the narrative, rather than the gameplay. Now, I want you to read that sentence over again. Then do it again. Has your tongue caught fire yet? Has it slithered out of your mouth and started beating you over the head until you promise to stop saying such filthy and blasphemous things? Well it should have, because narrative and gameplay should be inextricable in a game. No, just adding a few collectible fish to follow you around after you pass them does not count as gameplay.
I think what bothers me more than anything is that the mechanics the game does have are actually pretty fun. Flying and swimming around these big open worlds feels good...liberating, even. If only there was something to do with those mechanics...
Last up, we have Untitled Stealth Action, which is one of those top-down FOV avoidance games that I refuse to call stealth games. It's a lot like Subsonic but without those cool sound mechanics. Instead, you can sprint right by an enemy so long as you don't cross their field of view. And if you do, it's instant game over. No exclamation point accompanied by shrill scraping of a violin's strings here, just instant dissatisfaction.
Honestly the game wouldn't even be too bad if it controlled worth a damn. You character tends to keep walking for some indeterminate amount of time between 753 and 896 milliseconds (yes, those numbers came straight from my rear). This can be a real problem when planning your route around mines and spotlights that kill you instantly if you go anywhere near them. Also, speaking of mines, having the player press 3 random keys on the keyboard to disarm mines when they were otherwise using the arrow keys and the occasional "shift" is just not nice.
That's all I got for today. Until next time, stay prolific
Twist and Shout: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26729
Uninteresting tale: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26708
A name so lazy it doesn't even exist: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26020
