The Switch Effect

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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Published By : The Deep End Games Developed By : The Deep End Games

Release Date : Oct 31, 2017

Mike Benton

Just when I thought things in the horror genre couldn't step up anymore in the category of "scary stuff", Perception enters the mix. I first discovered this game a few months ago during a late night I-can't-sleep scroll binge through Facebook. The trailer terrified the living hell out of me.

Why you ask? Cassie, your main character? She's blind. But we'll get to her in a minute.

Perception takes you to Gloucester, Massachusetts. More specifically, to the Echo Bluff Estate. Cassie has been plagued by nightmares; nightmares that keep pointing her to Echo Bluff. It isn't long before she caves in and heads to the Estate, driven mad by the need to unlock the mystery of her dreams.

The only problem is, Echo Bluff has it's own mysteries contained in the memories and lives of it's past inhabitants. Before Cassie can sort out her own mess, she must solve the mysteries of those who lived there before. All while avoiding the Presence that follows her around, and just might be involved with the reasons Cassie is even at Echo Bluff.

So, as I said above, Cassie's blind. Which raises the question of how do you get around if your character can't see? One word : echolocation. This is the one key mechanic of the gameplay that the entirety of Perception is practically built around. And to answer the question you're probably asking yourself right now, yes it is a real thing. It doesn't actually work and look as Hollywood tends to portray it, but it is legitimate.

Banging Cassie's cane on the ground will send out a pulse of sound, giving you a brief glimpse of what's in front of you. The game even allows you to differentiate how hard you hit the ground, and teh pulse that gets shot out is reflective of the strength of your hit. Important items in the world get highlighted in green, whether they're objective markers, doorways, hiding spots, or what is referred to as "touchstones".

The touchstones are objects tied to each generation of Echo Bluff's inhabtants, with specific memories contained within them. These are the keys to unlocking the mysteries of the Estate's past. When you solve one generations mystery, the estate itself will transport you back in time to the previous generation's inhabitants before they are willing to help Cassie with her own issues.

My favorite thing about Perception is the complete lack of a heads-up-display. Everything you need is portrayed through the echolocation. Normally, there is a blue haze over the world in your vision, but if you make too much noise and start attracting the Presence, things will turn yellow. If you continue to make noise, everything goes red and it won't be long until you're face-to-face with the Presence. However you can find hiding spots to lay low for a bit, and seeing as how there are no combat options in the game, hiding is never a bad decision.

I also really liked how much it shows that The Deep End did a lot of research into how the blind and low-vision people of the world get around. You can find typed and hand-written notes all over Echo Bluff, and Cassie's cellphone comes in handy with the Delphi text-to-speech feature. It's not something easy to explain unless you the play this game for yourself, but it really does show just how much went into this game's main character. It definitely wasn't just a simple "Let's make a scary game. And oooo the playable character is blind!"

Ambient noise plays a factor in this game as well. These two images are captured from the same location, looking at the same spot over a stairway railing. In the above image the TV set is turned off, while in the bottom image it's turned on. You can clearly see how much difference is made by just one source of noise.

Perception is an amazing game. I was hyped about this one for months and it totally paid off in the end. Even if you're not a fan of scary games, there's an option to massively tone down the horror of the game, just so you can relax and experience the story. No matter what, this is absolutely a game worth owning for your Switch.

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Sunday, November 12, 2017

Ricky J. Hamilton

Bulbware has brought us a creepy point and click adventure title that delights as often as it scares.

You play as the titualr Bulb Boy, a scrawny youngin' with a bulbous light bulb for a head. Thankfully (horrifyingly?), your light bulb head is removable. This will come in to play later. So, how does a horror puzzle game play out? Is it an illuminating experience, or will it leave us in the dark?

We start the game off with Bulb Boy listening to a story from his dear old grandfather. whom nods off while mid-sentence. At least, we'll assume that it was mid-sentence because the characters speak in gibberish and word balloons that hint at what they are discussing. Sometimes, they word balloons will pop up as hints to completing a puzzle, so pay attention if you become stuck. Anyways, once Papa Bulb nods off, Bulb Boy indicates that he also wants to sleep by saying (imagining?) a bed... with a conveniently placed arrow pointing to the right. So, we head to the door to the right, but it won't open. OK, so like any other point and click adventure game, we need to interact with things in the room to figure out our puzzle. The first room throws you off a little by giving you some things that you can do that aren't directly related to the puzzle itself, but are also fun ways of interacting with the environment (hint: pick up the glove on the floor while the television is on).

This first puzzle also shines a little light on what will be a lot of the charm behind this game- and that is Bulb Boy's maniacal glee that belies his youthful innocence. Beyond this weird quirkiness that we find in not only our protagonist, but also his pet and grandfather during later flashbacks...we also exist in an obviously green world with an interesting, nostalgic cartoon art style. It calls to mind early cartoons, but what they would look like under direction from David Fincher and smoothed over by an HD filter. The game not only has gorgeous visuals, but entrancing music, and creepy sound effects sure to keep you on edge. The game is full of little pop culture references that will bring a smile to your face.

After you go to your room for bed, you will be treated to a little cutscene that sets up the story of the game. Some dark matter floats into your light bulb home, and kidnaps your grandfather. You now must explore your home to discover what the dark matter is, and how to rid your house of it.

Controls are simple, and intuitive. The left stick moves Bulb Boy back and forth, and controls the cursor when investigating drawers, cupboards, and under furniture. At the appropriate moments. you can unscrew your head and toss it on to chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, which can be used to avoid obstacles that would otherwise block your movement. There will also be other opportunities for you to place your head in other advantageous positions, but I'll let you explore and discover those for yourself. A is your default action button, and you use the left and right shoulder buttons to navigate your collected inventory. The puzzles themselves are just as intuitive as the controls. You click on anything around that room that lights up, and if you can't leave the room yet, it usually just takes a little bit of poking around and experimentation to get yourself unstuck. The puzzles are satisfying once solved, and there are even a few occasional boss fights that are reaction based to keep things a little more interesting as you traverse your house and solve the mystery.

There are some genuine jump scares to be had, and there are lots of weird moments that will leave you laughing, creeped out, or just feeling uneasy. It is a great experience, although somewhat short. There isn't a lot of replay value, but it's an excellent amount of content for the price.

You can find reviews for more video games at my personal blog.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Developer: Playdius Publisher: Plug In Digital

Release Date: 10.26.2017

Splash. Spat. Stick. Bounce. Climb. Shoot.

These are all words that come to mind after running through the first few levels of this addictive game. Splasher has become a wonderful addition to the plethora of platformers available for the Nintendo Switch.

The story of the game is quite simple, but that doesn't interfere with it being a fun game. You are an employee of Inkorp, seemingly a Janitor when you come across a door that is slightly cracked ajar. What you see shocks you and you realize that Inkorp is evil and you must save your coworkers while running from their evil monstrosities.

The game play is fun and quirky. Inkorp is set in a cartoony world, which makes the game appeal to both young and older players alike. It definitely reminds me of Rayman, which makes me very happy.

As I first started playing, I found myself dying several times because you run fairly quickly and I tended to overshoot the platforms and fall in to the bubbly green acid (insert cute death graphic here). The game play definitely doesn't want you to stop and really think about what's going on, it encourages you to keep moving and jumping.

Ink plays a big role in the game; Red ink makes you stick (and be able to climb steep edges...or walk across the ceiling), Yellow ink makes you bounces really high, and Water can wash both of these inks off, so time yourself accordingly when jumping between ink splashes!

There is no tutorial to the game, but that doesn't put you at a disadvantage; the game gradually shows you the game mechanics as you progress through levels. As you master the mechanics, Splasher becomes increasingly more challenging and fun. A major bonus is that there are no lives, this is where check points come in very handy. You can retry that damn jump 100 times without having to restart the level...something I very much appreciated.

Splasher does great with making each level gradually more difficult. It doesn't start off too simple, yet also doesn't hold your hand from day one; you learn the mechanics and what you can do simply by doing. Trying out different jumps and splats and seeing what you can accomplish. Each level has 7 Emplyees to save, some in quarantine levels, which you can save and spell out "Splash". Stand up to Le Docteur - Inkorp's evil boss, and with the help of your handy paint fun, you can splash your way to freedom.

Splasher may have a short campaign, yet it focuses on its replayability. You can do Time Attack and Speedruns to add in an extra layer of challenge. Overall, I do recommend Splasher to your library of games. Now excuse me while I go attempt a Speedrun.

Buy Splasher Today

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Sunday, November 5, 2017

Developer: PolyKid LLC Publisher: PolyKid
Release Date: 10.24.2017

When I first fired up Poi, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. My experience with more indie-developed games didn't come until more recently, and it was always very hit-or-miss. I either really loved the games, or couldn't stand them. Thankfully, it didn't take long for me to realize that Poi fit very snugly into the former category.

The game begins with you napping in a forest, when an old man approaches you and wakes you up. He's lost a treasure of his, a medallion, and he would like one of you (you can choose to play as a boy or girl character) to retrieve it for him. You agree, retrieve the medallion, and meet the old man on his ship. Once there, he tells you that he used to be an explorer with a huge collection of these medallions, but he lost them when his ship was pummeled in a storm and he was knocked out.

He goes on to tell you there are lots of worlds out there with these medallions scattered across them, and that if you wish to become a Master Explorer, he is more than happy allowing you to use his ship on your journey. With medallions in your eyes, you head off to collect these little treasures and earn yourself the notoriety of Master Explorer by climbing, jumping, and head-bouncing your way across the worlds.

Platforming is a big drive in this game. You can jump (single, double, and triple), you can wall slide/wall jump, climb ladders and grates. There isn't any access to any sort of combat moves, but you can squish your enemies and, at some points, kick objects in their direction. Really though, these are all the moves you need as they more than get the job done.

Right off the bat, when you begin your journey, the old man tells you about four worlds you can visit, once you've practiced honing your skills on the earlier worlds (aka, collect enough medallions). He shares with you his collection of explorer tools as well, since he doesn't have a use for them anymore. These include a shovel for digging up fossils, a compass that highlights the numerous objectives in each world, a telescope to see things far away, a bigger wallet to carry lots of coins, a camera for taking photos, a magnet to make collecting coins a bit easier, and an extra heart container.

But, that's not everything Poi has to offer. If I'm being completely honest, just when you think you've discovered everything this game has to offer, it keeps pouring out at you. The main hub for this game is an area called The Sky, and at first it's just you on the explorer's ship with the four worlds to visit and conquer. That doesn't last long, though. A handful of new characters and islands appear that offer even more challenges through mini-games, collectibles, and more worlds to visit.

On top of all that, Poi looks, sounds, and feels amazing. While the graphics might not stand up to most modern "standards", once you take control of your character the worlds just fall into place around you. What's more, they all look so different from each other. From forests, to sands, a volcano, slippery snow worlds, using everything at it's disposal to t's fullest extent.

There wasn't a moment in this game, either, where the controls didn't feel anything but smooth. When you're grabbing the first medallion after being woken up in the forest, the game introduces you to the controls in a quick fashion that is as necessary as it needs to be. As a gamer, I've played far too many games that over-explain the simplest of concepts, but Poi trusts you with that pretty little head on your shoulders.

Lastly, the music is just perfect. It suits the themes of adventure and exploration, and meshes beautifully with everything around you. It seems to quiet down just the tiniest little bit when you're caught up in some action, then kicks back into full gear when there's not a lot going on around you.

Poi is a great play from start to finish, and just beating the story won't be enough. Once you discover not even half of what this game has to offer, you'll want to do everything you possibly can. And if indie games aren't really your thing, let me just ask : does anything I mentioned above sound familiar? Traveling to different worlds collecting medallions, the triple jump, wall sliding/jumping...

Poi is an excellent example of an indie inspired 3D Mario game. Before you even collect the first medallion, you'll feel like you already know this game, and to me that's what makes Poi a must play game. It takes the core concepts of something that's familiar to all of us as gamers (Nintendo gamers specifically) and gives it new life.