Yahtzee Croshaw (Zero Punctuation, Fully Ramblomatic)

Does 13 Sentinels not have a hard mode?

It does.

I've heard a ton of praise for 13 Sentinels' story actually. I'm looking forward to playing it eventually.

I really enjoyed it, it's definitely a Vanillaware game. The way the story is laid out (you have to progress X% of the way in character Y's story to unlock more of character Z's storyline) is reminiscent of Odin Sphere in a way but with even more jumping around a shared timeline.

That does mean if you don't like some of the characters, you'll be stuck playing as them to get to the stuff you do like. But I found them all enjoyable, some more than other's.

Forget Linear Stories, Give Me More Immersion Storytelling

In which Yahtzee discusses several games with “immersion storytelling”, or non-conventional storytelling that could only be possible in the gaming medium. Examples include 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Tunic, Return Of The Obra Dinn, and Disco Elysium.

...Yeah, how the heck does that even work?

Plugsuits or whatever, typical thing in meca anime. Get in tight, tight spandex suits to be able to pilot the giant robot better.

Edited by slimcoder on May 8th 2022 at 11:32:28 AM

That just happen to pander to certain audiences... yup.

In this case, it's less because the pilots get naked and more because they are naked.

So?

Because if I, hypothetically, liked to ogle strategically censored naked teenagers, I wouldn't want to broadcast that to the world. But anime people will do what anime people will do.

Last week's ZP review, on Teardown, is now available for everyone.

When we first got physics engines in games, it started a revolution in our ability to make things break, fall, and bounce around realistically. Teardown is that concept evolved to its final form: a game that is based on wrecking shit. The things you smash seem to be alarmingly casual about falling down if there's even a tiny bit of them still connected, but hey ho.

The problem, of course, is what sort of narrative you construct around this. Yahtzee's favorite in this regard is the heist missions, where you have to plan routes to multiple objectives that can involve smashing your way through buildings in a style that would be appreciated by the Hulk, or the Juggernaut.

The ability to be creative about these activities is the primary selling point, which makes it a little disappointing when the game changes things around and makes you drive and shoot rather than knock things down. Yahtzee's takeaway is that they came up with the engine first and the game second. He also loves the fire physics. So this one can be taken as a case of, "He didn't hate it so it must be amazing."

Up next, Rogue Legacy 2.

It's great fun. And yes, it's pretty obvious the physics engine was the main idea here.

And I agree the fire mechanics are strangely mesmerizing.

If nothing else, looks like a good timekiller. The therapeutic effects of wrecking random shit are well recognized.

Yeah, I know. Levelling that first factory level was very therapeutic indeed.

Oh, and there are lots of mods, too, including custom levels.

Edited by Redmess on May 11th 2022 at 10:14:51 AM

Long-time viewers of his show might recognize that he reused a joke from his XCOM: Enemy Unknown video for the Teardown video.

That does look like at worst a fun little timekiller.

Last week's ZP review, on Rogue Legacy 2, is now available for everyone.

Does anyone remember the original Rogue Legacy? Well, they will remember it even less after this, as it's one of those sequels that effectively replaces the original because it does all the same things, but better.

It's a Roguelike Metroidvania with Soulslike elements and... ssszzzzznnnxxxxx... what? Where am I? I think my brain fell asleep again. This one has much better art than the original and Yahtzee likes the gameplay, so that automatically elevates it above the landfill of competitors. He does find that the permanent upgrade system makes it very easy, though.

Up next, an indie double-bill: Trek to Yomi and Ravenous Devils. I have to admit that I initially thought the latter would be one of those anime porn games, but it ends up using a different meaning of "ravenous".

Edited by Fighteer on May 18th 2022 at 4:30:49 AM

I give it a pass for embodying three quarters of indie game cliches on the grounds of it helping popularize a bunch of them originally. And being pretty fun, reportedly.

Fun is always an antidote to claims of unoriginality. Games are supposed to be fun, first and foremost. I don't care how creative you are if I'm having a miserable time... unless the misery is part of the intended experience, of course.

Edited by Fighteer on May 18th 2022 at 4:32:35 AM

And what are those cliches?

x4 I guess they couldn’t have made it an anime dating sim, because then the guy behind Helltaker would’ve had to sue.

Anyways...

Trek to Yomi: What you would get if you crossed Limbo with Ghost of Tsushima. It takes too long to get going, but Yahtzee kinda got into it after a while.

Ravenous Devils: A restaurant management game, except that you also murder the customers to make into ingredients. And that’s it, really.

The Sex and the City bit was absolutely hilarious

Procedural generation, Metroidvania and pixel art.

Fourth is anime tits.

Why I Like Persona in Spite of it Being A JRPG | Extra Punctuation

This is a deeper question than it sounds like on the surface. What attracts Yahtzee, a man who loudly hates JRPGs and anime, to Persona 5, an anime JRPG? The conclusion he comes to, after much soul searching, is that it's not any one aspect of the game but the way that it merges the various elements of story, dungeon crawling, and life simulator so you aren't overloaded with any one of them.

Oh, and stick around for the punchline, where he excoriates fans for only caring about waifus before declaring his favorite.

Edited by Fighteer on May 19th 2022 at 12:23:17 PM