Metamorphosis is an interesting mix of Kafka's Metamorphosis and The Trial, where the two stories are strangely interlinked. Most of the puzzles are a matter of figuring out how to get from one place to another, which can be challenging considering you're a bug and can't really grab things so you need to find safe paths and such. The plot is basically one fetch quest after another to satisfy a overly complex and pointless bureaucracy which honestly feels right at home in Kafka. The setting and overall surreal atmosphere are the stars of the show here, starting out with your character walking down a hallway which is slowly getting bigger and weirder(all the pictures have the humans being replaced by bugs incrementally) and eventually the world becomes downright surreal when it's not an massive(to you) world that makes you feel extremely small. Which would be enough in itself but there are areas you go to in the building which vary between areas full of (presumably former human) intelligent bugs and places that seem to be in a different universe entirely. It's also like 3 hours long so it doesn't overstay it's welcome and you can blow through in in an evening if you wanted to.
So it's basically a point and click puzzle game with a story of sorts. What makes it interesting is the generational story of the Vanderboom family, about 3 generations over 75 years, all in the same house and well, this family is full of unhappy wierdos. There's maybe one remotely normal person in the entire game and everyone is else some kind of messed up in a way that just contributes to the inherent tragedy of this entire family. The game makes this clear from the start, just in case you were expecting something chill, and then it gets pretty surreal at points in a distinctly lynchian manner. In the end it's generally comprehensible and does tell a pretty decent story with almost no dialogue or text, almost entirely though visuals. The atmosphere is constantly gloomy and creepy in a gothic manner and that's the big draw here. On the mechanical side, the puzzles are generally well done and varied, and I only had to check a guide a few times in the entire game to figure out just what the game expected from me. There are clues enough for the most part to figure out what you're trying to accomplish and to get you going, and it helps each room is self contained so you can expect everything you need to solve a puzzle to be in that room(the exception being the endgame where you have to use clues from one room to solve a puzzle in another room). It also helps that in most of the game you have more then one room available at a time so you can always jump to another room if you're stuck on one, though you'll eventually have to solve all of them to finish. It's pretty cheap and will likely last you a few hours(depending on how quickly you pick up the puzzles). Your enjoyment/engagement will hinge a lot on how much you like the atmosphere and puzzles so if creepy puzzle games peak your interest, give it a try.
So to start off, I'm a big fan of the Metal Gear Series. I played through the entire series in release order a few years ago and it was a memorable couple months of my life. With that out of the way, Metal Gear is by far the weakest game in the series. It's an important piece of gaming history, essentially creating the stealth genre and a classic series. Unfortunately, it's not a very fun game. It is very much a game of the late 80's and has not aged well in many respects. There's very little plot or characters to be seen(standard at the time but it feels lacking in what the series would later be known for), gameplay is full of annoying elements(such as hunting for keycards for doors that have no logical order to them) and none of the boss fights are anything memorable. You do get to fight a Metal Gear at the end, but the fight is very gimmicky and it's very easy to lose for very stupid reasons. It ties into the most unique and obnoxious mechanic in the game, the rank system. So there are a bunch of hostages scattered around the game world and rescuing so many raises your rank(which in turn raises your health and ammo capacity). However, killing a hostage(on purpose or otherwise) instantly drops you a rank, and there are a finite number of hostages. It's possible to accidentally kill hostages(One boss is designed around this, which makes it worse) and drop your rank enough you can start the metal gear battle and not have enough ammo to actually kill it(there are no ammo pickups during the the fight and only one weapon actually damages it). Congrats, you have to find an earlier save or the game is unwinnable. This is a game for people who either really like older, hard games or people who want to play the very first Metal Gear game. Anyone else would be better off giving it a pass and maybe try to get a copy of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which is basically this game but better in every way.
There's a ton of things I can say about this game, but I'll keep it brief. Story is generally good, but it takes a while to pick up. It's not particularly unique but it does benefit from a lot of seperate story threads that converge near the end of the game. Notably, the 6 preset characters have their own story/quest lines which are (generally) worth following and tie into the main plot to one degree or another. Character building is nicely done where any character can be customized to your hearts desire and respecing can be done any time after the first chapter, so if you realize you don't like the choices you made, it's an easy fix. This is a good thing since this is D&D inspired(read: Based on D&D but not explicitly using the D&D system, or changed just enough not to pay license fees) and level 20 is endgame level. Not to mention each level is a notable power bump, so being even 2 levels above or below an enemy is a big deal. Combat is a joy, with tactical combat where careful use of your abilities is key to winning. Elevation, Line of Sight and Environmental Effects are all in play here, aside from positioning. For example, having an archer on a high spot at the beginning of a fight can work wonders as they'll be hard to hit and get bonus damage from elevation and using Oil on the battlefield can set up the possibility of setting the ground your enemies are standing on aflame. Dialogue is generally well done and even minor characters can be conversed with. The game also remembers a character speaking so some conversation options can only be used once(per party member). I have a few gripes. Notably, Chapter 2 is heavily level gated but the gating is all over the place. The last chapter a big difficulty jump. Inventory management can be a pain due to how often you need to swap out for better gear. There are a couple frustrating parts of the final chapter as well. It does require a large time commitment. Overall, still worth taking a look at.
Expeditions:Conquistador is a well written Tactical RPG positing an alternate History where Cortez never made his famous voyage to conquer Mexico because you end up doing it instead. You start out choosing a group of soldiers, scouts, scholars, hunters, etc and building your own character before setting out for the new world. The first part of the game takes place in Hispaniola, which gets you used to how the game works and a decent amount of time and experience to level up before proceeding to Mexico(once that's done you can start in Mexico on later playthroughs). Most of the story is told through textboxes with numerous dialogue options to allow you to sometimes change the story and other times make battles easier if not outright avoiding them. It also allows you to play "good" or "evil" by trying to accomplish your goals through diplomacy, trade or violence, allowing a course of history where the natives weren't steamrolled by the Spanish but rather engaged in mutual cooperation to some extent. The rest of the game is played though a world map and a battle map, where you can explore, gather resources and fight your enemies in squad battles not unlike a game like XCOM. The game only has two major issues. The first is that the enemy AI is rather dumb, preferring to on the offensive regardless of the circumstances, and in some cases, battles where the enemy is explicitly meant to be fighting a defensive battle. The other is that the endings are mostly based on how much money you had at the end and how much you "achieved", which seems to be limited if you ended up totally conquering Mexico as opposed to, say, deposing the Aztecs but establishing excellent relationships with the other native tribes/cities as well as building up a strong garrison and base on the continent. Still an engaging historical-based RPG regardless and worth a play for anyone interested in either this period in history or tactical RPGs.
Wandersong is one of those games that doesn't look like much and has so much more under the surface. It's got a sense of optimism but it also is far from a sugar bowl. Rather, it plays like a loving Satire of RPG tropes, of the traditional "Save the World" plot kind. The platforming is well done and the rhythm game aspects are nicely implemented. I didn't expect too much from it when I tried it, only seeing that it was getting good reviews all around and finally deciding to give it a shot. I'll admit I was happily surprised by how drawn into the experience I was and how well it all seemed to come together in the end. It reminded me of earthbound in a way, not so much in the way Earthbound is quirky but the brightness and general lightheartedness it had, while still having enough dark moments to give the themes some weight.
It's hard to describe this game. It's a long, slow journey across a bleak, empty world for some unknown reason in a weird steam powered boat/car vehicle. It varies between clearing obstacles to proceed, keeping the vehicle going through a simple series of mechanics, and stretches of sailing while watching the world go by. It's almost meditative at times and it feels like this is about a kind of atmospheric experience. There's also some almost terry-gilliamish worldbuilding to be found here and there, enough to make you question the world presented but nothing beyond that. There is gameplay here and while nothing mind bending or mind blowing, it's sufficiently varied to keep from becoming rote over the 3 hours of playtime and prevent the game from being a "walking simulator". It's certainly not for everyone but if you watch the trailer and think you might be interested, check it out.
Gris is one of those weird things that walks the line between being a game and a piece of art. It has decent enough platforming gameplay where you learn new abilities as you go to allow you to access new areas. However, the game is most notable for it's gorgeous artwork and evocative music. The word starts out lifeless and barren and as you progress, the world gains color and becomes more and more full and interesting and the contrast is well done. The story told is entirely through visuals, sound and metaphor. Presumably it's about grief and depression and in retrospect I can see that but it's all rather abstract and symbolic. At times I wondered if this was all an acid trip or a dream. It's only 4 hours long so it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Regardless, if you want a decent platformer with some amazing visuals that is a bit, let's say weird, give this a try.
