Guten Abend
By Dylan on October 23rd, 2015Posted In: News
Hello my dears!
It never fails – whenever I have a busy week that heavily encroaches on my time at the studio, I also have to draw a page with new scenery, lots of crockery, and highly directional lighting. Thank goodness I do it to myself, because if somebody else did it to me I’d be very annoyed.
In other news: after years of avoiding it, I finally have a gaming console in the house! Super-artist Bill Mudron has loaned me his dusty ole PS3. If you have favorite games compatible with PS3, gimme your recommendations! I’m not a fan of shooters or platformers (I prefer games that reduce my stress levels…), but anything else goes. Tell me what you think I’d like!
For just pure joy, pick up any of the Katamari Damacy games you can get on PS3. The games are about being a tiny space prince and using your magic ball to roll up anything smaller than the ball. Simple premise, delightful gameplay. The original Katamari Damacy and its sequel We Love Katamari are both for PS2, but it looks like you can get the original game as a download for PS3 (not the case for the sequel, it seems). The third game Katamari Forever was made for PS3.
For a puzzle-platformer with adventure/action mixed in that (at least in my opinion) isn’t too difficult, try ICO. Boy exiled from village for having horns, boy meets shadowy girl, boy tries to rescue girl from her evil mother. It originally came out on PS2, but the HD version is available on PS3. The game has marvelous atmosphere, sympathetic protagonists, and a warm, fairy tale story (it was the first game that made me cry at the end).
Flow / Flower / Journey. All of them beautifully contemplative. All of them delightful. None of them with an obvious, traditional story.
Little Big Planet. Creation! And lots of cute sackboy things.
Seconding the Katamari Damacy. Absolutely my favorite.
I really like Assassin’s Creed. I majored in History and grew up in Italy, so when Assassin’s Creed II came out I was ready to hate it; fact is it’s a really good game, beautiful on the PS3, and is damn near perfect in its recreation of weird Renaissance ephemera and boasts almost a perfect map of Florence. Play it with the Italian audio track (the WORST English voiceover, oh my god, seriously) and stealth your way through beautiful vistas and alternative history.
TL;DR: I recommend three games: Fez, Journey, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
Fez is a puzzle-platformer adventure about Gomez, who’s trying to save his world from glitching by using his 3D powers in a 2D world to find mysterious cubes. The game has gorgeous pixel graphics and a wonderful atmosphere. At least for my hand-eye-coordination-restricted sensibilities the platforming part wasn’t bad at all. Bottom line: I love it, and everyone should give it a try!
Journey is actually more a philosophical interactive work of art than a traditional game. Beautiful, moving and definitely worth the four hours or so it takes to complete.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, is a fairy-tale adventure game where you play both brothers simultaneously (or you can play with a friend). I found it deliciously bitter-sweet and fun to play.
I agree re: Flower! It is very relaxing. Depends if you like 3D games though, and if you get dizzy when playing them. Here is a video I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUC2tpY5gb4
I also second Katamari. So cute!!
You may also enjoy the bizarre but relaxing Noby Noby Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhLSxTsm-Kc
You just stretch and eat things… it’s a bit of a sandbox game with no particular goals.
PS I don’t actually own a PS. I was introduced to them by my gamer housemate but have since returned to my home country.
Screw gaming consoles! Install The Secret World (by Funcom) on your PC. H.P.Lovecraft/Illuminatus!-themed MMORPG with a focus on character and story. It needn’t be a shooter, you can use hammers, swords, fist claws or a variety of magics!
If you have one that’s backwards compatible with PS2 games, you should check out Odin Sphere. It’s a side scrolling, real time fighting game with gorgeous art and a really neat story. It’s by ATLUS and Vanillaware. Speaking of ATLUS, I’d recommend Persona 3 and 4 (and no you don’t have to play one to understand the other they’re stand alone games not sequels). Persona 4 is a high school murder mystery with monster fighting. Persona 3 is… well still a high school mystery with monster fighting but a bit more abstract. Both have interesting stories, really great music, and turn-based fighting (like Pokemon!).
Katamari Damacy! I know it’s been said, but I wanted to reiterate as someone who also gets stressed out by certain types of video games and just got her first console.
Check out <a href="http://playdead.com/limbo/"Limbo from PlayDead. I’m serious. Look, I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I have a pretty feeling you may like this game. And if you do you can buy me a sandwich. Although, since we don’t really know each other you might as well eat it too. OOH, get a good beer while you’re at it! It’s the least you could do for an old friend.