A Platformer Full of Feels

I hope everyone is enjoying that empty wallet feeling that comes around with the major Steam sales.  I've made some purchases and will be updating as I work my way through them (so far it seems like a little bit of a mixed bag--I bought some winners and probably picked some things outside of my comfort zone that might turn out to be dust collectors...we'll see).  Maybe I can help you make some decisions?  Or maybe not...

Since I have no patience and like to spring when things are on sale I purchased Ori and the Blind Forest just prior to the sale kicking off.  Ori had been lurking on my wishlist for quite awhile but I just wasn't sure if it was going to be something that I would enjoy--platformers are alright, they aren't exactly my favorite.  Having finished it I can now safely say that it was $10 well spent.

Platformers really seem to be a dime a dozen--there are numerous iterations and all of them are challenged with trying to find something to make their game fresh.  Ori does this in a number of ways:

1.) Gorgeous artwork and environments.  The story takes place in a large forest with a number of different but beautiful biomes.  It's difficult to take it all in while you are playing but I found myself trying to notice the details in the environments.  Ori is definitely one of the most beautiful platformers I have ever played.

Awwww :)

2.) A touching story and cutscenes.  Right from the beginning of the game it's like someone is punching you in the heart.  Even though there are cute little forest creatures there is an aspect of darkness and sadness.  In many platformers the story gets pushed to the back of your focus, but I felt like Ori did a good job of blending the fast paced play style with the story of restoring the forest.  (Seriously though...if the cutscenes don't jerk some tears....I was crying after the first one)

3.) Recognizable platformer mechanics mixed in with some interesting variations.  You've got your rote double jump and wall climb, but Ori adds the bash mechanic which I found to be quite refreshing.  The bash attack allows you to use the projectile attacks of some enemies to propel yourself in a specific direction.  Time slows briefly, you aim either for the purpose of travel or attack, and then you let loose.  I was always a little amazed at the massive areas of nothing that I was able to traverse by utilizing these well-timed attacks.

One mechanic that I found to be interesting was the save mechanic.  You can save your game almost anywhere using energy cells that you find located around the map.  Or you could not die and use those cells to unlock energy gates that serve as shortcuts/access to special areas (I died so much that I wasn't able to utilize them very much).  In a way the game rewards you for not dying.

My stats prior to the final sequence (which is brutal).
I died 656 times!  Sheesh.

4.) Replayability.  There are numerous powerups scattered throughout the map--many are inaccessible until you begin unlocking specific powers to reach them.  I wanted to finish the story and was more focused on that and will admit that I didn't go back and try to find them all.  Those players who are motivated by 100% collection will have a ball trying to get to some of these crazily placed items.  Besides collecting everything there are also more difficult modes for those who want to test their meddle...including the ominous one-life mode.  I won't be attempting that any time soon...my one life would be short and sad.

There were so many times while I was playing Ori when I thought "there's no way to navigate that area!"  And then I died a lot and did a bunch of crazy moves and was able to make it through.  There can be a lot of frustration, but when you do finally manage to float through a cave full of killer icicles or bash your way to the top of a mountain you feel like you've really accomplished something.

Ori is a gorgeous platformer with a little bit of everything to appeal to a wide range of players--it can be punishing and very challenging for those who want to push themselves or it can be a beautiful and touching journey for those who are in it more for the story.

Snitches Get Stitches...or Mostly Dead. A Tale of Prison Architect Failure.

As I write this I'm sitting and waiting for day 2 of the Steam Summer Sale to start.  This morning I got a notification that every item currently on my wishlist is on sale!  Oh, the joyous glee!  Before I bust out the ol' card and start chalking up some purchases I'm trying to strategically plan where my money will be best spent.  Do I go for NIER:  Automata, a game I mostly put onto my list because of how much I enjoyed the bizarre Bayonetta?  Or Shadow Tactics:  Blades of the Shogun?  Or do I cave and finally buy Dishonored 2 which I haven't purchased because of all the negative reviews I've read about performance issues?  Decisions, decisions.

But, I didn't really want to write about the Steam Sale.  So enough about that!  Before the sale started I decided that I should look back into Prison Architect.  I had purchased it when it was in early access and, honestly, wasn't that impressed--at the time there wasn't a lot of content--there was one campaign mission that served as a very brief tutorial and then there was sandbox mode where you build your own prison from the ground up.  I messed around and clocked a few hours, but then shelved it and didn't really give it much thought.  I didn't pay attention to major updates and didn't even really see when it finally came out as a full release.

Now....40 hours of play later, I can highly recommend that anyone who might have a copy of Prison Architect hanging out in their library should give it another chance.  There has been oodles of content added and it has become a fabulous management game.  Not that I have necessarily mastered it...hahahahahaha...NO.

Since it had been quite a long time since my initial forays into building and managing a prison, I decided that the best place to start was with the campaign missions.  The campaign has been beefed up to include five scenarios that cover different aspects of prison management and also tell stories about the prisoners themselves.  From these campaign scenarios I learned valuable skills like how to extinguish fires (first lesson--make sure you don't command the firefighters to stand directly in the fire...I made this mistake and they all died) and how to effectively put down a riot.  If it has been awhile since you've played, you definitely want to check out these handy tutorials/stories.

After satisfactorily completing the campaign scenarios I decided that I was ready to manage my own prison.  Before you even start there are a number of decisions to be made...firstly, what kind of manager do you want to be?  The iron-fisted, punishment oriented warden--the kind who strictly enforces the rules and makes prison a miserable place to be?  Or, the kinder, gentler warden who seeks to rehabilitate your prisoners so they can re-enter society and be successful?  I decided to go with rehabilitation--what can I say, I like being the good guy.

Once I had settled on my play style I had another big decision to make, something that was also added after I had previously stopped playing.  Did I want my prison to be for male or female prisoners?  I had been watching the newest season of Orange is the New Black and felt inspired to make a lady prison.  I quickly learned that female prisoners have different needs than male prisoners and that some of them who have babies require special "family cells."  Family cells must be built larger than traditional cells and require their own special dining area called a "nursery."  Managing family cells can be a bit of a pain--they take up a lot of space and you have to make sure that they are connected to a kitchen so that food is delivered.

This is my faux-Litchfield--daily shankings included.

The big decisions had been made and it was time to start--I set my intake at a conservative 5 prisoners per day and got to working planning out my new faux-Litchfield.  Another new feature is the ability to accept grants--these grants are aimed towards expanding your prison and reward you for successfully adding new features--they pay an initial bonus upon acceptance and then an additional bonus upon completion.  Some grants are easy to fulfill, for example, one of the first grants you accept is to build the basics your prison will need to operate--a holding cell, kitchen and canteen, as well as administrative offices for your staff.  As you progress grants expand to include things like increasing the capacity of your prison or adding specific staff.  The most difficult grant to complete so far has been related to education.  Having one prisoner pass the general education test is very difficult...at least it has been for me.

My prison hiccupped along and continued to grow to a respectable size of about 100 prisoners.  I established a laundry and workshop, classrooms for education, drug treatment, and behavioral and alcoholics counseling.  My re-offending rate was fairly low and I felt semi-successful.  It's when you start to feel comfortable that things really start to go wrong.  All of a sudden I had 14 escapees!  14!  A group of prisoners had managed to dig an escape tunnel under my fences (yes, I had fences because perimeter fence is super expensive...that was a mistake).  As I scrambled my workmen to fill in those tunnels I received an angry phone call from the CEO threatening to shut down the prison if anyone else escaped.  All my hard work was going down the drain!  I increased the number of patrolling guards and managed to avoid losing by the skin of my teeth.

Faux-Litchfield has continued to grow and I am now managing over 200 prisoners.  This hasn't come without complications.  It is essential that you make sure that your prison has room to grow.  My one kitchen and canteen were swamped and feeding the entire population had become almost impossible.  I had to build another kitchen and canteen to feed the masses.  Somehow, the prisoners who were automatically assigned to each canteen got screwed up--my family cells were no longer receiving food and some of my prisoners were starving.  This is when I discovered the food distribution setting that can be unlocked once you've researched logistics.  (Remember that right clicking a kitchen will erase all its connections to any attached canteens--this was my mistake)

Once the kitchen fiasco was finally cleared up I ran into another major difficulty--my prison was experiencing a number of deaths on an almost daily basis.  After some Googling about why this was happening I learned that any prisoner who is identified as a "snitch" has a VERY GOOD (like almost 100%) chance of getting shanked.  To protect these highly susceptible prisoners meant that they had to be identified and then placed into protective custody.  This meant I had to design a special wing for them and try to re-arrange the already complicated regime so that they could remain safe.  I still haven't completely figured this out and my snitches are still getting iced on a regular basis.  I've tried finessing the schedule so that maximum security prisoners and protective custody never cross paths....but for some reason they seem to always wind up together somehow.  My spiritual guidance classes have become a popular place for offing the snitches....sheesh.

The full release of Prison Architect has seen it grow from a simple management game into something much more complicated and even more challenging.  It's definitely worth your time to re-boot it and check out the new features.  I'm going to be heading back to the drawing board to try to solve some of the more pressing issues in my prison.  

A Slightly Smaller Pile of Shame

Last night I managed to finally finish Divinity:  Original Sin.  It feels good to make a dent in the ol' pile of shame and, to top it all off, D: OS was an enjoyable adventure.  This rarely happens--all too frequently I make unfortunate decisions and end up buying something simply because it's on sale and it's a genre that I don't enjoy at all (4X strategies....I still don't really understand them but that doesn't stop me from buying them).  Now I'm pondering the possibilities for Divinity:   Original Sin 2, which is currently in early access on Steam (I'm planning on waiting until it's officially released in September before I buy it).  If you're like me and have had D: OS sitting atop your pile...now is the time to re-discover an enjoyable CRPG.

CRPG's seemed to be going through a bit of a renaissance period...oh, about 2-ish years ago.  There was a whole rash of them released--Wasteland 2, Divinity, and Pillars of Eternity are a few that pop into my head.  Unlike Wasteland or Pillars of Eternity, Divinity has some unique mechanics that seemed quirky at first, but ended up making the game all that much more interesting.

The enhanced edition is the way to go.  Better loot, voiceovers,
and a host of other features.

I genuinely enjoyed the  ability to create not one, but two unique hero characters AND to be able to play them in co-op mode.  I have not experimented with the co-op mode, but this mechanic seems like something that is very novel and that would be fun.  The fact that you could play with a friend and have different interpretations of an event or issue and then argue it out in the form of winning a game of rock, paper, scissors...who would've thought that something this silly would work?  It does though!  I played singleplayer but would intentionally get into disagreements just to play the rock, paper, scissors minigame (I am betting that I lost way more than I won).

Another thing that I enjoyed was something that I believe was added in the enhanced edition--the short, animated cutscenes that play as you slowly piece together the tattered tapestry of time.  I felt like they told the story well and that you don't necessarily need some uber-graphics to make your point.

A short list of some other things I enjoyed:

1.) A variety of different environments to visit.
2.) The story isn't completely novel, but it kept me invested enough to finally see it out.
3.) There are some moral choices that require you to think about what is best.
4.) The voice acting in the enhanced edition is good.
5.) The music is pleasant.


There were a few things that I didn't enjoy.  Sometimes combat can seem a little draggy and some fights can take quite a long time--I think CRPG's are much more mired in the details than many modern games.  This was mostly true of fights with large groups of enemies.  I also noticed a tendency for some enemies to bug out--this made fights easier but it is a little unfair.

Another thing that I don't like is when there are puzzles that require you to find a bunch of really hidden things--like tiny switches.  I will admit that there were several times when I got frustrated and looked up solutions to some of them.  This is probably a very nitpicky complaint...but I hate wasting a bunch of time searching and searching.

Gamers who enjoy old-school CRPG's will definitely want to check out Divinity:  Original Sin.   I am proud to have finally finished it (unlike Pillars of Eternity which I quit because a bug impeded my progress on the challenge dungeon--the item to unlock it disappeared from my bags...still kind of bitter about it).  My pile of shame is now one game smaller!  Minor victory.

BioWare/EA Announces New Title: "Anthem"

E3 is happening and we're being deluged with news of upcoming titles from all our favorite developers.  My social media feeds have been overwhelmed with articles about a new title from BioWare called Anthem.  A short, teaser-type trailer was released that gives us a first glimpse into this new game.  Here it is...just in case you're living under a dark, dark rock and haven't seen it bandied about:

Here's where I'm going to admit that my initial gut reaction was not great--to me this looks like a Destinty-esque/Titanfall wannabe--another run of the mill multiplayer shoot em' up and something that seems definitively un-BioWare like.  As someone who's not a big fan of multiplayer and prefers the story-rich, character focused style of a BioWare RPG I am still a little stunned at what seems to be a very clear departure.

Maybe I'm wrong for not applauding them for looking to branch out into different genres, but that's how I felt when I saw this.  Maybe the shenanigans that were Mass Effect:  Andromeda were leading to this?  I felt like the combat in ME: A was one of the stronger parts of the game and was a core part of the game that I enjoyed.  But....it's...just...so not the BioWare I know and whose games have brought me hundreds of hours of ecstatic gaming (somewhat less with Andromeda--which I didn't hate, but was a tad disappointed--read here).

I would love to see BioWare go back to the table and create a smashing follow-up to Dragon Age: Inquisition (which I enjoyed--I know that some people did not dig it so much) rather than focus on something that seems so run of the mill.  But can series like Dragon Age or Mass Effect last forever?  Maybe it's time to move on to something new?

 Anthem is being described as an "action/adventure" game rather than an RPG (but, apparently with flavors of BioWare's signature story/character style--at least according to this article).   It remains to be seen if this blend of genres will work.  I, for one, am a little skeptical.

Divine Diaries: Part One

It has been a busy second to last week of the 2016-2017 school year and as a result I haven't had quite as much time to play as I normally do.  On a positive note, I've managed to stick with Divinity:  Original Sin and feel good about the progress I am making.  Since I'm writing about it again, I thought I would document my new playthrough a little more thoroughly.  Maybe it will give some newer players some insights?  More likely it will draw attention to my lack of knowledge and/or skill in the magical world of the CRPG.

I have found this playthrough to be considerably easier than my first failed attempt.  Yes, I have experience which is a huge help, and yes, the enhanced edition offers loot that is sooooo much better than anything I ever found in the original game; but I also feel like the decisions I made when designing my characters have paid off.  D:OS gives you the odd ability to be able to create not one, but two characters and to customize them with whatever abilities you want them to have.  One of the big struggles I had in my first go was that I only had one healer--Jahan--and this meant that if his healing spell was on it's long cooldown that any character that was taking a beating was almost certainly doomed.  This time around I decided to go with a priest/knight combo of main characters.  My priest can play the role of tank and can also throw out a heal every once in awhile.  This has turned out to be an excellent decision and I would recommend trying to find a setup where you have multiple characters capable of some sort of healing.

When I'm out adventuring my party usually consists of my priest/knight duo, Wolgraff, and Jahan.  My party is a little on the melee heavy side, but having a character capable of sneaking, disarming, and lockpicking seems like a must.  Thus far, I haven't run into any major roadblocks and this team makeup is working well.

My squad and a pile o' dead demons.

The journey has taken me to Luculla Forest and Hiberheim where I've tracked down the White Witch Icara.  Now, I'm back in Luculla Forest trying to deal with the Immaculate threat.  The Immaculates seem like a bunch of whacko cultists and I am actively resisting the urge to attack all of them.

One of the more disappointing parts of my journey was the whole Bairdottir affair.  I made it to the Immaculate village of Sacred Stone and tracked down Jareth, the wizardy fellow who Bairottir was desperate to find.  Surprisingly she decided that she couldn't leave Jareth and would rather attack my party than leave the nutso cultist on his own.  I don't know if there is some way to avoid killing Bairdottir--some sort of charisma check where you could convince her to stay--but the whole thing didn't end well.

There have been a couple of new areas/quests that I had missed the first time that I have discovered.  One of those areas was Maradino's cave.  Maradino is an eccentric wizard who has hidden clues in different places throughout Luculla Forest.  His cave contains his study which has the solution to entering the Troll King's cave.  I will admit that I had to look up a few things in order to figure out how to fully access the study.  Be prepared for a tough-ish fight against the spirit of Maradino and his posse of undead companions.

After you've defeated Maradino and learn the secret to accessing the Troll King's cave you can finally see what all the fuss is about.  The Troll King has amassed a great fortune from the infamous "troll toll" that all travelers are required to pay when crossing a bridge.  Having a character with decent sneaking ability is key unless you want to fight the Troll King and all his troll lackeys.  I used Wolgraff and had him sneak around looting the various gold piles in the cave.  There is also a veritable goldmine of Tenebrium ore near the back of the cave.  Mining it all was a little challenging as Wolgraff can only carry so much--to effectively loot it all I had to have him sneak back to the group several times and unload any ore he was carrying.  When it was all said and...looted...I managed to net several legendary items, some gold cups and plates to sell, and a few purple and rare items.

I'm still slightly mystified by the crafting system and haven't been able to fully utilize all the ores I have been mining.  It just seems easier to loot items.  It's a little frustrating to have accumulated a small stockpile of tenebrium and not to be able to fully put it to use.  I don't have the right talent points in the right places--I can't decide if it's worth remedying or not.

My adventures in D:OS will continue...hopefully until I can finally tick it off my list of completed games.

Enhanced Sinning

Divinity:  Original Sin has sat proudly atop my pile of unfinished games for well over one year.  Recently I made the decision that it was time to suck it up and finish a game that somehow ended up being played and then not completed.  I am happy to report that I am still merrily commanding my party of heroes and still haven't given up.  Hurrah!  It's probably worth mentioning that my second adventure is taking place in the much better "enhanced edition."

What's so "enhanced" about it?  Well, if you're someone who has an aversion to reading lots of text and dialogue in games you will enjoy the numerous voiceovers.  Everything has a voice!  Cats!  Sheep!  Cows!  There are even voiceovers for the epitaphs on tombstones in graveyards.  It might seem a little excessive, but it's entertaining to hear the dialogue of a sheep acted out.

Probably one of my biggest irritations with my first adventure into D:OS was the lack of tutorials.  I had no idea how anything worked due to the very limited instructions.  I knew there was a crafting system but didn't know how it worked.  I had to spend quite a bit of time Googling, reading, and then trying things in game to get a handle on how to do even simple things.  Now, whenever you read a crafting book you automatically learn the recipes and they are recorded in a crafting book that allows you to find what you're looking for.  The tutorials help a great deal, but I'm still not 100% sold on the crafting system.  Making decent gear seems to require a massive amount of materials--it's just easier to stick with loot.

Speaking of loot--I have noticed that the loot in the enhanced edition is noticeably better than anything I ever had in the original version.  My party is rocking some legendary items and vendors have plenty of uncommon, rare, and epic gear to sell.  Bosses seem to drop rare "unique" items more frequently as well.

This is the loot window for a dead sheep.  It made me laugh.

Even with all these improvements I still find myself making plenty of rookie mistakes.  Probably the biggest of those mistakes is not saving.  Games with frequent autosave have trained me into thinking that I don't need to save my game very often.  There is autosave in D:OS, but it tends to be fairly spaced out and I have found myself replaying things that really didn't need to be replayed.  This is particularly stupid because D:OS has one of the most forgiving save systems--you can quicksave at any time, even in the middle of combat!  Just keep mashing that quicksave button...even if you're not completely sure you need another save.

Another of my rookie mistakes is friendly fire.  CRPG's like D:OS have tried to be less hand-holdy than other RPG's and want players to be mindful of the many aspects of strategy.  I have gotten really horrible about paying attention to the small details--way too frequently I find Jahan unleashing an electrocharged bolt of death at an enemy who is standing in the same puddle as ALL my melee (I have a lot of melee....probably a mistake).  I can only facepalm myself so many times.  There has also been several times where I've accidentally targeted a friendly character while trying to mouse over an enemy.  That is the quintessential dumb mistake.

Fighting a group of fiery Immaculates.
  My cat jumped on the screenshot button.

So far my lack of skill hasn't become a major hurdle.  My party has managed to solve the mystery of councillor Jake's death while simultaneously ending the undead AND orc threat to Cyseal.  Now I am leading them through the wilds of Luculla forest to find out what happened to the White Witch Icara.

The enhanced edition of Divinity:  Original Sin is proving to be a solid improvement over the base game.