Happy Spooky Season, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and while Ratropolis doesn’t exactly fit the horror aesthetic for this month’s theme, it is an interesting blend of deck building, tower defense, and real-time strategy. That’s right, it’s time for another quirky video game review. Relatively new, Korean video game design group, Cassel Games, combines so many disparate themes and mechanisms that they couldn’t possibly work together. Could they? Let’s put Ratropolis against our video game review criteria.
Game Mechanisms: 9/10
Ratropolis does manage to merge its separate parts into a cohesive whole, but I don’t imagine players unfamiliar with deck building to fare well. Sure, Ratropolis begins with slow waves of enemies. The deck-building is somewhat pared down, but this game retains most of a deck-building game’s complexity, and the time constraint can be intimidating. The real-time strategy meets tower defense work well together. They’re almost seamless.
The deck-building does get streamlined to a point. Ratropolis splits cards into specific leader types: Builder, General, Merchant, Navigator, Scientist, and Shaman. Each leader type has a male and female variant with their own special powers, so this specializes each potential deck even further. You begin the game with the Builder, which allows for upgraded buildings and extra building cards that provide sustained benefits, even resources over time. Ratropolis has addictive gameplay and since it offers so many avenues to customize your deck, once you get hooked, you’ll lose several hours and not even notice.
I can’t believe how well Ratropolis blends its various game mechanisms. Each leader takes advantage of different design spaces, and I love that. Different avenues for victory make a great deck-builder, and Ratropolis is a great deck-building game without the added wrinkles of an RTS and tower defense.
Speaking of tower defense, Ratropolis does an excellent job of ramping up its difficulty from one wave to the next. Gameplay balance like that is difficult to find. Each city run lasts up to 30 waves of enemies. The furthest I’ve ever gone has been level 25 or 27. Each new enemy type adds a new threat for the player to manage, and while these new challenges can feel unfair when first introduced, runs don’t take too long (players can even send in a new wave early to earn extra in-game money), and a quick look at Ratropolis’s card library should reveal a strategy to deal with each one. The only reason Ratropolis doesn’t get top marks in game mechanisms is that the deck-building can–at first–be overwhelming.
Gameplay Loop: 10/10
I spoiled this entry in the last one. Yes! Ratropolis has an addictive gameplay loop. I spent hours playing the game, not knowing I had spent hours playing the game. Not only does Ratropolis start players with one leader type, but you can unlock other leaders and extra cards for each deck by gaining experience. Ratropolis manages to add a little bit of Pokémon to its gameplay. Gotta catch ’em all! These new cards tend to be more complex, but they also break the game in fun ways. Ratropolis is one of those video games where you’ll be arguing to play one more game.
Narrative/Storytelling: 6/10
One wouldn’t think a deck-builder, real-time strategy, tower defense video game would have much of a story, but that’s not the case with Ratropolis. The game has a loose story that adapts to the events of your game. Did you recently have a lot of rat citizens die during an enemy raid? You may get approached by grieving parents who want burials for their children. You decide how your rat leader reacts. Do you give them a proper burial? Do you ask the parents for a death tax? Yikes! That got dark, but so does Ratropolis’s story. This game paints its story in its liminal spaces, but there isn’t much in the way of an overarching narrative.
User Interface: 7/10
Ratropolis’s user interface is well designed, but a lot is going on in this game. Too much. I don’t know how Ratropolis could fix this issue, but it is an issue and drags down the game’s user interface score a hair. Currently (I’m writing this review in June 2025), Ratropolis is only available on Windows (and by extension, Steam). I can’t imagine Ratropolis on a console or mobile device, despite deck-building games running well on smartphones. Information pockets form in all four corners. The screen is cut into two sections: the top is the city (which players can scroll from side to side, making this space even larger and unwieldy), and the bottom center shows the player’s hand. Many cards have extensive text, so that adds even more cognitive load (how much information one’s brain must compute at one time).
Throw in the random story elements, and Ratropolis can get overwhelming. Still, Ratropolis has a space for everything. It offers a clean interface for players to find most information. I don’t know how the game could improve on its UI design, but it’s missing something.
Graphics: 8/10
Ratropolis’s graphical details are fantastic. The images on the cards are cartoonish but have a well-defined style. Ratropolis is a pretty game. I may have lowered it to average if it wasn’t for the city, slowly building in the space above the cards. Look at the reflection effects in the water. You can see your entire ratropolis reflected in the river. Depending on the location you build your city (Ratropolis offers a handful of places, which can vary gameplay), you’ll be given flourishes that make every rat city unique.
Audio: 7/10
Typically, I play most video games with the sound off. That makes grading a game’s audio difficult. But I have heard plenty of Ratropolis’s audio, and it’s well above average. While the soundtrack does its job (it doesn’t stand out, but it serves the game well), the sound effects, especially the jingling of merchants entering your city or the growls and grumbles of various enemies invading your rat city raise this score. In fact, it’s these unique sounds–that I grew accustomed to–that made managing my city a lot easier. I won’t go as far as to say that you need to play Ratropolis with the sound on, but the sound mixing immerses me in the game’s world. And that’s what you want from a game’s audio.
Replay Factor: 10/10
Unlocking all the leader types, the cards, and the random city generator that makes each playthrough different gives Ratropolis an infinite replay factor. Not since Civilization have I felt this strong of an urge for “just one more turn” or game or unlock one card in my journey of mastering the Merchant leadership style. Ratropolis combines several game mechanisms that lend themselves to replay (deck-building, tower defense, and a varied enemy and environment for a real-time strategy). These mechanisms work together to form a game you won’t put down for hours.
Aggregated Score: 8.14
Ratropolis does the unthinkable and combines deck-building, tower defense, and real-time strategy into one addictive indie game package. This game may not appeal to everyone, but if you’re interested in two or more of the game’s three main mechanisms, you should try Ratropolis.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. I’m still on my pseudo-hiatus for the Novel in November event, so this week’s Geek News will include board games and video games that released this past week. Let’s start this week’s Geek News with board game new releases.
Employee Disposal Program Launches on KickStarter
Who needs political correctness? Employee Disposal Program–awesome name by the way–offers a light, party game, which pokes fun at a corporation’s HR Department. Players begin with two sanity and five action cards. A player’s sanity is their health and once a player loses all their sanity, they’re eliminated from the game.
The above card, “Ethnic Confusion Effect,” is a good example of Employee Disposal Program’s politically incorrectness. Employee Disposal Program won’t be for everyone. I’m not the biggest fan of Take That (backstabby) party games, but Employee Disposal Program plays quickly, and if a card entitled “Karen From Human Resources” tickles your funny bone, Employee Disposal Program may be worth looking into. Pledges range from about $26 (publisher Pleiades Interactive is headquartered in Australia) to about $127. If you’re interested in Employee Disposal Program, check out its KickStarter page.
Zeit Heist Sneaks Onto KickStarter
Publisher Blue Rondo Games has released a couple of quirky, easy-to-learn board games, and Zeit Heist looks to continue that trend. Players build a heist team. The first one to successfully complete a victory condition wins. But Zeit Heist includes multiple victory conditions. You could sneak into the museum before it opens with the Scientist, the Spy, and Lockpicker. Or break into the museum after it opens with the Driver, Muscle, and an Inside Man. Or one could even sway the Police, Detective, and Undercover Cop to confiscate the Zeitnium in your name. Oh, yeah. The object you’re trying to steal is named Zeitnium. Nice!
In Zeit Heist, players can manipulate time. Speed up time. Slow it down. Or freeze it. Time is a Tool. Zeit Heist’s box looks intriguing. A timer comes included in the box lid. Zeit Heist’s production value looks great, and at a swift fifteen-minute playtime, Zeit Heist doesn’t outstay its welcome. If you’re interested in Zeit Heist, check out its KickStarter page.
Snowdonia: Grand Tour Chugs Onto GameFound
The original Snowdonia is a classic, 2012 board game, but many newer board gamers have yet to play Snowdonia. Snowdonia: Grand Tour may be the perfect place to first experience this game. Naylor Games has done a great job giving this dated game a facelift. While most reprints only focus on making the game look nice, Snowdonia: Grant Tour adds a range of scenarios and other game elements to make Snowdonia: Grand Tour enticing for long-time Snowdonia players.
Each scenario comes with its own map board. Snowdonia: Grand Tour streamlines the original’s setup. And there’s a compatibility pack just in case you own the original. What’s not to love? If you’ve ever been interested in this classic worker placement, railroad construction game, Snowdonia: Grand Tour may be perfect. If you’re interested in Snowdonia: Grand Tour, check out its GameFound page.
Restless Journeys Onto GameFound
We’ve seen a lot of roleplaying game in a boxes in recent years. Restless applies this idea to a storybook gameplay, and I’m here for it. Restless looks amazing. I love its idea of quick saves. While Restless plays out over three acts, gamers can save their game within the box and in between each act. Awesome!
Depending on your playstyle and the magical species you plan to play as, a gamer’s experience in Restless greatly varies. This gives me Harmonies vibes. Unlike Harmonies, Restless is semi-cooperative. I don’t know exactly how that works. I imagine players can help each other complete their individual storylines. If so, fun! Restless lasts forty-five minutes per player, per act. And it can be played as a solo experience. If you’re interested in Restless, check out its GameFound page.
Europa Universalis V Releases
The Europa Universalis game series is not for the faint of heart. Gamers guide their chosen country through world history. In the latest game of the series, Europa Universalis V, time spans from April 1, 1337, to January 1, 1837. Typically, Europa Universalis offers greater granular strategic choices than games in the Civilization series. While Civilization has streamlined its gameplay, allowing for a wider audience, Europa Universalis is more like “Git Gud.”
Choosing a starting nation is crucial in Europa Universalis V. Each nation has its own unique skills and benefits, and if you find one of the 314 nations that best suits your playstyle, you can conquer most–if not all–of Europe. Fortunately, Europa Universalis V offers more automation than previous titles in the series. Players can choose to focus on certain aspects of governing, while allowing the game’s AI to tackle parts that interest them less. I like this inclusion. Sometimes, I want to focus on trade over military, or the other way around. It’s great to have options.
One can get lost in the sheer volume of things they can control. Europa Universalis V makes Civilization look like Tic-Tac-Toe. Being able to focus on a couple of things, while automating the rest, is a godsend. I’ll say it again, great addition. Europa Universalis V has received great reviews and is available on PC. I will most likely pick up Europa Universalis V in the future (when it goes on sale), play on the easiest setting, and still find a way to finish in last place. I like this game series a lot, but I am not gud. Womp-womp.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Releases
The Warriors series is more my speed, and specifically, the Hyrule Warriors corner of the Warriors series is one of the strongest. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment was released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2. I’ll have to wait until after I pick up a Switch 2. But look-it! Zelda is a playable character. What?
I love a good hack-and-slash video game, and that’s what the Hyrule Warriors series is. I can’t wait to fight hordes of enemies as Princess Zelda. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment has received favorable reviews. Sounds like a great time.
Unbeatable Releases Today on Multiple Platforms
I saved the most interesting video game for last. Unbeatable takes place in a world where music has been outlawed by a fascist agency known as H.A.R.M. (Harmonious Audio Reduction Maintenance). Nice! Gamers take the role of Beat, a mysterious vocalist who spends her time producing new songs and fighting the occasional cop. She plays in a band with guitarist Quaver, keyboardist Treble, and percussionist Clef. Unbeatable blends a rhythm game–naturally–with plenty of adventure.
I love Unbeatable’s aesthetics. We haven’t gotten a great rhythm game in years, so I can’t wait to get my hands on Unbeatable. The theme sounds cool. The graphics and gameplay look amazing. Unbeatable’s demo received great reviews. Rock Paper Shotgun may agree with me as they wrote in their review (of the demo), “Unbeatable has the best hook of any game ever.” Since Unbeatable is releasing the day of this post, we’ll have to wait for full reviews. This one’s a fresh, new game. Unbeatable is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
That’s all the news we have for you this week. I’m Geek News short during November. Novel in November has been a slow roll, but I’m making some progress with my edits from this past year’s book. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another month of Whatcha Playing. Our writers will be sharing what they’ve been playing–board games and video games–over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been playing over the past month, because you’re part of the Geekly Gang, too. I’ll start by sharing my month’s games.
Kyra’s Video Games
I mentioned Slime Rancher 2 a couple of months ago, during one of these lists, but I finally finished the game this past month. In fact, I picked up Slime Rancher 2’s platinum trophy on PlayStation 5. Oh, yeah!
While I like Slime Rancher 2’s new method of farming for materials (just use your vacuum to harvest science material like wild honey or jelly stone), Slime Rancher 2’s map took longer to click than the original’s, and I didn’t care for how rare drones became. I do appreciate Slime Rancher 2 adding drones back into the gameplay; Monomi Park included drones in Slime Rancher 2’s final update. I love automating my ranch.
The original Slime Rancher will always hold a special place for me. Despite eliminating certain features (the speed run mode is missing, and all special gameplay modes like glitch slimes and quicksilver slimes disappeared), Slime Rancher 2 does a great job of building on the original. Still, fewer gameplay elements can make the game repetitive. I never realized how much I’d miss Viktor’s research. I didn’t care for Slime Rancher 2’s puzzles as much. The reflector puzzles within the Gray Labyrinth pulled attention away from the slimes. That’s why I liked the special gameplay modes from the original. The focus never wavered from the slimes.
Slime Rancher 2 is an amazing game. I just don’t see myself returning to the title as much as I did the original.
I don’t know if I’ve played any new video games this past month. I have a few on my to be played list. Looks like they’ll have to wait until December.
Kyra’s Board Games
I played all the monsters in Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons. Each one perfectly captures the monster. Of course, the Red Dragon has a horde. The Beholder is a menace with all of its eyebeam powers. Gamers need to discover the Mimic by revealing treasure. Yes! Similarly, Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons does a great job with hero abilities. The Wizard can zip around the board through teleportation spells. The Fighter gets a boost in combat. And the Bard can beckon villagers to their call. Unfortunately, these powers can place the game on easy mode, especially if you’re facing weaker monsters.
Balance issues can crop up as they did with the previous Horrified entry: World of Monsters. But I’ve had a blast playing Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons. I may have had the most fun against the Red Dragon. We had no chance of winning. Woo hoo!
Deadlines is an interesting party game. It includes over 200 cards with famous people. On one side, you get the person’s name (and a quick description of who they were), and then, you must place them in one of three columns: Birth, Death, or Lifespan. You’ll need to place the person on your card in chronological order based on when they were born, when they died, or how long they lived (going shortest to longest). For instance, Napoleon was certainly born before Princess Diana, so you would place Napoleon’s card before Princess Diana’s. Deadlines was a blast. It’s unlike most trivia games, and you can get some fun interactions.
During one turn, I picked up Janis Joplin. I knew she was a member of the 27 Club (rock ‘n rollers who died at 27 years old), and placed her between someone who died at 23 years old (River Phoenix) and another who passed at 30. Ka-ching! If you screw up the timeline, you keep the card. It counts as a point. The player with the fewest points wins. But some cards, like Janis Joplin’s, will allow you to say (or guess) how they died. If you get the cause of death correct, you can add one of your kept cards to one of the available columns for free. This accelerates the game as a column can only be 12 cards long. We played with columns of 10.
Deadlines won’t be for everyone. But I liked it a lot. We may need to get Deadlines to the table more often.
I love certain elements of Nevermore. The Edgar Allen Poe theme shines through Nevermore, and the game’s better for it. But Nevermore–at its core–is a Take That game. I’m not a big fan of Take That games, especially ones that last longer than twenty minutes or so. Nevermore took over an hour to play with the teach.
Despite my dislike of longer Take That games, Nevermore has one of the most interesting card drafting mechanisms. Most card drafting games (like Sushi Go) have players pick one card, pass the rest, and then play the card they picked. In Nevermore, you draft every card for your hand upfront, and then play your hand of cards. Begin by picking two cards to keep and then pass the other three to the next player. Then, you pick three cards in your hand to keep and pass two. Finally, you pick four cards to keep in your hand and pass one. This final hand is yours. I love building my hand over time.
And I love the idea–in theory–of claiming an action by having the most cards of that action-type. If you have the most daggers, you can stab another player. If you have the most hearts, you can heal damage. And so forth. I just wish there wasn’t so much Take That in Nevermore, or that Nevermore took less time to play. Take That games can get mean, especially when gamers play cutthroat. I don’t like being in that headspace for long.
Still, I love many of Nevermore’s gaming elements.
I check in with Season and Skye, and it looks as if they didn’t play too many new games last month because they were dealing with an illness. Yikes! We’ll give them a week to recover. But feel free to share which games (video games and board games) you’ve been playing this past month, Geekly Gang.
Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Terra Nil flips the city/civilization builder on its head. The world has been sapped of its resources, and it’s up to the player to return the world to its former lush landscapes, complete with wildlife, and then leave without a trace, allowing life to begin anew. Can you bring the world back to life Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Today’s cozy video game is Terra Nil. I wish listed this one on Steam when its demo dropped, and then forgot about it. It wasn’t until Terra Nil popped up on Netflix, of all places, that I tried the full game. Terra Nil doesn’t have much of a story, so I’ll merge those two elements. Let’s see how Terra Nil rates on our review criteria.
Game Mechanisms: 9/10
Like I said in the introduction, Terra Nil deconstructs the city/civilization builder video game genre. Players start with a barren wasteland (similar to the picture above), and they must clean the (nuclear?) waste with items like scrubbers and then replenish the Earth using various gadgets like propagators, seeders, and hydroponics. Each stage of Terra Nil plays out like an elaborate puzzle. Depending on the climate you’re trying to achieve, you may need to lower or raise the region’s temperature. Balance between biomes is crucial, and you can monitor animals and the animals’ desires when they return.
This game loop is satisfying and familiar. For being the opposite of a city builder, Terra Nil uses plenty of city builder game tropes. This makes the game easier to get into, even if what you’re doing is the exact opposite of a city builder. Finding the right balance between biomes gets tricky–Who am I kidding? It can be rage-inducing. I lost count of the number of times I was off on a certain biome and had to add an acorn to a tree to create more forest, or I had to burn more green area with a solar panel incinerator. Ugh!
And just when you’ve almost figured out how one region works, Terra Nil will add a twist like adding tundra and lava floes to the mix. I binged Terra Nil on Steam and Netflix (I still can’t get over how Netflix has a video game of Terra Nil’s caliber), and it only took about forty or fifty hours to complete the game. There was a lot of trial and error. Terra Nil’s tutorial level teaches the basics, but you’re on your own after that level, and I got stuck. A lot. But Terra Nil made getting stuck fun.
Above Image from GameDesigning.Org
Gameplay Loop: 7/10
The frustration Terra Nil can create at higher levels keeps the Gameplay Loop score from claiming top honors, but outside of that, it’s fantastic. Terra Nil shuffles the gameplay enough to keep gamers on their toes for a good forty to fifty hours. Later levels combine elements of former levels in intriguing ways, building a super puzzle. Unlocking as many animals as you can for each region is a mini-game unto itself. I forget how many times I was rooting for a frog or otter to populate.
Terra Nil is a good, chill time. I would crank up the sound effects to hear the sounds of the forests, streams, and lakes. Perhaps Terra Nil is a new way to Netflix and chill.
Narrative/Storytelling: 3/10
Because Terra Nil doesn’t have much of a story, I’m lumping Narrative and Storytelling into one element. Despite being mostly a straightforward building a green space game, Terra Nil’s premise suggests a greater story. That keeps this score from being any lower than a three. Terra Nil gives hints to what happened to the planet and drives home the idea that humans should be stewards of the environment.
User Interface: 7/10
Terra Nil’s volume of information causes the game to falter with its user interface. Despite an easy-to-navigate heads-up display and well-crafted menus, I got lost in Terra Nil’s mountains of options and data I needed to parse. The game does a good job of easing players into its cavernous menus at first, but after the first three regions, you’re thrown to the wolves. Good luck.
Terra Nil offers a detailed rulebook with phenomenal detail. I would flip through this rulebook even if I weren’t lost on what to do. The page above does a great job of showing and telling gamers how a turbine and a toxin scrubber work. I love Terra Nil’s attention to detail.
Graphics: 8/10
For what it is (a city builder game where you’re not building a city), Terra Nil’s graphics are on point. Despite how pretty Terra Nil can be, it still uses an isometric, top-down view of the environment. Sure, there’s an option to view your creation at the ground level, and that’s fun, but Terra Nil’s graphics stop shy of top marks.
Terra Nil pours in a lot of detail. The geese in the picture above are geese who reinhabited the area. If you look closely at wetlands, you can spot a frog hopping. You can find deer, bears, and wolves roaming the forests and mountains. You don’t even need to zoom in at the ground level, even though I love doing this after I finish a region. Terra Nil works as an interactive background. It’s soothing, cozy.
Audio: 10/10
Terra Nil is one of the few games I will always play with the sound. While the game’s soundtrack is relaxing and memorable in its own way, the sound effects of the environment give Terra Nil a high score. Even the noises the gadgets (like the scrubbers and terraformers) make satisfy. Putting down a ditch borer and listening to it create a future river feels great. The crackling of fire as it makes way for new growth makes me smile.
Terra Nil spares no expense with its audio effects. From the animals to the wind and snow, I’ve spent hours listening to one of my regions, trying to pinpoint which sounds I’m hearing. In short, Terra Nil may have some of the best sound editing I’ve ever heard in a video game.
Replay Factor: 7/10
Even though Terra Nil plays like a puzzle, it’s one of those games I can see replaying after multiple months or years have passed. It won’t take long for me to forget how to complete each region. In fact, I played Terra Nil within the last couple of months, and I’m pretty sure it would take me a couple of playthroughs before remembering how each gadget works and when best to use them. Terra Nil also includes scenarios, variable difficulties, and each region is randomly generated during each playthrough. That last point alone gives Terra Nil better than average replay value. I enjoyed my time with Terra Nil and look forward to playing it again.
Aggregated Score: 8
Even though I gave Terra Nil a story/narrative score, I’m omitting that score from its aggregated score. Terra Nil offers dozens of hours of calming gameplay. It functions like an interactive desktop background. I’m shocked Netflix picked up the rights to Terra Nil. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come for the streaming giant.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and I’m in the middle of some major edits and rewrites with my work in progress–more on that in the coming weeks–so I won’t have as much time to cover Geek News topics like previous months. But we still have some new board game and video game releases to discuss. I’ll try to be brief. Let’s begin with board game new releases.
Punch Bowl Splashes onto KickStarter
Punch Bowl looks amazing. It’s won multiple awards, featuring giant fruits that players must turn into giant punch. All the fruit in Punch Bowl is made of gorgeous acrylic. Throw in some ice cubes and seltzer acrylic game pieces, and you have a party. Players can learn this area management game in less than seven minutes, but Punch Bowl offers plenty of replayability. Just look at these punch glasses.
You’ll be filling your glass like a champ in no time with Punch Bowl. Every player begins with the same hand of cards. You must choose which card you’ll play and which to discard each round. You can gather fruit, but make sure you don’t keep it too long, or else your fruit will rot. I love that twist. Fruit Punch pledges range from $35 to $98. If you’re interested in Punch Bowl, check out its KickStarter page.
Dicey Devices Hatches Its Masterplan on KickStarter
I’ve seen Dicey Devices at numerous Protospiels and even featured a time or two on the Break My Game Discord server, and I’m glad this awesome game is seeing production on KickStarter. Publisher Oragami Whale is new to the tabletop game space, but they’re looking to make a splash, and Dicey Devices certainly does that. Players take on the role of mad scientists.
Activate your laboratory, collect devices, deploy robots, and upgrade your death ray to defeat your mad scientist rivals in Dicey Devices. There’s only room for one ultimate scientist in this engine builder with set collection. If you’re interested in Dicey Devices, check out its KickStarter page.
Bug Fight Takes on KickStarter
Bug Fight reminds me a lot of the classic Battle Line or Schotten Totten. I love these games, so this is a great thing. Players battle for multiple lanes of cards in a tense tug-of-war. The player who controls the most lanes at the end of the game, wins.
Build your team of powerful bugs in Bug Fight. And I just noticed the inclusion of Area Cards. That gives me strong Smash Up vibes, and I’m here for it. These Area Cards may spice up gameplay, causing plenty of potential upsets. Bug Fight looks like a fun, colorful 2-player only game. If you’re interested in Bug Fight, check out its KickStarter page.
Button Shy Games Reprints Some of Their Out Of Print Games on GameFound
Button Shy Games has a simple premise for its line of games: restrict designers to 18 cards. And the results are amazing. Some of board games’ greatest designers have produced games for Button Shy Games, and each game fits inside a wallet. I have a copy of Tussie Mussie and Skulls of Sedlec, but these are Button Shy Games that can be found in print. Button Shy’s upcoming GameFound campaign will feature plenty of out-of-print games. Yes!
Even better, backers will vote on which games they’d like to see get a reprint. I found a handful in the picture above I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection. Stew is fantastic, and Sprawlopolis has been on my radar for years. Few details exist for this campaign. We’ll know more after Button Shy’s Campaign goes live in a few days. If you’re interested in Button Shy’s Reprint Campaign, check out its page on GameFound.
Terra Mystica Returns on GameFound
Terra Mystica has been a member of BoardGameGeek’s Top 50 games ever since it was first released thirteen years ago (2012), and it’s the latest game to receive the GameFound glow-up. I’m liking this trend. Take a game many players love and give it a definitive version. Agricola’s release earlier this year looked amazing. I’m expecting similar things with Terra Mystica, even though we’ve seen few images of what we should find in the box. What’s in the box?!
Terra Mystica has plenty of expansions, and if its updated version follows Agricola’s footsteps (fingers crossed), we should see a new expansion or two. Steamforged Games has a great track record of giving good old games a fresh coat of paint. If you’re interested in Terra Mystica, check out its GameFound page.
Movers & Shakers Launches on GameFound
You know how I was interested in Sprawlopolis earlier? Publisher Quined Games co-published Sprawlopolis with Button Shy Games, and Movers & Shakers is their latest production. Since Movers & Shakers is a new game, we have plenty of pictures.
Movers & Shakers features plenty of gorgeous set pieces and crunchy strategic play. We’re talking Splotter Game (like Food Chain Magnate) levels of strategy in Movers & Shakers, and I would expect nothing less than a train game, wanting to make a mark.
We know little about Movers & Shakers’ gameplay, but the cards appear to be dual-purpose. Always a plus. I love the idea of contracts in a game of pick up and deliver. And spending resources to move is always appreciated. I may not know much–yet–about Movers & Shakers, but the game piques my interest. If it does the same for you, check out Movers & Shakers’ GameFound page.
The Outer Worlds 2 Releases
I enjoyed my time with Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds. It did a great job fusing elements from Shadowrun (companies took over governments with corporatocracies) and various other sci-fi universes by terraforming distant planets into their own images. Add in a dash of Fallout (some of Obsidian’s founders co-created the Fallout series), and you get a tasty diversion in The Outer Worlds.
I can’t wait to get my hands on The Outer Worlds 2. While the original may not have shaken role-playing games to their core, it was a fantastic, single-player experience. And I love it when modern video game companies commit to single-player experiences. Too many video game companies have gone all-in on video games as a service or live-service games. The Outer Worlds 2 has received good to great reviews. I would expect nothing less from an Outer Worlds’ follow-up. The Outer Worlds 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
ARC Raiders Releases
Speaking of live-service games, The Finals developer Embark Studios released its follow-up, ARC Raiders, this past week. While The Finals is a free-to-play title, ARC Raiders is a $40 multiplayer experience. Set in a distant future Earth, where mysterious and deadly “ARC” robots have taken over the surface, ARC Raiders puts gamers in the role of rescuers going topside to collect resources, sell, and ultimately save as many survivors as they can.
Embark Studios jump from looter shooter (in The Finals) to ARC Raiders’ extraction shooter is a logical one. With battle royales losing their luster, first-person shooter gamers have been looking for a worthy replacement. Extraction shooters seem to be a good alternative, but there has yet to be one title to capture the community’s imagination. Time will tell if ARC Raiders will become the definitive extraction shooter. It’s available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake Releases
SquareEnix has had back-to-back stellar remakes these past couple of months. Last month’s Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and this past week’s Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake prove that SquareEnix has some of the greatest back catalogues in video game history. These titles also show that SquareEnix can go back to basics and deliver a wonderful role-playing experience.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake manages to give the older games a facelift while maintaining the originals’ charm. SquareEnix even manages to throw in some added content to pad the games’ short runtime, and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake completes the original Dragon Quest Trilogy. Last year’s Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is available on modern game systems. It’s great seeing these titles available for new gamers. Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. I’ll be busy with writing and editing on my work in progress, so we may have mostly new releases over the next few weeks. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Organ Trail gives a zombie apocalypse twist to the classic Oregon Trail. Not to be confused with the 2023 film of the same name, Organ Trail was developed by Men Who Wear Many Hats in 2010. 2010! That makes this game a decade and a half old. Yikes! Organ Trail began as a web game before a 2012 Kickstarter campaign expanded its release to Steam and iOS. Organ Trail has gone on to sell over half a million copies.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Today, we’re reviewing the 2013 Organ Trail: Director’s Cut. The developer claims that this version moves past the original’s pure parody of Oregon Trail to become a game in its own right. Trade in your Conestoga wagon for a station wagon. It’s time to see how Organ Trail rates against our criteria.
Game Mechanisms: 8/10
Organ Trail follows its inspiration’s lead (Oregon Trail) with its game mechanisms, but it differs enough to warrant a higher than average score. The Director’s Cut adds Choose Your Own Adventure aspects to the original’s release. Fighting off biker gangs and avoiding zombie deer stampedes are nice touches. But the bulk of the game (at least for me) was with scavenging. Honestly, I spent most of Oregon Trail hunting, so spending a lot of time scavenging (Organ Trail’s version of hunting) makes sense.
Despite being essentially the same mini-game, scavenging (in Organ Trail) feels far different from hunting (in Oregon Trail). First, the zombies are heading toward you. While you may find the occasional wild animal that will attack you (like a bear), animals like deer in (Oregon Trail) run away from you. Organ Trail even references the bear by having a bear be a boss fight, so there is a tip of the cap there. Second, killing zombies doesn’t give you any resources. Instead, you must pick up randomly generated items in the wilderness. While this makes thematic sense, I kind of miss the push and pull of do I use bullets to kill animals for food, trading one resource for another. But ultimately, the zombies are fun.
I do my best to dodge zombies, which is easy to do if you don’t face a horde. Zombies in the scavenging mini-game will follow your movements, so you can trap them behind fences, walls, trees, and other obstacles. The other mini-games, like avoiding a zombie deer stampede, shake up the doldrums, but repairing your station wagon is the most pervasive mini-game outside of scavenging. Repairing your car is a timing mini-game, and I stink at it. Looks like I’ll have to carry plenty of extra scrap. Even so, the trickiest mini-game to master is the one where a bandit randomly picks one of your friends/family members to kidnap. You’ll only get one shot to shoot the bandit in the head. Don’t miss.
There are 20 stops before you reach your destination, Safe Haven (in the Pacific Northwest), and each stop has some combination of an Auto Shop, Combat Training, and supplies for you to purchase, but every stop has a Job Board. Jobs add even more mini-games. These jobs become more important at higher difficulty settings. If you begin on “Easy” mode, you won’t need to do them beyond the halfway point on your trip. Player choice is paramount in Organ Trail.
Note: I’ve played the PlayStation4 and Steam versions. The PlayStation version is better than Steam’s. Unfortunately, players have fewer options if they play on Steam, so I’d lower the rating by a point for the Steam version.
Gameplay Loop: 9/10
Organ Trail’s core gameplay loop of scavenge, repair, shop, rest, and travel is a satisfying one, especially when you throw in the day/night cycle. You may want to rest or repair during the evening, when zombie activity is higher. This is a consideration when leaving a stop. There’s a percentage chance you’ll encounter a zombie horde, but player choice comes into play. You can sneak past the horde, floor the gas and try to speed past them, or bust out your shotguns and shoot while you drive. Even with a set gameplay, Organ Trail offers micro choices that have a profound impact.
Just like Oregon Trail, random events occur while you drive. Some are silly, like “Mike gets bored and starts making an annoying noise.” Others are more serious, like “Your mom has dysentery,” and you may need to stop and rest or risk her dying. And since Organ Trail is set in a zombie apocalypse, someone, like Jamie, could be bitten by a zombie (which is indicated by a green skull). So long as you keep them healthy with med packs, which aren’t cheap, they won’t turn. I hear there’s a weirdo at Safe Haven who pays for someone who’s infected.
Add in some combat upgrades for yourself and some car upgrades, and Organ Trail has plenty of options for you to explore. This improves Organ Trail’s already stellar gameplay loop.
Narrative/Storytelling: 8/10
Organ Trail has a simple but effective narrative. You’re traveling from one side of the United States to the other. The game uses liminal space to tell its story. I could see plenty of gamers missing Organ Trail’s story. To get the most out of Organ Trail (from a narrative perspective), it’s best to talk to strangers at each stop. They fill in the gaps by asking why the government thought nuking its people would “solve” the zombie crisis.
Nuclear strikes are the reason why you must take an indirect route to make it from Washington DC to Safe Haven. Other tidbits of information are sprinkled during these interactions. Organ Trail manages to add in a few more with merchants and the random bandits who abduct your passengers. Organ Trail has an interesting world. How did the disease (if zombism is a disease) cross over from humans to deer and bears?
User Interface: 8/10
While clunky (or outdated) at times, Organ Trail has a simple-to-understand and navigate user interface. If you’ve ever played Oregon Trail, you’ll know how to play Organ Trail. The game keeps players informed with specific details about their party. You can check the map and see how many stops you have remaining, and if you know anything about geography, you can plan when you may need certain upgrades like snow tires. Hint: most likely when you’re traveling through the Rockies.
Notifications will pop up on the main screen if any major issues occur. The tabs work and are self-explanatory. I have few issues with Organ Trail’s user interface.
Graphics: 6/10
I struggled with scoring Organ Trail’s graphics. Yes. The graphics aren’t the best, but they’re not meant to be the best. Organ Trail is a retro game, parodying a video game released in the mid-80s. And yet, Organ Trail finds ways to make its graphics unsettling. This works to steep the game in atmosphere.
Audio: 8/10
Organ Trail has a good mix of sound effects meant to mimic Oregon Trail (like clinks and bloops after a stage is complete) and others that subtly suggest a game with a darker subject matter (like splattering brains and cocking a gun). Organ Trail’s soundtrack, by Ben Crossbones, does a lot of heavy lifting. I often play video games on mute; I didn’t with Organ Trail. Crossbones does a great job of capturing the game’s mood and theme without going too over the top. Organ Trail’s soundtrack is the right level of creepy.
Replay Factor: 7/10
Organ Trail plays quickly, no less than five hours, so it’s easy to replay this title. It offers multiple difficulty settings, and the higher ones offer a good challenge. There’s even a leaderboard (Organ Trail grades your accomplishments during each playthrough). I even like the addition of finding your tombstone from a previous playthrough. All of this is fantastic, but I don’t see gamers playing Organ Trail more than a handful of times. I could see replaying it after several years. I sure have. I can only give this game a slightly above-average replay factor.
Organ Trail is typically sold for $5-10. That’s a steal for the amount of game you get. I recommend giving it a try, especially if you like zombie apocalypses and the original Oregon Trail.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with Geek News from last week. We have some more Marvel news. Oh no! Am I going to be writing about Marvel and the MCU until I’m 90.
Feige breaks his silence about who’ll portray Wolverine during the Mutant Saga. All this and last week’s new releases for board games and video games on today’s Geekly News.
The MCU Reveals Some of Their Future Plans
In prior weeks, we mentioned that Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige opted for a fireside chat instead of a huge Comic-Con announcement this year. Feige shared numerous things during this chat. One of which is that the MCU will eventually recast characters like Tony Stark (Iron Man), Steve Rogers (Captain America), and Wolverine. But in the same set of chats, Feige insinuated that the time to recast those roles may not be now. We discussed the possibility of two Captain Americas at once in a previous Geekly News entry. In that same chat, Feige mentioned the MCU may have made a mistake moving on from Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’s Captain America. And the fact that RDJ is returning to portray a version of Doctor Doom may bode well for Hugh Jackman staying onboard as Wolverine.
RDJ is currently 60 years old while filming the upcoming Avengers movies. Downey intends to continue playing a character in the MCU through Avengers: Secret Wars, which would make him 62 years old. During his fireside chat, Feige mentioned that Jackman could portray Wolverine through the next MCU Saga, which would also make Jackman around 62 years old. Feige doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake with Jackman as the MCU did with Downey and Evans. In fact, Feige has even renewed Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool for the foreseeable future. And that makes sense. Spider-Man: Far From Home and Deadpool and Wolverine are the only post-Avengers: End Game MCU movies to gross over $1 billion.
Brutal truth: Jackman can and will remain in the Wolverine role for as long as he wants, provided his movies continue to make plenty of money. And why wouldn’t Jackman want to remain Wolverine? He’d be allowed to define the character within the MCU. He’ll make plenty of money. And heck, there are rumors that Sirs Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will reprise their roles as Professor X and Magneto, and they’re well into their 80s. Deadpool may not be joking about playing a comic book character until one is 90 years old. Compared to Stewart and McKellen, Jackman is young. And Wolverine is canonically one of the eldest X-Men.
Cat Nap Bounds Onto KickStarter
Cat Nap kicks off a couple of cute-as-a-button board games that launched on KickStarter this past week. Players take turns placing tiles and building the most kittens. Cat Nap features tight gameplay. On their turn, players may play a tile from their Cat’s Paw (a tile that stores tiles) or draw 2 tiles from the bag, placing one (on the board) and discarding the other into the Litter Box. Whenever you complete a cat (of any color), you take one tile from the Litter Box. Place it on your Cat’s Paw and return the rest to the bag. When the game ends (no legal moves or no tiles remain), players compare Cat lengths–each length awards 1 point. Whoever has the most points wins, and ties go to the player with the longest cat.
The number of quality two-player-only board games surprises me, and Cat Nap looks to be yet another great two-player-only board game. Cat Nap even features a Co-op option for gamers who’d rather “keep the peace.” And the game features cats. Me-Ow! Cat Nap only offers one pledge level at $39. If you’re interested in Cat Nap, check out its KickStarter page.
Bite Me Swims Onto KickStarter
Yes! We have yet another cute board game release on KickStarter. You’re an adorable shark–of course–and you’re starving. You could eat anything. Yes. Literally, anything. Players stuff their shark’s face with just enough tasty food to hit exactly 10 points in their hidden stomach pile. If anyone exceeds 10 points worth of food, Boom! You’re out.
Bite Me has a hilarious theme. The art is familiar, but I can’t quite place where I’ve seen it. The game looks fun, and Burning Fish Games is supporting the heck out of Bite Me. Bite Me already has a handful of expansions in the works (that can also be included in gamers’ pledges) with more planned in the future. Pledges range from $19 to $123. And you may want to add Bite Me’s adorkable shark plushie.
In Gone to Gaia, players must safeguard the last remnants of humanity. Dive into an immersive world, filled with tactical combat, evolving storylines, and unforgettable characters. Inspired by video games like Hades and Vampire Survivors, Gone to Gaia features meaningful leveling choices that impact your powers, utility, and flexibility in battle. You’ll need all the skills you can acquire to survive the relentless creatures of The Tide.
Gone to Gaia is yet another 1-2 player board game. From the look of it, Gone to Gaia can get very crunchy with its strategy. Players may construct their own divers, and the fact you can unlock new characters through the gameplay has me intrigued. Since Gone to Gaia is on GameFound, we don’t yet know the pledge levels. It will feature plenty of high-end miniatures, and gamers will get a lot in the box. My guess will be at least $80 for the base Gone to Gaia. If you’re interested in Gone to Gaia, check out its GameFound page.
Badgers Pounces Onto GameFound
The fast-paced Badgers card game pits 2 players against each other to fight for scraps of food and territory. Select your favorite badger (the game includes six badgers with an eleven-card deck) and lead them to conquer their favorite food. Play the right badger at the right time to either defeat a competing badger or strengthen your position. Use special abilities or tunnel as you conquer the field. Each burrow has unique abilities. Whoever owns the most food at the end, wins!
I like how each badger deck features a real-world badger. The art is unique, and each deck in Badgers comes with its personalized reference sheet. Are you ready to burrow and conquer? If you’re interested in Badgers, check out its GameFound page.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A Releases
Pokémon Legends: Z-A follows in Pokémon Legends: Arceus’s footsteps. The Pokémon Legends series deviates from the standard Pokémon formula by adding a lot of action. And Pokémon Legends: Z-A differs from other games in this spinoff series by setting the game entirely in the Kalos region’s Lumiose City.
While Pokémon Legends: Z-A has received good reviews, critics dock several points for the graphics being uninspired at times, and the setting (Lumiose City) is a bit too restrictive. I have yet to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A, but one of our Geekly writers may at some point. The game was supposed to be a Nintendo Switch exclusive, but with Pokémon Legends: Z-A getting delayed, a Nintendo Switch 2 port has been added. I may wait to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A until after I inevitably pick up a Nintendo Switch 2. But what do you think? Would you like one of our Geekly Gang writers to review Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Let us know in the comments.
That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. We’re keeping the theme of Spooky Season alive with today’s post, but we’ll be taking horror or dark themes in a different direction. I’ll be up front, this post may meander more than usual. I didn’t know what to call these types of video games at first. Some of these video games could fall under the term “empathy games.” I mentioned some of these games in a previous post, but the prevailing term for the type of video game we’ll cover today is Walking Simulator. That name doesn’t do these games justice.
In fact, the Walking Simulator term is beyond reductive. It’s demeaning. All you’re doing is walking. This pejorative name reminds me of the terms Euro-Trash or Ameri-Trash board game from a decade or two ago. We’ll use the modern, friendlier terms for these board game types. Euro board games focus on mechanisms and balanced gameplay, while Amerithrash–they’re totally metal and they “thrash”–board games place more emphasis on theme. If you used the negative terms, you’re thumbing your nose at the other board game type. Many “hardcore” video gamers despise “Walking Simulators.”
“Hardcore” video gamers not liking “Walking Simulators” makes sense. Video games sprang from the Military Industrial Complex. The first video games came from military facilities. Many “hardcore” video games promote wanton violence where the player kills countless enemies, feature “heads-up displays” one might find in a fighter jet, and some video games are even military recruitment tools. Of course, something quieter and geared toward empathy would ruffle the feathers of “hardcore” video gamers.
Getting back to Euro and Amerithrash board games, modern board games often blur the lines between these two game types. I reviewed Cretaceous Rails a couple of months ago, and it’s equal parts interlocking mechanisms and heavy on theme. Death Stranding notwithstanding, I don’t know if AAA video games have adopted enough from indie Walking Simulators, but that’s another topic. I told you I would meander. Despite the negative connotation (all you’re doing is walking), Walking Simulator is the term most people use. We’ll use that one. Since we’ll be dealing with psychological horror and/or darker themes, let’s call these games Dark Walking Simulators. Let’s cover a brief history with some of my favorite Dark Walking Simulators.
Prior to 2012: [domestic]
Point and click games could and sometimes do fall under the heading of a Walking Simulator, because they involve movement and interacting with the game world’s environment (which are hallmarks of Walking Simulators), and point and click games have been around since the early 80s. But we’ll begin this quick history with 2003’s [domestic] by Mary Flanagan. Flanagan repurposed the Unreal gaming engine to recreate a childhood memory of a house fire. One look at [domestic], and you can see why many consider it the first modern Walking Simulator.
In fact, the term Walking Simulator gained prominence in the late 2000s, perhaps as a direct result of [domestic]’s release. When you have the chance, you should check out Mary Flanagan’s website. She discusses at length her artistic choices while designing [domestic]. While she doesn’t have a link for a playable version of the game, Flanagan provides a two and a half minute video of [domestic]’s gameplay. There are so many innovative choices, like family photos and text constructing the walls of this 3D space, that we’ll see in future Walking Sims.
Dear Esther (February 2012)
First, Dear Esther is gorgeous. Look at that uninhabited Hebridean island. My partner and I made our way to one of the Inner Hebridean islands in Scotland, and this looks close. I could smell the salt air and the heather on the wind. Second, Dear Esther’s gameplay is minimal. I would almost classify this game as a Walking Simulator, but in the best possible way. An anonymous man reads a series of letter fragments to his deceased wife, Esther. Each location on the island reveals a new letter fragment. Players can unlock different audio fragments with each playthrough of the game, leading to a different narrative each time you play Dear Esther.
So, you’re literally walking from one area of the island to the next and listening to various letters, but the letters reveal more about the titular Esther’s life. Esther has passed under mysterious circumstances, and her husband is looking for answers. Dear Esther has a gripping narrative, but the tension comes from internal struggles. The Chinese Room developed this Walking Simulation classic, and this won’t be the last time we’ll see one of their games on this list.
The Unfinished Swan (October 2012)
The Unfinished Swan marks Giant Sparrow’s first major release. It has a simple premise. Monroe is a young boy whose mother recently died. Monroe’s mother was a painter famous for never finishing a painting. Over 300 paintings and not one of them complete. The orphanage tells Monroe he can keep only one of his mother’s paintings, so he chooses his favorite, a swan missing its neck. The swan escapes, and Monroe follows it. Armed with his mother’s silver paintbrush, Monroe explores the painted world.
As you can guess, The Unfinished Swan ventures into magical realism. It tackles themes of loss. It puts players into the shoes of a young child, making sense of the world without their parents. The Unfinished Swan is the first of Giant Sparrow’s games to make this list. It showcases the studio’s knack for eclectic settings and its flair for the dramatic.
Gone Home (August 2013)
Gone Home puts the player in the role of a young woman returning from overseas to her rural Oregon family home to find her family absent and the house empty. She must piece together recent events to determine why her family’s home is empty. Gone Home is similar to the previous year’s Dear Esther, but the anonymous protagonist in Dear Esther knew that his wife had died. Katie, Gone Home’s protagonist, has no clue why her family is missing.
Dark Walking Simulators do a great job of presenting mysteries. In fact, I’d wager most great video game mysteries have large elements of Walking Simulators. Even the AAA titles that lean more into the mystery genre borrow heavily from Walking Simulators. Traveling in someone else’s shoes and interacting with your environment can make for a great mystery premise.
The Stanley Parable (October 2013)
The Stanley Parable stands out in a group of video games that stand out. This Walking Simulator challenges preconceived notions about video games with a thick coat of sarcasm. Developed by Davey Wreden and William Pugh, The Stanley Parable tackles themes like choice in video games and fate/pre-destination. British actor Kevan Brighting narrates while the silent protagonist (Stanley) conducts a day at the office. As you can see in the image above, Stanley may follow the adventure’s line, or he may contradict The Narrator’s directions, which, if disobeyed, will be incorporated into the story. Depending on the choices made, the player will encounter different endings before the game resets to the beginning.
The Stanley Parable proves that Walking Simulators can strike a chord with “hardcore” gamers. The Stanley Parable crossed over into mainstream video game culture. Developer Davey Wreden has gained a following, and his follow-up game, The Beginner’s Guide, actually deals (in part) with Wreden’s struggles with success. Showrunner Dan Erickson cited The Stanley Parable as an inspiration for Apple+’s Severance.
The Static Speaks My Name (August 10, 2015)
While the previous games on this list have dark themes, The Static Speaks My Name is the first true horror video game.
Quick trigger warning: The Static Speaks My Name includes self-harm. If you’re sensitive to the subject of self-harm, feel free to skip this entry to our next one.
In The Static Speaks My Name, players assume the role of Jacob Ernholtz, a man who has committed suicide by hanging at the age of 31. We start as an amorphous blob in a dark void until we inhabit Ernholtz during his last day. We awake in his dimly-lit apartment with boarded-up windows and doors as he performs a series of menial tasks, including using the restroom, eating breakfast, and chatting with online friends. Exploring Ernholtz’s apartment reveals that he’s obsessed with a painting of two palm trees and its painter, Jason Malone. Locked behind a bookcase, we find Malone in a cage. The player has the option to unlock the cage or electrocute Malone. We’re finally presented with the task to go to a small closet with a noose.
Yowza! The Static Speaks My Name is trippy in every sense of the word. Jesse Barksdale developed The Static Speaks My Name in a 48-hour game jam. I’ve participated in a few board game jams, and you can encounter some messed-up concepts during one of these events. I would’ve liked to have seen Barksdale’s creative process for The Static Speaks My Name during these 48 hours. This is a haunting game. I’ve only chosen the electrocute option once, and Malone’s blood-curdling screams invaded my dreams for a few days. Yikes!
We included the exact date The Static Speaks My Name was first released because our next entry in this list was released the next day. This week in August was a great week for Walking Simulators.
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture (August 11, 2015)
Fresh off their hit Dear Esther, The Chinese Room takes the mysterious disappearance of people from the scope of a family in Gone Home to that of an entire English village’s citizens in Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Players assume the role of Katherine “Kate” Collins, which is funny because Gone Home’s protagonist was named Katie. Set in 1984, Dr. Kate Collins and her husband travel to the fictional Shropshire village of Yaughton. Players can interact with floating lights throughout the world, most of which reveal parts of the story.
Feel free to turn on radios, answer the phone, and test the power switches as you unearth why an entire English village’s people vanished. Could this be the beginning of the Rapture and the end of days? Or has some mysterious fate only affected this one village? You’ll have to play Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture to find out.
That Dragon, Cancer (January 2016)
Get ready to reach for the tissues. This next entry is a tear-jerker. Created by Ryan and Amy Green, Josh Larson, and a small team under the name Numinous Games, That Dragon, Cancer is an autobiography based on the Greens’ experience raising their son Joel, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at twelve months old. Though given a short time to live (four months tops), Joel survived for four more years before succumbing to cancer in March 2014. That Dragon, Cancer harkens to the age of point and click games–see, point and click games are closely related to Walking Simulators–and uses the medium of pointing and clicking to experience the Greens’ lives through interactive storytelling.
That Dragon, Cancer illustrates a video game’s storytelling potential. At first, Ryan and Amy developed the game to relay their personal experience with Joel while they were uncertain of his health, but following his death, the Greens reworked much of That Dragon, Cancer to memorialize and personalize their time and interactions with Joel for the player. Joel Green may have had a short life, but That Dragon, Cancer ensures he won’t be forgotten.
it’s always monday (November 2016)
I’ll start this write-up by commenting on it’s always monday’s title. I love its use of all lowercase letters. Yes, Monday is supposed to be capitalized, but the lack of capital letters gives the impression of words in the middle of a sentence. Brilliant. I debated including it’s always monday on this list. To put it mildly, it’s always monday is surreal.
Players assume the role of an office worker who, as the game’s title implies, is stuck in a loop of perpetual Mondays. My bad…mondays. Frequently, you’ll find moments where a coworker is cut into slices. The player character will freak out–naturally–and then notice a pizza on the conference table and comment, Today’s a pizza day. Score! What? I often wonder what it’s always monday’s overall message is supposed to be. Perhaps we’re supposed to feel trapped in a malaise where we want the character to feel something. Anything. But it’s always monday’s workplace offers plenty of bizarre occurrences that run counter to the mundane.
What Remains of Edith Finch (April 2017)
What Remains of Edith Finch borrows concepts from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude and applies them to an interactive video game where we follow the titular Edith Finch explores her family home. Like Marquez’s work, What Remains of Edith Finch ventures into magical realism. The game’s narrative works as an interconnected anthology series, and it’s all the better for it. I don’t know which member of the Finch family’s stories I like best. What Remains of Edith Finch is a triumph of video game storytelling. Giant Sparrow took everything they learned from The Unfinished Swan to create a singular gaming experience.
Walking Simulators fizzled out after 2017. I don’t know if the backlash of these games reached a fevered pitch or if the designers who make these games needed time to create something new. Death Stranding was released in 2019. To date, it may be the closest a AAA game has come to a Walking Simulator. It certainly incorporates a lot of Walking Simulator concepts into its gameplay. But our lack of Walking Simulators in the early 2020s can be attributed to the pandemic.
All video game struggles in the early 2020s, but we’ve seen a resurgence of Walking Simulators since 2022. Exit 8 has a premise similar to the Backrooms. Players explore the liminal space of Japanese subways. I’m writing this post in June, but by the time this post goes live, a live-action film based on Exit 8 should have been released. Walking Simulators have gripping stories and an avid fan base. I can’t wait to see what this video game genre has in store over the next decade.
If you’ve made it this far, you’re awesome. We all know it. Be sure to comment on your favorite Walking Simulator or an idea of a better name for this video game type. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a nice day.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. Plenty of board games and video games released this past week, but we’ll kick off this past week’s Geek News with an update about the Halo television series.
Halo Crashes Netflix’s Top 10. Will there be a Season 3?
Halo is the most expensive television series ever produced in Paramount+’s short history, so it made sense for the streaming service to cancel the show after a couple of seasons (17 episodes in total), and it also made sense for Paramount+ to sell the rights to stream Halo on Netflix. Earlier this month, Halo debuted on Netflix. Its reception was immediate as Halo reached number 4 on Netflix’s United States Top 10, outperforming almost all licensed programming, with the exception of popular original shows like Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Halo even held similar numbers internationally. This shows a demand beyond hardcore gamers.
Netflix has a track record of reviving shows like Longmire and Lucifer after a strong streaming performance. Halo’s global numbers and fan campaigns, like the ones found on Change.org, may sway the streamer to green-light a third season. There’s a chance. But there are a few loopholes, Halo must navigate. Netflix only has a year-long streaming agreement for Halo. For a third season to be possible, Netflix must secure a long-term streaming agreement. And Halo has steep production costs. Season 1 was estimated to cost between $90-200 million. Yikes!
But I wouldn’t count out a third season for Halo. Critics gave Halo a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes–does anyone still use Rotten Tomatoes when looking for reviews–with many appreciating Halo’s production values, while questioning narrative choices like an odd romantic subplot and unmasking Master Chief. Still, #SaveHalo has trended on various social media platforms, and if Halo’s numbers hold strong, Netflix may need to consider a third season, regardless of the cost.
Rolling in Wonderland Launches on KickStarter
This week has seen a lot of dice drafting games (games where players pay to add dice to their dice pool), and Rolling in Wonderland is a great place to begin with board game new releases. Channeling the whimsy of Alice in Wonderland, Rolling in Wonderland features quirky art and vibrant colors.
The game suggests that players may adapt the game’s play how they want. You may play a light and breezy or tight and tense game of Rolling in Wonderland. I don’t know exactly how Rolling in Wonderland attempts to do this (undoubtedly two sets of rules for both playstyles), but I’m intrigued. Rolling in Wonderland offers an affordable $39 entry-level pledge, but players may spend $79 for the deluxe version or add various expansions a la carte. If you’re interested in Rolling in Wonderland, check out its KickStarter page.
Cretaceous Rails Reprint Lands on Gamefound
In preparation for Gen Con, we reviewed Cretaceous Rails a few months ago. If you want to see an extended look at our thoughts, check them out here. Dinosaurs and trains together at last. If you’ve ever wanted a game that combined these two elements (or think this mash-up sounds awesome), then you should consider backing Cretaceous Rails.
The core game is amazing. I love Cretaceous Rails’s dual-action selection mechanism. I even tried my hand at designing a game that did something similar (I mentioned this in the most recent game design brain dump). Cretaceous Rails’s reprint will include the first expansion, Cretaceous Skies, which I’m not too fond of, but it adds the second expansion, Cretaceous Seas, and I’ve enjoyed every iteration of Cretaceous Seas. I can’t wait to see the final version.
Bring on the sea hexes and plesiosaurs. You can pick and choose which rewards you want a la carte. Since I have the base Cretaceous Rails, I’ll most likely pick up Cretaceous Seas for $30 (plus shipping). The project launches in two days. If you’re interested in Cretaceous Rails, check out its GameFound page.
Raas Dances Onto GameFound
Raas adapts the dazzling folk dance of Gujarat to a vibrant dice-drafting, tableau-building game. Players recruit dancers, represented by colorful dice, where each color and pip shows off their style and rhythm. Collect stunning dress swatches, give them dandiya sticks, and match the style of the song to create shining performances.
Raas’s moving dials remind me of the interlocking gears of my design Rustbucket Riots. I may need to keep an eye on this title; I do like that it’s competitive instead of cooperative. I love Raas’s theme. The tight board looks amazing, and I’m always down for splashes of color. Raas looks as if it captures the vibe of its subject matter. As of this write-up, we don’t yet know Raas’s price points. If you’re interested in Raas, check out its GameFound page.
Vampire: The Masquerade, Palermo Conspiracies, Lands on GameFound
The theme Vampire: The Masquerade piqued my interest (I’ve always enjoyed this IP’s mythos), but the statement that Teburu may be the future of tabletop gaming places Vampire: The Masquerade, Palermo Conspiracies in my sights. Per its description, the Teburu system integrates physical and digital gaming, while keeping players focused on the board and its components. Evidently, players won’t need a rulebook. What? You may save your game progress and continue later. Vampire: The Masquerade, Palermo Conspiracies offers immersive storytelling and audio support. You may save player data with smart-technology miniatures.
This all sounds fantastic, and it could be “the future of board games,” but I’m cautious. The Teburu system will most likely be patented and only be available from the company of the same name. As of this write-up, we don’t know the cost of this game, and Palermo Conspiracies sounds as if it will be at least $100 at its cheapest price point. Since it’s launching on GameFound, which offers payment plans, I wouldn’t be surprised if Vampire: The Masquerade, Palermo Conspiracies is upwards of $150-$200 or more (board game meets video game pricing) before shipping. I’m also leery of a game playing itself; I like to know why NPCs take specific actions in tabletop games. But this game looks and sounds amazing.
The miniatures are stunning. And there’s tech in those bases. Yowza! If you’re interested in Vampire: The Masquerade, Palermo Conspiracies, check out its GameFound page.
Battlefield 6 Released
I’ve never been into the Battlefield series. Later titles have leaned into online only, player-versus-player brawls. I have to admit that I’m interested in Battlefield 6 because of the return of campaign mode. It’s been some time since Battlefield has featured a robust campaign mode, and judging from Battlefield 6’s early reviews, it looks as if the game delivers.
I may wait another week or two, or even for the first price decline, before venturing into this highly touted first-person shooter. Battlefield 6 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Little Nightmares III Releases
Popular puzzle-platform horror adventure game series Little Nightmares returns just in time for Halloween. I see what you did there, Supermassive Games. Little Nightmares III follows two new child protagonists, Low and Alone, as they navigate through The Nowhere and escape from a looming threat.
While I am more interested in the Little Nightmare series than I am in Battlefield, Little Nightmares III has received mixed to average reviews so far. I may wait on Little Nightmares III for a very different reason than Battlefield 6. I’m waiting on Battlefield 6 for the hype to die down a bit. But Little Nightmares III may need an update or two. Still, I’m all for another journey into Nowhere. Little Nightmares III is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Fingers crossed for cross-play and cross-saving between platforms.
That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
jkgeekly.com 