Moonscars

 

Sacrificial Elements

What do you get when you combine Binding of Isaac with a light management sim?  Apparently, you get Cult of the Lamb.  Despite the potential for horror, this indie title opts to instead to go for an absurdist comedy angle.  It works surprisingly well, in no small part due to the whimsical art and presentation.  That said, it's not perfectly executed.

One of the stylistic choices the game makes is to use flat two-dimensional sprites in three-dimensional spaces.  This isn't necessarily a problem except that it doesn't look so great from an isometric perspective.  Other games that make use of this sort of thing, such as the original Darkest Dungeon,  keep the PoV near ground level so that the 2D sprites blend well enough with the 3D environments.  The same is true for games that are top-down like Gratuitous Space Battles.  Again, I want to stress that an isometric view can work with 2D sprites; just look at Bastion for an example of how it was done right.  In the case of Cult of the Lamb though, it feels off to me.  Normally, I wouldn't care all that much, but in combat situations it can be a bit tricky to parse out what is happening on-screen.  Paper Mario avoided this confusion by making combat largely turn-based rather than the fast, reflex-driven gameplay that the player's lamb avatar and cult leader is expected to pull off.  Paper Mario also had an in-game conceit as to why all characters were flat as paper...as far as I can tell though, Cult of the Lamb doesn't have a reason for it.

In an interesting twist, there are some features of the game integrated into Twitch.  For example, viewers on Twitch can enter a raffle to have there user-name appear on a cult member, and they can even customize the appearance of said cultist.  Twitch channel points can be donated to increase an energy bar above the cult compound totem.  Once it fills completely the personal playing game is provided with a random award.  Lastly, viewers can participate in events by voting on the outcome.  Since I'm not a Twitch streamer, I doubt ill ever get to use any of these features.  Still...it's neat to see game developers trying new things. 

Before Resident Evil there was...

I get irrationally annoyed whenever people say Resident Evil was the first survival horror game.  It bothers me because long before the original Resident Evil came out there were precursors such as Haunted House for the Atari 2600 and Sweet Home for the NES. Even if we're talking purely in terms of the classic mechanics of the subgenre, RE1 still released two years after another game that was extremely similar - Alone in the Dark.  

In terms of gameplay, these two survival horror games have nearly the same feature set: fixed camera angles, polygonal models over pre-rendered backgrounds and tank controls.  The settings are also pretty similar: a creepy estate, collectables, object-driven puzzles and even zombies.  The only two big improvements RE1 made were an aiming assist and voice acting.  Thematically, there are some noteworthy differences in terms of overall vibes.

Alone in the Dark was largely inspired by the short stories of H.P. Lovecraft whereas Resident Evil was influenced by zombie movies made by the likes of George Romero.  Of course, this comparison only really applies to the first entry in each respective franchise.  As we all know Resident Evil has spawned a bewildering number of sequels and spin-offs over the years, many of which took the IP in unexpected directions.  The same is also true for Alone in the Dark, though there have only been two mainline sequels and two spin-offs...until now.

The original Alone in the Dark is being reimagined and expanded upon.  It's actually not the first attempt to do so.  There was an aborted remake back in 2003.  However, it appears that this version will eventually see the light of day.  Honestly, I'm not sure how I fell about it.  The original dev team was wise to keep the focus on the Derceto Mansion since it provides that genre-essential feeling of isolation and dread.  Adding a bunch of other story elements and NPCs might diluted what made the original work.  On the other hand, there is an opportunity to make the two main characters more fleshed out.  In the original, choosing between Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood was little more than a "do you want to play a guy or girl?" starting choice.  Neither had significant differences in terms of how they controlled,  nor did the story unfold any differently depending on the player-selected protagonist.  A reimagining could address that and perhaps intertwine the two character's respective story arcs in interesting ways.  It's a feature that the Resident Evil 2 remake missed out on with Leon and Clare.

Let's hope Alone in the Dark doesn't make the same misstep.

Evolution...or Mutation?

 

Plants, Please

Somewhat of an indie darling, Strange Horticulture is simultaneously the name of a video game, the name of the plant shop in said game, and a pretty good two word summery of what the game is about.  Set in a fictionalized version of England's Lake District, players take the role of a shopkeeper and proprietor of houseplants.  As far as I can tell, none of the plants featured in the game exist in real life, so for better or worse I couldn't get in-game versions of any of the the half-dozen kinds of decorative plants I actually have in my home right now.  That said, a wide variety of visually interesting plants are featured in the game, including some which have very outlandish properties.  

The gameplay feels kind of similar to titles like Potion Craft: Alchemy Simulator and Papers, Please.  Customers come into the store, usually to request a plant by name or a solution to a problem they are having.  Either way, the player must then puzzle out which of the initially unlabeled stock is the correct one to give (based on clues provided by the customer or found in a specimen catalogue).  New plants can be acquired by traveling via a grid-like map, though knowing were to go involves following clues and tips provided from a variety of sources.  Later in the game a storyline involving a cult and a covenant of witches materializes, but I won't spoil that by going into any further detail.  

Overall, Strange Horticulture is an atmospheric puzzle game with a laid-back, albeit slightly sinister vibe.  The punishment for guessing incorrectly is mild and the process of figuring out what to do is just challenging in enough that it feels satisfying when the solution is found.  On top of that, there is a built-in hint system that the player can use if they're feeling stumped.  It would have been nice to see more sketches and artwork depicting what the wider world looks like, but that might be asking for more than what the brothers duo dev team can provide (given the extremely limited resources at their disposal).  As for criticisms, there are two things that I initially found slightly confusing.  

The first is the fact that ringing the countertop bell calls a customer.  Normally, it's the other way around.  Of course, I understand the reason for this.  The developers want the player to be able advance at their own pace.  It's just that this particular aspect of the game is pretty much the opposite of how it works in the real world.  

The other thing is the act of giving a plant to a customer doesn't actually deprive the player of that plant.  Presumably, a cutting or extra unseen specimen is what is actually being provided...still I found it weird at first.  Again, I understand why it's this way.  The process of growing more plants would involve harvesting seeds; not to mention worrying about things like soil, water, temperature, and sunlight.  Features like that would blow out the scope of the game quite a bit and, while great ideas to consider for a potential sequel, the implementation of them would undoubtedly makes things a bit more complex than what the developers probably had in mind.  Regardless, I'm looking forward to the announcement that "Audrey II" will be available in the form of DLC.