Destructoid Changelog - Good Enough For Science

It’s been a week! Again. But it’s been an okay week, especially since I had Monday off. The calendar has been flipped and we’re closing in on the official start of Fall. Some of the trees here already have a head start at changing color, and those trees are cowards afraid to face Winter head-on.

I’ve piled on quite a few (too many) games for review this month, so I’ve been plucking my way through them. Thankfully, some of them are relatively short, so I should still be able to fit some sleep into my schedule. I wish all the games I’m interested in about would stop coming out at such a rapid pace, but also, I want them now.

Unfortunately, more games got added to that list of games I want now this week, which I’m excited to talk about. Well, as excited as I can get. A genetic defect passed through my bloodline renders me unable to feel joy. I’m sure you’ve noticed.

However, if you know someone who is still capable of feeling joy, maybe suggest they sign up for this newsletter. It might make someone feel joy, but I wouldn’t know.

In the cartridge slot this week

Black Bird

I’m back on my Yoshiro Kimura fixation again after (and while) playing Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada. Black Bird is essentially Fantasy Zone if you stuck it in goth clothing. A girl dies in poverty on the street and transforms into a strange bird creature that exacts revenge on the uncaring society that ignored her pleas.

Or that’s how I interpret it. The cutscenes sandwiched between levels are all silent and vague.

The game is about, essentially, wreaking havoc. You mercilessly tear through cities, with your goal being to eliminate guard towers. Along the way, you tear through enemies, trying to stop your rampage and collect the gems they drop to become more powerful. As is law for this sort of game, there’s a boss at the end of each level. Once you complete normal mode, you then have to go through “True Mode” where you’ll get an ending based on how much score you can rack up.

It’s short, but it’s great. It’s not the most precise shooter, but it makes up for it with style. It features the Kimura crew’s signature bizarreness in its character design, and while the story is dark, the edge is taken off by its weird humor. Yoshiro Kimura aside, I’m mostly hear for Hirofumi Taniguchi, a composer who frequently works with Kimura. He scored Chulip and Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, among others. Black Bird is one of his best contributions. It’s very strange with its opera-esque gibberish singing. So good.

This is probably all leading up to a replay of Chulip, so be warned.

Elsewhere on Destructoid

I’m just hearing about extreme delivery game Parcel Corps now that it’s delayed until later this year

Destructoid actually covered Parcel Corps a few times before, so I’m not sure how I missed it. I’ve been looking for a game specifically like it ever since playing Courier Crisis, so it’s funny how it didn’t register. Now its delay, though. Hopefully, it doesn’t land at a busy time.

I tried the demo to help with writing the article. It’s like Tony Hawk’s Pro Bike Courier. The movement system is pretty polished, and I love the art style so, so much. I can stand waiting a few months for it, but it’s solidly on my wishlist.

PvP dating sim Pick Me Pick Me sounds great until you find out you’re flirting with AI

As much as I hate it, I see the appeal of generative AI in video games. The idea that NPCs could have unscripted conversations is an interesting one, even if I don’t think it will be either better or more cost-effective than bespoke writer-scripted ones. More importantly, I don’t think you should try to screw them. I don’t mean that in a “there should be no sex in video games” kind of way, but rather that you shouldn’t try to copulate with your computer.

That’s kind of what Pick Me Pick Me is. It’s a PvP dating game where you flirt with a chatbot. You can package AI however you want, but it still sounds to me like putting lipstick on your print driver. Maybe that’s all my years of working in I.T. talking, but I can’t see a program as anything but a miserable pile of inflexible routine and human error.

Low Budget Repairs certainly explains a lot of my apartment renovations

This is one of the best trailers I’ve ever seen for a game. You play as a Polish landlord who is renovating their apartments as cheaply (and quickly, it seems) as possible. It looks incredibly detailed. Suspiciously detailed, even, so I’m wondering if it will reach its ambitions.

I want to know how they incentivize doing a really crappy job. How do you discourage a player from painstakingly doing things correctly? Low Budget Repairs has shot up my list of anticipated games. There’s no release date, but I’ll fit it into any packed review schedule. Just watch me.

Reviews for review this week

Review-in-Progress: Star Trucker

This isn’t a full, complete review, but we only have one of those this week, so I thought I’d mix things up a bit. I had a week to play Star Trucker before embargo, and for various reasons, I didn’t get far enough into it to be comfortable giving a full review, so I pushed that back a bit.

It’s good. It has a steep learning curve that it seems like a lot of Steam users aren’t gelling with, but I find myself enjoying it more the more I get acquainted with it.

Astro Bot

I wasn’t really watching Astro Bot leading up to release, but it has my attention now. Amidst the other glowing reviews is our Managing Editor, Chris Carter. Really, Astro Bot comes at a unique time with Concord getting taken off shelves. A big-budget live service game that seemingly no one wanted getting shut down next to a single-player title that receives critical acclaim is certainly a statement. Hopefully, publishers take note.