Destructoid Changelog - Lessons in atmosphere and hand meats

Welcome to Friday, friend. Hopefully, you have the weekend coming up. If not, then maybe you still have time to rest. As the human resources person at my old job used to tell me, “Take care of yourself, because no one will do it for you.” You know, at first, that sounds like something HR really shouldn’t say, but there’s truth to it. She could give me the tools – time off, mediation, emotional support – but I’d have to make them work for me. So, do some self-care.

I could use some self-care, except I’m really bad at it. I’ve been plowing through games and bumping out reviews. Last night, I did Killing Time: Resurrected in one sitting. It was worth it. More on that in the reviews section.

Speaking of reviews, have you ever wondered why most of my reviews are in the 5-9 point range? It’s not because I don’t use the whole scale; I have given games scores below 5 in the past. It’s actually because I get to pick what games I review, and I’m always going to choose ones that I think I’m going to enjoy. Most readers probably wouldn’t want to hear me dunk on a game that I chose just so I could. And trust me, there are plenty of games that cross my desk that I can recognize aren’t going to be very good. Although, that has probably led me to overlook a few that actually are.

So, because I can pass on games that look outwardly terrible, it’s going to skew my average toward the positive. I think – and I never trust my own assessment of myself – that I can be a harsher critic than most, even when I like a game. Criticism just comes easier to me than praise, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to look for a game just to pick on.

While we’re on the subject of picking on, I must once again urge you to refer a friend to this newsletter using the link below the next break. Doing so will get you set up to receive our special monthly edition newsletter. Each month, you’ll get to read an exclusive interview with an interesting developer. Last month, it was Anthology of the Killer creator, TheCatamites. This month, it will be with the person behind Dryft City Kyngs, Magicdweedoo. It won’t be your typical interview. It will be… special.

In the cartridge slot this week

Bernband

When I wrote about the launch of Grunn, I mentioned how I identified it as being by the creator of Bernband, and it’s really difficult to figure out how I gleaned that. The important thing is that Bernband is still burned into my mind over a decade after its release.

There isn’t much to Bernband. It’s a simple game, where you just walk around. Most games in the “walking simulator” genre at least have puzzles or even a narrative. Bernband doesn’t. Instead, you’re left to wander the suggestion of a city. You can only see the bright lights on the dark silhouettes of distant buildings. You pass by nightclubs, concert halls, and even a night school. They’re all connected by non-descript grey corridors.

That might all seem pointless, but there is a reason to play it. It’s to observe the way that the alien can be made to feel familiar through the use of lighting and sound. Leaving the raucous sounds of a bar and stepping into a quiet hallway with only an unplaceable ambient hum keeping you company evokes the feeling of stepping out of a venue and into a hot summer night.

Some rooms are quite literally just four walls, but you can somehow tell that the place you start is your apartment. The hallways has one other doorway and a person wandering it, but you can understand they’re your neighbor. Or maybe that’s just me, maybe it will evoke something else from you.

I imagine this projection of atmosphere was what Tom van den Boogart intended, but the surprising part is how effortless it feels, as though the depth of its effectiveness is somewhat unintentional. In that way, it’s similar to Citizen Abel: Gravity Bone. Quietly influential games.

You can play Bernband for free. Even if it doesn’t make you feel like I felt, it won’t take you long to see everything. Then maybe consider Grunn.

Elsewhere on Destructoid

In Ketsu Battler, you put a Joy-Con in your pants and shake your butt to fight

I wish I was the one who wrote this, but Joseph “Motherlode” Luster probably did a better job at it than I would have. “Ketsu” is one of my favorite Japanese words cemented in my vocabulary, literally meaning “butt.” So, yeah, Ketsu Battler means Butt Battler. And you’re supposed to stick the Joycon in your waistband, then wiggle your butt around. Genius. Absolute genius.

How do you even remaster Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness?

Not to toot my own horn, but I think I nailed it with the headline “Aspyr is compiling Core Design’s death march in Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered.” However, Tiago “Turbo” Manuel, whose passion for Tomb Raider is infectious, goes deeper into why it’s so bizarre to see Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness get a remaster. Not that he or I think it shouldn’t be remastered, but Aspyr has some decisions to make.

Preorders open next week for the Analogue’s FPGA-powered N64 recreation

Analogue’s recreation consoles are firmly in the enthusiast category of retro gaming, but if you’ve ever owned one, they’re quality machines. The Analogue 3D is pretty noteworthy, since N64 is a console that will benefit heavily from FPGA hardware emulation. Software emulation has always had a tough time with the console, and even the best emulator runs into compatibility issues that shouldn’t be present in Analogue’s new system. It’s just too bad I’ve already dropped so much money on a Retrotink 4K.

Reviews for review this week

Europa

I really have no interest in Europa. It looks fine, but I need to see a bit more than just “inspired by Studio Ghibli” to grab me. It was enough for Chris “Plucky” Penwell, however, and he really seemed to dig it.

Super Mario Party Jamboree

My family and I have been playing the Mario Party games since the first one released on the N64. If you’re not familiar, that entry had mini-games where you had to rotate the joystick as fast as possible. That’s a bad idea for a couple of reasons. The N64 joystick was terrible and was prone to dying from simple wear and tear. My family went through quite a few controllers.

The more important problem is that you can rotate faster by laying your palm on the stick and rotating with your whole arm rather than just your thumb. Not only does this put more pressure on the stick, but it also agitates your hand. My mother and I played so much that we developed blisters on our palms. We’d usually then just use a different part of our hand. Eventually, we called a truce – no more palm rotating. However, whenever we’d get competitive, one of us would break the truce and start using our palm again.

Legend has it that you could call Nintendo and get a special glove sent to you due to a lawsuit against the company. I’ve never seen concrete proof of this, but it’s been commonly reported, even back in the day.

Anyway, Super Mario Party Jamboree is great and probably won’t destroy your hand meats.

Sniper Killer

I’ve been following Puppet Combo and the people in his orbit for a while now, which lead me to the duo of Henry Hoare and Black Eyed Priest. Sniper Killer is their third collaboration, and while it may not be their best (actually, it might be their worst), it’s still worth playing for some less conventional horror. If you’re anything like me, you’ll also get Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads stuck in your brain whenever you hear the name.

Retrorealms

You know, I’ve never seen Halloween? I’ve seen most of the second movie, but I know that doesn’t count for much. Anyway, I know the jist of it, and I know who Michael Myers was, and I have seen the Evil Dead movies, so I was ready for WayForward’s Retrorealms. It’s a 3D hub for two retro-style games based on Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead.

Maybe I don’t know Halloween, but I do know retro platformers, and these are some pretty basic and unimaginative ones.

Killing Time: Resurrected

I started Killing Time: Resurrected late Wednesday evening and didn’t stop until I hit the end. I only had dalliances with Killing Time’s 3DO version, which was rather rough. Nightdive’s remaster of it is incredible. Not just the lengths they go to when it comes to preserving it, but the way it smooths out the experience and helps it shine. It is such an interesting FPS for a 1995 game. It went far beyond just satisfying my curiosity and practically blew me away. If you haven’t played the original – and even if you have – you should definitely check it out.