Destructoid Changelog - My Precious Germs

I’m still in the process of moving to a new apartment, and I very much want out of that process. The good news is that the internet is connected and my PC is set up, the bad news is that my TV isn’t. I can survive until more of my furniture makes its way here. Probably.

We’re introducing a new exclusive feature to these newsletters. Each week, I’ll talk about what weird thing I’ve been playing over the week. It won’t be as dull as it sounds, I promise.

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In the cartridge slot this week

Moving is an incredibly stressful experience. I’m still in the process so, therefore, I’m incredibly stressed. In between packing and unpacking boxes, fitting awkward furniture through the door, and damaging the walls, I’ve been doing what I always do: playing video games. While Dryft City Kyngs was a major one (more info on my review below), I’ve also been playing the 1991 PS1 game, Germs: Nerawareta Machi.

Germs was never released in North America, and even in Japan, it seems very obscure. It was suggested to me by a community member long ago, but my Japanese reading comprehension is around the level of a Shiba Inu, and there wasn’t a fan translation until recently.

It is an extraordinarily bizarre game. You play as a journalist in an open-world city, and you investigate a strange virus that essentially bodysnatches people and animals. You drive around, meet with people, and gather information. When an area is under duress by the bodysnatchers, there is combat similar to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in that it’s done using dice rolls and stats rather than physical connection.

Germs is an awkward and janky game that lacks a lot of quality-of-life features, such as a tolerable walking speed. However, it makes up for its shortcomings with its surreal atmosphere. The city is depicted entirely in grayscale. You can drive anywhere or take public transportation, but the streets are devoid of any cars or people. It’s almost like an early version of Deadly Premonition, but a lot quieter.

Elsewhere on Destructoid

Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a hilarious ode to an often forgotten side of Britain

I’m of British heritage, but my direct family hasn’t hailed from there in well over a century. As such, I’m not sure I’d really “get” Thank Goodness You’re Here! That might be a strange thing to say, as I’m able to “get” a demon-infested military research facility on Phobos, and, to my knowledge, I have no Martian in my blood. However, there is very little subtext in space, and subtext is what I’m afraid of missing out here.

Thankfully, Paula Vaynshteyn is British and has been able to teach me a thing or two. Things like the fact that London isn’t the whole of the UK, and people from different regions have different experiences. Fascinating stuff. But she goes beyond that in explaining why, exactly, Thank Goodness You’re Here! Connects with her.

Maybe one day, someone will make a game about living in rural Ontario, but I think that would probably just be a hockey game.

10 MTG cards with the most baffling artwork

I still don’t know a whole lot about Magic: The Gathering. I only really play video games, and I haven’t seen the surface of a table in years. I wasn’t expecting to feature another article about a card game this week, but Tiago Manuel’s showcase of bizarre artwork from MTG is worth seeing.

As with his list of most useless cards, this isn’t a ranked list, but rather just a discussion. However, I’m not sure it’s possible to rate a falcon-headed person throwing the horns to a man deflecting a flail by flexing a bicep. I’m certainly not strong enough to do it.

Review: Dryft City Kyngs

You know that you’re in for a good time when a game’s title substitutes Y’s for I’s but doesn’t do it consistently. I’m just amazed that they had the willpower to not replace the final S with a Z.

Dryft City Kyngs isn’t merely a game about drifting, er… dryfting. That is to say, manipulating the traction and momentum of your car to maintain speed around tight corners and not, you know, wandering from town to town. It features an open-world city where you can work at a mundane job, buy lots of eggs, and do side quests for your “friends.” It’s sort of like Deadly Premonition with racing. Your goal is to complete challenges set by the local Dryft Lords in order to confront and usurp the Dryft King. Actually, driving is less required than you might think.

As I outline in my review, Dryft City Kings is worth playing for the personality and humor laced throughout its random elements, as well as its strange depictions of the mundane. Also, for some reason, the day job element is really enjoyable.