![]() The precursor to the popular Sunless Seas and Sunless Skies was a sense of a master plan, a story buried deep under layers of obtuse scene-setting, but only after a decent time investment was the true nature of the game revealed. It was pretty, to be sure, and a little mysterious, but it kept its cards close to its chest. On its face, Fallen London – or Echo Bazaar, as it was initially titled – was a bit of a slog to get into. All this, coupled with a uniquely dismal aesthetic, in both music and design, makes Papers Please more than just another Art House indie, rather a must-play example of why you don’t need a AAA budget to create an iconic, moving experience. Forcing players to choose between feeding their family and fighting corruption was just one of the moral quandaries thrown at us, and a healthy dose of frantic energy kept things afloat. Infuriatingly difficult to explain, maybe, but Papers, Please turned out to be as evocative and complex as many of its big-budget contemporaries. “So it’s a game, right, and in this game, you basically check immigration papers” “Okay, and?” “No, no, that’s it.” Disarmingly ominous, this uncanny sequel-remake was painfully difficult and just as dark and uncompromising as the original, but infinitely more polished and accessible. It’s why, when a remake was announced, skepticism filled the air – but Pathologic 2 was undoubtedly one of the underrated gems of 2019. It was the kind of game that, even if it didn’t suffer from low-quality graphics and poor English translation (which it did), would only really be finished by someone with something to prove. The original Pathologic was an impossibly obtuse, convoluted survival/horror RPG from Russia. A further narrative developed over on the developer’s Discord server, which can still be unearthed once the game is complete. ![]() In reality, it was a branching, compelling, endless romp through an alternate timeline – giving the player countless opportunities to abuse (or respect) their already unbalanced judicial power.Īs a faceless moderator controlling the creative output of your in-game peers, actions mattered – and a decidedly seedy underbelly of early internet capitalism was waiting to be uncovered. Hypnospace Outlaw looked like a mix between a vaporwave music video and an archived Geocities page – and could have easily focused too much energy on its attractive aesthetic and not enough on actual substance. The original game, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, didn’t receive much acclaim when it launched on the PS3, but Rocket League learned from the shortcomings of its predecessor and included more elaborate mechanics and modes – such as the game-changing Mutators and Rumble mode – to become a staple multiplayer title in most gaming libraries. Blending hyper-competitiveness with streamlined gameplay, it’s also become the perfect fodder for esports and YouTube channels alike. ![]() It may just be football with cars – the fever dream of a seven-year-old boy – but Rocket League continues to drain countless hours from even the most discerning of players. Click through the gallery above, or scroll down for the full list! Rocket League ![]()
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