Category: Platform

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Game Ramblings #84 – Unravel Two

More Info from EA

  • Genre: Puzzle/Platformer
  • Platform: PS4
  • Also Available On: Origin, Xbox One, Switch

TL;DR

  • Mechanically fantastic puzzle platformer that works just as well in single player or co-op
  • Not as big an emotional impact as the first game, but is mechanically far better as a game

It’s worth noting that I pretty much did a marathon of both the Unravel games in a few sittings. Where the first game was a solid puzzle platformer with a fantastic emotional arc straight out of Journey, the second was a much more laid back affair. However, it added a few mechanics that made it a much more solid game experience and added on a great implementation for couch co-op, so I decided that this one was the one I would ramble about. Really though, both are absolutely worth playing.

Most of the core mechanics of the game are present in this one screenshot, so it’s a good place to start.

Unravel is entirely a game about yarn, it’s the core visual feature of the main characters, it represents the binding of the two background story characters, and it’s the core limitation that keeps the players from being separated throughout the game. Like the first game, it’s also the big core physics piece that allows most of the puzzles in the game to work. Where the first game gave you limited yarn between checkpoints, this game gives you limited yarn between the two characters, which is also why this game works so well whether in single player or co-op.

The big physics mechanic that you gain with the yarn is swinging. You can hook up to points in the world and swing from them. Like the screenshot above, you can also create points by wrapping your yarn around objects that block the yarn. However, the swinging in the sequel feels a bit less physically realistic, and the game is much better off for it. The first game was generally alright for swinging, but there were a number of points where it definitely felt like I was battling the physics engine for just the right swing. In the sequel, swings feel much more set on perfect arcs (although they definitely massage this visually), so my swings and especially my jump releases were far more accurate. This move away from super physics realism also extended to some core movement. Running was distinctly faster and jumps were more rigid, giving the game a much more distinctly typical platformer feel in practice. It was definitely to the benefit of the game for them to go this direction.

The yarn can also be used just to hang, and like the screenshot above this can be used for other sorts of maneuvering. Since the two characters are independent, one can hang and move around on the rope while the second player physically swings them along. It’s a clever use of the typical platformer moving rope mechanic in a way that the player has significantly more control over the result. Done in co-op, it also means that the two players work together in a way that gives great instant feedback to what they’re doing.

The other big game mechanic added for the sequel is wall jumping. It may sound weird for something so simple, but this tremendously improved the pace of the game. The first game had a lot of sections where there wasn’t really a whole lot going on between puzzles. By simply adding wall jumps, the design toolbox was allowed to expand in a way that encouraged more simply fun platforming set pieces between puzzle areas, so the overall fun factor of the entire game improved as a result.

Puzzles definitely require both players to be doing something, which really makes co-op work well.

It’s also worth noting how literal the Two in the game title is. The entire game is playable in single player where the player switches between the two characters, or in co-op where each character is controlled separately. This co-op extends to the entire game, and the puzzles really take advantage of this. The screenshot above is a pretty simple example, where the players take turns distracting the bird to move to the end of the puzzle. However, these extend to areas where the co-op players activate weights to move set pieces around, to puzzles where the players have to heavily use the yarn rope physics to swing themselves to the right spots and help each other up, and more. This is as good of a couch co-op experience as I’ve ever seen in a platformer, and unlike New Super Mario Bros U, this is definitely designed to make co-op fun instead of frustrating.

I can’t leave this without mentioning the visuals – this game looks fantastic throughout.

The two Unravel games are pretty damn special. The first is an emotional gut punch that follows a similar arc to Journey, and in doing so gives a really strong puzzle/platformer game. The second makes the game mechanically far better, and at the same time adds one of the best platformer co-op experiences I’ve ever seen. This is on top of great visuals, great audio, and a phenomenal soundtrack backing it all up. These two games have been pretty easy to miss, especially on PC where they’re relegated to Origin, but it’s absolutely worth putting in the effort to seek these out, especially the sequel.

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Game Ramblings #83 – SteamWorld Dig 2

More Info from Image & Form Games

  • Genre: Metroidvania – Action/Adventure
  • Platform: Switch
  • Also Available On: Windows, macOS, Linux, PS4, Vita, 3DS, Xbox One

TL;DR

  • Fantastic Metroidvania that mixes that genres typical features with a solid mining mechanic to push progression
  • Great visual style and audio kick up the presentation aspects of this title
  • Fantastic gameplay loop that really fits the on-the-go nature of the Switch

My ramblings don’t hide at all that I’m a big fan of Metroidvania titles. However, I typically stay away from playing them on portable devices since the gameplay loop doesn’t typically feel that good in short bursts. SteamWorld Dig 2 is definitely a big exception to that rule. In crafting a really solid Metroidvania title on its own, the team behind this game has also crafted one that encourages fast travel and exploration in short bursts with frequent returns to base to power up, and given us a title that is both a great Metroidvania as well as the perfect game to play on the go, even if that wasn’t exactly how I went ahead playing it.

This is 100% a Metroidvania, so of course you’ll be spending a lot of time in the map looking for new secrets.

Let’s get this out of the way – yes there’s a whole lot of digging in this game, but this is still a Metroidvania in every way. There’s a ton of secret areas to find, a ton of upgrades to get along the way, and a lot of little enemies to destroy for loot. You’ll spend a lot of time traversing and retraversing levels as you gain access to abilities to let you get through new block types, let you grapple hook, let you fly, and more. However, it is that little mining detail that really separates this game from the pack.

Digging is in the name of the game, and it’s what you’ll really be building your abilities around.

While combat is there to some extent, digging is the real core upgrade loop here and it isn’t as simple as it looks. Throughout the game you end up gaining upgrades to your pickaxe, but you also gain a bunch of other things with similarly destructive tendencies. This ranges from things like jackhammers to mines to grenade launchers, all set in a bid to blow up as much stuff in your way as possible, and the more destructive it gets the more entertaining the result. Throughout this entire process you’re also digging not just to clear paths, but to find gems to sell, upgrade tokens for obvious purposes, and the occasional treasure that can be traded for upgrade blueprints. Basically, you’ll want to always be digging somewhere in order to find every little thing that can be used to move you along the upgrade path.

There’s also a bunch of really smart passive upgrades that may sound weird to Metroidvania veterans, but really do a good job of smoothing out the grind as the game goes on. Just when you get tired of gems falling down into pits, you can purchase an upgrade to draw gems into the player. Just when you’re getting tired of searching every nook and cranny for gems, you can purchase an upgrade that visualizes these things on your active minimap. Just when you’re starting to get tired of searching for those last few little hidden spots, you gain an item that will show a sparkle in-world if you’re near a hidden breakable block. These are all things that simplify the experience to be sure, but they’re given at points well past where mechanics are learned as a reward for getting so far, so they end up feeling like a huge thank you to reduce grind mechanics at the point where it would start to become tiring.

Sometimes you just accidentally start up fire robots to take out enemies that are ahead of you. Oops.

However, the thing that most impressed me is how good this entire loop works for a portable device. Getting through this game is a huge bunch of effectively 5-10 minute sequences where you mine for a bit, fill your bag, and return to town to sell your loot and upgrade your abilities. This is smartly capped by other things that make you want to go back to town anyway, such as a lantern that runs out of fuel, water resources that can sometimes be hard to find, or health that can sometimes be a bit difficult to come by. Typically these things could be really frustrating, but in practice it really reenforces the loot, sell, upgrade loop that Dig 2 is pushing so hard for. There’s a ton of fast travel devices that you unlock all over the world, so there’s almost always somewhere near your start and end of a single loop to warp around which does a ton for minimizing unnecessary retravesal as well.

This basically then becomes the perfect portable title. Grab your Switch, 3DS, or Vita, play for 5-10 minutes, get a loop in, and put the device to sleep. You’re always making progress, always increasing your power curve just a bit, and always doing something beneficial to getting towards the end. With a typical playthrough clocking in at the 6-8 hour range, this gives you a whole bunch of little loot loops to take advantage of as well so you end up getting a bunch of mileage out of it when played this way.

Really this ends up being a great Metroidvania title, even if it’s a bit off the typical path for this genre. Even just from presentatin aspects this one hits all the right marks. Visually this is a looker, the audio and soundtrack are all fantastic, and the framerate and controls are solid throughout. From a portable perspective this is also the perfect way to play the genre, with a game loop that enforces a 5-10 minute mini-run setup instead of longer form gameplay that these can sometimes get stuck in. Would this game work fine as a console or PC experience as well? Absolutely. However, I think this one really nails it as something you’ll want to bring along with you as the perfect travel companion experience.

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Game Ramblings #82 – Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

More Info from Bandai Namco

  • Genre: JRPG
  • Platform: PS4
  • Also Available On: Xbox One, Switch, Windows
  • Originally Released On: Xbox 360, PS3 (Japan only)

TL;DR

  • Roughly decade old Tales of title remastered for current generation, first time seeing expanded PS3 content in North America
  • Game that has aged well despite some of the improvements to the overall Tales of gameplay since its release

I had the weirdest lack of memory about the second half of this game as I was playing it, as if I hadn’t ever gotten that far in the original release. This is despite me basically finishing all Tales of titles since Symphonia. From playing it this time, I knew it wasn’t because I didn’t enjoy the game – the combat in this entry is probably what I’d consider the best representation of the more classic side-scrolling Tales of combat. I also know it wasn’t because of a difficulty spike as I never really had a point where I felt like the difficulty curve was anything but correct. At the end of the day I never did figure that out and I never hooked up my 360 to figure out how far I had originally gotten, but in my 50 or so hours with this game, I came away knowing that this still holds up as a fantastic RPG worth playing.

Combat is still the main focus here to no surprise.

Combat in Vesperia is about as close as I could point to this series’ classic combat style still playable on a modern platform. Games after this added new elements that really played with the system – Graces removed TP and added a bunch of side stepping, Xillia played around a lot more with a 3D battle space, Berseria played around with swapping characters in real time while pushing further into 3D. Basically, Vesperia pretty closely represents the end result of years of them iterating on a 2D system, and it is still a thrill to play.

The main focus here is still some really fun and fast paced combos consisting of basic attacks and special attacks. Where this game really pushed things is in the use of gear skills. Some armor, and nearly all weapons have skills that can be earned over time. Once earned, the character permanently unlocks the skill as a toggleable item. These can range from passive stat boosts to attack replacements. The real fun ones for combat end up being the combo modifiers.

These can extend your combo, make parts of your combos different elements, make parts of your combo scale better and more. It basically becomes an involved metagame in trying to build out your attack combo in a way that best suits your style in order to maximize both damage, and in many ways maximize the amount of time you can stun lock your opponents. After all, more stuns equals less damage taken equals better chance at winning. The balance here is incredibly rewarding when you find the skill setup that best meets your style, and gives a lot of flexibility to the player in fighting specifically how they want.

Get used to these guys, you’ll be spending all your time with them.

That’s not to say that all parts of the combat system have aged incredibly well, but they’re in ways that are sadly familiar to Tales of players. The AI in general can basically be depended on to do the worst thing possible, even if you tweak their AI setup. In the end my best course of action was usually keeping one person on full time healing, and not allow them to attack, thereby keeping them out of danger and having to focus on healing only themselves. The other AI generally had their best result in using ONLY basic attacks, or they’d sometimes stand around just waiting to use skills. I’d much rather them be doing basic attacks to stun the enemies, and allow me to run around doing larger damage under my own control. The stun locks also work both ways, with some of the later bosses being basically stun lock management and a setup where I spent more time free running avoiding attacks, then doing poke damage when possible instead of actively being in combat. In a lot of points bosses can basically stun lock you 100->0 if you get hit with the wrong thing and your AI partners don’t interrupt the chain.

Visually the game has held up well, with a few more modern enhancements keeping this one up to speed despite its age.

The rest of the experience is unsurprising. Visually, the anime style that the Tales of series has always used has aged really well. The resolution bump on the new consoles has helped out a bit, and some light use of depth of field and similar screen effects has given this a bit more modern flair. The story is a bit take it or leave it, with the usual amount of incoming apocalypse melodrama typical of the series. However, the characters are generally likable and the banter between them is a lot of fun. This one also has pretty solid voice acting, and the entire set of skits has also gained the voice acting done for the PS3 Japan release. Overall, this one really didn’t need to do much to still hold up, but the little pieces done to remaster the title keep it up to modern expectations for the series.

I guess my end recommendation here is basically to play this, especially if you’ve liked any of the Tales of games on modern consoles. The battle system would be a bit different than those, but still has great flow despite its often 2D nature. The gear skills in particular are a customization wrinkle that I wish more games in general would take advantage of. The rest of the experience is typical of Tales of games, and that should frame whether or not you think you’d like it. However, even having played it before, I still put the 50 hours in to finish it again so that should give the best kind of idea of how much I think this is worth playing.