…is a deceptively dark game that will take you on an experience from charming to devastating.
PlayStation VR2 is really beginning to feel natural the more and more I use it. The motion sickness I would find with every session of the original PlayStation VR is not present here. Now without any sickness VR experiences are immersive, and the distractions of the outside world fade out. Before Your Eyes will take you on an immersive and emotional experience using only my eyes.
The game starts off with you as a soul on a ferry. The ferryman of the boat is a wolf who is taking you to be judged on the life you lived. On the way the ferryman wants to hear your story, all of it, from birth to death. Starting from a baby you experience some monumental moments, maybe too many, at first they are of birthdays, your first pet, learning the piano. As you age the weight of the world gets deeper, and more sorrowful. The ferryman brings you back from time to time and it’s here that you understand some unexpected events that reinterprets the whole story you’ve experienced. To say more would spoil a story that is one of the best narrative experiences I’ve played in a game.
Before Your Eyes is just that, every moment passes with the blink of your eye. The eye tracking never misses a beat, showing how well it works when the whole game is reliant on using it to function. When the narrative ramps up into adulthood I was blinking much more as my eyes tired and I would have scenes skipped faster than I wanted. Sometimes you blink forgetting that you shouldn’t and you are onto the next scene. When I was blinking more I enjoyed the pacing of the story better. Personally a downfall of the game is there is too much context to the story at times. One of my favourite games is Virginia and it cuts to the next scene before you are given all the context allowing for me to fill in the blanks and give my own interpretation to the story.
There was a bug that crashed the game for me when I was three-quarters through. When I booted it back up I had to start again, so I waited till the next day and finished it without any problems in one sitting. The game is so good that it didn’t even annoy me that I had to replay most of the game again. The second time I sat in a chair more relaxed and didn’t hold the Sense controllers. Towards the visuals, I think the screenshots in this post reflect an accurate look of how good the game looks in PlayStation VR2.
Before Your Eyes is a beautifully woven narrative that will leave you feeling very empathic by the end. This game is worth getting a PlayStation VR2 for.
In 2013 the game studio Naughty Dog released The Last of Us. The game was a departure from the studio’s jovial action-adventure Uncharted series. Unlike Uncharted, The Last of Us was carried with dark undertones, horror, and survival elements. As time goes by the esteem this game garners has only grown, and today has solidified itself as a landmark game that is still stylised by PlayStation first party titles. A sequel was released in 2020 taking place after the events of the first game. Lastly a remake of the first game was released last year bringing the game up to scuff with modern gameplay and graphics in anticipation for the HBO show.
Since the launch of the game The Last of Us had been in the process of being developed into a feature film with Sam Raimi at the helm. Many video game properties were stuck in development hell finding it difficult to take an interactive property into a passive form of entertainment. The floodgates seem to be opening for video game adaptations now that HBO’s The Last of Us has given a workable blueprint to exploring an adaptation. Through standalone episodes and expanding on the world’s mythology HBO has made The Last of Us a unique television event that no longer belongs with gamers, but to everyone.
The Last Of Us
The Last of Us starts off with an interview from 1968 with a scientist talking about how he believes fungi is potentially much more worse than a virus or flu if there was to ever be a pandemic. The story then cuts to the day of the outbreak in 2003. Joel (Pedro Pascal), brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Joel’s daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), experience their last normal day letting us get a glimpse into their life. The day unfolds with things happening in the background that show things are not right, much like how Shaun of the Dead reveals the zombies to the audience unbeknownst to protagonist Shaun. Once nightfall hits everyone is consumed by the chaos. Joel, Tommy, and Sarah leave their homes immediately for an escape as they experience the terror of this “zombie” outbreak. Not everyone survives the night as (Redacted) dies in a shocking scene that is also a revelation of how gone society is.
Twenty years later and we’re in 2023. The world didn’t recover, it’s barely surviving. The government is corrupt, and fighting with a resistance group called the Fireflies. Joel is changed, his humour is gone, and his occupation is smuggling. Between the infighting Joel has made a steady living for government rations. After a smuggling deal goes wrong Joel finds himself forced to smuggle the teen girl Ellie (Bella Ramsey) for the Fireflies to another town. The episode ends with another reveal that will answer what Ellie’s importance is to the Fireflies. The two will journey across the country over the span of a year to smuggle Ellie to her destination, between raiders and zombies this will not be easy. This is just the beginning of the journey and what an adventure it will be.
The high point of the season comes from the stand alone story of Bill and Frank found in episode three. Joel and Ellie bookend the episode to fit the story into the overarching narrative. The episode chronicles Bill (Nick Offerman), a conspiracy and survivalist hermit, and Frank (Murray Bartlett) who finds haven in Bill’s Town come to live in this world post outbreak. It is one of the most moving episodes of television that will bring tears to your eyes. It’s an episode that shows us why these people choose to live in a world filled with fear and destruction. The answer is love, and the fact that these two can share that for twenty years is why life is worth fighting for. If there was an episode you wanted to show off to someone uninterested in the show, put this episode on and this will have them invested.
HBO has always been particularly good with standalone episodes. By using them in The Last of Us reveals how we can learn more about the world and leave the confines of the game in favour of new material. After the reception to the Bill and Frank episode I’m sure HBO is looking into a spin-off show that can look at new characters and stories in the world. The thing about Joel and Ellie is it’s just one small story in this world, and there are so many more that can be explored in other characters if they can find an interesting narrative thread worthy of a spin-off.
The greatest weakness of The Last of Us is that we don’t get to spend enough time with Joel and Ellie together. The game has one of the greatest bonds and as Joel we would do anything for these two characters because we share so much time together. In HBO’s The Last of Us we spend small bursts with the two characters together. Two episodes of the nine are stand alone episodes, one has Joel out of commission, the first episode barely has Ellie in it. Overall, there are like five episodes where there is any time for the two characters to bond, but I don’t know if that’s enough time to earn the emotional payoff to come in the next season.
The Last of Us season one is a show well executed. I wouldn’t say it is one of the greatest shows ever, not even close, but it’s fun event television. The show will not replace my enjoyment or my continued replays of the game in the future. It’s nice knowing that the story and characters are breaking outside the sphere of gaming and into the greater pop culture. I fear the wait for season two will be a couple of years away, so you have time to experience the two games in the mean time. If you are yet to experience it, The Last of Us is a must watch.
Battlefield is a franchise that has managed to lose its identity more and more with each new title. It’s never a bad thing to see a franchise trying to stay fresh and evolve, but Battlefield has changed to chase the dollar over creativity. Even titles like Battlefield: Hotline was at least an intreating attempt at changing the franchise, but now with Battlefield 2042 it feels as if the franchise is flatlining. Critics gave Battlefield 2042 mediocre reviews, however the players spoke critically of the game due to game breaking bugs, and a lack of features missing from previous entries. Most notably Battlefield 2042 has no single player campaign. Battlefield titles usually launch broken, and by the time they have the game working properly the player base is gone, so maybe now is the time to check it out before the servers feel dead.
Mincraft Dungeons has always looked really fun. It does seem to look like it’s more geared towards children with simplistic dungeon crawling. Like Diablo it would likely be a blast to play with friends. It’s great to see Mincraft continue to be supported on PlayStation, and next moth Minecraft Legends comes to the platform too. Be sure to add Minecraft Dungeons to to your library.
Code Vein is another soulsborne inspired game that has always appealed to me through the artwork. It looks good and reviewed well. If you are not burned out, or are looking for another soulsborne game this one might be for you.
All three titles are available from the 7th March for the PlayStation Plus Essential tier until April 3rd 2023. Battlefield 2042 is the only PlayStation 5 title in the essential tier this month, and it is also available on PlayStation 4.
The promise of VR to me is having the chance to explore new worlds. Kayak VR: Mirage lets you do just that with real places, from Antartica to Australia. This was the first game I fired up on the PlayStation VR2, not to Kayak, but to relax in.
I’ve never gone kayaking, however I do believe this title lets you experience a glimpse of what it feels like. If you paddle like you’re meant to your arms will experience the burning pain from using those muscles. Originally I was using the oar right until I found I could twirl my wrists in circular motions to give the same feedback as if I was kayaking properly. I didn’t purchase the game to race against others, which is I’m glad it feels secondary to exploring the wonderful sights.
There is an optional quest that can be found in each area that has you take an inflatable toy to another area. To do so you need to manoeuvre it with your Kayak and Oar. This sort of thing is fun. You also find areas that seem to be a trick on the eyes from afar until you paddle up to them and find it was real. This could be where the title Mirage comes into the game. You can choose to experience each map by day, night, and even stormy weather. The variety is great and keeps the maps feeling new and unique.
My favourite thing I did was chased a whale that I saw from one side of the map going above water. It was gone by the time I got there. So I stuck my head underwater and sure enough was able to see the whale still under the water moving. Every time I thought I was catching up to him I would stick my head back under the water and course correct. If you are right above him you can see him from above your Kayak too. Whenever I was close I was met with a bit of fear in sticking my head underwater in fear I would meet him face on. The beauty of VR in a game like this is sensing the size of things. After chasing the whale for some time I ended up feeling like Ahab. Ironically once the whale came up from the water at the front of my Kayak I achieved the trophy Moby Dick for spotting a whale.
If Kayaking is not your thing and you would just like to float about in open water on different maps this game will still be a treat for you. The price point is good and I feel like I have had my money’s worth without even pursuing the racing components of the game. Kayak VR: Mirage is a great title to show the family and friends. It may even work for some as a gym workout for the arms. Or just a game to warmup with before jumping into some VR games. Overall, Kayak VR: Mirage is a lovely experience.
From the outside, this game was a laugh when it came out last year. Are people seriously playing a power washing simulator? It’s popularity was in no small part due to it dropping on Xbox GamePass. The head scratcher wasn’t necessarily that people were playing it, but that they were saying it was great.
PowerWash Simulator is indeed just that, a cleaning simulator. Why not? Every simulator feels as though it has covered the rudimentary going ons of life. Simulators are popular and few stand out at the top like Farming Simulator and Train Simulator World. You approach every map with the goal to clean. Things are dirty like they’ve been sitting at the bottom of a lake. Starting with the simple power washer you can approach the dirt however you like from one side to the other or start in the middle. You can choose between different power wash models that offer stronger power, and attachments that allow for you to get into those hard to reach high spots.
One of the high points of the game is how beautiful looking it is. When you wash an area you don’t always know what exactly the colours are beneath the dirt, It wasn’t until the Playground level that I went from liking the game to loving it. In this level you when you wash the foam ground you get to see the colours come forth as if the playground was brand new again. Like an archaeologist discovering the past I was taping into my nostalgia and remembering playing on playgrounds similar to those. One of the down points is also in the game’s beauty because if you miss any specks of dirt it’s hard to complete some sections when it all looks clean to you.
This game has the most on point “ding” in gaming. Every time you complete one piece in a map to one hundred percent you are met with a “ding” chime similarly to the sound when you get a playstation trophy. Each time it gives you a slight endorphin rush for the next one, so you may think you are ready to call it quits for the session and instead find yourself finishing the map instead. Some of the bigger levels do feel daunting as they could take hours to finish, but I would suggest to split those up into smaller sessions because you do feel a bit of fatigue on the levels that span hours.
The Tomb Raider DLC is great. You get to go over Lara Croft’s Manor, her obstacle course, the Manor’s Maze, and finally the Manor’s Treasure Room. As you clean these maps you get messages from Lara’s butler Winston and Lara herself, making it feel a bit more engaging with the world. I did notice after every five minutes or so on these maps there would be a brief pause before the game continues playing again. Perhaps something that will be ironed out in the next update, or simply an isolated incident only I’m encountering. The quality of the Tomb Raider DLC is much better than I expected and seeing what’s to come with the Final Fantasy 7 DLC has me excited. I would love to see more of these post Final Fantasy 7, and I’m more than willing to purchase them because I don’t know how they could be just giving this content away for free.
This is a game I’ve spent the last couple of weeks engaging with as a relaxing game between other games. There is something to PowerWash Simulator that is hard to identify as fun, and maybe it’s not fun as much as it is a form of relaxation. What is the difference to something like this as there is to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle? PowerWash Simulator is a game to unwind with after a stressful day. I love that this game exists and will continue to be enamoured with it as they continue to support the game with further DLC. Give PowerWash Simulator a shot. Play it with some music, a podcast, or perhaps an audiobook. This is the universal simulator for everybody and with simple controls it’s made for everybody.
Robert Ring
Available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
There has been rumours of The Lord of the Rings making its way back into Lego sets for what seems like years. Finally, we have it and this set comes in at a whopping 6167pcs.
If the Harry Potter sets we’ve beens getting are any indication of what’s to come we should expect more of these big sets recreating some of the biggest set pieces in The Lord of the Rings franchise. This set is a great first set. You get all the major characters in one of the most memorable scenes. The set is really a bookend of the franchise as Rivendell is where the journey really begins to the place they all return once the journey is over.
The set can be separated into three distinct sets. The first section contains the The Council Ring, Frodo’s Bedroom, and Elrond’s Study. The second section is an Elven Tower. The third section is the Gazebo, River, and Bridge. This set isn’t holding back with mini figures either, you get fifteen of them, pretty much all the heroes of the story.
The press kit photos show how great the set looks displayed on a set of drawers. I’m not even the biggest fan of The Lord of the Rings, but this set is incredibly desirable from the aesthetic, and irresistible when you imagine the possibilities of the series ten years from now altogether.
Hopefully this set stays on shelves for at least two years because the price is $499.99 US. Lego is off to a strong start this year and with Disney’s 100th Anniversary I think they have a few more surprises coming this year.
The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell set releases next month on March 8th.
First off is Evil Dead: The Game for PS4 and PS5. Evil Dead is a zany franchise and one I’ve tried multiple times to get into. I did think Evil Dead (2013) was an excellent horror movie and Evil Dead Rises coming out this year looks good. It’s a series that is ridiculous, like Looney Tunes with horror. The fan base is dedicated so it’s not surprising that there is now a game. The game came out to good reviews and plays like Friday the 13th, and Dead by Daylight, so if you like asymmetrical multiplayer horror games, this one is for you.
OlliOlli was a surprise little hit on the PS Vita. It was a simple side scroller where you jumped obstacles on a skateboard and gather a score based on your tricks. It’s popularity led to ports on all consoles, and a sequel came out which was more of the same. OlliOlli World is the latest entry in the franchise and looks to have completely reinvented itself. The reviews were great for this game when it launched last year, so look forward to adding the PS4, and PS5 versions to your library.
The Mafia series has been a consistently good franchise with a forth game in development. Mafia: Definitive Edition is a complete remake of the original game and had overall favourable reviews. Just the setting is enough to jump into this title if you haven’t before. PS4 version will be available for download.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is the expansion before last year’s The Witch Queen. The next expansion, Lightfall comes out at the end of this month, so this is perhaps to get more people to jump back in. Is this going to be PlayStation’s approach to Destiny 2‘s expansions coming to PlayStation Plus in the future with next year’s expansion we get The Witch Queen? Either way this is an additional game to the line up this month, and Destiny 2 is great. Beyond Light will be available for download on PS4 and PS5.
All four titles are available from the 7th February for the PlayStation Plus Essential tier until March 6th 2023.
Toge Productions, the Indonesian indie game studio released a video to celebrate the company’s 14th Anniversary. See below.
After posting the review for Coffee Talk yesterday, I had no idea there would be a showcase with a more in-depth look at Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly. The game honestly looks like there are more mechanics to it. The release date is fairly soon, set for April 20th. Physical editions for both games will be available too.
A Space for the Unbound was on my radar after seeing it coming soon on the PSN store. This game looks unique and being set in 90s Indonesia sounds cool to me. The release is near, as in tomorrow near, and I plan to pick it up. It looks great.
They also talk about their Toge Game Fund Initiative, where they have given up to $10,000 to quite a few indie developers from Southeast Asia. The products they’ve made actually look pretty good too. This is respectable coming from a studio the size of Toge Productions.
More games were announced for PC that seemed smaller in scale to these two games, and can be glimpsed above in the showcase they presented. This was a neat showcase coming from a studio I hadn’t heard of before Coffee Talk, and now have a soft spot for. When there are so many games coming out each week it’s good being able to see where the developers are coming from with their unique voices.
Did you check out the showcase, and are you excited for anything from Toge Productions?
Starting off the list is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4 & PS5). This game is great. At the time this was the game coming off two poorly received Star Wars Battlefront games. People were ready to write this game off with EA’s poor track record. Aside from some bugs the game was a thrill, a hit, and finally we got to feel like a Jedi again. This game is a souls like and it’s probably the best entry into that genre while surprisingly feeling at home in the Star Wars universe. This is definitely a game I recommend and great for returning players who want to prepare themselves for the sequel releasing in March.
Fallout online sounded ideal, all we wanted was a single player Fallout game that we could play with friends. Instead we got a Fallout game that felt stripped of content. No NPC’s, and No real storytelling. If the world was more eye-catching it could have carried the game through the bad press. It stopped many people from jumping into the game and I may have liked playing it more if more people I knew jumped into it. Instead I was playing a solo Fallout online game with little for me. Times have changed and like Elder Scrolls Online the game has turned a new leaf. The team has added plenty of new content, and has a remarkable player base of dedicated players. It’s good to see that the game has changed and I may return to see what changes have been made. Check out my original review for Fallout 76here.
Axiom Verge was a modest hit when it came out and while the sequel doesn’t seem to have made as big of a splash I plan to check it out myself. Axiom Verge 2 (PS4 & PS5) looks really good. I have not played enough metroidvania style games, plus it might be a good palette cleanser before ALL the releases we are getting this year.
All three titles are available now for the PlayStation Plus Essential tier until 06/02/2023.
Any excitement or disappointment with this selection of games?
KissTheGames 