Game – KissTheGames

The Last of Us – Season 1

HBO’s The Last of Us is a hit that rarely misses.

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 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.

Robert Ring

Check out my review for The Last of Us: Part 1 HERE

PlayStation Essentials for March 2023

This month has a lot of value.

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.

Are you excited with this selection of games?

Robert Ring

Kayak VR: Mirage

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.

Available now on PSVR2

Robert Ring

PlayStation VR2 is the Road to the Future

Gaming has never been better, or bigger than it is today. The plateau has been reached as far as gaming generations are concerned. Leaps will continue pushing the specs, but the technology is here. Now it’s up to the creativity and innovation from developers to engage gamers. VR is a different story, and it will require generations of technical feats. As it stands today, VR is still in its infancy and sooner rather than later the way we interact with VR will truly be revolutionary in the way we interact with it, and of course they way we use it to play games.

PlayStation VR came out in back in 2016, and it was a modest intro into the VR space for PlayStation gamers. It hit the markets as the cheapest way to get into VR at the time just before VR was available. It didn’t take long for the PlayStation VR to leave the spotlight as more convenient devices like the Oculus Quest made simple innovations that created significantly better experiences. For one the tracking on the original PlayStation VR was difficult to navigate as the controls and headset needed to be in view of the PlayStation Camera. There were also at least three cords coming out of the headset that were immersion breaking as you fought the tangles. Seeing your surroundings was also impossible without taking off the headset and requiring you to spend minutes readjusting to get yourself back into the game. All these detractors would make it a chore just to choose setting up the VR resulting in gamers playing a non VR game instead. After the initial line up of games seemed to drizzle out it was questionable if another iteration would be made.

The PlayStation VR2 is the promise of Sony’s continued support for the VR peripheral. They quashed most of the negatives from the original and innovated. Most importantly the power of this machine comes straight from the PlayStation 5 without first being input into a processor unit. The image quality is fantastic, nearing clarity, although not crystal clear. The sense of immersion with haptic feedback in the headset, as well as the Sense controllers is tantalising to the senses. You put your hand in virtual water and the sensations are making that water feel real as though it is running through your hands. Eye tracking is like witchery allowing for you to select cursory items with your eyes. There is also the ability to see your surroundings without taking off the VR headset. Most importantly in competing with other VR headsets is that this headset is comfortable and easy to set up. Literally plug and play.

Games vary case by case. This is due to how much developers have worked towards porting the game for the PlayStation VR2. Exclusives are as good as it gets with games like Horizon: Call of the Mountain that have utilised the power of the PlayStation VR2 to what hopefully becomes the standard. The technology has brought PlayStation in line with competing VR devices so games can now be produced for multiple systems with ease. This should ease minds for gamers that worry if Sony were to stop producing exclusive VR titles since we will see most third party games come to this system.

In the time I’ve spent with PlayStation VR2 I have had nearly no motion sickness, whereas with the original I was hit with it during every session. There are plenty of games on offer already to fit any gamer. Even if you like simple experiences like doing a jigsaw or paddling in a kayak you can find them in PlayStation VR2. There are more high octane experiences like Pistol Whip, and exhilarating multiplayer in games like After the Fall. Resident Evil: Village will unsettle like you are playing it for the first time There are a range of demos available to try out if you can only afford a couple of games to begin with after the cost of the unit. I suspect that the free popular social game Rec Room will make its debut on PSVR2 soon opening up the fun to lobby’s of hilarious experiences with others around the globe.

Overall, the PlayStation VR2 is an exceptional leap over its predecessor with a future to flourish alongside the competition as they all work together in evolving the scope and the vision of where VR can go today. In a time met with financial hardships for many the PlayStation VR2 is a luxury, one that will only become more appealing as the library of games and players widen. With a year of big game releases ahead you may not find yourself feeling left out, although come Christmas time I imagine this will be found under many trees.

Look forward to VR game reviews to come in the future.

Robert Ring

Ten Dates

The spiritual sequel to Five Dates is bigger, and better.

Five Dates saw you take the role of a guy and choose from five video dates with women during the Covid lockdown. It was small in scope with a lot of charm and emotion. Ten Dates leaves the Covid lockdown setting behind for the fast and fun world of speed dating.

In Ten Dates you choose to play as Ryan or Misha. Both characters are friends with Misha being the one that cons Ryan into jumping onto the speed dating circuit. Both characters will each have four dates, with a fifth potential date should you wish for your character to have a same sex date. After doing the rounds, you choose two dates for a second date (if you were successful enough), and then one of those two for a final date.

Choices are selected with no real gameplay. When you see the relationships in the menu you can see how many different options there were with each date. It’s an easily replayable game to see the many alternatives. When replaying you can go through the scenes very quickly by skipping the scenes you have seen to get to the new stuff. The game is quick enough for you to pass the controller to someone else to try their luck. My partner played through as Misha so I had another perspective to the choices I wouldn’t have personally made.

It was clear from the trailer there was potential for same sex dating. The way they input that potential was creative for the male as his fifth speed date had to leave so the male host fills the spot. It’s not a date, just casual conversation at first and then it becomes clear that the opening is there if you want to pursue that host. There is only one same sex date, which would be considered a downside for those after that. Having this choice alongside being able to date as a woman is a huge increase in the scope from Five Dates.

I would say there is room for more of these dating simulators from Wales Interactive. They can spread their reach further to a more diverse selection of dates, or could invest in an entire game just for the LGBT community. There is something here that may find a huge audience outside of gaming and on Netflix in the future.

Overall, Ten Dates is almost better in every way to its predecessor Five Dates. The dates themselves are downgrades in terms of personality. Each personality feels very stereotypical as soon as you see them you can tell who they are. In Five Dates with a smaller dating pool there were many deeper qualities to the women and they were not typical of most stereotypes. I enjoyed Ten Dates, and for now I will be interested in Wales Interactive on a game by game basis if I find the narrative interesting.

Robert Ring

Available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Check out my Five Dates review here.

Yakuza All Night Long

Sometimes you hear of a critically acclaimed series that is up to like the third or fourth sequel and it puts you off. There is just too much history to go through and the earlier titles tend to be unplayable on the latest console. Yakuza was one of those series for me. I obtained Yakuza 4 and 5 on PlayStation 3 through PlayStation Plus, but why would I start there? A few more years passed and Yakuza 0 was a critical darling on the Playstation 4, which I found out was the prequel to the series. So I jumped in and played it for a couple of hours. It was fine and I put it down for a few months. When I came back to it everything started to click in place. The story was so grounded and cinematic in scope. I was all in. Then I started doing some side quests and things went completely bonkers. Somehow the game juggles the dramatic with the absurd and it works perfectly. Now Yakuza 0 is one of my favourite games of all time, and a series I absolutely love.

The Yakuza story has mostly centred around Kazuma Kiryu. The series is one big grand story so it’s been hard to appreciate until recently with all the mainline titles available on PlayStation 4. Currently there are eight titles in the main series and two games in the Judgment spin off series. That’s ten games all of substantial quality. If you’ve never played them you should start with Yakuza 0 as I did.

The series is a third-person action-adventure where you will brawl your way through clans to do the right thing. Every game takes place in the same city, which you see evolve over time. The side quests contain some of the most humorous side quests of any game ever and there are even in-game arcades that let you play some of Sega’s older titles. Each game is lengthy and could take around anywhere from 20-40 hours to finish the main story, and double that to complete everything the game has to offer. You can watch videos on YouTube to see if you’ll enjoy the game, but I think you should give one a go and see if it’s for you.

Later on this month we will be getting a remake of the spin off title Like a Dragon: Ishin! What is special about this one is it was never available in the west, so for most of us it’s a brand new game. At the end of the year there is also Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which is an interstitial game for the Yakuza series. This has never happened before and reveals the events of Kazuma Kiryu between Yakuza 6, and Yakuza 7. Finally, Yakuza 8 comes out next year showing that the series is in no way slowing down.

All Yakuza games are currently available in the PlayStation Plus Premium tier, that includes the first Judgment game too. And if it is for you, well, welcome to what might be your favorite video game series.

Robert Ring

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake

When THQ was brought back from the dead as THQ Nordic they started by remastering classic titles in their catalogues. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom was among those titles. Most of these titles resembled the original content to a fault, and felt of their generation with modern graphics. Since then THQ Nordic has faithfully remastered most of these games and now they are onto making brand new sequels. What is yet to be determined is the quality of the new games, so far we got a middling Saint’s Row, a lack lustre Destroy All Humans multiplayer game. So how does SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake fair?

SpongeBob SquarePants is back with another grand adventure. This time after buying wish-granting mermaid’s tears SpongeBob grants the town wishes. Of course SpongeBob’s do good attitude goes wrong and Bikini Bottom is sent into peril as a cosmic shake pulls the place apart, sending them throughout different universes. To repair Bikini Bottom and bring back together the universe SpongeBob must jump into each of these cosmic breaks and set things right. There are seven worlds to explore throughout these cosmic breaks from the popular Jellyfish Fields (with a Wild West theme), to Rock Bottom (with a Halloween theme).

The Cosmic Shake starts off as a slog. Those first couple of hours including the first world you visit are mediocre at best. SpongeBob can only jump in the first section of the game, and is only given a simple attack in the first world. This piecemeal approach works great from the second world, but the beginning needed more thrills. Once you get the Karate Kick in the second world the gameplay becomes a joy, and with every world after your move-sets just get even better. The story is fun and brings the platforming altogether more than most platformers do.

There is effectively twenty years between The Cosmic Shake and Battle for Bikini Bottom, however there is not twenty years of refinement in the gameplay. The Cosmic Shake is a much more enjoyable experience than Battle for Bikini Bottom partly due to the refinements. Battle for Bikini Bottom was a PlayStation 2 game and is as you would imagine a PlayStation 2 game to be. You are never lost in The Cosmic Shake as the main path is always clearly shown, whereas Battle for Bikini Bottom would have me back and forth looking for my objective. The combat feels great and flows well in The Cosmic Shake, yet the hitboxes felt unfair in Battle for Bikini Bottom. The results are all positive and as a AA feeling platform it sits well amongst it’s comparable competitors and above Battle for Bikini Bottom.

Overall, The Cosmic Shake has a nice constant progression that fails in the beginning and triumphs in the end. Each world feels well designed with replay value to find all the collectables. As far as games that are made with children in mind this one is near the top. A lot of care is given to creating an authentic SpongeBob SquarePants story that fans will appreciate. If we get more of these every couple of years I’ll be there enjoying my platforming fill.

Robert Ring

Available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows.

Check out my review of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated here.

Final Fantasy 7 Continues to Expand

Final Fantasy VII no longer feels like it’s a part of a franchise, it is a franchise.

Since the game released in 1997 we have seen protagonist Cloud in Kingdom Hearts, as a secondary character, to a playable fighter in Super Smash Brothers. There has even been a film set after the game with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Currently, the game has been remade into a trilogy with the second part due out this year. However, nothing compares to the downloadable content coming to PowerWash Simulator.

That’s right! PowerWash Simulator is getting Final Fantasy VII downloadable content. The pack is Final Fantasy VII inspired and called the “Midgar Special Pack”. This will let players have the chance to Power Wash locations, objects, and enemies from Final Fantasy VII in a new mission, which includes “7th Heaven,” “Hardy-Daytona,” and “Guard Scorpion”. The pack will be free, with no release date as of yet.

With the Tomb Raider pack coming alongside the console release tomorrow, it may be the next content drop. PowerWash Simulator was a hit last year so more content is not surprising. Collaborating with Square Enix to Power Wash in these environments just sounds like pure fun. I’m yet to play PowerWash Simulator, and I have to say I’m looking forward to it.

Are you excited to see Final Fantasy VII appear in PowerWash Simulator?

Robert Ring

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated

SpongeBob SquarePants is pretty great. It’s like a modern-day Ren and Stimpy that looks more kid friendly. There are so many jokes that will go over a child’s head, which is what you want so you can watch it too. In my opinion it’s the show closest to the popularity of Looney Tunes back in its day. Children love it and adults enjoy it too. There have been three feature films with a fourth in development. SpongeBob is reaching it’s twenty-fifth anniversary next year and shows no signs of slowing down. This year will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom. What better way than to play this game and celebrate the release of the spiritual successor SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake.

Licensed games these days are really terrible as there is not enough time to simultaneously release them alongside the media, especially when it comes to movies where developers need those production assets. The PlayStation 2 had much smaller development cycles due to the simplistic nature of the graphics and level designs so they were able to make quality products in time. Battle for Bikini Bottom didn’t align with any tie-in to the show, however it did come out within five years of the show’s launch and it would have been a few years in before the show’s success warranted a game. The following year saw the The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie game release with the same developers. These quick turn around times were astounding for a game that when remastered still feels fresh amongst modern games twenty years later.

Battle for Bikini Bottom sees Plankton once again trying to steal the recipe for the Krabby Patty. This time he builds a machine that creates robots, armies of robots to do his bidding and take the recipe. These robots before long go against Plankton and wreck havoc to Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy must defend Bikini Bottom by ridding the robots that have managed to spread throughout every location. Explore fan favourite areas from Jellyfish Fields, Rock Bottom, to even the Flying Dutchman’s Graveyard, and many more. You will battle mini-bosses like King Jellyfish and the Flying Dutchman. Big bosses include Robo-Sandy, Robo-Patrick, SpongeBob SteelPants, with Robo-Squidward exclusive to this Rehydrated edition.

As someone who never played the original game, I find this game to be fun and nostalgic for classic SpongeBob episodes. The game is segmented into levels and each level is fairly big, like the Ratchet and Clank games from the PlayStation 2 era. To access levels you will need to collect Golden Spatulas, you don’t need every one in each level to move onto the next, but you will want to collect as many as you can as you progress. The original voice actors are used and really sell the immersion of feeling like you are playing an episode of the show.

The surprising thing about this game is how difficult the second half of it is. There is a dreamworld level that’s difficulty is exponential to the rest of the game. It seems designed to be more of a challenge level than anything else, even still the second half of the game will see you dying a lot. This did take away from the fun I was having when I was replaying the same areas over and over again. The combat is not great, where I feel I’m not connecting to the enemies as well as I should.

Overall, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is a fun trip down memory lane to PlayStation 2 platforming and exploring classic SpongeBob locations. It’s not as child friendly as you would think as the difficulty spikes take away from the enjoyment. That said I still think this is a good game, and has a lot of room for improvement that could be rectified with the sequel SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake out this week.

Robert Ring

Available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Dead Space – Reviews Are In

I love the setting of Dead Space, it’s stunning and then you run into the infected. The original game was too much for me, so better graphics would just illuminate the horror for me.. haha no thanks. One day I will play this version to completion.

After Forspoken came out to little acclaim this is the first big triple A hit for 2023.

Dead Space – Review Scores

Twinfinite – 100

IGN – 90

Game Rant – 90

Screen Rant – 90

PlayStation LifeStyle – 90

PlayStation Universe – 90

Destructoid – 85

Push Square – 80

Metacritic Score is currently at 89% with 54 Critic Reviews.

Judging from the scores given by the major outlets so far the Metacritic score will likely stay close to this. In all accounts Dead Space remake is great. It expands on nearly all aspects of the original and serves it with great care.

It’s great to know that the Dead Space remake came out great. All the promises and expectations of triple A games in the past couple of years have made gamers cautious of being sold a dud.

Are you excited to play Dead Space, or are you happy enough with the original?

Robert Ring