Russell Revisits 2020
Modern video games very rarely stay the same after they release. Thanks to patches that adjust existing content or add entirely new content, a game can look totally different a few months later. Considering this, I like to take time at the end of the year to check on games that didn’t quite make the cut on first release. Any game that was rated “Buy This Game on Sale” or “Don’t Buy This Game” during this year was eligible for a second look, so long as the developer has released a sizeable update since I reviewed it. Ideally, I’ll be able to upgrade their rating, but if not, I’ll still make note of any significant changes made to the game to better inform purchasing decisions.
West of Dead
When I first reviewed West of Dead, I was hesitant to endorse it because of an air incompletion thanks to poorly explained mechanics and numerous bugs. This was deeply disappointing to me because I had enjoyed the game’s creative use of light and shadow as well as the narration provided by Ron Perlman. Since that time, developer Upstream Arcade has published two major updates for the game to fix some issues I had, and some that hadn’t bothered me.
The first thing I noticed after firing up West of Dead again was that shotguns had become something I actually wanted to use. Previously, the shotguns in West of Dead had such a minuscule range that anyone I could shoot was already close enough to cause me fatal harm. The remarkable damage output of these weapons was only accessible to the most wanton berserkers who possessed no sense of self-preservation. As of the More Fast and More Dead update in late July, all shotguns have a significantly increased range, something I appreciated because it allowed me to try out new weapons and new play styles. The second thing I noticed was that I seemed to do a lot better than I previously had. I doubt I got better at West of Dead after six months and I suspect the real cause was a pair of system improvements. Both the game’s cover system and aiming system were refined which leads to an overall improvement in gameplay experience. Since the update, I haven’t experienced any more instances of accidentally leaving cover or moving to the wrong piece of cover, and, though the game’s excellent light system still makes it hard to shoot shadowed enemies, shots into the darkness stick closer to the player’s reticle. This means that exceptionally eagle eyed players can eliminate foes without needing to light the numerous lanterns around each level. But, in terms of my original issues, only half of my problems have been resolved. The game still does next to nothing to explain any special effects inflicted by weapons or equipment. The best example of this is a rifle known as the Razorshot. The Razorshot is a rifle that does very little damage but inflicts a “bleed” effect. There is no explanation of what the bleed effect does or how long it lasts, so it’s more or less impossible to judge how effective it will be, which lead to me refusing to ever use it. On the other hand, most of the bugs and glitches that hindered my enjoyment the first time around have been taken care of. There is still occasionally mismatched dialogue and I can’t escape the perpetual rifle tutorial, but every other issue has been eliminated.
I feel bad for West of Dead. There is no way the developers would have known their game would release in the same year as Hades, quite possibly the best roguelite game to ever exist. A lot of good work went into designing and polishing the game’s style and systems, so I think it’s worth the full $20 now, however I think the better move is to spend an extra $5 to pick up Hades. I don’t think anyone will be unhappy buying West of Dead with the updates, but the bar has been very recently raised.
Russell’s Revision: Score Upgraded to Buy This Game at Full Price
Space Crew
In my initial review of Space Crew, I had a lot of frustration about the game’s mechanics. The peculiar mechanics of Space Crew offered limited control of the ship’s capabilities, including AI-driving weapon targeting, obscured advancement, and and poorly explained mechanics. I was especially frustrated by the game’s method of unlocking new armaments for the ship and crew. Developer Runner Duck published two updates after my review went up and I hoped they would resolve my issues.
Part of me can’t help but wonder if Runner Duck is monitoring my schedule because an update was released for Space Crew only a few days ago. Additionally, a preceding update was released in late October. Between the two updates, quite a few changes were made though a large number of them were addressing aspects that hadn’t been on my radar. In terms of my concerns with Space Crew, I was dismayed to see that the game’s research system, the resource used to unlock new and improved equipment, remained mostly the same. Players are still stuck to the omni-directional track of unlocks, but at least now players are given a forecast of what the next few levels will bring. It’s not a solution I would have liked but at least I know what I will unlock next to temper my expectations. Similarly, the different capabilities of weapons in terms of effective range and damage to different defenses remains almost entirely unexplained, but an accidental fix has been put in place. When Space Crew launched, players were able to equip dual weapon pods, an armament equipped with two different weapons, to their ship. The problem with this was that players would have to constantly monitor which enemy these pods were attacking and manually switch between the two for maximum efficacy. Now, dual pods automatically switch between the two depending on which is more potent against the current target. Dual weapon pods are more expensive then their one track counterparts, but the damage optimization is worth the cost. Undoubtedly my favorite update is the new priority targeting feature. When players are tagging enemies for their gunners to assail, they now have the option to designate one target as a priority. This means that whenever the priority target enters a gunner’s effective range, they will fire on it regardless of any other threat. I love this update because it allows me to make sure the boarding vessels are blown to bits before they can deposit their attack squads onto my ship. Aside from these updates, a host of new content was added to keep Space Crew fresh and accessible. A variety of difficulty modifiers have been added for players who want their trips through space to be either more or less dangerous, new weather, if it can be accurately called “weather” in space, effects can be present to mix up a conflict, and new side mission possibilities have been added so the crew will have more to do than simply shoot more bad guys.
All in all, though Space Crew hasn’t changed some of the things I found frustrating, I do think that the fixes the developers did make combined with the slew of new content does a lot to improve the game. Not every mission will feel the same thanks to the content updates and the difficulty adjustment options will open Space Crew up to a new audience who didn’t feel the game’s original challenge was at their level. Maybe some day I’ll get to have a sit down with Runner Duck and convince them to use a tech tree for their next game, but until then I think Space Crew is now worth the full $20.
Russell’s Revision: Score Upgraded to Buy This Game at Full Price
One Step From Eden
One Step From Eden was an odd review earlier this year thanks to it’s very strange concept. Not since 2004 had I encountered another real-time deck builder and I hadn’t exactly been craving a repeat experience like the one I had in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. In spite of some very cool cards that gave players interesting spells to cast and creative artifacts, I didn’t enjoy much of my time with One Step From Eden because of the game’s base concept. My review of the game was published in the first week of April, but just a week ago developer Thomas Moon Kang released a hefty update so I thought I’d take a look.
The most eye-catching inclusion of the 1.5 update to One Step From Eden, known simply as “Expansion,” has got to be the plethora of new content it adds to the game. Players gain access to 29 new spell cards to incorporate into their decks, pushing the game’s total above 250 available spells, and 32 new artifacts, for a total available sitting around 180. Obviously, not every single one of these will be found in the one session but it’s rarely a bad thing when players get more options. One of the main focuses of the new spells is to give each Brand of spell card, think different schools of magic, at least one card of the Calamity rarity rating. As you might guess from the name, Calamity rated cards are incredibly rare cards that make a huge impact on the battle when cast, including calling a barrage of solar rays from the sky or launching a nuclear warhead. Now that each Brand of spell card has at least one Calamity, players should be able to pursue any mixture of Brands in their deck without giving up on a potential major power spike. In addition to the Calamities, several other cards were added, including some I especially enjoyed. The spells Ramjet and Cataclysm piqued my interest because they are both very powerful spells that require comparatively little mana to cast. The tradeoff is the next time players shuffle their deck after playing these cards, the process takes two seconds longer, which can feel like an eternity in the fast-paced combat. I got around this by loading my deck with plenty of spells so that my enemies ran out of health before I ran out of cards, and thus never having to shuffle. I don’t mean to disparage older cards in the game, but I feel like these newer ones have an extra spark of creativity to them. Though the new spells and artifacts are cool, I think the more important parts of the update are the accessibility changes. There are several good options, including those with different physical capabilities, but I think the one that will entice most potential players is the game’s new Angel Mode. Angel Mode features two sliders that control enemy damage and enemy movement speed, allowing players to hamper foes in the ways they need. Probably the best part of this is that players can earn all of the games achievements and unlockables while in Angel Mode. I think this is terrific because a lot of people will be overwhelmed by the chaos of One Step From Eden and Angel Mode will do a good job of easing people into this game.
At this point, it might seem like I’m about to endorse One Step From Eden but, even taking into account the new spells, artifacts, and various adjustment options, I just don’t think the game works. I just can’t get into One Step From Eden and I don’t think that will change no matter how much new content is added. I see this game like pickled fish. I know there are people who enjoy pickled fish, and you can serve pickled fish with a lot of different side options, but at the end of the day it’s still pickled fish and I’m just not going to like it. And like that Scandinavian dish, I think a lot of people will have trouble enjoying One Step From Eden. Maybe you’re not like me and you enjoy pickled fish so you want to give this game a try. If you’re feeling adventurous, I can’t stop you, but I do think you should wait until you can get it for less than $20.
Russell’s Revision: No Score Change
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
I’ll admit when I reviewed Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, a big portion of of my choice was the hype surrounding the game. I tend to avoid multiplayer games because I don’t like to rely on the participation of others to be able to review a game. But the incredible groundswell around Fall Guys ensured that I’d be able to play without having to bully my friends into buying a copy of their own. What I found in my review was a great idea for a game to play with friends plagued by inconsistent game design and strange development decisions. Like every online multiplayer game, Fall Guys has begun a cycle of content seasons since my review so I was interested to see if anything would raise my opinion of the game.
With the existence of two seasons worth of content, I assumed I would be seeing a lot of changes as I fired up Fall Guys after a long hiatus, but that wasn’t exactly what I got. When I logged on, I was informed that I could now select which Show to wait in line for. For those who don’t remember, each collection of competitions is called a Show. In my initial review, there was only the one Show with the full collection of games, but now that we’re into the third season, more games have been added. With the winter-themed season only having recently started, Fall Guys was giving players the option between Main Show, a playlist of all available games, or Winter Knockout, a playlist of only the newest games, all of which had a winter theme. I was mostly impressed by the new games, especially with the inclusion of the new wind mechanic. At several points in the new games, players will have to manage wind from enormous fans to either save themselves from failure or gain an upper hand on their enemies. One of the new levels, Tundra Run, has a moment where players are able to jump into this wind and be carried a distance. If the player has aimed right and got their timing correct, they can skip a field of obstacles and gain an advantage. If their calculations are off, however, they will either be thrown onto a longer path or even plunged off the level, only to have to start again at a checkpoint. I like this mechanic a lot because it can have a wide array of uses to create new games. A second new game I liked was one called Ski Fall. This game sees contestants playing a massive game of ski ball where the ball is their body. There’s maybe one other game that challenges players to master jumping and diving mechanics so well, so it was a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, four of the seven new games were either slightly altered versions of existing games to fit a winter theme or team games, which are my most hated part of Fall Guys. Looking over notifications of previous updates, I learned that there was a time where a “no team games” show existed and I cannot comprehend not making that a permanent feature. I think Fall Guys would markedly improve if they were to instate no team games as a permanent playlist, because I can’t imagine anyone enjoys putting their hopes of victory in the hands of 10-20 strangers. But, in spite of these changes, when I was playing the Main Show playlist, I still saw See Saw and Gate Crashers far too often, which was extremely frustrating given how many new games were added in seasons two and three. I’m no fortune tellers so I don’t know what Fall Guys needs, but I know that, if I’m to continue playing, I need a greater variety of non-team games with a better randomization process for selecting which games appear during a show. One way to do this that would satisfy two of my complaints is instate Fall Mountain as the only finals stage and incorporate all other pretenders to the finals throne back into the main rotation of games.
I appreciate that it must be a tremendous amount of work to develop new games for Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout but with this game having an up-front cost to play in addition to several pieces of cosmetic DLC and multiple season passes, they’ve had the time and money to make some much needed changes. If the developers are so stubborn that they continue to insist on team games, listen to the audience and permanently instate a Show that excludes those games for the people who have good taste. At this point, there are 22 quality games, so why am I seeing the same two or three every show? Given all these issues, I really don’t think it’s a good idea to be paying $20 to get in on the now muted craze.
