Welcome back to Video Game Round-Up! I only played five games this month, but I finished four of them, so yay! I spent most of the month writing (we are so close to finishing the thing we’ve been working on basically the whole year, I can taste it), and I read the excellent Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier, an amazing book about video game development. I learned that it’s basically a miracle any time a new video game comes out.
There were also some exciting Sony news: the PS5 is confirmed for Holiday 2020 and should be backwards compatible with at least the PS4 (though apparently they haven’t quite figured it out yet). Also, my fingers are still very crossed for backwards compatibility for all previous PlayStation games so I can play X-Men Legends (PS2) again, and Fallout: New Vegas (PS3) for the first time. In less good news, the PS4 no longer supports Facebook integration, which means I won’t be able to post my in-game photos of large stone faces in games. Boo!
Finally, I will be giving a mini-lecture at this year’s SWF about video game narratives! Full details here, and if you’re around at 8pm on Saturday, 9 November, then come hang out! I’ve written the lecture, and it is going to be pretty great, if I do say so myself. I guarantee* it’ll be awesome!
And now, on to the HONK! I mean, on to the video games! :D
Control (PS4) - I bloody love this game, and yes, I am going to spoil some things (though I’m not going to do an RDR2-style essay, I promise). You have been warned.
Let’s get some bragging and preening out of the way first. I did all of the things, including, of course, getting the platinum trophy, but also beyond that. I fully upgraded all my weapon forms, even though I only needed to fully upgrade one for the trophy. I did every side mission (including the secret ones that I didn’t even know were side missions until I accidentally did them), and found every hidden location, even though I could have skipped a few and still fully upgraded all my powers for the trophy. I got every extra outfit even though I didn’t need any of them for any trophy. And my proudest achievement, I got all 282 collectibles even though I only needed 120 for the three collectible-related trophies.
We’ll come back to those collectibles.
Control’s story is decent enough (which is slightly let down by its somewhat truncated ending), but its world is fantastic. The story isn’t super original (a fish out of water with a secretive past becomes the chosen one; I gave the main gist in last month’s Round-Up), but the world is very original. The Federal Bureau of Control and their headquarters, the Oldest House, are really fantastic concepts. The FBC is if Mulder’s office in The X-Files was an entire agency all by itself, full of a bunch of Mulders. Their whole job is to find, investigate, and catalog every weird thing that happens on American soil, and hide it from the American public (it is unsaid in the game itself, but I believe that the existence of the FBC in the US must mean the existence of similar organizations in other countries around the world; how awesome would it be to meet the FBC’s British, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, etc. counterparts in a sequel?).
Most of the world is detailed in the 282 collectibles I got. As I said last month, Control is a masterclass in narrative-via-collectibles. All of these documents, photographs, audio recordings, and videos give you a bit of history of the FBC or the world it inhabits or both. The bulk of the collectibles are the documents, most of which are slightly redacted, so you never get the full story of the Altered World Event (or AWE) its referencing. But many of the documents reference each other, and if you read them together, you get a better picture of what happened during a specific AWE. Sometimes, an audio recording, or one of Dr Darling’s videos, or even just talking to various NPCs will give you even more information relating to that AWE (e.g. talking to Security Chief Arish after completing the side mission he gives you gives you more information about a “werewolf” AWE, something mentioned in a few documents).
Some of the documents detail an AWE that happened in Bright Falls, Washington. I did not figure this out from the first few documents because I never played the original game, but this AWE is a direct reference to Alan Wake (360), Remedy’s first game after selling the Max Payne IP to Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive. It’s pretty sweet that now that Remedy have regained complete control of the Alan Wake IP from Microsoft, they’re looking to do more with it by bolting it onto their new series. And even though they don’t own the IP for Max Payne or their other Microsoft partnered-game Quantum Break (XB1), there are some references to both of those in the game as well, but Alan Wake clearly has the biggest connection (you can read about all the connections here). Plus, the actor that voiced Max Payne plays Director Trench, and the actor that voiced Alan Wake plays Dr Casper Darling. The second paid DLC, titled AWE, is supposed to deal a lot more with the Alan Wake mythos (some have speculated "AWE" stands for “Alan Wake Event” rather than “Altered World Event” in this DLC).
As I mentioned earlier, the ending is a bit of a let-down. There’s a pretty sweet fake-out at the end of Chapter 9 where the Hiss take over Jesse’s mind and then the credits roll. But yeah, it’s a fake-out, and the credits abruptly stop as Jesse suddenly finds herself in office attire as an intern at the FBC. You have to do some menial tasks before being allowed into the Director’s office to break yourself out of Hiss control. Then the last bit is another grueling gauntlet of Hiss troops in the Astral Plane after literally just doing a grueling gauntlet of Hiss troops in the Hedron Chamber, right after the first grueling gauntlet of Hiss troops in the Ashtray Maze (which admittedly, was actually quite fun and amazing, but we really only needed that one grueling gauntlet of Hiss troops). Then Jesse puts her brother in a coma, and then the credits roll for real. It’s not the most satisfying of endings, and even though I know there is DLC coming (which I will 100% buy and play), it is somewhat irksome that a “true ending” may be hiding in one of these paid DLCs as opposed to being included in the base game itself. While it’s true that the main story has been more or less resolved - Jesse found her brother, beat back most of the Hiss invasion (not all of it because video game logic needs more stuff for players to do in the postgame), and saved the FBC - there are still a lot of unanswered questions. A few off the top of my head (some are story-related, some are just questions):
- Where actually is Dr. Casper Darling? He talks to you via the Hotline at the very end, but it’s never really explained where he is or what happened to him (or did I miss it)? Did he use the slide projector to go to another dimension? If so, how can he use the hotline? I thought that only connected to the Astral Plane and wherever the heck dead Director Trench is?
- What is Polaris, and why isn’t it dead after Chapter 9? Her physical/psychic form is destroyed, which is why the Hiss are finally able to take over Jesse’s mind, but then it suddenly returns in Jesse’s head with a vague “it was inside of me all along” bullshit explanation.
- Where the heck did Helen Marshall go? She just kind of disappeared after Chapter 6, and while there are some notes that say she sometimes goes to the Black Rock Quarry, she’s not been there any time I’ve searched for her.
- Why was Dylan able to still function after being taken over by the Hiss, but then falls into a coma after Jesse cleanses the Hiss from his mind? It seems a bit convenient, and it’s never really explained, though I love that if Jesse keeps talking to Dylan while he’s part of the Hiss, he keeps telling her about weirder and weirder dreams that I’m pretty sure are actually alternate dimensions (and references to previous Remedy games).
- The Ordinary backstory is so freaking cool, I want a movie or something made of that so I can see it instead of just read about it (this isn’t a question; I just didn’t want everything to be negative down here). It would make a really good horror film or series. The Not-Mother alone would make for some pretty great nightmare fuel.
- Who - and what - is Ahti? There is literally no way he’s just an old Finnish janitor. There is clearly way, way more to that guy that is never explained. Also, where does he go at the end of Chapter 8? I suspect this will be answered in the first paid DLC, as it’s called The Foundation, and that’s where we last saw Ahti, in the foundations of the Oldest House (which was a much larger, more open space than it should have been).
- How did the FBC know the Fadens were Director material after Ordinary (maybe even before Ordinary)? I feel like this might actually have been explained at some point, but maybe I missed it? Also, if Dylan is P6 and Jesse is P7, who are P1 through P5?
- Why is Director Northmoor inside the NSC (aka the Northmoor Sarcophagus Container) and how is he powering the Oldest House? What powered the Oldest House before Northmoor?
- Why are there so many levels in the Containment sector I can’t get to? I feel this is just wildly unfair. I want to see and read about more Altered Items, dang it!
- What the heck is the Board? They exist in the Astral Plane, and have some kind of connection to the Oldest House, but other than that, we know bupkus. Why are they so interested in humanity and the FBC? The Former, a large cyclopean entity, is the only other thing you see in the Astral Plane besides the Board’s inverted pyramid, and the Board describe it as a disgruntled ex-colleague after you defeat it. What is going on there?
Don’t let these last few questions fool you. I enjoyed this game very, very much, and I will enjoy the story DLC very, very much as well. Just wish there had been a tighter ending, is all.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch) - I originally played the DX version of this game on the Game Boy Color (and still have my cartridge), but when I saw the adorable graphics of this remake, I knew I had to get it again. The game is pretty much exactly the same as the original version: all the dungeons are in the same place, the order in which you have to do everything is the same, the characters are the same, etc. There are some quality-of-life improvements, with the biggest one being able to use more than two items at a time. The Game Boy and Game Boy Color only had two face buttons, so you had to constantly switch items in and out as required by whatever puzzle you had to solve next (while often still fighting monsters). On the Switch version, you have dedicated buttons for the sword, shield, Pegasus Boots, and Power Bracelet, which means you never have to worry about switching any of those items in and out. The other two buttons are used for the remaining nine items, making item management a lot easier. I mostly dedicated one button to the Roc’s Feather (because jumping is very important in this Zelda game) and used the final button for the other eight items as and when required.
As I alluded to before, the art style for the remake is adorable. Everything looks like a toy, or like it’s made out of clay. And Link’s Awakening is famous (infamous?) for having a lot of Mario references, and this remake really plays into that by adding a cute feature where you can get various statues of Mario characters from the claw game. You don’t really get anything for doing them, except the satisfaction of getting them all and displaying them in various homes in Mabe Village, the starting area.
I beat this game fairly quickly, and got all the secret seashells and pieces of heart. The only things I’m missing are a few chamber stones (because they cost over 2000 rupees a pop), which are used for the only entirely new feature in this version: Chamber Dungeons. When these were first announced, everyone talked about how this could be a test balloon for a possible “Zelda Maker” game in the future, in which people could make super creative dungeons for other people to play, a la Super Mario Maker (WiiU) and Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch).
Unfortunately, Chamber Dungeons are no “Zelda Maker”.
You can’t actually make your own dungeon, you can only take certain rooms from previously defeated dungeons in the game and sort of remix them. And since you can’t share them with anybody else (unless you have an amiibo), it’s just you playing your own dungeons, and there’s no mystery or challenge. If ever Nintendo want to make a proper “Zelda Maker”, they’ll have to break down all the various parts, the way Super Mario Maker does, so dungeon builders can place whatever they want wherever they want, and design their rooms however they see fit.
Chamber Dungeons were really disappointing, but you don’t have to do them if you don’t want to (though there are some seashells and pieces of heart you can only get from doing at least some of them), and you can just have fun playing the rest of this amazing game.
Untitled Goose Game (Switch) - HONK!
The only thing you really need to know about this game is that it has a dedicated honk button. If that’s not enough to make you want to play the game, then I don’t even want to know you. I mean, this game has ruined every other game for me as I’m now wondering why every game doesn’t have a dedicated honk button. Imagine how much better Metal Gear Solid (PS1) would have been if Solid Snake could honk and startle enemy soldiers?
But seriously, Untitled Goose Game is a stealth puzzler, but that makes it seem harder than it actually is. It’s a fairly simple game in which you play as an asshole goose ruining everyone’s day in a small English town. You are given a list of things to do, and you have to figure out how to do them. There’s no fail state, so any time you get caught or are otherwise stymied from being a jerk, you simply get chased off for a bit and you can come back almost immediately to try again.
There’s been a lot written up about why this game became an instant hit. Some say it’s because it allows us all to be the assholes that we really want to be, others say it’s because it’s an easy-to-learn and play game. I say it’s because roleplaying a jerk goose is really fun.
I completed all the original tasks in the game’s five main areas, but then I got a bunch of new things to do that require people and/or items in two or more areas, so they’re a bit harder to pull off. I will eventually attempt those, especially now that the girl has done all of them, but I’ll have to wait until she finishes the various speedruns around the village, while honking at everybody :)
HONK!
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (PS4) - I have finally finished the last bit of DLC of this game, which featured the fabled city of Atlantis (and not Olympus, as I originally predicted). Poseidon is the leader of this city, and... well, it was more of the same, really, but in a new and pretty place. I had to kill a bunch of people, steal a bunch of stuff, and fetch things all over the place. Most of the mission designs were pretty much exactly as they’ve been in every other part of the game (except for a puzzle-y one using refracted light that has only appeared once before; that was actually pretty cool). There were some new mechanics, like collecting adamant to forge powerful Isu weapons and gaining Isu knowledge to enter new places, but nothing too new. And yeah, Atlantis sinks at the end (spoiler alert).
I also finished the final three Lost Tales of Greece in which Kassandra reconnected with an old flame from Kephallonia, and said goodbye to both Sokrates and Herodotus.
I have now played this game for 175 hours since I first got it slightly over a year ago, on 5 October 2018. I think that makes this the game I’ve played the longest (except maybe Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)). I haven’t tried to create my own quest yet, nor have I played around in the Discovery Tour (a combat-free exploration mode that has a bunch of educational guides), but I am done with the main game and all of the DLC. I have all of the PSN trophies as well. I am likely going to delete this game from my PS4’s memory once I play around with the quest maker and Discovery Tour for a bit, until such a time as the rumored final free mission (or set of missions) that leads directly into the next Assassin’s Creed game is added in.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (Switch) - The first bit of big DLC dropped, featuring new characters Punisher, Blade, Moon Knight, and Morbius, but unfortunately, it isn’t narrative-based. There are new game modes introduced, like Gauntlet (a bunch of Infinity Challenges in a row) and Nightmare (the main game, but harder), but no new story stuff. Before this update, Cyclops and Colossus were also made available as playable characters, and they got their own Infinity Challenge. I played a bit of the new Gauntlet mode to unlock Punisher, Blade, and Moon Knight, but the Morbius challenge was too high-level for my characters. I haven’t attempted to unlock Cyclops or Colossus yet (I’m pretty sure that’s even more high-level), but I will eventually unlock at least Cyclops because he is my boy, and Cyclops Was Right, always.
And that’s all for this month! Next month, I should be trying to finish up NieR: Automata (PS4) and Astral Chain (Switch), two Platinum games I have now set aside for over a month, and I also really want to start The Witcher III (PS4) after reading Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, and continue my Japanese criminal journey with Yakuza Kiwami (PS4) as the Yakuza 4 (PS4) remaster is coming out later this month.
Buuuuuut I’m almost 100% certain I will instead be playing one or some or all of the six new games coming out between now and the next Video Game Round-Up!: Outer Wilds (PS4), The Outer Worlds (PS4), Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and the Lion King (Switch), Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch), Death Stranding (PS4), and/or Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4). Yeah, it’s the season for tons of new games that I am super excited about.
And once we finish writing this secret project that I’ve been vaguebooking about non-stop, the girl wants to get back into our LEGO games, so we’ll finally finish LEGO Marvel Super-Heroes 2 (PS4) and LEGO The Incredibles (PS4), and start on LEGO DC Super-Villains (PS4). So that’ll be fun!
Until next month, play more video games!
*Any “guarantees” mentioned in this Video Game Round-Up! aren’t legally binding, and don’t actually constitute any guarantee of anything.
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