Tea And Video Games
There was a moment when I realised my life revolved around two things: Video Games and cups of tea. This blog is concerned with the former. My oesophagus is concerned with the latter.
Currently updating whenever the stars align.
The Teacup Awards B-Side (2018)
Not every game fits neatly into an awards category. Think of these B-sides as the participation awards. They are something worth talking about but only when all of the hard hitters are out of the way. I played a real mixed bag of games last year and didn’t play too many of my usual sort. Very light on survival games, for one, and there weren’t as many stand-out indie games as the year before.
Still, some interesting stuff did come out of the year so I don’t just want to disregard ninety percent of it. It was a year of catch-up really, playing through some of 2017’s biggest hits. So now let’s make up a bunch of different awards and give to games from last year that I think are worth a mention.
Two Point Hospital
The ‘Fly in the Cup’ Award for Killer Problem
I liked Two Point Hospital quite a lot when I first started playing it. It felt like a return to form; back to Theme Hospital, which I enjoyed a lot. It was refreshingly similar but with new diseases and additions that kept me excited. I recorded myself playing it and then created a different save to play in the downtime, something I didn’t do often. So I was obviously enjoying myself. Yet as I got through the game, something started to nag at me. It took me quite a while to find out what it was.
Stories Untold Review (2017)
Stories Untold is one of those annoying games that are hard to explain to people who have never heard of them. So, it’s like a text adventure but it feels like someone is standing way too close behind you while you play and is making all of the sound effects. If that doesn’t make much sense, then welcome to Stories Untold. Not much will unless you play it through to the end. It’s a short story but it has a nice payoff. I wouldn’t call it an entirely original plot but the presentation, and use of medium, definitely is.
It’s an oddball of a game, which borrows from a medium that typically offers freedom but instead constrains it down, removing player freedom in pursuit of a story. Does it work? Well, yes and no. The experience is unique, though devoid of any semblance of replay value, and something I would recommend because of that. But if anyone were to tell me that they hated it - or by extension ‘didn’t get it’ - I would totally understand. I’m not sure I ‘get it’, but I enjoy the bits I did get.
Creep Week First Impressions, Pt. 1
Another Halloween has slithered past us, bringing sweets to all and a lot of drunken parties. With that out of the way, and Christmas fast approaching on the horizon, I thought I’d go back over the games I played for the Creep Week and share some first impressions. I’ve spent longer with some than others, mind you, but they’ve each left an impact.
Stories Untold
Stories Untold gripped me the most right out of the gate. I’d already played the first chapter, The House Abandon, before and enjoyed it. It was essentially a small text adventure game, but as you played through it began to affect the environment around you. In other words, it quickly becomes apparent that this is not just a game (within a game, I mean. Or something). I like text adventures anyway but a text adventure that actually subverts the formula was interesting. The second chapter was much like that too.
