![]() You combat-hack big lads with guns strapped to their shoulders. You shoot dogs with guns strapped to their shoulders. With a squad of three customised clone soldiers, you explore cyberpunk-themed dungeridoos by means of tile-by-tile first person movement. Only someone’s also dropped a milkshake or something, because I like my metaphors to be unwieldy and unnecessarily detailed. Steve Hogarty called it ‘endless cold, wet concrete’ in his premature evaluation, and I’d tend to agree. It’s cyberpunk as a borrowed aesthetic, rather than as a setting. Neither does it work as commentary, unless you consider the observation that energy drinks exist, and are advertised, to be biting social satire. ![]() There’s some fun writing, delivered via satirical news broadcasts and random events, but they’re all too disconnected from everything else to make the game as a whole work as a dark comedy. ![]() As an RPG, however, it doesn’t do enough with its setting to maintain any real sense of tension or intrigue. There’s a huge amount of attention given to customisation and combat. It sits somewhere between the Ultima Underworld homage of Legend of Grimrock, the debuff-firing turn based combat of Darkest Dungeon, and the base and squad management of Alien Defence Squad Trouser And Hairdo Customisation Adventure 2012, which I believe you proles call XCOM.Īs a set of systems, Conglomerate 451 does some nifty things. Cyberpunk, eh? Cyberpunk indeed, says Conglomerate 451. ![]() Eyes glued to the screen as you watch a text crawl tell the terrifying story of corporate goons going around with big buckets of glue and sticking everyone’s eyes to screens.forever. ![]() Corporations did this.”Īnd that’s you, sucked into a charybdis-level whirlpool of immersion. “This isn’t very interesting.” And then the screen goes all crackly or whatever, and a disembodied voice materialises and says: “The year is 2483, and all humans do is click on menus. “Hmmm, I’ve been clicking on this menu for a while,” You think. My latest big brain critic realisation is that dystopian sci-fi settings are a clever way to make basic (and possibly tedious) elements of interacting with your game, suddenly thematic. ![]()
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![]() ![]() What was the inspiration for this game?ĭavid Logan: My original motivation behind Whispering Willows was more gameplay focused I wanted to explore mechanics and abilities that a player might have if playing as a ghost. LOOT: Whispering Willows emphasizes atmosphere and discovery - more like an interactive work of fiction. We reached out to Night Light Interactive’s David Logan and Kyle Holmquist for more insights into Whispering Willows. It’s best described in one word: immersion.Ī story of adventure and discovery which unfolds as you progress through the game. Whispering Willows is launching on June 30th as a PlayStation cross-buy console exclusive for PS4 and PS Vita - with an exclusive dynamic PS4 theme available as well, along with special discount pricing for PlayStation Plus members. ![]() Help Elena use her astral projection to solve puzzles, help lost spirits, and uncover the mystery behind her missing father. In this spectral form, she can interact with the benevolent spirits and wicked wraiths that dwell within the walls of the sinister Willows Mansion. Whispering Willows is that kind of experience: an adventure game wherein you take on the role of Elena, a determined young girl with the extraordinary ability to project her spirit outside of her body. There you were, surrounded by an eerie, raging silence, overcome by the haunting feeling that you knew - just knew - you weren’t alone. The excitement! The anticipation! The heightened, electrified, tingle that ran down your spine. Ever go exploring somewhere you shouldn’t have? ![]() |
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