Been trying to find something motivating during this quarantine, so I thought maybe I'd try writing about games again. Thought maybe I could play random indie games for 30 mins or so to get a feel for them, do a little research and then write previews. Started with two today, idk if I'll stick with it. Writing is pretty rusty but I figure I need the practice doing something other than work and posting.
Richard & Alicespoiler (click to show/hide)
At a time when post-apocalyptic stories are increasingly relevant warnings of the current global pandemic climate, we look back at this 2013 point & click adventure game made by Owl Cave (Charnel House Trilogy, and whose creator Olivia White is heavily involved in the No Sleep horror podcast).
Richard & Alice tells a story in a world where an endless snowstorm has created a global disaster wiping out scores of humanity in the frozen wastelands. The player assumes the control of Richard, a father whose been locked in an unground prison cell that is part of a project for humanity’s survival. He has a TV which humorously enough likes to show nature sloth channels and anime visual novel adaptations, a bed, shower, and a computer to submit any complaints for anything that bothers him such a “hey guys, the shower water’s kind of cold”. For a time this has been Richard’s daily routine.
This all changes when the prison cell across from him, which had been under construction following a collapse, receives a new prisoner in the form of Alice. Quickly the two bond and through player controlled flashbacks Alice begins to tell her story of the current outside struggle and how she ended up in a cell across from Richard.
While the puzzles and the interface may leave a little to be desired, with a fairly basic look/interact command system and the sprites running on the Adventure Game Studio engine, they do have their simplistic charm in a Maniac Mansion way. But mostly it’s the writing in Alice & Richard which shines and makes the game stand above your average indie adventure game. From the get go the story, worldview and characters are engaging & intriguing. Part-thriller, part-horror tale, part-prison buddy adventure, Richard & Alice sinks the hooks in early on to invest the player into the story of Richard & Alice and where they may go.
As Owl Cave’s first commercial game, Richard & Alice solidifies the studio as great storytellers and sets up promise for the future titles. Like the game’s protagonists, a reminder that storytelling can bring hope into a grim world
Aegis Defendersspoiler (click to show/hide)
Within the first five minutes, it’s clear that developer GUTS department are unabashed fans of Miyazaki Hayao’s Nausicaa. The art style shares many similarities and the playable duo of Bart and Cluo are just outside copyright infringement levels of Miyazaki’s classic. In this 2d side-scrolling puzzle platform tower defense game, the duo search through the ruins of a long fallen world for scrap as they fight shelled beasts.
However, Defenders is more than simply a Ghibli look-a-like. The gameplay, which has players switching between the two lead characters (or controlled separately in a two-player co-op mode) is a unique mashup of genres. For the first part of each level, players will guide Bart and Cluo through gorgeous forests and landscapes in a puzzle platformer, finding secrets and using their unique abilities to help each other progress to the goal similar to classics like Lost Vikings or, somewhat more recently, the Trine games.
Upon reaching the end of each level, the duo finds an ancient rune at which point the gameplay switches over from puzzle platformer to a side scrolling tower defense gameplay (hence the Defenders name). Here the defense segments are split into build phases, and wave phases. In the build phases, characters use their abilities that had previously for puzzles such as building bombs or turrets, to set up defenses to defend against the incoming waves of enemies trying to destroy the ruin. There is also an Ikaruga style color switching mechanic where the enemies come in different colors and Cluo & Bart are each strong against a specific color type. Together with crafted traps and playing and swapping characters to join in the attack, players attempt to get through increasingly difficult defense waves.
Surviving each stage takes players to a base camp hub where they can spend the currency discovered in the levels and won from the tower defense sections to upgrade their weapons or discover new recipes for craftable items. These downtime sections also allow the characters to chat around a campfire and sprinkle in world lore and character development.
The story in Aegis Defenders is presented through good looking comic cutscenes, and mid-stage dialogues between the Bart and Cluo. These interchanges even have small dialogue choices, where depending on the choice, bonus points are awarded. It’s doesn’t have a huge effect, but it does bring a bit of nice agency and likeability to the pair. The story itself tells a tale of great immortal beings who survived after the great fall of the world and now humanity has raised them up as gods, each god ruling a different region and having a different ruling style. It’s an interesting enough backstory to give narrative hook to the puzzle platformer tower defense hybrid.
Lastly, it would be hard to write about Aegis Defenders and not at least mention the sprites, as the spritework in the game is high quality work with charming animations and nice style such as a comic panel looking picture in picture view during the defense segments when the other character is out of view. Even if Aegis Defenders’ gameplay wasn’t unique & fun to play, Aegis Defenders would be worth a look for its visual presence alone, even in a medium where great looking platformers are almost a dime and dozen.
Overall, whether Aegis Defenders can keep the gameplay routine of exploring, defending and upgrading exciting for it’s ~10 hour game length*, will have to be seen. However, early on Aegis Defenders definitely shows a promising formula and even if you’re someone who rolls their eyes at the words “tower defense” (i.e. this writer), the platforming and puzzle sections are enjoyable enough to give this game a look.
*According to howlongtobeat.com
*fyi Aegis Defenders is free on humble games today.