The Secret Of Monkey Island (Special Edition)

The Secret of Monkey Island (TSMOI) Special Edition is the remastered version of the classic LucasArts point-and-click adventure game – Monkey Island 1. The series follows the goofy yet at times sassy Guybrush Threepwood on his way to becoming top-dog in the pirate world in the made-up Caribbean during the ever so romantic age of piracy. If you are a fan of one of the following: pirates, comedy, laughing, having fun or point-and-click adventures, then you should definitely pick this gem up, RIGHT NOW.

#9 Lens of the elemental Tetrad

Mechanics: 

  • In a point-and-click adventure game, players move around by clicking their mouse/ pressing a button on their controller. Where the character goes or what they interact with is governed by the cursor’s location on the screen.
  • As with many other point-and-click adventure games, TSMOI offers the option for players to move around, initiate dialogues with NPCs, use items from the inventory and interact with objects in the scene.
Actions available in the game
  • While the base mechanics are generic, TSMOI is unique in its usage of these mechanics for its heavily themed minigames and puzzles. For example, TSMOI has managed to incorporate sword fighting – an essential part of pirate life, seamlessly into a game that only allows point-and-clicking. To avoid spoilers, I will only mention that this particular minigame requires the mechanics of a dialogue tree solely, yet, done so in such an ingenious way that it has become the most memorable part of the game among many fans. The minigames and puzzles will get more complicated over time, and the players will have to combine many of the basic point-and-click mechanics to make progress.
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition | A Force for Good : classic  PC gaming
Example of a dialogue tree in game
  • There are also some notable mechanics improvements in the remaster. Firstly, pixel-by-pixel hunting is no longer in the game: the player will no longer have to slowly search every single pixel for a way out of a puzzle. This change is good design; puzzles will actually be puzzles instead of an eye test. 
Pixel hunting was popular in older games/versions
  • Secondly, surprising deaths are not in the game. Most LucasArts point-and-click have never “condoned” deaths in their game. The death mechanic (in other point-and-click adventure games) used to scare players off exploring areas and dialogues or force them to be saving their games every 5 minutes of playtime. In either case, the mechanic imposes a terrible experience. In the former case, players would have missed out on so much fun content, and your (game designers >:( ) work have gone to waste for no reason! In the latter, stopping to save regularly causes boring downtime and disruption to the story’s immersion. The absence of these 2 mechanics in TSMOI adds to its attractiveness for point-and-click adventure games.

Aesthetics + Story: 

  • The game uses 2D graphics with beautifully drawn backdrops that give an illusion of a “depth” in the scene. In some scenes, the characters can navigate “into” the screen, an illusion caused by simple minimisation combined with walking animation. 
A scene that utilises “3D” illusion
  • Scenes are coloured vibrantly, partly to help with puzzle-solving and partly to help with the romanticisation of the story, similar to the style of Pixar movies. 
A vibrant illustration of what would have been a bar filled with filthy pirates!
  • The story is deemed “prescripted”, and you may think only the first playthrough is worth it. On the contrary, the animation and writings are done so elegantly that they always entice players back for a replay. Compared to the classic VGA version, besides the smoothening of polygons for a “HD” experience, this version has also cleaned up the user interface to better enjoy the drawn scene.
  • A returning player who wants a blast from the past can switch to the endearing classic graphics at the pr­­­ess of a button!
Refined polyons!
256 colors classic VGA pixel sprites

Technology: TSMOI has come a long way from 16-colour floppy disk support to 256-color CD-ROM support to now being shipped across many modern platforms and devices. With more storage space and modern hardware, the remastered version could insert beautiful voice acting and improved controls and audio. Players can now enjoy the story in many settings:

  • Play and finish it on the PS3 with your best friend over a weekend sleepover (recommended!)  
  • Isolate yourself in a dark cosy room on your PC (WARNING: Sleeping schedule in danger!) 
  • Simply lean back on your vacation chair with the Ipad ($$).

#94 Lens of Atmosphere (atmosphere)

  • The newly added voice acting has taken the writings of the dialogue to a new level. Characters personalities used to be subjected to the players’ interpretation through visuals. Now, the characters talk to the players with different pronunciations and tones. Pirates now sound more piraty, grumpy old man appears even grumpier, and Guybrush Threepwood sounds even more clumsy.
  • The contrasts between the volumes of background music and the various pace at which each is composed trigger extremely effective perspective changes when the player enters scenes with different background tracks.
  • The game relies heavily on interleaving cutscenes between puzzles as a mark of progress and a storyteller. With the cartoonish cinematics, the player will find themselves almost watching an interactive Disney blockbuster animated film.

#6 Lens of Curiosity

  • TSMOI story isn’t profoundly creative, but there is always that lingering, annoying question that players will be pushed to finish the game: What on earth is the secret of the Monkey Island?
  • Another contributor to curiosity is the massive bank of witty responses in the dialogue tree.
  • Every character (to my knowledge) holds some kind of in-jokes or pop-culture references, and it is absolutely hilarious to find out what they have to say. 
  • The game is comedic, but the writing is so smartly fused with the story’s theme that the player doesn’t feel distracted. Instead of being tired by the humour, players look forward to seeing what the next new punchline will be.
  • The curiosity to find out which actions work on which items, and the satisfaction when something finally gives, is what all TSMOI players subconsciously feel throughout the game.

#8 Lens of Problem Solving

  • Since there are no “dead ends” compared to some other point-and-clicks, TSMOI’s puzzles are freer, more forgiving, and somewhat more manageable.
  • The difficulty is well balanced and not utterly illogical that players still feel extremely accomplished after solving one without getting stuck for the whole day.
  • The game ships with a “hint” function to help impatient players or simply for players to clarify that they have not encountered a bug. (Also, this is kind of the “easy mode”)
  • The usage of the hint function is strongly discouraged personally. If you got your game legally, there is most certainly no bugs. 
  • In addition, there are no words for the feeling of finally realising the small details that you missed to finish the puzzle. You would probably feel so relieved and think to yourself, “Good one, LucasArts”. This is the essential experience that all TSMOI players should get.
  • After solving “major” puzzles, players are rewarded with a cutscene, or various unforgettably majestic instrumentals marking their current progress in the game.
Track 18 should give you an impression of how good the music is!

#86 Lens of Character Function

  • Every character has a role, even the “background pirate A” archetypes.
  • Expectedly, the “background” characters have less critical dialogues with more emphasis on jokes, while the more critical looking characters’ conversations are more developed and branched out.
  • Most players will miss out on their first playthrough the hints/foreshadowing cleverly hiding behind the seemingly innocent humour of a “background” character. Every time you come back to the game, you notice more and more of these little details that you oversee due to frustrations from doing the puzzles.

TSMOI have managed to merge modern entertainment trends with contents written before most of us were born, creating a magical work of art that even the most cynical critics will close an eye on any mistakes found.

Every time you sit down and start the journey with Guybrush Threepwood, deep-down, you secretly hope to get stuck at a puzzle again; you wish the game would never end. You remember the dumb mistakes you make on the first playthrough, you see vividly what the developers have fascinated about the era of pirates, and you want to be part of that fantasy. Most importantly, you crave for the sequel so much that you can’t help replaying during the wait, and that, is what I call good game design.

Genshin Impact

Intro

Genshin Impact is an action role-playing game developed by Chinese gaming company miHoYo and was published in 2020. Players get immersed in an anime-like open-world setting and fight by casting elemental magic as well as character-swapping. It is free-to-play and its gacha system is its main source of monetization.

Genshin Impact takes place in a fantasy world called Teyvat. It is divided into seven nations all with different elements and their respective gods. The player, who is the traveler, is in search of his/her lost sibling alongside with a companion, Paimon. Throughout the journey, they have also involved themselves in the affairs of Teyvat’s nations.

Website Link: https://genshin.mihoyo.com/en/

Lens of Elemental Tetrad

Mechanics

In the game, each character has their own unique damaging abilities. Some characters inflict physical damage using their normal, charged and plunge attack, whereas others inflict elemental damage. By attacking at a certain altitude, normal attacks are converted to a plunging attack. Charged attacks are stronger than normal attacks, hence a stamina system is implemented to limit its usage. Stamina recovers over time when the character is not depleting it.

There are seven elements in the game, namely, pyro, hydro, cryo, electro, geo, dendro and anemo. Each character is associated with one of the seven elements which corresponds to the elemental damage that they are able to deal with their elemental skill and bursts. The elemental burst is significantly stronger than the elemental skill and hence there’s an energy system for it to prevent spamming. Cooldowns are also applicable to both skills and bursts. By mixing two different elements, powerful reactions called elemental reactions will inflict a status effect, deal more damage, lower damage resistance, and etc.

Story

Each character has their own unique background story and development throughout the game. The development of each character has yet to be concluded as it is still being written and the game is actively being developed and improved. These stories can be accessed by finishing quests and chatting with NPCs to learn more about the game’s lore.

Aesthetics

The visuals and graphics of the game speaks for itself from the trailer and it is really appealing given that it’s free-to-play. Each character has their own unique outfit and look to complement their behavior and personality. The game’s original soundtracks compliment the environment and scenario that they’re in which includes neutral soundtracks and battle soundtracks.
Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/4jodtP1gXnHd8aU4hQiXHL?si=4LT04uYRSSusiwFudeap5g

Technology

Genshin Impact is developed in Unity and it supports multiple platforms which currently includes Android, iOS, Windows, PS4 and PS5. They are working towards releasing it on Nintendo Switch as well sometime in the future.

Lens of Emotions

Dialogue from a story quest
  • Great individual character development and storylines that brings out certain emotions.
  • The original soundtracks composed by Yu-Peng Chen greatly accentuate the emotions escalating it to a whole different level.

Lens of Venue

  • Each nation has its own unique designs and themes to create to right atmosphere.
  • It has nation-specific mechanisms required to reach certain goals and rewards.
  • Some areas are more challenging as you are constantly inflicted with a status effect such as in Dragonspine where you get inflicted with Subzero Climate taking continuous damage after an extended period of time without a heat source.
Dragonspine

Lens of Curiosity

  • Each character has their own unique set of voice lines that remains locked until it reaches a certain friendship level. These levels can be increased by gaining friendship exp via quests.
  • Each character has an untold background story that is still being told.

Lens of Endogenous Value

  • Story quests and events give lucrative rewards to players necessary for character progression
  • In order to progress through the game, certain battle power milestones have to be reached unless the player is mechanically good and patient. Artifacts, which are pieces of equipment, can be obtained via Domains, which are dungeons, to power up each character further. Weapons can be obtained via chests or their gacha system. Upgrading these require resources scattered around the world of Teyvat.
Domain

Lens of Problem Solving

  • Challenging puzzles are scattered throughout the world of Teyvat while players venture around the world where promising rewards are awaiting them.
  • Certain areas require piecing together fragmented information and observation of the environment in order to reveal or unlock, e.g. a cannon utilized in a separate quest (there are actually 3 cannons in total) can actually be used to break open a cave that leads to a hidden domain, no clue was given whatsoever.
    p.s. I actually looked up the Internet for this.
Cannon required to unlock domain
Close up of Domain in the cave

Conclusion

Overall this is a great game and it is still being actively maintained and developed. If you have the time and like anime RPG, I would recommend trying this out as their cutscenes are just phenomenal. Gameplay mechanics are well thought-through, the art style is visually pleasing, amazing soundtrack arrangements and so much more.

Life is Strange: True Colors

Life is Strange: True Colors delivers a more down-to-earth and human experience than what one might expect from a game classified as a AAA title. As a graphic adventure game with its gameplay focused on player choices, the most famous of its genre likely Telltale Games’ ‘The Walking Dead’, the bulk of its draw is in its storytelling and narrative and its ability to deliver emotional impact to players. On that front, True Colors delivers, winning Best Storytelling at the Golden Joystick Awards 2021 and Games for Impact at The Game Awards 2021.

As the third installment of the Life is Strange series of games, the series differentiates itself with its thoroughly normal settings, its games are set in representations of the world we live in with a single difference: the protagonist has a superpower. In True Colors we follow the story of its protagonist, Alex, who has the power of empathy, being able to read and feel the emotions of others, as she finds herself adjusting into a new life in the quiet mountain town of Haven Springs.  Perhaps the game’s greatest strength is its ability to address themes and issues that resonate with its players, struggling to fit in, dealing with grief and loss, and mental health issues just to name a few.

Gameplay Video

Lens 9: The Elemental Tetrad

The sun gleams on the mountains and forests of Haven Springs, as the river surges under the evocative Bridge of Flowers.
The gorgeous yet down-to-earth setting of Haven Springs
  • Aesthetics
    • As a AAA title, the game is without a doubt visually stunning. The graphics captures the beauty of the game’s setting and masterfully delivers a sense of calm and serenity that can just as quickly evoke anxiety and tension as needed by the story.
    • The aesthetics are further reinforced by the game’s stellar soundtrack with music that perfectly complements the themes and feeling of the game.
  • Mechanics
    • The primary points of player interaction arises from making decisions within dialogue and utilizing Alex’s powers of empathy. These core mechanics strengthen the theme of the game in emphasizing emotions
    • The mechanics of the game are kept simple so as to not detract player attention away from its story and aesthetics
  • Technology
    • Dealing with human emotion being the game’s biggest theme, motion capture technology was used to fully translate the breadth of emotions that can be captured by facial expression into the character models. This produces characters that look and feel incredibly real, strengthening the empathy players have with them.
  • Story
    • As a game with a narrative focus, its story is its strongest and most important element of the four in the elemental tetrad.
    • The story is crafted to showcase the consequences of the player’s decisions (mechanics) while emphasizing its core themes.

Lens 1: Emotion

In a sculptor's studio, Alex watches as a red emotional aura crackles around Charlotte's head. Charlotte is clearly upset.
Alex’s power of empathy in action

Emotions are what makes this game so incredibly memorable. As I played through the game, I could empathize with each and every character, their emotional journey being beautifully captured and written in such a believable and relatable manner. Every big decision I had to make heightened my anxiety as I agonized with what was the right choice (sometimes there is no right choice). The game, true to its theme, delivers in making its players feel.

Lens 6: Curiosity

Throughout the game, compulsory cutscenes give us glimpses into the lives and intricacies of the inhabitants of Haven Springs. While not an ‘open world’ game, True Colors encourages exploration within the bounds of the story chapter or scene, with dozens of little interactable objects, some of which you can even utilize Alex’s powers to see a memory associated with these objects. Together all these little details paint Haven Springs as vibrant and full of life and allowed me to discover the intricacies of its characters only hinted at in mandated dialogue.

Furthermore, aside from its main cast of named characters, there are little subplots that we can discover and affect that could easily be missed but are incredibly satisfying for the curious explorer, ranging from bringing together two lovebirds to helping a sad soul find his dog.

Lens 73: Story Machine

Making choices

As a game whose core mechanic is about making choices, it is clearly important that the choices makes the player feel like they have affected the narrative in some way. As with many games of its kind, True Colors suffers from the ‘Combinatorial Explosion’ problem. In a game of branching choices, it is infeasible to create a truly branching narrative. The game essentially reaches its climax and ends the same way regardless of the choices I made. This was somewhat mitigated by the weaving of the choices not with the plot itself but the way the characters react to you in the game’s climax.

Perhaps a way the game could have strengthened the impact of choices could be to utilize its epilogue cutscene to show the how you had affected the lives of each of the characters.

Lens 89: The Character Web

Frequently, I see games where character interactions are focused between the player character and NPCs. In True Colors, it is easy to see that the effort placed in building the relationships between each of the town’s inhabitants. It strengthens the sense of Alex being an outsider to the town and makes Haven Springs feel real and alive and not just a place in a video game but filled with people who love and hate each other.

Link to Game Website

https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-gb/games/life-is-strange-true-colors/

Ultimate Party Platformer

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a party game that plays out as a platformer game (think Mario). The aim of the game is simple, get from the starting point of the map to the endpoint and make sure no one else does it. No points are awarded if all the players are able to complete the course. To do so, players are given the choice of various platforms and traps that they can put on the map before the start of each round. The player who has the highest number of points at the end of a set number of rounds wins the game and is the ULTIMATE ANIMAL!

Link to steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/386940/Ultimate_Chicken_Horse/

Lens 9: The Elemental Tetrad

COVID19 and the subsequent closures had introduced us to a slew of party games ranging from Among Us to the Jackbox line of games. Ultimate Chicken Horse however proved to be a fresh of breath air compared to those as the game is simple enough such that there was no real need to overthink each and every one of your actions. As a party game, I would put it to be closest to something like Mario Party minigames where you have to achieve a simple objective before the rest of the players do.

As far as mechanics go, the game is alike most generic platformers – you could jump, spring to gain a higher vertical height and wall jump. However adding the ability to modify the environment as you play more rounds adds a whole lot more dynamism to the gameplay. One round could be simple, needing only to jump on platforms to reach the goal. Suddenly all hell breaks lose in the next round as a wrecking ball, 2 arrow turrets and a black hole is added to the level. As you go through multiple rounds, each round feels similar but yet has some additions or removal that changes the experience of the level. This also makes it infinitely replayable as no two levels will ever feel the same. The gameplay is very well designed. I was in awe as to how they were able to take a tried and tested genre in platformers and convert it into a chaotic and interactive experience for a party. And yet the mechanics were nothing new which makes you feel “Why didn’t I think of making something like this?”.

The artstyle is simple. The characters you play are doodled animals in a cartoonish world. This however adds to the game’s charm as a cute family-friendly game (barring some of the death weapons used). You unlock new characters and cosmetics as you progress through the game but I found myself not being too focused on this. The gibberish that the animals make while it jumps, dies or celebrates however adds to the whimsical nature of the game which makes even being turned into a shish kebab by an arrow turret light-hearted.

The game itself does not require powerful hardware to run given its simple graphics. It’s available on multiple platforms on consoles as well as PC. I however found that it is best played on the Nintendo Switch which already has built-in controllers that can be used for multiple players. This adds to convenience factor of not needing to have multiple controllers and makes the pairing process seamless. The option to play online with others exists but nothing beats being physically present with your friends to enjoy their reactions to getting killed by your spike trap.

The game has really no story elements but that is completely alright since the bulk of the game is in the gameplay. If anything the stories are the funny incidents that happen while playing that you end up recalling and sharing with others (read: friends you make along the way).

Lens 8: Problem Solving

Unlike the way I played most platformers, I noticed that my approach to each new round in Ultimate Chicken Horse to be more methodical. For something like the classic Sonic games, I would dive head first into the level with speed without regard for discerning the optimal path. In Ultimate Chicken Horse however, I would usually chart out a path before hand, and ensure to understand the timing of my moves in order to get to the goal. If it is clear the route is not viable, I would reevaluate the other possible options and test them out. This introduces an element of Problem Solving where one has to find a viable approach to reach the endpoint of the specific round.

Such a map state is also reached because of the decision making process that each player has to go through when placing their platforms or traps. The players have to choose an item and location to place on the map such that they are able to reach the end goal while making sure that other players are not able to do so. This could lead to really complex levels which are technically possible to complete but require some form of thought and technique. Obviously there are situations where the level is impossible to complete and in such a state, the game will offer bombs to destroy previously placed elements of the map. The player with the bomb will then have to think of which obstacles to remove and which to keep such that the level does not become too easy.

Lens 34: Skill

Having grown up with platformer games such as Mario, Megaman and Super Smash Bros, I was very familiar with the movesets in Ultimate Chicken Horse. I knew how to time my jumps after a sprint in order to get the maximum vertical and horizontal distance, I knew how to wall jump effectively and most importantly, I knew how to avoid projectiles coming my way. This meant that even though it was the first time all of us were playing the game, my experience had given me a sizeable advantage. Some of the newer platformer players kept lamenting how my character had a higher jumping height compared to theirs when I did a sprint jump.

For a party game, this disparity could quickly become problematic since it is meant to be something that can be enjoyed by casual players. To this end, the game added some balancing mechanisms like the handicap system which allowed you to reduce the percentage of points that select players would receive. I personally didn’t think this was the ideal solution, but it did achieve the effect that it intended so I guess I can’t argue with the results.

Lens 27: Time

By default, each round had no time limit. This meant that players could take their time in order to complete the round. The round would only finish when all of the players are either dead or have reached the end point. The implication of this is that there are times where a single player would struggle to reach the end-zone . The players who are done with the stage would then be unable to do anything other than watch the remaining player struggle their way through the map. For an otherwise polished game, this was a source of frustration since they have to wait an undisclosed amount of time for their next in game action. There is however some sense of balancing in play where the dead/successful players can heckle the remaining player in order to pressure them to fasten their pace. This is another benefit of playing the game physically together as compared to online where the heckling can only be auditory.

Lens 45: Competition vs Cooperation

Undoubtedly, Ultimate Chicken Horse is a competitive game. There can only be one Ultimate Animal. Some level of cooperation however, is required in order to be able to reach the end-goal in the first place. This is especially true at the start of each level where there are no items in place on the level which means there is a need to build a path together.

Cooperation is needed to build a path from the concaved part of the cliff to the red flag

There is a constant need to evaluate the current position and choose between messing up the stage further or making it easier. If you are not in the lead, there may be a need to make the level slightly easier so that you will be able to gain points on the leader. On the other hand you wouldn’t want to make it too easy as everyone would be able to complete the level, resulting in no points. The fine balance between working together and cooperating with other players to build something workable adds depth to the seemingly simple game.

Lens 2: Essential Experience

That said, I love to play as the embodiment of chaos and making rounds absurdly difficult. In the end, party games are built to create interactions between players. This involves eliciting reactions from other players as well as the playful banter that arises from the occurrences in-game. The gameplay alone could be fun but it would be no different from a single player game if you are unable to mess around and have fun with the people you’re with. And to that end, I think being chaotic suits the purposes of the game.

Jump King

Description

Jump King is a 2D platformer developed and published by Nexile in 2019. The player assumes the role of an unnamed king whose goal is to reach the top in search of a Smoking Hot Babe. The game features pixelated art and classic graphics with an incredible OST to keep the player immersed in the atmosphere of the vertical world. Challenging yet addictive gameplay; one single missed jump could lead to a long fall and a huge loss of progress.

Gameplay Video

Lens 9: The Elemental Tetrad

Mechanics

  • The player controls are simple using only the arrow keys and the spacebar. It is easy to learn, anyone could jump right into it and start playing right away.
  • Simple to learn, hard to master. To jump higher and reach the top, the player only needs to hold the spacebar and release it. However, this simple act of jumping takes practice to master.
  • Once the player is in the air, no controls can be made. This encourages players to think before jumping.
  • There are many paths and ways to the top. Sometimes after numerous attempts, a player may discover a different an easier path on the way up.
  • One miscalculated jump leads to a loss of progress. The higher you are, the further you fall.
  • The game also features hidden areas, secret collectibles, and a whole new path to the top.

Story

  • The game has a simple story: An unnamed king wearing full plate armor and a gift of jumping discovers a legend of a Smoking Hot Babe on the top of a tower. He resolves himself to reach her by traversing through a precarious and dangerous path to the top of the tower.
  • NPCs throughout different levels expands the world through dialogue or motivation speeches that speaks of their past experiences to the top.

Aesthetics

  • On the way to the top, the player experiences different environments and scenery of pixelated classic graphics.
  • The soundtrack is composed by talented musicians that captures the ambience of different levels in the game which enhances the immersion of the player.

Technology

  • Jump King is built using MonoGame engine.
  • Jump King does not require much GPU power or hardware requirements to play due to having 2D pixelated graphics. Low-end PCs can run the game.

Lens 38: Challenge

  • Jump King is hard and tough. It progressively gets harder to reach the next platform as you proceed higher in the tower. This gives players multiple challenges as they get better at the game.
  • Although Jump King starts off tough, the game controls are simple and accommodates a wide variety of skill levels of a player. As they fall, a player would be able to understand what went wrong as the only mistake they did was simply holding the spacebar for too long or too short. This gives the player motivation to improve as they know what to improve on and mentally challenge themselves to get back on their feet.
  • Challenge is not defined in Jump King. It is defined in the player’s mind. For example, a player challenges himself to reach the next area. A player challenges himself to reach the top within a certain timing. A player challenges himself to never fall. These challenges instinctively come into mind as Jump King’s ultimate challenge and goal is to reach the top of the tower.

Lens 34: Skill

  • As the game is easy to play and control with only the arrow keys and the spacebar, players will not be shunned away by overwhelming controls of a game.
  • Completing this game requires determination and muscle memory. It is a skill everyone develops as they continue playing the game. Throughout the game, the player progressively gets better as they repeatedly does the same action of holding the spacebar and releasing it improving muscle memory which is the sole skill of the game.
  • Jump King mechanics are one of a kind, every player starts off bad and no one is ahead of the others in the beginning of the game. This gives the player motivation, and the game could be considered fair.
  • As the players fall and repeat the same stages, the player could feel themselves improving at the game due to their muscle memory of how they cleared the obstacles. This gives the player a sense of reward and accomplishment that they were getting better.

Lens 74: Obstacle

  • There are certain points and obstacles in the game where it is incredibly difficult to overcome for the player to reach higher in the tower. These obstacles are meant to challenge the player, to give him a sense of goal or target he must reach before reaching the top.
  • These obstacles are meant to test the player’s skills and determination. They determine if the player is ready for the next area.
  • Despite frustrating the player when the player falls due to an obstacle, it is not entirely a bad thing. As they fall to a stage they have cleared before, it helps them gain confidence as they could feel that they were getting better, knowing the different timings of a jump to the next platform through muscle memory. Confidence is greatly needed so that the player does not feel defeated and unmotivated to reach higher in the tower due to its increasing difficulty.

Lens 1: Emotion

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  • Jump King is ultimately a game that focuses on determination. With determination, everyone can reach the top albeit at different speed and timings.
  • Throughout the game, the player experiences a multitude of emotions ranging from frustration, satisfaction, determination, and many others. For example, it is frustrating to fall, or it is satisfying to clear an area or most importantly, the sense of accomplishment and pride the player feels after clearing the game with many difficulties and obstacles.
  • These emotions give the player an experience where they could share with their friends and challenge each other, watch their favorite streamer experience different emotions, showing a different side of them which makes it relatable, and creates a well-known and enjoyable game to remember.

Game Design Analysis: It Takes Two

Description

It Takes Two is an action-adventure platform game developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts (EA), released for all major gaming platforms in March 2021. It can only be played in cooperative (co-op) multiplayer between two players in either local or online split-screen.

The game follows Cody and May, a married couple on the verge of divorce. They have been transformed into dolls that resemble them, and throughout the game, are required to work together to solve numerous puzzles and obstacles in the hopes of reawakening in their real bodies.

It Takes Two – Official Gameplay Trailer

Official page for It Takes Two
Steam store page for It Takes Two

Analysis

This blog post aims to analyse It Takes Two using the following lenses as defined in The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses written by Jesse Schell:

  • The Elemental Tetrad
  • Endogenous Value
  • Problem Solving
  • Unification
  • Friendship

The Lens of The Elemental Tetrad

The elemental tetrad consists of mechanics, story, aesthetics and technology. This blog post argues that It Takes Two utilises all of them well in order to form a cohesive experience for both players. For example, the combination of the games’ undemanding difficulty and its colourful cartoon aesthetic make it very easy for someone who does not play games often to join their significant other in playing this game.

Mechanics

  • A unique take on the action-adventure platformer genre, as co-op gameplay is a requirement rather than just an option
  • Co-op nature of the game lends itself well to the game’s puzzles; most (if not all) of them are implemented with both players needing to work together to complete them
  • Game is set in split-screen almost 100% of the time (when it is not, the camera is set in a way such that both players can be seen) to allow the player to effectively coordinate with their partner in real time
  • An amalgamation of multiple game mechanics of sorts: the game has nine chapters, each of which introduces mechanics unique to the chapter itself
    • This variance in mechanics with each chapter makes the game feel fresh regardless of how far in the players are
  • A whopping twenty-five mini-games designed for the player to play against their co-op partner, adding yet another layer of complexity to the game’s already varied game mechanic system
    • Mini-games range from snowball fights to something as traditional as chess
ITTSG41.png
Shuffle Board mini-game

Story

  • The story provides a backdrop for the multiple mechanics set by the game in each chapter and gives a reason for their existence
    • Corroborates the development team’s intention of connecting gameplay with the narrative, and that “as the story unfolds, the game’s mechanics will change accordingly”
    • e.g. In a particular chapter, May complains that Cody has no sense of time and so Cody is given the ability to manipulate time, while May laments that she cannot be in two places at once and so she is given the ability to create a clone of herself
  • Overarching plot revolves around the transformed Cody and May as they traverse re-imagined parts of their property
  • They are guided by Dr. Hakim, an anthropomorphic form of a relationship therapy book, whose sole aim is to help the couple fix their tumultuous relationship
  • Throughout the story, the couple starts to rekindle their relationship, lending to the “feel-good” nature of the game

Aesthetics

  • Incredibly colourful and striking visuals
  • Each of the nine chapters hosts a completely unique setting, allowing each area to be visually distinct from one another in terms of colour palette, sound design and overall feel
ITTFinal71.png
A nice easter egg of Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road

Technology

  • It Takes Two was written mostly in AngelScript, which Hazelight implemented into the Unreal Engine through their own plugin
  • The game’s performance (at least on PC) was completely smooth, which personally is especially important when trying to hold the attention of not just one, but two players

The Lens of Endogenous Value

  • Unlike other games of the family-friendly platformer genre, the only “collectibles” in It Takes Two are its twenty five mini-games, which are scattered throughout the world and have to be discovered by the players in order for them to be playable
  • Players are encouraged to find these mini-games, because they serve as a great way to take a break after a stressful puzzle in the level
  • While there are no rewards for winning, the player can still undoubtedly derive value from these mini-games from having bested their co-op partner
ITTSG74.png
Being able to win in a race against a co-op partner in a non-racing game was an interesting treat, to say the least

The Lens of Problem Solving

  • It Takes Two is riddled with a plethora of puzzles that serve as obstacles for the players
  • For them to be solved, they will require the application of both the player’s own character abilities as well as those of their co-op partner, as each character’s abilities are often complementary to each other’s
    • e.g. To combat the enemy wasps in “The Tree” chapter, Cody needs to smear sap onto them with his sap gun, while May has to finish them off with her match gun, capable of detonating sap
  • The variance in game mechanics with each chapter allows for an equally wide range of puzzles and challenges
Fighting off wasps in “The Tree” chapter

The Lens of Unification

  • The theme of It Takes Two revolves around the idea of collaboration
  • Reinforced in the game’s mechanics of requiring two players to continuously progress through the story
  • Also evident in the story, as the narrative follows the couple of Cody and May, throughout which they realise the importance of working together in order to resolve their marriage woes and rekindle their love for each other
Collaboration: Dr. Hakim’s favourite word

The Lens of Friendship

  • The two-player requirement of It Takes Two is probably one of the most striking features of the game
  • Allows the player to build a stronger friendship (or relationship) with the person they are playing with, both through competition (mini-games) and cooperation (solving puzzles together to finish the game)
  • With this game, the player is able to go through an immersive and unique gaming experience with a partner of their choosing from start to finish
Being able to ride a frog with someone else is simply not possible in many other games

Conclusion

While it is not the first game to feature the two-player requirement — Hazelight Studios has also previously released games like A Way Out (2018) and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (2013) — this blog post posits that It Takes Two‘s implementation is the most refined and creative. It is, without a doubt, one of the most innovative games when it comes to mechanics, story, and tying both of them together to form an enjoyable experience for not just one, but two players. The game is simply a must-play with either a family member, friend or significant other.

Bloodborne: An Overview

Bloodborne is an action-RPG with Gothic horror and cosmic horror elements developed by Japanese game studio FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as an exclusive game for the PS4 on 24 March, 2015. FromSoftware, most famously known for the Souls series (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 1, 2 and 3) took their renowned combat system and level design and applied them to a new setting with a Gothic Victorian aesthetic. Due to its similarities with the other games, Bloodborne is also considered part of the Souls series (or the Soulsborne series as most gamers have taken to call it).

Player character interacting with an NPC. Note the minimalistic interface, with health (red) and stamina (green) bars at the top left, along with consumable items.

The game begins with the player character waking up in a dilapidated clinic in the city of Yharnam, receiving a “blood ministration” – a medical procedure that Yharnam is famous for. Shortly after, the player character is plagues by visions of werewolves and small grey creatures known as “messengers” before blacking out once again. When they finally regain consciousness, the player finally gains control over the character. Stepping out of the clinic room, the player is shortly unceremoniously killed by a werewolf, but instead of dying, they “wake up” in the Hunter’s Dream, a location that would serve as a base for the player throughout the course of the game, allowing them to level up and upgrade their weapons.

Welcome home, good hunter. Tonight, you shall join the hunt.

Gameplay from a boss fight from the Bloodborne DLC, The Old Hunters.

The Elemental Tetrad

Mechanics

Bloodborne’s mechanics are very similar to FromSoftware’s previous titles (such as those mentioned earlier) and its controls are designed for the Dualshock 4 controller (since Bloodborne is a PlayStation exclusive title). Movement-wise, it controls very similarly to most third-person action RPGs, with the ability to dodge and to lock onto enemy targets. The combat system revolves around the health and stamina bars of the player. Stamina is required to perform attacks, cast spells, to dodge and to sprint. Careful management of stamina is they key to surviving the nightmares of Yharnam.

Health is also an important resource, as losing all your health will cause the player to drop all accumulated currency (known as “Blood Echoes”) at their location of death, which can be retrieved. They will also be sent back to the previous checkpoint and most slain enemies will be revived. Healing items are also limited and have to be managed. One interesting mechanic is the “rally” system. Whenever the player takes some damage, a portion of the lost health can be recovered through attacking enemies, essentially taking back the life you lost, encouraging a more aggressive, fast-paced playstyle compared to previous FromSoftware titles.

Different weapons also have different rates at which health is regained through attacking. On the topic weapons, all weapons in Bloodborne have an alternate form, which can be some sort of weapon buff or change the shape (and therefore moves) of a weapon completely, allowing for a wide variety of playstyles and replayability.

Story

The story of Bloodborne is told indirectly through cryptic dialogue with NPCs and item descriptions. There are rarely, if any, direct explanations of the events in the game. Each item, even simple tools used by the player such as a Molotov cocktail, has an item description that depicts the lore behind it, and some items are crucial to deciphering the overarching story. This adds to the mystery in the game and at the same time allows players who interested in the story to come up with their own interpretations. It should come as no surprise that there are many YouTube videos explaining the lore and story in Bloodborne.

Aesthetics

Bloodborne’s aesthetic is very striking. The dark environments give an oppressive and foreboding feeling wherever the player goes, constantly putting the player on edge. However, the environments are very varied, including, but not limited to, city streets in Yharnam, the interiors of a cathedral, a dark forest and a few different nightmare realms. Somehow, despite the relatively constant dark colour palettes, the different areas of Bloodborne feel distinct from each other, each having its own flair or flavour. The level design in Bloodborne, where shortcuts can be opened to link older and newer areas, also help make the world feel more interconnected and real and is a signature aspect of FromSoftware’s level design.

The Gothic Victorian aesthetic makes a big first impression and can be seen in both the character’s clothes and equipment, and the surrounding architecture, with towering spires and spiked fences everywhere in the city. The blood and gore in Bloodborne further add to the oppressive atmosphere and players often find their characters drenched in blood after a battle. Aside from the visual aesthetics in the game, Bloodborne also features top-notch voice acting and music, further bringing the world to life.

Player character, covered in blood, interacting with an NPC.

Technology

Bloodborne was developed in an in-house game engine and does not feature any pre-rendered cutscenes. All cutscenes are rendered in real-time. The load of the game on the PS4 was noticeable in some locations, but for most parts of the game, it ran quite smoothly at 30 frames per second. I think that the graphics of Bloodborne is very good especially for its time, with dramatic lighting and clothing physics that bring the world to life and gives the player a sense of the speed at which their character moves respectively. If this game had been brought to PC however, I feel that it could be even more graphically stunning (not that it needs to be).

#38: The Lens of Challenge

The Soulsborne series is known for being very challenging, and Bloodborne is no exception. The main challenge in Bloodborne comes from the brutal combat. Enemies can kill the player very quickly, especially a new character. Normal enemies also tend to swarm the player, with both melee and ranged attacks. Bosses generally fight the player 1-on-1, but have even stronger, more varied attacks that must be memorised, so that the player can dodge them and fit in some attacks. In addition to just avoiding attacks, players also need fight opportunities to attack, lest the boss fight last forever. The limited amount of healing resources and the time needed to use them also pose a challenge, as players would need to decide when to heal and generally avoid damage to not run out of healing items. While the game is indeed hard, I think the challenge is appropriate and the feeling of triumph that comes with defeating a difficult boss is well worth the effort. It also forces the player to gain mastery over the game mechanics in order to win, which brings me to my next point.

#34: The Lens of Skill

The game, being so challenging, requires many different skills from the player, which are developed over the course of the game. What I like about Bloodborne is that most fights are determined by player skill with low amounts of randomness (except for a certain boss fight near the end of the game). Being able to read and react to enemy movements, having good spatial awareness and being aware of opportunities to attack or to heal are all essential skills required to beat the game. With practice, I feel that most players would be able to improve their skills and eventually beat the game. The game is hard and demanding, but not unfair. Since the game focuses on PvE content, improving these skills is a reward in and of itself, allowing players to clear content with more ease and derive more fun.

#84: The Lens of the World

Bloodborne’s world, while grim and dark, is at the same time beautiful and intriguing. Exploring the different nooks and crannies of the game world fills my head with myriad questions about the nature of this world. Through NPC interactions and hidden side quests, we can also witness change in our environment and the characters around us, making it feel like a horrific but nevertheless living world.

#85: The Lens of the Avatar

As the player character is created by the player and is not set by the game itself, it allows players to project their ideals onto their character. This can be in the form of the weapons and armour they choose, or in how they develop their character as it levels up. By allowing players such freedom of choice, the game allows us to create an ideal beast-slaying badass that best fit our own imagination, making for an unforgettable experience.

Conclusion

Bloodborne is an amazing game with a well-developed combat system and an enigmatic world. The visual style stands out and the music complements the different bosses in the game. While I’ve stopped playing it regularly (since I had already beaten it multiple times), it would forever be one of my top video games and I hope for a sequel. Alas, I had to leave out many parts of the game lest this review go on even longer. Nevertheless, I hope I had given you, the reader, a good initial idea of the game. Maybe you’ll even give it a try, if you own a PS4/5.

Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.

Spiritfarer

Description

Spiritfarer is a peaceful management game about dying. The game was a finalist in Seumas McNally Grand Prize during 2021’s Independent Games Festival (IGF). In the game, you play as Stella, who is the master of a boat for the spirits of the deceased. It is a platforming game that mainly takes place on said boat. The boat may be upgraded as you explore the world and befriend new spirits. The goal is to spend time with the spirit passengers, create memories with them and ultimately say goodbye to them and release them into the afterlife.

Stella, the main character, exploring one of the islands.

Game website

Steam link

Elemental tetrad

Mechanics

  • The game is somewhat about resource-gathering, town management, and crafting, like many other games. Yet, it is very unique.
  • Core mechanics are very simple and the real emphasis is on simplicity.
    • For example, there is no need to maximize efficiency, grind, or hurry. Instead, the game offers a peaceful, relaxing, and feel-good experience.
  • The game is very linear in its progression.
  • You interact and progress in the game through text-based interactions with the spirit companions.
  • One unique mechanic is that you can give every character in the game a hug, something that fortifies the emphasis on wholesomeness and feel-good.

Story

  • The game is very linearly story-driven.
  • You explore the world, upgrade and rearrange a boat filled with spirits who ask you to perform quests for them.
  • You are never forced to do a quest, and you can prioritize which of the spirit’s quest lines to perform next.

Aesthetics

  • It tackles the very heavy topic of death, but it does so with colourful graphics and hugs that make you feel good.
  • Beautifully hand-painted illustrations and animations.
  • The soundscape of the game is one of the best I have experienced in a long time. The whimsical soundtracks that play make the player settle in a good mood. The ambient sounds are peaceful and relaxing. The soundscape is just enough, not too little sound nor too much, and the quality manages to create a peaceful experience.

Technology

  • Although the game has astonishing 2D graphics, the requirements to run are not too high.
  • Available for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

Lenses

Lens #1: The Lens of Emotion

This game is about caring for other people, and then letting them go. This can lead to some parts of the game getting very emotional. Even though you do not spend a lot of time with the spirits, you can make deep connections with them, and parting ways with them and releasing them to the next realm can get very sad.

This is something that I think was very much intentional by the creators of the game. The game creators have a completely unique take on death, and prioritises feeling good and staying positive even when faced with such an emotional topic.

Lens #20: The Lens of Pleasure

When applying the Lens of Pleasure to Spiritfarer, there are some attributes (from LeBlanc’s Taxonomy of Game Pleasures) that have been emphasised by the game creators.

  • Sensation. The game is very much about using your senses, seeing beautiful illustrations, and hearing calming music that appeals to the pleasures of sensation.
  • Fantasy. There is pleasure in imagining a fantasy world and embodying a character that you are not. In this game, you play as Stella, and make very real connections, even though it is just in a fantasy world, which is very pleasurable.

Lens #21: The Lens of Flow

The game does not have a predefined, communicated goal. You play at your own pace, without any need to hurry up and you do what you enjoy. The overarching goal is to say goodbye to every spirit that you have made connections with after fulfilling their requests. The game only has one set ending so the long-term goal is the same for all players. But this is not a game played for completion. Actually, it more often than not invites the player to get distracted from the goals. Instead, the player may do what they desire, take how long they want, and prioritize to their own liking.

Since the game is not oriented towards completion or challenges, the goals are not designed to be challenging. The quests get a bit more complex over time, but there is no real way to fail with the tasks. This definitely requires a certain type of player, and a player in a certain mood to play this game. For the game to be enjoyable, the player must be willing to explore and experience, else it will just be a very straightforward and non-challenging game that does not bring much joy.

Graphical user interface

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Stella receives a quest from one of the spirits she’s hosting on the ferry.

Lens #79: The Lens of Freedom

When first playing the game, I thought it followed a very clear predefined route with little to no choice or branching available to the player. For example, the dialogues are text-based with no interaction. Additionally, for the first three spirits that you connect with, they are pretty much along a path determined for all players. I thought this was very constraining which was not what I desired with the game.

After that, there are more degrees of freedom and the linearity of the game gets less apparent. It is important to realise that you should not feel any stress when playing this game. Since it is not about completion, it is about the player’s experience. When you zone out of the tasks and play at your own pace, the game gets so much better.

A picture containing sky, boat, outdoor, water

Description automatically generated
One of the relaxing pastimes in the game, fishing from the back of the boat.

Far Cry

Far Cry is a series of first-person shooter games. The first game was developed by Crytek Studios and published by Ubisoft in March 2004 for Microsoft Windows. Since then, Ubisoft started to take care also of the development of the game, using Dunia Engine, a software fork of the CryEngine, used to develop the first episode of the series. 

Far Cry 1 Wallpapers - Top Free Far Cry 1 Backgrounds - WallpaperAccess

Six main games have been developed in the series, all of them share a theme of placing the player in a wilderness setting where he must help fight against one or more despots that control the region as well as surviving against wild animals that roam the open spaces.

The main point of strength of these games is the single-player mode, which features awesome narrations and stories, as well as magistrally designed maps and landscapes.

Lens 2: The Lens of Surprise

Far Cry plots are full of surprises and twists that make these titles enjoyable even when played for the third time. Most of the games of the series include different possible ways of ending the game. For example, in Far Cry 5 there are two possible endings for the storyline, depending on whether the player decides to arrest the main antagonist of the plot, Joseph Seed, or to ignore him and let him continue his practice of terrorism on behalf of the extremist religious terrorist cult organization “Project at Eden’s Gate”.

When first experiencing this, the player is surprised by the possibility of not arresting the enemy and just walking away and he feels like having the ability of shaping his own storyline for the game. By allowing this, players are also encouraged to play the game again and try out how different choices can influence the plot. 

Lens 4: The Lens of Curiosity

In Far Cry games curiosity plays a core role in the process of keeping players stuck to the screen. Players have at their disposal an entire environment to explore and tons of challenges to face, as well as a wonderful story to discover.

At any time during the gameplay the player is bombarded with dialogues with AI characters and interactions with the environment that stimulate his curiosity and aim to always offer him new things to do in the game. The game is designed to push him to explore and to go further the main storyline by rewarding him with special weapons or additional resources.

Lens 5: The Lens of Endogenous Value

In every Far Cry game, hunting represents a core mechanic: by opening the map the player can understand the place to go in order to hunt a specific species of animal. Once there, it’s possible that he has to wait for some in-game hours in outposts before being able to see the animal he is looking for. Players can also kill an inoffensive animal to use as a bait to lure a predator, such as a bear, a tiger or a leopard. Hunting rewards the player with animals’ skin or other items which can be used to upgrade items or to craft new ones. This mechanic also tend to reward more “fair” ways of fighting an animal, like using a bow or bear fists, instead of weapons and explosives.

Far Cry 5: All Animal Hunting Locations | 'Been There, Done That' Guide -  Gameranx

By doing this, the player is encouraged to exploit the maximum amount of resources from fights with animals, trying to fight them in the most difficult way. Hunting represents a great example of how Far Cry puts endogenous value in side-challenges through its open world. 

Lens 7: The Lens of the Elemental Tetrad
Technology:
Engine:Dunia - PCGamingWiki PCGW - bugs, fixes, crashes, mods, guides and  improvements for every PC game

The first Far Cry was developed using the CryEngine game engine, designed by Crytek. Thereafter, all the other titles of the series were developed using Dunia Engine, which is a software fork of the original CryEngine, containing some modifications made by Ubisoft Montreal to include destructible environments and a more realistic physics engine. The last version of Dunia Engine, Dunia 2, includes features such as ray tracing support on the PC version and support for AMD’s FidelityFX. The series has been distributed on PC, Playstation and Xbox.

Mechanics:

Far Cry features some mechanics in common with every other FPS, such as fights using rifles and explosives, or healing the player using medications. However, it introduces tons of innovative mechanics like vehicles or animals riding, animal companions, hunting, fishing, powering up equipment using different collectibles, applying beautiful skins to weapons.

Story:

Each Far Cry game has its own self contained story. However all the titles of the series share a theme of fighting against one or more despots that control a region, collaborating with the local population. Moreover some characters, particularly appreciated by the community, appear in more than one title. One example is Pagan Min, an autocratic self-proclaimed king of the kingdom of Kyrat and the main antagonist of Far Cry 4, who has been recently announced to appear also in a DLC of the latest Far Cry 6.

All The Far Cry Games Ever Made (Including Those Weird Ports) - GameSpot
Aesthetics:

The series is set in different locations: Himalaya mountains, Montana countryside, Caribbean islands, etc. All of them are transposed in beautiful in-game landscapes and detailed maps. Also the characters are extremely detailed and curated, not only in their aspect, but also in their attitude and behavior. One aspect I’ve always truly appreciated about the aesthetics of Far Cry is the outstanding appearance of animals. I think that 3d models and animations of Far Cry animals are the best among all the other AAA titles.

Lens 15: The Lens of the Toy

Like every respectable open-world game, Far Cry isn’t just the main campaign. When a player enters the game, it’s attention is drawn by tons of things to do other than just completing missions. Hunting, fishing, side-missions, mini-challenges, clearing outposts are just some of the infinite possibilities that a player has to enjoy the game even when the main campaign is finished. In my opinion this is critical not only to keep players playing the game even after the end of the storyline, but also to complete the main plot with tons of side aspects that can be known only if the player spends time taking on these side activities.

Far Cry 6 DLC release date – Become the Villain DLC, Special Operations,  and more | The Loadout

In the latest titles Ubisoft also introduced some DLCs to feed players with some wonderful challenges and mini-stories, so that they can continue enjoying the title even months after it has been released.

Conclusion

Thanks to this analysis I learnt to appreciate one of my favourite games from different points of view. I also really understood the deep reasons behind the success of Far Cry, and how developers are continuously trying to improve the features of this series by listening to the community of players. I think I won’t look at a AAA game like Far Cry with the same eyes as before, after having realized the incredible work behind it.

https://www.ubisoft.com/it-it/game/far-cry/far-cry-6

Total War: War Hammer 2

Total War: Warhammer II is a turn-based strategy war game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. Similar to other Total War series, the game involves conquering or engaging in diplomacy with other parties (either AI or other players) in the world map as well as small-scale battles where players format and control troops.  Players choose a race and a lord to start with where each race has its own unique characteristics and each lord has his/her own strong spots. Total War: Warhammer II is different from other Total War series where the background of the game is set in Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe instead of real historical background.

Link to Total War: Warhammer 2 Website: https://www.totalwar.com/games/warhammer-ii/

Lens 1 : Essential Experience

Just as the name suggests, the main experience of the game is to experience the elements of war. The game provides two types of game modes, campaign, and customized battles. In the campaign mode, a player gets to see the more holistic picture of war where players have to decide resource allocation, research tree directions, diplomacy with other players, etc. in order to achieve victory. This game mode is challenging as there will be many unforeseen circumstances that might happen due to the unpredictable environments and other players’ actions which in turn makes it more satisfying and accomplishing for players to successfully conquer. However, if one simply wants to enjoy being the commander in real-time battles, the game also provides a customized battle game mode for players to format and control troops.

Lens 4 : Curiosity

As the game is set in Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, a player gets to play unique races such as Lizardmen, High Elves, Dark Elves, and Skaven and their respective lords, buildings, technology, and troops. These are things we don’t usually hear/see in our normal life, therefore making it attractive for players like me to try out all combinations to find out how are they like and what they do. Furthermore, there are different objectives and background stories tied to different races and lords which make me want to delve deep into the game and explore more.

Lens 6 :  Problem Solving

As a strategic game, during each turn, the player has to make careful considerations and even calculations before making a move. Often time the player is required to balance between economy and military, plan on troops placements/destinations, decide the track of research tree, etc. in order to out-perform enemies or to merely survive in the game. 

Lens 7 : Element Tetrad

Mechanics

 Diverse but brain-draining game mechanics in a campaign mode:

  • Troops recruitment
  • Constructions of buildings
  • Research Tree
  • Lord’s ability
  • Troops movements on the map
  • Diplomacy with other players

  Exciting but intense game mechanics in the real-time battle:

  • Troops formation
  • Troops movements on the battlefield
  • Lord’s ability (for eg. magic, warcry, etc.)
  • Troops ability (for eg. wall of shields)

Stories

The game tells the tensions/background information about races/lords through the use of text and an in-game narrator. However, given how complex and massive the Warhammer fantasy universe is, often time these stories told in the game are generally insufficient for players to understand the whole picture. The developers do put all the detailed background information on their own wiki page, however, it would require additional efforts for players to read up before understanding the full story of the game.

Aesthetics

Character/unit modeling as well as their dialogs/voices are fantastic where it fits my imagination and expectation of fantasy creatures. The battlefield is immersive with impressive styling of the environment.

Technology

The game is powered by TW Engine 3, the third engine created and used by The Creative Assembly for the development of the Total War series. The engine uses Warscape, a graphics engine developed by The Creative Assembly. Although it does provide high-quality graphics, the time taken to render is considered too long for me, especially for real-time battles which could take 2-3 minutes before I can start making actions.

Conclusion:

Total War: War Hammer 2 meets all my expectations about how a turn-based strategy game should be. Its next series Total War: War Hammer 3 will be out on Feb 17, 2022 and I looked forward to better performance and more enriching storylines in this next series.