Playlist (April 2021) (Patreon)

Hello! It's Playlist time. Here's the video and scroll down for the article version.

Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is an open world samurai game from Sucker Punch - the people behind the inFamous games. It came out last year, but I finally played it properly in April because it just got a very snazzy PS5 patch that boosts the frame rate and whatnot.

You play as one of the last remaining samurai warriors on Tsushima island, after it got conquered by mongol invaders. Now you need to do missions to recruit the island’s best warriors - and take it back from the outsiders.

Which means: lots of fighting! Luckily, it’s pretty good - combat is fast, satisfying, and all about parries, dodges, and breaking your opponent’s defences. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but getting good at the game makes you feel like a pretty awesome samurai warrior.

I mean, it’s not massively deep - for example, you have four fighting styles to pick from, and they’re effective against the four enemy types in the game: dudes with swords, shields, pikes, and fists. So there’s not much strategy - pick the one that goes well against the dude you’re fighting. Cool.

But there’s enough to keep you thinking: like positioning, timing, and dealing with that nuisance bow man who keeps sniping you with arrows from the other side of the battle.

You’ve also got a robust stealth system, and a very unique “stand off” mechanic. Here, you can waltz into an enemy camp with your sword up and challenge their best fighter to a test of nerves. Release triangle with good timing and you’ll insta-kill one enemy and terrify the rest. It’s always fun to do that.

Beyond that, this is a pretty standard open world game. You’ve got a horse, you’ve got repeated mini-missions strewn about, you’ve got crafting ingredients, you’ve got a skill tree. It’s similar to something like Assassin’s Creed - but pared back and streamlined.

I haven’t finished it yet - I haven’t really loved an open world game since Breath of the Wild. But I am enjoying myself and, boy, when the HUD disappears, the wind picks up, the sun catches the leaves in just the right way - this game is absolutely gorgeous.

Narita Boy

One of the things I like about Xbox Game Pass is discovering odd little indie gems that I might not have otherwise have tried. Sometimes they miss - I didn’t think much of the bizarre Genesis Noir - but sometimes they hit.

Narita Boy was a hit for me. It’s a side-scrolling sorta-Metroidvania with a crunchy combat system, excellent pixel art, and a weirdly engaging narrative that unfolds the more you play.

Visually and tonally, it really reminds me of Sword & Sworcery, if you ever played that one. But in gameplay, it’s closer to something like Guacamelee. You explore, you get into fights, you get new powers, you explore some more.

You know. The more I think about, the more I realise that this game wasn’t actually that great. There’s loads here I could complain about. The floaty platforming, the repetitive “find the symbol” puzzles, the odd difficulty spikes, and so on. It’s not hard to list negatives about the game.

But there’s something about this one that just really enamoured me. It felt like stumbling onto some weird retro game that no one remembers. And the deeper I explored, the more bizarre things got. It’s not a terrific game, from a purely mechanical point of view. I’ll admit that. But as an experience, it really won me over.

It Takes Two

It Takes Two is a co-op adventure game from Hazelight - who previously brought us the prison-break-with-a-pal, A Way Out.

In this one you play as divorcing parents, May and Cody, who get turned into toys and are forced to settle their differences and work together if they want to change back into human form.

This is the set-up for a madcap adventure in miniature. And, more accurately, an absolute whirlwind tour of a million different game mechanics. The game will introduce something new - like magnets, explosive arrows, shrink-rays, and a rideable spider - throw a bunch of clever situations at you, and then ditch it in favour of something new.

It’s very Nintendo-like in that way. But, like a Nintendo game stuck on fast forward. It is quite incredible just how often this game switches up what you’re doing. Sometimes even shunting you between genre: from stealth to top-down RPG to on-rails flying. Imagine Wario Ware, but as a 3D platformer.

The focus, I think, is on delight, surprise, and amusement - more than challenge and mastery. And that’s fine by me: me and my brother found it hard to put down just because we wanted to see what was next. But our desire to move on to the next thing was at odds with a desire to stay put, poke around the level and look for secrets and mini games we might have missed.

The only low point was the story. I found the writing a little silly and the characters - though well-voiced - had irritating personalities. Also the emotional arc wasn’t too satisfying, and there are some utterly weird shifts in tone. If you’ve played the game, you’ll know what I mean when I say “elephant execution”.

But put that aside and you’ll find a really enjoyable, endlessly entertaining game that packs more into its 10 hour runtime than some games will manage in 50 or 100.