I Just Watch the Games He Plays

I am going to be perfectly honest here, this is the video game I watched (and helped) him play when I realized that I loved him so it holds a soft spot in my heart for that. This game’s story is incredible! I love the concept of a half abandoned underwater city controlled by a psycho hell-bent on his perfect utopia. The tone of the game is consistent, the story is captivating, mini puzzles along the way keep your interest piqued, and the challenges getting from one zone to the next to continue the story kept me on the edge of my seat. There were side quests that felt more like unraveling the story than grinding. I loved how the music changed, decreased in volume, picked up at just the right points and was in theme with the game’s 1930s art deco look. We made the decision to save the little sisters so that may have an effect on your gameplay, but at no point did I feel like he was just mindlessly playing. The idea of plasmids was a very interesting way to slip magic into an otherwise semi-realistic setting. I am a big fan of the film Metropolis and it felt like that movie came to life in a game along with a big reveal and a huge twist!

There was almost a near constant sound of running water that would get louder or softer depending on where you were, along with eerie distant jazz recordings, and scratchy radios keeping you in contact with these very odd people was music to my ears. There was a lot of gunfire but nothing outrageous, yelling splicers were a bit of a shock, and groaning Big Daddies filled me with anticipation.

The environment was expansive, well rendered and just beyond gorgeous! Again that 1930s art deco architecture was played really well and to a fantastic advantage, drumming up images of early soviet statuary, and the dread of high school editions of atlas shrugged while being abandoned and filling slowly with water. IDK I WAS JUST POSITIVELY GAGA ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT IN THIS GAME OK.

You never really see yourself/your playable character at all other than his hands with that infamous chain tattoo that gives quite a surprising bit of insight to his character. The majority of the characters that you DO see have NPC-syndrome AKA there are slight variations but the majority of archetypes look the same. There are probably like 5 types of splicers and some are in a blue dress instead of a red one, 3 Big Daddies, and like 1 Little Sister with different coloured hair for “different” ones. Any actual faces that you could get close to, such as Andrew Ryan, that freaky artist guy, and the crazy yell-y doctor guy that I guess you could only kill with fire had very simplistic faces, like a basic base render with a mesh on top of it. BUT what this game lacks in visual character depth, it more than makes up for it in storytelling and characterization arcs.

There were quite a few times were he got very nervous and would yell at the Big Daddies but tbh I was right there next to him yellin’ up a storm. He would get frustrated with how many times he died but there was nothing major, no loud sudden expletives from nowhere. He DID need quite a bit of help with the mini-games and puzzles but I love puzzles so it was fun to stand next to the tv and point him in the right direction.

“Um..... It’s probably one of the best games of it’s time? Also electric hands. That’s all.”

DEFINITELY WATCH. This can be fun for both player and watcher if you are inclined to help and navigate. Also “COME BACK WHEN U GET SUM MONEY BUDDY AHAHAHAHA” is part of our daily lexicon now.

To be honest I was really excited for him to play this game because of all the little cartoons and teasers he showed me leading up to the release of this game. It looked so interesting like there was a lot of substance and such. Sadly, in actual play, this game is super duper boring to just watch. It is just a big ol’ battle over and over and over again. I described it to him as watching the climax of an action movie without any ramp up or actual conclusion. Or characterization. Or anything really. It is just shooting matches over and over. No one wins anything in the end. It is shiny and he seems to have a good time playing it though.

This can be a really loud game. Lots of shooting so be ready for gunshot sounds, yelling, dying noises and that one emo guy that yells “die, Die, DIE!!!11!!1!!!1!” a lot. It is very repetitive since the matches cycle quickly and can get on my nerves a little bit.

Shiny and good looking, the game company spent a lot of time polishing the details and making the environments look really good! Not super realistic but the high concentration of colours and saturation is nice on the eyes. The colour schemes of both the characters and the settings are all great and well thought out, lighting is soft and natural, and from just looking over his shoulder, the font choices are all wonderful and match the tone of the game and menu set up is natural and without confusion.

I REALLY like the character design in this game. Very interesting character dynamic, I like how they kept with sort of a “type” to fall back on for each character but each has a something surprisingly interesting about them. I LOVE how each character has different outfits you can choose from!! My favourites include: half naked Japanese guy with white wolf hat outfit, robot Egyptian lady who is inexplicably Native American for some odd yet awesome reason, emo guy in Dia de los Muertos outfit, half naked long legged lady in a Kali #look, and similarly long legged cockney accent lady in her normal outfit. She’s so fun!

I made him go through all the character outfits and he enjoys showing me new ones that he earns (???). There is such a brilliant nuance to each character design, focusing a lot on shapes and bold color blocking with fun tiny details the more you look and I enjoy that the majority are not just outrageously buff dudes or skinny ladies with long legs (even though that is the theme still). BUT beyond being nice on the eyes, there is very little in terms of characterization besides their little in-battle quips and how each character interacts with each other.

He yells at the people on his headset sometimes which can give me quite the shock when I am not expecting it. He says a lot of negative things on headset which makes me nervous and can give me anxiety. Also he can’t leave or he gets banned for however long???? WTF he is an adult and sometimes you have to suddenly leave your computer?? BIG SAD FACE.

“Now before you give this a bad review, the idea of the story is told through the cinematics and you live through their experiences in game. You can find hidden stuff from the stories and by listening to what the characters say.”

NAP. Take a nap or read a book or whatever, this one is only fun for the person playing it.

Um... There is like a really tiny story? I think? I think it’s like those bloon tower defense games but really complicated and also magic. I don’t know I watched him click trees for 2 hours once. There’s not really much going on in this one except he clicks around A LOT. Is this like World of Warcraft except a different brand like Pepsi vs Coke vs Walmart Brand Non-Cola Caramel Pop Drink? There is a lot of chatter about towers and structures being fortified and “take it off your christmas card list, it's gone!!!!!!!!” so I know this is a team “fight the thing, protect the other thing” game.

He told me once that Skrillex or Aphex Twin or one of those electronica dj guys that everyone likes did some of the menu music and there are some good jams when he is picking stuff out/selling things/clicking trees. No gunshots in this one but there is a TON of chit chat from the characters. I think every time he clicks something it makes a character react so there are a lot of generic “on it!” “I’m on my way!” “I chose honor!” and such like that depending on the character. And depending on the character there will be specific puns in the same vein. All in all, it’s a pretty quiet game, occasional music when something happens like the start, something gets destroyed, or if he wins or loses.

Holy crap it looks like a lot. And his screen will have a TON more menus than even that! Like there is only a little rectangle in the middle with the actual game-game. It is a stationary vantage point from an above map view but the environment looks nice. Lots of pretty colours usually. Just....... the menus are SO MUCH I do not know how he even knows where to navigate.

He showed me some of the characters once and there are a few that I thought were pretty but it is kind of like World of Warcraft where all the guys are buff or weird monsters and the ladies are generically pretty with long legs and skimpy outfits. The game was lost on me when every lady was a Missus Boobtits McMammeries. They chatter a lot but it is a lot of puns and no real characterization.

This is a team play game and he usually has a headset on but there is very little shouting thankfully. I hear them have conversations and sometimes chat with them through him, usually about nothing to do with the game at all. Actually.... he does not really talk much at all, it is mostly clicking. He says much more positive things on his headset so it is nice and doesn’t give me anxiety. But also the fact that he gets banned for like..... 24 hours if he needs to quit???? Dude he is an adult, punishing him for having a life is just so childish.

“It’s very addictive and every game you play a different hero so it never really gets old.”

NAP. This is a game your player is probably in with for the long haul with so you might as well nap, read, watch the Netflix catalogue in it’s entirety, start a hydrogarden, learn a language.... The possibilities are endless!