Chris Compendio
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DualShockersLatest Reviews
Despite my excitement, Afterparty was a comedown from its spiritual predecessor. The parts are all there, but the core script lacks wit, and the developments in Milo and Lola's friendship ultimately lacked catharsis. This story could have left an impact—not a lot of games focus on young, platonic relationships, the confusion of friends as they grow apart in their 20s, and the pitfalls of party and drinking culture. The opening showed much potential, but like a lot of parties I've been to, this shindig was one that I didn't mind clearing out of by the end.
Maybe it's for those reasons that the team behind Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair wanted to avoid the eventual juxtapositions, but despite these criticisms, Playtonic and Team17 should be quite happy and proud of building a game that is at least worthy of comparison to some of the quality character platformers we've had as of late. Those games are few and far in between, and enthusiasts of that subgenre should find plenty to enjoy here. But for casual players, I recommend spacing out your play sessions and resist the urge to chuck your controller into your screen.
I'm somewhat reluctant to stick by all of my larger criticisms because perhaps the game that I was expecting and wanting simply wasn't the same game that House House was aiming to make. But after being presented with all of these tools in a fun world, I just kept imagining how much farther and funnier this concept could have gone. I'm always thankful for relatively shorter game experiences, but I'd love to see more goose hijinx from these developers in the future. Take the openness of Goat Simulator but remove the memes, take the versatility of Hitman but remove the murder, and absolutely keep the fun aesthetic and sounds of Untitled Goose Game that made it unique.
As I finally wrap up my review, I feel that I am honing in on the reasons why it took me so long. I admire the hell out of Baba is You, but eventually, the jumps in logic made my experience less fun, and I fell out of the game hard. Baba is You is a game that I want to hang up on a frame or in a trophy case, point out to visitors and say "yeah, that's a great game, and you should try it." But given any free time in the future, I can't imagine that I'd revisit it for very long, knowing how badly it will bust my brain up.
So there you have it—we're late to the party, but Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the best games of 2018. There are a good number of people who may not digest game criticism the same way we journalist folks may, so to be fair to us, Lucas Pope's game is one that may fall through the cracks and be off the radar. Despite late game gripes, this mystery game is one that everyone with a computer needs to at least try. Pop in your earbuds, turn up the volume, perhaps close the lights, and get ready to watch some people die.