Remember when I used to write words about video games? Man, good times.
On this the week after PAX West (which, was basically the last time I seriously wrote about video games one year ago, as the mood struck me), I decided to jump in on the release of Ben Esposito’s Donut County. I attended Ben’s GDC talk about the development of the game a few years ago, and I wanted to see how the final product ended up.
My momma always said “itch.io is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get”. She wasn’t wrong, but thanks to some handy search tools it’s easy to get some real treats. This week’s treat is Totemori, a local multiplayer… uh, tot’em up? Tot’em up. Yeah, that sort of works.
Joel Goodwin of Electron Dance and I see whether it all stacks up.
Side by Side’s been a bit twitchy so far hasn’t it? Well in this week’s episode, Joel Goodwin of Electron Dance and I take a look at Cuckoo Curling to break that run up a little. It’s curling meets Connect 4 for up to four players and it’s a lovely gentle thing.
Earlier in the week Joel Goodwin of Electron Dance published our fourth episode of Side by Side where we wrangle with Anyball, a loosey-goosey local multiplayer sports game where the rules and equipment keep changing. Yikes!
In this week’s Side by Side, Joel Goodwin of Electron Dance and I take on the trippy channel hopping arcade madness of Tuned Out.
Next up Joel Goodwin of Electron Dance and I play Slampunks’ adorable slippery cephalopod racer Muddledash.
We’re back and this time we’re actually on a couch side by side. It’s only taken four seasons. I even got some pictures hung up on my back wall.
This year’s Rezzed in London was a smörgåsbord of local multiplayer delights and I was fortunate enough to tuck into a plateful of them with Joel Goodwin, friend and fellow Side by Sider over at Electron Dance.
Up-front trigger warnings make me dubious. They often read like attorney-mandated ass coverage instead of any actual effort at sensitivity. I tend to mentally translate them into the most sarcastic, least considerate reading I can imagine. Thus in my brain, the one preceding Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice goes like this:
This game has crazy people, so FYI if you’re a crazy person or if crazy people make you sad. Also check out our website. Because hellbladehelp.info is totally what you’d visit to learn about mental illness.”
I mean come on. As disclaimers go, it’s not even comprehensive. What if Hell makes you sad? Or blades make you sad?
Look, I know it’s the end of March. Does that matter? Does that mean last year didn’t happen? Some of us just wanted an extra three months to keep hunting for shrines, and to keep reaching for those elusive chicken dinners.