Recent reviews by Silencio o Rebeldía

A hospital visit in the imagination of a child.

I felt like I had stepped into this magical world full of wonderful absurdity and color.
It had been so long since I’d played a point and click!! And what a comeback it was. Wonderful, short and sweet. Although the story can be a bit cliché, the novel way it was delivered, and the fantastically haunting soundtrack make up for it.

I recommend it to any point and click enthusiast.

There were times when there was so much action in a single playthrough, that it was overwhelming. I had to take a minute from the death count, Laura’s punishment and the constant threat of danger to go outside and listen to the birds, gaze upon the sky and remember all things beautiful in life.

Not that it was a bad thing for either your heart is pumping or you mind is racing, but I suppose that would be my one criticizing of the game; so much happens that makes it hard to believe Laura should be walking up-right, let alone shooting dudes with one hand while zip-lining with the other, while carrying one of her companions on her back, while making archeological remarks about a shiny penny she found on the ground, while falling head first into a ravine (and coming out unscathed), etc. It IS a game, and a fictitious one at that, so it isn’t a big problem but I’m just addressing an aftertaste I had after reaching the end credits.

Overall it was an exhilarating experience with a tinge of sci-fi that can quench any gamers desire for being a badass archeologist who would burn down an entire island to the ground before seeing her useless-in-combat but emotional-baggage friends die at the hands of macho thugs who believe in wind fairies. Typical Laura stuff.

Oh, and there’s samurais.

You must understand that the initial toughness of this game is balanced later on. It's off putting at first (when I played it, it seemed so unforgiving that I left it alone for a while) but once I came back with a fresh attitude I realized the strategy behind it.

Never go too far without saving and always play defensively … it is better to take your time with a boss and come out unscathed than button smash your health bar into oblivion. Also take breaks! If you get cocky and fly through tough enemies only to die to a common one, it can get irritating. I think the balance is just right; you must believe in the beginning, look at that beautiful pixelated art and press forward. There’re some charms you get later that turn the game from an ordeal into a wonderful experience, with different enemies, environments, music and bosses.

I like the story as well; the country girl who comes into the city to address a curse that reached her homeland seemed like a novel idea. Everyone laughing at her for doing so seemed so as well. I also found her extremely cute. The way she didn’t get a message box and yet still communicated with other characters only added to the charm. This is a dungeon-crawler I massively enjoyed and would recommend to anyone who liked games such as Hollow Knight, Dead Cells or Ori and the Blind Forest; difficult but rewarding.

A cinematic masterpiece, this game never ceases to amaze me and fulfill that sudden desire for mysticism and minimalism that is so hard to achieve in gaming. The first time I played it was in 2013. It has spawned many pretenders since; those who seek to captivate its magic but seldom get it right. It was groundbreaking when it came out and it is groundbreaking today.

The premise is terrifying; to be a child in an apocalyptic setting where sadistic children are overlords is troubling enough, never mind the scenery, the music and the mood. You are pulled into this grotesque scenario where the world (and anything that moves, parasitic or otherwise) is your enemy but not as a machine gun-wielding, monster destructing, roid machine but rather as an innocent, vulnerable child who is about to be trampled by the darkness that surrounds him. Everything is dark and not just in color, but also intention.

It’s as if the world were already lost. But the thing that makes this game different, I think, is that you are not trying to save it… no, far from it. The premise is survival in a very primal way. This game could play out in a few days real time and most of us wouldn’t realistically survive it, let alone electronically. Even though I finished it long ago, I still remember the ending. Perhaps too romantic for its own sake, it was a smile for a tragic journey, a gentleness from developers who made us suffer much along the way. This game is an experience and one that I’ll never totally recover from, nor do I want to. I will replay it again in 2019 and see how much I’ve grown since my first playthrough, how the memories compare. For now, it is time to set foot in the darkest plains of Limbo again. Good day, gentlemen.

Age of Empires 2 is one of those games which will take you swimming and you will never reach the bottom.

It is a strategic masterpiece, combined with historical aspects and sprinkled with the blood of your enemies. It is a game I grew up with, therefore no amount of praise or criticism will taint my beloved nostalgia goggles. I’ll admit I was never particularly good at the game and broke into hard mode years after playing in the same tepid style, defensive and totally afraid of losing one of my precious units (yeah, imagine that). I remember learning about military campaigns spearheaded by names from old history books, warfare that was much more intimate than firing a target miles away and characters that through their ruthlessness, or wisdom, or cowardice shaped the world we live in today.

Age 2 will never die. It is a game that has achieved immortality. Age is just like the generals it portrays… sometimes vicious, unjust or even defeated but never forgotten. I’d like to share a toast for the elixir of life this game found within the rts genre; for it never to perish, for us never to abandon it. Rejoice!

In Pankapu, my first playthrough was rushed and somewhat uncomfortable. The combat seemed a bit slow and rudimentary (especially coming from Hollow Knight) and the setting was too colorful for how cruel it could be. Being a completionist to the core, there were things I’d missed in a level when I was sure I searched it plentifully. 30 mins in, I thought, “well, that was all very well and good. Now on to the next one.” Those 30 minutes felt like an hour which is never a good sign. Anyways, I left and came back a few days later, refreshed from a day without labor and found myself enjoying the quirks and nuisances of this little title. Combat a bit slow? Master it aka YOU slow down. Playing happy music while failing over and over over the same platforming area? Be precise in your jumps and use your shield appropriately (especially when those damned plant things from hell come out jaja). What I’m trying to say is don’t let first experiences deter you from things that could be wonderful but weren’t so at the beginning. I’m nowhere near done and have lots to do, but I felt what I experienced with Pankapu deserves a mention, and another positive rating. Carry on!

The ending made me question my sanity.





In a good way............

I don’t play point-and-click puzzle games very often, but when I do, there must be something pulling me in, something asking me to devote my “too-trivially spent” yet “only-thing-that-matters” time in its essence, and then there was Pan-Pan. The minute I saw the trailer and witnessed the main character joyfully running to and fro in a beautiful yet minimalist art style I knew right away; I don’t know what this game is about, I don’t care what type it is, I don’t care about any of it as long as I get to experience an hour or two with the heroine extraordinaire that is Pan-Pan. I don’t quite know how to explain it. There was joy and warm fussy feelings, then there was purchase. Usually I’m a much conservative gamer when it comes to my purchasing power and after meticulous research and pricing optimization I conclude (sometimes months in advance) if the game is worth purchasing at all. Alas, I pulled the trigger.
This game is more art than video game. It’s not groundbreaking or stupefying in any one single endeavor, but what it is, is beautiful … and sometimes it is harder to create something with soul than an empty, repetitive experience (cough*fifa, cod*cough). Regardless, if you know anything about Might and Delight then you know what they publish, and if you like their games then be safe in knowing that the artsy, minimalist, outside-of-the-box thinking is still strong here, a trademark that I hope never disappears from their work. Thank you MaD! (Fitting abbreviation might I add jeje).

There’s a category of games which try to be neither exceptional nor genre defining, not incredibly original nor reach Crysis-like graphics but be fun as they are entertaining as they are flawed. This “fun but flawed” category is immense and gets a lot of bashing for its shortcomings, its repetitiveness, its one-dimensional story (or its no story at all) but there’s one aspect that those reviews miss and that the writers seldom get… it’s fun to play.

The problem with sports games is that they are trying to replicate something that is repetitive in nature. How to make a futbol game NOT be repetitive when it is 22 men (or women) running after a ball in a field trying to put it between goal posts. Other sports games suffer the same innuendos but the ones that manage to get it right are special. See, as an avid player/lover of the sport, I understand this completely… and the people at EA understand this as well as they push out a “new” FIFA every year which seldom is more than graphical and squad updates but they make millions doing so… and its quite a shame really since the games get no better (in fact they get worse) and you Call of Duty realize that you’ve been doing the same maneuvers for the past six years. Still both Fifa (with its millions) and Kopanito (with its humbleness) fail in the same way, and you can’t blame them: they are both trying to recreate a repetitive sport which gets its thrills and fame at a psychological level more than physical.

Understand that when Ozil makes a sexy pass when any dumb player would’ve shot miles wide and the commentator wonders “how did he do that?” it’s about what’s going on up here in the membrane than with the legs (of course we do need them to play but hear me out). When Messi breaks Boatengs ankles and then chips Neuer, its as if he’s reach a plateau mentally where there is nothing more than the ball and the opposition; no media, no fans, no camp nue, not even himself. When the ball is at his feet, I’m sure he feels the same way a pilot feels in the air, an adrenaline junkie in war, an animal lover with his dogs….. complete.

And when you’re playing in the Sunday league and are so tired from being out of shape, nauseous from the beers you had beforehand, angry that your wife makes such a fuss instead of letting you play, and the ball comes to you and without thinking, you hit it first time… into the stands, into the defender, or hell at least into the post, and it goes top corner and you wonder…………………. “how did I do that?” and all your mates congratulate you at the corner flag and you see your wife jumping for joy (which is unheard of), THAT’S what Fifa and Kopitano are trying to recreate; everyone is already in shape, has a great touch and is a great player in the top flight (or none of that in your Sunday league jaja) but the winners are separated much more than physically but psychologically and no sports game will ever be able to replicate that with a controller in hand, maybe in vr, I don’t know, but they won’t and presently, they can’t. Kopanito is repetitive (nooo, really??) but its fun. Fun and flawed. Now go outside and kick the ball around.

The word that comes to mind is ternura; this is the feeling the game gives me. Don’t speak Spanish? Then google it up. It is charming and the voice acting’s top notch. The puzzles are rather clever and ask of the player a certain level of curiosity while ramping up the difficulty as all and any good puzzle game should. I shan’t lie: I did get stuck and sought answers elsewhere other than from me own experience and for that, I apologize. It must be said though that it only happened once, so I shouldn’t be reprimanded harshly. Oh, and Mr. Pinstripe is positively terrifying.

I cried over the ending. The game is not too long but positively satisfying. I shall start my second playthrough soon to be mean to everyone more than my innate kindness will allow; but for this game – anything. There’s not many tears left but much emotion. Damn it Thomas! The puzzles were hard but not stupidly so, just that level of hardness that makes YOU feel stupid once you solve them BECAUSE THE ANSWERS WERE RIGHT THERE ALL ALONG! The music, the settings, the darkness and grossness and sadness that surrounds it all, the characters: Mr. Dicky’s anger, Mrs. Birdy’s kindness, I’ve met all these people. And what’s worst (or better depending on how you see it) is I am one of them too. I could easily be a Mr. Happy selling all kinds of junk to all kinds of people. In fact, I work at a retail store selling all kinds of junk to all kinds of people… only it has better lighting. Ha-ha, anyways… ☹

There’s many a “sack juice,” friends, please do try to remember that. For some is attention, for others (such as I) video games, and a popular choice is a certain form of inebriation. Don’t let the darkness in, because once you do………………………………………………………………………………………………. it never let’s go. All in moderation now, good chaps!