John Walker

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Aug 15, 2017

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For whatever reason, this feels like a game that wants to reach as high and far as the games that came before it, and simply can't.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Aug 9, 2017

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A completely wonderful Metroidvania, but at the same time, another Metroidvania.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Aug 3, 2017

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I tried so hard to like this one, because of its immediately attractive qualities, and the huge promise of that opening phone call subterfuge puzzle. But despite eventually revisiting that idea once, it never lives up to any of the early promise. Gosh though, someone ought to make that game.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Aug 1, 2017

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With a better, more involving path, this could have been really something. As it is, it's the glorious The Long Dark with a reason for surviving, and that definitely proves enough.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jul 27, 2017

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If you put up with its clumsiness, there's a tough-as-nails isometric twin-stick action-me-do (that's the one!) here to play. Just one that doesn't really stand out from the crowd.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jul 21, 2017

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I've not gone deep into the game, despite having given it a whole pile of my hours, because it's the sort of thing that'll take me ages to chip away at until I wonder how I ever used to be so bad at it. Which is the sign of this mishmash genre at its finest, for me. I hope for you too.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jul 20, 2017

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I've had such a splendid time just mellowing and wallowing in Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, not needing to care why it has such a terrible name, not being rushed along, or nagged to do anything. Sure, I now want to also play a game that rushes me along and nags me to do things, ideally with a sword to swing around, but what a wonderful piece of balance Yonder offers.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jul 12, 2017

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For me it felt far too derivative of Inside (it was of course in development before Inside's release, but looked awfully different), which was itself derivative of Limbo, and without the precision of either. Utterly beautiful when it remembers to be, but more irritating than fun in execution.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jun 29, 2017

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The characters all strongly stick with me after finishing, and I think that's probably more important than anything else.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jun 1, 2017

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I've had such a splendid time with Rime, so deeply enjoyed its expansive and sumptuous world, and found myself not missing the attack button at all. Not when there's a sing/shout button that does so many more interesting things.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·May 25, 2017

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... a really interesting-sounding game, but one that steps on its own toes, its desire to be avant-garde thwarted not only by the over-familiarity of the devices used, but also the clumsiness of their implementation.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·May 18, 2017

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At a certain point, after a certain incredibly tiresome sequence, a game-ending bug meant I'd have to go through the whole thing again, and I realised that as much as I loved the emotions of Edgelands, I wasn't invested enough in what might happen next to want to persist. Perhaps in a month's time, with more bugs fixed and just the option to tweak the speed a little faster, this could be well worth a look.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·May 17, 2017

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This is stunning. It's just so utterly beautiful, its bucolic scenes hiding extraordinarily lavish and enticing buildings. It's smart but so modest about that, bulging with brilliant ideas. Movement is amazing and refreshing. And despite the guff, the place itself is fascinating to wander. What a treat. Just a slightly expensive treat.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·May 12, 2017

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I adore this. I am so frustrated that it's very hard to convince people to pick up an RPGMaker game, so I'm also very relieved it has the To The Moon alumni tag that will hopefully convince people to grab it. Grab it you absolutely should. Yes, it's maudlin in places, and yes, it's undeniably a bit twee, but it earns the right to be by being just so good.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·May 9, 2017

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Prey is a game that's smart about almost every aspect of itself, and yet with that, so crucially modest. It doesn't yank the camera from you, doesn't force you to sit through cutscenes, doesn't demand you sit still and listen to its backstory. It's content to be itself and let you find it, which is a damned rare treat in this hobby. Even more amazingly, for all its array of abilities and powers, you can finish the game without touching them, perhaps even find a narrative rationale for doing so.