Quick Review: Grow Home

I want to see a view from the top of the world.

Just one crystal, and that low power issue
will have been dealt with.

A creation of Reflections, a Ubisoft Studio, published by Ubisoft (well, yeah) and released on February 4th, 2015, Grow Home is the story of BUD. The little robot has been sent downwards onto an alien planet by his home ship, named M.O.M., in the hopes that he can rescue his home planet. His mission involves growing a Star Plant on this world that will reach an altitude of two kilometers (2000m), which will also allow BUD to return “home” to the ship, and find a Star Seed on the way as his home world needs the oxygen its plant will grant.

One hand at a time... yes, that will do.
Slow and steady, the climber goes up.

BUD is fairly resistant, but not indestructible; a high enough fall or being too long in water will destroy him, but he will be revived at the last checkpoint. His movements are “procedurally animated”, a fancy way of saying that he moves with ragdoll physics, most noticeable when he takes his first steps or does sharp turns on foot. It makes him unwieldy and a bit of a klutz, to say the least. He will mainly be climbing vines and mountains, however, and for this, he uses one mouse button for each hand; Left for left, Right for right. Climbing is a mechanic that’s a bit difficult to get the hang of, but it’s the focus of the game so you better get good at it. You can also use it to grab items and drag them around. BUD also jumps with Space.

Have you ever tried controlling the
growth of a plant?

The poor little dodo-like Warble is shaking...
I think I traumatized it.

You take control of sprouts nicknamed Star Shoots, which will make them grow, and then you control the direction in which they grow. However, the trunk of the Star Plant itself won’t grow unless you offer it sustenance, and that involves crashing Star Shoots into islands floating in the sky that still have some nutrients (denoted by a green, slimy bottom) on them.

Some plants have abilities that will help BUD, like daisies that he can use to glide as long as they have petals, which they lose over time; or leaves that can turn into hang gliders. Also of note: The wildlife, with creatures resembling sheep and dodos. You can even feed them with the large, edible plants around. One sheep will follow BUD around after the robot rescues it from boulders. This sort of attention to detail, these touches give the world some color, that’s what makes a good game great.

How that daisy can keep me in the air with its
three petals, I'll never know.

Gem. Gimme.

There are two important side-quests: The first involves finding 100 power Crystals scattered around the game. After you’ve collected enough you’ll unlock new abilities for BUD, such as a drone you can deploy to get a larger view of the surroundings, a jetpack that will get more fuel and thrust power the more crystals you find, or a crystal detector. The second is to complete the data bank, which you do by grabbing plants and animals and taking them into the teleporters, which are also data scanners as well as BUD’s respawn points when he dies. I had a lot of fun dragging a sheep or a dodo behind me to get them to the nearest teleporter. Once the main game is complete, M.O.M. will give you the optional quest of finding eight more Star Seeds around this world.

I loved this one! It’s on the short side, but it’s still a pretty fun experience. Getting used to controlling BUD, and especially learning to climb efficiently, takes a moment. The game messes with your perception of gravity after you’ve spent a couple hours playing it.

Breathtaking.

Terence? Pfah! I'd call him Shaun.

All of the little details added to its otherwise-simple concept, all of the little things you can find… It’s genuinely enjoyable throughout. The low-poly style helps give the experience a ton of charm. Everything is cute here. The sights are impressive, as well. Look down from 1,800 meters down to the world below. Feels grand. The quest is engaging and interesting, and the side-quests offer enough rewards to entice players to take them. The Crystals, in particular, are items the game wants you to find, with audio clues and upgrades that focus on finding more.

If you can get your hands on this one, you’re gonna have a fun time. I recommend it, definitely. There is a sequel that I haven’t played, titled Grow Up, if you want more after playing this one. You can find this title on Steam for 7.99$ US.

Quick Review: F.E.X. (Forced Evolution Experiment)

I should have covered this one in October, it's creepy enough for it.

Child to teen, 10 years gone in 10 seconds.

A creation of NonFictional Games released on August 24th, 2017, F.E.X. (Forced Evolution Experiment) is a puzzle game with, I’ll at least give it that, a unique premise. You are in control of a “human” who is also a failed experiment in a massive laboratory. Its researchers studied ways to stop the aging process, but their messing with genetics led to the creations of monstrous creatures. The most normal “humans” created through these experiments suffer from an ultra-rapid aging process, going from child to teen to adult to senior to death in a matter of minutes.

In the intro, we see this process in action, and learn that we can expedite it by holding down the I key. (You move with WASD, hold down the Left Shift to run, and can interact with stuff by pressing J.) You actually control the next “experiment” in line, nicknamed T1M, who somehow gets in contact with a security agent named Frank who takes pity on the “child” and decides to help him get out of the facility.

I'm surprised the kid can push these things,
yet can't even push damn buttons.

What the Hell is up with these things' arms?

The child cannot press buttons, but he has enough strength to push blocks. The teenager can press buttons. The adult can press buttons, has greater speed than the others (which is useful to outrun threats), and can push even heavier blocks. The senior has reduced speed and cannot push blocks, but can press buttons. The crux of the puzzles involve switching from a form to the next.

However, be warned: The main character cannot de-age on their own (although, strangely enough, they DO de-age back to a child between “levels”… I’m willing to bet that’s plot-relevant). Also, there is a very strict time limit, as they will age automatically after some time has passed. If they choose to age up on their own, there will be a cooldown before they can use the ability again.

These things are fuckin' chasing me now!

Running very quickly becomes a vital element of gameplay, as a mere few levels in we begin to face monsters that hunt down the main character. For some reason, although the character sprites are in 2D, the game is in isometric 3D view, which causes a lot of issues whenever moving the character around. The number of times I had to go through a door to escape an enemy or activate a switch, and miscalculated the distance… This issue is worsened by the fact that T1M can only move in four directions, a limitation that enemies don't have. The game is at least lenient in that, if you reach a level that you begin as and fail to complete as a senior, you respawn as an adult. Unwinnable situations are prevented that way. There is an additional challenge in gathering the special items that reveal more information as to what’s going on, and getting the best ending requires having found all of those items.

So genetic monsters AND security guards
are chasing after the main character?
F*** that.

This game isn’t good. It starts from an interesting idea and has clever puzzles to offer with its peculiar setup, but the design is clunky and the levels look very nondescript and bland. Since character designs are limited to silhouettes, there isn’t much personality to how the characters look either. You are limited to moving in 4 directions, a limitation enemies, both monsters and security don’t have. Also, the monsters emit an unpleasant noise that you have to hear anytime you sneak around them.

Nah, I can’t say I recommend that one. But if you really want to check it out, F.E.X. is available on Steam for 6.99$.

Quick Review: Etherborn

Voiceless body seeks bodiless voice that constantly waxes philosophical.

A whole new way to climb a tree.

Developed by Altered Matter, published by Akupara Games and released on July 18th, 2019, Etherborn is thankfully much more than what I just described. At its core, it’s a puzzle platformer in which the voiceless human-shaped lifeform explores floating masses on their search for the voice previously mentioned. The main gameplay element is the ability to shift gravity, on the condition that the translucent body walks on a floor curved towards the angle where it wants to go. It cannot change its gravity otherwise. Said changes to gravity also extend to its falls, so you can step off the platform while upside-down and fall upwards. It’s disorienting, but it’s part of the experience.

Dodecahedrons can make enormous parts
of the world move around.

The second part of the puzzle is to retrieve little dodecahedrons and then place them on squares so they’ll modify the level they’re found in. Sometimes they’ll merely make a platform appear or move a piece of the level forwards or backwards… Sometimes they’ll summon an entire, new, gigantic piece that will perfectly interlock with the rest.

This cube was a bigger headache than
a Rubik's.

The entire game is a gorgeous visual spectacle. The setpieces are very impressive, seen from all sides. The first level past the tutorial, as an example, involves pieces of bridges, and you move from one to the other by taking advantage of the changes in gravity. There aren’t a lot of levels to the game, but they tend to be fairly lengthy and split into sections. Some of the visuals look lifted right out of a prog rock album cover. You’ll also have plenty of time to take in the sights, as most of the sets are huge and the body, even while running, will take a while to go through them.

Shifting gravity: As easy as walking up a hill!

Of note, due to the constant shifts in gravity, the body can rarely move in a straight line. It’s a bit tricky to control with a keyboard and WASD, the game thus recommends using a controller instead. Walking is the default option with Left Shift to run, but these can be reversed in the options. The plot did not hook me in all that much; the sights, the atmosphere and the challenges did, far more efficently at that. The game is short, there’s few levels, and they're accessible from a tree that serves as a hub. However, upon completion, you unlock a Game + in which the dodecahedrons necessary to complete puzzles are harder to find.

Oh, I am not looking forward to walking all
the way back to finish a puzzle!

Gameplay-wise, I was annoyed at the frequency of gaps that the character can just barely jump over; many times, I had to re-take a path because of a missed jump. Yes, the character CAN jump over those gaps, but you have to be half-standing over the edge to make it. Similarly, in spite of the sheer size of the levels, there's nary a shortcut. If you need to readjust your gravity to reach an area, or if you have to move dodecahedrons around, you will often need to make long detours. Or you can jump off the edge and die, as respawn points are frequent.

So, all in all, another very good game! Worth giving a shot for the visuals, in spite of the flaws I’ve found. Etherborn can be found on Steam for 16.99$ US.

Quick Review: Castle Story

Can’t say I ever played Minecraft. If someone asks me, can I say “….but I played this instead”?

Castle Story was made by Sauropod Studios and released to Steam on August 17th, 2017, following development funded through a Kickstarter campaign that gathered over eight times its goal. While I do the comparison in my first paragraph, it’s more as a joke than anything else; aside from gathering materials to build stuff, there isn't much in the way of similarities, the world isn't voxels everywhere and the constructs you build don't have that Minecraft blocky look to them.

Timber!

This game focuses a lot more on the collective efforts of your little builders/soldiers/whatever job you assign them, the Bricktrons. Those spawn from a magical blue crystal that passively gains energy, eventually having enough to make a new one. The tutorial in the game shows the starting steps of making this community. You assign tasks to your Bricktrons, such as harvesting resources or building stuff, and then proceed with constructs that allow them to refine the materials and then use the results to create other stuff. And so on. The many, many maps available in Sandbox mode are very large. Although I never really ventured all that far from my starting point (Bricktrons seem terrified of straying too far from the Crystal, at least as long as they’re not sufficiently prepared to do so), I imagine these lands can be explored in their entirety, given you have enough Bricktrons and all the necessary tools.

The Bricktrons even have cute little names!

The Sandbox is what you play if you want a chill experience; if you want something a little more action-packed, you can try the Invasion Mode, in which enemies called Corruptrons will attempt to invade your base and you must equip your Bricktrons in order to fight back. Or, become the invader in a Conquest Mode, with other castles to take over. Still not enough? Build a map of your own! Still not enough? Join the Multiplayer mode and see how you fare against other human players.

I'm gonna stick to Sandbox Mode; I don't feel
like I'll ever master the system enough to
defend or fight in the other modes.

Well, okay, I don’t know if there are enough players to make that mode worthwhile. That said, at least it offers enough variety for gamers that they can have fun in single-player. Of course, I haven’t gotten far enough into a single-player mode to see if the game holds up for longer periods of time, when your constructions add up on the field. As far as I can read, although the base build is really good, very few updates have been made to it afterwards, so a lot of little issues and glitches might not have been ironed out. The game has seemingly been abandoned and left in its current state, but it’s sufficiently playable for some basic fun. The loading times are also pretty long.

I have little soldiers now, but I don't even have
a castle to defend yeet!

The Bricktrons are cute, and it’s fun to see them build stuff or get to their tasks. The crafting system is pretty complex and intricate, and so are the various things you can build. It certainly takes a moment to get the hang of everything – even creating soldiers and archers can be tricky unless you can remember the sequence of actions necessary. The game allows for a large variety of things to do and encourages creativity – the Community tab on Steam is full of examples of buildings that people built.

At least the Tutorial covers the basics well.
But after that, you're on your own.

Though it’s not my kind of game, I think it’s fine. Even in its current form, it offers plenty of options. Although its unfinished state, possible glitches, and lack of updates in a long time means that there are some flaws lurking beneath the surface. I’d argue it’s probably not worth its price tag of 27.99$ as it stands now, but a thing to discover if you can find it at a discount or in a bundle.

Quick Review: Auto Age: Standoff

In case Fury Road wasn’t action-packed enough for you. Or silly enough, ‘cause now we have a Skeletor expy in the mix.

A creation from Canadian indie studio Phantom Compass and released on September 21st, 2017, Auto Age: Standoff is a primarily multiplayer game set in a post-apocalyptic America circa 2080. Resources are rare, peace hangs by a thread, and everyone’s busy killing each other off in fancy battle cars. Tsh, ruining each other’s paintjobs like that. It’s not right.

Before you learn to fight with a car, you gotta
learn to drive said car.

Let's blast this psycho's gang to smithereens.

The Tutorial also serves to explain the setting and provides a small Story Mode of sorts: Valentina (“Val”), ex-auto arena champion and currently courier, delivers a package in the Hot Dam. She’s ambushed on the way and barely makes it in. Unbeknownst to her, this area is home to SAIGE, an artificial intelligence that helped rebuild America after it went kablooey. Val’s old car is too busted to go forward, so SAIGE provides her with a new L-Type vehicle fitted with weapons to fight the wilderness. Unfortunately, the forces of the mysterious Dark Jaw, a blatant Skeletor parody right down to the voice, are trying to break into the Hot Dam to turn off SAIGE and get their hands on the limitless reserve of Energite (the thing that helped rebuild society) it protects. Val has to protect the AI, fighting with any vehicles and weapons provided to her. When it turns out that Dark Jaw is responsible for the death of Val’s sister, years prior in an auto arena competition, things get personal. You even get a cool boss battle! At the end of this, Val vows to bring order across the land against Dark Jaw’s gang, with help from SAIGE and other good factions.

Man, I legit wished there was an entire single-person campaign covering this.

Still, this tutorial does a fine job at covering the controls. WASD to move, obviously; left-click to use the primary weapon, right-click for the secondary weapon, swap between secondary weapons with the mouse wheel, or click said wheel to get a temporary speed boost (which you can use to ram into other enemies). The spacebar is used to drift and turn more tightly, and the Left Shift to jump. The car can still be steered in midair.

You’ll be using these controls in one of several game modes:

I'd say "Battle Royale time", but doesn't a
Battle Royale involve more participants?

-Deathmatch, in which you get points for destroying other cars;

-Elimination, a “Last man standing” type of challenge;

-Point Capture, in which you must hold on to the objective for as long as possible;

-Cube Command, which involves a “Hot Potato” type of gameplay in which the item players must hold on to is also damaging their vehicles;

-And Horde, available only in single-player, in which you play as either Val or the Dark Legion, and must defeat as many cars of the opposing faction as possible.

We can even get a better look at the cars
before jumping into battle.

All of these, barring “Horde”, can also be played with players split into teams. I like that you can choose among all the cars from the main sides of the conflict (good and bad), but also from secondary factions from either side. You can pick among all the vehicle types as well, be it the L-Type, M-Type, H-type or even T-type. So that’s pretty cool, and I get the feeling that the cars are fairly well-balanced (cars with more HP are either slower or take longer to reload, as an example).

Unfortunately, all I could test was the single-player options, as the multiplayer is barren. Not a single game in sight. Yeah, that’s the issue playing a mostly-multiplayer title: Trying it out long after interest has waned means that its main raison d’être is gone.

Had I known I would end up trying to fight
the boss with the slowest car, I would've changed!

That’s a shame, too, because I really liked what I got to play, and wished I could have tried to play against human opponents (I would have had my butt kicked, but it would have been fun to test anyway). The gameplay is fun, the cars are a bit tricky to control at first until you get the hang of their special abilities (ramming, hand-braking and jumping, in particular). The music is pretty good (and the theme during the boss battle at the end of the Tutorial kicks ass), the graphics look fantastic and help give this game some character, some uniqueness. Some animated cutscenes are also great. The cars have excellent designs, and the arenas feel grand and impressive.

Unfortunately, while you can play the game modes on your own (including a Tutorial that’s a very cool mini-Story Mode), the loss of its major selling point greatly diminishes the replayability. The addition of more options for single players might have helped with that. A larger campaign? I’d have played it to the end!

I don’t know if I would recommend it for its 9.99$ price tag as-is, but it IS a fun game on its own, if you can have fun with the single-player activities it offers.