Eastward, Psychonauts 2, THQ Nordic Event | Episode 16
Join Dave and Dylan in Episode 16 of the Offshore Gamescast as they talk about Eastward, Psychonauts 2, and more games!
They also talk about the THQ Nordic 10th Anniversary Event, Quantic Dreams potentially making a Star Wars game, and the rest of the breaking news from the week.
Thanks for listening!
Game Log - #09232021
Every week Dave and Dylan take some of their thoughts on the games they’ve been playing and write them out in a blog post. If you prefer reading instead of listening then this is perfect for you, enjoy!
Dave
Psychonauts
I need to preface this by saying that I do believe that Psychonauts is a very good game in many ways. With that out of the way, let’s get into the nightmarish torment that is the final level, Meat Circus. So I have already expressed my opinion of the beginning of the section, dealing with this small child’s inability to catch their escaping rabbit. Once it was time to retry it I loaded it up and ran back into the fire. I made my way up at a decent pace back to the second wheel of doom. Fortunately this time around I was able to complete the obstacle, bringing me to the final test. All I had to do was make it to the last platform to meet the kid with his bunny in tow. We talked and left out the circus tent flaps. Emerging to not the end. I’m not sure what I was thinking at the time, being that each of the previous sections had a good amount of content to them, but when I walked through the flaps and was unpleasantly greeted with the next challenge.
Presented before me was a rail system designed for me to hop onto and ride all the way down to the bottom. Intermittently throughout the rail were missing sections intending to jump over them. Sounding simple enough, it was the start of a mind numbing tale of my numerous attempts to beat it. Technically I didn’t. It was at this point where I handed my buddy who is the resident Psychonauts attendant and sunk deep into the couch to relax and collect my thoughts. While being arguably his favorite game, it took both of us many attempts to overcome this area. Our main issue being one of 2 spots on the rail where the spots were missing. Adding gas to the already lit flame were the aged camera and controls bogging down the accessibility to accurately jump from one end to the other. The amount of times that Raz fell and the blaring scream he released into my ears is probably enough to hear it in my nightmares. In most parts of the game it isn’t inherently obvious what you should be doing, or which power to be using when, so the game secretly asks you to use your brain in a trial and error type deal. Knowing that, we began experimenting. Ultimately figuring out the best way to cheese the area was to use the levitation ball and line yourself up to the edge of the platform overlooking the course and jump as far as we could. Then switching to the balloon to glide down towards the bottom of the rails, leaving just enough space to land and shortly slide down to the bottom. Please make it stop.
Arriving at the base, I walk into yet another circus tent. A quick conversation later and I’m running and dodging the attacks of The Butcher, who is also the father of the kid who just can’t hold onto his animals. Yet again more trial and error and I discover that when The Butcher swings his right handed knife down I have to dodge it and climb up his arm while the blade is stuck into the ground and then punch this man in the face. The hitboxes are fucking garbage. This entire level is absolutely crackers and the only way I’m going to finish it is with an artery clogging amount of cheese. When he gets his knife stuck I levitate jump onto his shoulder and try my best to land my hit just right to remove a third of his health. Repeat twice. He is down. We did it. Where… where’s the credits? I beat him didn’t I?
Another short cutscene later and I learn about boss fight number 2. Fuck. This time a mentally distorted version of Razs’ dad appears and sends him through the ringer with an acrobatic obstacle course. While at the same time he’s yelling at me and throwing flaming spiked juggling pins. All while water (Raz’s biggest fear, or his second biggest fear) is rising fast and on track to take me down. Climbing up ladders, jumping across platforms, running on trapeze wires, and sliding down another ladder that twists and turns to the point where I’m sliding up the ladder backwards and upside down. At the same time dear old dad is lobbing flaming talent at me. Many attempts throughout the course and I’m able to finish it. I…I’m done now right?
Boss fight number 3!! Now we have an updated version of the first Butcher fight, except dad is still throwing the flaming pins down. This time I have to use telekinesis to toss them at the Butcher where he falls down and I again pummel his face. Three strikes and he’s out.
Of course we ain’t done yet. In some Spirit ball Dragon Ball Z shit, the other psychics send me their energy to form a giant energy Raz around me, bringing me eye to eye with the now frankensteined monstrosity that is the combination of The Butcher and my dad. After using it up I have to wait for the meter to recharge before automatically getting put back into super size. 3 sets of grande knuckle sandwiches later and they are defeated.
Thus ending the draining nightmare that is Psychonauts’ final level. Due to the stress that section put me through, I do not believe I will ever beat this game again. Possibly starting again but not seeing it through. On the other hand I still think that while incredibly aged at this time, Psychonauts is a great game filled with well written characters and a theme of overcoming certain challenges in the light of being the only person capable of dealing with the threat at hand. Not even the end of the game can take that away. At the end of the day, I look at the game as another merit badge well earned.
Lost in Random
I have finished the game at this point and I’ll say, it was a very pleasant time playing through it. Besides getting used to the combat mechanic the game is very simple and on the shorter side when it comes to length. Because of that there isn’t much for me to talk about and I recommend going on the journey yourself but I do have some thoughts that I wanted to relay.
I really enjoy the separate stories and lives that the people live in each town. Ranging very drastically from district to district, but it was around Fourburg that I shifted my focus to the main story and actually completing the game. I believe I missed a card in Threedom which was enough for me to give up on the side activities. Not saying they aren’t worth it but, I personally lost interest when I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to 100% the game without starting over, since my plan was to finish each side activity before moving on to the main quest.
It has nothing to do with the story or anything of importance but towards the end I stumbled across a few characters who seemed to be locked up and one that I talked to had easily the best line in the game being : “I’m a juicy boy, I’m not going to apologize for that”. I will give no further context because even alone it stands out above the rest.
There are a few mixed opinions on aspects of the game that I’ve seen. Some praising the story over the combat which they find can bog down some of the game when it comes to pacing. Others like myself look at the combat as a bit of fresh air in the gaming space. I’ll admit that towards the climax of the game there is a spike in combat encounters which will last more than a few minutes. Personally when it comes to a story game I enjoy a slower paced ending that really ties everything up in a nice bow and isn’t an endless battlefield of fighting. This game goes the route of spotlighting the combat and essentially increasing the difficulty by just adding more bodies on screen in turn making it not necessarily harder but a bit tedious. Still though the combat was fun enough to me to not ruin the experience.
For the actual ending which I won’t go into full detail over, I feel like the plot ended on the simpler side, I know that this is technically a story book themed narrative but it felt like it could’ve been more. The game uses a certain cliché that works but because of what it was I was left a little disappointed. One of those situations where it comes up and it’s like “Oh, that’s you’re reasoning. Alright.”. I don’t know if I’m just picky or a scrooge but the ending seemed to not meet the potential it deserved. On top of that the credits felt premature and the ending cutscene itself was abrupt. A short scene later left me still hungry for answers left to hang in the air.
This is a wonderful little story, with nostalgic Tim Burton-esque art and characters. All working together with a new look at combat that has some flaws, but then again nothing is really perfect. In more ways than one, Lost in Random still separates itself from even higher profile releases from this past year. If you get the chance to pick this up then I hope it’s as surprising and enjoyable for you as it was for me.
Eastward
So far, I literally have nothing bad to say about this game. Like I’ve said before, this game has been in my sights for a few years now and I think it absolutely exceeds my expectations. Everything from the mix of visuals, to all of the varying characters, to the simplicity of a cutscene when you cook meals, Eastward absolutely delights while oozing charm and style in almost every aspect.
You are a grizzly mute teddy bear named John who is accompanied by Sam, a short and energetic girl full of excitement and intrigue into the world surrounding her. From the start of the game it’s obvious that both characters have a wonderful chemistry with Sam basically being John’s voice, something that could be difficult if they didn’t understand each other on the level that is displayed. Their relationship is a nice twist on the formula best known by Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us. Comparatively though I enjoy John and Sam’s connection more based on their expressive personalities. Even small details in the game show the kind of people these are, one of my favorites being the fact that when running John puts his hands in his pockets. An interesting way to run if you ask me but in some way it feels like it just fits for him. Focusing on that single attribute of his personality I can tell how he’s feeling in any particular scene. No matter the situation John appears to keep his composure and remain calm and collected in even the most hectic times. Only highlighted by him keeping his hands in his pockets, because who really does that? Shortly after the start of chapter 2 there are sequences where you’re forced to walk through an area and in the whole time John’s hands are at his sides while maintaining a brisk pace. Just by that small detail I could sense a change in the air around him and with it a change in John himself, almost a sense of vulnerability. Something that can be hard enough to get across to the player from a screen but even more so from a colorful 2D adventure game. I could go on and on but John and Sam are only two characters out of a plethora of wonderful personalities sprinkled across this 30-40 hour game.
The world itself might as well be considered its own character, the detail in the world and different towns are done so well, for a 2D game it has a great amount of immersion. Locations, shops, houses, all represent their respective themes and even mirror the people inhabiting them. John’s place of work matches him to a T, he is a dirty, ragged, worker who goes down in the mines with his fellow diggers. Not all being good people. They work to collect enough resources, ultimately to make the mayor happy. Down in the mines though are a collection of nests filled with aggressive and electric slugs. Of course, John is the only one capable of handling the situation. On the other side of the spectrum is the above world, a contrast of color and happiness that opposes the drab and sad environment of the underground. In the first town you come across, Greenberg, you can feel the warmth emanating from the townspeople and even from the sun above with beautiful god rays descending from the sky onto the surrounding trees and wheat fields. I am already enthralled by the design and character the first chapter and a half has shown me, it almost feels unbelievable that I could be 1/10th of the way through my journey due to the care that was clearly put in from the dev team on a daily basis.
The other side of the gameplay is the combat that’s half Beat em up half puzzle where it can help to fight smarter, not harder. At a point it might even be worth avoiding some enemies all together if you plan on taking your time and really exploring each area. John’s trusty weapon is the same thing he uses to cook the delicious meals for Sam and himself, being a metal pan. After upgrading it shortly in the beginning it becomes more of a force to be reckoned with, hitting hard with a basic attack and hitting harder with a charge attack. Both being powerful to all types of enemies. In his backpack, he carries a hearty supply of bombs, also used for a mix of combat and puzzle solving. After placing and waiting a short period it erupts creating a blast strong enough to take some baddies out in one hit. If you ever feel overwhelmed or outnumbered, think about keeping your distance and using your heavy attack to whack the bomb towards the obstacles stuck in your way. When the time comes around where Sam gets the spotlight and can move on her own she brings more of a passive take on combat. Since she’s small and not on the same level of fighter as john, she has the ability to send out a bubble that traps the enemies inside, frozen in time. Giving her just long enough to get by and continue on. At the current point where I am in the game, I’ve been able to upgrade my bombs to level two, I can see that there are two more unhighlighted bombs next to the base model which makes me think that I am on route to receive two more versions and add them to my combat repertoire.
Do not be surprised if this game becomes a bad conversation habit because I don’t think I can control myself from gushing over every element. This game seems really special and you can guarantee that I will continue to update on my feelings over time. Especially to me it’s rare to be so excited for a game or any media in general for so long and have it not disappoint in any way when I finally get the chance to experience it. So far, just wow.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta
As each year rolls over there are many inevitabilities, a new Call of Duty is always one of them. They’re usually one of the most beloved/hated releases of the year but still rake in more and more money. Also comes the cycle of which dev is putting out their COD, this time bringing a return to Sledgehammer Games and to World War 2 with Call of Duty Vanguard. A slightly different take on that side of history with it not being entirely historically accurate but who cares anymore, this one has a campaign and that’s all that matters to me.
We won’t be able to get into that yet since the release is still a month and a half away on Nov 5th. Today we will be going into the current multiplayer beta. I try the betas to COD every year to see if maybe this time will be it, to rehook me like the series did back with specifically Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 3. Even the last game from Sledgehammer COD WW2, I had only reached third prestige before it’s strands had grown dry and snapped. Since then I’ve migrated further and further away from multiplayer games in general with higher interest in the stories that are told in the campaigns of other games. This one though, seems like the first bright light in the never ending tunnel that is Call of Duty. For me personally, I have always swayed towards the fast and frenetic gameplay of the older COD’s. Where each person is basically brainless cannon fodder waiting to be thrown out onto the battlefield to die within seconds and respawn however many times before being tossed right back into it. With Modern Warfare 2019 and the introduction of Warzone, the air shifted and no longer felt the same. Now was the trend of being tactical and the interest of a more modern focused setting. Call me old fashioned or out of touch but please someone take me back to what I refer to as the golden age, from BO2-BO3.
While I have only played a few games worth and only doing team deathmatch, I have not had this much fun playing A COD multiplayer. Using the basic classes I tried out the STG-44 but fell off really fast, moving on to the next class with the MP-40. I have not put that gun down yet. I don’t know what it was but something just clicked and all of my muscle memory returned, I was doing better than I feel like I’ve ever done. It might not sound as impressive to some but I went 34-7 on the map Red Star, the largest map in the beta that I’ve seen so far. The most interesting addition to the game seems to be a pacing system where you can play team deathmatch for example on a map and have the choice between a few pacing systems. I don’t believe that all 3 will be available for each map because there are limits on either end. Take the map Eagles Nest, a long base/house which feels like a medium sized map. There are options for Tactical Pacing of 6v6 and Assault Pacing of 10v10 and 12v12 I believe. That map during 6v6 feels drastically different to even 10v10. Just a few more people can speed up the game and feel much more action oriented and exciting. There’s many new features to the game and I’m looking forward to seeing what else it has to offer before I also have to wait a month and a half for the full release.
Psychonauts 2
I wasn’t ready to start it yet since I had literally just finished the first game the night before. Yet again though my friend who watched me play through the first one was salivating at the thought of me at least starting the second one. Mainly because he has played the original back in the day when it released and so he doesn’t remember everything, was so used to the controls and aspects of the first one that he wanted to know what it was like for someone who had just finished it and immediately traveled into the sequel. Adding to the curiosity that was already floating around my head I took him up on the offer and dove right in to complete the first section. I stopped there since my dinner which had just finished cooking was sitting next to me on the couch just calling my name like a siren of the sea. I digress. The good news is, is yes, Psychonauts 2 is a massive improvement over the first, squashing most of the problems that riddled the original.
Right off the bat the game lets you test out 4 of the powers from the first one cause remember this game takes place only hours after the originals credits roll. Firstly there’s telekinesis which instead of taking an item and arching the throw to where you want it to go it hovers by your side until you’re ready to launch it. Also used for some puzzle solving. Next was the Psi-Blast feeling unchanged besides a more modern targeting system by clicking in the right stick. The fire ability has changed as well, instead of holding a button over an item and watching it heat up it now holds a short range ball in front of you that when cast will set enemies on fire and also clear up debris that will block your path. Lastly is the levitate ability, unfortunately this time around it has been nerfed. It still works the same way but the ball doesn’t jump as high as in the first one and the balloon to float now has a time limit. Working more like a real balloon that is slowly deflating and you journey.
Overall based off of the first section and the short amount of time put in so far, I am excited to continue Raz’s next adventure and defeat anyone in my way on the path to victory.
Dylan
Eastward
I’m still early in Eastward, only beating the second boss, but there’s one thing I can say with confidence: this game is oozing with charm and clearly had a lot of love put in by the developers. Eastward draws inspiration from other games but does a good job of being its own thing and not just a clone.
The main characters are instantly lovable. You play as a middle-aged man named John who lives in an underground mining town. This town is basically run like a dictatorship by the Mayor. Everyone is taught to fear the outside world. They’re told it’s either not real, or it’s dangerous, and if you even have a conversation about the possibility of going there, you’ll be met with strict punishment. Citizens of this mining town are taught this in their school from a young age, essentially brainwashing everyone. John is one of the miners who is considered to be one of the best around. Mix this in with the fact that he has a tendency to sleep in, be late for work, and doesn’t talk and you have a fun protagonist right off the bat. He also takes care of Sam, a little girl with white hair that he found in a pod while mining and decided to take her in. Because apparently that’s a thing in this world that I’ve yet to learn about but am yearning to hear the explanation. Sam begins to see visions of a red version of herself who’s pushing her to go to the outside world which quickly becomes the focus of the early game.
Eastward is not shy in its inspirations drawn from Earthbound. It’s evident where they got the tone of the writing and the art style from, topping it off with a playable arcade game within Eastward called Earthborn, a fully playable turn based RPG. One thing that really separates and escalates Eastward for me is how polished the animations are. I find that nailing the animations, especially when trying to express emotions, in this artstyle is rarely done to perfection in the way Eastward has.
While the art is clearly inspired by Earthbound, the combat seems to be much more inspired by 2D Zelda games. You have a frying pan instead of a sword but you’re still using bombs and solving puzzles in enemy filled dungeons that you explore. I typically am not the biggest fan of 2D Zelda games over the 3D ones for a multitude of reasons but the smoothness of combat has me enjoying it enough for it to not be a detriment thus far, even if it’s mostly spamming one button to wildly swing your pan back and forth. I’ve only fought the second boss so far but I’m hoping it’s a sign of things to come with them as it offered a more unique type of fight that required more strategy to get through.
I’ve only scratched the surface of Eastward but it’s off to a great start and can be added to the list of 2021 indie games like Road 96 and The Forgotten City that I’m finding to be very impressive.
Deathloop
On the podcast last week I had only played enough of Deathloop to get through the tutorial stages. I said I really wanted to explore the maps and get deeper into it to see what makes it so special and I did exactly that this past week and have some pretty mixed feelings about the game. I haven’t finished the game yet but I’m deep enough in to have solidified some opinions about it.
I began by exploring each of the maps to get a better sense of their layouts without following any of the main leads that I had. While exploring I found a legendary gun called the Strelak Verso Dual Pistols. This has got to be one of the cooler designs and strongest weapons I’ve seen in a game in quite a while. They can be wielded as dual pistols which prevent you from aiming down the sights or you can connect them by attaching the front of one pistol to the back of the other with a cool animation that turns it into an SMG. I’ve been using it as an SMG and it’s completely changed the way I play the game. I’m no longer stealthing and now just wrecking havoc with this gun throughout these maps. One simple burst is enough to take down an enemy and with the generous autoaim you get when looking down the sights, you can become mostly unstoppable. You still need to try and play somewhat strategically though since it really doesn’t take that many shots to be killed yourself.
Once I knew the maps better and had this gun, I felt ready to begin to follow the main leads of the story and this is where things start to get mixed for me. The hectic nature of some of the fights and the general loop of how death works is both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes you end up in a fight with a whole flood of enemies at the sametime of Julianna’s arrival to hunt you. You already went down a couple of times so you can’t afford another death. Being able to maneuver away from all of the enemies, take down Julianna, refill the amount of respawns you have and get right back into the fight can be really satisfying. On the flip side, Julianna appearing at a time like this can lead to your loop ending and having to start the whole level and fight from the beginning which can lead to a decent amount of frustration. While Deathloop has some really cool setpieces, you already have to run through them (and the large amount of enemies they bring) so many times that having to restart them these extra times from dying makes them really overstay their welcome.
I’m finding the voice acting and the dynamic between Colt and Julianna to be great. However, with the nature of this being a loop game, sometimes the immersive storytelling can be broken. I’ve had times where I find something in one location that reveals something to Colt and gets a reaction out of him. I’ll then find something else on another map that teaches Colt this same piece of information and he will react as if he’s learning this for the first time again. I also feel that the visionaries are not given nearly enough screen time for me to care about them. The lore is there for you to find out about the type of person they are but you don’t get to actually see them enough for it to make any kind of impact for me.
The combat itself feels good enough for me to want to finish the game. I’m intrigued to see how the story concludes but it hasn’t really been too engaging for me up to this point. Deathloop does a lot of things well but I don’t think it’s deserving of the multiple 10/10 review scores it has gotten.