Selling Out and Going Indie

The crux of this post is going to depend on whether or not you consider Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night to be an indie game.  I do, basically, since Kickstarter helped it exist (resoundingly), and it’s not as if it’s the product of one of the big companies like EA or Activision.  I mean, it’s here specifically because a well-known company in the industry (Konami) either would have rejected it preemptively, or actively resented its potential existence to the point where the heads -- in their unfathomable wisdom -- let Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi escape from their employ.

Mostly, I just want to call it an indie game because it’d give me the chance to lump it together with some of the other games I’ve been playing (not named Smash Bros. Ultimate).  Namely, Katana Zero and VA-11 HALL-A.  Also, it’ll be easier for me to use it as a paddle with which to whoop the backside of the modern, big-budget, AAA game industry.  As if they weren’t whooping themselves already.

Let’s discuss The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories.

It doesn’t take much for me to point out the biggest fault in The MISSING: that at the end of the day, it’s let down by the quality of its gameplay.

That isn’t to say it’s an all-out failure.  Everything works as intended in this puzzle-platformer -- spearheaded by Hidetaka Suehiro (Swery65) of Deadly Premonition and D4 fame -- so you can expect some challenges that demand you make full use of the mechanics.  Minor technical hiccups aside, it’s smooth sailing from start to finish.  Relatively speaking.  The problem is that, while the gameplay isn’t bad or even mediocre, it’s still fairly plain and straightforward.  Workmanlike, even.  

There aren’t really any puzzles that force you to wrack your brain, and there’s not much of a difficulty curve forcing you to sharpen your wits or skills as you go.  At most, you’ll only get platforming challenges along the way -- which, at their worst, are only challenging because you’re put into scenarios where one-hit KOs are a legitimate, prevalent issue.  Basically, don’t get this game if you’re the type that needs technical acuity or execution barriers in your games.  Dark Souls, this is not.

Instead, get it for everything else.

ALL THE SPOILERS INCOMING…which kind of makes this post impossible to read for those who want to go in raw, but whatever.  If you’re worried, just…I dunno, go eat some donuts instead.  I bet Swery would be fine with that.

RE: The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories

The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories ranks as one of the most spiteful purchases I’ve ever made.

Granted, I’d been leaning toward a purchase for a good while.  Some strong reviews and recommendations offered a push, and when I started watching video footage -- only to shut it off for fear of spoilers, a rarity for me -- I knew I had to get it eventually.  Sooner rather than later.  The big boot came from Call of Duty, of all things.  As someone who’s sworn off the franchise (after doing my time, lest you think I’m a hypocrite), I’m still more than a little butthurt over the fact that the latest installment has made a huge amount of money again.

So consider this impulse/non-impulse buy a middle finger to the lurching behemoth on the horizon.  Fortunately, I lucked out with my one-fingered salute -- because even without the smugness brimming from my one-man protest, the game’s pretty good.