QCF: Republique-Episode 2: Metamorphosis

 This Review was Frelanced by Rob Rich; you can find his other work here.

 few months have passed since Hope first began her desperate escape from implied brainwashing at the hands of her rather nefarious captors. Or are they her protectors? Nothing is entirely clear or as it seems in the world of Republique, and Episode 2: Metamorphosis keeps things just as confusing.

This new episode takes Hope through The Library as she attempts to get in touch with the one person she’s relatively sure she can trust in this lavish prison. But can she get to him in time? Well, that’s for you to find out.

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QCF: Transistor

ast year’s PAX East left me with an overwhelming anticipation that I never thought could still manifest itself within this old jaded jerk of a player; it quickly seeded itself into a plantation of hope that gradually grew with every day it’s release date approached closer. I left the Supergiant Games booth with a tear in my eye, knowing that this day would come, when I would be able to reach full circle with their sophomore effort—Transistor.

Granted, the expectations for Transistor may have been tempered with heavy prospects, considering that it rides the coat tails of its famous older-brother Bastion, but the journey of Red and her unlikely ally doesn’t exist to simply prove that lightning can strike twice.

No, what makes Transistor so special is the message it carries; is a message that incredible narrative experiences can be achieved in video games no matter the shape, size, or budget, but more importantly—only done so because it is a video game.

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QCF: The Last Federation

hat’s not to love about flying through space, fighting pirates and warlords, all while getting to decide which planets live or die? Taking command of the galaxy sounds pretty sweet. Arcen Games has created a visually pleasing, expansive simulation that allows even the most casual gamer to jump into space and rule the universe. There are a few missed marks along the way, but The Last Federation is a good base with lots of potential to improve with DLC.

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QCF: Full Bore

t’s refreshing to play a game that quite literally drops you into the wild and leaves you to your own devices after a relatively quick intro. The world exists on a 2D plane and you play as this little bore. You can move left, right, fall down, and climb adjacent blocks at 45-degree angles. The little bore can also tunnel through dirt and shove blocks around. As you explore you’ll meet the denizens of this underground world whom offer up subtle clues about the game play and the world they inhabit. To boil it all down you’re going to be collecting diamonds buried in the mine.

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QCF: Duck Game

ucks make everything better, there’s no denying it, cartoons, sound effects, sandwich meat, pets, efficient means disposing of expired bread, there’s no limit to how they can improve our way of life; shit, I mean have you guys seen Fly Away Home? That movie’s amazing!

Anyway, getting back on track, it was only a matter of time before a developer took it upon himself to give us the Duck Game we all deserved; it’s called Duck Game.

While most of you may cynically write it off as another local multiplayer Towerfall clone, I can assure you that it’s one of the best times I’ve had with the Ouya yet, and helps define just why the android console is the best indie sweetheart to go to the dance with.

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QCF: Super Time Force

dmit it, regardless of acknowledging the potential gravity of any of the possible penalties for trifling with such affairs, if you could affect the outcome of any event in existence by having control and mastery over time; you would totally rock the shit out of the space-time continuum. Despite all of the complex rubrics and conduct surrounding the details of time travel, the concept has never been too foreign or daunting for anybody to not fantasize about, and the fantasy of going back and doing things differently with pre-meditative insight on the past is too tempting to walk away from.

So now, imagine the opportunity of governing over it with force, Super Time Force; Capy’s insane gun-toting bullet buffet of an answer ironically modernizes old-school sensibilities with a time-travelin’ tribute that travels in time to bring us a game that…uses time trav…it would be best to stop before all of our heads start hurting.

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QCF: Daylight

he concept of mastering the invocation of a certain emotion in your art is an art within itself, and a challenging effort when tastefully handled at that.  When witnessing the attempt at this every effort in motion, you can’t help but admire the conviction of the chase to engage others into feeling the intended vision, even when the inkling that the whole damn affair is destined to derail into a train wreck much sooner than later.

Zombie Studios’ Daylight is one of the more sensational victims of experimentation within the craft of video game design geared towards immersion that I’ve played yet, and the lingering aftertaste of disappointment is still fresh against the roof of my mouth.

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QCF: Steamworld Dig

hen developers attempt to shove a veritable smorgasbord of buzz-worthy elements and tropes into their games, they’re banking on killing that sales bird among consumers with the two forecasted stones of expectations in the video game marketplace. The first is being able to promote a distinction of unique gameplay that’s conveniently composed of familiar elements that gamers know and love from other titles—it’s an assumptive projection for success that mostly results in being a shallow disaster than an innovative title.

Which is what makes Steamworld Dig from Image & Form Games a completely unexpected surprise that gloriously earns the title of being a worthy exception to the trend—The titles has now expanded to Steam, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita and is now, more than ever, one of the easiest must-own games to obtain out of 2014 to this very day.

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