Late to the Party: Void Stranger

emories of my youth in school certainly aren’t the most pleasant times from my childhood, because, surprising no one at all, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call an academic kid—some would say I was more of the opposite. Still, aside from all of the coming-of-age crap that public school pounds into you, there was a memory I had from an art assignment our English teacher gave us to complete (weird, I know, but stick with me.)  The guy was SUPER into Ernest Hemingway, like, he just loved the way that old drunk could mentally instill a scene with his stories using just carefully woven words and nothing more. So, naturally,  he wanted us to try and draw out a specific scene from one of his books, A Farewell To Arms, where we had to do an interpretative sketch drawing of the moment the main character, Frederic, was caught in the mayhem of the Italian army’s retreat during World War I.

The classroom sheet detailed the instruction in a blurb at the top, right below the usual heading where you would write out your name and the date, with the rest of the sheet being a blank canvas for you to use for the sketch. I don’t know what came over me, but I used ALL of the real estate the paper had to offer, which included me scribbling art over the instructions and header area, using every inch of the paper I could.  I mean, I too enjoyed the work of Hemingway, so I’m sure that helped my engagement with the work, but my teacher absolutely gushed over the paper after I turned it in (I promise you this humble brag is going to go somewhere, stick with me.) My English teacher praised that my vision wasn’t limited by the concept of margins, and that I went beyond these perceptions to complete my goal with the classwork.

I haven’t really thought about this dumb little moment for years, until just recently, when I decided to pick up where I left off on a little gem of an indie game that took over my life for a few weeks in 2023, System Erasure’s Void Stranger. As much as I had enjoyed the game, I eventually succumbed to the density of its challenge, and the availability of several other new games at the time, I decided that it was time to move on to something else to boot up on my screen.

So yeah, I started playing Void Stranger again, since I thought it was a natural fit for some bedtime gaming with my new ROG Xbox Ally X, and at some point, something just clicked, and it really has sunk its teeth into me this time around. I know I’m a sucker for the usual Avant-Garde gameplay designs that actively work to subvert the very conventions they’re built with, with stuff like Tunic and FEZ, but Void Stranger is just, in a whole different class of its own.  After, ahem, falling deeper into the void with my play through, I managed to tough out the game and make it to the credits.

Something that I’ve felt immensely proud of, and yet sickeningly anxious about, because I’d soon learn that I’ve only scratched the surface of this dumb little brain worm of a game.

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QCF: AVGN 8-Bit

ne might almost expect a game with the namesake of the Angry Video Game Nerd series to be horrible by design. After all, the Nerd — created and portrayed by James Rolfe — has a penchant for bringing what he calls the worst of the worst to light, sometimes sprinkling in bits of reluctant video game trivia with a sea of curse word-ridden catchphrases. In some instances, it's not entirely unwelcome to see low doses of a weird low-budget robot, cursing mutant, or some other weird shit.

An FMV intro of Rolfe as the Nerd at the beginning of Retroware's AVGN 8-bit may not inspire confidence in the ease or enjoyment of any trials ahead: "This game sucks ... just the way I like it."

Thing is, it doesn't actually suck. Dare I say it's pretty well-rounded, though not the most inventive experience in terms of level flow, gameplay mechanics, or boss battles. This game won't change your life, but you'll have some fun along the way.

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QCF: Elsie

t’s often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and in the case of the dispiriting limbo that Capcom has planted the Blue Bomber in, the iconic robot’s absence has encouraged multiple studios and visionaries to step up and deliver an experience not all too dissimilar to that of the Mega Man effect. With the rare exception of 2018’s Mega Man 11, the super fighting robot has been mainly relegated to nostalgia collections or vanity cameos, and the weight of his “pew-pew” gameplay has been carried on by a variety of indie developments or community efforts.

This new influx of games, however, has also encouraged studios to do more than a superficial spin on the trademark Run’nGun formula, with select titles really showing off the timeless potential of Mega Man-inspired side-scrolling action. One of which is Elsie, an independently developed adventure starring a larger-than-life, mascot-pilled android made by Knight Shift Games and published by Playtonic's new publishing branch, “Playtonic Friends.” As the fourth game to be supported by Playtonic’s offshoot publication label, Elsie offers many familiar dynamics that more resemble the feel of the Mega Man X series than its 8-bit counterpart, only with a Rougelike twist on the setup. While this territory isn’t exactly uncharted with 20XX and 30XX making waves in the subgenre, Elsie sinks its teeth more into the character-driven spectacle its inspiration is famous for, with a side of frenetic bullet action that blends into something like Mega Man X meets SuperGiant Games’ Hades.

I say this with my whole chest and every heavy breath huffed in—words really can’t serve justice to what Knight Shift Games has done with those mechanics—I genuinely believe that Elsie breathes a whole new sense of life into some admittedly fatigued concepts by delivering an immaculate sense of game feel and presentation that I haven’t experienced in years.

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PPR 155

fter nearly ten years with everyone’s favorite console/handheld hybrid, Nintendo is FINALLY gracing the world with a grand-scale presentation of the Switch successor, the Nintendo Switch 2.

So, what better way to hype ourselves up for the big N’s upcoming hardware than to fantasize a bunch of our pie-in-the-sky. “what-if” wishes that we want to see out of the new console, along with some educated guesses and predictions to throw around amongst ourselves. Joining Ed, George, and Sean this time around is Hayes Madsen, a games journalist currently penning words at inverse.com, who worked at over a dozen other outlets, and has graciously accepted the invite to discuss a slew of topics for this week’s episode!

On the cast, the crew will weigh in on their shared impressions of this year’s GDC, the state of indie games, Game Informer’s return, and everything Nintendo leading up to the Switch 2 Direct! Also, a bit of warning; we unfortunately ran into some recording hiccups that slightly affected the audio quality of this episode, but rest assured PPR-gonauts, the latest show is VERY MUCH still listenable, so please, enjoy all while we collectively salivate at the promise of consistent frame-rates and 4K resolution from Nintendo of all things!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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Late to the Party: Lost Judgment

eing a Spin-Off from a popular series is hard because you’re either as beloved as Family Matters, or as forgettable as The Cleveland Show—the reception to these ventures is rarely in-between.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s first foray into the Yakuza Universe outside of Kiryu’s story continuity, Judgment, fringes between both ends of that measuring stick. The crux of this weakness fell upon its failure to carve a meaningful identity of its own from the rich source material it pulls from, well, aside from a fickle protagonist who was charming one second and irritatingly cringe-worthy the next at the very least.

Inconsistent delivery aside though, the premise of an Ex-Lawyer turned Private Eye in the world of Kamurcho still carries plenty of merits to re-visit in its own right, especially with mainline Yakuza series shifting into the Turn-Based RPG Genre for the indefinite future. This is where the follow-up sequel to Takayuki Yagami crime-solving caper, Lost Judgement, comes into the grand picture.

The Private Eye’s latest case leads him to the rough streets of Ijincho, and the setting isn’t the only thing that’s new as Lost Judgment is a sequel that boldly builds upon its formula instead of trying to deliver a familiar formula with some forced twists, making for an immensely better experience this time around.

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QCF: Firegirl: Hack 'N Splash Rescue

ith a city on fire in the background, a young firefighter desperately tries to save anyone that may be still inside the collapsing building. With little breath left in her body and even less water to fight the blaze, she continues to push forward in desperate hopes of making a difference. All this, on her very first night with the fire department. Okay, maybe it’s not that serious, but it sets the stage for an epic experience. In Firegirl: Hack 'N Splash Rescue the noir themes and roguelite gameplay elements blend very well in an experience that is difficult to master but equally hard to put down.

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QCF: Cyber Shadow

f there’s only one video game platform from the past that has to lead an everlasting brain trust spread throughout all walks of life, it’s the Nintendo Entertainment System. There are a bevy of other 8-bit machines that have their fans sure, but the NES has defined what people consider the 8-bit generation to be, establishing a style that still permeates a majority of the throwback indie titles that’s seen in the market today.

Drawing inspiration from the system’s aesthetics is one thing, but capturing the gameplay of that era is an entirely different beast, especially when it comes to channeling the essence of the challenge it’s famous for in an age of Save States and unlimited continues. Enter Mechanical Head Studio’s Cyber Shadow, a new title published by Yacht Club that chases the old ghosts of NES classics like Ninja Gaiden, Power Blade, Shatterhand, Shadow of the Ninja, and so much more—complete with a modern touch that aims to balance the scale of difficulty and fairness on the tightest of ropes.

There’s a lot to enjoy here for those who cut their teeth on the action genre during the days of the rectangular controller, but on that same token, arguably much of the beauty behind that generation is the “less is more” philosophy behind those games—something that Cyber Shadow is remiss to forget in its occasionally clumsy ambition.

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QCF: The Procession To Calvary (Steam)

t can be difficult to find something new and interesting in the genre of adventure games, a form of media that has existed for over forty years. In The Procession To Calvary, it’s creator Joe Richardson is able to create an unapologetic and humorous entry into the market utilizing free use artwork from the Renaissance and public domain music that is a refreshing ode to the cutout hilarity of Monty Python. And although the mechanics of the game are also laughable, it does not take away the fact that it has a sense of humor that was exactly on my level of gross and stupid.

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