KAMI [ICYMI]

Originally released way back in 2013, KAMI (Japanese for “paper”) is a beautiful, origami-inspired puzzle game by State of Play. Here’s the release trailer:

Like so many games I’ve bought and promptly forgotten, I discovered KAMI during a Steam sale, but only began playing it earlier this week. I couldn’t have rediscovered it at a better time, honestly. For reasons various and sundry, I’ve been feeling a bit anxious and fidgety all week. KAMI has been my happy, little, paper-folding oasis in a desert of uncertainty. My lighthouse at the shores of doubt. My metaphor in a metaphor of a metaphor. Look how much more erudite I am just for playing it!

Posted by Marie the Bee

93 Hours – Thoughts on Dragon Age: Inquisition

When I first started dating my now-wife, she forced me to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer under the bold claim that it was the “best television series, ever.” Season 1 is sometimes cringe-worthy with the monster-of-the-week plots, but stick with it. Angel is a drag. Riley is a doofus. Don’t get me started on the Initiative. Will that season with Dawn ever end? I miss the old Willow. More like Worst Evil, amirite? So, did I like Buffy? Are you kidding? My wife was right. You have to watch it.

I put 93 hours into Dragon Age: Inquisition, almost exactly how many hours it takes to watch all of Buffy. Was it worth it?

Posted by Jake Forbes

Jake Forbes is a writer and game designer.

Elegy for a Dead World – Walkthrough/Review

What is it?

Elegy for a Dead World is indie developer Dejobaan Games’ new “game about writing fiction” – a side-scrolling exploration game in which you travel to dead and distant planets to craft your own stories about the civilizations that once inhabited them. You then share your stories with other explorers, whose own journals are published for mutual perusal/review.

As game premises go, it’s certainly a novel one! But, I must admit I was initially skeptical. In fact, my knee-jerk reaction was pretty similar to Bart’s after a visit to the dentist:

Still, as more details surfaced about the game, I became increasingly curious.

Posted by Marie the Bee

Let’s Talk About Dragon Age!

The Hobbit found me in second grade and it was love at first page. Tales of wizards, Dwarven gold, Elven swords, secret doors, and most of all DRAGONS, spoke to me on a level that Beverly Cleary and her gearhead mice never could. From that moment on, I was a fantasy and mythology nut. From Lloyd Alexander and Robin McKinley to Terry Brooks and Dragonlance. Pocket change would be offered up to Gauntlet. Ren Faires became a tradition. My earliest computer, an IBM XT Compatible beast, purchased from the 4H revenue of two suffolk lambs (and a generous parental subsidy), was basically a device for mainlining TSR Gold Box games and King’s Quests. #NoSwordsNoThanks.

By the time I entered high school, I was still seeking out sagas of fellowship and barbarian life, but the high fantasy tropes had lost some of their lustre, especially when it came to PC games. In fantasy fiction, I could still find characters that spoke to me and tantalizing worlds to dream of exploring, but fantasy games seemed content to send my same generic party down into the same generic dungeons. Enough was enough. That’s when she came in.

Posted by Jake Forbes

Jake Forbes is a writer and game designer.

HCF Podcast #8: Shadow of Mordor

Time for another episode of the Hypercombofinish podcast! In this episode, Chris and I discuss Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, a game you already know I love. What does Chris, consummate Nintendo fanboy think of this Assassin’s-Creed-but-when-it-was-still-fun-also-orcs, open-world romp? Find out by giving a listen below!

Know a game HCF needs to discuss? Let us know!

Posted by Marie the Bee

Meh or Yeah! – Blue Estate

Last weekend I downloaded Blue Estate, the PS4 rail shooter based on the eponymous comic by Viktor Kalvachev. Having never read the comics, all I knew about the game was gleaned from this image…