Games

The Spoiler Free Part

"The Stanley Parable" is one of the best video games that I have played in a while. The person who recommended it to me had this to say about it: "I hope you took out insurance on your 4th wall" -- and ain't it the truth. The thing that is great about "Stanley" is that it is very explicitly self referential and critical of the player.

I tried out the game Anodyne recently.  In the brief bit that I played, its Gamespot review seemed to be on point.  It is similar to the old 2D Zelda games.  However, it doesn't have a clear narrative.  Instead, it has an ambiance-dominated story about a kid who uses gaming as a coping mechanism ("anodyne" is a pain killer).  

"Dust: An Elysian Tail" (yes, I spelled "Tail" correctly, and no I still don't know why) is a fun, quick, and pretty action RPG.  

The protagonist is Dust, a hero with amnesia who must save the world from an evil army.  So, the plot is nothing new.  And while some games, like Bastion, have such a strong auditory and graphical narrative that greatness wolud shine through even with an unoriginal plot (not that Bastion is unoriginal), the narrative in "Dust" seems a bit hokey.

Planescape: Torment is my favorite video game. It's story driven, it explores interesting philosophical ideas, and it it bucks a lot of trends in roleplaying games. And it's a great time for Torment! There's going to be a remake.

Bastion is an indie game on steam.  It's an action RPG.  The plot: a calamity struck, destroying much of the world around you.  You go to the Bastion, a safe haven, and collect artifacts from the world in an attempt to reconstruct it.  The game was superb.

Limbo is an indie game that was just released on Steam.  The plot: you're in limbo, and you need to find your sister. 

The game is macabre, but very artistic and enjoyable.  It's a physics-based platformer, and from the start to the end, each of the challenges is unique.  You die a lot (because the puzzles are hard), but that's expected, so there are frequent respawn points. 

It's very immersive.  The controls are simple (arrow keys plus a "do stuff" button), and the full screen black and white art and subtle sounds let you get into the game.

Thanks to my roommate’s recommendation, I played the Witcher.  It’s a pretty good European RPG.  The game has a rich story, setting, and philosophy, which I like.  It stands as a novel.  It was based off of a novel.