Author: Andrea Blythe

Games I Played in December 2023

Games
Image Source: Remedy Entertainment

I adored Alan Wake (Remedy Entertainment) and the way it weaves a creative meta narrative into its gameplay. Alan Wake is an author of thriller novels, who has found himself facing depression and anxiety due to writer’s block. Hoping for a reprieve, Alan and his wife Alice travel to a small town, called Bright Falls, Washington. As soon as they arrive in this quaint community, however, things go horribly wrong. Alan wakes up in a car accident with no memory of what happened during the previous week and his wife missing. While desperately searching for Alice, he must face off against darkness-possessed enemies attempting to kill him.

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Games I Played in November 2023

Games

My month is games has been a bit all over the place, with me bouncing between difference games at whim — so much so that I haven’t really played more than a few hours in any of them and I am now in a position of having too many games to try to complete at once (since I’ve got other games in flux, as well). So, I’m really hoping I can finish off a couple of these off before I find anything else shiny to start playing. 

In the early part of the month, I kicked things off with Dishonored (from Arkane Studios) and Yakuza: Like a Dragon (from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) just days apart from each other, and I was quite enjoying exploring the tonal differences between the two games. 

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Games and Books I Enjoyed in October 2023

Books, Games

Old Man’s Journey (developed by Broken Rules) is a gorgeous puzzle adventure game about a man who receives a letter that sends him on a journey across the countryside. As he wanders closer and closer to his destination, he reminisces about the past and the family he became estranged from. The gameplay involves an simple, yet innovative puzzle mechanic, in which the player changes the height of the hills and landscape in order to allow the old man to traverse through the stunningly created landscapes. And I mean it, the art is phenomenal. This was such a chill and lovely experience — albeit a short one at only an hour or two long.

The start of Old Man’s Journey.
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Appearance on Indiepocalypse Radio

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A couple of weeks ago, I appeared on Indiepocalypse Radio – Episode 0123 along with Kaile Hultner, editor of No Escape, and ebi-hime, developer of Girlfriend Simulator and other visual novels. During my segment, I got to speak with host Andrew about my game What Lies Underneath (which appeared in No. 32 of the Indiepocalypse zine). We talked about game design, the value of constraints, and the crossover between poetry and games.

Listen to the episode below or on Spotify here.

Games I Played In September 2023

Games
silhouette of a forest and lookout tower against a moon in the background
Firewatch (developed by Campo Santo)

Firewatch (Campo Santo) is a beautifully melancholy adventure game. After a short prelude about loosing connection with his wife to early onset dementia,  Henry takes up a post as a fire lookout in Shoshone National Forest with his only contact being with his supervisor Delilah via radio. As the player navigates the beautiful forrest settings, they learn about other lookouts who left notes in various drop boxes and uncover a mystery amid the trees. 

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