Games worth discovering

What Is JB Playing?

2K View2022-07-22

I know the majority of you out there in TapTap-Land play your games on mobile devices…whatever brand or form-factor they may be, but I still do a good amount of my gaming on my PC and/or consoles, so I thought it would be fun share the games I’m currently playing with our burgeoning audience.

I’m going to keep things simple here – just a couple paragraphs in regard to what I like (or don’t like) about the game, and I’ll wrap it up by borrowing a gimmick from my two favorite critics of old by giving the game in question a thumbs up (👍) or a thumbs down (👎).

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right? Right.

So, without further ado, here are the games I’ve been playing recently…

Unusual Findings

You should be able to tell from the title alone that this game is “borrowing” a good deal from the ultra-popular Stranger Things franchise…which is fine by me as I’ve been a huge fan of that show since day one. The demo I played was an excellent simulacrum of that nostalgia-laden series and even feels like another ‘80s classic, Maniac Mansion, as it appears to use a heavily modified point-and-click SCUMM engine interface to make things go.

The game centers on a group of three boys (Vinny, Nick, and Tony) with many things in common like love for comics, movies, and videogames…but they all have very different interests and traits. They stumble upon an unusual, apparently alien, visitor in the woods just outside of their sleepy hometown. Where did this visitor come from? Why is it here? Why is it killing townspeople? These are questions that drive the boys on their quest in Unusual Findings.

The game was Kickstarted successfully in November of 2021, and is due out sometime in 2022. You can download the demo on Steam right now if you’d like to check out this cool, indie experience that I give a big 👍.

Kolnoa Phantasy Reverie Series

This collects and/or remasters the two early Kolnoa games: Klonoa: Door to Phantomile from the PS1 era and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil from the PS2 era. I have fond memories of Lunatea’s Veil especially as it was one of the first games I bought for the PS2, and my son and I played it together quite a bit back in the day.

I’m happy to report that this collection is just lovely. Both games are still as quirky and adorable and ever (and I still admire the overall design of Klonoa with his goofy hats and big ol’ floppy ears and all), and these titles epitomize, in my mind, what a “Japanese” game is in terms of overall style and gameplay mechanics.

If you dig cutsey platformers look no further that Klonoa and friends – an enthusiastic 👍 for this nicely presented collection of memories and magic.

MADiSON

MADiSON has the creepy ambiance thing down to a “T”, I’ll give it that. It also leans heavily on elements and mechanics that made the Fatal Frame series of games popular. That’s all well and good as those games are spooky good fun.

But, what this title needs to go back to drawing board on is how to make a game with scalable difficulty and less obtuse puzzle design. Five minutes into the game, I shouldn’t already be stuck on a puzzle. No way, no day. That’s just not fun no matter how cool and scary your game looks and sounds. Although sound is another issue that irked me a bit in MADiSON as it prompts you to wear headphones for a more “immersive” experience. OK, fine…but then my ears are assaulted by noises that are incongruous and make no sense in the context of what’s going on in the game – they were simply added in as auditory jump scares. C’mon people…do better. Jeez.

MADiSON is a disappointing and unfortunate 👎 for me.

House Party

Right out of the gate, I have to say that I unabashedly love this ridiculous, yet hilarious, game. I played a beta version of it a couple years ago and was intrigued by it then, and even though it was in a pretty rough state I could tell there was some raunchy fun to be had at this homebound bash.

At its core, House Party is basically a scaled back sandbox game as if you were to play GTA for just one night in just one location. And that’s the best part: like GTA or any sandbox style experience you can be a pious saint who just watches all the madness play out or a perv-tastic sinner who gleefully takes part – it is entirely up to you.

Just a word of caution though, this is an adult game (18+) for sure with a ton of cursing, awful behavior, and full-on sexual situations…if you chose to pursue them.

That said, now that this title is a “real” game, getting a big roll-out and everything, I can’t give a bigger 👍 to it as it truly captures the ambiance of what debaucherous night in your mid-twenties looks (and feels) like.

Matchpoint Tennis Championships

Tennis has always been an odd sport to me as in I could never get into playing it in real life because I could never take it seriously and always, invariably, turned into Tom Hanks in the ‘80s cult classic Bachelor Party while attempting to play.

But video game tennis is a whole different ballgame for me – literally. I’ve loved a tennis game on almost every console I’ve ever owned, my all-time favorites being Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast and Jimmy Conners Pro Tennis Tour on the SNES. I don’t know what it is, but video game tennis just speaks to me, and that brings me to the newest tennis game I’ve been playing lately, Matchpoint Tennis Championships.

While the game isn’t really a looker, it’s got it where it counts with precise controls and gameplay. Sports games should always have tight controls and MTC’s are excellent, offering a variety of powerful serves and slick shots. It also serves up (pun intended) a well-implemented, easy to understand tutorial and a lengthy career mode…which most sports titles seem to do nowadays one way or another.

Another 👍 for Matchpoint Tennis Championships then, and another tennis game I can add to the list of my favorites.

What games are you playing now? Let me know down in the comments, and if you’ve played any of the ones on this list, let’s hear your thoughts on them as well!

Mentioned games

House Party Simulator

2.2

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TOP SEED Tennis Manager 2023

5.6

SportsRealisticCasualSimulation

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Comments

gugugu

Wow nice to see some games on consoles! My MacBook is useless in terms of gaming so I usually play Nintendo switch. I've been really interested in two games: Silt and Cult of Lambs. Silt is already released but I am waiting for a discount.

2022-07-22

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User463612169 Author

Nice. The Switch is (still) a great little system for sure. I've heard good things about Silt, but have not played it myself as of yet.

2022-07-23

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cheddar

Unusual Findings looks absolutely cool! Btw JB, have you played Monkey Island? Might be your thing

2022-07-22

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User463612169 Author

Yes, if you like Stranger Things in any way, you'll dig this game for sure. I love the Monkey Island games and have played them all. Not so sure on the art style of the new one they are currently making though...

2022-07-23

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