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The Callisto Protocol was added to Game Pass this month. Yet another big title that I didn’t have to waste my money on. I read somewhere a while ago – so I’m probably wrong – the developers said it wasn’t a new Dead Space. Well, that’s a flat-out lie. It definitely is a Dead Space rip-off, only so much worse.
The combat is as horrific as the disgusting illness-infested humans that roam around the distant jail-moon you find yourself on. It uses a dodge and hit mechanic that is so hideously simple, it’s insulting to the player.
There’s nothing original here and I disliked the main character and the setting. I’ve seen it all before and played games like it that are better. I recommend playing the Dead Space remake if you’re after that kind of game.
As I later explain, this could be the result of me decluttering my headspace. Something tells me that’s not the case here though. Let’s get on with it shall we because as I sit here on a Sunday evening writing this, I’m wondering why I’m wasting these final few hours of the day when I have work tomorrow.
Cocoon
Another reminder of the brilliance of Game Pass. When Cocoon was released, I immediately installed it – after all it’s a game that comes from the creative mind of Limbo and Inside – and moaned, internally, that it was a load of cobblers.
Because we’re human, we do stupid things. And that’s alright. I don’t know why I decided to reinstall Cocoon, but I did, and I ended up falling for all its charm.
Sometimes, we’re just not ready to play a game. Maybe we’re not in the right headspace. We’re bombarded with game after game after game and we cannot keep up anymore. So, I think to whittle down our mental wishlists, we don’t give games their fair crack, or at least I don’t; we accidentally on purpose dismiss them to free up some bandwidth. From now on, I say buy and play when we’re ready.
In Cocoon you take control of an insectoid and navigate multiple worlds where you solve puzzles and fight a series of bosses.
Each of the orbs that you use and interact with contains one world and each orb has a unique ability that lets you interact with the world if different ways. The worlds you visit then, are cocooned and somewhat marooned within those orbs.
And that’s it, keep going until each world boss is vanquished and you arrive at the end of the game where you can interpret it for what you will.
Wonderful, speedy, glidey and full of character. It’s a relaxing game, accessible and doesn’t grate. It’s easy to pick up and lose yourself in what is a world that doesn’t explain much about itself and leaves it to you to decide what you make of it.
Isonzo
Isonzo is a WW1 game set on the Italian front where the soldiers not only fought the enemy, but frostbite and avalanches in the mountainous region of northeastern Italy.
I have previously played Verdun and Tannenberg, both intriguing games from the same developer. The thing this, Isonzo is their coup de grace. Their final instalment if you will. And it appears that they made the most of all their experience making these kinds of games.
I’m not a competitive gamer and my first-person shooting skills are woeful at best, and yet there’s something about Isonzo that is so alluring.
Perhaps it’s the pace? It’s far slower than your typical shooter and there’s a lot of inaction. This echoes the sentiments of those who fight in wars: usually there’s not a lot to do, until there is.
Perhaps it’s the suddenness and panic of the combat? I can’t count the number of times I’ve stumbled upon an enemy, only for us both to clearly panic and misfire our shots until one of us eventually hits. This really hit home how disgustingly inhuman and clumsy and random and frightening war must be.
Will I play a lot of Isonzo? Probably not because I’m not a competitive online gamer. Will I leave it installed? Most definitely. It’s left a mark on me and sometimes, all I want is an experience and that’s what you get with Isonzo. A peculiarly realistic experience.
Still Wakes the Deep
I’m writing this having played the game for around an hour or two. I’ve reached the point where your former friend is staring into a washing machine and slamming the door over and over again. Your friend is also murmuring the kind of stuff that people in horror games murmur.
This has got to be one of the most ingenious settings in a game that I have ever seen. You’re a ‘leccy’ on a Scottish oil rig coming to terms with a crime you’ve committed that you’re now being sent back home for.
Only problem is, you’re not getting home. Of course you’re not. Why would the developers of a horror game let you go home. Instead, you must deal with the aftermath of something going horribly wrong. The oil rig has drilled into a Lovecraftian heap far beneath the seabed and now this rank, oily nastiness is intent on making your life a living hell by making those around you versions of living hell.
The atmosphere thus far is tremendous. It’s frightening and unsettling and it’s set in the 70s, which doesn’t help matters. The Scottish voice acting is very good, if a little excessive. Would you believe it, not all Scottish people sound like they’re an extra from Trainspotting (this isn’t a bad or good thing, it’s just reality).
I don’t want to say much else. I haven’t played enough and I want the experience to be as fresh for you as it was for me.
What else is new?
Robin Hood – Sherwood Builders
Coming soon
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
What am I playing?
My time with Mad Max has been dwindling. I’ve been playing a lot of other games and when you disconnect from an open world, it’s often difficult to return as smoothly as when you’re playing daily.
I went to the cinema a couple of weeks ago to see Furiosa and as soon as I left, I knew I would start playing Mad Max again soon. It’s another one of those leave them installed kind of games. The film, whilst not a good as the first, was still a chaotically mesmerising viewing experience, and if like me, you’re obsessed with the Australian apocalypse, I highly recommend an evening at the cinema.
I completed A Plague Tale: Requiem, which went on far too long. I’d been playing for what felt like months and knew I was close to the end, so I didn’t want to give in. It’s a real shame. There’s no harm in ending a game four or five hours sooner. The human obsession with single-player story-driven experiences is a real one and should be embraced. It felt as though the developers had eked it out for no other reason than to give players more, whatever that means.
And to add another positive Game Pass experience to the mix: I played and completed Ryse: Son of Rome. I played this game years ago. At the time it was using the latest
CryEngine and barely any PCs, save those with top-end hardware, could play the game on the highest settings.
It’s not an amazing game. It is, however, the perfect example of a game that gets so much right. I came to it after an urge for a ‘game with Romans’ welled up in me.
The combat is addictive, though it does get repetitive towards the end, and it can be inconsistent. The world is still beautiful and there’s a neat story that draws on myth and weaves tastily with Roman history. It’s an ideal game if you’ve nothing to play. A filler! Maybe give it a go.
And that’s it for another month. You now know what’s on Game Pass and you’re ready to download all the games I’ve explored this month…
Over and out.