Episode 9 - Hero Bucks - Far Cry 5

Every problem cannot be solved with a podcast.

Welcome back to the podcast and, of course, to our second episode of Fanbruary this year! Today, we’re talking about Far Cry 5, which is, obviously, an installment in the Far Cry franchise and, obviously, not the fifth one because of all the weird spinoffs. Still the thing that most stands out, or at least the thing that was advertised the most, that separates this from its predecessors is the fact that it is set in the United States. Ultimately, this game doesn’t do much in terms of commentary, which is unfortunate given the opportunity they had here, but it is still a novel setting for a Far Cry game. By far the most impressive element comes from the open world and its lush forests and rural towns. It looks very good. It’s an open world game with a bunch of systems attempting to create that emergent gameplay the genre is known for, and importantly, it wastes very little of your time and nearly everything you do contributes toward progressing the game. Still, it is a part of a series that gets that stuff right more often than not, and it doesn’t compare favorably in most areas to previous installments. This is particularly true in the writing, but I won’t spoil those things here in the description. It’s a good game by and large, but is let down in some key ways that make it more of a mixed bag than it could it have been. We’re going to be talking about “confidence” in games and the overstimulation of players, the progression systems across the open world, and we argue for the use of parachutes less than 10 feet off the ground.

Thank you for joining us again this week! As someone who bounced off this game when it released I’m actually really glad to have gone back to finish it because there is a lot of nuance to what this game does right and wrong in my eyes. On the other hand, I can’t advocate for anyone to play it or any other Ubisoft games for that matter thanks to their awful DRM, so just take our word for how the experience is, I guess. How do you feel this game stacks up against other titles in the franchise, if you’ve played them before? And if you haven’t, how do you feel about the fact that the unusable Ubiconnect software ruins the experience of all people who try to interact with the software? Let us know over on our Discord or in the comments below! Next time, for our third Fanbruary episode, we’re going to be talking about Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, so we hope you’ll join us then!

Episode 8 - Adult Man Brain - Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor

What would motivate someone to turn into a podcast?

Welcome to the first episode for Fanbruary this year! We’re starting off with a classic adventure game in Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor, part of an extremely prolific series which we haven’t played before. Given that the character of Nancy Drew is a detective, the object of the game centers around solving a mystery, in this case the mysterious illness of Linda Penvellyn. The game starts off very strong, allowing you to freely roam the mansion and pick up clues and information where you can, giving it a real detective-y feeling to it. It does start to get into more traditional adventure game puzzles as time goes on, but there is still a very worthwhile experience here, both in those early hours, and to some degree the writing and design of the world are compelling as well. Still, know what you’re getting into with these games, there are going to be some obtuse puzzles and other tedious roadblocks to get through, but if you’re carried through it by nostalgia or the storytelling, I’d say it’s worth checking out. We’re going to be talking about the game’s story and characters, the slow descent into adventure game madness, and the least fun minigames of all time.

Thank you for joining us, and for submitting game suggestions, for Fanbruary this week! This was a game on our maybe list for last year, and I gotta say, now that the mystique of it is gone and the game is finished, it wasn’t actually what I was expecting. And that’s a little bit bad but a little bit good also. Did you grow up with these games, or point and click adventure games generally? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Submissions are closed for Fanbruary this year, but feel free to throw us some suggestions anyway, as we’re always looking for interesting stuff to play. Next time, we’re going pretty far in the opposite direction and talking about Far Cry 5, so we hope you’ll join us then!

Episode 7 - That Which Was Well Paced - That Which Gave Chase

A podcast for the senses we can’t take from them.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, on what is an appropriately wintery day, we’re going to be talking about That Which Gave Chase, a game where you sled through the arctic. Largely a narrative game, That Which Gave Chase takes you through several different points in time in a shaky, disconnected way as you learn about the reason you are where you are. It does also have a sledding mechanic, which requires a surprising amount of concentration during certain times in a way that I’d argue works with the cosmic horror narrative in a way you really would have to play to understand. The game is quite short and saying too much would spoil it, but it is one well worth checking out. We’re going to be talking about how this game compares to similar short narrative based games we’ve played, how the story keeps you engaged while moving along at a fast pace, and why this game is actually a sequel to The Lighthouse.

Thank you for joining us again this week! We have come out of our January dormancy like a Lovecraftian entity, so this felt like a moderately appropriate game for a time like this. If you haven’t played this game, which is fairly likely, I really would recommend giving it a chance as it won’t take up too much of your time, and when you’re done you can talk about it with us in the comments or over in our Discord! And speaking of, next time will be our first episode of Fanbruary this year, so while you’re over there please drop any suggestions you might have for games for us to play.

The Scribies 2025 - Gremlinsesque

With time, any game could be the coolest ancient artefact.

Welcome to the first ever Scribies, an award show and definitely not an itchy reaction to a species of mite: that would be Scabies. In the Scribies, we choose winners for myriad categories from the pool of games that we have played and talked about for the podcast this year. We’ve brought back some fan favorite categories like Least Likely to be Compared to Dark Souls and The Newlywed Game, as well as introduced some new classics such as “The Dad Award,” so there’s a lot to look forward to and a great variety in the nominations to be made. The best news is that if you have award fatigue after so many years-end celebrations across so many industries, you can rest assured our awards specifically target a sample population that has extremely limited relevance and only has like three qualitative categories! It’s basically meaningless in the grand scheme of things!

What isn’t meaningless however, is how much we appreciate everyone who listens to podcast and these year end wrap up episodes. We just entered our first year with the new name, so we do want to shout out everyone who has stuck around. However, we also appreciate+, an extra premium tier of appreciation, anyone who has or will submit game suggestions for Fanbruary, which is rapidly approaching. Next time, we’re going to be talking about That Which Gave Chase, a short but frigidly cold wintertime horror title, and Fanbruary begins immediately after that, so we hope you’ll join us then and hope that we can choose from among some of your favorite games when Fanbruary rolls around!

Episode 6 - Sweet, Sweet, Sweet Release - Everhood

There are no podcast truths.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re talking about Everhood, an indie bullet hell/adventure/rhythm game. Everhood has several notable factors that could be considered a main point of conversation about it. It is surprisingly difficult on its standard difficulty setting and requires some mastery to actually get through it, giving it a similar feel to more arcade style rhythm games. This is notable because one of those other big factors is that this is also an adventure game with a narrative that not-so-subtly calls back to Undertale as an inspiration, with a focus on quirky characters and a heartfelt story centering around choice and violence. There is definitely some demographic overlap for these concepts, but it’s at least a little uncommon to see these facets of a game given equal weight like they are here. These elements don’t clash, in fact they coexist pretty well, but I would argue the storytelling is a better selling point than the mechanical side. The game takes a while to ramp up, and the difficulty getting there is going to cause some friction for some players. We’re going to be talking about how the game feels to play and how it is less “rhythm game-y” than we had anticipated, which characters we liked and which we felt could have used some more development, and we somehow manage to fit in a reference to the Moonlight Great Sword.

Thank you for joining us again this week! This is our last episode of the year, which means that we have a couple events coming up soon! First, and what will be our next upload, we’re going to be doing our annual awards show. With the name change, we’ve decided to rename the awards to “The Scribies.” Only time will tell if we stick with that one. After that, we’re going to be approaching Fanbruary, so let us know your suggestions for games you’d like us to play over on our Discord, in the comments on YouTube, or through any other means available to you to contact us. We hope to hear from you and we hope you’ll enjoy the upcoming episodes!

Episode 5 - A Fresh Island Song - Hades II

My podcast’s come alive.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Hades II, the sequel to one of the most popular roguelikes of all time and the first sequel that Supergiant Games has ever made. And I for one am happy about that because I needed an excuse to play hundreds more hours of Hades. Hades II is very much a game that can be described as “the first game, but more” which could be a good or a bad thing depending on what you’re looking for, but what’s surprising is just how much more it actually includes. With two full routes to take and a suite of new weapons and gods, it has a ton of things to try and do mechanically, but also just enormous volumes of dialogue and numerous NPCs, making it feel like you’ll never run out of new things to see. We’re going to be talking about our favorite weapons and builds, the unique narrative position this game put itself in, and we talk about what kind of menacing grandpa Chronos is.

Thank you for joining us again this week! This is one of those episodes that I felt I was slightly overprepared for, so we ended up going deeper into some subjects than we normally do but then also skipping over some stuff that a newer player would probably be thinking about. Let us know if this spoke to literally any part of your experience with the game by leaving a comment or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re going to be talking about Everhood, so we hope you’ll join us then.

Episode 4 - 20,000 Hot Dogs - Silent Hill f

To listen to this podcast is to walk in a world of impurities.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Silent Hill f, an action survival horror game and the latest entry in the Silent Hill series. This game takes a more combat-focused approach with stamina management and dodges, making it feel different from the majority of games in its genre. Beyond that, it separates itself from Silent Hill as a physical location as it is usually depicted in other Silent Hill titles, and is instead set in 1960s Japan. This change in context allows it to tell a story that, while it does still focus on the personal demons of its protagonist, takes the setting more into account and can address the societal issues of the time and place more directly. And it does a really good job telling this story, particularly through its cinematics and their impeccable pacing. It gives the story so much room to breathe and emphasizes when things really pop off. Which they do, of course, the game is not entirely comprised of slow, quiet moments. There are moments of the game where the mechanics can clash with the tone, and the combat itself isn’t exceedingly well designed, but it work shockingly well more often than not and I think it’s a game worth checking out, especially during this spooky…Thanksgiving season? We’re going to be talking about enemy designs both visually and mechanically, our favorite and least favorite areas and puzzles, and a joke is made that will really only work for some of the more cultured in the audience.

Thank you for joining us this week! It’s been a bit of a hectic time recently so we’re just now finishing up the Halloween games, but I assume that’s expected at this point. I know this game has received ever so slightly mixed reactions online, so which side do you fall on? Do you like the direction the game took compared to previous games or are you disappointed in the sort of mechanical/tonal mismatch? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re going to be talking about Hades 2, which just had its full release recently, so I hope you’ll join us then.

Episode 3 - An Adult Baby - Slitterhead

Listen to this podcast. I’ll show you what this mouth can do.

Happy Halloween oooooooooooooooh! and welcome back to the podcast. Today, we’re going to be talking about Slitterhead, an action horror title, and the first game from developer Bokeh Game Studio, founded by one of the creators of Silent Hill. In Slitterhead, you play as a kind of spirit entity with the ability to possess regular people. Some of these people are more special than others, “rarities,” and they mostly act as your main playable characters throughout the game. While possessed, characters can attack and use skills and you can swap between people with very few restrictions. This allows you to cover distance quickly, make it harder for enemies to hit you, as well as more specific tech like “avoiding” fall damage and setting traps with certain skills. This is a really cool concept for a combat system and an even cooler concept for the tone and narrative of the game. Unfortunately, that’s about the best that Slitterhead gets. The whole game is designed in a very dated way, with disconnected missions that need to be replayed multiple times with little to no variation, a lack of enemy types to flesh out the combat system which could have been fairly deep, and generally shows a lack of polish that could have really helped it sing. What is there can still be cool, if you’re particularly nostalgic for that sixth or seventh generation design, but it requires some patience and the ability to appreciate the ideas the game has despite its flaws. We’re going to be talking about the classifications of rarities and what we think the game was trying to accomplish with its systems, the frustration of being forced to play through a section multiple times, and we lament the state of development that makes games so expensive.

Thank you for joining us again this week! This is one of those games that feels like it has such a good idea that it just wasn’t quite capable of delivering on that makes the finished product more disappointing than anything, but still, I’ve seen the game has its fans. If that’s you, let us know what it is you like about it in the comments or over on our Discord. I’m sure some things that were a big deal for us might not be for you, and some of our negatives are positives in your eyes, it’s all subjective. Next time, however, we’re going to be talking about Silent Hill f, so we hope you’ll join us then!

Episode 2 - The Powerhouse of the Cell - Parasite Eve

Even if you don’t understand, your mitochondria will.

Welcome back to the podcast! For our second game for the Halloween season, we’re talking about Parasite Eve, a survival horror action RPG from PlayStation era. And for being from that era, Parasite Eve honestly looks incredible and is, for me, the biggest draw. Mechanically, the game is a little clunky, with some extremely crunchy systems and a real time battle mechanic that can be frustrating to interact with at times. But they you will get rewarded with a perfectly disgusting cutscene where a rat’s eyeball melts out and its arms grow ten times larger. It’s a push and pull, but it never becomes entirely unfun and it’s a surprisingly gentle difficulty level. You’re largely playing this game for the (somewhat silly) narrative, creature designs, and wild visuals, but if you take that into account it is a surprisingly enjoyable experience. We’re going to be talking about the surprising roster of people who worked on this game, the disparity in the systems between different styles of paly, and hot bodies in multiple senses.

Thank you for joining us again this week! This game has a reputation that after playing it I completely understand. I would be so nostalgic for this just based on the set pieces alone had I played it when it came out, and I was surprised at how quickly we were able to pick up the basics. Are you a long time fan of this game (or its sequels)? Did you understand the weapon system better than us and are frustrated with our struggle? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Next time, on Halloween itself, we’re going to be talking about Slitterhead, so I hope you’ll join us for that!

Episode 1 - Train of Donkeys - Mouthwashing

I can podcast it. I’ll take responsibility.

Welcome to the very first episode of Describing the Skybox and the first horror game episode for October! Today, we’re talking about Mouthwashing, a narrative adventure game set on a freighter in space. There isn’t too much in the way of interaction in this game, a few light puzzles and traversal challenges, so the story takes the spotlight for the majority of the experience. Which is entirely fine because of how well written this game is. Mouthwashing is a pretty tragic story that despite its low-fi and sometimes surreal visuals, really emphasizes the horror in the human experience, whether that comes from systemic problems or directly from another person, and the narrative does a good job of navigating its nonlinear story in a way that as each new layer is uncovered in the story it hits you in new and strange ways. The game is also short and easily played in a single, albeit somewhat long, sitting, so it can feel very tight and self contained, almost like a film. We’re going to be talking about how the intro sets up different elements of the story that get paid off throughout the entire game, how the individual shots and short mechanical sections emphasize the tone of the story at each moment, and we discuss what may or may not be a womb.

Thank you for joining us this week, and please don’t be scared or confused by the new name and logo, we really haven’t changed that much under the hood. I know Mouthwashing gained a bit of a following over the last year, so if you had played the game before, what about it really sucked you in? Was it the development of the characters, the game’s enigmatic visual style, or the dystopian vibes? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! We hope you’ll bear with us as we shift everything over to the new branding (and let us know if there’s anything we missed or broke in the move)! Next time, we’re going to be talking about Parasite Eve, so we hope you’ll join us then!

Episode 200 - Cultural Osmosis - Minecraft

Did you know you can hold a podcast in your off hand?

Welcome to the 200th and (kind of) final episode of NOCLIP! With it being both the 200th episode and our tenth anniversary, we figured now would be as good a time as any to finally play Minecraft, one of the most popular and the best selling game of all time, which neither of us had actually played before. Minecraft popularized the previously niche genre of survival games, captivated a huge number of people, and to some degree altered the landscape of online content creation, all while being a procedurally generated game full of blocks created predominately by one guy. Reputation of that one guy aside, it’s impressive what this once small game accomplished and the culture it developed. The simplicity of its design allows for more complexity in its systems, with hundreds (probably? Thousands maybe?) of items to craft and a huge world to plumb for resources. The game is also very self-directed, allowing for a lot of player creativity if it does leave you a little directionless at times. The world is equal parts hostile and enticing due to unforgiving enemy spawns and procedural generation, so it is up to the player to determine where and how far they want to go given their current gear and needs. We’re going to be talking about the ubiquity of Minecraft in modern culture, the ups and downs of the open nature of the game, and how Minecraft is about two inputs away from a dissociative experience.

Thank you for listening this week and for the last, shockingly, ten years. Minecraft is probably the biggest milestone type game we haven’t covered yet, and for those of you who have been playing this game for a decade or more, we probably only embarrassingly scratched the surface, so be sure to let us know in the comments or over on our Discord. We have a lot of changes coming soon, the biggest of which is that we are changing the name of the podcast (same great taste though, we aren’t changing the format or the contents), so keep an eye on things and don’t be shocked when elements of our branding change. Additionally, to celebrate both occasions, we have released a list of my top 100 games of all time, something I’ve personally wanted to do since I was a kid, so give that a read here if you’re interested! Next time, and for the first episode of Describing the Skybox, we’re going to be talking about Mouthwashing to kick off the Halloween season! We hope you’ll join us then.

Episode 199 - Screams of Wimmenfolk - Bloodborne

It won’t end nicely. Not this time.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, on a special epilogue episode, we’re going to be taking another look at Bloodborne. This is a FromSoftware action RPG, tragically confined to the Sony ecosystem, but still containing a lot of the genre trappings of the games related to Dark Souls. However, the combat has ben retooled to be faster and more aggressive and the setting has been moved from medieval dark fantasy to gothic and Lovecraftian horror. Similarly to Sekrio, From, even when experimenting with genres and themes outside of their typical wheelhouse, manages to create a shockingly complete package. The mechanics of the notoriously difficult series play into the unfathomable nature of cosmic horror, the gothic werewolf stuff has a consistent narrative throughline into the otherworldly stuff, it’s all very well considered. It still uses the Dark/Demon’s Souls style of storytelling that leaves the burden of interpretation on the player, but it works especially well in a world in which clear answers would run counter to the game’s themes. It’s a fantastic game and one we wanted to take another crack at given that it’s been eight years since our original episode. We’re going to be talking about the interplay between the studio’s signature style and the game’s themes, how the weapon mechanics change the way you approach Bloodborne compared to other Soulslikes, and we give a massive shoutout to our boy Floory.

Thank you for (re) joining us again this week! Without accounting for some anomalies here and there, we’ve released around three hundred episodes of this podcast over ten years and Bloodborne has been one of those that seemed ripe for the epilogue series given its age relative to how much we like it as a game. If you haven’t played the game yet, is it because you don’t own a Playstation? That would be a good reason. If you do own one, what’s up? Do you hate quality? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Discord! Next time is an extremely special episode leading into some also special announcements, given that it is Episode 200 and on the cusp of our ten year anniversary, so we’re finally playing the game that we are the last two people on Earth to have not played, Minecraft! We hope you’ll join us then, and keep an eye out for the upcoming news.

Episode 198 - Two Moon Knight - Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Caked up podcast, goated with the sauce.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be looking at the most recent Life is Strange title, Double Exposure. This picks up roughly ten years after the first game in the series and returns to the point of view of Max Caulfield who has not been using her powers. The game largely follows the same trajectory of the more recent games in the series, lacking time reversing powers, it is a narrative adventure game where you make choices in dialogue and occasionally solve puzzles. The character dialogue is as awkward as ever, but it does still have the earnestness that the series is known for. It is, however, much smaller in scope than previous games, with few locations to explore and a reserved, linear plot. Mechanically, there is potentially more to explore with the set of powers available, but it has a smattering of interesting puzzles here and there that put the game’s premise to use and it’s well worked into the story. Whether you enjoy this game will probably come down mostly to how much you like that story and how it is told, but I think fans of the series (as in, more than just the first game) will find something about it to find endearing. We’re going to be talking about the story and how it calls back to the first Life is Strange, how the characters and world building have evolved over time, and lame dudes.

Thank you for joining us again this week! I recognize that we talk about Life is Strange fairly often, but it felt appropriate to talk about a podcast favorite series as we inch ever closer to Episode 200. Double Exposure may not reach the highs of the series, but I think it also avoids the lows. How was your experience playing through the game? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord server! Next time, we’re going to be doing a very special epilogue episode where we talk about Bloodborne, something like 9 years after we did it the first time, so I hope you’ll join us for that!

Video referenced in the episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZGkxUTbDqw
How Bisexuality Changed Video Games - verilybitchie

Episode 197 - All Day I Dream About Sony - Astro Bot

Live in your world, podcast in ours.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Astro Bot, a 3D platformer and a PS5 exclusive. When it comes to console exclusivity, I would usually argue against it, as it restricts people’s access to games and tend to only benefit established developers and publishers who already have a lot of clout in the industry. This game, however, really wouldn’t exist without it. Set in a very Sony-themed world where your lead character travels through space inside a PS5 and flies between levels on a DualSense 5 controller, your goal is to complete levels in order to regain the internal components, fan, GPU, etc., of the PS5 and rebuild it. The main collectibles for progression are robot representations of games that Sony has had a hand in over the years and the lead up to the final boss involves fighting atop a PS Vita. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel a little dystopian. It is cute, to some extent, and the game’s levels are well designed and rotate between a variety of interesting powerups, so I wouldn’t fault you for enjoying the game in spite of the branding, but I might look at you a little funny if you enjoyed it because of it. We’re going to be talking about the use of the unique hardware of the PS5, how motivational the collectibles are, and what you could and could not consider to be a box.

Thank you for joining us again this week! This was a pretty smooth game to play, all things considered, and there’s something to be said for that. Sometimes you’re just in the mood for something that doesn’t throw up too many roadblocks, and this fills that niche pretty well, being not too challenging but very visually vibrant and playful. Were you looking forward to this game after the previous Astro titles, or did you get this game because of a lack of other titles on the PS5? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord server! Next time, we’re going to be talking about Life is Strange: Double Exposure, so we hope you’ll join us for that.

Episode 196 - You Mentioned Pants - Balatro

I’m literally a podcast, what’s your excuse?

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Balatro, the hit poker roguelike from last year. Balatro is, in my opinion, the best kind of roguelike, with very synergy focused modifiers in the form of Jokers and card enhancements, as well as very permissive deck building options. You can, with proper management, cut large swathes of cards from your deck and really enable playing specific hands that synergize with the jokers you’re offered, meaning you can really set concrete goals for each run depending on what you are given early, so that strategic element is always at the forefront. A lot of this can be a little difficult to understand from the start though, and bouncing off is a real danger. To help ease that, the game has a really novel video-poker style aesthetic, with screen shaking effects and a dynamic, though single-track, score, which help draw you in and keep you invested. In the end, it’s a deep system that is still accessible and gives the player a lot of control over their runs, which does an especially great job of making higher difficulties feel challenging but not unfair. We’re going to be talking about joker designs from both a visual and mechanical standpoint, how strategies can differ depending on your goals in any given run, and how great twenty dollars actually is.

Thank you for listening this week! This was a necessary episode to put a period on the addiction this game caused in me over the last year, but even so I definitely recommend giving this a try if you haven’t already. Did you get sucked into this game at all since it came out and generated a lot of hype? Is it really worth the time to go for Completionist++? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re going to be talking about Astrobot, so I hope you’ll join us for that!

Episode 195 - You Can Lead a Horse to Fanta - Uma Musume: Pretty Derby

NOCLIP finishes the URA Finale and stands above all other podcasts.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about… a currently popular gacha game about horse racing anime girls. Uma Musume (or Umamusume depending on who you ask) is a sort of sports management roguelike game where you build stats on characters and then, in combination with a small six-card deck of support cards, use them to run races in hopes they can better build another character in the future. Add to that one of the most duplicate intensive gacha systems I’ve ever seen attached, and you have the bones of what makes up this game. The roguelike mode of this game, the career, is honestly pretty lenient, which is good given the amount of cards and characters you would have to pull to make a top-tier team. However, it is interesting where the game chooses to spend its resources. Runs are bogged down with enormous amounts of text, every race has an optional “concert” you can watch afterward (which will repeat often, understandably as each contains a bespoke song and animation to accompany it), and character costumes, while unique for each horse girl, are locked for the lower tier rarity characters until you either pull enough duplicates or buy one the games many currencies one at a time from limited shops. The result is a game that you can sink a lot of time into without spending a lot of money, but with limited growth unless you start “swiping” or become friends with someone who does. These kinds of things are expected to an extent within the genre, and it isn’t one with which we have a ton of familiarity, so prepare for a bit of an exploration of our interpretations of the model as we go through it. We’re going to be talking about the time commitment required of you to make the most of your time with this game, what parts of the game could be appealing to what kinds of people, and which of our favorite real life horse stories make an appearance in this game.

Thank you for joining us again this week! I want to use this paragraph to note that there is a bit of a companion video to go along with this episode over on our YouTube channel exploring the actual length of the dialogue, so check out like maybe 10 minutes of that if you’re interested. Are you a dedicated gacha player with an understanding of banners and when and how to pull on them, or are you tourists like us coming in with various, but mostly low, levels of understanding of the model? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re going to be talking about last year’s most popular roguelike, Balatro, so I hope you’ll join us then.

Episode 194 - Bioshock Ruined Society - The Talos Principle 2

There is only you, and the spark of the podcast that is your mind.

Welcome back to NOCLIP! Today, we’re going to be looking at The Talos Principle 2, a first person puzzle game developed by Croteam. The game builds on, and stays pretty close to, the mechanics of the first game, using connecting lasers with various tools as the primary method of puzzle solving. Despite this, it does a good job of feeling familiar while also adding novelty with each new area. There are many new puzzle solving tools and they make you approach the puzzle rooms in different ways, with some of my personal favorites being the ones that allow the player to move around in different ways, which really changes your relationship with the space. Narratively, the game picks up where the previous left off, just very far in the future. The plot focuses on the society that has built up around the designs of the characters from the first game, but the philosophical focus has shifted from questions of personhood common in the first game to questions of humanity’s impact on environments and societal responsibility. This feels like a natural evolution and one that is more reactive to current social issues. We’re going to be talking about the pacing of the game and how it’s unusual difficulty curve is actually a boon, what makes the puzzles of this series as enjoyable as they are, and how we like colors and shapes, y’know, like newborn babies.

Thank you for listening to NOCLIP this week! This was a game we knew we wanted to play but took a while to find its spot. I’m glad we did get around to it, because it ended up being a really good time, but also because it provides a complete tonal contrast to the games surrounding it in the schedule. Were you a fan of the original game and waiting for the sequel? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord. Next time, we’re going to be talking about Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, so we sort of hope you’ll join us then.

Episode 193 - Super Death - Spiritfarer

Do you know why we’re here? It’s because I have a small podcast.

Welcome back to NOCLIP! Today, we’re going to be talking about Spiritfarer, an incremental, management sim, narrative game. Which is a lot of ways to describe what is really a pretty simple game. The core of Spiritfarer is in its characters, spirits who you pick up from various islands and tend to while they come to grips with their own demise and prepare to go to the “Everdoor.” The storylines presented by each are genuinely heartfelt, the characters are expressive and the art used to depict them is beautiful. Some of their dialog might just be meaningful enough to provoke a strong emotional reaction from you. Many different tragedies play out with these characters, but also successes. Some just need a little more time to finish what they barely missed out on in life, while others fall into a state beyond repair and have to move on by their own will or not. And all of these great character moments and fantastic artwork is stapled onto what I would describe as a fairly slow paced farming sim game. Whether the gameplay of Spiritfarer speaks to you is going to be personal preference, but the game may be worth checking out for the other elements alone. We’re going to be talking about the value of spending more time in the game to building character relationships, the lack of value in spending more time in the game just getting from place to place, and, frankly, the value of our own time.

Thank you for joining us again this week! We’ve been on a bit of slow pace with releasing episodes, so I’m sorry if you’re someone who does listen week to week and we haven’t been there, but life unfortunately has been fairly busy and our games have been fairly long, this one being no exception. The pacing of this game may have been a little better before expansions were added, but it’s hard to say playing it in its current state. If you were an early adopter, let us know what you thought in comments, or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re going to be talking about The Talos Principle II, so I hope you’ll join us for that.

Episode 192 - Life Isn't Worth Living - To the Moon

Don’t tell anyone, but I always thought they were podcasts.

Welcome back to NOCLIP! Today, we’re going to be talking about To the Moon, a narrative game focused around learning about characters through one’s memory. I imagine this description will be quite short, because there isn’t a lot I can cover without spoiling the plot. While technically a sci-fi story, the game revolves around one character’s past, so those elements fall more into the background during the meat of the gameplay. The result is that despite the fantastical premise, the majority of the game feels very mundane which has the effect of making it easier for the player to relate to the characters in the story, and it’s very effective because the game operates on a personal level. As you learn more about each of the primary characters, you can start to see the depth they have and that characterization and what you think about their actions and motivations will influence the way you perceive the overall story. It kind of sounds like I’m just describing how to read a story, but engaging with this game the way you would a book or a movie will probably do you better than coming into it like it was Chrono Trigger. This is an extremely well written story with very little interactivity, and it’s well worth checking out if you’re in the mood for something simple. We’re going to be talking about what being a game brings to the table for this experience, how the game goes handles its characters, and we speak ill (and not so ill) of the dead.

Thank you for joining us again this week! We’re on the last of our Mystery May games after this, and it’s so far been a year for actually covering the games that have been on our list for a long time. The tragedy of this game, aside from Johnny’s story itself, is that we waited so long to play it that it feels to me almost obsolete as a game, though not as a narrative, which still feels very well written. Did you feel similarly to me, or were you more engaged due to the interactivity? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Next time, we ended up rolling a game that is has been on the list for less time than the other games this year, but one we’re excited for anyway, Spiritfarer, so we hope you’ll join us then!

Episode 191 - That Might Be A Pokémon - Half-Life

Forget about Freeman, we’re abandoning the podcast.

Welcome back to the podcast! We may be into June, but we’re in the ides of Mystery May right now, and the fates have deigned we play Half-Life, and I am not one to argue with the fates. Half-Life is one of the most influential FPS games of all time, and part of that comes down to the way the game builds a really impressive world for you to play through. Black Mesa feels as vast in some places and stifling in others as it needs to in order to create a tone that is full of anxiety as you conserve ammunition while fighting enemies with genuinely great creature design. It’s part FPS, part horror title, like Doom was, but with this added environmental element that really pushes it to the next level. The other part of its influence is really just about how good the game was when it came out. Levels are mostly well paced, even from a modern perspective, movement through them feels fluid and like you’re using all the parts of your toolbox, and the aforementioned ammo conservation feels well thought out. This one is an easy game to go back to despite it’s age, and it’s still just as moody while still having that over-the-top 90s sci-fi edge to it. We’re going to be talking about Source Engine movement, the pros and cons of Xen, and whether we were or were not excited to turn on pumps.

Thank you for joining us again this week! We’ve been consistently hitting the games that have been on our list for the longest this year, and Half-Life is one we’ve been dancing around for a little too long. This game still rules, particularly if you are a fan of its descendants, so if you haven’t given it a shot yet, I recommend doing so. And then let us know what it was like over on our Discord, or in the comment section! Next time, we’re going to be talking about To The Moon, which is not about the stock exchange, so we hope you’ll join us then!