You are the spark emanated by my light. The podcast of my will in the hidden spheres.
Welcome back to NOCLIP Pocket on this very special Halloween night (well, if you’re catching it like right as we upload it’s very early in the morning, but like, shut up, I’m trying to be thematic). Hopefully you’re having a spooky holiday season, and in an attempt to help you further along that path, we’re talking about Tamashii. This is a puzzle platformer that pulls its visual and narrative inspiration from old Japanese indie games that put theme and spectacle above silly little things like “making sense.” Tamashii is still more approachable than some of the art house games that inspired it, but has a style that is simultaneously abrasive and pretty intriguing. We explore this odd game in this episode and attempt to explain how it engaged us. We’ll be talking about what different kinds of imagery accomplish in establishing tone, how the platforming mechanics help drive engagement without being the explicit focus of the game, and whether or not something with a “butthole mouth” can be cute.
Thank you for joining us this month, and I hope you’ve been sufficiently frightened by our game choices…because we’re saving the most terrifying for AFTER Halloween. I know it’s unusual, but it’s the perfect way to catch all you SUCKERS off guard. Get ready, because we’re talking about Untitled Goose Game. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.