Tag: slapstick

West of Loathing – The Cows Came Home and They Have Beef with Us:

Posted on by in Gaming

Now that we are in the new decade, everyone is looking towards the new console generations and new instalments to long running franchises. Here at Mind Games, I am more focused on just trying to pass my degree. I don’t tend to play the latest games or the big releases the moment that they come out, partly because I’m usually busy working on a coursework and partly because I like to wait for the price to drop before I buy (#Student Life).

So, when I’m looking for a new game to play, I tend to trawl the online stores looking for weird and whacky games that pique my curiosity. This is how I came across West of Loathing a few years back. As seen with the popularity of the Red Dead Redemption series, games set in the Wild West tend to draw a big audience. Ironically, the fascination with cowboys fizzles out quickly when you investigate their history and realise their lives were nowhere near the dramatic, high-stakes action that the media portray them as.

Check the bookshelf several times. Trust me.

I’m not going to spoil any of the plot as despite it being a slapstick comedy game, the storyline is quite intriguing, especially when you start to branch off and explore the side-quests that open as the game progresses. Plus, it’s always more fun to experience the jokes first-hand.

An RPG, set in a Wild West world, featuring turn-based combat and a series of odd side quests alongside the main story? Sounds like most RPG’s, so what makes this one different? Well, first things first, the art style is simplistic – so much so that it’s a series of stickmen, wearing goofy hats and hurling snakes at their enemies. I love it. It’s a satirical look at most RPG’s, from choosing classes, to levelling up skills and solving puzzles with non-sensical items.

Always practise safe TNT storage kids.

The moment you open the game, it grips you with its sense of humour. Most of the hours that I have sunk into this game, I have spent with a massive grin on my face. Instead of choosing from the traditional “Fighter, Magic User or Rogue” class archetypes, you have the choice of “Cow Puncher, Bean Slinger or Snake Oiler”. Which serve essentially the same functions but are a hundred times more hilarious to play as. Why wouldn’t you want to carry around a briefcase full of snakes and throw them into people’s faces?

Skills and traits are upgraded using experience points, but you can also discover new abilities by reading books (like the nerd you are) or meeting certain criteria. Want to increase your defence? Walk into cacti until your skin is mostly scabs. Want better resistance to heat, stench and cold damage? Stick your hand into various disgusting spittoons scattered around the west to permanently taint your hand with the remnants of other people’s spit. Delightful.

Hmm. Nothing seems abnormal here.

From busting ghosts and getting spooked by the ever present “Boo’s” in the DLC, to facing down the demon clowns leader and trying not to wet yourself when he throws knives at you in the main game, West of Loathing has so much content that it’s impossible to find everything on just one playthrough. Your choice of class, partner and even a few plot crucial decisions will set you down unique paths filled with hilarity, unique encounters and EVEN MORE SPITOONS. Word of warning though, the game will heavily judge you for digging around the insides of these metal cesspools.

The writing in this game is excellent. Every line of dialogue, every action and every item description has had careful thought put into it. The passion the developers at Asymmetric Publications have for their game is clear to see and is a joy to experience first-hand. They are keenly aware of some of the pitfalls that games can fall into as well as common tropes and clichés that many developers put into their works and manage to tackle these with a sense of humour. Any references to other game series or media franchises, are done with care and subtlety, rather than beating you over the head with them (or a cow bone).

I relate to the guy on the left.

More than anything, I love this game because it makes me laugh. A genuine, full body laugh that hurts your chest after a while. Mental health issues and stressful times means that I don’t get to laugh like that as much as I should. Depression especially tends to sap the humour and joy out of things that would normally elicit laughter from us, replacing it with numbness and general lethargy. It’s something that I have combatted for many years, yet this is the first game that I’ve come across that can consistently bring a genuine smile to my face. Not a fake smile to avoid worrying others or a half-hearted smile to try and fit in, a genuine grin. It’s a refreshing sensation after so many years of monotony when it comes to humour.

That sign can’t stop me cause I can’t read.

Anyways, I’ve got a final-year project to work on and a production to prepare for so I’m going to end this week’s article here and I’ll be back soon! I’ve sent in an application for a press pass at EGX Rezzed in late March, so hopefully we get it and I’ll be able to provide more awesome content for you all at my favourite convention!

Much love,

CaitlinRC.

Untitled Goose Game – My Cousin Is Afraid of Geese and Now I Know Why:

Posted on by in Gaming

I’ve never been a fan of geese. Then again, I don’t think anyone on the planet is particularly fond of them. They are known as the douchebags of the avian world, with their terrifying spiky tongues and tendency to harass anyone that even glances at them. Thankfully, I’ve only really been chased by geese rather than outright attacked but both my cousin and my sister have felt the sharp nip of their beaks. When we were all younger, we used to go feed the ducks and play by the riverside. Every so often we’d see a swan glide past or a group of geese honking at one another. Whilst feeding a duck some seeds, a goose snuck up on my cousin and started honking aggressively, flapping its wings and hissing like the big jerk it was. Being a six-year-old at the time, my cousin burst into tears and froze on the spot, triggering the goose to bite her and cause her to drop her little bag of seeds. My aunt chased it off, but my cousin still hates geese to this day and she’s twenty-two!

Although utter jerks, geese are a part of nature and I get a great sense of peace from watching the birds on the canals near where I live. It’s a calming moment amongst some of the darker times that the real world likes to burden us with. Video games seem to follow this trend recently, with a lot of recent releases being rather gritty, hard-hitting games that reveal some of the darker features of human nature. Games strive to show us a part of ourselves that we refuse to admit is there, highlighting important issues and teaching us lessons that can’t always be taught in school. However, considering how dark the real world can get sometimes, turning to a video game that is just as dark, can seem a tad depressing. Which is why silly games like Mount Your Friends or Quiplash are so important in bringing joy back to our lives. One game that takes this concept and runs headlong into the village with it, is the Untitled Goose Game.

Time to listen to BBC Radio HONK!

If you’ve been hiding in a cave without an internet connection, then I’ll quickly explain the premise of the game in the words of the developers – “It’s a lovely morning in the village, and you are a horrible goose.” As the goose, who I have lovingly named Flerken (thumbs up if you get that reference), your job is to roam around the village causing all sorts of chaos. From stealing the gardener’s rake and throwing it into the lake, locking the shopkeeper in the garage, stealing a man’s shoes off his feet and making another trip over, there’s no end to the potential hilarity of this game.

At its core, it’s a puzzle game. To progress, you must complete a series of tasks on your to-do list in order to unlock the next area. Some tasks require a bit more planning than others but no matter what task you complete, you get a great deal of satisfaction when that item gets crossed off your list. I think House House, the developers behind the game, have managed to create a game that brings childlike delight to all who play it, as well as providing a series of complex tasks that feed into the concept of reward motivation. Whether that reward is progressing the game, getting to see the hilarious consequences of your actions or simply the pleasure of crossing an item off your list, House House encourages it’s players to keep trying – after all, when we know there’s a reward at the end, we are more determined to get there.

Don’t hire the goose as a waiter, he has a fowl mouth.

There are two things that I feel we as humans should do on a regular basis. The first is to cry – just sob and let all your emotions pour out of you. We can’t hold it all in forever, eventually, we will explode, and I’d rather explode in the private of my own home rather than lashing out at those I love by accident. The other is to laugh. Not to snigger or laugh politely at a bad joke, but a proper laugh. One that shakes your shoulders and leaves you gasping for air, where your stomach aches and your cheeks hurt from smiling. When you laugh like that, it leaves a grin on your face for the rest of the day and makes everything seem that bit lighter. Running around as a goose, annoying people and honking like a maniac manage to bring me those moments of laughter.

It’s a game that appeals to the troublemaker in each of us. Growing up, we are told not to cause trouble as it upsets and frustrates those around us but a little part of us finds it funny. House House taps into this vein of mischief with a charming little game that apparently started as a joke that snowballed into a gaming phenomenon that even the most cynical of people can crack a smile at. Even in games where you are given the choice to act like a jerk, we often choose to be kind because most of us inherently want to be good people. So, a game that is based around being a gigantic jerk to the various humans and causing as much chaos as possible to this sleepy little village, is a delightful time for the devils that sit on our shoulders.

FEAR ME TIMMY! I AM THE GOOSE!

There’s an incredible amount of detail that has gone into this game, with each “level” providing you with more opportunities to wreak havoc than you could ever imagine. The villagers wandering around the level all respond to the goose differently, some actively encouraging you and others chasing you away with a broom, so you have to adapt your approach to solving each objective dependent on whether you’re going to be chased after by a big burly man. Little thought bubbles pop up above the villager’s heads in response to various events, such as what they are going to do next or what item has magically disappeared from the garden and ended up in the lake (it wasn’t me I swear), which provide good clues to the player for those slightly trickier objectives.

From replayability to speedrunning, the game has a great deal of potential for sticking around as a darling indie games that are beloved by all. Undertale, Super Meat Boy, Cuphead and The Stanley Parable are all examples of this, and I hope more than anything that this delightful chaos causing goose becomes a staple in the gaming community for decades to come. Its art style won’t have to worry about graphical updates making it look bad in comparison, and what’s not to love about being a goose? HONK! I can agree, that this game was definitely worth the wait and although I’ve already finished all the objectives and claimed my little goose crown, I will be replaying it time and time again, for that sense of pure joy that it provides even when my mental health decides that it’s time to suffer. HONK HONK!

Well, well, well, what do we have here.

Anyways, depending on how much free time I get this week, I’m going to try and finish off Prey and write about it! The mimics will probably be the focus of the article as the concept of things not being what they appear is a big problem that those with mental health issues have to combat in everyday life. Until then, like, leave a comment and follow the site, plus my Twitter to keep up to date with everything @OurMindGames!

Till next time,

CaitlinRC.