As I talked about before, Trails in the Sky the 3rd was the first game I finished in June 2017. I found it interesting but not quite what I expected. After that, I embarked on several other short games because I'd become fatigued with the ridiculous number of lengthy RPGs I'd played so far in the year. I'd already played Emily Is Away the previous month and finished up Emily Is Away Too early on in June. It improved on its predecessor in a lot of ways while still retaining the nostalgic feel of those teenage years on AOL Instant Messenger, but I was disappointed with how similar the two routes were. Although you could choose to pursue a couple of different characters, it turned out the conversations you had with them were structured in a very similar way and if I recall correctly, some of the wording was identical. This showcased a lack of care in the writing that I didn't super care for at the end of the day.
Next up on the list in June 2017 was Abzu, a third-person exploration game in which you assume the role of a diver exploring a beautiful underwater world. This is also the very last game I released a YouTube video on and it was by far my shortest. The game itself is only about two hours long, so I guess that makes sense. I enjoyed my time with the game mostly because it just is very pretty and relaxing. Shortly afterward, I played through another exploration game with somewhat more of a narrative, Gone Home. This was a period of time where I was in the mood to play a type of game that I hadn't played much of before and Gone Home certainly scratched that itch. It is a game in which you comb over all the nooks and crannies of a single house, gleaning different information about the overall story. There's no one home and as you poke around, you'll figure out exactly why. That's essentially all there is to it, but it's really fun to uncover all the meticulously crafted pieces of information within the game, from discarded notes, pieces of paper, wall hangings, shelves, tables, and drawers. I remarked back when I played it that the style of first-person exploration would be a wonderful fit for the investigative sequences in a modern Ace Attorney game.
I spent a little more time in Geometry Wars 3 Dimensions: Evolved and was really surprised with just how much I liked it. Geometry Wars is a series of space shoot-em-ups in which you blast various geometrically shaped enemies into bits. Unlike earlier entries in the series, this title isn't strictly 2D and features a wide variety of different 3D maps that have really fun designs. You might find yourself navigating around a giant cylindrical or spherical planet while dodging tremendous waves of enemies that blanket the entire screen. It has a feel that is very satisfying and prompted me to try a lot of different shoot-em-ups at the time, none of which really scratched the same itch as this game.
After playing Abzu and Gone Home, I thought I might try as many games in that same general style as possible, because they're typically very short and easily digestible experiences that resonate with me on a different level than traditional games. Next up on that list was a free PlayStation Plus game called Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, which I ultimately found pretty disappointing. I'm surprised I managed to power my way all the way through it, because it has a disjointed narrative with an unsatisfying conclusion. It's also kind of a chore to play because you walk absurdly slowly. There is some fun to be had in exploring, but it's not worth the trouble in most cases.
I decided at that point that I'd had enough of serene exploration games and tried something totally different in Azure Striker Gunvolt, an action platformer developed by Inti Creates, the same team responsible for the Mega Man Zero series. I was a little wary of the developer after not particularly caring for Mega Man ZX, but Gunvolt ended up being extremely solid. I liked it a lot more as a successor to Mega Man Zero than just about anything else I've played. The gameplay pattern is just different enough from Mega Man to stand out. Tagging enemies and then following up with other abilities is the game's main gimmick and it really works as a mechanic. I liked Gunvolt a lot and hope that more entries in that series will come eventually.
Knights of Pen and Paper was yet another game I finished in June 2017 and was in fact the final game I ever wrote about on this blog before taking an almost two year break. I found the concept of it fascinating but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it as a game because the gameplay pattern is so built upon grinding, which squanders a bit of the charm of the premise. I wrote about it here.
Finally, I also finished Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, which was yet another super solid action platformer. I can't emphasize just how much more polished and fluid these games feel compared to the ZX titles. I'm almost tempted to pick up the Switch versions and play them again, but as I'm typing it I'm kind of realizing that's a huge waste of money and is probably a terrible idea considering the mountain of games I still need to get through.
Whew, that's it for June 2017! I haven't looked ahead yet, but surely July can't be as packed a month.
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