Play By Play – April 2023 – Live Gaming Blog
GHOSTWIRE TOKYO
04/19: I’VE GOT MY SPOOKY NARUTO GAME
I started Ghostwire Tokyo with my fingers crossed. I had heard so much from Kinda Funny Games about how it was disappointing, it was a fetch quest open world without much substance or personality, and I couldn’t agree less with them. I’m not as familiar with what Colin’s specific praises for the game were on Sacred Symbols other than it being a joy and an underrated gem that was cold shoulder’d by the industry for whatever reason. I just know he really liked it, but I don’t know if that’s just a “Horizon Forbidden West is slept on so I’m elevating it” type of reaction, or if he really thought it was doing something other than a spooky Far Cry style game, but I’m excited to go back to his Sacred Symbols coverage after I finish the game because I’m more and more enthralled by the world, the art design, and the systems in place so far.
Enough about what others thought. Essentially, I had heard it was a mixed bag, a valiant first attempt fell short, etc. etc. So I entered hopeful that it would be a great game visually and atmospherically with good rumble capabilities and an interesting narrative that makes up for the emptiness. Not only does it make up for the aforementioned emptiness with absolutely stunning visual fidelity and lighting, but with tension and atmosphere. Every time I try to sprint through the world without caution, overconfident in my burgeoning combat abilities, I’m quickly put in my place by a new wave of stronger enemies, or a larger wave than I could’ve accounted for. Or, at the very least, something jumps out at me and audibly scares the shit out of me. When playing responsibly, I find myself using my Detective Mode power at every corner, and sometimes every few feet, to literally stay one step ahead of the lurking Slenderman-like enemies ahead. Between this inherent caution against jump scares, the eerie fog and flickering lighting around the empty and desolate world, and the powerful and heart racing dynamic score, each hour I spend in the world of Ghostwire Tokyo is completely engaging. Each cleansed Torii gate feels like a victory, whether it is heavily guarded or not. (This feels especially justified after the first jump-scare by a certain garden tool wielding specter that still haunts me after putting the controller down.)
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK’S AWAKENING
04/19: The Final Dungeon
As a whole, my time with Link’s Awakening has been one of my favorite gaming experiences in the past few years. (Which is remarkable, as I’ve played through Skyward Sword, the entire Mass Effect Trilogy, the original God of War Trilogy, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: The Forbidden West, Super Mario Galaxy, Portal, God of War Ragnarok, Portal, and a few dozen other awesome games for the first time in the last 12-18 months.)
But much of the latter half of 2022 was playing modern AAA open world checklist games with waypoints, side quests, tutorials and cutscenes galore. And here I was with Link’s Awakening, a pretty faithful remake of an original Gameboy game, with a sword with limited range, low health, and no fucking idea what I was doing. I didn’t know where I was going, I couldn’t jump, I’m not even positive if you start off with a shield or not. And I died and/or nearly died many many times in the first few hours of this game. I was getting my ass kicked left and right just by the crabs and sea creatures that are located right where you wake up. I just couldn’t get the timing right and I was so used to big regenerating health bars, dodge mechanics and perfect parry indicators. Yet a simple crab might as well have been a fucking Dark Souls boss because I couldn’t beat them without getting injured.
I was extremely frustrated and a little discouraged, thinking that this game might be one that was made for more resilient gamers than myself, but as I continued on I felt my curiosity stoked in a way that it hadn’t been in quite some time. Which is strange for multiple reasons:
1. I usually bounce off of old games rather quickly if I don’t immediately “get” what they’re going for or gain a mastery over the controls.
2. I usually pull up a walkthrough instinctually at the slightest hint of trouble or confusion outside of two major exceptions that demanded my respect and focus: Breath of the Wild and Ocarina of Time.
3. I fucking hate getting lost.
I felt compelled to stay the course and figure it out without looking it up or mirroring a walkthrough on Youtube. I didn’t even come close when trying the original Legend of Zelda for NES on multiple occasions, so I was surprised to be roped in by a notable but slightly less iconic Zelda title. But I stuck it through. And it felt great.
I started to actually feel like I was exploring a new space and discovering “secrets” and memorizing the terrain without needing the main character to mumble the directions to every puzzle and point a big arrow to where I need to go.
It feel so earned to gain the strength to mow down the same pig monsters and guards that once tormented me. I felt like a genius for navigating the dungeons, clearing every chest, and finding and exploiting the weakness of each and every boss without having to find out second hand or unenthusiastically mashing my way through it.
An old school challenging game (if not obtuse) really appeals to me during this specific time. It makes me start to understand just a small piece of the Elden Ring furvor as the industry has been hand-holdy and “tell, don’t show” in the last two generations or so. As someone with a poor sense of direction, a short attention span and even shorter window in which I can play games uninterrupted, I usually welcome that quality of life and simplification, but it’s really cool to get that rare fully immersed experience where I’m seeing it all for myself and finding and earning my sea legs as I go.
