New Pokemon Snap

GWJ Conference Call 760

Returnal (PS5), It Takes Two (PC), New Pokemon Snap (Switch), There is No Game: Wrong Dimension (Mobile, PC), Superliminal (PC), board game mechanics in video games, your emails, and more!

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Amanda, Rich, and Glendon are joined by Mike (aka McChuck) to discuss board game mechanics in video games.

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00:02:57 Returnal
00:19:04 It Takes Two
00:26:04 New Pokemon Snap
00:37:22 There is No Game: Wrong Dimension
00:38:41 Superliminal
00:42:51 Board Game Mechanics in Video Games
01:07:54 Your Emails

One thing I forgot to mention about the "It Takes Two" story is there's a specific point where it's down right disgusting and upsetting:

Spoiler:

About half way through, your characters decide in order to break the spell that has made them into dolls, they need to make their daughter cry (not work through their marital problems which have very obviously put them in this situation). So they go on a quest to destroy her favourite toy.

What follows can only charitably be described as torture porn. The two characters hunt down and torture a very obviously distressed and infantile toy elephant while it screams and cries the entire way. Wailing in pain as first it's ear is ripped off while being nailed to the floor, and then leg torn apart dragging the elephant crying over the edge of a castle to it's death.

It served no story purpose. And seemed to only be there to fulfill a gross fantasy.

FWIW, Push Square have interviewed the writer/director, Josef Fares. He has some interesting things to say about that point in the game.

It may not change the way you feel about the scene, but I think it explains that there was something more to it.

To go from Brothers to what’s been described is hard for me to understand.

detroit20 wrote:

FWIW, Push Square have interviewed the writer/director, Josef Fares. He has some interesting things to say about that point in the game.

It may not change the way you feel about the scene, but I think it explains that there was something more to it.

I finished playing It Takes Two with a friend this weekend and we both had the same reaction as Staygold to this scene. After reading this article,

Spoiler:

I have to say that even if they wanted to make a point or make the story move forward with killing the toy, the violence of the scene and the way it drags on feels really gratuitous and serves no purpose. I find the reference to British humour especially curious because what I said to my friend was that this was like the "'tis but a scratch" scene in Monty Python and The Holy Grail except it wasn't funny at all.

There were a few other things that really bothered me about the story. The biggest one is that the couple is not trying to save their relationship but is rather forced against their will to go through a number of gauntlets that presumably will save their relationship even if they are clearly saying they don't want to do that. I found this to be deeply disturbing. I understand that most heroes go on their adventures against their will in a certain way, but that usually involves killing monsters (or, in A Way Out, escaping prison), not going to couples' therapy.

Later on, the final cutscene of the game (I'll avoid spoilers here) hits you with another completely unnecessary low blow in the form of Rose's actions.

More broadly, I think the general theme of a married couple trying to avoid their divorce just does not work as an immersive game story theme. If you are playing with your SO, I feel like it could be incredibly awkward. And if you're not playing with your SO, there's no way to immerse yourself in the fantasy. I can definitely go play A Way Out with a friend and fantasize about whether we will be able to escape from prison, but I can't go into this game and tell my friend "hey, do you think we'll get a divorce?" without completely breaking the immersion or any suspension of disbelief.

And lastly, Dr. Hakim is the single worst and most obnoxious NPC I've ever seen in a videogame, he has the worst most offensive fake accent I've ever heard, and he is the worst fictional therapist that anyone has ever created. I'd rather watch the toy-killing scene ten times over before having to hear another line from him.

What's crazy is that, despite all these issues, I have to agree with Staygold that the game is still fantastic and you should play it if you can. It has some of the best co-op mechanics I've experienced, it's very well paced, it has a great mix of action and puzzles, it looks great, and the difficulty is tuned just right so that it is not boring easy for a trained gamer but also not impossible for a more casual player.