This week's DEMO is the PlayStation 4 version of Capcom's Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.
This is one of the better demo's i've played this year. the video starts with it saying this isn't the final game, some things may not work, and there's no support. it's making it clear this is a demo. after some options, we're greeted with the main menu and it also says it's a demo. what's great is that there's an option to go to it's PSN store page. Capcom have made it clear that it's a demo and made it easy to pre-order the game.
At the end of this video, there is the first ending to this demo and once again Capcom have given us a link to pre-order the game. the only way the end could've been better was if Capcom added screenshots and/or a trailer for the game. It knows it's a demo, we know it's a demo, so we can focus on the game itself.
i assume this is from the start of the game, maybe with the opening cutscene and story cut from the demo. the tutorial and initial stages are very well done and work well together. i never felt overwhelmed nor did i feel that things we too easy. there were a mix of tutorial methods, ranging from the basic box of text on screen, to a check list to help you try out different attacks. later in the video, we'll get access to new moves and a little gif plays showing what it does. overall, i was surprised how accessible the game is for new players.
My time with Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess was so positive it made me wishlist the game after playing. if you're unsure, playing this demo will be great for you. but i do think that Capcom has a good game here and for some they should simply pre-order. i would've liked more of the story, more of the why, but in terms of gameplay its good.
For the second time, i thought i had finished Tearaway Unfolded. i didn't play the PSV version of it so i don't know if it's the same on there, but this PS4 version has tricked me twice now. the first time it wasn't too bad as i felt that they worked it into the narrative of the story very well. but this time, it feels cheap.
After beating the scraps, we ended up between stories in a section that looked cool but didn't offer much different in gameplay mechanics. but visually it was very different. the same is true when we reached the desert looking area. there were some cool visual and audio moments, but this feels like the first video we've done where nothing special was added to the gameplay.
This helps add to the thought that this third story feels a little unearned and cheap and that perhaps i would've been more satisfied with the game ending than what i have played so far.
This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS3 version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.
The previous game i checked out for Cloud Monday was the recently released PS2 version of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on PS4, it's also out on PS5. That version of the game is running in an emulator. So the positives after Part 1, https://youtu.be/tphGJ4lCw88, and Part 2, https://youtu.be/gg_RuiDKR5c, were that you're able to save anywhere which is great when you only have 20 seconds before the service kicks you off, and that you're able to rewind gameplay and retry. But i wondered if the PlayStation 3 HD Rerelease would be better.
So as well as the usual goals of seeing how the game plays as it's streamed to me, i was checking out a personal question of is this PS3 version than the emulated PS2 version.
The first thing i noticed was that it was a 16:9 screen, tho the resolution wasn't 1080p, it was maybe 900p. then i noticed the camera controls were much more modern. and then i was able to get into the police building, something which took too long in Part 1 as i took time to adjust to the jump in the game. So immediately i felt more comfortable with the game.
But then came the first instance where i would've liked to have had the rewind controls. i was hit by a missile and the respawn point was right at the start of the level. Thankfully this section is very short, but it was a tad frustrating.
Overall, i found this version much easier to play. with no rewind, i also found myself going a little slower too. but i know this section having played it previously so it will be interesting if i'm able to get to the boss fight or even a new area in part 2.
This part ended earlier than i wanted as i was kicked off the service. thankfully, not only is it easy to save in this game but it's also fast so i was able to save before the 20 second count down. when i checked my internet stats at the speed test it was clear to see why i was kicked off, these speeds were very abnormal for me and other games i've played.
There is a Maximus Cup this weekend in Tetris 99 on Nintendo Switch. The 41st Maximus Cup is for the Switch game F-ZERO 99. By getting 100 points, you can unlock a F-ZERO 99 theme which includes sounds and a background.
The side quest, as ever, is to try and win. unfortunately, i didn't manage to make it to the top 10 at all during this cup. in the first couple of games i managed to get into the top 20, with the first game being especially difficult. but other than that, i wasn't able to score too highly.
For this week's Online Saturday video i'm back on the Switch with Splatoon 3. It's my birthday and i wanted to play something fun and relaxing so here are 15 matches of Turf War, of which my team mates and I managed to win 10 of them.
For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Window Garden - Lo-fi Idle Game, from developers CLOVER-FI Games and Camilla Santiago. i played this on my iPhone 14 pro.
Many recent idle games i've played have had a lot of action and/or story. so seeing Window Garden - Lo-fi Idle Game and what it's app store page said got me curious about a different style of idle game. so going in i knew it was more casual, more laid back, and had a lo-fi feel to it.
And yet, i don't think it does great at expressing that to the player itself. if someone decided to play this game because of the lo-fi element, they maybe expecting a modern idle game. Window Garden - Lo-fi Idle Game starts with a brief introduction from another character and this would've been the perfect place for that character to say we can come back once or twice a day, that plants are hardy and will be ok, and that the game has a vacation mode. the game is a bit too keen to start.
But when it does it's good to see that it asks us if we want a tutorial. as Window Garden - Lo-fi Idle Game is out on other platforms, it's possible that we might've played it else where. it's not clear if the cloud save is just from this device or if we have a personal account. i wanted to see the tutorial so i don't know if the game asks to link to an account and get our save or start anew.
The tutorial looks great, until it abruptly stops right as we get to the main menu. i wanted a tutorial, i asked for it, so like modern mobile games i expected some, if not all, of the icons to be explained or at least pointed to. thankfully it's not difficult to work out what these buttons do when you press them.
I liked the pixel art and the art in general. but some elements of it weren't designed for my phone. my phone's screen has rounded corners, so the big text box at the bottom looks weird as the bottom corners are missing. the same with the pause button and frenzy bar. the Dynamic Island never got in the way but it was a little strange we could put items over it. i feel like something more bespoke for the phone would've worked better. maybe taking the icons and putting them to the side with the Dynamic Island and leaving the rest of the screen for the game.
Something like that might've helped with the mini games. the game with a bucket was the most awkward to play as it uses the full length of the screen. but none of my fingers could cover the entire bottom of the screen so i had to try and switch thumbs as i played. but so much is coming down so quickly, i was not effective at playing it. if the screen was smaller, like my example above or if we played on a fake handheld, so we would see the front of the handheld and played on that screen, it would've been easier. (I've tried to think of a fun name for such a portable but can't do better than "Skylight" or "Wardian")
It is good to have some mini games, but the controls just hold them back. the flower idea is good, too. but i was surprised that the game doesn't lean into it more. they do look good on the window, taking care of them is also simple enough. But that's kinda it. we have a book showing which flowers we have, but this just shows the same information. i genuinely thought we were going to get like a wikipedia article about the flowers (or a copy of the Simple English page) but there's nothing extra. i thought there was going to be a zoomed in pixel art of each flower, but again it's the same image we already see.
The lo-fi aspect of the game also has the same limitations. it's good that it says what each song is when it starts, but then it disappears. surely we could choose to have the current song permanently displayed or not. and then there's the record player, there's no play or pause of stop option. The game does have a sleep mode that i don't think i fully understood how to work or why it's there in the first place. if the lo-fi music is so important it's in the name, why not give us a music player mode. i called it a commute mode where the game fades into the background and we get to enjoy the music. maybe our plants could be on screen as a screen saver.
There's nothing wrong with Window Garden - Lo-fi Idle Game, but on the other hand there's nothing great. it's good at a lot of things but also doesn't excel at anything. I would still recommend it tho. there is a lot to like and a lot of potential with this idea. it's being regularly updated so it's also a game i'd recommend keeping on your phone and checking out what each update brings. but as it is, it's fine to check in once or twice a day, maybe before and after work on the commute home, and spend a relaxing time with it with the sound on.
