Demo Play Thursday - Discounty On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the #NintendoSwitch version of Discounty from Crinkle Cut Games. 

I didn't know much about this game beyond the shop aspect when i started. i have since learned that the developers are based in Denmark, so the location the game's set in makes more sense and makes it more believable. tho i imagine some of the story stuff may not be real life events, this demo does tease them and introduce them in such a way that by the end i wanted to know more about some of the personal history between characters and what was up in the cordoned-off area.

Whilst that side of the story worked, the story of the shop got me completely confused. was this the one and only shop that had been there for years, was this a brand new one that was opening, was this one that had been open for a little while but was being renewed...i honestly can't say. i feel like the story gave an answer for each in this demo.

That wasn't the only thing rough with this demo. when i returned to the port, so my second time there, the game had some very noticeable graphical bugs to the point where i was concerned that the demo itself would crash. 

Other than the bugs, i thought the world looked nice. the graphics and the music worked well together to create a pleasant relaxing time during this demo. there is a time mechanic and whilst i was aware and observant of it, i never really felt the pressure of it. i felt like there was time before work and after work.

Working the shop was easy in this demo. i can imagine how it'd get more difficult later, but for now using the gamepad worked fine. whilst i was playing i thought that using the touch screen would've been faster, like when typing on the PS Vita screen in Crazy Market.

Backlog Conquering - Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition - From Start To Finish On PS4

The Backlog Conquering game was the PS4 version of Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition from DrinkBox Studios. During the 10 part playthrough there were many times when i died and had to retry sections. for platforming, i edited out retries when it took longer than a couple of minutes. as for the fights, i included the first death, but like the platforming i cut out many of the other deaths if it took more than a couple of attempts.

You can check out the previous parts of this playthrough:

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/y20ZZ5IllmY

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/OxoUuZ8dYno

Part 3 - https://youtu.be/aSABHs1VrF4

Part 4 - https://youtu.be/RkrZPlBT1f4

Part 5 - https://youtu.be/WZHkHZEaD0Q

Part 6 - https://youtu.be/VMNT2XpjDhE

Part 7 - https://youtu.be/RX5hM88wIyM

Part 8 - https://youtu.be/TJZAYKYTjrM

Part 9 - https://youtu.be/8-_eQuHzpB4

Part 10 - https://youtu.be/mL2gvTXoNLA

Stories on Tuesday - Visual Novel: I.B. - From Start To Finish On iOS

The Stories on Tuesday game was the iOS game Visual Novel: I.B. from Entabridge. 

With the story concluded, i have put all the parts together into one long story, from start to finish, including the credits and post credits scene. 

You can check out the previous parts of this playthrough:

Chapter 1 - https://youtu.be/yclMfGCp1Uo

Chapter 2 - https://youtu.be/pKZdQNymjhk

Chapter 3 - https://youtu.be/I0W5ejOVq6I

Chapter 4 - https://youtu.be/TenlvcJHmDk

Chapter 5 - https://youtu.be/I7g8FoFqT1Y

Chapter 6 - https://youtu.be/0V-653R46BU

Chapter 7 - https://youtu.be/Ku5QkKPTuFI

Cloud Monday - Bluey: The Videogame - Part 1 - No Manual Saves But Very Frequent Auto Saves

This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing Bluey: The Videogame on PS4, via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

It's been a while since i had a look at a kids game as part of this series, and a modern one at that. The emulated PSP games on PS4/PS5 include kid's games like Up and we have seen with Daxter, https://youtu.be/5-KKF2d-rv4, that those games are easy to recommend to stream from the Cloud. i was wondering if a modern PS4 release would be designed with the Cloud in mind itself.

The quick answer is I don't know! Whilst Bluey: The Videogame doesn't have manual saves, it does save very frequently. it's possible this design decision was made with kids in mind rather than streaming it from the Cloud, but what ever the case streaming it does benefit. It would be nice if the game said what the auto save icon was. after playing a while i noticed a green insect appearing in the bottom right so i tested it. i quit the game after it appeared and reloaded the save. i was right back where i was with all progress.

So, if you're curious about Bluey: The Videogame, but don't want to download it. it does seem that streaming is a good way to play it. an added bonus to streaming is that the game is already up to date, so i was playing with all the additional content and fixes. but Bluey: The Videogame is still a bit rough and jankey. it's not the best game playing experience. 

Mobile Friday - Rail Rescue: Puzzle Lines - Nice Single Screen Puzzles And Frequent Adverts

For this week's Mobile Friday i tried Rail Rescue: Puzzle Lines from developers INFINITY GAMES on my iPhone 14 Pro.

The App store page for Rail Rescue: Puzzle Lines really highlights what this game is. there are train themed single screen puzzles. by completing a set, you get a star. you use stars to build buildings in your town. Whilst the puzzle aspect was pretty good, the building the town aspect of the game did seem to just be filler. there were no bonuses to building the town, nor did you have any control over where they could be built.

The problem with Rail Rescue: Puzzle Lines is that it can come off as rude. when we started there was a download. it's small, but there was no announcement made before hand, no warning about doing the download over wifi and not using your data by downloading it over a mobile network. it didn't even tell me what the download was for. The game has adverts but there was no warning when they were going to start. what's weird about them is how they happen during the results screen, but not once the results are finished. instead the adverts appear in a weird place. there's no effort made to hide them or incorporate them into the game world at all.

The game then does have a sale message about buying the game and turning adverts off. i don't mind the developers trying to push their store. but  then we got a sale offer that involved the game's in-game currency. at no point in this video was the currency used. trying to sell stuff to make money is fine, but i've said it for years now, the player needs to know the value of what you're selling. i had no idea about the currency, i don't know if that's a good deal or not. as for the adverts, i cut out 14 adverts from this video!

Rail Rescue: Puzzle Lines looks good. i thought the music and effects were fine, too. the tutorial is good and so is the gameplay. there is a lot to like about Rail Rescue: Puzzle Lines. but the forced download and repeated adverts make it hard to recommend. it'd be worth making this a paid for game instead of releasing a spoiled free to play experience. 

Version 1.3 Played.

Demo Play Thursday - Holo's Hanafuda On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Holo's Hanafuda from Gemdrops.

I currently live in Japan and i've heard of Hanafuda and seen the cards. they are typically really beautiful to look at and make a great gift. but i have no idea how to play the game. a majority of the people i've spoken to here also don't know how to play it, often saying it's something their grandparents play. so for me, i was interested in trying this out not from the holoilve perspective but because of the hanafuda.

This is a timed demo and it's clearly labeled as so when you start it. it's also clear that save game doesn't work. 20 minutes does seem a little short but i think it's down to them not wanting the story spoiled and so that the player doesn't learn how to play hanafuda just from the demo, negating the need to buy the full game. 

I found the tutorial in this game to be great. not only were the explanations clear, but also playing Hanafuda was clear, too. the tutorial kept it nice and simple and at a slow pace. we were then taken into a game where the tutorials kept happening and giving us a chance to use what we learned. 

I don't know if the portrayal of the hololive characters is accurate, but they never felt like getting in the way. the story elements were fine, but critically when i was playing it never got distracting. the same with the graphics and music, it all worked well.

If you're interested in learning about Hanafuda, this maybe a great way to do so. i'd certainly recommend those wanting to learn give it a go and hopefully fans of hololive will like this too. unfortunately, i don't know about hololive so maybe viewers can comment and let me know if this game was good for them.

Backlog Conquering - Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition On PS4 - Part 10 - The Final Part

Welcome to Backlog Conquering. This is a series were i play a game from my backlog that i may or may not have played before. the goal isn't necessarily to finish the game, the goal is to play it. that way, i can have an opinion about it.

I beat the boss!

You can watch other parts:

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/y20ZZ5IllmY

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/OxoUuZ8dYno

Part 3 - https://youtu.be/aSABHs1VrF4

Part 4 - https://youtu.be/RkrZPlBT1f4

Part 5 - https://youtu.be/WZHkHZEaD0Q

Part 6 - https://youtu.be/VMNT2XpjDhE

Part 7 - https://youtu.be/RX5hM88wIyM

Part 8 - https://youtu.be/TJZAYKYTjrM

Part 9 - https://youtu.be/8-_eQuHzpB4