Summary for September 2023

– Thanks, Snake.
– Don’t mention it, Cat.

Kipo, a pink-haired girl, strikes a superhero three-point pose with a look of joyful determination on her face. Behind her on the left is Wolf, a girl in a wolf skin cape, and on the right is Benson, a boy in a baseball cap. In the foreground are “mutes” (mutants): Mandu, a four-eyed and six-legged pig, and Dave, a four-armed bug person with a grin on his face. All five are in shallow water, with the ruins of a city and a huge moon behind them. — [Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts]

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is awesome! All the main characters are people of color, voiced by actors of color (fuck Avatar, btw). The only romance in the show is between two gay boys. How rare is that?! It is also just a very fun cartoon in itself, with great animation, an amazing soundtrack, goofy characters, and, maybe a bit simplistic, but overall good message. It got all the important parts right, for sure!

First-person view, with only a double-barreled shotgun and no visible UI. Three fiends, ape-like enemies, with dirty beige skin, single talon-like hands, hoofed legs, mouths with huge teeth occupying half of their heads, stand between the player and the exit gate. — [Qauke]

In contrast to its sequel, I have even less to say about the first Quake. But I finished it and all the official mission packs, including the new ones from MachineGames.

Point of Mew is a little silly free game about a cat that helps its human. No, really helps. Sure, there is some destruction along the way, but who cares! Ahem.

First-person view, with ammo, health and armor indicators in a panel at the bottom. Firing a double-barreled shotgun at two approaching enemy soldiers wearing gas masks. The location is some sort of military headquarters with a bulky computer on the left and a holographic projection of Earth above it. — [Chasm: The Rift]

I played Chasm: The Rift back in the day, but never finished it (probably got stuck in one of the maze-like levels). It was a sort of an answer to Quake. It has a similar hodgepodge of levels and enemies, tied together by a more coherent story, puzzle bosses that were dropped in Q2 and even enemy dismemberment and some destructible environmental elements. On the other hand, it has flat, Doom I/II-like levels. Is it worth checking out? As a piece of first-person shooter history, sure.

Zombie Hill Race seems very similar to Earn to Die games, to the point of confusion. Drive a little, earn some money, upgrade your car, drive a little more, repeat. Turn your brain off kind of game.