In this weeks bulletin, we talk about new games In Other Waters and The Longing, a snapshot of the new PS5 controller, Disco Elysium coming to the Nintendo Switch and Nazis in video games.
In Other Waters review
What will humanities first encounter with alien life be? Many sci-fi movies and games take an agressive stance, but In Other Waters takes the explorative and serene approach. The game, released last week, lets you explore a mysterious alien ocean, learning about the planets geography and ecology on the go. Rachel Watts of PC Gamer posted a review, and concluded with the following verdict: ‘A gentle and engrossing underwater sci-fi game that will have you thinking about more than what lies beneath the waves.’ whist giving the game 80/100! Read the whole review here, or pick the game up from Steam!
The Longing review
What do you get when you combine a German legend, a point-and-click game, and a game which mocks the idea of instant gratification in video games? You get The Longing. The game is based upon a German legend, where a king is about to sleep in an underground cave. He instructs his servant, the Shade, to wake him in 400 days. If you just leave the game running, it will actually take 400 days! But the Shade finds ways to speed time up: explore the underground caverns, decorate your abode and read books; eventually the days will pass. Christopher Byrd of the Washington Post wrote a review of this interesting minimalistic game. Read it here!
Disco Elysium also to be released on Nintendo Switch
The open world detective RPG Disco Elysium is also to be released on the Nintendo Switch, Eurogamer reports. After winning three prizes at this years BAFTA Game Awards, art director Aleksander Rostov and narrative lead Helen Hindpere appeared on the BBC’s Game On podcast, where they confirmed the game also coming to the Switch. Eurogamer’s article with more links can be read here!
PlayStation 5 DualSense Controller revealed
Even though there is no news yet on the PlayStation 5 (and it’s launch date), Sony has given us the first look at the new controller on their PlayStation blog. The controller introduces a new feedback system, a microphone and a ‘create’ button in stead of the ‘share’ button. Kotaku has more info on the new controller here!
Should we play as Nazis in video games?
There are many, many, video games in which you can take control of German soldiers or generals during the Second World War. Take strategy games such as Hearts of Iron, or FPS as Battlefield V (in multiplayer). Luke Plunkett from Kotaku wrote a very interesting piece on how video games often shy away from the atrocities committed by the Nazis, without recognizing that they were in fact the baddies. Plunkett makes an interesting point in that many games provide us with a ‘what if the Nazis won’ scenario, instead of the many other possible scenarios, which he calls boring and a lack of imagination. That is why he is also fascinated by Hearts of Iron IV, as it does enable you to play out differing scenarios (and I completely agree with him). Plunkett closes his article with the following: game developers shouldn’t shy away from Germans and WW2, but ‘it would just be nice if, for a change, studios could at least acknowledge the extreme mental gymnastics involved in letting us play as Gemans but not Nazis, and write and design their world-conquering strategy games with this in mind.’ Read the whole, very interesting article on Kotaku!