Operation Backlog Completion 2026

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is Both Cute and Sad

 Reviews, Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jun 292018
 

When The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit was announced during E3 at Microsoft’s press conference, I commented that even though it looked lighthearted, I didn’t trust it since it’s a game from Dontnod (and set in the Life is Strange universe, no less).

My suspicions were well-placed.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is free, takes about 2 hours or so to complete, and alternates between being cute and sad.

Gameplay is pretty much like it is in Life is Strange, except you can use Chris’s “superpowers” in various situations. Chris is a little boy who pretends to be a superhero called Captain Spirit, and most of the game follows the adventures he plays out around the house.

He’s also struggling to cope with the death of his mother, as well as his father’s newfound alcoholism and bouts of anger.

Oh.

There were times when Captain Spirit felt like a lighthearted nostalgia trip, but the underlying darkness always lurked nearby. If you enjoyed the parts of Life is Strange that discussed what Max and Chloe were like as kids, or the “Farewell” bonus episode to Before the Storm, you’ll probably enjoy The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit as well.

The very end teases two additional characters who will probably play a role in Life is Strange 2. The ending screen confirms that Chris will return in Life is Strange 2, but it’s unclear if he’ll be the protagonist or not. I think one of the two brothers will be the main character, especially with how they’re introduced.

Click for Captain Spirit spoiler
That scene looked to me like one of them has actual powers and saved Chris from falling.

Many parts of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit made me smile, but it ultimately left me feeling sad. Still, we all know I’m going to play Life is Strange 2 no matter how depressing it is.

My Belated Finding Paradise Review

 Reviews, Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Apr 202018
 

This review is an unusual one, because I thought I already reviewed Finding Paradise.

I named it as one of the best games I played in 2017 (and mentioned that my review would be coming soon), and I didn’t realize I never actually reviewed it until I went to look for my review last weekend and it… wasn’t there.

My guess is that I intended to review it right when my site went down, and by the time it was restored, I forgot. Anyway, let’s talk about Finding Paradise!

Finding Paradise is the sequel to To the Moon. Once again, Neil and Eva enter a dying patient’s memories to alter them in order to fulfill his final wish. The patient is the protagonist from A Bird Story, the shorter game set in between the two.

He presents them with a tricky task: he’d like them to resolve his lingering regrets while leaving as many of his memories unchanged as possible. Like in To the Moon, traveling through his memories lets the story of his life unfold, although this time Neil and Eva are sent back and forth between recent memories and old memories instead of following a linear path backwards.

For me, it wasn’t quite as emotional as To the Moon, but it was still a solid story. I also loved how it played with the series’ premise, leading to a beautiful and thought-provoking conclusion. And of course, there was plenty of humor.

I also went into Finding Paradise hoping for more of the overarching story that was hinted at in To the Moon and expanded on in the free mini-episodes. While Finding Paradise only touches on it lightly, it has a few mysterious events and some intriguing developments that advance it a little further.

Click for major Finding Paradise spoilers
In addition to the obvious scenes about Neil’s work, fans have speculated that the mysterious motorcycle rider (whose scene stands out for having no apparent significance to the plot) and the woman in the brown dress who (according to the child) retrieves the doll without touching the water is Faye.

Since Faye doesn’t exist in the real world and Neil copied her data, this once again suggests that Finding Paradise itself is a memory that someone is revisiting.

Finding Paradise also provides a list of the games in the series.

Since it lists To the Moon and Finding Paradise as the major episodes, with A Bird Story and the minisodes listed in between, I hope this means we’ll see more smaller entries before Episode 3.

Finding Paradise might not be as amazing as To the Moon, but it’s still an excellent game and I can’t wait to see where Freebird Games takes this series in the future. (It may or may not involve lots of murder?)

If you played Finding Paradise, what did you think of it? Where do you think the overarching story is headed?

428: Shibuya Scramble is Coming West This Summer

 Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Mar 232018
 

Several announcements have come from GDC 2018, and one that caught my eye was Spike Chunsoft’s news that 428: Shibuya Scramble will be out in the west this summer.

428: Shibuya Scramble is a visual novel adventure game that first came out in Japan in 2008, on the Wii. It was later ported to the PS3 and PSP, and eventually mobile devices.

Now it’s coming to the PS4 and PC, and that version is finally being localized.

The game features five protagonists, 90 endings based on the choices you make, and a combination of different media types (text, videos, and live action stills).

It’s a mystery, and it sounds like the characters’ stories interact with one another in interesting ways.

I wasn’t familiar with this game before, although I think I heard the title when localization was first announced (or hinted at?) last year, but now I’m interested in seeing what it’s like.

Spike Chunsoft also announced PixelJunk Monsters 2 (PS4, Switch, and Steam), localization of Steins;Gate Elite (PS4, Switch, and PC), localization of Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (PS4 and PC), and the PS4 version of Fire Pro Wrestling World.

(Zanki Zero is coming to the Vita in Japan according to its original announcement, but it looks like that version won’t be coming west.)

Are you interested in 428: Shibuya Scramble or any of the others? Have you been enjoying GDC? Should I cover other game events like I do E3? Let me know in the comments!

 Older Entries  Newer Entries