Board 8 > Top 25 Video Games of 2021

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5. Astalon: Tears of the Earth

It seems we get a brand new metroidvania-type game each year. This is typically fortunate, as talented developers can take hold of an inherently satisfying gameplay loop. Astalon: Tears of the Earth is one of the best members of this ever-growing genre, though it unfortunately came out in a year where Nintendo decided to start making new Metroid games again. Fortunately, Astalon: Tears of the Earth errs further toward the Castlevania side of things, which we will never have to worry about seeing again, beyond pachinko machines, NFTs, and, somehow, one of the best animated franchises ever made. I have no doubt Astalon: Tears of the Earth would be well-enjoyed by a majority of people who would play it, but it is unfortunately being shafted by games like Metroid Dread, which is really good, and Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, a game so boring that I have booted it five times and played for a total of forty-five minutes.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is quite good. I dont really have much to say about it beyond this. If a game so adequately does its job that I can not even spend a page attempting to write vaguely-related dialogue about my experience with it, you know it has probably figured itself out. I played Astalon: Tears of the Earth intensively over the course of two days, and by the end, I did not want it to end. I then played the extra modes, which werent very good, and I realized I had only thought I didnt want it to end. Needless to say, the extras werent worth playing because the main campaign of Astalon: Tears of the Earth is so perfectly paced if you choose to shoot for the true ending.

The only legitimate flaw I feel has any weight is how Astalon: Tears of the Earth would have been better if it removed its roguelike elements. It feels like it was presented as a gameplay mechanic to match the story, but the game evolved in a way which made this feel pedantic. Youre constantly unlocking shortcuts both small and large, so its not as if being sent back to the start is particularly challenging. It just adds boring treks to disrupt the pacing of the otherwise fantastic level structure. You can also destroy the games difficulty scaling if you intend to fully upgrade your characters stats. The difficulty is probably at its best around the halfway point but when I was doing some clean-up on my final playthrough, I gained a massive advantage from dumping my points into stat upgrades. Playing naturally, you wont even come close to achieving fully maxed stats, but it still feels a little silly to make the maximum level so high when theres nothing to fight for beyond a higher difficulty with new game plus.

But those flaws barely function as complaints and are miles away from something deserving legitimate criticism. Do not sleep on Astalon: Tears of the Earth. This is one of the best indie games on the market this year, and itll likely be remembered, at least by me, as one of the best pieces of an otherwise oversaturated genre.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth Score: 5/6

1 for 1

5 astalong: tears of a game I've never heard of (I'm cheating)
4 metrover drated
3 shin megami tensei v: you're slightly more likely to actually finish this one edition
2 resident evil village (no joke here)
1 before your eyes is another game I've never heard of

4. Shin Megami Tensei V

Its intriguing to think about what humanity may do if a demonic apocalypse were to occur. How, exactly, would each individual react? How would those with military and governing power react to such an unprecedented event? And, most importantly, what would teenagers do? In the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and all of its spin-offs which I am aware of, teenagers are the only thing which stands in the way of a mass human extinction. I not only interact with teenagers on a daily basis as part of my job, but I have the lived experience of being a teenager. I can say, with confidence, that teenagers would likely be as useful as our government leaders in the event of a demon invasion.

Shin Megami Tensei V released in an awkward position. The Shin Megami Tensei franchise has never been entirely successful in the West. However, the hit game Persona 5 absolutely thrashed the other games under the Shin Megami Tensei umbrella in both acclaim and sales. The amount of love we saw the game receive beyond the subset of massive nerds who lapped up Atlus premier franchise was unprecedented. No matter how silly it is, Persona 5 set a standard for any game wearing the Shin Megami Tensei or Persona moniker.

It would make sense to bring up the strange critique surrounding Shin Megami Tensei V. IGN reviewer, Leana Hafer, famously stated, [I]t sometimes feels like Persona without the heart. Now, dumb people were very upset and began to harass her. But large-brained people, such as myself, noted that this was kind of obvious. The Shin Megami Tensei franchise is one which has always prided itself on its atmosphere, combat, and thematic cohesion above all else. Shin Megami Tensei V is more of the same in that regard. If you want a game where you can engage the characters and story with nuance, you should probably pay the main branch of the franchise no mind. However, this is still a problem which necessitates exploration. Japanese RPGs are well-known for having far more involved stories compared to other genres, though that aspect has shifted with Western adventure games leaning more into their stories than ever before. The Persona games have been one of the few to retain such quality, and I think its reasonable to be hopeful and summarily disappointed by just how lame Shin Megami Tensei Vs writing is. All of the characters are one-dimensional, with the most intriguing of the cast being relegated to sidequests or brief story segments, and the plot is lazy at best. Its fair to say the game is like Persona without the heart, because the heart of the game is so far removed from what it values.

Obviously, despite the failure of Shin Megami Tensei V to do anything intriguing with its overall story, I still loved it. This is the most engaged Ive been in a battle system in quite a while. The way you can interact with it to deny turns to enemies is addicting fun. Its probably my favorite battle system in a turn-based game. The fusion mechanic is back and better than ever. The sheer amount of demons available to you led me to constantly swap which demons I would use. Rarely did I find one I felt I needed to keep using beyond three or four hours maximum. The strategies are ever-changing due to this and I loved every second I was a part of the combat.

But quite possibly the most impressive aspect of Shin Megami Tensei V is its world design. This may be a controversial take, as I havent seen much discussion on this part at all, but its the ribbon which wraps the package up and is also somehow the best part of the package. Moving through the various areas is less like an open-world, as is described by numerous critics, but more like large dungeons. They are ultimately quite linear and progression through them is exciting. There are also little secret red boys you can find by scavenging, as well as cool items and money. This all culminates in the fourth major area, which ditches the linearity in exchange for a level which is magnificently broad and open. The way the final world wraps into itself is phenomenal. It is peak level design and I was sad when I had finally explored every inch of it.

Shin Megami Tensei V is obviously not going to leave the same mark Persona 5 did. Its not the type of game to bring people out of their comfort zone. Its a game from an obscure genre which attempts to refine every note it takes, succeeding in spades. Fortunately, this appears to be the fastest-selling game in the main Shin Megami Tensei line, which is ideally a good sign for the future of the franchise in the West. Perhaps the series will continue having storytelling issues, but if that results in a continued effort to refine the other systems, that isnt such a bad concern to have.

Shin Megami Tensei V Score: 5/6

If a demonic apocalypse occurred wed be fucked because humanity has proven it cant work together.

the sad thing is that Leana Hafer was right on the money, cause this story certainly lacks heart as well as a lot of other essentials, but she just used a loaded analogy that triggered a lot of smt fans with leftover baggage. not to mention the fact that internet seems to currently be going through an "anti-persona 5" moment. this tends to happen with critically acclaimed games: after a period of gushing critical acclaim, there will come a threshold where it turns into oversaturation. being a "persona fan" is approaching being "an undertale fan" level of social pariah. it'll even out eventually.

this is all to say the world design is great, the battles are great, the music is great, but I got to world 3 and basically lost the desire to keep playing because the narrative is too bare bones.

One thing I didn't really put in the write-up is that while the overarching narrative is written pretty poorly, the demon interactions are a ton of fun. I think those played a driving force in me seeking out many of the subquests and bonus content.

Yeah, the sidequests and demon characters are great. Story-wise SMT5 was way better than 3.

3. Metroid Dread

Its almost a shame we saw some all-time greats this year, as Metroid Dread is essentially an experience Ive been waiting for since I was a literal teenager. The last Metroid game I played and loved was either Metroid: Zero Mission or Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Every official game released since then has ranged from disappointing to bad. I went into Metroid Dread with major concerns over how Mercury Steam would handle a brand new Metroid experience, especially given how poorly Metroid: Samus Returns attempted to reignite the series flame. But dammit, did they nail it with this one.

It should be noted before anything else that Metroid is one of my favorite video game franchises. I have been a 'Metroid' fan since I first became obsessed with 'Metroid Prime' and 'Metroid Prime 2: Echoes' in 2006. Ever since that time, I swore myself to the unholy union of fandom, possibly for the first time ever. I'm not sure which came first between my 'Metroid' obsession and my 'Naruto' obsession. I am only embarrassed by one of these obsessions, and it should be obvious which one that is (it is Naruto).

However, 'Metroid' has a long and storied history of making me sad. It All started with 'Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'. Many will claim 'Metroid: Other M' was where the series saw its complete loss of self, though the warning signs were present in the previous game. You could even trace flaws back to 'Metroid Fusion', but I will not do that because I like 'Metroid Fusion'. Around the mid-2000s, space stuff got super popular. Halo: Combat Evolved was an astronomical success which changed the landscape of gaming, in particular games where you shoot aliens. In 2007, we saw Halo 3 and Mass Effect, two space shooting video games which were receiving unreal levels of attention and hype. Nintendo had to find some way to revitalize their premier alien-shooting franchise after the lackluster sales of both Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid: Zero MIssion. The Nintendo Wii was a perfect chance to do this, as it sold out the wazoo and was extremely popular among casual gaming fans, a market codified as lovers of the XBOX. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption could have been another somber trek through an unforgiving environment filled with discovery, but they decided to not do this and instead craft a linear, story-focused adventure spanning multiple planets with a keener focus on action as opposed to the puzzle-solving and platforming the previous two games excelled in. I dont actually know if Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was a response to the bigger science fiction adventures coming out around the same time it did, but the end result was something distinctly lacking in edge or creativity, even if it was a solid game in its own right.

Of course, the story just worsens at this point. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption sold well, though nothing compared to the Wiis bigger successes. The series would see another entry in 2010, Metroid: Other M, which was a critical and commercial failure, as well as being a certified bad video game. Metroid went on an extreme hiatus, coming back in 2016 with Metroid Prime: Federation Force, a game which immediately became a meme when announced. It seemed clear, at this point, Metroid was no longer itself. The next year we saw Metroid: Samus Returns, a lackluster remake of an already flawed Metroid game released on a dying handheld, which further failed to grasp the core appeal of its predecessors or its contemporaries. Metroid Prime 4 was announced, but it was marked by extreme delays and a complete re-do with a different studio helming the product. Its likely still deep in the pipeline, and it still felt like even if it were to release soon, it wouldnt be able to live up to its namesake given this 10+-year period of disappointing releases.

Then Metroid Dread came out of nowhere and kicked ass. I went into Metroid Dread with potentially the lowest expectations a Metroid fan could possibly have. I had played Mercury Steams previous outing extensively, and I did not believe they were capable of creating a good Metroid game. The games trailers were focused on the INTENSE ACTION and GRIPPING PLOT with numerous CALLBACKS to earlier games. I saw all the warning signs. I could tell this game was going to be mediocre at best. So naturally, I pre-ordered it and played it on launch day so that I could complain about it on the Internet.

I am quite happy I was wrong about 'Metroid Dread'. Not only is it a fantastic game in its own right, but it feels like the natural progression the series should have gone in following 'Metroid: Zero Mission'. 'Metroid Dread' offers some of the best areas and encounters seen in the franchise, and it's much more focused on atmosphere, exploration, and puzzle-solving than the trailers let on. The combat experience was so stiff and unnatural in 'Metroid: Samus Returns', but they managed to refine it to an impressive sheen here. The strength of the combat reaches its peak in nearly every boss encounter. Each one is incredibly unique and requires some significant thought in their approach. I don't know if I'd say the game is as brutally hard as it's being marketed, given how naturally trial and error most of the fights are, but each of them asks you to use a significant amount of effort to topple. It culminates in one of the most exciting and rewarding final bosses in any video game, and easily topping any other battle in the 'Metroid' universe, which is known for having some incredible boss fights.

Exploration does take a slight hit because the world isn't designed quite as carefully as it could have been. 'Super Metroid' is essentially peak map design and I'd struggle to say anything has managed to capture this quality, barring potentially 'Hollow Knight', though that game's massive map leads to its own smaller issues. 'Metroid Dread' isn't as tight as the best maps in this subgenre, but it's pretty damn close. There are some instances of railroading the player which can get a bit egregious, and going for 100% completion is a bit of a pain given how late you get some crucial upgrades. But these problems are only worth noting because 'Metroid Dread' is in the same series as 'Super Metroid'. The map is a joy to explore all around and it showcases some of the most engaging environmental design in the 2D series.

The main claim to fame for 'Metroid Dread' was the inclusion of the brand new enemy type, the EMMI. As this was the forefront of Nintendo's marketing efforts, it is, naturally, the worst part of the game by a pretty wide margin. I get the appeal of them and I understand what the developers were intending to accomplish, but this feels very much like Mr. X in the 'Resident Evil 2' remake. It's initially really cool and adds a layer of fear to the experience, but that only lasts for about 15 minutes until it just becomes annoying. I liked the first few EMMIs I encountered, but it got dry well before it became challenging. The last couple you encounter become infuriating, as they completely derail the pacing of the game and force you to focus on moving through their chambers as efficiently as possible. It gives a fairly gratifying conclusion when you can respond by decimating the machines with an overpowered beam, but you spend far too much time running and hiding to make that part worthwhile. Remove the EMMI sections entirely or make them scripted like SA-X in 'Metroid Fusion' and we likely have the hard conversation of whether or not 'Super Metroid' actually has been dethroned as the best 2D 'Metroid'. As is, the segments are an unfortunate blight on an otherwise masterful creation.

'Metroid Dread' almost won this year's top honors for me. If it weren't for two of the best gaming experiences I've ever had, it would have been. If nothing else, I'm no longer fearful for where the series will be going. Despite my reservations from their first effort, Mercury Steam appears to have developed a solid grasp on how these games function. I hope we can see this partnership continue I to the future, as I know there are likely many other ideas the team didn't even get to see to fruition which would expand the series even further. As Retro works on 'Metroid Prime 4', I hope the team walks back on the intentions of 'Metroid Prime 3: Corruption' and looks at the series and the growth it actually needs to receive with the same mindset as Mercury Stwam. The only certainty, however, is that I finally feel safely excited for the franchise for the first time in over a decade.

Metroid Dread Score: 5/6

2. Before Your Eyes

So, I dont know where to put Before Your Eyes on this list. I had initially slotted it into the number one slot, but it doesnt really feel fair to do that given how different Before Your Eyes feels in relation to literally every other game present on this list. I felt like I connected to Before Your Eyes in a way few pieces of art have been able to achieve. I do want to write about this game, but I dont really want those words to be expressed on something as materialistic and self-absorbed as a ranked list where I spend most of the time trolling people who have done nothing wrong. It doesnt feel right to rank this game anywhere on the list, to be honest. Before Your Eyes is its own beast, and its quality cant really be quantified with numbers. Perhaps when I do finally decide to write about 'Before Your Eyes', I will post it to the board separate from this topic. But for the first time in my life, I am at a loss of how to critique and summarily score a video game. So I guess it gets a 6/6 for that reason.

Before Your Eyes Score: 6/6

1. Resident Evil Village

I was pretty interested in playing this game upon announcement. The horror advertised in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard isnt really my style, nor is the standard zombie horror the franchise is known for. It is obvious, then, that my favorite games in the franchise, Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 2 (2019), are more akin to third-person shooters with horror elements. Ive even lightened up on Resident Evil 3 (2020) even more than I already was last year. Capcom knows how to design great action-horror for their classic franchise, even if the more it deviates into one specific direction, the less quality the experience is as a whole.

I had never played Resident Evil 7: Biohazard until quite recently. I put it off because I was aware of how I would likely not enjoy it. I only played it due to the fact that Resident Evil Village was a direct sequel, something I didnt know about until Resident Evil Village asked me if I wanted a recap. Im sure its classification as a direct sequel was noted heavily in marketing, but I have ADHD so you are not allowed to be upset with me for my failures to parse even the most basic information. So I, of course, played Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. I did not like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. It was gross, slow, clunky, and the horror was, as previously stated, not my cup of tea. The hillbilly-horror present is actually quite possibly my least favorite type of standardized horror theme. The classist undertones of codifying poverty as a type of horror is disgusting to me. Obviously shit like Resident Evil 5 is worse, but its still a gross method of inducing terror.

Naturally, I was skeptical of Resident Evil Village following this. I still had the knowledge of it being a more action-oriented experience than its predecessor, but my four hours with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard were probably my least favorite in the series. I dont want to suggest you are in some way wrong for liking Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, as Im directly stating this instead. It is, however, evident that I am looking for totally different experiences than those who praised Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. But then I played Resident Evil Village. Resident Evil Village is amazing.

Prior to its release, Resident Evil Village' heavily marketed the Lady Dimitrescu character. Horny people jumped on the boat immediately. These people are apparently the same people who reviewed the game at a professional level. So many critics praised the games first significant area while admonishing everything after it. These critics are morons. Not only is Castle Dimitrescu not the best segment of the game, but Lady Dimitrescu herself isnt even one of the more engaging characters the game presents. One of the coolest things Resident Evil 7: Biohazard did was introducing all of the antagonists in the beginning with a well-framed table scene, almost certainly inspired by 1974s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But the problem with this scene is that all of the characters were extremely loud and annoying. The villains introduced in Resident Evil Village, in an incredibly similar way, are far more unique and diverse. Even the lowly Moreau is able to make his mark both in this opening scene and in his eventual segment.

Ethan himself had the problem of being terribly boring in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. I watched a longplay after quitting my own run and he never really became anything more than a mechanism to move through the game. He is immediately characterized far better from the very beginning of Resident Evil Village. He has fun interactions with the world and the characters you meet, and even has horrible one-liners upon killing stronger enemies. The game also introduces The Duke, who somehow managed to become the best merchant in the Resident Evil franchise. The Duke is probably my favorite character introduced in 2021, and its a damn shame he gets overshadowed because the Internet is too fucking horny.

Gameplay-wise, Resident Evil Village is probably the best the series has seen. Certainly, it was conflicting with the standard the series had set to this point, which was a wildly diverse range of gameplay mechanics. Resident Evil Village mashes the faster-paced action of the recent remakes with the more methodical approach and first-person perspective of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The result, while not appearing original to the naked eye, creates a gameplay experience unlike anything the series has seen. Weapon upgrading is back and better than ever. Every weapon has the ability to become stronger through a generous upgrading system. You can also hunt animals and collect their meat for cooking to receive permanent buffs to health, defense, speed, etc. There are so many systems at play here and each one of them bleeds into the other in a truly captivating manner.

Of course, none of these qualities would matter much in a game with bad level design. Fortunately, this is some of the best weve ever seen, and easily the best in the Resident Evil series. Its not a unique observation to see how each limb of the game represents its own sort of appeal. Castle Dimitrescu is focused on navigation and puzzle-solving. Beneviento House is focused on horror. The reservoir is more of a cinematic level. And it all wraps up with Heisenbergs areas and the bits after being action-oriented. What isnt a unique observation is how each area feels to have been masterfully crafted to achieve those specific goals. I talk a lot in here about the Internets stupid horniness as problematic to legitimate discussion of Resident Evil Village and how it transforms the medium with its approach to design, and I do so because its fucking embarrassing to see grown adults praise one really well-done section and then not care about the other 70% of the game which is also extremely well-done. You are an embarrassment. Yes, I will die on this hill and no, it will not be worth it.

Besides the Reservoir, which is fine in a vacuum but actually a pretty dull level in relation to what else the game offers, Resident Evil Village is dropping dimes constantly with its intriguing set pieces, map structure, combat evolution, and storytelling. Resident Evil Village is one of those magical experiences that happens upon the world and so affirmatively grips the core values of what playing a video game should feel like. Much like last years Doom Eternal and Hades, Resident Evil Village is a fucking masterclass of every component it aims to create. I dont regularly try to argue that some games are THE BEST EVER because, like, have you seen how much I talked about Tales of Symphonia in these write-ups? How much do I actually know? But Resident Evil Village is, quite honestly, the best horror game. It is the best action-horror game. It is the best Resident Evil game. Keep in mind, Resident Evil 4 has occupied my top 10 for about fifteen years now, so I dont say this lightly. We will probably never see another video game which aims to do as much, yet perfectly executes each part it presents as Resident Evil Village. Resident Evil Village is a blatant masterpiece, and the medium has a lot of catching up to do if we hope to see games of this caliber regularly.

Resident Evil Village Score: 6/6

Wow! What a list filled with twists and turns and other surprises. What was your favorite game from 2021? Until next year my fellow gamers. I must bid ado to this life as a listmaker for now, but I will only return stronger from this point forward.

Nice to see Village #1, it was my second favorite game of last year, and excellent write-up even if I disagree with some points. I'm particularly torn about the level design aspect. On the one hand, I think the actual "Village" hub area level design is supreme and compelling, there's a ton of hidden nooks & crannies and exploring it all was one of the most rewarding aspects of the game.

I think the individual areas leave a lot to be desired though. They're too linear with little planning or thought involved in their exploration. Something that always compelled me about the older games was their puzzle box design; making you plan your route and hope no new or existing dangers impede your progress. Village recognizes this but fails to execute: any path looping in on each other is just a means to get back to where you need to go quicker. There's never any true compelling reason to go back somewhere. I get if you like action-horror better, this works to the game's favor, but for me it felt lame and diminished the horror. One thing I preferred in RE7 over Village was how tactile and immersive that game felt: everything was done realistically, pushing open doors, actually holding your flashlight, really crouching down in the nitty gritty and finding the most obscure hidden items, things to pick and examine and look at, feel like you're really in the world. I was surprised and disappointed Village pretty much did away with all of that.

tazzyboyishere posted...

Obviously shit like Resident Evil 5 is worse

take it back

Oh wait you just meant the classism shit, reading is hard, carry on

I'll leave this up for a bit longer. Gonna dump it onto Medium so feel free to pop me a follow if you want to read everything again for no real reason.

Snake5555555555 posted...

Nice to see Village #1, it was my second favorite game of last year, and excellent write-up even if I disagree with some points. I'm particularly torn about the level design aspect. On the one hand, I think the actual "Village" hub area level design is supreme and compelling, there's a ton of hidden nooks & crannies and exploring it all was one of the most rewarding aspects of the game.

I think the individual areas leave a lot to be desired though. They're too linear with little planning or thought involved in their exploration. Something that always compelled me about the older games was their puzzle box design; making you plan your route and hope no new or existing dangers impede your progress. Village recognizes this but fails to execute: any path looping in on each other is just a means to get back to where you need to go quicker. There's never any true compelling reason to go back somewhere. I get if you like action-horror better, this works to the game's favor, but for me it felt lame and diminished the horror. One thing I preferred in RE7 over Village was how tactile and immersive that game felt: everything was done realistically, pushing open doors, actually holding your flashlight, really crouching down in the nitty gritty and finding the most obscure hidden items, things to pick and examine and look at, feel like you're really in the world. I was surprised and disappointed Village pretty much did away with all of that.

Yeah, to be fair to RE7 I really wasn't able to engage it how it needed to be engaged. I just don't like the style of game it is. Meanwhile, Village cuts the stuff I don't like and plops in a bunch of shit I do like. I will say there is definitely a quality difference in exploration between the village itself and each individual branch, but I think the gameplay and thematic style shifts between everything so substantially and so fluidly that it doesn't hurt my opinion of any part as much. An entire game of village-like areas would have been fantastic, but probably wouldn't have been able to work with what some of the areas intended to accomplish. I'm sure the significantly cohesive experience of RE7 is preferable to many, especially with it's intent to accomplish horror at almost all times. But I love the changes Village made and wouldn't want them to have changed much, beyond maybe making the swamp more engaging.

Wow theres a lot to read in here.

Good stuff

Village was great, what a shitty year 2021 was though all things considered

Malenia posted...

Village was great, what a shitty year 2021 was though all things considered

Someone didn't read the 'Returnal' write-up.

Up

You have me very intrigued in Before Your Eyes, I only heard about it recently when it was mentioned on a game of the year thing. But it's just PC, aw. Maybe it'll get ported to consoles soon.

And I'll admit I kinda shrugged off Astalon when I first saw it mentioned, I love Metroidvanias but as you say it is a very saturated genre and we got so many new ones in 2021 alone. I had a very brief look at it but it didn't look like anything special to me, I'll definitely take another look now though.

Haven't yet gotten around to 8age or Dread so I won't read those write-ups but cool list!

andylt posted...

You have me very intrigued in Before Your Eyes, I only heard about it recently when it was mentioned on a game of the year thing. But it's just PC, aw. Maybe it'll get ported to consoles soon.

I think the game could theoretically work on consoles, but it would require a camera attachment and potentially need to have significant work done to be viable in that state. The game's most prominent feature is that you control progression through blinking. It uses your computer's webcam to register this. I believe there's some sort of application used for tracking the blinks, and I'm not sure it would be feasible to translate that to consoles. You can play without the blinks of course, but I don't think the game would be anywhere near as engaging or thought-provoking without that mechanic.

andylt posted...

And I'll admit I kinda shrugged off Astalon when I first saw it mentioned, I love Metroidvanias but as you say it is a very saturated genre and we got so many new ones in 2021 alone. I had a very brief look at it but it didn't look like anything special to me, I'll definitely take another look now though.

Definitely try it out, especially if you can get it on sale. It's a blast! It is more akin to Castlevania than it is to Metroid, so take that for what you will.

andylt posted...

Haven't yet gotten around to 8age or Dread so I won't read those write-ups but cool list!

I don't think I spoiled anything, so feel free to read them if you want. Dread writeup goes more in-depth on my relationship to the series as opposed to any substantial discussion over the game itself, though I know people have varying degrees of spoiler sensitivity. I basically have none so I potentially actually have major spoilers in the write-ups. Oops.

Mobile might make more sense for Before Your Eyes, since phones have cameras.

Mac Arrowny posted...

Mobile might make more sense for Before Your Eyes, since phones have cameras.

Yeah idk how the tech would translate but I imagine this would be a better route. Maybe we could even get it on the NINTENDO 3DS????

Haha, it does feel like kind of a waste that the 3DS could still be optimal for certain games, but it'll never get them just because companies don't want to make software for retired consoles. I wish we got the 999 remaster on 3DS for example but apparently even that was asking too much...