WOBFU: Weekly Overview of the Bundle For Ukraine
Bundle Is Ukraine And Page Is 2, Overview Is Now
Obviously I’m covering ‘Baba is You’ this week
Overview
Page 2 is a game-packed fiesta, with 25 titles out of the possible 30 being games. There are many more duplicates than the first time around however, which made things somewhat more sane to parse. There are also more games that I already owned on this page than any other page ever, with both of them being highlighted below.
Finally, the ‘heavy hitters’ keep on coming, with many of the titles here being previously on the first page of the Racial Justice bundle. This doesn’t necessarily say anything about their quality, more about how well known they were and are still to this day. Even people that don’t play games will more than likely recognize a single title from this page. So without further ado…
Video Games
Recommendation Is First.
Baba Is You
Sometimes a puzzle game comes around and decides to alter the way people think about puzzles. Baba Is You is one such puzzle, created by Arvi “Hempuli” Teikari of Finland for a game jam.
Building on the genre of puzzles called ‘Sokoban’, Baba is You decided to go one step farther and allow the player to alter the rules of the game. Each level has blocks that the player can push around, but they all have words on them: from nouns and names of characters in the level, to conjunctions like ‘is’ or ‘and’.
This may not seem like much at first, but how they are structured resembles a sentence, meaning that Baba can push a word around to create sentences, which in turn become the rules. If Baba pushes the ‘you’ out of “Baba is You”, you as the player remove the ability to control Baba — after all, you are no longer Baba.
This small tweak to the formula by making it the puzzle itself is what revolutionized Baba is You and turned it into a massive phenomenon. Suddenly you weren’t thinking about how to shove blocks around to make paths, but how to move the blocks in order to bend the rules to your favour. One moment you’re looking to reach the flag to finish, the next moment you are the flag hoping to reach a jellyfish. Another time you turn the walls off, only to become the entire series of walls to shift around the map to gain victory.
It’s a brilliant idea, and one that Baba is You executes in the most adorable way possible. Everything comes packaged in a soft pixel sense, with adorable characters running around and a relaxing soundtrack that fits with the state of the game. I have no doubt that you’ve heard of this game, but if you haven’t — or just haven’t played it — here is your opportunity to see just how mind bending Sokobans can get.
Night Call
I really need a new M.O, because this is another noire narrative involving detective work.
Created by Monkey Moon and BlackMuffin, Night Call differentiates itself in a similar way to the game Daily Chthonicle, a game I praised from the Racial Justice Bundle. Instead of being a cop, players are an unnamed taxi driver living in Paris.
After picking which case to play, and surviving the opening assault by the killer, players are blackmailed by the police to gain knowledge and assist the case. If they fail, the police can pin the entire case on them.
The game takes place in three ‘parts’, as players split their time between driving to new passengers, driving those passengers, and using the information at the end of the night to make assumptions. Deciding where to go takes place on a map of Paris, where different people’s profiles will be available to choose. There are also ‘informants’ to spend money on — they are not cheap — and gas stations to refuel.
Once a passenger is picked, they’ll give a destination and fare. This is where the ‘information’ is gathered, as players will talk to the passengers and learn about their struggles and lives. Much of the information will be useless to saving the player’s skin, but there’s always a possibility that they might overshare something juicy.
Therein lies the ultimate dilemma — can you find information by being nosey/prodding it out of them, or do you want to sympathize with them and see if that approach works? No matter your choices, you must live with them and hope that they can help find someone to accuse at the end of the nights.
Moon Hunters
Moon Hunters is another game I played before this bundle came out, but unlike every other game that fits into this niche category this was a title that I played on launch. When it was released in 2016, Kitfox had touted it as a ‘couch co-op adventure and personality test’. To those of us playing at a LAN event, they weren’t kidding.
Stepping into a world of mystique and curiosity, players take on the roles of different classes with names giving homage to Akkadian and Sumerian deities. The Moon has stopped answering calls, and it is up to these fabled warriors to find out why before the ritual occurs. This means going out into different regions and battling various enemies, talking to locals to find out what they know, and — best of all — squabbling with your friends.
Couch co-ops rarely are able to focus on plot due to the nature of the setup and game, but Moon Hunters laughs at this idea and makes the game even more about plot than it does about its gameplay. Decisions in dialogue are made by the group, meaning that majority rules and sometimes your friends will take the worst path possible. Other times only one player gets to choose, and will have to deal with the repercussions while everyone else seethes beside them. Money and items are dropped by enemies and decisions, but they aren’t shared. That means that someone eating all the health can ruin a run, or take you down a path that may not have been noticeable before.
No matter what you do, the game will end after 5 days; then you start all over. Those characters you’ve played are immortalized by their choices and personalities, and can be chosen to spearhead the next run. Or, you can make someone new and see what you can uncover this time.
It’s a game about cycles, of never-ending rebirth, and uncovering the secrets that lie beneath the surface. It can be played loose, or played seriously; but it will always be fun.
Jotun: Valhalla Edition
Thunder Lotus’ first ever project after founder Will Dubé quit his job and put his efforts onto Kickstarter to get the ball rolling. What that series of events lead to is a hand drawn adventure where a fallen Viking attempts to prove her worth to the Gods.
After her untimely end leading her to be considered unworthy, Thora is given a chance to take on five Jotun in order to prove her worth and enter Valhalla. To do so, she must venture across the regions of ancient Norse mythology, finding runes to summon the Jotun and gaining favour amongst different gods to assist.
Much of her journey is spent trying to uncover how she can reach these runes, as the gorgeous set pieces contain many different puzzles for Thora to solve. Some of these lands contain fights, but many of them are passive or defensive, opting instead to allow for the bosses to be the main attraction.
You wouldn’t be remiss to call Jotun a ‘boss fight game’, as it is these fights that will take up a majority of your time. They require Thora to use the puzzle mechanics she learned to get there, while also switching between the abilities gifted to her by the gods. Bosses will ramp up the lower their health gets to keep the tension rising, especially since death means restarting the entire fight.
Like a few other games, this is another title that I already owned — although I cannot exactly recall how it came into my possession. As a first project for Thunder Lotus it does a masterful job at highlighting their strengths in creating a gorgeously immersive world, as there is even a beautiful Icelandic narration to make you truly feel like you are witnessing an ancient tale.
While I wouldn’t say it is my favourite of their three released games, it does fill a lovely niche for those that love action adventures that blend boss fights and narration.
TowerFall Ascension & TowerFall Dark World Expansion
TowerFall Ascension is the definitive edition of the couch arena game TowerFall by the now defunct Matt Makes Games, the studio spearheaded by Maddy Thorson. If she sounds familiar, that would be because of a small game called Celeste, which is also on this page. Interestingly, the game came out exclusively on the Ouya (that brings back memories) before being ported to PS4 (and many others) with the ‘Ascension’ upgrades.
TowerFall is simple yet strangely difficult to describe. It is an arena brawler without that ‘brawling’ feeling, which can be credited to the use of a bow and arrow. Each player has limited arrows that they can fire in a direction and retrieve, and the ability to jump and ‘dash’.
If a dash is timed when an arrow would hit them, they instead grab it and add it to their arsenal. Landing on another’s head is also considered an attack, giving even more homage to the old arcade arena games that it was inspired by.
Ascension expanded on the co-op aspect with a ‘quest’ in which 1–2 players venture through various levels and defeat waves of enemies. Chests can appear to allow for upgrades, from increasing the number of arrows held to altering the arrow types to bombs and drills. To keep the tension high, players only have a limited amount of lives to complete the entire level, and since more waves are added the deeper you make it, the more likely a restart will be in your future. At least you’ll get to stay within the gorgeous levels some more, as each zone has its own layout, hazards, and even mechanics.
Now to discuss the fact that this overview is actually a double feature. Thorson was generous enough to include the ‘Dark World’ expansion in the bundle, which brought a whole new world to the game. A new four-player campaign was added within this Dark World in which bosses would appear and players could revive each other. New towers arrived with all sorts of different moving parts and generation to make things that much more exciting. There’s even a level creation tool for all you designers wanting to have a bit of fun.
TowerFall is strange, because just explaining what it is also explains what makes it so great. It’s a simple couch co-op and multiplayer that firmly refines itself on that sole experience. Everything about it is geared towards you and your friends having a laugh in the same room together while running around and grabbing your fallen arrows. If you get tired of killing each other, campaign modes exist to shift the focus to mobs and bosses.
Everything about this game just clicks so well to the point that it almost feels timeless. If you don’t believe me, you’ll just have to try it out yourself.
The other games of the page, in order of appearance:
Ynglet
Our first ‘platformer without platforms’ game comes from Triple Topping in the form of Ynglet. The tailed object can move between the bubbles freely but falls when outside of them. The goal is finding a way to always stay within bubbles or launch the creatures far enough to reach the next bubble. The only ‘jump’ is a singular charged dash, which makes for some fast-paced movement as you attempt to figure out the puzzle of the world and where to go.
Best of luck, and hopefully your brain figures it out!
TENNNES
An interesting entry thanks to it originally being a commission and then included as a gift for SPORTSFRIENDS, jwaaaap has created a two-player tennis game. Both players will serve back and forth, hitting the only button to charge up their tennis racket so that they can return the ball for some fast paced action.
Skyling : Garden Defense
A cute arcade puzzle game by Mighty Studios. Players will follow a small girl named Bloom as she attempts to revitalize all of the gardens she comes across. Thanks to her feet that can cause grass to grow, players will run around dodging monsters and picking up cats in the hopes of making everywhere green before they leave.
It’s simple and reminiscent of old arcade games like Q*Bert. This may be right up your alley.
Bury me, my Love
Short narrative experience of a woman attempting to escape Syria to Europe. Based on real events. Players will take the role of Majd, husband of Nour, as he texts and watches over her journey to Turkey, and from there to Europe.
For the game to be in this bundle specifically is quite impactful, as it is a harrowing reminder that Nour is not the first, nor will she be the last, in need of escape. Players will make some decisions to drive the plot, but generally the prompts are static. Your mileage may vary based on your own experiences, but it’s a strong message nonetheless.
Note: game does not run on PC, download the APK to run it.
Fit For A King
A silly little game by Kitfox’s Tanya X. Short and Brent Ellison inspired by the ‘larger than life’ times of Henry VII. Using every letter of the alphabet, players will wander the castle and interact with everyone they can, gauging their reactions and laughing at the silly situations. Sure, there is a summit going on with your ~main rival~ but that can wait. You’ve got executions and weddings to plan.
Once you get the hang of what each letter does, the only thing stopping you is your imagination — and also your court, but that’s not important.
Minit Fun Racer
Hang on, did they just make a fun minigame based on their own game? Yes, yes they did. Made by the same people that brought Minit to life (seen below in the duplicate section) this is a fun racing game based on the principles and design that made Minit so interesting.
Players are just trying to go as far as possible, but have a limited amount of time. Through the store, however, there are ways to extend and expand on that amount of time to make runs go even farther.
All proceeds of the game have gone to charity as well, for a nice added touch.
Promesa
A personification of memories and conversations between a grandfather and their grandchild, you’ll wander through various scenes in time to get a better picture of what these memories mean. The only context given is through snippets of dialogue from the grandfather, and it is up to you to immerse yourself in each scene and uncover what it means.
Perhaps it means nothing to you; that’s OK. Not every game — especially one as personal as this — will make sense to everyone, especially with each playthrough giving different scenes. Grab a hot drink and see where it takes you.
Shattered Planet
The lovechild of scientific exploration and rogue-like cloning, Shattered Planet has you explore new versions of similar planets over and over to further the Galactic Union’s research goals. It takes a ‘real time turn based’ approach, as every move made will be made by every enemy in the level.
Since you are a clone, death isn’t so bad but losing all of the items that they were carrying is. The only thing brought back to the ship after death is the scrap you were able to find, useful for upgrading that type of clone so that exploration can go even longer. If you like rogue-likes, this might be a quirky fun time for you to run through.
Sunlight
Journey through a relaxing, possibly therapeutic, forest in which a narrator begins by telling you to focus on what is in front of you before diving into a story from their past.
Each flower collected while wandering will continue the story, but instead of a singular voice there are many echoing throughout — as you move, the voices will fluctuate as if you are coming closer to some while leaving others behind. As if the forest was talking to you directly.
It only takes half an hour, but it soothes you in to not realizing it with a gorgeous rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Hymn of the Cherubim recorded by Kammerkoret Aurum. You can listen to it here if you so wish — the link is directly of the version made for Sunlight — but I’d suggest just playing the game and hearing it firsthand.
SPOOKWARE
Ever gotten sick and tired of horror games? Not me, as I cannot watch them without being scared. But the three little skeletons named Lefti, Midi, and Righti are, and they decide to go on a massive road trip to find something fun to do.
The core gameplay is centred around horror movies, told to us in WarioWare-style mini games (hence the name). By completing all of the minigames, players can then wander around the area the skeletons have gone and enjoy their time. Chapter 2 of 4 is out now, so there’s even more mini games and fun to be had with these little skele-bros.
Software
Fallen Down: Heartache & Compassion in Undertale
An interesting start to page 2, this is an essay on the emotional attachments and understandings of the Undertale cast. It argues that Undertale explicitly ensures that you become attached to those that you are meant to kill, making you decide on how you interact with the game fundamentally. If you like essays and loved Undertale, give it a try.
Prata: Dialogs in seconds
A Unity tool made by Berserk Pixel that I wished I had years ago. This is a dialog system creator and manager. It has a visual editor to help make things faster and backwards compatible, and the package contains full source code, documentation and a demo scene to help people learn.
It looks like a fantastic way to get your dialog in as soon as possible, and if that’s what you need then you’ve got a fantastic tool.
Avesta: Procedural Tilemap Generator
Another tool by Berserk Pixel Game Studio, this is a procedural tilemap generator to assist in the creation of game worlds. There are lots of support for different algorithms and different layers, and you can utilize the interface to blow up tiles and see it live.
It also gets continuous updates — there was even one just a few weeks ago. So if you ever need to make tilemaps quickly to keep the creativity going, give this a whirl.
Duplicates
In a startling shift compared to the first page, 11 entries were also found in the Racial Justice Bundle. Many of them are games I considered the best of their page.
- The Wretched
Solo journalling RPG from page 27 in which you will not be remembered and die alone. You can read more about it here. - Troika! Numinous Edition
A tabletop RPG seen as the GM enabler with dozens of expansions. Seen on page 2 of the Racial Justice bundle, with my overview here. - 2064: Read Only Memories
Visual Novel and RPG hybrid exploring the future of cybernetics and what it means to be alive. See here. - A Short Hike
Gorgeous game about taking a stroll on an island. Instant relaxation. Another first pager, more on it can be found here. - Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
The sequel to the greatest food management simulation around, keeping FLASH memories alive. One of my favourites, seen here. - Celeste
A beloved platformer detailing a girl’s journey up a mountain with some brilliant assistant mechanics built in. More on it here. - OMEGANAUT
Fast-paced action in an arcade-like setting. Can be played on nearly everything, and can be read about here. - Minit
One of the most strange games created. It bonds puzzle, adventure, and a singular minute. Was grouped with ROM in my overview, as seen here. - Bleed
Become the Best Hero Ever™ with the first of a series of high octane action games. Read about it here. - They Bleed Pixels
One of the highlights of page 20 in which a school girl becomes an eldritch horror to save the day. Go explore. - A Mortician’s Tale
Another first page game, but this one about witnessing a mortician’s daily life and their attempt to give peace to everyone. See here.
