I understand Making Another Game can be terrifying and even Supergiant fucked around and found out how dangerous doing a new IP every game can be, but there was so much Shovelslop I got more sick of seeing him cameo in stuff than even 2B.

the 3 horsemen

I asked my gf “do you want a $2 hoodie if you don’t care what’s on it” and she said sure so I told her “okay wear this one to MAGFest. Trust me on this”

The fact that Masahiro Sakurai got a blank check after making the biggest most successful Nintendo game ever and decided “guess what bitches it’s time to run it back on Kirby Air Ride” is Fantastic, actually.

Plus, I actually like it when artists go “you know what, I’m really proud of this one so fuck you all.” Even if it’s just because it’s the better alternative to the “haha yeah you guys are right fuck this thing and everyone who worked on it” Ryan Reynolds shit.

I am, however, still really looking forward to getting to AW2. It looks like a vastly different game, and the Obvious Twin Peaks Homage parts of AW1 are so much better than the Obvious Stephen King Homage parts it’s night and day. Hearing Lake banged it out after watching TP Season 3 is encouraging.

Enough people have written about how bad the gameplay is, I don’t need to elaborate, but it’s really a greatest hits compilation of all the worst design trends of 2010.

Every time the mean cop character derisively called Wake the name of another famous writer I had to roll my eyes, obvious name dropping to show that Sam Lake has read these authors - or, more likely, hasn’t but just wants to demonstrate he knows they exist.

Even the typical “Remedy charm” is gone, their usual strategy of wearing their influences on their sleeve here just turning into a parade of references. At one point someone slams an axe through a door next to Wake and he narrates “he was about to get me like Nicholson in The Shining!” Fuck off.