Game reviews by Brandon, Kristin, and Stacy.
Hello everyone! If you’re looking for games that are longer in length, heavy with plot, and driven by story – these games are for you! These games are our all-time favorite story driven games; we hope you’ll enjoy these reviews and recommendations!
Story-Drive Role-Playing Video Games
Last of Us Pt. 2
Available on Playstation 4
So, this game garnered a bit of a reaction, didn’t it? Some time has passed now, and I have been able to sit back and reflect on what took place during The Last of Us: Part II. I will try to avoid spoiling any specifics about the story while I detail my thoughts.
This game might have earned itself a divisive reputation, but gameplay, graphics, sound design and the soundtrack played no part in that division. Naughty Dog have once again proven they are masters of their craft when it comes to game design. The story, however, is what I had to sit on for weeks and think about how it really made me feel. As I played through, two emotions remained constant: sadness and anger. Staff behind the game have gone on record, stating that “this is a game about hate”, but I never expected it to genuinely incite that feeling from me. I absolutely hate some of the story elements of this game, but I do not hate them due to their poor delivery or setup. I hate them in the same way that I would hate it if my friends and family went through what these characters did. The traditional heroic arc of a protagonist is nowhere to be found here. This game made me uncomfortable. Characters I originally despised, I began to sympathize with, and I did not know how to process that. In fact, as I type this, I am realizing that I still cannot quite put to words what my final feelings are about this game.
This is what I can tell you. I have been sincerely affected by a few games in my life. There are a few games that have made had a real impact on me. Games that made me rethink how I conduct myself, what I place value in, and even how I think about life and death. This game can now be added to that very small list. I have spent hours and hours thinking about the themes of this game and what it had to say about humanity. This game does not provide escapism, and it does not provide your traditional sense of fun. If you are looking for either of those things, this game is not for you. If you want a game that will challenge you mentally and emotionally, and that will stick with you long after, then please give this game a try. - Brandon
Final Fantasy IX
Available on Playstation, Switch, PC, and mobile
Final Fantasy games have a habit of getting a bit... out there. Plotlines that start out with relatable stakes tend to escalate and escalate until space-time collapses on itself and suddenly you're one universe over fighting the physical embodiment of Entropy or Sin or... some faceless time-sucking monster. It's a bit much.
Final boss aside, though, I think Final Fantasy IX had the most grounded and engaging story, and it's my favorite in the series. The game gave us characters that were goofy and endearing, but also capable of real growth. Instead of a story that aimed to span universes, this story focused (for 3 discs at least) on a classic adventure in a fantasy world. Zidane is a member of a band of thieves disguised as a theater troop. They've been hired to kidnap a princess, but find the princess wants to run away with them. How convenient! Except her mother, the Queen, seems oddly bloodthirsty about getting her back. Now the thieves are on the run (with the princess's perpetually confused royal knight in tow), and as they flee they discover more and more evidence of the terrible things the Queen was up to as war breaks out across three kingdoms. The tone stays mostly lighthearted and adventurous throughout, which was a welcome shift from the gritty angst of previous games. However, FFIX still manages to hit home with scattered moments of bittersweet existentialism.
FFIX was the first RPG I played as a kid, and it had an impact. It taught me to hoard Ethers after miserably trying to escape Kuja's castle with only Quina as physical dps. But it also gave me a sense of what RPGs could be, at their best. The way you can have a tactical adventure driven by story beats, and that sense of anticipation when the screen cuts to black and you hear your console whir as it loads a new FMV. I recommend this both to new players and RPG veterans alike (but what RPG veteran hasn't played FFIX yet!). It's everything wonderful about classic RPGs in a ~30 hour package. It was originally released on Playstation, but it's been remastered and ported multiple times and is now available on PC, Switch, PS4, and even mobile devices. -Kristin
Mass Effect
Available on Xbox 360, Windows, and Playstation 3
Without a doubt, my favorite video game series has to be Bioware’s Mass Effect. I picked it up my freshman year of college while crashing on my mom's couch for winter break. Sure, I liked sci-fi well enough. The plot sounded solid - in the original trilogy(we can talk Andromeda later), you play as Commander Shepard, a space soldier with Earth’s Alliance. You embark on a mission to save the galaxy from a race of ancient and all powerful extraterrestrials known as the Reapers - your typical sci-fi "oh no, aliens are invading earth" story. Its a 3rd person over-the-shoulder shooter role-playing series that spans over three video games, plus a fourth game spin-off (which I won't be discussing in this review). I can dig that.
I fell in love. I cannot stress how unprepared I was to genuinely enjoy these games as much as I did - and still do. What got me most was the story - well, stories. While there is one overarching story of "oh no, aliens are invading, someone has to stop them," there is a complete beginning, middle, and end type storyline structure that’s uniquely created for each game. Mass Effect, and most Bioware games, have this unique dialogue system that allows you to choose what you want to say next and in what way. This allows you to really roleplay your Commander as friendly or as professional or just plain mean as you want them to be. Your different dialog options create different relationships with your squadmates, leading to enemies, frenemies, friends, and even romance. Mass Effect separates most of its dialog into Paragon choices and Renegade choices, and they love to utilize this by giving you extremely difficult ethical issues you have to handle. You know that good old ethic question where you have a train and the tracks that split into two paths – one path as only one person you know but the other path as five strangers. Who do you kill? The kind of questions that really make you sit and think about morality.
And if your someone who cares about gameplay mechanics, the first game has a pretty solid combat system and an enjoyable dialogue interface with some really great NCPs - for it's time. While I didn't mind playing the game's dated mechanics the first way through, it's fairly inarguable that the 2nd and 3rd games get way better and way smoother. The combat system advances considerably, as does the dialogue options and relationship progression of your character and your squadmates. Not to mention that this was one of the first games I had ever played where my save game transferred to the next game. It was so mind blowing to me that my Commander Shepard with her backstory I chose and all her decisions I made got to legitimately be my character for the 2nd and 3rd game.
While I would always recommend that someone starts with the first game to get the full experience, I realize how difficult it can be to get invested in a game with pretty dated controls. If you are someone who just cannot get through the first games controls, but wants to experience the entire story from start to finish, Bioware released a DLC for the 2nd game that allows you to play through the first game in a graphic novel style. It tells you the main story and all the major plot points, it also allows you pick major decisions that ultimately affect the outcome of second and third games. If the first game doesn’t catch you, I highly recommend giving the second game a try anyways – the developers really took the time to learn what their audience didn’t like in the first game and improved on those features in the second and third game. If it were up to me, I’d be playing the series right now – but I’m holding out hope for a remaster! - Stacy
Have you played any of our favorite story games? Know of any games we missed? Let us know!
Game reviews by Brandon, Elizabeth, Kristin, Stacy, Justine, and Sue.
Hello everyone! We hope you’ll enjoy these reviews for free games to entertain you! These are a mix of browser and smartphone games, and none of them will cost you anything to play.
Want to play free online games with friends and loved ones? Here are some great options!
Path of Exile
A downloadable game available here.
My brother and I have been playing online co-op games for the past five years: once every few months, he calls me to tell me about the new game we just have to try. “Path of Exile” is one that we keep returning to. “Path of Exile” is a fantasy RPG: you’re an outcast banished to a brutal world. You can fight your way through this world either by yourself or with friends, taking on different advanced missions and discovering information about who wronged you. My brother and I play very different types of games, but this has everything we both want: advanced combat tactics for him, a story for me, and items for both of us. It has competitive events and badges, too, if you’d like to play more competitively. Think of it as a free-to-play Diablo III. - Elizabeth
We Were Here
Available through Steam here.
“We Were Here” is game that was released for free on Steam back in 2017. Developed by Total Mayhem Games, this is a game with not a lot of story. You and your friend are trapped in a castle that you’ve discovered in the arctic wastelands - you aren’t sure why you are here, but all you know is you need to get out and FAST. With one person as the explorer and one person as the librarian, you must help each other get through each level solely via walk-talkie communication.
...
“Hey, sooo I don’t mean to rush anyone, but I might be dying?”
I played “We Were Here” with two of my closest friends in another city. We’ve done multiple escape rooms together before, but “We Were Here” adds an additional level of challenge: since my friends and I were separated, we couldn’t collaborate like normal. We couldn’t even see each other’s screens. Add the difficulty of carefully describing details and a few very brutal time limits to this escape room and we were left with a delightfully shriek-worthy experience. – Elizabeth
So let it be known, that Elizabeth played this game in a much more polite manner that I had. My experience was more of “ Stacy, STACY I’M GOING TO DROWN! PLEASE STOP ME FROM DROWNING!!” This game was an experience and perfect for cooperative play. The game lures you in with a false sense of comfort at first. You have no problem just chatting about anything with your partner, in between actual gameplay talk. As you progress, the game begins to implement time limits and you must turn your focus up at this point. The game promotes outside the box thinking and you will definitely benefit by playing with someone who can think in sync with you. Constant communication is key! There is also apparently some sort of terrifying puppet, but I’ll let Stacy tell you more about that. - Brandon
Although I only played with Brandon, I can agree that he was definitely not as nice as Elizabeth. As the librarian, I spent most of my playthrough wandering a set of rooms trying to figure out which symbols, notes, and words pertained to whichever puzzle Brandon (as the explorer) was on. At first it was really chaotic – I felt like I was just yelling nonsense at Brandon because neither of us could figure out what the other one needed; “A green eye and a blue eye? Two green eyes? Do these eye colors mean ANYTHING to you?" and “There are.....books here. Do you need books maybe?” Although I definitely remember yelling/crying at Brandon as he was trying to save me from a hauntingly scary marionette - which we failed many many times. I definitely recommend this game for anyone who is a fan of puzzle games, co-operative/non-player-versus-player games, and those who are fans of “Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes” or “Spaceteam!” - Stacy
Starcraft 2
Available through Blizzard here.
This is another of my favorite games to play with my brother. In Starcraft 2, players can choose between three space races: humans, the bug-like Zurg, or the psychic Protoss. You can choose to compete against each other or to team up against the computer. It’s a strategy game: you’re building up cities and armies in space, all in preparation to fight the other armies. Very war-like, but also (according to my brother) relaxing once you get good at it. Me? I just stay bad at it and piggyback on his success.
- Elizabeth
Do you have any favorite online cooperative games? Any great tales of playing together with friends and family? Let us know, and happy gaming!
a movie review by Deana
Tim, an orphan in London who is afraid of the dark, has just learned that his star Adhara has disappeared from the night sky. An adventure through the night takes him on a journey of strange happenings that he never knew existed. Tim learns that he has a guardian cat name Tobermory who is up through the night protecting him while he sleeps. Tim knows all about the stars, so why is his star suddenly gone. As he investigate about what happen to his star, he meets strange creatures of the night that helps him find the truth behind his most beloved night star.
Tim is a little shy and awkward around the other children at his orphanage home. They all know that he is afraid of the dark and when they do mean things to him like hide his favorite stuff animal, Tim goes to his secret place where he knows that he is loved. Soon Tim sets off through the night and meets strange creatures like Cat Sheperd, Mr. Pee, Sr. Moka, Pastor de Gatos and so many more. As he travels on an adventure through the night with Cat Shepherd, the North Star and his guardian cat Tobermory to find out who cause his star Adhara to disappear, Tim has to overcome his fears from what is causing the Nocturna creatures and Adhara his star to disappear. With daylight coming too soon, will Tim be able to save the Nocturna creatures and his star - or will they be lost forever?
You might not like this film for some children because the animation characters are a little dark (no pun intended by the title). I would not recommend this film to young children, but every child is different. It is a great film if you have a youth trying to overcome their fear of the dark.
Cat Sheperd played by Robert Paterson
Pastor de Gatos played by Imanol Arias
Moka played by Roger Carel
Sr. Moka played by Carlos Sobera
Tim played by Lloyd F. Booth Shankley
Mr. Pee played by Joshua Zamrycki
Every title I recommend is available for you to watch instantly, for free, using our digital library services.
”Nocturna” can be accessed using Kanopy , with a direct link here: https://aurorapl.kanopy.com/video/nocturna
Don't have a library card? Don't worry! You can sign up for a virtual library card here.
Game Reviews by Brandon, Elizabeth, Kristin & Stacy
Hello everyone! We hope you’ll enjoy these reviews for free games to amuse you during this time. These are a mix of browser and smartphone games - none of them will cost you anything to play.
Relaxing games to help you de-stress.
Alto’s Adventure
A game available on your app store for iPhone, Android and Windows
Plug in your headphones, because this game will deserve all of your attention. For my fellow Coloradans out there, we have been missing our sweet, sweet mountain time. Bring the serenity and beauty of the mountains with you, everywhere you go. Your goal is simple, last as long as you can shredding through the slopes. Pits and rocks are scattered about, but a simple tap or click will result in your character jumping and flipping over any peril that may come their way. Upgrades are unlockable such as a wingsuit and characters with unique skill-sets are available as you progress through the game with no microtransactions required. I would highly recommend the Zen Mode where your progress does not reset after making a mistake. You can endlessly continue on your adventure. It should be noted that you can compare how far you’ve made it with other players on the online leaderboards, but that will not be what brings you back to this game. The captivating visuals and soothing music will put the worries of your world on hold as you fall into the trance that is "Alto’s Adventure". - Brandon
Winter Bells
A browser-based game available here
A soothing game where you play as a bunny who jumps on bells to climb into the sky. You get more points the higher you jump, but with the calming music and the cute design, it's hard to feel punished for falling. Click initially to move, but after that you can control the bunny just based on mouse movements. Pro tip: Birds double your current score, so they're definitely worth going for. - Kristin
Lieve Oma
Available free through itch.io here
It’s mushroom season, and your grandmother has asked you to help her pick penny buns. Except, of course, this isn’t about mushrooms: it’s about walking through the woods in the early autumn with your grandmother, who loves you whether you find one penny bun or a hundred. Unlike the other games in this blog post, Lieve Oma doesn’t have a high score chart or a leaderboard. You don’t have to jump or climb, just walk using the arrow keys or WASD. Soft piano music plays as you trundle along in your grandmother’s footsteps: you’ve been lonely and sad, you see, but she’s here to listen and promise that everything is going to be okay. Nothing bad happens in this game. I walked and found a few mushrooms, and then my character went home to have hot cocoa and mushroom risotto. This game's pure comfort food. - Elizabeth
Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector
A game available on your app store for either iPhone or Android.
A passive game where you collect photos of as many different neighbor cats as you can! It’s simple: you buy new cat toys and food with in-game money given to you by your friendly kitties, place them in your house and/or yard, close the app and when you check in later you’ll find a many variety of kitties enjoying your snacks and toys! With 60+ cats to collect, there are so many different personalities to meet and collect – starting with your first visitor, a cute white cat named Snowball, to my personal favorite, a cardboard train-conducting, hat-wearing, whistle-blowing cat name Conductor Whiskers. - Stacy
What are your comfort food games? Did you net a high score playing Winter Bells or enjoy a few hours of Zen Mode in Alto’s Adventure? Let us know in the comments!
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