Switch 'N' Shoot (Nintendo Switch)

The past few weeks I’ve moved back to Australia and whenever I take a flight I love to have my Nintendo Switch on hand to take up some of the time. Flying from the UK to Australia is not something that’s going to go by quickly unless you can sleep for a long time. Unfortunately I really cannot sleep on flights so I thought I’d spend some time playing a bunch of Switch games I’d had sitting on the console for a while.

One of these games and arguably the one I put the most time into on the flight was Switch ‘N’ Shoot, an arcade style Shoot Em' Up in which you press only one button to control your spacecraft with the aim of getting the highest score possible. The game was made solely by Indie Developer Matt Glanville and is also available on Steam, and for Android devices. I really enjoyed my time with the game and wished to briefly touch upon why that was.

As soon as you boot the game up you are welcomed by some gorgeous border art by Paul Duffield (who interestingly currently works out of my home county of Northamptonshire, UK) that would not be out of place on something like a classic Space Invaders arcade cabinet. This artwork is in place for the entirety of the game and really helps sell the feeling that you’re about to play something inspired by the classics.

The game itself is very simplistic as you would expect with a game where you only really need to press a single button but this is something that allows the title to stand out and really helps with the addictive nature of the gameplay. I found myself absolutely terrible at the game at first because every time you shoot you also move left or right with each subsequent shot but over time I improved!

Your enemies remain the same so you don’t have to worry about how to deal with new enemy attack patterns and interestingly you don’t even have to worry about shooting every single enemy. However what I like about this game is if you do happen to miss an enemy they will stay almost level with your spaceship for a few seconds and then explode, meaning you have less space to manoeuvre and therefore have to press your single button a lot quicker.

This really ramps up the stakes and keeps you on your toes. Another great feature is that you can upgrade your craft if you collect enough pickups along the way. However should you miss any then your weapons will revert back to their previous level. I really enjoyed this as I really had to think did I want better weapons but risk hitting an enemy along the way? Or did I want to try playing it safe with a more basic weapon but not gain points as quickly and potentially be overrun with enemies?

It’s great that although you can upgrade yourself you never feel too overpowered compared to the enemies and the game will actually introduce a new challenge if you get the highest possible upgrade. That added challenge comes in the form of two beams that stop you being able to scroll out of one side of the screen and appear on the opposite side. On the one hand you’re insanely powerful but on the other you’ve got a much smaller window to move in.

Usually I find myself losing shortly after I obtain this upgrade because I’m just not quick enough to move back and forth before hitting those beams. Yet this game is just so addictive that I jump right back in for another 10 minutes or so. I think it’s a real challenge to make a game that’s not frustrating in that kind of situation so I applaud Matt for this.

A feature I found quite funny even after every time I died was that your pilot would have a unique name every single time. I’ve played countless times now and have never had the same name twice. You even get a nice message every time you die from your commander; I loved this little attention to detail and hope to see more of this sort of thing in other games in the future.

As an aside Switch ‘n’ Shoot actually reminded me of the game Downwell which I reviewed a few years ago. This was not only due to its pixilated style or the ability to unlock new palettes as you progress, it was the addictive nature of the game. In my ignorance I actually believed this was developed by the same person as Downwell and I do wonder if there was any inspiration on the developers part.

I really do not have anything bad to say about this game because there is not much to it and what it does have it does well. I generally struggle to find a fault with the game but would perhaps like to see different ship designs and enemy designs as further unlocks along the way and perhaps even different borders as the art is just so nice it would be lovely to see what else Paul Duffield could come up with.

All in all I think Switch ‘n’ Shoot Is a fantastic affordable and short title that is absolutely perfect for those on the go or those who want a brief but addicting game to pass a short amount of time. Do I think I will keep coming back to this game for years to come? No. However for now it’s a nice little way for me to eat up time on a lunch break or on the Train home from work.

This game would not be out of place in an actual Arcade and I really like that aspect of it, in fact while researching the game and the developer I found that Switch ‘n’ Shoot does have an arcade cabinet available for purchase thanks to the guys at DSM Arcade. Now do I love the game enough to buy one? No. But If I saw one in the wild I’d definitely have a few rounds.

I think Matt Glanville has made something special here and would love to see what else he comes up with in time.

PSVR

So I bit the bullet after being on the fence since its announcement and bought PSVR, I had a little money left over from my recent trip to Japan (It was great) and saw an online store I use a lot had some of its day 1 stock left so I thought fuck it why not? I like new technology and I'm interested to see what Sony can do with VR.

If you’ve read my article on the Vita and why I believe it failed you’re probably already aware of why I was on the fence, the crux of that article was Sony do not market portable consoles well in the West and drop support for it altogether eventually, I still have this fear in the back of my mind that VR is literally just a gimmick for Sony (and an expensive one at that currently) and I’ve fucked myself believing only a few games will ever properly utilise the technology, it’s too early to say that of course but the thought is still there.

The main reason I was so hesitant to buy it was the price I think, It’s to be expected with new technology so close to the launch window and I know it will get cheaper eventually but I was one of those people who did not have the PS Move controllers previously or the PS Camera so I had to get a bundle with those included. I think I paid approx £400 for all that and Batman VR. I’m actually still waiting on my delivery of the two Move controllers because they are sold out EVERYWHERE in the UK but thankfully every game I own can be played with the PS4 controller and I’ve found it to work fine, I’m sure the Move is better for the immersion but hey it’s optional so far!

My thoughts on virtual reality before the release of PSVR were indifferent really, I saw it was becoming a thing and really taking off but I thought it was all for PC and I don’t really play games on the PC so I would think ‘oh looks cool’ but never imagine owning any myself, I did have a brief go on the Oculus Rift at EuroGamer Expo about two years ago. I couldn’t tell you the name of what I played but you were sitting in a helicopter and flying around a Cartoonish looking city, there were objectives but I just messed around and what stood out to me was flying as high as I could, looking down and getting a bit of vertigo, it was amazing! then letting myself drop to the ground and generally flinching on impact. I knew at that point that VR could really become something amazing.

Moving back to my device I found the headset very comfortable to wear, I’ve only played for maybe an hour and a half tops at a time or less and never found any discomfort, I am so happy it easily fits my somewhat larger than average glasses with no negative effects such as outside lighting coming in, I found the headset to be easily adjustable and each person I have allowed to try it has never made any complaints about how it feels when applied, the only negative aspect of it is the wire attached to the headset, it kind of just sits there at the side of you and is always brushing against your shoulder, it’s not uncomfortable it’s just always there but it makes for easy access to adjust the built in Mic and volume control as well as the standard headphone jack.

The parts that come with the device are quite simple to hook up but you better have room for a bunch of wires because there are a hell of a lot, I still haven’t put mine in the perhaps best position yet but I certainly need to as there are bound to be a large number of tangled wires in my room if I’m not quick, you’re probably way better with you wires than I am but there will still be a lot of kit to connect to your TV and PS4!

I currently have three games for the device not including any demos which I just wanted to briefly touch on. I’m happy there was a free full fledged game available to download from the store upon the release of the device Playroom VR. It's just a collection of mini games which are mainly based around multiplayer experiences, I think it is a great game to show to friends and get them involved in fact I think this title will be like Nintendoland to me and my friends, every time we get together we play it, it was included with the Wii U and just focuses on short mini games that let you know what the console can do, they're really quite similar. 

I got that Until Dawn Spin off  Rush Of Blood as it was only £15.00 and I knew it was not going to be like the original (which I’ve not played still!) I knew it was an on rails shooter and usually I don’t like them but I thought Hey it’s VR it might be better suited and it certainly is. It’s a budget title and it’s a great game to test out VR with, there are minimal jump scares but it’s nice to be able to see what VR can do in terms of shooting games, I think it would be way better if I had the PS Movecontrollers though and a fair bit easier to move both arms independently rather than having to do a whole load of stuff in order to make both guns aim different ways.

Batman Arkham VR is by far the most immersive experience I have had on the device but it really is not the game I thought it would be and it is only an hour or so long if you’re just doing the story and not bothered by collectables and such but my god I felt like Batman!, I sat for ages after the suit up sequence and just marvelled at the intricacy of the Batcave, picking up all the things at the Bat-Computer and just being truly being the worlds greatest detective. The game is basically the Detective mode from other games and a walking simulator in some respects rather than the typical Arkham experience I and many others expected!

I really didn’t like that I can’t actually walk in the game though!, there is no free movement in that sense as you just click a button and teleport forward like 6 steps or if  I want to change my perspective and this really took me out of it a lot. The only other issue I have is that it was short, I’m sure Rocksteady are done with the franchise now but I would have loved more time with Arkham VR as it was one of the best batman experiences I’ve had.

The shortest experience and the one that has given me the most hope for the device is the demo ‘Kitchen’ which is yet another Resident Evil 7 demo but this time just for PSVR, it’s not really a game as it’s about 4 minutes long and you’re just tied to a chair while sitting in a ratty disgusting kitchen, there is someone else with you and, well I wouldn’t want to spoil it but he doesn’t have the best time with what’s in there with you, all I will say is don’t look up! The jump scare I got from this short demo solidified my purchase of Resident Evil 7 for sure.

The device has been really popular with my family, they all wanted to try it out as soon as I told them about it, they don't play Video games at all either, the last they played was the Wii and Wii Sports. I think PSVR if it were cheaper certainly could be as popular as the Wii was at launch because it has that new wondrous technology and sense of inclusion with it, I couldn't tell you if it has been marketed that way but when I see the enjoyment my family and my Girlfriend get from it I can't help but feel it is like the Wii, hopefully it won't fizzle out like the Wii did for many after its initial year of release.

So do I feel VR is the future? I’m still not sure really, I think enough people need to be given the chance to demo it properly, I know some companies (GAME in the UK) are charging people £5 for a 15 min try out of it which I understand in terms of not wanting people to hog it and then not buy but it makes it a bit less accessible for those who do want to try and may even put them off if they have to pay. If enough people try it word of mouth spreads and more sales are made which will make the device more popular and get more support from developers and Sony.

Right now I think we are on the honeymoon period, it’s had a good number of launch titles and functionality with other games but this needs to continue, they can’t let it wane too much like they did with first party Vita Games they need to continue to nurture this device as much as they can because there are some really amazing experiences just waiting to happen and some that are already available to you if you give it a shot.

I’d say right now it may be best to wait unless you absolutely must try it, With Resident Evil 7 coming near XMAS with some decent VR support it may be best to wait and see if there are any Xmas deals for the device and that game but honestly I’m in no way disappointed with my purchase, it was never going to replace my PS4 it was just going to enhance my experience with it and provide some unique ones along the way, I’m thankful we live in a time where this can happen and it makes me excited at the thought of what is to come, I know Horror games are the hot ticket currently and they certainly work well in VR but I’m ready for some really immersive games to be made by the right people!

Twitter: @DetestChan
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The failed Vita and why I like it.

After talking about the Wii U a few weeks ago and how I still enjoy it even if it is deemed a failure I felt I should talk a bit about the Playstation Vita and how many would deem this handheld to also be a ‘failure’especially when comparing it to Nintendos 3DS and mobile gaming. I really enjoy the Vita and a lot of the games made for the console but I can absolutely agree that Sony again dropped the ball with their handheld system in the West.  I don’t believe the console is in any way a bad console for what it does or the games it has on it but I do feel Sony have not learnt from any mistakes of the past and brushed the Vita away as if it is the unwanted member of the Playstation family.

I feel to a point the PSP was a way more popular console, it certainly had longer Western support by Sony compared to the Vita. I did own a PSP and used to play it quite regularly but the only reason for this is because I modded the console with the help of a friend (and honestly who didn’t mod their PSP?). I mainly played Japanese Gundam games and PS1 games if I’m honest, I cannot remember a specific Western game I truly enjoyed on the console however I will say there were a few fantastic titles on the system that I used to play a lot that were Japanese Developed such as Tekken 5 DR which I would say is the best numbered titles to this day and the Shin Budokai Dragonball games. So there were elements to the PSP I enjoyed but I doubt I would have without the modding capabilities that plagued Sony and the console.

The reason I bought a Vita though is not because of my enjoyment of its predecessor but because I’d signed up for Playstation Plus and kept getting free games for it that would stack up, at the time when I first got PS+ the Vita games it provided me with were actually titles I was interested in playing such as Gravity Rush, Uncharted and Dragons Crown as well as a few indie titles. I thought if I keep getting decent titles like this I may as well pick up the console and just never buy any games for it so I bought the original model new with Tearaway (another great  game) included and for about a year I generally did not buy anything for the console.

Over time with the sales popping up I have been buying Vita games and I did buy a few physical imported Gundam games so I certainly do have a library built up albeit a small physical one so in no way do I leave my Vita to gather dust the way I eventually would my PSP. I feel the Cross save function for games like The Binding of Issac have really played a big part in this also, it’s such a wonderful feature and allowed me to continue my games on flights abroad, I can’t fault it.

Much like the Wii U I find myself getting annoyed that a lot of Vita exclusives have moved to other formats like IOS or Steam, I think it’s great that it will allow others to actually be aware and experience certain titles as some certainly deserve to be played but It kind of takes away some of the reason to ever play the console, I’m certainly torn on this.

I Felt some games used touch features for the sake of it, I think one of the biggest culprits of this is Uncharted: Golden Abyss. I have only played the game for about an hour and it’s nothing special but the tutorial would stop you every now and then saying things like ‘If you want to jump and climb touch the front screen’ when you could literally just press X and have it done automatically like in any other game, why mess about with touch features for something like this. I have no issue with touch features like rubbing the screen to uncover something or to zoom in and out but if you’re using it just for the sake of it because it’s on a console that uses the features then I’d rather you not bother, be creative with it for goodness sake.

The Vita actually got me in to a lot of Visual Novels which is a genre I really did not think I would ever care about, usually I cannot be bothered to be reading constantly when I’m playing a game but thanks to a sale and the DanganRonpa series I was hooked on the storyline and have now played every released game in the series, the great thing about these games is that they make sure they do something I feel any handheld should do and allow you to save at almost any point so you truly can play on the go even if the game is text heavy. I certainly would not want to be on the move with a game like this and be unable to save after reading a whole bunch of plot.

I will say I find the console comfortable to hold and never really find any issues with the button layout, I think I may find issues with the smaller slim version however, I love the interface of the system itself it’s really simple to find anything you need and the store is just as simple to navigate, I will say It does annoy me that some Apps on there cannot be deleted such as the calendar and the recently shut down ‘near’ service (think streetpass but shit)

As much as I enjoy the console I have never actually used the remote play feature which allows streaming of PS4 content to the Vita, this is because I’ve never had the need to, all of my consoles are in my own room and I never felt the need to go elsewhere in the house to play them, if I did I would just move the console I do think this is a cool feature for those who need it however!

I thought the Playstation TV was an alright idea in theory as it was a Vita console without a screen or buttons you could hook up you your TV. I mean if you wanted Vita games but did not want the Vita and wanted to play them at home it’s certainly an option for you but half the games were not even compatible due to Touch screen features so if you did own one you had to be quite selective, either way it was discontinued in the West last year which really does not surprise me…

People like to say the console is a ‘Weeb machine’ because most of the support was from Japan and at this point pretty much all the support is from Japan, I can see why they would say this because it’s generally true. All the games are either Niche titles or JRPGS with a few Indie games sprinkled in, I have no problem with this as I have found plenty of titles I’ve enjoyed, however the reason it’s this way is because Sony again don’t know how to push a handheld in Western markets, the support is there from Japan but not everyone is a fan of typically Japanese games.

The Vita started off well with games geared more towards a Western audience like ports of PS2 classics, Uncharted and Tearaway but soon after it just sort of dried up, I don’t ever remember there being much advertisement for the console either and most people were already disappointed with their dust collecting PSPs at that point to see a clear reason why this one would be any different other than touch screen features. Perhaps the necessity for a  handheld aimed more towards ‘gamers’ rather than kids is not really there, I certainly feel a bit odd bringing out a handheld on the train or in public even though that’s primarily the whole point of them and I’m sure others do too.

I think one of the reasons it sold so poorly in general though is the ridiculous price of memory cards. I believe my console game with a 15gb card and due to the amount of games I would get from PS+ I would constantly have to delete titles and redownload them when I actually wanted to play them again rather than just having a full library available to me whenever I wanted.

This was an issue somewhat with the PSP also but at least with the PSP the memory cards were a fairly decent and reasonable price that also did not have to be Sony specific and could be any sort of Sandisk card as long as it was the right physical size to fit, of course there was the chance for corrupted data from cheap cards but the option was there.

With the Vita though there is not this option, you HAVE to buy a memory card specifically made for the Vita, this tiny little thing that holds your games has to be from them. That’s not so bad right? Wrong! Because Sony never cheapen the price for these cards, If I wanted the biggest card I could find which was 64GB it would set me back almost £70 plus postage as god knows there Is no Vita merch in any game store I’m aware of in the UK.

I actually did bite the bullet and buy this memory card recently because I was just sick of constantly trying to make room for the games I would be getting,  It was annoying to have to pay this price but I felt with the lack of the support for the console in the West they may just stop making these cards soon and then to buy one new would be even more expensive. I’m glad I did buy it because I can just play whatever the hell I want now without the worry but eventually I’m sure I will fill this up too! I sure as hell won’t buy anymore cards!

I really like physical media rather than purely digital although I have got a number of digital titles on all my consoles due to services like 'Games with Gold' and such I really would prefer it to be physical, now in the case of the Vita I only own a few physical games by choice however there are a few games that I’m happy actually get a release in the US and EU such as the new Gundam Vs game which came out this month but there was just no option to own it physically which kind of bummed me out, I understand it is a very niche game but I’d love there to have at least been a very limited run of physical cases for them, I just love to see them all displayed on my shelf.

Some companies do actually do this and that’s really cool it’s like developers know there is this really small but vocal fanbase in the west for the Vita and they appreciate them as much as we do them, it’s almost like the Vita is this little club of people sometimes from what I read online and I have no issue with it, I know people who have bought one and literally only have ps1 games on it because they want to play them on the way to work, I know people who just buy exclusives and I know people who just play imports  or Indie games . There are all these different kinds of people playing who are so vocal and happy the console exists and that’s kind of endearing.

As much as I like Sony I feel it is crucial they learn from their mistakes in the West with this sort of thing especially with VR coming up, I am quite excited about VR and will likely by the PSVR at some point however I am hesitant as I don’t want it to just be a fad first of all and I don’t want Sony to slowly drop supporting it altogether as they have the Vita. Perhaps as VR is attached to a home console this will not be the case but I cannot shake the feeling.

I think it would be best if Sony do not make any more Handheld consoles and if they do they better make sure they learn from it, I think they can certainly release mobile games even if I am not one to play games on a phone or tablet but they certainly do not need to focus on making another handheld, I think the Vita will be fine for the duration of the PS4s lifetime but I feel all developers will move on after that which is totally understandable, I think I’ll continue with it for ps1 games on the go if anything at that point but who is to say what’s going to happen in a few years time I suppose.

Overall I still continue to enjoy the Vita and feel I will for some time as PS+ continues to provide me with some fun titles and sales generally always bring me something new to play, I think it’s a shame that the Vita has been reduced to this by its own companies lack of support amongst other issues but I think if you’re on the fence about it and perhaps want to try a few titles then by all means see if you can find a used console or one quite cheap but be aware of the issues like memory cards and multiple exclusives eventually being ported either to the PS4 or Steam, it’s certainly no necessity to own this console as a Sony fan but it’s left an impression on me.

Broforce (2015)

Broforce, is a game originally released in October 2015 for Windows, OS X  and Linux which began its life in early April 2012 as a Game Jam entry which gained a lot of attention online. It was developed by Free Lives who are relatively new to the scene and published by Devolver Digital, it has since been brought over to the Playstation 4 as a part of PS+ as one of the free games of March 2016.

This game is a 2d pixelated side scrolling action game, where you play as exaggerated versions of 80’s, 90’s and more recent action heroes but with ‘bro’ in their name, for example ‘Bromando’ or ‘Bronan the Barbarian’ as the Arnold Schwazenegger characters from the films Commando and Conan the Barbarian. This game focuses on its exaggerations of these movies and characters and puts a comedic spin on the whole 'bro culture' idea.

The aim of the game is to get through the levels in a certain number of lives and kill enemies along the way while reaching the goal and getting an extraction, as you progress the levels become a lot more challenging but to make it easier you can find a number of prisoners hidden (in plain sight) throughout the level who after a set amount of rescues become unlocks as other characters.

This game is very simple and a lot of fun, it’s not something I could play for hours on end but I have never disliked the time I have played it, It’s definitely one of those ‘pick up and play’ sort of games that are enjoyed best in short bursts. Although I don’t think I would come back to this game now that I have completed it (unless they added DLC).

I think with the harder difficulties I would potentially go back to it if it were put on the Vita, I know I'm a huge fan of the Vita but I do honestly feel the game is suited to this console, the only short fall being that the main issue I have with the game is the frame rate.

This game can have a lot going on screen at once, especially with the amount of explosives and the destructible environments and at times this causes a huge slow down, it does last long but it really doesn’t make the experience as enjoyable as it perhaps could be, I have also found at random times if I'm just walking my character will stop for no reason almost as if he can only walk for a set amount of steps, this has caused me to die on multiple occasions and can become quite frustrating at times.

 

Honestly while I enjoy this game a lot  I feel this is mostly an inferior version of Super Time Force, Super Time Force has a lot more variety to it, and as the name suggests time based mechanics which allow you stop and rewind time as well as having multiple lives to continue from where you were and potentially have a huge amount characters on screen at one time acting out what you did on the previous life.

Broforce does feature a wide array of characters and they generally play differently but most are gun based as you would imagine, there are those who use knives, bombs or in some cases just their fists, I think the most unique that I unlocked was the Rocketeer character as you could just jet pack everywhere and rocket punch the shit out of enemies.

You also come across small mechs at times which you can hijack, I found them to be really fun because they are not too over powered, they feel super janky and make it difficult to land which I feel makes the risk vs reward aspect of getting in one worth it. I've totally jumped on unsteady land in one a few times only to have the whole floor break apart which took me with it.

There are boss battles in the game which are usually elaborate mechs which at times can span the entirety of a level, at first I didn’t actually notice these were boss units as they were pretty simple but they became a lot larger and I found them to become really quite challenging towards the end of the game, you can totally cheese some depending on what character you got though.

Unfortunately that stands even with some of the later bosses, like at one point I got to one of the last bosses and just threw all three of my special moves at it to have it down to 1/8 of its health already, but I guess that's the luck of the draw with the character you get. At first I didn’t like that you couldn’t select your character and they were just randomly given to you but I think because some make boss battles really easy it’s generally a good idea otherwise you’d just blaze through the parts of the game that are meant to be a challenge.

There is an online mode which allows up to four players, I have unfortunately not been able to find a game and with the slow down I feel I would probably prefer to be playing alone anyway, but I think if you've got a few friends who also own the game the mayhem that'd occur because of the amount of shit going on screen at once could be quite fun.

The game really isn't a long game, you could beat it in a few hours if you played non-stop but you can tell a lot of time and effort went in to it. I will say that although the game felt short overall I would like a save function when you're already part way through a level, the levels are broken down into stages and I've found I need to head out while on the last stage of a level and because of that I had to return back to it and start again. The last level of the game is where I had the most issues with this as it has about triple the amount of stages in it, most of which are filled with a number of bosses.

It was great for that level to have that form of challenge and really helped the game come to a close, but I think the reason I found it to be such a challenge was again due to the slow down, I'm talking like 1 frame per second and some points just because there was so much going on at one time, this really made it difficult to know where you were landing or how to dodge certain projectiles.

I find I really enjoy Devolver Digital games, in fact most of my PS4/VITA library is full of them, I’m really fond of the art-style that most of them go for as it’s pixelated and reminds me of playing consoles like the SEGA, I think I got in to them at first with the first Hotline Miami and when looking at their line up for the next few years I think I’ll be supporting them for a lot longer if they (and the developers) continue to keep up the good work.

Overall I’m glad I picked this game up on PS+, I did want to play it for a long time when I first  heard about it during the Game Jam but I’m not really in to playing on PC and have not touched Steam in years. I wouldn’t say this is the best game I’ve ever played on PS+ because quite frankly it isn’t, It’s a mediocre title but its great in short bursts. However if you’re looking for something that’s similar and overall a lot better I would recommend you give Super Time force a try, specifically on the PS4 as it has the most amount of content.

I would like to see a sequel if they ever made one with a few improvements here and there, but I'm generally interested in what these developers will come up with next, whatever it is I'm sure if they learn from this game they will make a great title.

Three Fourths Home (2015)

Just a short one from me this week as I saw a game on PSN for about £2.50 so I thought I'd give it a go, I went into this game totally blind because 'It looked indie', I feel like PSN is pretty on the ball with most 'indie' shit and I'm really happy with that as I feel a lot of them are underrated gems in a lot of cases, so this week I decided to buy Three Fourths Home for the PS4 and Vita, but just because it was cheap does that mean it was worth the money?

This game was made by Bracket Games and released in early 2015. The story of this game follows a young girl named Kelly as she drives home during a major storm while talking to various members of her family on the phone and the many conversations that arise from that, as it goes on you begin to see the deeper issues surrounding this family but also, at least in my case begin to appreciate the family and your own family for what they are.

This is a very short game and the main story can be beaten in approximately 30-45 minutes with around 20 mins added if you play the epilogue so it's prefect if you just want something to 'play' between other games or when you've gotta head out . It's really easy to 100% and get all the trophies for if you're into that sort of thing (which I am), the game only consists of the main story, the epilogue and the extras menu which include the radio, short stories and some photos taken by the main character.

The design of this game is super simple and doest really have a lot going on, It only really uses White,grey and Black and is entirely 2D. However While the game has very basic design I feel it worked well, this game really didn't need to be flashy in any way, the only negative comment I could say about the design is the use of the rain effect going over the text, It may just be me but I found it really difficult to read at times and it made my eyes strain a little. Thankfully the epilogue doesn't do this at all. 

As a game there is nothing more to do than hold R2 to move the car and select different answers so if anything this fits the visual novel style more I suppose. I could never imagine myself playing that style of game but recently I've really got into them, I think they work better as puzzle or mystery games such as Danganronpa and generally most half decent Vita games. The epilogue is even more of a visual novel as you can walk either left or right and just select what you want to say next.

I found I enjoyed the Epilogue a lot more, it was more intimate as it only focused on you and your mother and the phone call you have while waiting for a bus, I think this one was a lot 'deeper' because it went into the player characters problems rather than those of the family, the tone suddenly shifts to the mother almost having a go at you in order for your character to finally open up.

I like that there is no voice acting in this game and that it relies heavily on the background noise and the radio stations (If you choose to listen to them) as a source for setting the tone of the game, I feel both absolutely convey the tone of each situation you come across when talking to the parents in the game, the sound of the tornado warning sirens seem to arrive just as you hit a quite meaningful and tense moment in the story of your family.

One thing I really did not care for in the game was the brothers story, like I get maybe he had some stuff going on and was very much still a child but I did not care for his actually story he decided to tell you save for it changing up the scenery of the game from time to time like when the lighting strikes and a bird turned into the beat from his story for a split second.

Although you could choose your answers during the main story it would not change the ending which almost makes you wonder why there is even an option at times, this is slightly different during the epilogue however as you can outright choose to not do something and the game ends, I much prefer the epilogue in general due to the choice system as it at least made me feel like I wasn't just reading a story and I had some element of control.

The game clearly deals with depression and I don't think that makes the game inherently negative, I've dealt with quite crippling depression in my life before when I was a teenager due to X Y and Z and this game reminded me of being in that place again as the character sort of breaks down during the end of the game, they realise in a lot of ways they are the problem and bottling things in is not the answer.

Perhaps the morale of the game is that family are more dependable than you think and they'll always be there even if they're having problems too, I think that's a good message and not one people really think about as much as they should. Like we all get a bit annoyed at family at times and maybe we find them embarrassing or you feel like you're quite different from them but I think you gotta remember that they give a shit about you regardless.

I played this on PS4 but due to its length and simplicity I feel it would have worked better on the Vita and I'll probably play it on the Vita if I ever feel the desire to replay it. It is probably the perfect kind of game for the Vita in fact, I feel the console really is under appreciated however its strong points are indie, RPGS and visual novels and they are certainly the reasons I still play it as much as I do.

Overall would I say this game is worth your very short amount of time? Yeah. If you're unsure if you want to play visual novel style games this short game would be a decent starting point however I feel as though the price I paid is the only price id be happy to pay for it as it really was just that short and really does not have any amount of replayability unless you're adamant you want all the trophies.