What we've been playing
A few of the things that have us hooked this week.
20th October, 2023
Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: past masters, lies, and writers.
If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.
Lies of P - PS5
The problem with creating a Soulslike is how do you compete with FromSoft? That's not to say the studio is untouchable and can't be beaten. I would love another developer to come along, iterate on the formula, and make it afresh. FromSoft itself managed that in the shift from Dark Souls to Bloodborne, and then to Elden Ring. But until another studio manages it, Soulslikes will always be compared unfavourably to the originals.
Neowiz, the developer of Lies of P, has certainly tried. When I spoke to game director Jiwon Choi at Gamescom, he was adamant the studio could rise to the challenge. And to a degree, it's been successful. This puppet adventure adheres closely to the Souls formula, cherry-picking from FromSoft's work - having the health regain from Bloodborne, for instance, and the emphasis on perfect timing from Sekiro. Yet every facet of the genre has been twisted into the puppet theme, including its giggle-worthy P-organ.
That, for me, is what sets the game apart. Combat is responsive, performance is smooth, and the difficulty is at just the right level of challenge. But above all, it has its own identity. Where, say, Lords of the Fallen is yet another dark fantasy with underdeveloped ideas of its own, Lies of P makes a bigger shift. The Belle Epoch setting isn't just a Bloodborne clone but its own grand environment. The imposing bosses are a horrifying concoction of puppets, clowns, and intricate mechanisms. Weapon customisation allows for build variety. It might not stray too far from genre conventions, but it's full of grace and a style of its own.
I've finally beaten the King of Puppets, the boss I struggled against during the Gamescom demo, and the relief was just as strong as any Dark Souls or Elden Ring boss. That cements Lies of P - for me, at least - as the best Soulslike FromSoft never made.
-Ed
Mosa Lina, PC
Up until about a minute ago, I was convinced this game was called Mona Lisa, and I was scratching my head as to why. Maybe it had something to do with the crayoned art style? Imagine Leonardo Da Vinci reading that. But it's not Mona Lisa, is Mosa Lina, and I really like it. It's a kind of fidget spinner of a thing - small, unfussy, immediate.
The idea is super-simple: a level loads and you need to find a way to get the glowing things and then get to a portal and get out. The problem is, your jump is rubbish, so whenever there's any kind of obstacle, you will need some help getting over it.
Help comes in the form of your gun. It's not a boring gun in the usual terms but a gun that produces helpful effects, or even objects. You can shoot out blocks to climb on. You can shoot out tentacles that reach out and grab things. You can shoot out rockets to climb on. And you can even delete scenery or mobilise it into movement.
What you can do each level, though, is random, as is the level itself. As far as I can glean from the way the game's designer (Stuffed Wombat, who I've met before actually, and they're not a wombat but a very nice person) talks to you in the game, like a kind of omnipresent narrator, everything you see is random. So random, in fact, that sometimes it doesn't quite work. Sometimes, victory isn't possible at all (which sounds like a challenge to me). But that's okay - that's the vibe of the game. It sort of shrugs and smiles at you. It's more about having some kickaround fun. And I'm totally here for that.
-Bertie
Alan Wake Flashback - Fortnite, Xbox
I wish more games did a 'previously on...' because they're needed! I can barely remember what happened in the previous episode of a weekly TV show, let alone the events of a game from over a decade ago. Yes, over a decade. It's been 13 years since Alan Wake 1 came out, and... What actually happened again? How did things end? If only there was a way to find out.
Alan Wake Flashback does just that, letting you play through and interact with the events of the original Remedy game, complete with the original performances and locations, albeit over a shortened 20-minute time frame. I don't think there's ever been anything quite like it before. It's enjoyable too. There are collectible Thermoses to find and platforming sections to reveal by burning words away with your flashlight. Various characters pop up I'd forgotten. Conversely, I was surprised how many of the game's areas I remembered, once I was back exploring within them.
Perhaps most surprising is how Alan Wake Flashback has been made: within Fortnite itself - in the Unreal Engine editor mode, and constructed by Epic Games. This is all because Epic is publishing Alan Wake 2 of course, and closely aligned with developer Remedy on it (Alan himself set to pop up in Fortnite's Item Shop next week). Put all of that aside, though, and I love the idea. Why should video games limit themselves to a cutscene to catch players up? This interactive highlights-reel of the original Alan Wake should become a template for others. It's made me even more excited for what's next.
-Tom