June 2019 Channel Update - Heck Ton of Indies Completed

Hi everyone!!

We’re already at the halfway point of the year! Time really flies. Hope you are all enduring the summer heat (or the Australian winter?) wherever you are.

TL;DR

• Finished: LIS2 Ep 3, Dishonored base game, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Observation, Draugen, Katana Zero
• Ongoing: Witcher 3, Outer Wilds
• Upcoming: Wolfenstein The Old Blood, some undecided things…

Games Finished Since Last Update

May was a really good month for high-quality small to medium length narrative games. Since the last update, I’ve finished:

- Life is Strange 2 Ep 3 (5 parts): Probably the best episode of the season to date, touching on some topics of growing up I didn’t think a LIS game would go to. But seeing as how the season won’t finish until December, if you aren’t already following it I would probably recommend waiting until then.

- Dishonored base game (winner of last Patreon vote; 31 parts): No need to dive deep into this one I imagine! It’s been a while since I’ve played an immersive sim proper and wooow I forgot how lovely these are. I do plan on getting back into the DLC (and then the sequel) when time allows.

- A Plague Tale: Innocence (15 parts): A tale of a brother and sister surviving the times of plague in 1340s France. Mainly a stealth game with some combat options. AA production values are very reminiscent of Hellblade – some aspects are kind of janky but there’s quality and polish where it matters.

- Observation (8 parts): From the Stories Untold devs, a psychological thriller set on a space station. Basically 2001: A Space Odyssey the game. Gameplay is mostly mini-games that can be obtuse but nervous tension built in the atmosphere is top-notch.

- Draugen (5 parts): From the Dreamfall Chapters devs, a story of an American man searching for his missing sister in Norway. Gameplay is light (mainly walking, no puzzles) but gorgeous scenery + excellent voice acting and characters. Very short and many would consider the ending unsatisfying – I personally enjoyed it enough though.

- Katana Zero (6 parts): A cyberpunk action platformer of an amnesiac contract killer tracing down his roots. Very action-based, akin to a sidescrolling version of Hotline Miami. Story is told rather haphazardously but is still quite engaging throughout – story is not fully complete by the end of the game and appears to be awaiting DLC/sequel though.

Current Stuff

- Witcher 3: I think I’m nearing the end of the first DLC. Will probably take a short (1-2 weeks) break after that and jump back into Blood & Wine.!

- Outer Wilds: This is more open world and sandboxy than the usual super narrative-focused stuff I play, but has been really amazing mystery adventure so far – I’ve never played another game that captures the wonders and mysteries of space exploration so well.

Upcoming Stuff

The new Wolfenstein game will be out in July so I’ll be getting back in the series with The Old Blood very shortly! In terms of new releases, there aren’t very many I’m interested in this month: 

• 25th: Judgment 
• 27th: The Sinking City 

If you're not already aware, Judgment is by RGG Studio, the devs of the Yakuza series. I’m quuuuite interested in it but I know it’s going to be a lengthy title... Not sure if that’s the kind of commitment I want to make especially after W3 + RDR2 left me half-alive lol. Will see what when the date rolls around! 

Other than that, you can also expect to see a few First Looks of more niche things pop up here and there.

Feel free to leave any questions/comments/whatever else, and have a great rest of June! 

Welonz