Recent reviews by Baysin

Neat puzzle game. Very very short. I got it in 1.5 hours. I bought it on super cheap sale for $3, so it was still worth it. A game where you have to figure out how to play the game. Every time you figure it out, it starts over and you have to discover what new trick the game is throwing at you. Most of this game is played in the menu. If that sounds neat to you, get it. If not, then it's probably not your thing. Easy decision.

I've seen Vanishing Realms called "Zelda-esque" and that's probably a good enough description. It's a fun little fantasy hack and slash with basic sword and board, bow, and fireball wand combat against cartoonish skeletons. This is yet another Vive game that will cause damage to your walls for those of us with minimal play spaces :-) It's fun, engaging, and short. Too short, but honestly I think it's fun enough that it'll be worth another playthrough before too long. This is supposed to be the first chapter in a series, and I hope we get to see the rest. I hope they're a bit cheaper too, or longer. But us early adopters know that we've got to shell out some cash if we want anything decent, right?

The game description pretty much tells you what you need to know. It's basically a multimedia art installation, brought into VR. If you like modern art and would happily pay admission to an art museum, then it's probably worth a buck. No need to worry about little kids ruining it for you, either. Unless you have little kids in your house. Why would you do that to yourself? I just don't understand some people. ;-)

A very cool game that gives us a glimpse of the potential of modern VR for storytelling. It truthfully isn't much of a game, however. While there's a couple of puzzles and a little maze, it's mostly just exploring the environment, interacting with objects (which can be fun in itself) and discovering the story. The fact that, in VR, you are actually there, really makes this an experience rather than just a nice little story. Though limited, I also thought the voice acting was well done.

That being said, I wish you could give a neutral rating on Steam, because at 2 hours, including a fair amount of time fooling around with breaking bottles and setting off fireworks, I think the price tag, currently at $30, is steep. I hope future episodes are either cheaper or include more content, otherwise I may not continue this adventure. And I do want to continue it. I don't know where you go at the end, but it's bound to be a cool trip.

As a side note, I did occasionally have issues with skipping and occasionally a frozen camera for a second or two, but I'm also running an old CPU that caps out when I try to run Job Simulator and Budget Cuts, leaving those games off limits for me. Just as a note for others with older CPUs, it might be on the edge of what you can handle, but any hiccups I had were minor. I neither got nauseous nor fell on my face. :-)

This is a wonderful little VR experience, perfect for showing off your fancy new tech to VRgins and non-gamers. If you like Vinnie, as I call him, this will be a treat. As others have said, it's short, sweet, and free. You will find yourself actually in that little cafe, hanging out with Vinnie and his sunflowers and his starry night. Not that the characters really do much, but they do have some idle animations, so they're not just statue-paintings. The dev(s) really did a great job of capturing his artwork and putting you inside of it. I wanted so badly to go out on the streets and explore. One day, perhaps.

Deep, strategic gameplay? Check.
Gameplay that's adaptable to your own personal style? Check.
Variety of game modes? Check.
Blast to play with your friends? Check.
Able to play solo or with small groups with bots? Check.
Challenging to play competitively? Check.
Allows you to play as a robot with infinite removable heads? Check.
If you've logged hundreds of hours in to games like TF2 or L4D, you will probably try to beat your record with Evolve. It's excellent. The developers, Turtle Rock Studios, are super super excellent. They are more involved with the community than anything ever ever. The publisher, 2K.... meh. Most of the negative press about Evolve is on 2K.
On that note, the DLC isn't a big deal. Skins. Pfffft. Big deal. Who cares. Don't buy the skins. That's the best way to teach them. The rest of the DLC won't be out for a while yet and will NOT split up the community. You can buy it if you think it's worth the price, or wait until it's on sale (Steam never has sales, do they?) or just don't bother with it. Your game experience will NOT suffer for choosing to pass on the DLC.

Again. If you like interesting, complex action games that keep getting more and more interesting as you peel away the layers of strategy, Evolve is your new best friend. Ignore the haters. Watch the gameplay footage. Check out the official Evolve forums. The game speaks for itself.

Length: Short (~4 hours)
Graphics: Don't worry about it
Random Non Sequitur Humor: A Fish
Japanese Women Turned Into Flies: Lost track
Best Way to Win: Try really hard to lose

First off: This game is short. Took me between 3 and 4 hours to complete it. So keep that in mind.

Now then, Papo & Yo is a heartwarming, uplifting tale of a child with a violently abusive alcoholic father.
There was some sarcasm there, see if you can tell where.

It's a puzzle game, and you lead the Monster (the child's father) around to help you solve puzzles in an effort to eventually help him. Problem is, you can't do much to help an angry drunk who doesn't think he needs help.

The game mechanics are fairly simple to grasp, although rather neat in execution, as you physically manipulate the slums around you to advance to the next area. If you're looking for a challenging puzzler, this isn't it. It's fairly unique, but not difficult. Nothing stumped me for more than maybe 15 seconds, and there's hints in the game if you do get stuck.

And there's little dialogue. They don't hit you over the head with the abusive father thing. You know it's there, and you know it's pretty bad. It isn't preachy about its message, it's just showing you how this child deals with the crap he's going through.

All that being said, if you can get Papo & Yo for cheap, it's not a waste of your money. Don't buy it expecting a great puzzle game on par with Portal. That will lead to disappointement. Buy it expecting a bittersweet story told in a simple manner with a few entertaining puzzles along the way. That will lead to a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

The gameplay is fun and challenging. The atmopshere is beautiful. The story is kind of amazing. The ending... cannot even be mentioned. I finished the game and was stunned. I'd been punched in the gut. I'd been emotionally involved in this story almost from the beginning, and by the end I wasn't even sure how I felt. About myself.
People ask are video games art, can they ever be art?
The verdict is in, people.

Pros: Cheap! Fun, some unique game mechanics, interesting motivation for the bad guys.
Cons: Short, mediocre voice acting, very little plot, doesn't delve deeply into the unique game mechanics.

But cheap enough to be well worth it.