October 4
Hello! Welcome back to our regular section where we write a little about some of the games we've been playing over the past few days. It seems like we're worried about castles this week. We visit one in real life and then do some in an imaginary land. We also show our appreciation for the genius of a new super violent action game.
What have you been playing?
Catch up on previous editions of this column in our What We've Been Playing archive.
New Dungeons & Dragons rules, board
My obsession with Dungeons & Dragons continues, and there's been a lot going on in that world lately. Number one: I went to a castle to play it. My partner and I drove to a place called Brackenhill Tower, near Carlisle, which is practically on the border with Scotland, to play some pretty solid D&D for two days, with our new group Chaotic Questers (shameless plug: we stream). It was wonderful to meet them in person and it was wonderful to play in person instead of online; there is definitely a difference. However, the trip was marred a little as our car broke down on the way back, leaving us stranded in Preston and then we had to scrap it shortly after. We throw a natural one.
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The other big thing that's been happening is that Dungeons & Dragons has evolved and a new version of the game has come out. Well, more or less. A new Player's Handbook has come out, which is one of the main rulebooks and tells you how to play, but without the new Dungeon Master's Guide, which is coming out this month, and the new Monster Manual which is coming out early next month. year, I think. the entire set of basic rules is not complete. However, we are on new ground and I recently enthusiastically read the Player's Handbook 2024. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed.
I think I was expecting a capital B, Big Change, even though I knew this was an iterative release rather than a complete radical change. People colloquially refer to it as D&D edition 5.5, because it's not that different from fifth edition, which was released 10 years ago. However, I was waiting for something: a moment. I think, in retrospect, what I was looking for was something similar to what we feel when a new video game comes out and everyone is rushing to find the answers, whatever they may be. That… that rush of discovery: that's what I wanted, but there wasn't it. Suddenly, the new rules were there.
I wonder if it will change with the release of the new DM guide. I know our group is waiting until then because it's kind of an incomplete transition without it, and because there are some bold new features in the DM guide like Bastions (individual home bases) that could mix things up significantly. Maybe then I'll feel a more noticeable difference. Or maybe I just wait too much.
It's still an exciting year, although perhaps not as exciting as I thought it might be.
-Bertie
I am your beast, PC
I Am Your Beast is a great game and I hate that description, but I really can't think of a better one. I am your beast is really great.
It's a fast-paced first-person kill fest with a comic book art style and it's truly addictive. Now let's be clear, I'm not good at the game and despite seeing reports it can be completed in a few hours, I have yet to do it. I am also not ashamed to say that I have died. a lot. But you know what? I'm having so much fun I don't really care.
In the game, you play as former special agent named Alphonse Harding who, despite being retired, has been called in for one last job. He doesn't take too kindly to this, though he quickly begins punching, shooting, kicking, and fighting his way through hordes of military men in fast-paced, bite-sized levels set in a winter desert.
It's all so incredibly clever. Harding is able to climb trees effortlessly, with gravity and drag clearly not a problem for him, before jumping up to land on a nearby enemy's head with a very nice smash. Firing weapons gives a sense of power, as Harding loses bullet after bullet against the advancing forces, and then when he is done with the weapon, he can hurl it at an enemy with equally impressive force. Then there's that kick I mentioned: I realize I sound sadistic saying this, but it's satisfying to see the damage a quick stomp can do.
Like I said: I Am Your Beast is very, very cool.
-Victory
Small clearing, PC
How could I not play this after Digital Foundry's fascinating video introducing it? Not only that, but I don't think I've ever been more drawn to a game: a quiet game about building a castle in a wooded clearing, a clearing. Maybe I can play D&D there next time, wistful sigh.
Tiny Glade follows in the footsteps of games like Townscaper and Summerhouse, meaning it's a soft and gentle game about building things for the sake of building things and making them look good. There are no points or rules or threats or anything like that, just the inherent appeal and satisfaction of doing something and then taking hundreds of pictures to show off; It's not entirely healthy.
Because there's not much you can do – your options are limited – there's a big emphasis on making the things you can do count. For example, placing a path: the first thing the game asks you to do. This has to be fun, not complicated or annoying, because it is part of the overall toy. And it's… a joy, I mean. Paint across a wall and a small arch will magically appear, and maybe some flowers will appear around it too. Open a window there and some vines will grow over it after placing it. Change the shape of a tower and some bags of potatoes could appear at its base. The game is alive in its basic components and started the moment you made it, it's not waiting for you to finish something. It's a toy that's all about the pleasure you get from using it.
It's wonderfully intuitive. It's lovely.
-Bertie