by Hugella » Sat Dec 31, 2022 8:34 am
I got a PS5 for Christmas, but instead of even hooking it up, spent the afternoon (and randomly throughout the week) mucking around with
DOWN
1997, Kent Tessman
---
I'm very conflicted about Down. On the one hand, this is my second KT game (not counting Tetris) and I really like his writing. I like the ideas of his games, the way he has of evoking a particular setting, a mood, a genre convention. In the case of Down, I felt like I needed to hurry hurry hurry. (I'm looking forward to getting to Distress by Sidney Merk, as I remember how effectively it created a similar edge of panic in me.)
But. Beyond the first puzzle, this was terribly clued. Lots of verb-guessing, reading the author's mind, and general not-sure-what-to-do-isms. On the one hand, I could also complain about the relative barrenness of the map; very little is implemented. And yet, as in Spur, KT manages to convey a lot with a little. So I can picture myself (YOU) in the tiny map, the black smoke rising in the late afternoon air, the people huddled in their little groups of misery.
What I can't do is interact with all of that very much. This is a static piece, regardless of the finale. Having sat with it for a week, it feels like an outline, almost, rather than a complete game. EAST OF EASTWOOD's frustrating pieces make sense in retrospect (and is also not a complete game).
There's a disjointedness in Down's puzzles and set scenes - both in terms of logic and implementation - which hasn't resolved over time. There's a hole in the center of it al, an emptiness; I almost feel like I'm watching ghosts relive the scene of their demise.
I got a PS5 for Christmas, but instead of even hooking it up, spent the afternoon (and randomly throughout the week) mucking around with
[size=150]DOWN[/size]
1997, Kent Tessman
---
I'm very conflicted about Down. On the one hand, this is my second KT game (not counting Tetris) and I really like his writing. I like the ideas of his games, the way he has of evoking a particular setting, a mood, a genre convention. In the case of Down, I felt like I needed to hurry hurry hurry. (I'm looking forward to getting to Distress by Sidney Merk, as I remember how effectively it created a similar edge of panic in me.)
But. Beyond the first puzzle, this was terribly clued. Lots of verb-guessing, reading the author's mind, and general not-sure-what-to-do-isms. On the one hand, I could also complain about the relative barrenness of the map; very little is implemented. And yet, as in Spur, KT manages to convey a lot with a little. So I can picture myself (YOU) in the tiny map, the black smoke rising in the late afternoon air, the people huddled in their little groups of misery.
What I can't do is interact with all of that very much. This is a static piece, regardless of the finale. Having sat with it for a week, it feels like an outline, almost, rather than a complete game. EAST OF EASTWOOD's frustrating pieces make sense in retrospect (and is also not a complete game).
There's a disjointedness in Down's puzzles and set scenes - both in terms of logic and implementation - which hasn't resolved over time. There's a hole in the center of it al, an emptiness; I almost feel like I'm watching ghosts relive the scene of their demise.