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Chironex Studios’ GRIST Game Seeks To Recapture The PC Gaming Experience From The 1980s

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We are now even more hyped for PAX Aus 2023! If you are asking why, then let us tell you……

Growing up in the 80s, our first encounter with a desktop PC was a chunky beige box with a green monochrome CRT monitor. The keys were as loud as the disk-drive accessing the sectors on the 5.25″ floppy, and without any GUI, we had to explore this (what now seems archaic) machine through trial and error using commands that were quite foreign to us at the time. Like any kid back then, we found games to play on these old school computers, which got us hooked. Bathed in the green glow we explored different worlds, made tough decisions, and became different characters – it unleashed our imagination.

Well, an independent Australian game developer, Chironex Studios is seeking to recapture those early days of PC gaming with their new game, Grist!

GRIST is a digital boardgame-slash-rpg about surviving as a Starship Commander in a universe where the secrets of faster-than-light-travel have been lost to time and conflict. Voyage across the galaxy sending out your crew on missions, recovering artifacts of the pre-collapse civilisation, and pushing back the terrors that lurk in the dark between worlds. All the while deciding which parts of your humanity you will keep, and which will be traded for one more year of life among the stars.

GRIST combines vintage ascii terminal style graphics with a synthwave soundtrack for an iconic ascii-wave aesthetic. Gameplay features include a unique positioning based combat system, multiple-choice events with long-tail outcomes, strategic hand-optimization, and a variety of different scenarios to test your abilities.

Currently in development by Chironex Studios, GRIST is planned for an Early Access release in late 2023, so add it to your Steam wishlist right now! And if you are going to PAX Aus in a few weeks, then make sure you head to Booth 16 in the Indie area (Expo Hall) to speak to the developer and check out GRIST!

image source: Chironex Studios



Book Review: The Art Of Point + Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book

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Do you remember your first ever adventure video game? We sure do! We have very fond memories playing Transylvania on our school’s one and only Apple IIe computer. Back then we had to book the computer for use, as it had to be shared amongst all the primary school kids. Of course we preferred to play games on it during our allotted time instead of using Logo to learn some rudimentary programming – but that would have been boring. We immediately fell in love playing Transylvania as it allowed us to explore new worlds and create our own adventures, a lure that has kept us gaming ever since.

A lot has changed since the days of playing Transylvania, just like Moore’s Law ensuring technology would leap forward every two years, adventure, role playing and point + click games have done the same, as they have become more sophisticated over the ensuing years. What better way to capture the history of this genre than these two fine books.

The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games by Bitmap Books capture the essence of these wonderful and enduring gaming genres. If you want to get a feel for these books without reading too many words, then skip ahead to the pics we have assembled below. On the other hand, if you want to know a tad more, read on.

Let’s start with The CRPG Book. Weighing in at 528 pages, this book has everything you can think of from the world of computer role-playing games from 1975 to 2015! We obviously went straight to the Ultima content, but that was one of only 400 titles covered in this beast of a book. The best part about this book is that it is completely written by fans, developers, indies, modders, journalists and industry personalities like Tim Cain, Chris Avellone, Scorpia, Ian Frazier and Richard Corbett to name just a few. Having these different perspectives gives the book a unique feel to the traditional interviews found in these types of publications (Ed: don’t get us wrong, we still love interviews in books!). The fact that there are mod hints, mod suggestions and tips on how to run these old classics games on modern hardware just adds that little bit extra to this already great tome. Of course, no book is complete without beautiful and vibrant imagery, and The CRPG Book has these in abundance.

Just like The CRPG Book, The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games book is stuffed full of content in its 460 pages, like the exclusive interviews with the makers of our fave point and click adventure games; Tim Shafer, Robyn Miller, Ron Gilbert, David Fox, Aric Wilmunder, Richard Hare, Hal Barwood, Gary Winnick, Charles Cecil and Paul Cuisset to whet your appetite. The book covers an array of iconic classic titles, from the very well known ones, King’s Quest, Myst, Toonstruck, Discworld, Blade Runner, Gabriel Knight, The Adventures of Willy Beamish, Simon the Sorcerer, The Secret of Monkey Island, Leisure Suit Larry, Maniac Mansion to the lesser-known games and homebrew efforts. Complimenting the writing is the extensive and engaging imagery used throughout, which means that this book will have you glued to each page.

We can cut right to the chase, both The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games books come highly recommended. Being Bitmap Book publications, you know the quality of the content and presentation is guaranteed to be top notch. Both books are beautifully presented, with great page-turning content. Leaving these on our coffee table has sparked many great conversations with family and friends about old games they used to play. These hefty publications will definitely satisfy the most discerning gamers amongst you, even if you weren’t into point and click adventure games or RPGs! If you are in need of a great Christmas present (for yourself or a special friend), then these books would be perfect.

Both books are available at Pixel Crib right now:

The beautiful books!

The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games

The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games

 

Disclosure: The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book – A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games books were provided by Pixel Crib for this review.

 

Inferno Climber Reborn – Nintendo Switch Review

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Rising from the darkness, ready to do battle on the Nintendo Switch is Inferno Climber Reborn, an interesting Survival Action RPG from Arc System Works.

Inferno Climber Reborn starts you off as one of 8 playable characters in a dark medieval fantasy world. After a short intro where you are defeated by a powerful dragon, you sign a contract with the reaper who resurrects you to do his bidding. You are charged with the quest to hunt down the 5 purgatory stones that will grant great power to whomever brings them all together. Players can choose from mighty knights to sorcerers but each character ends up being equipped with no weapons or armour when they are resurrected. If a character dies, a new character must be chosen and any equipment you had on you is left on the previous corpse. To gain the ability to resurrect the previous class you must make your way back to the location where you died and collect the characters soul.

Inferno Climber Reborn feels like a cross between Dark Souls and Ocarina of Time, feeling very dark and gritty but with a far more stylised approach to characters, enemies and objects. Enemies will quickly overwhelm you if you are not careful and a very slow and methodical approach is required in most areas, making the survival aspect of the game readily apparent. Switching out weapons and equipment is complex, requiring you to scroll with the D-Pad, hold down the trigger and select from 3 actions. In the heat of battle this can prove to be fatal as weapons, equipment and even things such as health potions are all activated this way. In addition to managing Health, Mana and Stamina, players must also be wary of hunger. Not eating regularly can quickly result in a weak warrior unprepared for tough battles. 

In the main hub area there are trials to help you hone your skills and it is highly recommended to give all of these a try as they also act as extra tutorials for various equipment. Actions and movement can take a bit of getting used to and from time to time the game can feel a bit clunky. Numerous times I have found myself stuck on geometry and when starting up the game initially, language settings defaulted to Japanese. Apart from these issues, Inferno Climber Reborn feels like a real diamond in the rough. There is some solid gameplay and mechanics to be found hiding just beneath the surface that just take a little patience and perseverance to unearth.

If you are up to the challenge, give Inferno Climber Reborn a go, while not perfect there is certainly a lot on offer in this quirky and unique survival oriented action RPG.

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Mat Panek
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.

Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch

 

 

Disclosure: Inferno Climber Reborn [Switch] was kindly provided by Strangely Compelling PR for this review.

 

 

Disgaea 1 Complete: Nintendo Switch Review

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15 years after its original PS2 release, Disgaea 1 Complete hits the Switch, giving fans and newcomers a chance to reclaim the throne to the underworld. This charming yet tough as nails package feels completely at home on the Switch.

I have admired the Disgaea series from afar but they have always felt too daunting in the past. Disgaea 1 Complete for the Switch has finally given me a chance to really dive into the game that started it all. With its cutesy anime aesthetics it may seem off putting to some but don’t let that fool you, this is an iceberg of a game that is hiding some amazing depth. Best described as a Tactical RPG and while it is certainly not the first of its kind, I can safely say that it remains one of the heavy hitters in this category for a good reason. Being on the Switch only helps to further its addictive nature and suits Disgaea perfectly. Battles can be short and snappy or long, drawn out tactical affairs that require you to really think out your strategy before taking the plunge, as one wrong move can lead to a timely “Game Over”.

The game has also certainly been given some polish in the visual department with updated art assets that look fantastic, especially compared to the original and previous portable ports of this title. There is a notable difference in every factor of the game, from character models, level tile sets, cut scene and background artwork. While certainly not too graphically taxing on the Switch’s hardware, Disgaea nails the aesthetic it’s going for. Mixing retro charm with things like its simple walking animations and some very spectacular screen filling special moves.

The story is charming, funny and full of intrigue quick to suck in any anime fans, myself included. Its “Visual novel” style story telling is something fans of other Japanese games will be used to seeing. Playing up the usual sight gags it also adds in some “Battlefield” character actions, reactions and movement to really make the most of the cut scenes. If you aren’t used to other JRPGs or anime, some characters may seem a little saccharine but every story beat and character has purpose bringing this world alive. Whether it is main story dialogue or the disrespectful comments from a random NPC, every bit of dialogue is well written and will have you quoting “Nin-Nin-Nin” or “Prinny Dood!” before you know it.

Undoubtedly the main draw to Disgaea though is the gameplay and that is where the game really shines or starts to feel a bit daunting to the newcomer from my experience. Veterans may need to readjust to the older style of play but it should all feel pretty natural. Combat is very menu heavy but the basics are quite easy to pick up and the tutorials guide you in the right direction. There are a LOT of lesser known or discussed gameplay mechanics that can help improve your odds at surviving and having someone handy that has played the series before is invaluable. Once it gets its hooks in though, you will find yourself playing stages over and over to get a little better and a little stronger. Between story missions and the “Item World” there are plenty of opportunities to get lost in with “just one more battle” – but the difficulty can definitely ramp up if you aren’t prepared correctly.

image source: Disgaea 1 Complete via NIS America

Overall, Disgaea 1 Complete is the perfect package for those on the Switch wanting to dive into this series or for those wanting to relive the story without having to suffer PS2 visuals. This is one game you can easily sink hundreds of hours into and one Switch title I would highly recommend.

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Mat Panek
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.

Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch

 

 

Disclosure: Disgaea 1 Complete [Nintendo Switch] was kindly provided by NIS America for this review.

 

Review: Hand of Fate 2 – Nintendo Switch

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Hand of Fate 2 is yet another demonstration of how good the Nintendo Switch can be, it is the perfect game to sink your teeth into at home with the console docked to your TV, then pick it up and continue the adventure when you need to be on the move.

Having never played or even heard of the first game, Hand of Fate 2 for the Nintendo Switch has been a pleasant surprise for me. The best way I can describe the game is that it is a hybrid action RPG card building choose your own adventure game (yes, seriously). The basic premise involves pitting the player against a mysterious card dealer across 22 missions, with each mission containing various encounter cards which the dealer reveals as the player traverses across them. Each mission is essentially a mini text story driven adventure with various end and bonus objectives to complete. One involved rescuing residents of a town ravaged by zombie-like plague monsters, while another tasks the player to recover four artefacts, with each inflicting a ‘curse’ condition on the player so it becomes more difficult as more artefacts are recovered.

As the player advances through the story missions, you are rewarded various cards (depending on how well you do), including encounters, equipment, resources and companions with which the player then can effectively build a custom deck to use for each mission. The game has the option of auto building decks but I found customising card decks to be much more fun and makes each mission unique and interesting; bring the card that rewards the armour that grants additional food resources for every other resource card received or just bring more encounters that dish out gold and health as rewards and a high damage sword reward card instead, the choice is yours.

However, even with careful planning, many encounters can still rely on chance. There are several mini games within encounters that help determine their results, such as throwing dice to match or exceed a target number, timing a laser pendulum to stop on a tiny moving box or spinning a wheel of cards that grant or take away valuable resources. I feel this mechanism adds to the excitement of the game and introduces a much-needed unpredictability given the player is usually well aware of what’s coming should they have constructed the decks to their liking for a particular mission. The tension of trying to execute an impeccably timed button press to escape starvation (effectively avoids restarting the entire mission) and the resulting joy of actually pulling it off is what makes this system so great.

When combat is the only way to influence encounter outcomes, the game whisks you away from the card table and into a ring-fenced battle arena for some real time combat utilising a system not too dissimilar from the Batman Arkham games, with an emphasis on building hit combos for a weapon specific special move whilst dodging and blocking enemy attacks. Here the game tosses in a diverse set of enemy and weapon types as well as companions (all with unique abilities). Although challenging, these scenarios play out much the same and proved to be somewhat a distraction from the card table, which I felt was by far the more interesting part of the game.

Presentation wise, Hand of Fate 2 is top notch, from fantastic voice acting (card dealer especially) to the beautiful Game of Thrones like campaign map to the well-designed character models, it is an impressive showing on the Nintendo Switch, especially in handheld mode. The only complaint I have here is the rather long load times when transitioning from the card table to a combat arena.

Since starting the game for this review, Hand of Fate 2 has become one of my personal top 5 games to play on the Nintendo Switch. Once the somewhat steep initial learning curve is overcome, it becomes simple to pick up and play but very difficult to put down. Highly recommend that you all add this title to your Switch games library.

image source: Defiant Development

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House
House plays pretty much anything and everything but has almost time for nothing. A devout beat’em up fan, House enjoys a round of captain commando every now and then and can never forget spending hours in dark arcades playing warriors of fate after school. Oh yeah, his favourite console of all time is the original Famicom!

 

 

 

Review – Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

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Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles opens up like a mix of Sea of Thieves and Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild; both excelled in creating a beautiful world with a sense of wonder and adventure, which is also Yonder’s greatest strength.

After creating a character with some very basic options (although you can customise him or her throughout the game with a wealth of cosmetic options such as clothes, hair dyes and other accessories to keep things interesting) you are thrown onto the island of Gemea where the game is set and free to explore the open world at your leisure. The game world is beautifully realised; whist it doesn’t surpass Breath of the Wild (but to be fair not many have), it does an admirable job in creating a large, interesting and vibrant world with lush forests, sunny beaches and snowy mountains. Graphically, it is one of the best on the Switch.

How it looks is where the similarities end between Yonder and the aforementioned games. With no enemies to kill or levels to grind, Yonder presents itself as a slow-paced exploration game filled with rather mundane tasks. The game’s myriad of largely lifeless NPCs dish out most of the side quests, usually involving collecting various resources around the world such as fodder, wood, stones, seeds etc using a set of contextual tools introduced early on in the game. For example, using sickles to cut grass, axe to chop trees, pickaxe to mine ore and so on. There is also the ability to run your own farm by building simple structures and rearing the exotic animals found in the game to store and generate resources.

The main story quest is painstakingly simple and the only real sense of progression comes from unlocking previously inaccessible areas of the map by dispersing the ‘murk’ (a mysterious dark shroud covering certain areas) by finding enough pet fairy ‘sprites’. There is no real sense of urgency to this though, as the Murk is not at all dangerous and there is no time limit or any order in which part of the map needs to be uncovered first.

I must confess that I usually like my games with a mature and engaging storyline, deep combat mechanics and RPG-like progression systems. However, I recently played through Yonder during a month long overseas holiday and found it to be the perfect companion game for such an occasion. It is something I could pick up and enjoy for a few minutes to half an hour at a time without the stress of levelling up or acquiring better gear to take on bigger bosses. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is all about discovering its world at your own pace and having the most relaxed time doing so, and like what my 3-year-old daughter said when she watched me play, “it’s beautiful”.

 

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House
House plays pretty much anything and everything but has almost time for nothing. A devout beat’em up fan, House enjoys a round of captain commando every now and then and can never forget spending hours in dark arcades playing warriors of fate after school. Oh yeah, his favourite console of all time is the original Famicom!