October 19
Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write about some of the games we’ve been playing over the past few days. We’ve moved it to the regular Saturday slot to give it a little more breathing time – we’re sorry if you came looking for it on Friday. This week, after solving some puzzles on our cabin vacation, we returned to a forgotten game and tried to find some grip on tight turns on the snow. What games have you played?
Check out older versions of this column in our What We’ve Been Playing archives.
Sea to Sky Island, PC (Steam Deck)
I was on vacation last week and did almost nothing except hole up in the country cabin we stayed in to read and play video games. It was fantastic, partly because it rained 80% of the time we were there, and there’s nothing better than getting cozy under a warm blanket, drinking an endless supply of tea, and enjoying a good game. The excellent game in question is the very excellent Island of Sea and Sky, which launched earlier this year and begs the question: “What if The Witness was a game all about Sokoban puzzles?” , and look a bit like “Link’s Awakening” in the process?”
It’s very good, and well worth checking out if you’re looking for a clever puzzle game to mull over now that the nights are drawing in and Game of the Year discussions are approaching. It keeps a certain distance from a lot of the story – your long-haired, loinclothed hero just washes up on the beach one day, constantly seeing what I can only assume is a beautiful lady in the distance, but seeing only evil Ominous sight of snake demon. When he finally caught up with them. I’m only halfway through the game now, so I’m assuming this is all for some kind of wider revelation, no doubt sealed behind a gate on the central island with four godlike guardians painted on it, I Had to gain their strength before I could get through it.
But even if it does seem a bit too clunky on its own, the Sokoban-style block-pushing puzzles you need to solve in order to gain access to said abilities are just great little brain teasers. They start out simple, but then you start encountering blocks and obstacles with other game-changing properties, and before long you’re visiting islands where blocks can turn into raging torrents or linger on lava for too long. Explode over time, or turn into roly-poly golems that can shunt or destroy other blocks when they hit them. The amount of stuff going on here is staggering, which makes peeling back the layers of ocean and sky feel all the more mysterious. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I know I’ll be working on it over the next few weeks.
-Catherine
A little to the left, Xbox Series X
Time flies wonderfully, doesn’t it? Last weekend, I thought I’d jump back into A Little Left, a meditative puzzle game set in Max Inferno and Secret Mode, and I figured I’d better get on with it before leaving it for too long. You ask me when was the last time I played it? Well, it looks like it’s February. oops. Anyway, it was only eight months – no time really.
Other, more substantial games were a bit distracting in my opinion. God of War Ragnarok took me a long time, Alan Wake 2 sadly became a bit difficult, Resident Evil 4 Remake was great, and Astro Bot is a must-play right now. Yeah, I guess I did dabble in a lot of other games, like Starfighter 2, Diablo 4, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and No One Wants to Die. Well, I’m sorry for being a little left, I should have gotten back to you earlier, but I’ve done that now. Get over it.
This little fake argument I’m having with myself is really just to contrast the perfect zen vibe that “A Little Left” gives off. Yes, it’s a puzzle game where you have to organize or arrange objects in the “right” way to unlock the next stage, but it’s also a puzzle game where organizing your desk is a chore Same. Putting everything in its right place releases those “ahhh” hormones (I’m no scientist, but I’d say… dopamine?), and you get the same feeling when you sort through some files or organize some jars . To the left.
If you think this all sounds a bit simple, think again. That’s not the case, but somehow it’s not depressing. If you want to give A Little to the Left a try, everything is available for you, including Game Pass.
-Tom O
Rally 3, Nintendo Switch
Driving home from a Dom Joly show in the evening, listening to Kavinsky on my 1.2 Eco mode (yes, I love the movie Drive), I was inspired to start playing some driving games. I recently got into Switch again and discovered Brownmonster’s Rush Rally 3.
Rush Rally gave me a slightly lumpy nostalgia that I didn’t know I was craving at the Sega Rally arcade at my local climbing center. I say blocky because, while it’s smooth on a high-end phone, it’s difficult on a handheld device. I had to pull back some of the graphics a bit (yes, you can adjust them on the Switch), and I think I like it better for that reason. I was terrible at the race and crashed on almost every hairpin turn, but it was rewarding when I finally got into the corner without hitting a bunch of logs or going off a cliff experience.
built by one person, and Switch only £11.99 (Currently discounted for just £3.19), I really can’t recommend it enough for anyone who just needs a quick fix of racing nostalgia.
-Will B (Behind the Scenes Daily Breaking the Rules)