Let's Play Snowdrift

Not all games have to be made by big gaming houses or producers in order to have quality. Snowdrift is an example of a game that has a good premise and a decent antagonist, a creepy vibe and actual gameplay mechanics worth indulging. It is, unfortunately, limited by its indie origins and lack of a budget, but Snowdrift has the core of being something interesting.

It stars Sam, the lone survivor in a world being overcome by a progressive darkness. Each day there's less and less sunlight, and Sam, being a survivalist, has to hunt the woods for berries and rabbit to eat, water to drink, and wood to keep his fire lit. Should the fire in his home ever go out over night, the darkness will set in entirely and insanity will take over, ending Sam's journey. However, if you can survive long enough, there's a chance you may be able to overcome this nightmare.

Time is your greatest enemy. You have to be back home before dark sets in. There's a lamp you can use to light your way in the forest, but it has a limited amount of fuel, and will eventually run out as the days and weeks roll by. However, you can't just stay locked up in your home. Sam has a thirst and hunger meter that he needs to fill. Bushes throughout the forest provide berries, but they only satisfy a little of his hunger. To really fill his stomach you'll need to hunt rabbit, but they usually only appear during the night, which means having to use the limited life of your lamp.

Each action requires stamina, and once it's used up you won't be able to take any actions and Sam will move slower. This really hampers him when darkness is approaching and you need to get back home. If you've forgotten to put wood on the fire when nighttime comes, you won't be able to chop wood for it if you're out of stamina, which is a guaranteed way to die overnight. In the same way, thirst will hamper you, but it's easier to fill your thirst bar. There's a pool not far from Sam's home and you have a bottle you can fill.

As the days roll by, Sam will experience auditory and visual hallucinations, hear strange knockings and even be visited by demonic entities. There's a way to survive all this, but I'd be spoiling the game if I told you how. It's got some good scares, though, so if you have an hour of time to invest, give an indie developer a try and let Snowdrift put the fear of the dark back in you.

Let's Play Sword & Sworcery

Alright, so enough reading. This is my official review of Sword & Sworcery. I know, I know, it's been out for a while. But if you haven't played it, check the review, see the clips, hear the amazing narration. I kid I kid.

Let's Play Sword & Sworcery Part 01

It's rare when a story, in any medium, invokes the most primitive images of humankind in order to convey its tale. Whether in books, movies or games, characters are normally fleshed out and plots made intricate and detailed. However, sometimes the best stories are the ones that allow us to fill in the gaps. Journey, the most highly downloaded game on the Playstation Network, is one of those games. However, Sword & Sworcery also ranks among them, and rightfully so. A barebones plot detailing the adventure of a warrior Scythian in search of Gold Trigons, the Megatome and the destruction of the Gogolithic Mass, it is a tale pitting protagonist against antagonist without going into much detail.

While some people might think that a weakness of the game's story, it's actually quite a strength. Fairytale stories, such as the Chronicles of Narnia, would allude to larger worlds without actually exploring them. This allowed the reader to populate that world with their own imaginations. Sword & Sworcery does the same, allowing you to venture out and explore a world, seeking the destruction of an ethereal foe. Why? It does not matter. It only matters that the foe is mostly a symbol, one conveying death and destruction. Why root for the protagonist? It does not matter. All that matters is she is a symbol, one representing life and protection of the innocent.

There is a game here, of course, that involves more than just wandering about. It is like an adventure game, in that there is a world to explore and inventory items to use, but this is applied minimally. Then again, so is the combat system, which takes cues from Mike Tyson's Punchout and asks the player to respond to intricate timing and gestures initiated by the various foes of the world. Finally, there are search games involving cuing up musical notes in order to invoke Sylvan Sprites and forward the plot. These might seem like disparate elements, but in the world of Sword & Sworcery they combine elegantly, and allow you to feel involved in it. As the Scythian, you do all this, stumbling on hints of lore and legend that fascinate and propel you forward.

It is definitely a game worth playing, especially now that it has transitioned from the iPad to PC. However, this is a Let's Play! So I kindly invite you to watch my playthrough of Sword & Sworcery. This is part one of two parts of coverage. Let's do this.