I am eagerly looking forward to two indie games. One was released yesterday, and one will be released today. The former is The Incident at Galley House (Willim Rous/Evil Trout Inc.), and the latter is Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit (Spry Fox). As I thought, I can not yet return to Schrödinger’s Call (Acrobatic Chirimenjako) because each chapter takes so much out of me.
I want to be clear that this is not a complaint–not at all. I am appreciative that this game is maknig me feel things. I just have to pace myself because I have a hunch it’s only going to get sadder from here on out. Sadder and weightier.
Let’s talk about the two games I mentioned in the first paragraph. The first is by the devs who did The Roottrees are Dead. I loved that game, and it made me feel clever. However, I did what I always do, which was to binge it until I finished it, and then I felt slightly sick. It was as if I had over-indulged. I went right into the DLC, but after about twenty minutes, I had to stop. It wasn’t the DLC; it was me. I had burned myself out on it, and I just could not do any more of it.
Hm. I might be able to go back to it now.
Anyway.
Their new game.
It’s not a new game, exactly. Last year, they had a text-based game called Type Help. I had heard of it, but I did not play it. People in the Discord who have played it were raving about it, but I’m just not big on text-based games. I love to read, but not when I’m trying to play a game. I don’t know why, but that’s just how it is.
This is…not the sequel to it, exactly. It’s an adaptation with a glow-up and some extra content, apparently. I don’t know much about it because I don’t watch trailers for games I know I’m going to play if the games are mysteries or need you to go in unspoiled. I had heard that this is definitely a game that you don’t want to know anything about before playing, much like The Roottrees are Dead was.
I know it’s a murder mystery. That’s all I know about it. The graphics are good from what I’ve seen–which again, isn’t much. I’m trying to avoid everything, and that means that I know very little about it. There are 59 reviews on Steam, and they are Very Positive. That’s the extent of what I know about the game.
As for the second game. I’m so excited about it, but I’m also apprehensive. Why? There are so many reasons. First of all, Spry Fox, the devs, were bought by Netflix (willingly, I hastily add) after the success of their first game, Cozy Grove. Which, by the way, is on my list of top five favorite non-From games of all time. I think I have it at fourth. It was my go-to game for so many days in a row, and after my medical crisis, it was one of my comfort games.
I can’t say enough good things about it, and I was so looking forward to the sequel. Then, Spry Fox announced that they were being bought by Netflix for their (the latter’s) new games department (which, uh, did not work out well for them–Netflix, I mean). That meant the sequel was exclusive to Netflix. That would not have been a problem if they had a desktop application of it or a way to download it, but they didn’t.
It was a mobile game, and I don’t do mobile games. I did a cat one for a while, but that was just buying food, toys, and homes for the cats. And doing special things for different cats.
At some point, Netflix had a beta for their gaming desktop (or whatever. Gaming panel?). At any rate, I was able to play Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit–by the way. It’s interesting that it’s not called a sequel with a number in the title. My guess is because Netflix wanted to pretend that there wasn’t a prior game to the one they were publishing. I have absolutely no evidence of this, but it makes sense to me.
I have talked about how I felt about what I’ve played of Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit. In the first game, one of my biggest gripe was how grindy the grind was. I got the idea that it was in-real time, and I was down with it. However, the first two weeks at least were so painful, grind-wise. It’s a delicate balance between making the grind hard, but manageable and making it feel hopless and, well, cruel.
I’m sure they got a lot of complaints about it because it was much different in the sequel. I also am sure that Netflix told them they could not do that again. The real-time days in-game, I mean. Look. Netflix is a huge corporation. They’re all about making money. In fact, I thought it was odd that they chose to buy Spry Fox in the first place.
I personally love the game, but it doesn’t scream mainstream to me. It’s about helping stuck people get unstuck and moving on, which isn’t what most people want to do when they play a game–I don’t think?
I feel like Netflix had a heavy hand on Spry Fox’s shoulder during the making of this game. There was so much friction in the first game, and there is none in this one. In the first game, it would take so long to finish a quest. Many real days since you could only do so much each day. I am sure that Netflix didn’t want any of that nonsense in a game they were publishing. They want people to play it and keep playing it. They want it as frictionless as possible, and I think that’s why the quests are so much shorter.
I get it; I really do. I mean, I understand why Netflix wanted a game that was easy to play and didn’t put any obstacles in the way of the consumer/user/viewer. However, that defeats the whole purpose of the game, really. It’s about the journey and how you usher the NPCs on their last journey.
I will write more tomorrow.