Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (Review)

Written by Michael Flaherty. Posted in Articles, Reviews

Yonder on Nintendo Switch is the perfect game to unwind with. One part Skyrim, one part Animal Crossing with a few sprinkles of Minecraft thrown in, this open world adventure takes you to an island plagued by poison clouds called the Murk. And by take you to, I mean it crashes your boat headfirst into the island. From there, the story is mostly what you make of it, with a heavy focus on exploring the games many distinct areas. The game controls and runs fine on the Switch, though I noticed a few framerate drops in docked mode. However, I spent most of the game playing in handheld mode, where the relaxed atmosphere and music were the most calming. The main quest line involves completing 3 specific fetch quests to repair the titular “Cloud Catcher”, but how you get to that point is up to you.

It really is a beautiful world.

Yonder is the first title by Australian studio Prideful Sloth. Despite being their first title, the studio’s devs have a long, impressive pedigree. The lead developer Cheryl Vance is an industry veteran who has worked on a number of large titles like Devil May Cry and the DJ Hero franchise. Joining Cheryl to round out the team are Joel Styles (Bioshock, Elder Scrolls Oblivion and Guitar Hero Two) and John Northwood, who has 10 years industry experience.

As I had said earlier, the story is mostly what you make of it. The main quest around removing the murk is… ok. It’s not compelling and probably the biggest issue with the entire game. The subplot about finding your missing parents comes out of nowhere and was lost on me because it wasn’t mentioned for the entire game and is thrown at you right at the end. The other subplot about finding your missing crew also leaves something to be desired. The dialogue between characters is believable and is only exaggerated to the point of a standard RPG. Most of the side quests involve crafting, finding a location, or are fetch quests. They feel unique and offer enough variety and spacing to help amplify the relaxed pace of the main quest. They allowed the perfect opportunity to let me lean back in my chair and just enjoy the world. It’s worth noting I played most of this game sitting in an airport and on a plane in the middle seat, and the music, gameplay, and world were immersive enough to help me Zen out and ignore the noisy children two rows behind me. The music of the game reminds me a lot of the Legend of Zelda: Windwaker; it was appropriately atmospheric without being distracting.

Most relaxing game of the year?

The biggest standout of Yonder is the lack of a combat system. Going in, I wasn’t sure how I would enjoy a game without combat because I’m not a fan of fetch quests generally, and having no combat seemed like a recipe for all of the fetch quests, but I had a good time. The game is immersive, and time flies both in real life and the game world with changing seasons. Stumbling into one town just in time to go trick or treating was a pleasant surprise during the fall. By discovering small details like this, most of my enjoyment of Yonder came from exploration. A lot of quests send you to the other side of the map, and I found myself getting distracted and frequently ignoring my quests to explore the world Prideful Sloth created. Each one of the game’s 8 biomes had a distinct feel and atmosphere that kept me entertained and engaged for the entirety of the time I spent playing the game.

This style of game isn’t for everyone, but if you want to play a game to relax, or if you enjoy the combat-free, Animal Crossing style of gameplay, you’d be hard pressed to find a better indie title on the Switch.

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Fox n Forests: A spritely trip down memory lane

Written by Gary Froniewski. Posted in Articles, Reviews

In a time when retro rules everything around us, there are plenty of artists and developers trying to evoke the feeling of memories past in their audiences. Bonus Level Entertainment takes this idea to the nth degree in Fox n Forests by creating a game that’s a nostalgic feast in everything from its music and art design to its combat and platforming mechanics.

These screenshots don’t do the game justice

Although it doesn’t break much new ground, Fox n Forests is a charming adventure that does a lot of things right. The story centers around a fox named Rick (naturally) who is tasked with recovering pieces of magical bark to restore power to a lovely, old fellow called the Season Tree. Rick finds these pieces of magical bark by exploring different zones around the world which represent different seasons. This theme is where Fox n Forests’ core game play concept (one of the most interesting things about the game’s design) comes in.

The Season Tree gives Rick the power to bend the seasons to his will early in the game, offering him the ability to turn a beautiful spring landscape into a somber frozen wasteland at the snap of his finger. Not only does this make for some interesting level design, but it also contributes greatly to the game play. By changing the seasons during each level, Rick can take advantage of alternate routes, monsters may disappear or come to life, or new paths could open up entirely. Staying in that level’s alternate season consumes mana (which also serves as ammunition for your magic bow), so being conservative and planning your route is key.

The changing of the seasons does more than uncovering secrets or altering combat; it makes things interesting. Changing the season offers new, alternate traversal options. You may be confronted with a gap that seemingly has no way across, but transforming the level to fall welcomes giant leaves floating lazily across the chasm for you to jump on. The game is full of moments like this which really allow the game’s core concept to shine, and when you’re used to switching back and forth between seasons it’s a pretty cool feeling quickly manipulating them as you make your way around the level. This time-bending game play is accompanied by strong (if not standard) combat and platforming mechanics that control comfortably throughout. You’ll have your fair share of jumping, slashing, shooting, and dying, and it all feels familiar in a very Aladdin-throwing-apples kind of way.

Over the course of Rick’s adventure, he can spend his hard-earned coin to unlock new potions and abilities for his melee crossbow. You begin the game with a single melee attack, but as you play you’ll earn more moves to add to Rick’s arsenal. These additions allow for previously tough levels to be tackled with flair, and it’s quite rewarding returning to a place that once stumped you only to make quick work of the monsters within on your second run.

Completing zones gives Rick new types of magic arrows that let him gain access to previously locked areas. This offers a great reason to go back and explore old levels, but it’s also where my one major complaint with the game comes in. These secret areas often contain magic seedlings and other goodies to collect. Normally this would be a welcome distraction and a good reason to return to older areas, but your progress in the main story is locked behind finding these seedlings. Since you can’t continue on your journey without the requisite number of seedlings, sometimes it feels like you’re forced to return to old areas rather than being compelled by curiosity. Granted, if you end up finding all the seedlings in a zone you gain access to that zone’s bonus area, so you may want to go back in the end either way. It just didn’t feel great having to backtrack when I was keen on continuing my quest.

Overall, Fox n Forests does a great job of putting the player into a nostalgic state of 16-bit bliss with its gorgeous pixel art and classic platforming mechanics. The game is accompanied by a retro soundtrack of digital plucks and whirrs that will have you humming along even when you’re not playing, and it seems like just that type of fond tone that Bonus Level is trying to strike with every decision they make. It’s a real treat in both its visual presentation and sound design, offering a modern take on an era of gaming that’s well-loved. It’s not perfect by any means, but if you’re a 90s kid looking for a solid action romp reminiscent of the SNES days, then Fox n Forests is definitely worth a look!

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“Big Time Business” by Good Co – A Surly Review

Written by Cory Martin. Posted in Articles, Reviews

Horns! Suspenders! Sequined Cocktail Dresses! And yes, Fat Beats! Good Co is back with their subversively modern spin on swing in this, their third record release. The Surly Nerd is proud to review: Big Time Business.

For the uninitiated, Good Co consists of a substantial number of musicians performing electro-swing. If the term “electro-swing” isn’t sufficiently self-explanatory, our run-down for the last record should bring you up to snuff. Genre labels are functional in both directions; bands and artists can manifest their craft with more clarity of vision and audiences can connect to creative works which check all the right boxes (for them). Good Co still firmly operates within the electro-swing genre, but inhabit it more naturally while remaining free to even dabble in a bit of soul and samba. “Holding On” sways right into some some spooky, lounge music territory. Arpeggiated synths sweep up and down the track and combine with some excellent trombone work—an interesting detour from the more typical, jittery types of dance songs.

The modern touches mesh progressively better with each track. “Set Me Free” springs straight out of the 30’s. The modern mastering and thumping bass are its only giveaway. Crisp production serves to sufficiently ground the record as a modern work without alienating its more antique flourishes. The more subtle the electronic influence, the more malleable and easily interpreted the track. That said, I expect to spot a few remixes from this record.

Having lauded Good Co’s ability to thread the needle of old and new, it must be said how treacherous the path can become. Good Co operate in a weird space. No, I don’t mean Seattle (though similarities can be drawn). To be clear, Good Co is, quite simply, a good band. That’s more important than any genre labels with which they might associate. For all its usefulness, the Electro Swing genre seems to be a polarizing element. Anything that offers an easy shortcut to judgement of a work without ever actually interacting with the work in question is a persistent danger. Case in point, this asshole. I mean, damn. What did fun, dance-y, horn driven music ever do to that fella? Nothing that warrants that many words in protest of people trying to have a good time. Legendary curmudgeon Patton Oswalt got over himself as regards to detesting music that doesn’t suit his tastes. Let any bloggers with an axe to grind follow his example.

The only frustrations I suffer are inconsistent vocals and lyrics. Otherwise stellar instrumentation gets dragged down by lifeless or stilted vocal performances. It’s frustrating to really dig into a fantastic sax solo only to be brought up short by a clunky vocal melody or awkward verse. Those issues aside, there’s a lot to enjoy. Listen to “Ride With Me” on a roadtrip and try to tell me a good time won’t be had for the duration. Those shuffling beats and muted horns insist on joy. “Breaking Out” toys with gospel conceits so playfully I can’t help but smile.

…Damn, now I want a Highball.

You can find out more about Good Co by visiting their website. They can also be found on Facebook and Soundcloud.

When Cory isn’t being tied to a chair and forced to write reviews for our site, he can be found all around Houston playing music for one of the several bands he is in, like Golden City Music. You can also stalk him on Twitter, here. Look forward to more reviews from him in the future. 

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Transformers 4, why it’s a Fucking Masterpiece

Written by El J Hause. Posted in Articles, Reviews

Let me just start by saying, Transformers 4 is a fucking masterpiece, the must see hit of 2014.

• Marky Mark kills a grown man with a football.
• Marky Mark parries a blow from a 40 foot tall robot using a broadsword.
•  There’s an Oreos robot now.
•  My favorite dialogue of the movie:
  • Marky Mark: You can’t come in here, you don’t have a warrant!
  • CIA Guy: -rips off his douchebag shades- My FACE is my warrant!
• After another tedious emotional scene between Marky Mark and his daughter, my wife poked me in the ribs and then mimed beating off and jizzing at the screen.
• Optimus Prime will not kill humans. Unless they’re in cars.
• Fucking everything explodes. TJ Miller shows up and you think there may be a silver lining to this movie, and then he explodes.
• Their design team needs to hire at least 3 times as many Asians. Everything is so douchey and crass and inelegant and made up of a thousand shitty looking pieces. Speaking of which, all of the Asians in this movie know martial arts. They meet a random Chinese guy in an elevator and he can do “Fist of The North Star” punches.
• Most of the Transformers now have grotesque human faces, hair and/or beards, only made out of metal. It looks worse than I’m making it sound.

The many faces of Transformers 4 Actress, Nicola Peltz
• The female lead in this movie is bafflingly, even less likable than Megan Fox. She is 70% spray tan, 30% tears and permanently looks like she’s about to blow somebody. Breathe through your fucking nose! Oh and her boyfriend literally carries a copy of a statutory rape loophole in his wallet. I’m not joking.
• It’s the longest movie ever made. After the first 2 weeks of it, I asked my wife if it was ever going to end, or if we just lived here now.
• Marky Mark makes a lot of speeches, every one of them a huge “Fuck You” to logic.
• The Autobots fight their way into Stanley Tucci’s evil Steve Jobs factory to kill him, but then he’s mean to them, so they get sad and leave.
• 
  All of the Autobots are assholes now. Optimus Prime yells “I’ll kill you!” almost constantly and the Ken Watanabe one threatens to slit Bumblebee’s throat because he doesn’t like his eyes.
• Decepticons are now flying clouds of re-configurable nanocubes made of…-sigh-  “Transformium” (melted down Autobots).  The cubes can change into a handgun, wireless Beats By Dre speakers and Rainbow Dash, but they spend most of their time as sports sedans.
• Offensive Black Robot Jr. yells, “Free at last!” at one point.
• Transformers 4 isn’t quite the 3 hour blowjob to the US Armed Forces that the other 3 were, but Optimus Prime does end the movie by saying that the humans are just trying to “Be all that they can be”.  Again, I’m not joking.
• As much as we enjoyed it though, there was a table with Michael Bay’s exact target audience sitting behind us that cracked up at every shitty gag in the movie. There’s a scene where Bumblebee loses his grip on something and says “Uh-oh!” as he starts to fall; this dude nearly pissed himself laughing. I didn’t actually see the guy, but I’m pretty confident he was wearing a Tapout hoodie over an Affliction t-shirt.
• The Dinobots are legitimately badass, easily worth watching the movie for. There isn’t much of them, but there’s more of them than there is of Godzilla in Godzilla.

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“The Kicker” by Good Co – A Surly album review

Written by James C Smith. Posted in Articles, Reviews

So, “What is Electro Swing?” you may be asking yourself, much like I did when my Surly Nerd pals asked me to review this album. To answer this query, it seemed the logical first step was to give the record itself a first listen. The “swing” half of the genre is heavily apparent. Sassy jazz vocals, lots of brass and big band arrangements have been lovingly sampled. On the other side of the coin is the “electro” half, wherein the very swingin’ 1940s big band instrumentation gets chopped and rearranged with a healthy dose of synths and electronic percussion layered throughout. And sure enough, with a quick look at good ‘ol Wikipedia, it seems like Good Co is successfully articulating the genre:

Electro swing is a musical genre fusing swing styles with contemporary production techniques including house, hip hop, EDM and more. Contemporary artists of the genre incorporate loops, samples, melodies and styles from the swing, jazz and big band era (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_swing).

What you hear is usually dancy and impressively high energy, given that swing music is hardly sedate to begin with. On “The Kicker”, the samples are well chosen and the digital production is deftly executed. It may not be “new”-new, but it’s new in the way our generation strives for novelty, and it’s certainly fun.

A little taste of Electro Swing at its finest

“Through the Door”, the first track, hooks you into the sound and introduces the varied elements that form the core of the album. A jittery horn intro drops you right into a thumping, two-step swing beat that would feel at home on any dance track. When the vocals command you to “swing, swing”, one is happy to oblige.

Skewing toward nostalgia-drenched while remaining modern enough to be novel is no small feat.

For me, the two aspects that mark Good Co as exceptional within this fairly narrow genre are the live horn players and original vocals. Slipping back and forth between the very timeworn sound of old swing records and crisp new horn sections helps stitch together a convincing connection between disparate elements.

“Lou’s New Suit” has some impressive horn work. It is refreshing to hear a clarinet solo–and it’s quite a good one, at that. Too much material from the 30’s and your record begins to simply sound like a dj’s remix project, not so much a band with its own members and ideas. Good Co cleverly avoids this pitfall. The sonic digital collages that DJs create are amazing in their own right, but even Daft Punk reached a point–leading up to the production of “Random Access Memories”–where they wanted to mix in plenty of flesh and blood musicians.

The mash-up culture that has flourished in the last few decades is an inevitable reaction to so much accumulated history of art and music. The 90’s swing revival leaned more heavily toward homage than evolution, but the legacy that movement left persists. Entirely unique elements of music remain elusive, but the right approach, with a clever mix of otherwise unrelated styles, synthesizes a new material that transcends its original components. Dubstep is a kind of remix logical extremity that I’m surprised artists were able to follow and still be successful. But it’s a solid formula. You’re on the right path when the sum is greater than the parts.

Given how much I enjoyed this record, my only reservations arise when the preciousness of the swing era pastiche overreach and turn things a bit too twee. For instance, “Paper Tiger” is a fun exercise in cheeky storytelling, but I doubt I’ll be eager to hear it again outside of a live show. That said, it’s a minor bump in an otherwise remarkably smooth and entertaining ride.

I can’t sign off without mentioning that I played this record over my bar’s sound system afterhours. Though the choice was, ostensibly, so that I could listen to it a few times in different settings, it won my co-workers over quite thoroughly. Not a bad sign for a record, I have to say.

Our ears are in good company listening to this album

You can find out more about Good Co by visiting their website. They can also be found on Facebook and Soundcloud.  When Cory isn’t being tied to a chair and forced to write reviews for our site, he can be found all around Houston playing music for one of the several bands he is in. Look forward to more reviews from him in the future. 

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