My thoughts on That Dragon, Cancer

 spent my weekend building up the nerve to boot up That Dragon, Cancer on my Ouya, and never have I felt so anxious about something like this, in such a long time.

The memories from my very first encounter with the title are still burned into the back of my skull, for better or worse. Knowing that I would be playing this game in a critical capacity, only made the whole thing even more challenging—I mean, how exactly to you review a game that serves as an interactive retelling of a true story about two parents, doing their best to raise their terminally ill child?

The thought of quantifying the quality of this particular title under the conventional criteria of criticism felt demeaning to the message of hardship and love that its story was trying to express.

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PPR Presents The Golden Zonkies: Class of 2015

f 2015 was anything for us, it was the year we all had difficulty with being punctual with our shit—definitely our busiest.

Still, we enjoyed it more than we’ve lead on, and a lot of that had to do with the batch of games that were released last year; we got everything from anticipated blockbusters, to surprise smash hits that we’re STILL talking about.

Which leads us to our annual special from, Press Pause Radio—The Golden Zonkies. We’ve recorded a special mega cast where we give our prestigious mark of excellence, a Golden Zonkey, to the game deserving of recognition towards that respective recognition.

Everything from games to events that saw the light of day in 2015, across fourteen different categories, and we have that very list for you here now. We’ll be plowing through a incredible catalog of choices, debating with one another from beginning to end in this epic podcast, each voicing our vote for the winner of its corresponding category.

The only stipulation in the Golden Zonkies, is that any point, a wild card can be suggested by one of the hosts if majority vote dictates that another nomination is more deserving of the award instead of the choices presently casted.

So without further ado, kick up your feet, and saddle in (because this is a long one) and enjoy the show!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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PPR Presents Play Play: Ultonius: A Tale of Petty Revenge

here’s a fine line between appreciating nostalgia and what it is to you, and celebrating it with a devotion that holds it to the elevated expectations of modern day standards.

Ultonius: A Tale of Petty Revenge, is that weird game example what happens when you blur that line; making it that hot mess that tries to have its old cake, and eat it too.

Which is what makes it kind of cool and obnoxious all the same time—it’s really weird.

Ser and George mull the game over and the subject of old arcade games as we boot up this action title from Last Dimension on the latest installment of Play Play; enjoy!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

PPR Presents Play Play: Downwell

arlier this year at the IGF pavilion booth during GDC 15, George was able to play an assortment of the indie nominations that were showcased to the attendees before the big award show, and he just couldn’t shut up about one in particular.

It was just “Aww man DOWNWELL” this, and “Dude, DOWNWELL” that; it really struck a chord with him. Now that it’s out on iOS and Steam, he just had to do a Play Play of it, and here it is, all by his lonesome because we’ve already heard enough of it.

I’m sure you guy will enjoy though! Check out Downwell right here!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

QCF: Everybody's Gone To The Rapture

s the scene fades in, you stumble out into the tranquil beauty of the Yaughton countryside in Shropshire, England—investigating the irony of an environment that’s devoid of all human life, and yet breaming with the vibrancy of nature itself is the only thing that keep the unsettling tone from escalating into anything that.

This is the landscape of The Chinese Room’s latest adventure game, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, a disorienting mystery behind the disappearance of an entire village, and the grisly clues that have been left behind—it’s an experience that will leave you thinking, and somewhat shaken.

From the people behind the atmospheric voyage of Dear Esther, the independent studio places a different spin on the apocalypse concept that no other title has slowed down enough to explore in great detail—the human condition.

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QCF: RPG Maker MV

t some point in a gamers life comes the moment where they say to themselves (or anyone who may be in the room “Screw this game, I could make one way better than this shit!”. Many gamers will then continue on playing their games without another thought, others will go out and build from scratch what becomes their life's work. And then you have the rest—we range from those who could build from scratch to those who know that controllers have at least 8 buttons

For us such people we have game creation programs. There are many different types of game creators out there for all kinds of different genres but probably the most well-known of these programs is RPG Marker, which had its initial released back in December of 1992 as RPG Tsukuru Dante 98. It has had several updates and releases and I had the chance to play around with the latest Version RPG Maker MV from Degica.

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QCF: Beyond Eyes

here’s an intriguing sense of irony that comes with a video game attempting to recreate the hindrances of blindness, with mechanics built around simulating the hardships and frustrations that come such an affliction—that shit is rough, and just thought of such a thing sends shivers down my spine.

Which leads us to the an indie title from the studio Tiger & Squid, called Beyond Eyes; a bold look at the routines and adversities of a blind ten year old girl named Rae, and the journey she makes to find her place in the world under the status quo of being forever blind.

The concept is as intriguing as it is committed, and it’s bound to shed some light (or lack of so to speak) on perspective that most would never think to empathize on—but that only carries something like this so far, and unfortunately, the endearment of Beyond Eyes doesn’t last long enough to warrant the trouble.

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QCF: Submerged

f there’s one thing that any action video game needs, it’s a sense of stimulus, something that engages a reaction, and response to whatever’s happening on screen, and more often than not, the very first go to for the violent route—good old fashioned combat.

So imagine if you will, a title that endorses action and peril, but no combat, or violence of any kind to threaten you? It’s a game that completely relies on the agency of exploration and world building in a story that’s centers around the human condition during a time of tragedy, and hopelessness.

This is Submerged from Uppercut Games, an apocalyptic setting with veiled premise that attributes global warming to be the culprit behind the tragic setting, where a woman and her injured little one find what little refuge they can within a dilapidated building that’s floating alongside the remains of buildings for miles, upon miles in view.

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