The biggest event of the year marked our official evolution from Video Game Choo Choo to Gamesline, including a new look, new format—but still the same old us—and it only went up from there!

It may be cheesy to say it was all possible Thanks to Viewers Like You, but we are truly grateful for all of our longstanding supporters for sticking around and we can only give a warm welcome to all of our new ones.

So thanks for hopping on and staying on board!

Podcasts

We wrapped up our last podcast as “Video Game Choo Choo”, a timely end as we mourned and clutched on to the memory of (former) twin flame Gamer Goo’s own rebranding to something sinister.

We debuted our first podcast as “Gamesline” as Wizards of the Coast continues to be cartoonishly diabolical and getting the first glimpses into Armored Core VI.

We started gathering some friends to join us on our game chats, such as ROBBYDUDE, Ty Galiz-Rowe, Trex and LumberJackson. We have been inviting even more cool folks over, as John and Scott even took on the liberties of chatting with the Duke Nukem Forever: Restoration Foundation for Starlight Car.

We unexpectedly have gone nuts over a Pinocchio game, and now have to live in a world where Family Guy is in Fortnite.

In Unlimited Rail Works, our anime podcast, we continue to be haunted by more impending isekai nonsense and a fresh start of stinkers by watching the FLCL sequels. We continue to sabotage ourselves with the insanity of Teekyu and beg the universe who asked for another Smartphone isekai season.

We finally have a period of normalcy, though not too long after are faced with the release Migi and Dali and another old pick with Hellsing Ultimate. We end with a very artistic watch of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.

Patreons have gained more fun exclusives, on top of first dibs on even more special spoilercasts, but a new wrestling-dedicated podcast called The Clothesline.

Reviews

Rose calls out The Callisto Protocol for its lack of substance.

Similarly, John is disappointed by the potential that ANNO: Mutationem missed, with little to say about SCPs.

Scott ran through the recent history of wrestling games and why everything was riding on AEW: Fight Forever, a game that did not deliver.

Franny relishes in grief and memory through Mojiken Studios’ A Space for the Unbound, while also feeling the love for language in Chants of Sennaar.

Several of us were impressed by Lies of P, and Maverick validates this with his own review of the Soulslike game.

Features and Essays

Solon went full meta on the just as strange followup to Big Z Studios’ Hypnospace Outlaw, the in-universe game, Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath.

Franny taps into the zeitgeist on how WASTE EATER says so much within so little playtime.

Spencer reminisced on a playthrough experience of Pathologic.

Walker ponders the setbacks on limited time events and breaks down the pivotal role that music has in fighting games.

Videos

We popped off spring with our first, live ceremony rendition of our annual Game of the Year—and officially it marked off as our last game of the year as “Video Game Choo Choo.”

The teamwork of Solon and Franny brought some pretty intense coverage of PAX West 2022.

Scott took to the streams, spooking himself by trying out Hideo Kojima’s P.T. for the very first time. Even more spookier, is that people also really wanted us to play more Redfall, much to our dismay.

He also took us on a grand return to the Together BnB and the caverns of Gollum’s sick, twisted mind. #GollumGame

And as 2023 came to an end, so sadly came an end to Solon’s tenure on the track—but he managed to grant us one last big gift by also covering PAX West 2023 with the returning assistance of Franny.

The post Gamesline’s Highlights of 2023 appeared first on Gamesline.

As always you can support us on our patreon, and follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo, @John_Michonski, @lvmaeparian, @SolaireHazard and @solonface

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to podcast@videogamechoochoo.com, via twitter with the hashtag #AskVGCC or into our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Hipcast, Direct Download or listen below!

The post VGCC Episode 277: The Cover Flush appeared first on Gamesline.

As always you can support us on our patreon, follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo , @Solonface, @SocksMahoney, and @John_Michonski
Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to podcast@videogamechoochoo.com, or into our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask
You can also join our discord channel at thegamezone.zone !

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Hipcast, Direct Download or listen below!

The post VGCC Episode 247: Eponymous Hog appeared first on Gamesline.

We kick things off on day One of Game of the Year with our awards for Best Music, Audio, Visuals, and Presentation.

Best Music: Deltarune

Runners-up: Celeste, Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Toby Fox’s familiar music style is readily available in Deltarune, continuing to be a pleasant treat and easily enjoyable for anyone into Undertale’s soundtrack. Although a number of tracks are slight remixes of songs from Undertale, the foundation of that game’s soundtrack in the form of musical leitmotifs and repeated callbacks aren’t present. Instead, tracks are more immediate and tend to feel more active, with flair and upbeat energy throughout. You’re no longer partaking in an adventure by yourself; you’re leading that adventure forward with others. The music does a great job to reflect this, even if the difference doesn’t make itself too evident. No matter how long it takes for the rest of Deltarune to come out, the music for its first chapter already makes a lasting impression as the best of 2018.

Best Audio: Tetris Effect

Runners-up: Celeste, Wandersong

Tetris Effect was a stirring experience right near the end of 2018, and it may be hard to put a finger on exactly what was so affecting about it- well, actually it isn’t. It’s the sound design. Without any kind of interesting narrative or metagame implemented, it would have been just another Tetris, but this game is carried entirely on the back of an incredible sound palette that evolves as you play. All of your most important button presses add new colors and emotions to the evolving soundscape, and it’s hard to tell how far you’ve come in a level until the next level begins and you are left with a new blank canvas of silence to work from.

My favorite level is this snowy level that I always call Disney’s Frozen 2: Would You Like To Build A Russian Snow-wall? -it starts with nature sounds of wind and snow crunching underfoot and then builds into the game’s distinct pulsing EDM with really satisfying transitions and hooks that feel like you are climbing a big faux-Disney-Tetris-mountain. Although, we really could have done with a more sensitive approach to the “World” tracks that end up largely reducing continents of people to the sounds of tribal chanting, the sounds of Tetris Effect transforms a well-beloved classic into something entirely new and unheard of before.

Best Visuals: Forza Horizon 4

Runners-up: Return of the Obra Dinn, Lucah: Born of a Dream

There’s no denying that Forza Horizon 4 is absolutely gorgeous – Though there are plenty of beautiful, scenic vistas for you to scope out while zooming around, and four seasons with their own distinct and beautiful looks – the real winner for Horizon 4’s visuals is the ability to design liveries for vehicles. The possibilities within the engine are virtually limitless, and with an insanely creative and talented community at Forza’s core, the dream of driving around the UK in a Lamborghini covered with pictures of your favorite Touhou character is more accessible than ever. The creativity of Forza’s community is practically infinite, and while I don’t understand just how these talented folks managed to create a perfect image of Hatsune Miku for every type of vehicle, I absolutely appreciate how easy it is to import these decals, and make a lifted pickup truck with pictures of the virtual idol all over it.

Best Presentation: Dragon Ball FighterZ

Runners-up: Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion, Deltarune

Everything about Dragon Ball FighterZ oozes Dragon Ball – down to the admittedly silly choice for a title. The faux 2d visuals, the absolutely iconic sounds, and the pure love for the game’s source material create a fighting game that goes even further beyond. Pair this with an incredibly easy-to-grasp control scheme, and you’ll be flying around the stages recreating classic moments in virtually no time – especially with the Dramatic Intros and Finishes, providing an ingame recreation – or re-imagining – of famous moments from the anime. Dragon Ball FighterZ presents an experience unlike any other ensuring that when it all comes together, you feel like you are Goku.

The post Game of the Year Awards 2018: Day One appeared first on Gamesline.

I think that is a clear description?? I think they are in Tokyo? It’s a game about the horrors inherent to self-actualization, like coming to terms with death, or denouncing god. There is a LOT happening in this game and most of it is evoked through the grungy atmosphere and aggressive tone more than literal text.

The main core of Lucah is a top-down character action game where you will mix light-attacks, heavy-attacks, parries, and guard breaks in order to fight myriad monsters with their own mix of melee attacks, charge attacks, and projectiles. In combat you are managing health, stamina, and your ability meter to maximize your damage output. You can allocate different types of resources to build different styles of combat, and if you run into failure it comes at a ‘steep cost’ but not one that feels like you’ve wasted your time hopelessly. That ‘steep cost’ is probably the most interesting part of the game, because as you play through Lucah you are constantly being timed by a steadily filling corruption meter and you have to beat the game before that happens. If the corruption meter fills to 100%… uhhh… well, let’s just say you are going to have a bad time. The only problem is that if you die, that meter shoots a up quickly, so the pressure is on. This constant pressure reduces a natural tendency for players to want to explore the world thoroughly, but it adds intensity to a game with few healing options between fights.

Lucah directly quotes the mechanics and styles of modern games, there’s Bayonetta, Dark Souls, Nier: Automata, Metal Gear Rising, Undertale, and Yume Nikki in ways that feel comfortably distinct from other contemporary indie character-action games. It’s a fresh entry in a solidly popular genre that itself feels like the start of a new generation of games because of how it has safely been built on the shoulders of giants. A weaker game would rely on other games as a crutch to leverage players’ nostalgia or to milk a trending style of game, but Lucah does an incredible job using other games intentionally as a language in order to build something even greater than the pieces it takes from, and it makes me want to see people build games that are in-turn inspired by Lucah. There is real promise inside of this game that is immediately palpable when you pick it up!

As much as I enjoy the harsh foreboding atmosphere of the game, there were times while playing where I felt the direction of my character was too vague which made the game feel more claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing than it actually is. The pressure of the corruption timer made me feel like Lucah is a linear experience, more than it actually is. I saw many interesting locations and people fly by in a blur throughout my first playthrough, and it was hard to remember many of them. I can teleport back to previous areas at any alter, but I never felt like I could afford doing that because, tick-tock, that corruption is always seeping in. It feels like I don’t have much agency in the game, which is part of the game’s main theme, but I could’ve used just a little bit of direction at times. There are also a few smaller problems like when there are  multiple enemies in an encounter it can be hard to consistently target the same enemy even if you are clicking on them. Sometimes the attack button moves text forward, and sometimes the select button moves text forward. Also, sometimes selecting text options will seem to not have any effect on the follow-up text line. These are just a few little things though.

One of the most interesting things that I feel holds Lucah back is that every character talks with the same cryptic style of speech, which is especially a problem because it makes remembering different characters harder than intended. Is it the worst thing in the world? Not at all! But it’s an area that with a little improvement could make this an even more stellar game.

That said, there are a lot of great things about it, I love that it rewards you well for multiple playthroughs. The screen shake can be turned off, and with or without it the game feels buttery smooth. The game’s pacing is incredibly tight so that you always feel like you are learning new skills and concepts consistently throughout the game. Every weapon (or Mantra, as this game calls them) feels powerful in its own way. I love all the different modes of storytelling the game offers, and how the game can rapidly change between an action game, a visual novel, and a turn-based role playing game. I love that it secretly supports multiple save files, even though you never see a save screen so you never have to worry about accidentally hitting New Game on the main menu and losing everything. The most important thing with Lucah: Born of a Dream is that the love and respect this game has for its contemporaries is palpable and reinforces how much I love those games too. If you are a fan of character-action games, stylized games that explore feelings, and you want a game that feels like some kinda Garage-Rock Sleater-Kinney-ass Bayonetta-looking hella queer chalk mother fuckin video game, then Solon’s got a game for you. It’s Lucah: Born of a Dream. It is available on PC, Mac, and Linux. On top of that there is more content planning on coming out for free as the developer finishes fulfilling kickstarter rewards and stretch goals over the course of this next year!

The post Lucah: Born of a Dream Review appeared first on Gamesline.