Search Party – Season 4 Review

I really didn’t like this season in the beginning and was about ready to abandon the show halfway through. Watching Dory’s captive torment play out was not fun. It was too much of a regression for her character considering where she was headed in Seasons 2 and 3. Sure, she probably deserved what she got and needed to be “put back in place.” The other issue, though, is that Alia Shawkat’s performance didn’t sell it for me. I can’t pinpoint it, exactly, but something felt off. Maybe it was too difficult to effectively act against Chip, who was an incredibly annoying character. I didn’t mind Chip at first, but once it became clear that he was here to stay, his whiny brainwashing antics grew really tiresome.

The only reason Season 4 is worth watching to the end is that you still get some great material with the rest of the cast. I do like the irony of Dory being a legitimate missing person, but only Elliot, Drew, and Portia care enough to try to investigate. It just takes way too long to get to the point where they realize she’s in trouble, and then they find her way too easily. Those few episodes in between are pretty fun, though. Even the Chantal-centric episode is good, and I normally hate going off on tangents with side characters. In summary, Dory was the worst part of the season, and the fake-out death at the end didn’t do her any favors. It would have been pretty crazy if they went through with it, but maybe Season 5 will redeem her somehow. Knowing how tonally different this show can be from season to season, I’m still interested in where they go next.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Review

I thought the first Yooka-Laylee game was a good (not great, but good) tribute to Banjo-Kazooie style 3D platformers. So I’m surprised they went with a 2D approach for the sequel. I can understand why a developer like Krome Studios needed to “downgrade” Ty the Tasmanian Tiger from 3D to 2D, but Playtonic doesn’t seem to be cutting costs here. The production value for Impossible Lair is really high, and the game is still technically 3D. The levels are all modeled in 3D, and the overworld plays out like an isometric platformer. So going 2D for the main levels was a conscious choice.

To clarify, I do like a good 2D platformer. I just don’t think this is one of the good ones. The controls are too limited. I kept waiting to unlock a double jump or wall jump or something that would make the platforming feel better, but the tonics you can find and apply are more aesthetic than helpful. The platforming is made worse by the fact that you can only get hit twice, but you lose Laylee after the first hit and become useless without her, thus guaranteeing you’ll get hit again. Checkpoints are also unevenly spaced, often placing a mundane stretch right before the trickier part that you’re actually stuck on.

It’s not a total wash, though. The thing is, I really like how the overworld is built. The overworld is filled with secrets to find and puzzles to solve while being a much more laidback experience than the main 2D levels. I would love an entire Yooka-Laylee game done in this style. I also think it’s pretty cool how adjustments you make in the overworld change the 2D levels. Like, you can flood a field, which then spills into the level entrance and totally changes how that level is played. I always looked forward to seeing what else the overworld would do. I just dreaded having to play the 2D levels to open up more of that world.

Bee Simulator Review

The word “simulator” gets thrown around a lot in games, so I wasn’t expecting a true bee simulator here. I don’t mind that this took a more child-like, story-driven approach. I actually think the world they built is pretty cool. There’s a very realistic sense of scale as you—a tiny bee—fly through a park, zoo, amusement park, and lake. What holds the game back is its missions. They’re all extremely dull and repetitive, boiling down to three types: fly through rings, repeat a directional pattern, or perform quick-time events as part of a fight sequence.

The fact that every mission is a cheesy mini-game ruins any sort of magic this game had going for it. Why go through the effort of building such a huge, believable world if you’re just going to populate it with the most basic gameplay mechanics? The same can be said for the advertised “co-op” mode. The story is not co-op. Rather, playing with friends means flying around a fenced-off part of the main game, looking for missions of the same variety mentioned above. There is just so much wasted potential here. I can only hope the developers use this engine for something more engaging next time.

The Real Tuesday Weld – Blood Review

To be completely transparent, I was asked by a PR representative to review this one. My earlier praises for Tape Five tipped them off, though Blood is not the same bombastic type of electro swing. In fact, the only song on Blood that has even a remotely similar energy is its third track, Poker Face. I normally hate swingified covers of pop songs, but this is a pretty decent version. The swinginess feels more natural and creates a fun, somewhat darker tone for the song.

However, it’s the preceding song, “Too Much Too Soon,” which is probably the album’s best. Its funky instrumentals are a delight to listen to. At five minutes long, I still always feel like it ends too soon. Unfortunately, after “Too Much Too Soon” and “Poker Face,” the album starts mellowing out a little too much. Some of these mellower songs are okay, like “What Happens Next” which totally reminds me of Pink Floyd’s “The Trial.” By Track 8, though, I’m ready for things to pick back up. Tracks 6-9 work as background music for a speakeasy but are a bit of a slog when the music is the focal point.

I power through, though, because the album is jolted back to life in the end by the last song, “Killers.” This is a beautiful, mostly instrumental track with some goosebumps-inducing vocals. It reminds me a lot of Boogie Belgique, which is pretty much my highest compliment in the world of swing. So Blood is kind of a mixed bag overall, which… might have been the point? There’s definitely something in here for everyone, but you’re probably not gonna like the whole thing.

Demon’s Souls Review

The Soulsborne games are what they are and I’m not going to go into the merits of the difficulty of the games or obtuse nature of the storylines/ plots. Just know that I really enjoy these games. I love them. I have achieved a platinum trophy in all of them and then kept playing. I might have a problem. E.g., I played Demon’s Souls on the PS3 a little over a year ago and even though it was 10+ years old, required hours of grinding, a completely deserted online component, and old janky, broken-ass game mechanics (tendencies are the worst), and really not being all that fun, I liked it. As I age and become more cynical, I often wonder if I even like video games anymore, because I just don’t get excited about them often. When the PS5 version of DS was announced as a full remake, it became my most anticipated game of the past few years. I couldn’t find a PS5, so I watched hours of people playing it on Twitch to glean some of the experience. I had never watched Twitch for more than a few minutes previous. I was excited.

It drove me to push for an early PS5 and the game is an amazing remake. It’s all positive. BluePoint made a very careful game that improved the visuals, mechanics (tendencies still suck), items, jank, and even added some really cool Easter eggs. They took an unfun game and made it better, but it is still just as unfun! This time I used an early exploit to get endgame gear first thing and just ROFLStomped everything the whole way through. (Soulbrandt FTW!) I wasn’t stressed or worried at all. Combine that with playing with friends and an online community with lots of invasions and it was easily the most fun I’ve had playing a game in a long time. I would highly recommend trudging through Boletaria to you, if these games are your bag. If not, well, it still is what it is.

Loudermilk – Season 3 Review

Tom’s back! But… so is Loudermilk’s cartoonishly bad dad. At least Memphis didn’t return! And neither did Brooke, the massage therapist. Man, why’d this show set up so many threads that never paid off? We obviously missed important scenes with Tom, given that the group knew he had been lying when he slumped back into the church yet we never saw them find out. Maybe it’s production issues that have been holding this show back. Whatever it is that’s going on, Season 3 feels a little rougher around the edges.

Season 3 does a better job of using Claire, though. She’s given more to do and has a great episode where she struggles to date someone who isn’t himself a recovering addict. It’s nice to be reminded of the show’s overarching theme instead of the AA group simply being an excuse to have a quirky ensemble cast. And speaking of the group, this season feels more like Mugsy’s show now than Loudermilk’s. Mugsy is the only one still tempted by alcohol and probably has the most to lose by succumbing to it.

As for Loudermilk, he’s just kind of… there. I liked the initial storyline with him needing to take care of his baby brother, but this devolved into that tired joke of two guys squabbling like a married couple, with Ben (my already least favorite character) playing the part of the nagging wife. And Loudermilk ignoring Mugsy’s distress in his most desperate time of need kinda rubbed me the wrong way, especially when the season ends with a big win for Loudermilk and Mugsy leaving the group. I know we’re not supposed to love Loudermilk, but I also shouldn’t want to hate him.