■ STORY BY W IL LIA M EARRIS
DESIGN EDITOR ANO AD MANAGER
to make it challenging to succeed J>u
never fru stratin g to fa il. Y eah , the
3n its official steam page, A H at In Time
lescribes itself as a “ cute as heck action
p latform er,” and th a t’ s p retty m u ch
exactly w hat it is . A H at In Time is the
long-aw aited, adorable, interesting and
jverall fun game from Gears For Breakfast
studios; it b rin gs classic p latfo rm in g
c o lle c ta th o n a c tio n to th e m o dern
generation.
W hen I say long-awaited I mean it. This
game was a long time com ing kickstarted
years ago and developed over a long period
of tim e. Before its release, A Hat In Time
formed a devoted fan base and received
4
glowing reviews when it finally arrived.
A ll o f those great reviews &re due in
part to the fact that A Hat In Time knows
exactly w hat it w ants to be,
a sh o rt
gam e w ith sim ple m echanics and fu n
diverse gam eplay. Throw in a cute story
line with comedic writing and an amazing
soundtrack made with the help ©f Graftt
K irkhope o f B an jo -K a zo o ie fa m e and
you’v e g o t a recipe for success.
s°, if y ° u couldn’t already tell, I love
this gam e. I really do like it a lot. It’ s an
absolute b last to play from start to finish
and h as th e p erfect d ifficu lty balance
game is a bitbuggy at tim es but honestly
I wouldn’ t have any other way as it’ s just
charm ing and enjoyable. Not to mention
its one of the first gam es in a w hile to
make me honestly laugh. The w riting is
as witty as it is com edically dry and can
leave ÿbursides hurting from some of the
absurd situations they dream up with the
voice’actors absolutely nailing it.
Everyone w ho voiced for th is gam e
gets way into their parts and all of the
deliveries are p erfect for th e scenes
and characters they potray. One o f my
favorites has to be the Sn atcher from
chapter three, who has such an over the
top energetic perform ance th at T can ’ t
help b u t b reak out in to a sm ile. The
Snatcher is actually voiced by Youngtown,
a YouTube personality who does a lot of
music and gam ing content.
The rest of the cast nails it too, from the
bum bling speech patterns of the M afia
in chapter one, to the over-enthusiastic
W elsh accent on th e cond uctor from
ch ap ter tw o; i t ’ s hard n ot to fa ll in
love with the adorable
"m enagerie o f cartoon
characters/.
H ow sh o rt th e gam e is also
doesn’t detract from the diversity in its
levels. Each world has its own theme and
design that sets it apart from the rest of
the game. The amount of collectables and
tasks to do also m eans you’ll have plenty
to do even after beating the game.
So, is it one o f m y favorite gam es of
all tim e? M aybe n o t, alth o u gh i t ’ s a
w onderfül little gam e th at w ill m ake
you feel like a kid again and help cleanse
your palette o f all the other h ig h -e n d
com plex triple A releases out there. If
ypur someone who wants som ething fun
an d new or pines for the glory days of
classic platformers then pick up a copy o f
A H at In Timé. If you’re not one of those
people, pick it up anyway - seriously just
buy th is gam e. G ive these people your
m oney, they so definitely deserve it.
Top:Poster and image from A Hat In Time official artwork.
Bottom: The Stanley Parable poster from official game.
»
.)
' STORY BY JAREO PREBLE
arts and culture editor
The b arrator to vocalize it.
S T A N ! LE:Y
H ® JH
F
W >L E E
the
à
«I
JB À
he Stanley Parable is w ithout a doubt
ne o f the most unorthodox indie gaming
xperiences I ’ve ever had the pleasure of
nduring. Running on the sam e source
ngine th at powers Valve classics such
s the H alf-Life series, Counterstrike and
earn Fortress 2, The Stanley Parable is a *
izarre yet rewarding ride from beginning
0 anyone of the numerous endings this
;ame offers.
lackamas Print
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -—
You play a day in the life o f Stanley, a
pencil pushing desk jockey that relishes
sp en d in g h a lf h is w a k ih g life in h is
cubicle. O n th is particular day, Stanley
steps out o f his office to find that all his
coworkers have disappeared. You take
over our m undane protagonist as you
are directed throughout the office by The
Narrator (Kevan Brighting.) The game toys
w ith your perception of free will and uses
Early on in the game you encounter a
pair of doors—The Narrator directs you to
the door on the left and iris at that point
that you are offered the choice to defyhim
and choose the path on your own accord.
Should you choose the door on the right
The Narrator w ill begin to question your
defiance and sim ultaneou sly urge you
to get b ack on track With the story, a s .
a defense m echanism for your attem pt
to sh a tter th e reality he has tried so
desperately to paint.
Depending on how com pliant you are
you w ill recieve a m ultitude o f reactions
from The Narrator. It’ s this very aspect
of The Stanley Parable that sets it apart
theclackam asprint.net
from other indie gam es.
Equipped with approximately eighteen
different endings, several of them being
c h a lle n g in g to ach ie v e, The Stan le y
Parable is a very straightforward gam e.
T h e re ’ s no s k ill tre es, no ch ara cter
p rogressio n , no co m b a t, n o t even a
sprint m ech an ic, ju st Stanley and the
pleasant B ritish voice in his head th at
dictates his every m ove.The game relies
heavily on your ability as a player to make
decisions and builds around every choice
you make. Offering heaps of replayability,
The Stanley Parable is a great gam e to
share w ith friends and fa m ily alik e. If
you’ re looking for an am using game that
reward® exploration, look no further.