Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 28

We're back with the end of the year wrap-up issue of Now Playing at SUPERJUMP! We knew our team would be busy with holiday things so we gave everyone a bit longer to get in with their recent gaming adventures. As usual, there's a bit of everything from the gaming spectrum represented by our team, from visually unique indies to Star Wars. Enjoy all the gaming goodness and Happy New Year to each of you!

Gohan Dutra

I recently finished Black Myth: Wukong after also reading the book, Journey to the West, upon which the game's story is based. I'll be honest - I really was expecting to be disappointed considering the book was so good and I didn't even know if the game had any relation to it, but I was very much surprised with one of the best games I've played this year. It's very clear that the developers love the book, with the game constantly bringing characters and locations from it while also managing to tell brand-new stories using them. I left the game not only satisfied but with a deeper love for the book itself seeing how much its contents could be used to fuel new ideas.

Priya Sridhar

I just played my review copy of Miniatures, so here's a bit from my write-up.

Childhood ends when we realize we've lost something we cannot recover. Whether it is as small as a sentimental trinket or as large as a family member, we can feel the absence strongly. That is not to say that my childhood ended when the ceramic piggy bank that I played very carefully with got shattered when a sibling knocked it over, but it feels like the world irrevocably changed when my dad died.

There is a dividing line where I feel we all became more bitter and resentful of how things are. an pays homage to the time before all that and reminds us of when life seemed simpler, and magic could happen just five feet away at home.

Cat Webling

I've been playing Echoes of Wisdom since it came out and I'm still loving every second of it months later - I only play it in little fits and bursts but I love how cutesy and simple it is!

CJ Wilson

I recently bought myself a Steam Deck as an early Christmas gift, and I've been messing around with it for a couple of weeks now. So far, I have been enjoying my time playing a variety of titles like Spider-Man Remastered and Donut County to test its capabilities. It has helped me enjoy games more consistently as I manage my work/life balance, even if just for a couple of hours at a time. I plan to get an SD card for the Deck so I can see how it performs with emulated games. My only complaint is with the ergonomics; they aren’t exactly perfect as my hands begin cramping after a while. However, I am trying to get used to the feeling of the device even after buying a case for it that I will get soon.

David Cole

The end of my year has been very suddenly dedicated to games emulating the yesteryear of computer role-playing games. SKALD: Against the Black Priory (one of my Games of the Year) and Caves of Qud have been dominating my attention for weeks now. It's actually made regular productivity an issue! I think what I like most about these games is how dedicated they are to their aesthetics, specifically how they craft them. SKALD feels more like The Bard's Tale than The Bard's Tale 4 does. Qud is the successor to Rogue that I never knew I needed.

The visual styles are limited, but the worlds these games create through their words are what's most special about them. It's not just about genuinely good CRT filters and sick music--though these are present to be certain--it's about the writing. Both games capture the feeling of playing Dungeons & Dragons as well as anything I've experienced, and that includes Baldur's Gate 3. They may not have the budget nor the bombast, but their poetic prose creates rich scenes of adventure that keep me coming back for more.

Jahan Khan

This holiday season I'll be asking people: Have you played Atari today? Atari has launched the 7800+ in time for the holidays, and it's just a fun console that brims with passion and enthusiasm. It plays all the old dusty cartridges and the lineup of new cartridges are beautifully packaged. The wireless controller is ideal, and playing games like Frenzy and Asteroids Deluxe has been good for my motor skills. Atari has been a real highlight for me these last two years, whether it's their new hardware or even their mainstream releases like Tetris Forever. I'm always looking forward to what they release next.

Marvel Maximus

I recently finished Phoenix Springs from Calligram Studio. It’s a neo-noir point-and-click mystery with a beautiful, one-of-a-kind art style. The protagonist’s voiceover is perfectly monotone, with an added edge and sense of world-weariness, fitting for this type of narration-heavy game. I can’t really explain it, but playing the game makes me feel at ease; its dreamlike atmosphere and inscrutable dialogue comfort me in a way few games can. Maybe it’s the choice of colors that strikes me or the aforementioned voice, but all of it in action made for an out-of-body gaming experience, perfect for the year’s end. Hopefully, as I come out of this game’s surreality, I’ll be able to wake up in a new year that makes more sense than Phoenix Springs’ world. If not, at least I discovered myself a little more.

Ben Macready

I’m closing out 2024 by playing two very different, but very fun, games. Chants of Sennaar is a game about language and culture. The player climbs a vast tower, each tier of which is inhabited by a radically different society. Each of these societies speaks a different language, and the player must learn these languages to solve puzzles and progress upward. The game's excellent world-building is what makes it so compelling. As you climb the tower, you’re given fragmentary, fascinating glimpses of several radically different societies. All of this is delivered in a very minimalistic style. Every line of dialogue is delivered purposefully, to help you gradually piece together the complexities of the game’s world and people.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns, in contrast, has perhaps a bit too much dialogue. For better or worse the game captures the energy of a Marvel movie very well. There are almost constant quips and one-liners from the characters, to the point where it can be difficult to truly engage with the narrative and its stakes. Nevertheless, there is a riveting underlying story buried beneath the quips. The gameplay is also superb, featuring tactical card-based combat where every character offers something novel. Midnight Suns is great at tying gameplay and characterisation together. Iron Man’s ego and difficulty working with others is shown through his cards powering for every other Iron Man card in your hand. Captain America tanks attacks aimed at others, demonstrating both his famous shield and his selfless nature as a leader.

Games are a truly diverse medium, and sometimes it’s great to enjoy two radically different offerings as a reminder of that fact.

Charlotte Huston

I have been playing Star Wars Outlaws lately, for better or worse, as I catch up on many of 2024's notable releases. Unfortunately, the game feels bland and uninspiring. Lately, Ubisoft has been critiqued for delivering just that in all of their games, but I don't think Outlaws feels typically Ubisoft-y. There are no towers to unlock points on the map nor are there territories to conquer. No endless amount of collectibles. Despite that, the open world in Outlaws feels like a waste of time, at least on Toshara. I've constantly seen objective markers placed on a cliff with no clear way to get up there, so I drive around the cliff in circles to find a way up, and many times I don't succeed. Navigating Toshara feels like a chore, so why bother with the side content it holds? The first city you reach on Toshara is also confusing to navigate and I've constantly gotten lost, so I've just fast-traveled out of it several times already rather than walking back out to my speeder.

Gameplay-wise, Outlaws is actually solid. It feels surprisingly smooth to play, but the animations felt like they were on a budget. It's very obviously inspired by Rockstar's games - with the Deadeye, the Wanted Level, paying off bounties, etc. It lacks the same amount of polish, of course, but it's not bad. As for Kay, as a character, I really want to like her more but she feels bland as well so far. I'm hoping the game picks up after Toshara because so far most of my 10 hours have been spent fixing a ship in a story and game that comes across as flavorless (but not bad) drivel.

Otherwise, I've messed with a game called Othercide - which I've seen reviewers on Steam describe as "goth girl XCOM". And yeah, it's kind of that - but it's not nearly as good, unfortunately. The art style and visuals are absurdly stunning, and that's honestly the main appeal. I can't tell you what's happening in this game or what it's a metaphor for, because it's simply that confusing. The lack of Classes outside of a standard 3 also makes it rather uninteresting to play once you get a handle on the combat. It's just an okay tactical game mixed with a rogue-like.

Bryan Finck

I've spent the majority of the fall with Hideo Kojima's magnum opus, Death Stranding, and it's better than I ever could have imagined. Like most folks, the early talk about the "walking simulator for real" gameplay put me off from wanting to play it, but I found myself unable to stay away any longer. As a huge fan of the Metal Gear series, I love the Kojima-isms like Codec conversations and overwrought camera shots, but the actual game mechanics are even better than I could have hoped too. I never would have guessed that trudging across a river or up a mountain would be so compelling, but it far exceeds the "just get through it for the next cutscene" expectation that I expected.

I've also dipped back into Hogwarts Legacy for some cozy gaming in the Wizarding World. Just wandering around the castle and exploring the grounds (which I've already spent 70+ hours doing) is such a warm and welcoming way to spend time, and it has me contemplating a whole new run through the entire game.

A big thank you to our writers for dropping by and to all our loyal fans for being here to check it out! Be sure to tell us what you're playing in the comments and check back next month for more of what our team is getting into. May you all have a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!