Bum Simulator - Early Access Review

 

Sometimes having home and handheld consoles spoil me and I forget about my old faithful friend,  The PC. A game on my Steam Wishlist for a while was Bum Simulator developed by Ragged Games and published by PlayWay S.A. It seemed like a fun idea, a game where you spend life on the streets as a bum, I know, I know it is a bit in poor taste but it is all done tongue in cheek. I could not wait for the main release and the Early Access seemed to have a lot on offer so I decided to download it.

I'm finally coming out of the throes of Covid, which I can personally attest to sucking ass. I lost my appetite, my taste buds were working but at a massively diminished capacity. Two things that helped me through it apart from the greatest tea maker and partner in the land Nollsy was copious amounts of tea and St. Pierre Vanilla Brioche Tear and Share. It's sweet soft, and soothing on my throat, I enjoy it normally but with Covid felt as essential as water and medication. Playing Bum Simulator I found myself asking was this easy to digest sweet thing I needed?

Story 

Waking up unaware of surroundings can be tough and a lot to take in, it is even tougher when half your brain is missing and your best friend Carl is a talking shopping trolley. It seems you have been a bum for a while which is already pretty bleak but when a company called Evil Way steals part of your brain and your friend's body the two of you must explore the town of Bumsville, find your brain and Carl's body, and take down Evil Way.

There are quite a few hours to the main story and there are a decent amount of side missions too. The story is fun andn silly. It reminded me of some of the early days of GTA and Saint's Row. 

Overall, and especially for Early Access the story is pretty solid, and fun. Could it use more? Sure, but looking at the developer posts they are listening to player feedback and implementing changes and additions.

Visuals

Bumsville is a small town that visually is not as trashy as you would think, there are run down areas sure but there are also nice common areas too. The details of the town are what really stand out, the screenshot I took from above captures a small part of that. There is someone dressed up as a pigeon, and I'm holding a pigeon that looks like it could go toe-to-toe with Rambo. Te wall paper and décor of the setting give it the feel of an old school boutique. While it is true the game could use more of this the game looks remarkably well. The building options for the game are really cool, some are practical and some remind me of being a child and making castles out of cardboard boxes. Or the picture below you can see me attempting to urinate on a police officer, good times.

Overall the visuals are pretty cool for what they are and have no doubt that over the next six months there will be more improvements and by the time it is ready on home consoles it will look great.

Music

The music reminded me of broken dreams, and an alcohol infused haze. Some acoustic guitar with a little electrical guitar and a smattering of percussion and brass horns. There is something so fitting about it that it can be tough to put into words if you have not already played the game a little.

Overall the soundtrack is shy of fifteen minutes but helps capture the essence of what the game is all about. 

Gameplay

Bum Simulator is a sandbox game, part of the gameplay is about survival; health, food, and drink. If any of these runs out completely you die and respawn outside of a hospital and a small amount of your money is seized.  Making money is the name of the game (at least to start with), and there are a few ways to do it; complete missions, go throw rubbish, sell any quality goods you find, and beg. For me begging is the most simple. You will have a cardboard sign, write anything you want on it, you then graded and that will affect how much people may give you. Now I never got a grade above E, I saw some people online get A and even when I imitated still got an E or an F. It matters little as you can spam your shake cup button and walk around the streets. I found most people will give you something, but others give you the finger - those people get punched or urinated on (rules of the street, I didn't make them).

Well that gets you sorted moneywise, then you need to focus on your pigeon buddies. As master controller of pigeons you need to take care of them by upgrading their coops. Then you can build up production and utilities to make an impressive base, along with walls, windows and defensive structures. Most of this part is for fun and is not essential to the main story. Moving objects, and bodies, ahem, can be awkward whether you use a controller or a mouse and could certainly use a little refinement in upcoming updates but its not exactly game breaking either. 

The combat is a bit of fun, while the AI is simple and most enemies will just come running at you with no care for their own safety I did laugh a lot. Basic combat like punches is great, throwing an exploding pigeon is a lot of fun and scares everyone. As a friend of pigeons myself seeing them explode on those who would attack other bums or myself was massively entertaining.

There is the inclusion of a basic leveling up system which if you want to improve health, fighting or plant production is helpful.

Overall the gameplay is fun, and could use some improvements but is far from broken especially as there are game released by larger companies that have many more issues.

Final Thoughts

So, after ten hours of playing how did I feel about Bum Simulator?  Not bad at all. The story was fun and there was quite a bit to do in Bumsville. The visuals had variety, there were some details that really made it standout. The music was the perfect soundtrack for any bum walking the streets, it might not have been uplifting but definitely had something about it. The gameplay was pretty solid, and while it may be need some polishing the future seems bright for Ragged Games and Bum Simulator. This one gets a solid  3 out of 5

Bastion - Review

 

Just over ten years ago Bastion was released by Supergiant Games. Initially I was curious, it looked like a lot of fun, and as you played your actions were narrated. I played the game for a very short amount of time and very quickly it seemed a little gimmicky, and my brain lost interest. Fast forward ten years and I found myself browsing games in the PlayStation Store (yeah, I'm still rocking one) and decided I would give it a proper go. 

I remember when KitKat Chunky was first released, I was not a fan. I liked the little break-away fingers, running my fingernail along with the foil and breaking off a piece. I found the chunky version too unwieldy for my mouth (yeah, yeah, stow it). Years later I found myself nibbling on one without even thinking about it and thought, 'yeah it's different, but still good in its own way'. Playing Bastion I found myself asking was this like my dilemma of the Kit Kat Chunky, had I simply not given it enough of a chance the first time around?

Story

The game has you take on the role of 'The Kid', a silent protagonist who awakens after 'The Calamity', which fractured and partially destroyed the city of Caelondia and some of the areas around it. He is journeying to the Bastion - a place of safety. You quickly meet Rucks (who is also the narrator of The Kid's journey), and he asks you to collect shards to help repair the damage to the Bastion. I'll leave any further explanation so as to not spoil the plot.

The game offers two types of side activities; proving grounds, used to hone your skills with any new weapons, and 'who knows where' another type of proving grounds but with a big emphasis on collecting crystals to upgrade your weapons. There is also a plus game which is great for anyone looking to get a higher overall completion rate and try the two endings the game offers.

Overall the story did not hugely excite me, I did not really connect with the characters, and the endings themselves in some ways seemed to be both bad choices based on what you learn throughout the game. The narration is great initially but loses its appeal after a time.

Visuals

While I may have found the story to be a little lackluster, the visuals I did not. The game is awash with vibrant colors, not only the levels themselves but also all the enemies. The thing really stood out for me was the details; barrels, market stalls, walls, and flowers, and provided some idea as to how beautiful the world may have been before the Calamity. 

One massive thing that sets the games asides from top-down games, or games in general, is that when navigating levels sections raise up in front of you. This is a great mechanic and while it would have been simpler to keep basic colors or visuals with these raised sections, instead the Supergiant Games team ensure that every part of the level was as visually impressive as another.

Overall the visuals far outshine the story, it felt like something new, and every effort was made to make it look as impressive as possible. 

Music 

American songwriter Darren Korb describes the soundtrack as "acoustic frontier trip-hop" combining "heavily sampled beats in layers along with acoustic elements".  To me there was very much a cajun flavor, elements reminded me of Becks Odelay and middle eastern music.  Korb also worked with Supergiant Games on Transistor, Pyre, and the critically acclaimed Hades. 

The soundtrack is an hour long yet despite that and the hours I played of Bastion they never felt overplayed which really is a testament to how great the soundtrack is. My favorite tracks are:

A Proper Story 

In Case Of Trouble

Terminal March

Percy's Escape

Mine Windbag, Mine

Build That Wall (Zia's Theme, vocals by Ashley Barrett)

Brusher Patrol

Setting Sale, Coming Home (Ending Theme)

Overall a fantastic soundtrack that made me very curious about Korbs other works and from what I have heard they may even be better than Bastion.

Gameplay

The gameplay is a lot of fun and is where the game really shines. The main object of each level is to collect a shard and return it to the Bastion to help restore it. The more you restore the more access you have to new weapons, upgrades, trials, and more. The Kid gets to carry two weapons, a shield, and a special weapon. There are a number of weapons in the game and the game to a degree forces you to use each weapon for a time so you try everything once. My personal favorites were Brushers Pike and the Fang Repeater, along with the Special Squirt  Lure.  The Brushers Pike is a great distance weapon, The Fang Repeater is a great way to clear an area fast, Squirt Lures help distract enemies from you and do a nice of damage too. Each weapon can be upgraded with crystals and materials and is well worth it.

The enemies all have their own patterns - initially, a little button bashing is fine but will need to throw that mindset aside quickly or you will go through health potions like there is no tomorrow. It also makes the game both more challenging and fun, some enemies can be a pain but nothing that can't be overcome. There are not any real bosses as even the larger enemies can be beaten in less than a minute.

There is a leveling up system, each time you level up you can hold new passive potions, which will help increase damage, health, lives, and more. If you are looking for more of a challenge they are a must as you can add idols to each level which will increase both the rewards and difficulty. 

The Bastion itself can be upgraded but there are really fun things that can be added to it. The first are mementos that help expand on the world, are interactive and some provide 'who know where' challenges. There are also pets, which I won't spoil as they are so awesome but well worth exploring every level thoroughly. 

For those looking for more, there is a Plus Game, Score Attack Mode, and even a no-fuss Chill Mode. I played the game twice and was certainly time well spent. 

Overall some really great gameplay, and some great replay value too!

Final Thoughts

So, after almost twenty hours of playing how did I feel?  Not bad at all, I certainly left with an overall better impression of the game than my first time around. In terms of the story, I could not help but feel a little underwhelmed about it and the endings certainly did nothing to help with that which is a shame. The visuals are stunning and were a big part of making me want to play. Korb's soundtrack was really cool and had a very cajun flavor to it which worked fantastically with the game. The gameplay was really great and offers a decent amount of replay value. I was at odds as to how to score the game but finally settled on 3 out of 5