#secret mode

[gebo4482]

STILL WAKES THE DEEP

Release Date Trailer

Steam

#still wakes the deep #the chinese room #secret mode #horror games #adventure games #screenshots

[clickbliss]

Loddlenaut: a cozy clean up that leaves the bigger questions behind

by Amr (@siegarettes)

Loddlenaut

Developers - Moon Lagoon

Publisher - Secret Mode

PC,

With a chill, and I daresay--cozy--atmosphere, Loddlenaut offers exactly the kind of laid back routine that’s easy to dip into for small moments of satisfaction. Taking the role of an ocean sanitation worker, there’s an immediate satisfaction to clearing the junk and gunk in the area, which builds towards the long term goal of creating a clear, inhabitable biome. Loddles, the native lifeform of the planet, provide a light pet raising element, not unlike Sonic Adventure’s Chao Gardens.

Alongside the cute, slightly aliased aesthetic, and some light survival game elements, Loddlenaut kept me plenty engaged and doesn’t overstay its welcome, with plenty smaller goals for those looking for more. Yet it's those same cozy elements, and the vague gestures toward an environmental message that Loddlenaut struggles to square away. 

Loddlenaut follows a familiar structure, starting you out with limited capabilities, clearing areas to reveal the next, and in the process gaining access to new materials and faster, more efficient abilities. Intentional or not, this turns the world into a “frontier”, where wildlife and environmental resources become stepping stones to greater control over the space.

Loddlenaut attempts to sidestep these issues by focusing on restoring an environment that was already previously inhabited, cleaning up the mess left by a careless corporation that exploited the planet’s resources. Materials are simply reclaimed from debris left behind, and it’s restoring the habitats of the plant and animal life that provides resources, not harvesting them. But it’s difficult to throw off the underlying motivations that drive its progression. 

Systems like fast travel emphasize this struggle, only allowing you to quickly travel between areas after you’ve cleared them, and consequently, reclaimed all their materials. The framing is slightly different, but functionally it feels no different to clearing all the objectives in an open world game. The feeling is exasperated in the late game, where the amount of trash increases, and the limited inventory pushes against your ability to make steady progress. The goal quickly became gathering materials to ease the tedium, and more than a few times I considered jettisoning trash back into the area instead of lugging it back to base, so I could clear more of an area before making a return trip. (Dropped trash doesn’t count against an area’s completion). I ultimately didn’t, but looking at the forums it seems that I wasn’t the only one with that idea. 

The story gestures towards larger environmental concerns, but never resolves. Your operator makes repeated comments about the massive damage done by the corporation that’s hired you for cleanup, but reassures you that it’s not your job to question your actions, only clean up after them. The delivery had me almost sure that there’d be a turn somewhere near the end, but Loddlenaut concludes with a simple “nature is healing”, creating an unintentional downer ending as I left knowing the underlying problem creating the pollution hadn’t been dealt with.

The team’s intentions seem more to imply that the work is not yet done, to avoid a simple easy solution, and inspire further action, but it leaves so many underlying assumptions unchallenged in an attempt for a feel good ending. I walked away feeling less like my character had made a meaningful contribution, but instead was doomed to be a janitor for the messes of a corporation who would continue to move to new worlds and leave the same problems behind. 

I ended up returning to Loddlenaut after the ending, wanting to clear up the areas that had become polluted again in my absence, and to check up and name the Loddles that I hadn’t had time for as I barrelled through the last areas. The little creatures remained cute as ever, but I couldn’t help notice the eerie stillness of the planet. Without the pollution cluttering up the landscape, it had the vibe of an aquarium. An isolated space to raise pets, with sunken structures to add visual variety. 

The thing is, as an aquarium, it’s easy to find joy in. At the end of the day I do love to feed and raise my pets, and clean the gunk out of their tank. Loddlenaut is just that, a playground for your pets that I enjoyed, that gestures at the bigger questions without any answers for them.

#loddlenaut #pc #steam #secret mode #moon lagoon #survival #pet sim

[tiny-design]

The initial pet-sim conception of Wobbledogs is easy to understand, and the simplistic gimmick (dogs born from eggs that have wobbly bodies) is an odd but not unexpected approach to the genre. However, once the player delves past that first surface glance, the game begins to expand rapidly, showcasing an enormous degree of internal complexity that spirals further and further outside the expectations of the pet-sim genre conventions, to the point that it almost stops being a pet-sim, but more of a factory-sim altogether.

#wobbledogs #animal uprising #secret mode #2021 #tiny design #game design

[smbhax]

Galactus gets mad in the secret “Galactus Mode” from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on PS4 = o

#galactus #mahvel #marvel #capcom #galactus mode #unlockable #secret #secret mode #game secret #mad #angry #apocalypse #fighting game #mvc3 #marvel vs capcom 3 #vs series #fighting games #video game #video games #ps4 #fgc #power cosmic

[mikeshouts]

DEATHSPRINT 66: Run (Virtually) In Cloned Bodies For Fame And Fortune

Feels like a more high-tech, car-free version of Death Race.

Follow us for more Tech Culture and Lifestyle Stuff.

#Deathsprint 66 #Secret Mode #Sumo Newcastle #Video Game

[miketendo-64]

[EXPlay] Make Way | Nintendo Switch

Get ready to make way for #MakeWay on #NintendoSwitch. @jonathanober jumps into the driver's seat of this "Make your own way" style racer in his latest Explain & Play Review #EXPlay

Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading. In this explanatory review, we’re covering Make Way by developer Ice Beam…

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#Explain & Play #EXPlay #Ice Beam Ltd #Make Way #Nintendo #Nintendo Switch #review #Secret Mode

[brutalgamer]

The Chinese Room is creating a deep, dark world for horror title Still Wakes the Deep

Known for horror, developer The Chinese Room has a soggier, but no less terrifying adventure on tap with Still Wakes the Deep.

#Horror #Secret Mode #Still Wakes the Deep #Survival #The Chinese Room #News #PC #PS5 #Xbox Series X

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF movie Mike vs Vanny on ordering pizzaplex food

#myart #chloesimagination #comic #mike schmidt #fnaf vanny #fnaf vanessa #fnaf #security breach #fnaf movie #fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's #Mike and Vanny definitely have different approaches to the wrong order #now that Mike knows Vanny’s secret he has to help her hold back her rage #Nessa here is already intense as is without being evil mode #least she has Mike to cool her down #she’s never gonna stab him so it’s actually fool proof #though Glitchtrap is not happy BAHA #DUDE by this point despise this sleepy guy #ALSO staff bots mentioned!! let’s get a hand for the pizzaplex staff bots 🩵🩵

[gamesinorbit]

Make Way Races to PC and Consoles in 2023, Offering Unique DIY Multiplayer Racing Experience

Rev up your creativity and get ready for wild DIY racing mayhem in Make Way.

Ice Beam, an indie game developer based in Dundee, Scotland, is gearing up to release Make Way, a cross-platform multiplayer racing game, on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch in 2023. Unlike traditional racing games, Make Way challenges players to construct their own ever-expanding tracks using a variety of random track pieces and hazards. With…

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#Ice Beam #Make Way #Secret Mode

[plumadot]

Could you do a roomates drawing pleaseee 👉👈 (no pressure lol love your art!!!<333)

a safe place

#ask #i'm in angst mode don't mind me <3 #secret life smp #traffic smp #ethoslab #zombiecleo #grian #plume art

[gebo4482]

DEATHSPRINT 66

Official Announcement Trailer

Steam

#deathsprint 66 #sumo digital #secret mode #action games #sci-fi games #racing games #keyart #screenshots

[theminecraftbee]

also in our season of INCREDIBLY STABLE ALLIANCES, i think three people to keep an eye on are our loners:

scar, who is the main guy that tasks have successfully driven away from everyone. he's stuck in the role of the villain, resents it, and i don't think can escape it at this point.

martyn, the widow, the first red, angry at the world but constantly sidelined even by the other reds, alone not by choice but because his allies were taken from him.

and bigb, who HAS an alliance, who IS one of the heart foundation, but treats it like a part-time job, refusing to fully become trustworthy or fully give his loyalty to anyone, holding himself apart almost as though by habit of hiding things from everyone.

in this season where EVERYONE ELSE is in an alliance that has been stable since like, session two, these three are the ones with the fewest ties. and i'm curious if, as a result, they're the ones who end up shaping whatever happens next. nothing is more frightening than a person who has nothing left to lose.

#secret life smp #secret life spoilers #martyn inthelittlewood #goodtimeswithscar #bigbst4tz2 #i am just in theorycrafting mode don't mind me

[nanmeo]

cornbread neo agent 3 origin story (and baked bean buddy)

#splatoon #splatoon 3 hero mode #inkling oc #uncovering alternas secrets? saving grandpa? nope she just want her cowboy hat back 😔

[n64retro]

Secret of Mana SquareSoft Super Nintendo 1993

#secret of mana #squaresoft #super nintendo #SNES #super NES #super famicom #seiken densetsu 2 #RPG #action RPG #pixel art #mode 7 #retro gaming #1993

[miketendo-64]

[EXPlay] Wobbledogs (Nintendo Switch)

The dogs are barking and wobbling in #Wobbledogs. @jonathanober gives his thoughts on this simulation game in his latest EXPlay #NintendoSwitch

Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading. In this explanatory review, we’re covering Wobbledogs by developer Animal…

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#Animal Uprising #Explain &amp; Play #EXPlay #Nintendo #Nintendo Switch #review #Secret Mode #Wobbledogs

[sonicreferencephotos]

Shadow the Hedgehog playing the violin; Sonic and the Secret Rings

#sonicreferencephotos #sonic reference #3d #sonic and the secret rings #play! violin #sonic and the secret rings party mode #shadow the hedgehog #shadow standard #standard outfits