August has just flown by, and by my own admittedly meagre standards I haven’t really been up to much. I played quite a lot of games, released a small video essay that’s done quite well, have a few still in-progress projects I’m rattling my head against. Mostly, because work’s been a total bastard this month due to annual leave and sickness, I’ve not really had much mental energy for anything (thus the not quite up to standard Final Fantasy post from last weekend) but looking down this list I have eaten quite well these past few weeks.
As always, I have some thoughts about what I did engage with, which you can read right now below:
GAMES
Tren
I have a lot of time for this adorable Made-in-Dreams puzzle game because not only is it an exercise in brilliant game and visual design but it's simple enough that I finally convinced my 67 year old mother who thinks videogames are a waste of time to pick up a controller. I'm going to get her to play Armored Core: Fires of Rubicon next.
Digital Exorcist
One of those out-of-the-blue finds that just appeared on my timeline one day, this is a free to play visual novel/adventure game about preparing to fight a demon. A concise experience that nonetheless presents a compelling Shin Megami Tensei-esque world with an emphasis on forums culture and the small details of lived-in environments. A great way to spend an hour.
Venice 2089
An interesting setting and story let down by an incomplete feeling. It's lacking that extra oomph, in its writing, in its world building, in the way nothing really happens in the game but not the kind of resplendent vibes-based nothing that I really dig. Has this really nice presentation though, the city has a blocky, dioramic quality to it that I really dig, and what drew me to the game in the first place. It's a shame because there's the bones of a much better game here.
The Bramble King
A shockingly dark adaptation of unfamiliar folklore, has that sort of Inside/Limbo quality to it in that everything is heavily authored and the game is full of incredible set pieces. At times it also reminded me of the excellent Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. What let's it down unfortunately is it's tactility. It's a game full of blink and miss it insta fail challenges that are occasionally not very readable, making for a frustrating roadblock to an otherwise really well paced game. I didn't finish it due to one such roadblock, but I played enough to know what is good, is really good.
The Longing
Everything you need to know about my thoughts on this bizarre anti-game can be found here, but to reiterate, I’ve yet to experience a game that both excites me and bores me in quite the same way as The Longing. An endurance test to the extreme, it sometimes struggles to move past its one central idea but so much love and attention has gone into it that it’s impossible not to be charmed by the end result.
FILMS
Oppenheimer
It's not the masterpiece everyone seems to be insisting it is, but Oppenheimer nonetheless is an extremely compelling character study, a heavily fictionalised account of very real events held together by some excellent audiovisual work and a mesmerising central performance from Cillian Murphy. Would have been nice to give Florence Pugh a bit more to work with, the film is a bit of a sausage fest, and some of the dialogue is extremely ropey but by the end I was completely mesmerised. It's good cinema.
Inception
Nolan's big dumb dream heist flick still holds up extremely well, but it's interesting that it's such an ensemble piece when there are really only two character stories being told, with everyone else really just being set dressing. Some great visuals and cool action sequences let down by a weak score but the finale remains tense as hell. A great film.
MUSIC
Oppenheimer soundtrack
Ludwig Gorransson, you're going to be a star! A brilliant, fully alive score that's both memorable and sophisticated, which after years of Hans Zimmer's extremely minimalist soundtracks accompanying Nolan's films, feels like a breath of fresh air. Captures the air of desperation and guilt that fumigates that whole film brilliantly.
The Lucky One - Cory Wong
Probably need to spend a bit more time listening to this one, some great funky tunes, but not quite as catchy to me as his previous work. I'm seeing him live in a few months so I've got some serious swotting up to do. Don't want to look the fool in front of all the dudes in skinny jeans and striped t-shirts!
Rush in Rio
Returning to this after so many years of not really listening to Rush due to certain mental associations has been a blast. Possibly the best live recording since The Last Waltz, I cannot fathom what it must have felt like to experience 40,000 Brazilians going absolutely ape shit at the first few bars of YYZ. Still good, baby!
BOOKS
Planetes - Makoto Yukimura
One of those moments where you read the very first chapter and go 'OHHH! This is what every contemporary Sci Fi film has been riffing on!'. A brilliant, richly detailed fable of one man's obsession with the stars in a world that long abandoned the desire to be saved. Every chapter reads like a self-contained gut punch, a story that concerns itself more with human lives than it ever does in its Sci Fi setting, and it's all the better for it. A must read for anyone who loves films like Ad Astra.
Goodbye, Eri - Tatsuki Fujimoto
A really fascinating story from the Chainsaw Man guy, playing with filmic mediums and wordless storytelling to show off a really funny, sad and profoundly odd tale of the many roads to immortality. There's some amount of comfort in a story about someone who is lame and embarrassing and still loved, which is I suppose the artist's forte at this point. Some more great character art from Fujimoto here, he's exceptionally good at capturing unusual facial expressions.
I’ve also just started reading Samantha Shannon’s latest novel, A Day of Fallen Night, which is a prequel to the excellent Priory of the Orange Tree, a fabulous fantasty epic that’s incredibly queer and full of dragons. I haven’t read enough to be able to deliver a verdict yet but watch this space!