Remnant: From The Ashes

Getting rid of the Root (of all evil) to save the world from their own subconscious.

Personally not a fan of soul-like games, but since it’s co-op multiplayer, I enjoyed the game even though it was a test of my endurance. Clearing maps and defeating bosses gave me a sense of accomplishment, especially after dying plenty of times. As the player collects gear and levels up, the game’s difficulty seems to scale accordingly.

Overall dark palette, with careful use of color to show importance of information. UI is grunge-y but neat, feedback is adequate, and never gets in the way. My guess is that the theme was probably chosen to represent the post-apocalyptic environment. Icons are very nicely rendered, highly detailed with good use of positive and negative space.

Developer: Gunfire Games | Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment | Engine: UE4

A Way Out

Following the adventures of 2 people finding A Way Out

Completed the game 3 times with 3 different people now, game has limited replayability from varying story choices; all leading to the same ending.

The game itself plays more like an interactive movie rather than a game, although it does have some gameplay resulting in the player being more invested, and excited when events happen. What makes this piece interesting is the split screen, co-dependent co-op experience, and cannot be played without another player. Both players must work together in order to get through obstacles, communication is essential.

UI is simple, bare minimal, and only appears when it is needed; works well for a linear story movie-like game. The UI consists of simple shapes, and only 1 main color, which is yellow. Although yellow itself is a bright color, the environment is nicely set up to not conflict with the UI, the UI is still nicely shows up on screen.

Developer: Hazelight | Publisher: EA | Engine: UE 4