Give me Tokyo Jungle or give me death
Plus Bugsnax, the joys of Mario Party partnership and Kirby turns 30.
Hello there! This week on Press Any Button we take a look at some important elements missing from Sony’s upcoming Game Pass competitor, we check in with the latest from Magic: The Gathering and we remind you you’re going to die one day by remembering games we love that are now three decades old.
The biggest Australia-relevant gaming news this week was that we got some local details about the new PlayStation Plus, which will be launching on June 22. I love my PS5, but I do also really enjoy going through Game Pass on my Xbox and adding random stuff to my download list to try out later, so I really hope that’s the kind of experience Sony is aiming for.
I’ve noticed a lot of people writing and talking about the new subscription saying things to the effect of “it’s clear this is going to be a very different kind of service to Game Pass, so it’s not fair to compare them,” but I’m not sure I agree. They’re priced similarly, and both promise a big library of 100+ games old and new. There are still things we don’t know about Sony’s offering of course, but as a lot of people will be wondering whether it’s worth their money to switch, or to sign up to both, I expect we’ll end up comparing them quite a bit!
Why does Sony hate the PS3? And Australia?
By Tim
There’s a lot to get excited about ahead of the new PS Plus, even with the scant details we have. But there are also questions to ask. Such as why does Sony not have a way to let us download PS3 games onto the gosh darn PS5? And why do Australians still not have the ability to stream PlayStation games from the cloud, when that capability is soon to be live in 30 other markets?
The details: Come June 22 there will be three tiers of PlayStation Plus, and each of them will have three pricing options, with users saving money if they pay for a year’s worth all at once. Not just a little bit of money either, up to $100 per year. In fact in all cases, whether you pay monthly or yearly is the difference between PS+ costing more or less than Game Pass.
The lowest tier, PlayStation Plus Essential, is the same as the current PS Plus; you get to play online. PlayStation Plus Extra adds a library of downloadable PS4 and PS5 games, for $135 per year. PlayStation Plus Deluxe adds downloadable PS1 and PS2 games, plus “game trials” for $155 yearly.
So where is the PS3, exclusive home of Heavenly Sword, Metal Gear Solid 4 and the masterful Tokyo Jungle? Well, PS3 games are for cloud streaming only, and Sony doesn’t offer that luxury in Australia. And even if it did, I find the lack of downloadable PS3 games very disappointing.
I understand the PS3’s processor is quite unique, which makes running games designed for it on other systems difficult. Not even unofficial enthusiast-made PS3 emulators are anywhere near close to 100% accurate; making it happen could cost Sony millions in research and development. But then again, why charge people so much extra for access to old retro games if you’re not willing to make that investment?
What to play
If you missed it on PlayStation, now’s your chance to catch a Cinnasnail or BBQ Bunger and feed it to your friends, as Bugsnax arrives on Xbox and Switch tomorrow. This is a super weird game where the world is populated by critter-food hybrids and the muppet-like people who love to eat them. But it’s also a brilliant experience that’s equal parts puzzly monster-trapping, mysterious narrative and fever dream hallucinations.
While I (Alice) don’t exactly recommend playing Battlefield 2042, it is currently 92% off. That takes the price of the six-month-old game from $109 to $9 from both Amazon and Harvey Norman (both of which I’m loath to recommend, but I can’t imagine they’re making much profit from this endeavour). Is it good? No. But it is getting better, and it is kinda fun, if you squint.
Boutique publisher Team17 has discounted all its games on Switch, but the sale ends tonight so you’d have to strike quickly. Co-operative good times Overcooked 2, Moving Out, Worms WMD and Golf With your Friends are all less than $10, but for you solo players I (Tim) highly recommend pinball adventure Yoku’s Island Express at $6.75, and Donkey Kong Country homage Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair at $11.25.
Also on Switch, Daedalic is practically throwing away the entire Deponia series. These games will not be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re a fan of point-and-click comedies in the Monkey Island vein you’re sure to have a good time. There are four chapters, currently $3 each (down from $30), or you can grab them all in a bundle for $6.
This week’s new Apple Arcade game is Prune, which looks utterly beautiful. In it, you cultivate trees to keep them healthy and beautiful. I haven’t played it yet, but I’ve been mesmerised by the trailer and already pre-saved it.
Ready … Yeah!
By Alice
After roughly a decade of hating Mario Party, I have a confession to make: I am completely addicted to Super Mario Party. My wife and I started playing it during lockdown two and it has changed the way we talk. It’s like the time we got addicted to Boom Street, the terrible board game for Wii that wanted to be Mario Party, but wasn’t that organised.
What keeps me coming back to Super Mario Party over Mario Party Superstars is the ally mechanic. Each character has a different dice block, meaning that instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, you could roll 1, 1, 1, 5, 6, 7, for example. That means that, unlike some other Mario Party games, there can be some strategy that goes into your character selection. There are opportunities to take on allies during the course of the game, so you can roll more and go further.
Of course, Mario Party is still technically a fairly terrible game to play properly unless you have four players. The AI characters take way too long on their turn, so there are long pauses between actual people doing anything if you’re just playing with two, and there is far too much filler between mini games. But, if you’re playing while having a conversation or (as we do it) playing while also playing a game like Hardback, those pauses in activity let the party (or quiet evening at home) stay focused on the people in the room, rather than the action on the screen.
The other thing I love about Super Mario Party is all the high fiving. Before starting a game, or after a team minigame, the narrator says “Ready?” and then you swing your Joy-Con to high five another character and the voice says “Yeah!” It’s silly and dumb, and yet has become a rallying cry at our place. It’s simple, but effective.
Bricks, Boards and Beginnings
by Alice
It’s the most wonderful time of the fiscal quarter: A new Magic: The Gathering set drops this Friday. This time the theme is all around the five families of New Capenna or “what if the New York mob scene had armoured animals?”
I got my first taste of the set last night, and while I’m certainly not yet qualified to do a full review, I think the Cabretti Commander pre-fab deck might just be the best pre-fab commander deck I’ve played in a long time. It’s essentially a token deck with a heavy focus on “Goading” creatures of other players to attack anyone else but you. Not super useful in a two-player commander game, but really gets the action going in a four-player game, forcing other players to use their creatures to attack your opponents for you. Although it’s not a new mechanic for this set, it really matches with the mafia-esque theme, getting other people to do your dirty work while keeping your hands clean.
The five “families” in New Capenna are: Brokers (green, white, blue), Cabretti (red, green, white), Riveteers (black, red, green), Meastros (blue, black, red) and Obscura (black, blue, white). Because I’m normally a green/white player, adding in the red of Cabretti took me a little out of my comfort zone and got me to try more red spells I normally wouldn’t touch. While I still would prefer the dastardly nature of black over the quick damage of red, I have to admit that the impermanence of the red Instants pushed me to try faster strategies than I would have otherwise, leading to a quick 90-minute game, getting my three opponents to take each other out without me losing a single life. I have very high hopes for how this set will play competitively, particularly now that the MTG Arena ESL ANZ Champs Tournament is returning this May.
Retro Esoterica
by Tim
As April ends, we look once again at the gaming anniversaries that mark the terrifyingly accelerating march of time.
Now 25: Star Fox 64. Originally called “Lylat Wars” in Australia, this remains the one and only good Star Fox game that does not feature a dinosaur named Tricky or a frog named Grippy (sorry but it’s true). Star Fox was the perfect game to follow Mario and show what the 64 could do, and by happy accident the simple geometric shapes it used as a necessity lends the whole thing a timeless look that has aged better than most early 3D. Everything from the punchy orchestra hit soundtrack to the dumb dialogue is a wonderful time capsule, but the secret-filled space shooter action means playing in 2022 is worthwhile for more than just nostalgia.
Now 30: Kirby’s Dream Land. Kirby wouldn’t get his iconic copy ability until the year after, but 1992’s Dream Land was an incredible introduction for the pink puffball. It was the most beautiful Game Boy adventure to date, its tunes were instant classics, and the environments and adorable enemies were so fully formed that they’ve remained more or less unchanged over three decades. Part of the series’ appeal is that it’s a friendlier kind of power fantasy — where your character can fly, devour anything, even break the sanctity of the pause screen by flagrantly dancing — and that very much started here.
Now 35:Double Dragon. Though our collective memories have been muddied by dozens of lousy ports and sequels, the original arcade version of Double Dragon was a hugely important step in the evolution of action games. With smooth scrolling, co-operative two-player moves, boss characters and stealable weapons, it inspired a wave of beat-em-ups that would flow through the mid 90s. I also have a strong memory of seeing the film adaptation in a cinema when I was six years old, but only the traumatic moment Jimmy Lee becomes a shadow and enters Robert Patrick’s body, which I don’t believe happens in the game.