To introduce you to the team we've put together here at Push Square, we asked each team member for two PS3 games they considered absolutely essential. Here, Vita editor Corbie Dillard illuminates two of the brightest stars of the PlayStation Store.
LIMBO
While the likely first impression of Limbo would be that the game is too minimalistic, you don't fully understand the game's unique sense of atmosphere until a few minutes in. It's then that you discover just how moody and intoxicating everything becomes: the monochromatic visuals and lack of music leave the focus of the game on pure navigation and the subtle sounds of the unseen around you.
Even the gameplay itself is quite simple in design and allows you to platform your way through the many areas with a type of realism you don't often seen in today's platformers. Things like falling from too high will kill your character and sometimes you'll have to use what the game gives you to solve tricky puzzles in order to progress through certain sections. All the while the deliberate pacing keeps the action engaging, but with a true sense of relaxation afforded by your surroundings.
When you combine the hypnotic atmosphere with the extremely simple, yet wildly playable gameplay, you find yourself being totally immersed in the game's brilliant presentation. You don't see games that are quite this well designed and thought out very often, but when you do you begin to see just how much originality is still available to developers who take the time to create with it. If you want to see one of the more riskier and creative gaming experiences available on Sony's PSN download service, give Limbo a try.
Trine 2
Trine was one of those games that pretty much blew everyone away when it was first released. The unique blend of platforming and magic spells gave the game a hybrid feel that perfectly exemplified the type of experimental gaming experience indie developers have become so well known for in recent years. Trine 2 continues the tradition of lush environments and puzzle-filled gameplay, even going so far as to allow up to three people to play the game cooperatively, both online and locally.
Trine 2 features a solid mix of puzzle and platforming action that will force you to use all three characters in order to traverse the various areas. The knight will normally be your go-to character for taking out enemies, but you'll also need the rogue and magician's special skills in order to maneuver some of the trickier spots the game will toss at you. There will even be times when you'll have to quickly toggle between characters in order to navigate some challenges. It's this crafty blend of gameplay elements that give the game such an addictive quality and keep you coming back for more.
If you're someone who likes a bit of eye candy in your games, Trine 2 will absolutely knock your socks off. There is an almost endless level of depth and detail to the world around you that really makes the game's surroundings spring to life. And not to be outdone by the visual tour-de-force, the game's musical score is equally engrossing and carries the action of the game quite well.
If you can appreciate a truly inspiring game that takes the classic 2D platformer and modernizes with cooperative gameplay, stunning visuals, and enough orchestrated music to last you a lifetime, then you need to take Trine 2 for a spin. If only to appreciate just how amazing a download title can truly be.
Comments 3
Awesome I love Limbo. I need to go beat it sometime D:
Trine 2 has some of the best visuals I've sen in any PS3 game. It really blew me away that somebody would take that much time and make that much effort for a 2-D downloadable sidescroller. I am a fantasy geek though, so people blown away by FPS realism probably wouldn't be as appreciative. But damn, that has got to be as much 3D as you can fit into a 2D world.
That said, I would put it way down on the list of reasons to own a PS3. Way way down. But since Corbie is the NL "Downloads Editor" ...
BTW - Is this Corbie, a PlayStation gamer since the start, the guy who created VC-Reviews?
I didn't create VC-Reviews, I just worked for the site back when it was still on its own. Good times!
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