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[Walliwallipaloo]

I do not see the appeal of Double Fine's games, and that's certainly not changing with this one. Glad to see I'm not alone.

I've always held that DF's the Apple of videogames. It's artsy-fartsy nonsense of actually dubious quality that owes the entirety of its recognition to guys who like to think enjoying it elevates them to distinguished status.

I guess that's a profoundly negative viewpoint, but hey - it's grounded in reality. The numbers don't lie. I think this one might have been their last.

 

[kevboard]

I do not see the appeal of Double Fine's games, and that's certainly not changing with this one. Glad to see I'm not alone.

I've always held that DF's the Apple of videogames. It's artsy-fartsy nonsense of actually dubious quality that owes the entirety of its recognition to guys who like to think enjoying it elevates them to distinguished status.

I guess that's a profoundly negative viewpoint, but hey - it's grounded in reality. The numbers don't lie. I think this one might have been their last.

wtf? that's not a negative viewpoint, it's just a nonsense viewpoint.

they made 3d platformers, turn based startegy RPGs with a Halloween theme and a game about a roady driving through a heavy metal dimension with Ozzy being your car mechanic...

this here is basically the only artsy game they ever made. unless you count their pont n click adventure as artsy... or maybe Stacking? but that's just an XBLA puzzle game

 

[Walliwallipaloo]

wtf? that's not a negative viewpoint, it's just a nonsense viewpoint.

they made 3d platformers, turn based startegy RPGs with a Halloween theme and a game about a roady driving through a heavy metal dimension with Ozzy being your car mechanic...

this here is basically the only artsy game they ever made. unless you count their pont n click adventure as artsy... or maybe Stacking? but that's just an XBLA puzzle game

Not a single one of those games was good.

Fight me.

No, seriously, I was intensely disappointed by Brutal Legend. I bought that game day-one.

 

[Topher]

I do not see the appeal of Double Fine's games, and that's certainly not changing with this one. Glad to see I'm not alone.

I've always held that DF's the Apple of videogames. It's artsy-fartsy nonsense of actually dubious quality that owes the entirety of its recognition to guys who like to think enjoying it elevates them to distinguished status.

I guess that's a profoundly negative viewpoint, but hey - it's grounded in reality. The numbers don't lie. I think this one might have been their last.

It's grounded in simply not liking the style. I don't get the take that those who like Double Fine games think it "elevates" them to whatever. It's just a video game. We ain't sipping wine with our pinkys sticking out.

 

[Krathoon]

Yeah. Double Fine is totally not a stuck up company. Watch some of the documentaries on them.

They started out as kind of a rag tag team of developers. Microsoft kind of screwed them over on Psychonauts.

Which reminds me, I need to play around with that Kinect game they made. It was really more of a toy.

 

[Walliwallipaloo]

It's grounded in simply not liking the style. I don't get the take that those who like Double Fine games think it "elevates" them to whatever. It's just a video game. We ain't sipping wine with our pinkys sticking out.

You're not wrong about that.

Yet a lot of the praise I see for Double Fine is more brand loyalty than an appreciation of quality. Some do consider themselves connoisseurs for appreciating Double Fine's games, as "dudebros" "don't get it" because they "have to blow something up every five minutes." Not all, by any means, but a not-insignificant amount.

I like action games, sure, but I can appreciate a good story or a slow-burn experience. But I've yet to appreciate a single thing they've ever put out.

 

[zaga]

Price is bad.

And DoubleFine still has my good will forever, but they're not what they used to be.

Agree the price is bad

But as far as their small projects / side projects go, this one looks quite good!

Keeper seems like a pretty big improvement over their last few (Massive Chalice, Headlander, Rad)

 

[Punished Miku]

Define "best looking"? Most realistic? Artistically beautiful? Cause I think Mario Wonder is a gorgeous looking game. Technically it can't touch these games but does it need to?

Originality, artistry, technical realization in UE5, use of color, fixed camera cinematography, animation effectively eliciting emotion from inanimate objects. All of it. I'm not Digital Foundry. The shit looks good. Really good.

 

[Topher]

You're not wrong about that.

Yet a lot of the praise I see for Double Fine is more brand loyalty than an appreciation of quality. Some do consider themselves connoisseurs for appreciating Double Fine's games, as "dudebros" "don't get it" because they "have to blow something up every five minutes." Not all, by any means, but a not-insignificant amount.

I like action games, sure, but I can appreciate a good story or a slow-burn experience. But I've yet to appreciate a single thing they've ever put out.

I finished Keeper yesterday and it was fine. I enjoyed Psychonauts 2 a bit more. Just a good platformer. They are really not pretentious though. More irreverent than anything else, imo.

 

[Topher]

Originality, artistry, technical realization. All of it. I'm not Digital Foundry. The shit looks good. Really good.

The artistry in that game was amazingly well done. No doubt about it

 

[havoc00]

Psychonauts 2 was great, this looks boring as fuck.

 

[davidjaffe]

This is some take on a congratulations from Spencer to a Studio who just released a new game I don't mean to be rude but are you on some form of medication?

Yep. A whole bunch!

 

[ConkerTheSquirrel.]

They made a game where you play as a fucking lighthouse

flower Reviews

[Playstation Network] The pioneers that brought you the award-winning PlayStation Network title "flOw" are back with another concept that challenges traditional gaming conventions. Flower expands the team's tradition of delivering simple gameplay, accessible controls and a medium to explore...

www.metacritic.com

There's games about walking, too.

 

[Punished Miku]

Psychonauts 2 was great, this looks boring as fuck.

Many people will definitely think that. My score is scoring it as a walking sim against other walking sims. If thats not your thing, this isn't either.

 

[kevboard]

Not a single one of those games was good.

Fight me.

No, seriously, I was intensely disappointed by Brutal Legend. I bought that game day-one.

but none of them are artsy games. also Psychonauts 1 and 2 are great

 

[clarky]

I've never played a Double Fine game. I guess I'm missing out.

Not really most of their games are shit.

 

[Punished Miku]

I've never played a Double Fine game. I guess I'm missing out.

I'd start on Psychonauts 1. Still holds up for sure if you give it a chance.

 

[Kacho]

Not really most of their games are shit.

Yeah, I remember enjoying Costume Quest but can't think of anything else. Brutal Legend was ok but bogged down by RTS missions. Their mech game sounded cool until I heard it was a tower defense.

 

[clarky]

Yeah, I remember enjoying Costume Quest but can't think of anything else. Brutal Legend was ok but bogged down by RTS missions. Their mech game sounded cool until I heard it was a tower defense.

He made some classics at Lucasarts no question, everything after that not so much. Not sure why they are held in such high regard.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

They made a game where you play as a fucking lighthouse

 

[Ozzie666]

Let's be honest, most people consider the price somewhat high, Microsoft probably didn't expect this game to sell much. It's a game pass title. I'm not sure who set the price, but making it $20 or $25 probably doesn't align with their strategy. Sell less at higher price, like their subscription and hardware.

Game is near $50 in my country to own it outright. Doesn't make any sense.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Game studio gets more attention than it deserves because Tim Schafer is at the helm, whose roots go back to some 1990s PC classics. His next biggest games are Psychonauts, then the mish mash of budget priced indie kinds of games. Not indie in terms of 3 guys in his basement making a retro 8 bit looking game after dinner, but a lot of XBLA $15 quality kinds of games.

Keeper is an unusual one because it's another one of those kinds of games but somehow $30 US/$40 CDN.

 

[zaga]

Not really most of their games are shit.

They have developed a lot of games (more than 20 games over a 20 year period -- and actually more like 30 or 40 games depending on how you count them). Kind of crazy when you consider that some studios just work on a single game for 10 years...

A bunch of their games are bad or boring. But they have some great ones too. Of the smaller ones, I really liked Stacking and Iron Brigade and The Cave. The Kinect games are apparently incredible for kids.

 

[Jaybe]

I think this the worst Steam CCU for a Microsoft Gaming release ever. There's like over 40 people in the credits for this, so quite a bad result for an AA game..

 

[Sinozen]

Double Fine is great, but I have too many games to play already. Surprised Microsoft hasnt closed them. After what they did to Tango Games, it's only a matter of time I fear. You can make the best game ever and these buisness suits will axe you.

 

[Pimpbaa]

It's just everyone is playing it on gamepass on an Xbox. Probably like 40 million worldwide. Xbox wins again. It's crazy how much hardware they must be selling, because Costco can't keep them on the shelves.

 

[longrainwater]

Game looks beautiful.

 

[Crayon]

I like their games. I'd love them if they didn't play kinda shitty, though.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Trash game. Trash studio.

You know what to do, Phil.

 

[nemiroff]

This game looks jaw droppingly good in HDR...

And I really enjoyed my time with it (didn't play a lot though), a nice break from my "hard core" gaming. I tend to enjoy these kinds of games as such. Reminds me of my time with games like Flower, Journey and flOw, on the PS3.

Trash game. Trash studio.

Trash post.

 

[GermanZepp]

I'm gonna try it when it's cheaper. I like the concept

Wrong game. I was thinking in the one you handle like a turret with a cannon in it.

 

[analog_future]

You're not wrong about that.

Yet a lot of the praise I see for Double Fine is more brand loyalty than an appreciation of quality. Some do consider themselves connoisseurs for appreciating Double Fine's games, as "dudebros" "don't get it" because they "have to blow something up every five minutes." Not all, by any means, but a not-insignificant amount.

I like action games, sure, but I can appreciate a good story or a slow-burn experience. But I've yet to appreciate a single thing they've ever put out.

Okay? Then accept that their style isn't for you and move on. Really weird take to celebrate their failures and make strange, insulting claims about those who enjoy their games.


FROM games aren't for me but I'm not going to shit on everyone who likes their games and I certainly won't be rooting for them to fail. The more unique games in this hobby, the better.

 

[Conflict NZ]

My gut tells me you will hear about DF layoffs in the next month. And my gut is driven simply by the tweet Phil put out about the game yesterday. It was as benign and basic as you could get which isn't really fitting for a game as special as this.

it tells me they know they are gonna gut the studio or shut it down completely because otherwise the praise would be effusive and much more celebratory. And the game deserves that sort of praise but to do that when you KNOW you are about to close the doors in the next few weeks would come back to bite them in the ass PR wise.

All that said, it's just a gut feeling and I hope I'm wrong.

I don't think you're far off to be honest, it felt like they were really embarrassed by the questions surrounding Tango and HiFi rush after their effusive praise about that game and then shutting down the studio. They'll probably keep it much more low key from now on.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

Not looking so good.


https://steamdb.info/app/3043580/charts/

Called it, game looks like an artsy indie game that gets 300 reviews on steam. Problem is it's a bigger budget title than that. The game also lacks charm unlike other double fine games and there's seemingly no dialogue.

 

[playbignbox]

It's a shame, but this genre is very niche, unfortunately that's what happens when you release a game like this. I don't know if MS currently has any interest in keeping this type of studio in its portfolio, but I wouldn't be surprised if another talented studio suffers the same fate as Tango.

 

[bender]

Trash game. Trash studio.

You know what to do, Phil.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Game looks really nice. This is a shame and as someone said above. This is the cost of gamepass as well. Great games just getting ignored, the opposite of conveyor belt slop.

 

[lh032]

I think so, if you're a marketing company for instance once in a blue moon you'll run a single ad at a loss simply to enter ad awards so you can farm cred.

It's usually high concept shit meant to bag awards. Requirements would be that the ad ran at least once, so that said the game's commercial success won't be important, the awards games like these bags for Sony/MS/Nintendo etc would matter more.

media molecule?

 

[Bernkastel]

Next studio in the Microsoft chopping block.