Tag: Sandbox Games

Grunn – Demo Impressions

Who gardens at night anyway? ⁿᵒᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵃⁿʸᵐᵒʳᵉ

Grunn

Developer:
Sokpop Collective,
Tom van den Boogaart

Release Date:
4 October 2024

A gardener gets hired for maintenance work over the weekend. A simple task, but strangely some tools are missing…The owner of the garden isn’t around, and their house is off-limits. Perhaps new tools can be found in the mysterious town, or maybe some of the reserved townsfolk have seen them?

Grunn mixes together a type of game that I love with a type of game that I hate. Together, they become a genius concoction that I absolutely don’t want to play despite REALLY wanting to play. Let me explain.

I love a task simulator. Give me games like Powerwash Sim, House Flipper or similar and I can play them all day, getting myself into that hyper fixated state of ‘just one more task’. The entire idea of this genre – in my opinion – is to allow for a flow state, zoning out of your everyday life, keeping your hands busy and your dopamine bar full. No thinking, only doing. As soon as I begun cutting the grass in this slightly overgrown garden I instantly fell into this zone, my safe zone, forgetting any uncanny feelings I may have had prior. What a perfect zone to get someone in before intruding, pulling the rug and making their hair stand on edge.

In Grunn, we are hired to do some gardening. We are left some instructions, a deadline, and that is all you get as you are let loose into this sandbox of oddities. I am not going to spoil in which way this is a horror game, you will have to play yourself for that, but I will say that at one point I did squeal. Once you notice something strange, you may notice something else, until the things you are noticing are probably nothing at all. Or.. If you are like me you will just get on with the job you were hired to do, happily snip-snip-snipping away without a care in the world. Once you realise, however, that things don’t quite seem ordinary, the dread creeps in and the real game begins.

You have been placed into a playground and the world is yours to explore, experiment and tidy up.. or not. Every action you take, object you find or information you obtain will lead you to the next, adding to your knowledge banks ready to take action somewhere down the line. The game takes place with a running clock, which means you only have limited time to do what you need to do, and there is far more to do than you could achieve before the deadline. The time pressure looms as you make your choice on what you pursue. I recommend a notebook as you find yourself zipping around, following clues without context and discover leads that you may want to follow up on.

I found the games unique aesthetic to be a little jarring at first. The generally soft colour palette draws you into the initial ‘cozy’ atmosphere, but it never feels perfect as what can only be described as a surreal wobble obfuscates your environment. This can be turned off in the settings but I quickly got used to it, preferring to keep it on as a scapegoat for any potential peripheral movement that should not be, that I would rather deny happened.

The demo contains 5 endings, with the full game presumably adding many more. In my playtime I found 2, neither of which being the true ending of the demo. While I had ideas of more things to try, I decided to wait for the full game to puzzle it out. Maybe then, I will finally dare to stay out after dark.

If you enjoy weird and wonderful, subversions and curiosity, I recommend giving this one a go. Something is going on here, and it is NOT wholesome.

Demo Length – 1+ Hours
At a glance
+ All in on the surreal aesthetic that can so easily turn creepy.
+ Tasks feel good to do and complete.
+ Freedom/No handholding.
+ So weird.
+ Multiple endings feel achievable in a game this length and densely packed.
+ Non-traditional puzzle game.
+ Contrasts cozy ideas with less cozy moments.

More Impressions

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A Noob’s [Mini] Review – Sea of Thieves

Ahoy, me hearties! The sea is calling.

Do you ever dream about sailing away, off into the sunset where there lies promise of sun, adventure, treasure and grog? If that sounds appealing then do I have the game for you. Sure, there may be the odd storm. A ghost ship or two. The occasional battle for your ship, lives and everything you have ever owned and loved against the fearsome, monstrous creatures of the deep. But it’s not just the party that makes the pirate, and when you’re approaching an outpost ready to cash in your haul, singing shanty’s of the sea into the dead of night, you will tell tales of previous voyages, laugh, and look forward to the next.

Sea of Thieves is an online multiplayer game in which you and up to three friends captain a ship. From there, the world really is your oyster. The game provides you with a huge sandbox world, full of random events. If you would like a fight then it is up to you to stock up your ship and seek out active forts, sea battles, or even other players. If you would prefer a calmer experience then you can instead find treasure maps, using the tools and clues provided to seek out the island you need. You can also become a merchant, follow story quests, or even just pick a direction and set sail, seeing what you find along the way.

What makes Sea of Thieves special is its core mechanics. Sailing a ship requires teamwork. Correctly navigating without incident and adapting when needed is always satisfying. The sea feels like a real sea and there is a learning curve to understand how the boat moves, all adding to the immersion. You will become as familiar with your compass and maps as you will with your sword and cannons. Not to mention, the stylised art style of the game offers an impressive beauty in all weathers, at all times of day.

The overall structure of the game creates an ever changing pace which makes no two sessions alike. The travel adds a downtime that is all the more appreciated after surviving three near disasters in a row, and all the more elevated when your ship is full of treasure and you have no idea what is in the water below, or over the horizon ahead.

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Release date: 20th March 2018
Available on: PC and Xbox (One, Series X/S, Game Pass)

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