Skillet

Ninjas assemble

I never played the original, I was introduced to this game while it was available on the Xbox Game pass, specifically because it can be played co-op with up to three players. Given that criteria we thought we would give it a try and I am glad we did. The game is mission based rather than open world; you are set in a small hidden village where you are set tasks from and follow the story. Basically, you’re a ninja with mystical powers that you upgrade with experience. There are multiple options to choose from meaning the three of us had differing skill sets. I expected the game to be relatively short and bearing in mind I replayed a few missions; I sank over thirty hours into the game before completing the story which just seemed to go on for ages. I don’t mean that in a bad way; it was long enough to progress through the upgrades tree and feel badass without out leveling the ever-strengthening enemies. Can you play it Solo? Absolutely! If anything, you can achieve more solo because you can dictate the fighting style more but like with most things, the game is more entertaining with more than one ‘player’. As you progress the story introduces more powerful and varied opponents and there are collectibles and money to find on each level so there is plenty to keep you going. You need money to buy the usable items like healing potions and smoke bombs (you’ll use those a lot) and to unlock different weapon and armour styles, including colours all of which are purely cosmetic. I had a lot of fun playing this game, so much so that I purchased it when it left the game pass. Multiplayer connectivity is about the smoothest experience in online gaming I have seen, although you can only join when in the village before a mission; there is no mid-game drop in option. Originally published on 15 September 2022.

Competitive Teamwork

As the name of this game suggests, this game can only be played by two players. As I understand it, only one of you needs to own it and the second player can download the game to play for free. In my case, we played It Takes Two through the Xbox Game Pass so were able to both download it and not find out the intricacies of one not having immediate access. From the Xbox app it opens into the EA app, so I was never quite sure if it was up to date or not but complications on installation and where it was running aside, let me get the important part, gameplay end entertainment. The start of the game sets the scene and there is a fair amount of cut scenes to do that. Ultimately though, you play a married couple who no longer get on and want a divorce, only somehow your daughter accidentally curses you into doll-like figures and, with the aid of an animated ‘Book of Love’ you must rediscover why you married and work through a series of challenges and varying landscapes to figure this out. You play Code (Clay man) and May (Wooden doll) and are equipped with various attachments along the way to complete each section which flow into each other well with no obvious loading screens; it’s sleek. Sure, it’s loading in the cut scenes but its good enough to make it feel like a fluid game. The odd thing at the start of the game is that you play on a vertically split screen which seems odd when you are not in the same room. But this becomes more useful as the game progresses and you can view your partner’s screen to figure out what you need to do as you often have different skills or powers. Dotted around the levels are various mini games where you compete against each other; some are fun, some are tedious and some just downright odd! There were all entertaining in some ways. The style of the game is quite beautiful, Toy Story style in animation and it makes for some gorgeous interactive scenery along the way. The story also seems to have a darker side to it as you see two supposedly loving parents do some questionable things to an elephant to make their daughter cry. Overall, this game is a lot of fun, assuming you get on with your game partner. Much like with Portal 2 you can have some fun killing each other, I mean, it is hilarious for a short time, but this game always comes back to teamwork, and you need to work together and trust your partner otherwise it will become frustrating, and you will never finish. The content was far greater than I had imagined; that said, we played it for about 15 hours to complete the story. 15 hours of thinking, cursing, and laughing, so well worth it. Originally published on 28 August 2022.