November is a vital part of the gaming calendar. It's a time of respite, where we all try to clear that growing backlog ahead of the Christmas madness. And yet, there is still a constant supply of releases, all vying for your time and money. Sigh...
Below you’ll find a mix of recent releases to keep you entertained this month. As always, there’s a healthy mix of genres, styles, and lengths to suit every and any mood.
The only problem is finding the time to play them all!
Keeper
Games are an incredibly free art form, where the imagination can become reality in unexpected ways, and virtually anyone (or anything) can become the leading hero. Keeper is a textbook example of that in action.
In this game, you play as a forgotten lighthouse that suddenly awakens, uproots itself, and begins marching around a mysterious island. Its motive remains unclear, but trust that this will become a simple, beautiful, poignant, and utterly unforgettable odyssey, where your sense of exploration is constantly catered to.
Understandably, walking as a newly sentient lighthouse is tricky. Early on, you'll try your best not to topple your charge as you take each baby step. Learning to walk for a building is difficult, and accidentally crushing abandoned houses as you swagger along craggy cliffs is inevitable.
But from the outset, you’ll feel strangely protective of your silent protagonist, careful not to break them any more than time already has.
A visual delight – Keeper will keep you enthralled
In time, you’ll learn that the light you wield can interact with the island in novel ways, like renewing flowers, interacting with unusual local creatures, creating bridges, as well as vanishing obstacles. And it’s through the light mechanic that you will see Keeper as a spellbinding, visual delight.
There is no cluttered game screen to distract your eyes. No busy menus or text of any kind to skim through. Instead, you’re given free rein to gaze upon this beautiful world, taking in all of its mysterious splendour.
It’s also worth noting that Keeper is a very approachable puzzler. There’s no death or threats to worry about. No major obstacle you can’t overcome by shining your light upon something. Any new mechanics are introduced in a way that rewards your curiosity. This game wants you to succeed at every interval.
Joining you on your quest is the equally adorable seabird, Twig, who initially roosts on top of you for protection against evil shadows. Twig can be commanded to interact with the environment as well, allowing the unlikely duo to press on at every occasion.
Despite its relative ease, Keeper has become one of the most rewarding adventures I’ve had in recent times. Not a single word is spoken throughout. But the connection between the magical lighthouse and a green seabird feels so poetic. The game manages to fit an immense amount of atmosphere into its 3-hour runtime, reaffirming video games as an art form of undefinable potential.
Keeper is available to play on Xbox Series X/S and PC
Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the latest entry from one of the world's most recognisable brands. Set five years after the events of X & Y, the game takes place in Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan aims to allow both people and Pokémon to live together.
Seconds into the game, and the game is already bursting with almost 30 years of gaming nostalgia. It’s a brand new adventure that feels unquestionably familiar. But sizeable changes are introduced, ones that do a lot to keep things interesting for veteran trainers. The most notable of which is, of course, the introduction of real-time battling.
Z-A forces players into the thick of the action, giving the traditional paper-rock-scissors format a much-needed modern twist. Rather than standing static and ordering Pokémon from the sidelines, players can - and must - move around the battlefield, dodging upcoming attacks while ordering their Pokémon team to attack, dodge and more.
The real-time elements are a revelation, introducing high energy and engagement in even the quickest of fights. You get to see spectacle after spectacle, Pokémon abilities like you’ve never seen before, but you will always remain careful not to be within direct fire.
Exciting battle mechanics are ultimately weighed down by dated graphics
The new real-time aspect of fighting ties in well with the competitive storyline of Z-A. Rather than following a linear path and battling gym leaders, the entire game is compressed within Lumiose City, where you’ll fight the citizens of the city at night to raise your ranking. It’s a novel change, and strong writing helps make the world feel bigger than the game actually delivers on.
That said, speaking as a lifelong fan of the franchise, I’m going to be picky. If I had one challenge for developers Game Freak, it would be to evolve the visuals and raise them to a more deserving standard. Let’s remember that this game is part of one of the most successful and iconic franchises in the business, but it often doesn’t feel or act like it.
Lumiose City is awash with repurposed textures. And when you’re not distracted by the undeniably fun Pokémon battles, you’ll realise parts of the city feel hollow, empty, and void of personality. And when characters are speaking during cut-scenes and their lips are moving, you’ll be painfully reminded that voice acting is still an absent thought in the games. Why? Who knows.
When all is said and done, played and captured, Pokémon Legends: Z-A still ticks all the boxes in terms of fun adventuring, strategic battling and monster-collecting. Make no mistake; it’s beyond fun and will go on to sell billions upon billions of copies without fail. Seasoned trainers and newcomers alike will thoroughly enjoy it.
My only worry is that the guaranteed success might stagnate innovation. How long can Pikachu and friends rest on their laurels without evolving other much-needed parts of their signature formula?
Pokémon Legends: Z-A Is available to play on Nintendo Switch 1 & 2
Undusted: Letters from the Past
With a playtime of about 2 hours, Undusted is a casual game that invites you to ignore the real-world cleaning around you and instead clean virtual objects. The story and scene is simple; you play as Adora, who returns home after her mother has passed.
She must clean a variety of items from around the house, slowly returning them to their former glory. But with each object restored, she'll revisit key memories of the strained relationship she shared with her mother. The pixel graphics and tranquil cleaning mechanics might make you think this is a cosy cleaning game. However, the heartfelt and sensitive story packs a powerful punch.
It’s as if you’re an emotional archaeologist who is digging through the character’s own buried memories, speaking to a character you can no longer get answers from. As such, make sure you’re in the right frame of mind before you don the marigolds to take on the game.
Undusted: Letters from the Past is available to play on PC & Nintendo Switch
Fold & Fly
As names go, Fold & Fly leaves nothing to the imagination. This is an incredibly simple and straightforward game where you take command of a paper aeroplane and drift through procedurally generated, dreamlike maps. Your goal? Well, that ultimately depends on your mood.
The game strikes the perfect duality of play; you can jump in for a bit of mindfulness as you float through obstacles, catch wind currents, toss and turn, pivot direction, and coast through obstacles. All the while, zen music plays in the background, acting as the perfect therapy for however long your plane or attention span lasts.
Or, you can flip the narrative yourself and focus on your score. And in this way, the game changes into the ultimate competitive challenge, where you commandeer the paper plane to rack up as many points, collecting stars and hidden tokens, and zipping through a myriad of progressively challenging levels until you crash.
With Fold & Fly, what you see is what you get. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, considering the attractive price and low commitment needed to jump in and play. And for trophy hunters, a number of seemingly impossible Steam achievements are there for you to tackle, which can extend the flight of the game considerably - if you have the nerve.
Fold & Fly is available to play on PC
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