steam games | The Hanslick Girls

March 23, 2020

Outpace and Outreach: Adam Robinson-Yu’s “A Short Hike”

Dania’s weekend had been dominated by one thing only: her newly-purchased copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As soon as Friday evening rolled around, she slammed the cartridge into her Switch, named her abandoned island (“Cool City”), and began the process of building the new life she’d have in the game.

At least, she did for a few hours each day. Animal Crossing‘s newest installment shared the series’ long-play structure, with the brightly-colored animal village running dry of fruit to resell, or fish to catch, by the end of a two-hour session. After that, it was time to sleep until the next day. Of course, the date on the Switch itself could be altered, jumping to the next day––but Dania was less interested in time traveling to get achievements.

October 28, 2019

The Coming Void: Infinite Fall’s “Night In The Woods”

Author’s Note: this review of Night In The Woods discusses allegations of assault made against one of its creators. These allegations broke after my first two playthroughs of the game were concluded, and the emotional impact of the game already established. I considered whether to cut the review entirely, not wanting to promote the work of this developer. After careful deliberation, and in light of the accused being immediately fired from Infinite Fall, I have decided to move forward in reviewing Night In The Woods, in support of the other team members of Infinite Fall, whose work on this excellent game should not be allowed to be brought down by another person’s actions.

Dania lay on the couch in her apartment.

I need to delete Twitter, she thought to herself. She knew she wouldn’t.

January 29, 2018

The Guiding Spirit: Upper One Games’ “Kisima Inŋitchuŋa (Never Alone)”

“You wanna play as the Wolf for a bit?”

“I’m fine.”

Eleanor navigated down a series of tree branches, the brisk wind on the tundra nearly sweeping her into the abyss below. As she landed on the lowest step, Dania flew above her, hoping to grab the ––

“What is this, exactly?” she asked.

November 6, 2017

Drawn To Fightin’: Studio MDHR’s “Cuphead”

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of friends who are always out experiencing the best of entertainment. Be it plays, films, concerts, exhibits, or games, they’ve learned that the arts are best when experienced together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. Recently, the discussion centers on “Cuphead,” a video game by the Moldenhauer Brothers that evokes the spirit of the Fleischer Brothers . Let’s listen in on their conversation…

Gwen worked silently in her room, making notes in a script as she parsed through the pages. Lying on her bed in the silent day, she was struck by what appeared to be a muffled cry of grief from outside the window. She stopped, sat up, and waited for the noise to repeat itself. But nothing came.

“Hello?” Gwen put the script down, and peered out her window towards the street. Nothing seemed amiss – in fact, no one who could have emitted the cry was in sight. Gwen was just sitting back down on the bed when – perfect timing, she thought – the cry happened again. Longer, more indistinguishable words this time.

Tag / steam games