Beastby - Issue 02 May 2017

BEASTBY.NET 

FROM THE EDITOR 

Pat us on the back and give us a gold 

star, we made it issue number two. 

We’ve thought long and hard about what 

we can improve on this month, and hope we’ve 

delivered. This magazine is a lot tighter than before 

and includes more images, information and a 

ton of small tweaks. Most noticeably, we felt that 

last issue lacked smaller, more digestible content 

so we’ve attempted to remedy the situation. 

Our big reviews aren’t so bulky either. We’ve saved 

space by adding more text per page and used each 

back cover as a place for even more screenshots. We 

endeavour to provide our readers with concentrated 

doses of video game content. Tighten that belt 

and tap that vein, this issue is a goodun! 

Darren Burchett 

IN THIS ISSUE... 

DARREN BURCHETT 

EDITOR & DESIGN 

@YABOYBEASTBY 

HENRY MELVILLE 

SUB-EDITOR 

@COLDFOAMY 

ROBERT HOGGE 

SUB-EDITOR 

@EVILMUSKA 

DYLAN BISHOP 

REVIEW EDITOR 

@DYL_BYL 

CONTACTS AND 

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for dinner? Get a hold of us 

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Contact@Beastby.net 

@BeastbyBlog 

/Beastby 

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but if you find any mistakes then 

please let us know. We make a 

concerted effort to correct any we 

find, but there’ll always be some that 

make it through. Drop us a line and 

we’ll update this issue. 

DISCLAIMER 

Some images may be edited for 

design purposes such as backgrounds, 

feature images and photo mode 

capture. 

DO YOU WANT TO 

WRITE FOR US? 

WE’RE JUST GETTING OFF 

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THE LOOKOUT FOR MORE 

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CONTACT@BEASTBY.NET 

10 6 & 18 

34 

26 52 

44 14 42 48 

CONTENTS 

OPINION 

06 CONTROVERSY IS 

THE WRONG WAY TO 

BRING CHANGE 

08 NOBODY ASKED FOR 

PROJECT SCORPIO 

The article that fanboys 

got upset over 

09 A LETTER TO BIOWARE 

PREVIEWS 

10 MASS EFFECT 

ANDROMEDA 

Limping into a new frontier lineup 

14 ROCKET LEAGUE 

DROPSHOT 

REVIEWS 

18 HORIZON ZERO DAWN 

26 NIER: AUTOMATA 

34 PERSONA 5 

On the cover 

42 STORIES UNTOLD 

44 SNAKE PASS 

46 THE BINDING OF 

ISAAC: AFTERBIRTH+ 

48 HUMAN RESOURCE 

MACHINE 

49 I AM SETSUNA 

50 MANUAL SAMUEL 

FEATURE 

52 TOP TRUMPS: VIDEO 

GAME BEARDS 

Who has the best beard 

in the business?! 

56 PLAYER SELECT 

What we’ve been playing 

CHECK US OUT ON 

SOCIAL 

MEDIA 

4 ISSUE 02 MAY 2017 Beastby.net @BeastbyBlog 

ISSUE 02 MAY 2017 5

OPINION 

HORIZON: ZERO DAWN 

BEASTBY.NET 

HORIZON 

ZERO DAWN 

CONTROVERSY IS 

THE WRONG WAY 

TO BRING CHANGE 

By Dylan Bishop 

It’s been an odd start to 2017 in the 

world of gaming. Multiple big-name 

titles have released back to back to 

back. While many have reached critical 

acclaim, some have also come under 

fire for cultural issues and diversity. 

In saying this, I’m talking specifically about Horizon Zero 

Dawn. On February 28, Native American blogger Dia Lacina 

posted an article labeling Horizon as a misappropriation 

of Native American culture. She chastises Guerilla Games 

for their vocabulary choice (using words like “tribal” 

and “savage”) and expresses disappointment in games 

media for not calling attention to the issue sooner. 

“Video games have been appropriating from 

Natives both blatantly and obliquely for decades,” 

Lacina states. “And as much as we’d like to 

hope — it’s probably not going to stop anytime 

soon. But it definitely won’t without your help.” 

While I won’t touch on the validity of these claims 

(as the author certainly makes a valid point and knows 

more on the subject than I do), I think it presents a 

nice discussion: why do we nitpick these games so? 

I’m not trying to diminish the argument of 

cultural appropriation at all. If you believe Horizon 

mishandles various details and words, that’s your 

prerogative. But why preach about diversity to the 

most diverse big-budget game of this generation? 

Why not point fingers at one of the many, many titles 

that showcase burly white men, year after year? 

Horizon puts players in the shoes of Aloy, a 

capable, independent young woman with 

survival and fighting skills that surpass 

those of the men around her. Her tribe 

is led entirely by a team of older 

Matriarchs. The group itself is 

comprised of many different 

races and ethnicities; I met 

people of Asian and African 

descent in the first hours 

the game. Later, I happened 

upon Middle-Eastern folks, 

Hispanics, and a gay man 

mourning for his lover. 

It’s clear in just a small amount of playtime 

that Guerilla Games focused heavily on creating a 

diverse world. In it, all races, genders, and walks 

of life have an equal opportunity to survive and 

thrive. Yet instead of celebrating this, we have 

decided to pick apart the one thing it may do wrong: 

misconstrue Native American culture with the usage 

of words like “brave,” “savage,” and “primal.” 

This sort of atmosphere is not supportive of new, 

diverse media. You’d think that just over a year after 

#OscarsSoWhite, society would be openly celebrating 

any entertainment with a unique, varied cast and placing 

them on pedestals. Yet here in the gaming industry, 

we’ve chosen to deride Horizon Zero Dawn on a small 

mishap rather than praise a major step forward. 

Such scenarios ask a larger question on our society 

and the internet: are we all just cynics? Are we incapable 

of just enjoying and complimenting something every 

once in a while? Though I understand that it’s possible 

to critique and enjoy at the same time, I also know that 

the original author took it upon herself to judge Horizon 

Zero Dawn by its cover (and reviews). This doesn’t 

invalidate her argument, but it does make her point 

seem overly critical. She criticizes it before release, 

without truly giving it a chance to change her mind. 

I’m not saying this sort of political correctness 

should be taboo when discussing video games. In 

fact, I think those conversations are very much worth 

having, and will better the industry. However, I also 

believe there are times where it’s better to focus 

on the positives than linger on the negatives. 

Chastising creators endlessly for getting diversity 

wrong will only serve to push them away from 

exploring diverse stories. After all, mainstream 

culture eats up the many, many titles that showcase 

burly white men. Disowning a dev for an oversight or 

mistake is the equivalent of building a relationship 

with a dog or baby by telling them “NO!” over 

and over. It’s not healthy for either party. 

We need to be a better, happier place, and 

encourage the creation of diverse products by 

supporting the ones that do it (mostly) right, 

instead of chastising the products that do it 

wrong. We need to be a society that promotes 

the creation of healthy, organic diverse 

stories. Right now, though, we’re one 

that simply complains about the lack 

of them, and refuses any attempts that 

don’t perfectly satisfy our criteria. 



OPINION 


BEASTBY.NET 

NOBODY ASKED FOR 


A LETTER TO BIOWARE 

By Darren Burchett 

I can’t help but feel absolutely down about the Scorpio. On 

one hand it’s great to have a console that is a real powerhouse 

compared to current offerings. On the other hand I’m 

wondering, what’s the point? 

Last week, Digital Foundry had 

the honour of announcing the 

specs of the Scorpio’s innards 

as well as providing some cold 

hard performance stats. I won’t go too 

much into specifics but compared to the 

Xbox One its processor is 30% faster, 

moving the clock speed from 1.75GHz to 

a lower latency 2.3GHz. The GPU capable 

of delivering 6 of those heavily lauded 

terraflops, 1.8 more flippy-flops than 

the PS4 Pro. Arguably the biggest game 

changer is the inclusion of hardware 

integrated DirectX12. Essentially, this 

will reduce computing resources by half 

on games that support the architecture. 

It’s all very impressive but it comes at 

a cost, quite literally. Estimates for the 

console on release are floating around 

the $500-$600 price range. It makes 

you wonder, who this console is for? 

This doesn’t really excite a PC gamer 

like myself as I could just spend that 

money and upgrade my computer even 

further. You can get a GTX 1080 Ti for 

a similar price, sporting double the 

amount of flippy-flops and far superior 

technology. Many of the Xbox One 

titles are playable on PC at no extra 

cost, so an upgrade just makes sense. 

I understand Microsoft want to create 

some synergy with their platforms 

but Xbox Play Anywhere gives me 

one less reason to own a Scorpio. 

I see it appealing to people who have 

a low to mid-range PC, possibly. They 

most likely already own a console and 

if they’re looking to get into 4K gaming 

this could be their only option. If so, 

they’ll need to pony up the dough for the 

TV. That’s another $400 for a low-end 

display. Sure the resolution will be the 

same, but a TV is the kind of investment 

you want to go big on so you’re good 

for at least five years. If that’s the case 

you’re looking at $700-$1,000. That 

suddenly makes this whole venture 

an unrealistic one for the average 

consumer who’s been on the fence. 

Another hammer to the knee cap 

of Microsoft is the Nintendo Switch. 

It has proven, hands down, that 

people don’t actually care about the 

power of a console. It’s all about the 

games and Microsoft is sorely lacking 

in terms of interesting exclusives 

(the only titles that will truly take 

advantage of the Scorpio’s power). Year 

after year, consumers are growing 

more concerned about convenience, 

rather than bleeding edge technology. 

The Switch has given them that. 

It genuinely feels like Microsoft 

are releasing the Scorpio just so they 

feel like the big boys again. “The best 

console on the market” was their 

thing back with the 360 and they 

want to hold that title again. Apart 

from the “hard-to-please” gamers 

complaining of weak, dated consoles, 

no one has actually asked for the 

Scorpio. The only ones that feel like 

they really need it is Microsoft. 

A plus I see coming out of this is 

that, if developers are on board, games 

will start to look even better. This has 

the potential to give the industry a 

huge leap in graphical fidelity. I’m sure 

you’ve heard the analogy that consoles 

are holding the PC back, so to have a 

potential solution to this is interesting. 

This is a double-edged sword, though. 

Bigger leaps in power mean more 

frequent upgrades, and this is bad news. 

While I’m sure we all like to see 

video games getting better (mainly 

in terms of visuals) this is going 

to burn consumers out. Hardware 

iterations will ramp up and then, 

because consumers refuse to buy, it 

will slump again. This disrupts the 

pacing of the industry, something I 

feel has found its sweet spot. Also, 

lets not forget that the other consoles 

still exist. This makes me wonder if 

developers are going to prioritise the 

Scorpio or even show an interest. 

While we all scoffed at Sony for the 

PS4 Pro, it turns out that it is taking 

the right half-step these play-making 

giants are aiming for. Consumers are 

content with 1080p gaming and it has 

been a real struggle for companies 

to push us into 4K. Sony are making 

a compromise by deciding not to opt 

for a native 4K solution, and therefore 

makes it an affordable one. Most 

consumers haven’t experienced 4K 

yet so most would be none the wiser, 

or simply wouldn’t care. We played 

a lot of the previous generation in 

720p despite having Full HD TVs 

so why would faux-4K matter? 

When is all is said and done, it’s 

about the games. This is the reason I 

haven’t bought an Xbox One and it’s 

why I’m struggling to find a point to 

the Scorpio. Great, the tech is fantastic 

and achieves 4K gaming, but what 

can I play on it? Another Halo? Gears 

of War? I’m sorry, but I think I’ll pass. 

Gamers go where the games are, and 

Microsoft have been cancelling games 

and closing studios left and right. 

This E3 will certainly be an 

interesting one…well I hope. Most 

Scorpio talk has been downright 

boring, but I’m curious how they plan 

to market this console. It’s not for 

your average gamer, little Jimmy’s 

parents aren’t going to fork over the 

cash when he already has an Xbox 

One and Call of Duty. Switch owners 

certainly won’t care, and neither will PC 

gamers. Who is this for? You tell me. 

! 

MASS EFFECT’S HATERS 

! 

DON’T SPEAK FOR US ALL 

I understand you’ve been catching a lot of flak lately. 

People screaming about animations, or lamenting that Mass 

Effect: Andromeda tarnishes the wonderful franchise upon 

which it was built. I’ve seen the tweets, the forums, and the 

comments. I’ve even seen your apt response to employee 

harassment. 

Today, I’d like to offer some advice: don’t listen to it. 

Sure, tweak the game and definitely do better next time. 

Never throw advice and fair criticism out the window. But 

insults and harsh words don’t define a game, and more 

importantly, they don’t define the developers. Anyone can 

sling nasty doo-doo letters at one another (well-meaning 

people, laughing trolls, or even your own reflection) but only 

someone great can take those in stride and fix the underlying 

problems. Huddle up, catch these awful wads of words, 

analyze them, and hit it out of the park on your next go. 

For every mean-spirited bigot in the YouTube comments, 

there’s three or four twitterpated Twitter tweeters, ready 

to try a game and give constructive feedback. Not everyone 

on the internet sucks, but sometimes it can feel that way. 

Especially if you’re developing a much-anticipated entry in 

a beloved video game series. Please, don’t give into the echo 

chamber of the vocal minority. To development teams and 

casual players alike: keep your chin up, and do your best. 

After all, we need those steamy extraterrestrial dating 

scenes. 

Yours Sincerely 

Dylan Bishop 



PREVIEW 

MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA 

BEASTBY.NET 

MASS EFFECT: 

ANDROMEDA 

LIMPING INTO A 

NEW FRONTIER 

BY HENRY MELVILLE 

10 ISSUE 02 MAY 2017 Beastby.net 


ISSUE 02 MAY 2017 

11

PREVIEW 

MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA 

BEASTBY.NET 

As a departure from the core 

series, Mass Effect: Andromeda 

aims to expand it’s universe 

into depths unknown. A giant 

leap for mankind? Perhaps not. 

NEED TO KNOW 

Developer Bioware 

Publisher Electronic Arts 

Platform PS4, Xbox One, PC 

W 

ith Bioware’s latest effort, the 

player is plunged into a beautifully 

diverse world that is full to the 

brim with excitement, unknowns and 

adventure. After my short time in the game, 

I’ve come to the early conclusion that 

this, however, is not enough. A few glaring 

oversights plague this game. It is pitiful to 

think that Mass Effect: Andromeda had so 

much promise, but has been let down by 

shoddy game design. There are flashes 

of brilliance, from the gorgeous visuals, 

to the astounding depth of character and 

item customisation. These things are 

all easily implemented, however. In this 

golden age of RPGs, (I’m looking at you, 

The Witcher 3…) if your game doesn’t 

have these things, it’s an instant flop. 

The flipside to this, is that Mass Effect: 

Andromeda completely gashes the idea of 

fleshed out and important relationships. 

The first two hours of the game are a 

rollercoaster of storytelling. You’re probably 

going to want to bring a sick bag though. 

After introducing you to your father, who’s 

also your commanding officer, some 

seriously heavy themes play out. What 

sounds like it could be an intense narrative 

actually turns out to have very little effect. 

Characters aren’t built up. Relationships 

aren’t created. Deep emotional ties never 

come to fruition. I didn’t feel for any of 

these people. All credible storytelling 

is thrown by the wayside in favour of 

ramping up the action and moving the 

Genre Action RPG 

Origin US 

Release Mar 21 2016 

player into the next phase of the game. 

I like to think that the writers envisioned 

a grand space opera full of perilous plot 

twists, heartfelt moments and thrilling 

suspense. Instead we receive B-movie 

actors in a highlight reel that would not 

be misplaced in a parody movie. 

The mistakes do not stop there. In 

fact, it’s insulting to even think of these 

as mistakes. I can only describe the 

abomination of facial animation during 

cutscenes as pure, unequivocal laziness. 

Twitchy eyes, contorted jaws, bent limbs. 

The list is endless. What starts off as a 

humorous encounter, quickly devolves 

into the status quo. I find it laughable that 

Mass Effect: Andromeda comes equipped 

with a difficulty setting called “narrative 

mode”, when the visual bugs and nasties 

do everything in their power to rip you out 

of any immersive narrative that Bioware 

have haphazardly thrown together. This 

is 2017. Products should not be released 

with these glaring oversights and with 

complete disregard for quality assurance. 

Whew. Rant over. Almost. 

For everything this game does brilliantly, 

there are small details and missteps that 

infuriate me. The inventory system is a 

shambles. Navigating it is a chore. I feel 

like I have to strategically plan my journey 

through my inventory more than I plan my 

way through an enemy’s base. Funnily 

enough, I’m quite impressed by the way 

Bioware have implemented a loadout 

There are echoes of 

the original trilogy 

within Andromeda’s 

terraforming objective. 

In order to create 

sustainable planets for 

the Milky Way travellers 

to inhabit, Ryder is 

tasked with discovering 

and unlocking 

ancient Remnant 

technology. It mirrors 

humanities attempts 

at understanding the 

Prothean technology 

that allowed interstellar 

travel in the OT. 

There are many 

mysteries surrounding 

the Andromeda 

galaxy waiting to 

be uncovered! 

system. Instead of carrying around a 

battalion’s worth of blasters and armour 

with you, players must make tactical 

decisions as to which weapons they will 

deploy with on missions. Its refreshing, 

and encourages the player to know for 

themselves which weapons are best suited 

for the task ahead. As you unlock more 

bases on a planet, you will gain access to 

your armoury during a mission. Sometimes 

the nature of your task evolves in such a 

way that a strategic change in firearms 

may be just what the doctor ordered. 

Gunplay is also well executed. 3rd 

person shooters sometimes suffer from 

a severe lack of precision and simplified 

controls. It’s a delight to see that 

Andromeda actually uses this simplicity 

to it’s advantage. The cover system is 

intuitive and does not distract from the 

fun. Walk up to an object of waist height 

or more, and you will instantly hug it. Don’t 

get me wrong, it’s not without fault. On 

occasion it will throw your aim off where 

you weren’t focusing on your surroundings, 

or you’ll think a crate can be used for 

cover, when you’re sorely mistaken. 

Aside from this, blasting enemies with 

pew-pew laser guns is incredibly satisfying. 

Sound design is a big factor in how 

enjoyable I find a games’ gunplay, and 

everything in Mass Effect: Andromeda 

has an audible kick to it that I love. 

In fact, the sound design is an all 

round success. The hum of a cruiser’s 

innards as it rips through time and space, 

perfectly painted over a beautifully haunting 

orchestral backdrop. It’s so incredibly 

immersive. All of this combines well with 

the general visuals of the galaxy. Barring 

the inexcusable mishaps I mentioned 

earlier, this is a very pretty game. I wasn’t 

expecting this to be a world where every 

now and then I’d need to pause, take 

in a scene, and smile at it’s beauty. 

These small moments in Andromeda 

serve as a reminder that this hostile 

galaxy is full of delights and stories. 

You simply need to seek them out. 

In general, Mass Effect: Andromeda will 

satisfy many gamers. There are missions 

aplenty, swathes of narratives to explore, 

and enjoyable gameplay. Unfortunately 

for me, the inherent issues with it’s 

quality severely distract from the bursts 

of exhilarating firefights and storytelling. 

It’s unforgivable, and in its current state, 

does not warrant the AAA asking price. 

As is now the norm, day one patches will 

hope to alleviate some of the pain. I truly 

hope that Bioware can rectify the situation. 

This game has huge potential, and can be 

a breath of fresh air for the Mass Effect 

series. As it stands, it’s a sorry sight. Place 

it on your wishlist, and wait for either a 

quality assurance update, or a decent 

price drop. 

12 ISSUE 02 MAY 2017 

Beastby.net 



13

PREVIEW 

ROCKET LEAGUE: DROPSHOT UPDATE 

BEASTBY.NET 

ROCKET LEAGUE 

DROPSHOT 

JAW-DROPPINGLY 

EXHILARATING 

PIMP MY RIDE 

Players were rewarded flashy new wheels to show off their rank from Season 3 

PROSPECT CHALLENGER RISING STAR CHAMPION 

BY HENRY MELVILLE 

Rocket League is the story of how a small team 

of developers have managed to take a simple 

concept, and evolve it beyond anyone’s expectations. 

Dropshot is the continuation of this grand tale. 

P 

syonix make game development 

look easy. It would appear that no 

matter how many updates they 

send our way, the fountain of ideas 

never stops flowing. Snow Day was an 

exciting twist and change of mechanics. 

Hoops reached out to fans of basketball 

and executed it brilliantly. Rumble 

ramped up the zany, unpredictable 

nature of the game. Now we have 

Dropshot, a brand new game mode that 

is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. 

The game mode is played exclusively 

in a new arena, Core 707. It’s a hexagonal 

light show that, in all honesty, is a 

bit bland. However, we’re not here to 

admire the view. Mechanically, this arena 

differs from all others in that there are 

no permanent goals. Instead, the floor 

acts as your scoring zone, requiring 

direct hits for it to open up and reveal 

the abyss below. You can’t employ 

the same tactics or mechanics in this 

arena, because it doesn’t facilitate the 

same formations or rotations as the 

more conventional maps do. To tell you 

the truth, your first few games will likely 

feel as if you’re starting all over again. 

Thankfully, everything about this new 

mode is fun, rewarding and damn well 

executed. Learning how to play in this 

arena doesn’t feel like a chore. There’s 

immense satisfaction in pummeling the 

ball to the floor and hearing the roaring 

cacophony of tiles collapsing around 

you. Everyone will hold their breath as 

they see the sparks of electricity angrily 

jutting out of the newly designed ball 

as it passes from blue to orange, before 

you precisely guide the ball to a spot on 

the floor that your opponents had all but 

forgotten was open. It’s all very rewarding. 

Aside from the new game mode, 

Psyonix have continued their efforts 

to improve certain aspects of Rocket 

League‘s quality of life. Season 3 of 

competitive has come to a close. With 

that, wheel rewards have been dished 

out to worthy competitors (I myself am 

very happy with my blue wheels). 

Not only that, but Season 4 sees a 

complete restructuring of how the 

ranks are divided. There are more 

ranks than ever before in Rocket 

League, with the intention being to 

help differentiate levels of skill in a 

more transparent way. It’s a welcome 

change, and long overdue in fact. 

As is the norm with any updates in 

Rocket League, Dropshot comes with 

it’s own plethora of items to unlock. 

The new Turbo Crate contains decals, 

bodies, wheels and more that will keep 

any collector on the hunt for more. 

All in all, Psyonix are continuing their 

brilliant support of Rocket League. This 

hugely successful title only gets better 

and better. I wish other developers would 

take note here, because this is the way 

you satisfy your customers. Not with 

radio silence or by piling more content 

onto an already terrible base game. But 

with continued efforts to make your game 

better each time, and to keep it that way. 

Psyonix, I salute you! 




15

BEASTBY.NET 

OUR RATING 

SYSTEM 

REVIEWS 

18 26 

At Beastby.net we score using the 

star system coupled with positive 

and negative bullet points. We 

don’t nitpick with percentages, 

and we couldn’t care any less 

about minute decimals. We use 

the star system because it’s simple. 

We want to give our readers as 

much information as possible 

without muddying the waters. 

T 

he first half of this year has already kicked some 

major buttocks. Of course there has been some 

disappointments, but who’d expect to get so many 

masterpieces this early on!? 

We actually had to take a step back and question 

whether we were being too generous, but it turns out 

these games really are that good. 

HORIZON ZERO DAWN 

NIER: AUTOMATA 

5 STARS 

Fantastic in every single way. A title 

that shouldn’t be missed, and will be 

remembered for years to come. This 

is a highlight of the current gaming 

scene, and it’ll be a tough act to follow. 

If it has any flaws, they don’t hinder 

the overall experience in any way. 

Undoubtedly the latter half of the year has some treats 

in store for us, but we’re left wondering: how will it keep 

pace with what’s already been delivered? 

34 

4 STARS 

Games of this caliber are very well 

made, and are generally considered to 

have only a few flaws. However, there 

are usually some things here or there 

that prevent them from being the best. 

3 STARS 

Not to everyone’s taste but a pretty 

good game, when all’s said and 

done. It’s not a bad game, but 

it’s not amazing either. The title 

has more problems than I’d like, 

and they kept interrupting my 

enjoyment of the experience. 

PERSONA 5 

42 44 

46 

48 

2 STARS 

This game began with a concept that 

had a chance, but its execution was 

less than acceptable. It’s a forgettable 

game for a reason. You may pick 

it up in a bundle and never even 

play it, but at least you bought it 

THE BINDING 

OF ISAAC: 

AFTERBIRTH+ 

HUMAN 

RESOURCE 

MACHINE 

1 STAR 

49 

50 

Don’t. Wait for a sale or bargain bin 

if you must, but this really doesn’t 

suit anyone. The game has flaws 

galore, and I just don’t see how anyone 

can enjoy it. Granted, everyone’s 

entitled to their own opinion - 

mine is that this one is awful. 

STORIES UNTOLD 

SNAKE PASS 

I AM SETSUNA 

MANUAL SAMUEL 



REVIEW 

HORIZON 

ZERO DAWN 

By Robert Hogge 

With interest in the Killzone franchise reaching a 

plateau, Guerrilla Games is putting themselves back 

out into the limelight with their brand new IP Horizon 

Zero Dawn. In a market filled to the brim with sequels 

and reboots, how will this new game fare? 



REVIEW 


BEASTBY.NET 

H 

orizon follows the tale 

of a bushy-headed 

native girl named Aloy, 

who after finding a 

fancy bluetooth headset in a 

cave as a child, is set down a 

path of discovery and wonder 

to unravel her own mysterious 

past. She and her adoptive father 

Rost are outcasts, and live in 

solitude on the outskirts of the 

local village. She often inquires 

why it is that they are outcasts, 

but Rost makes it a point to 

keep this information hidden. 

The land beyond is peppered 

with strange steel beasts who 

graze and hunt like any other 

creature. But they buzz, click, and 

hum in ways the natives don’t 

fully understand. There are also 

several remnants of the “old ones” 

strewn about the world: mossy 

street signs, cracked concrete, 

and towering rusted skeletons 

of a time long past. But these 

places are cursed. Forbidden. 

Only the greatest of warriors and 

most important of oligarchy are 

allowed to tread these grounds. 

In terms of story and setting, 

the game pulled me in almost 

immediately with its approach. 

It toes an interesting line of 

cognitive-dissonance between 

what your character thinks they 

know, and what you already do. 

Anyone who has seen a sci-fi film 

since the 70’s should recognize 

most of the tropes and concepts 

Horizon presents to the player, but 

the magic is how it plays off of 

those expectations. You will always 

understand what’s going on better 

than Aloy does, but only just barely. 

Along the way you’ll meet a 

variety of NPCs that range from 

lovable, to douchey, to downright 

suspicious. I have to tip my hat 

to Guerrilla Games: they have 

crafted some seriously great and 

memorable side-characters for this 

new venture. My favorite hands 

down has to be Erend: the brutish, 

smooth-talking, mutton-chophaving 

captain of the guard. Not 

only is he very well voice-acted, 

but his story is heartfelt, and you 

just end up wanting to give the 

guy a big bear hug by the end. 

Aloy herself is kind of a mixed 

bag. Her design and voice acting 

are top notch, but I didn’t find 

myself really connecting with her 

character until much later on, 

which is likely due to the nature 

of how the story plays out. I can’t 

properly explain what I mean by 

this without divulging key aspects 

of the plot, so let’s just say I started 

off not terribly invested, and ended 

ecstatically clamoring for more. 

Her story is absolutely worth 

hearing and getting excited about. 

ALL SENSE OF DIRECTION 

DISSIPATED, AND SUDDENLY 

I WAS STANDING THERE JUST 

LISTENING TO THE BIRDS SING. 

I WAS LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

DINOSAUR LASER FIGHT 

Not to be overlooked however 

are the real stars of the show, 

the mechanical beasts. Each 

one has a unique look and 

behavior, and every encounter 

with a new type presents a 

vastly different challenge in 

battle. They range from chrome 

horses, to cyber alligators, to 

towering dinosaurs with more 

firepower than an M1 Abrams. 

Weaves of steel and piping 

filled with colorful liquid twist 

and contort around their frames. 

Segmented plates of armor cascade 

in interesting patterns across their 

bodies, and range in color from 

Macbook white to charcoal black. 

It’s quite apparent that they draw 

heavy inspiration from the likes 

of Deus Ex and The Matrix, but 

even then the designs feel very 

fresh and are a treat to look at. 

While discovering these 

creatures roaming around the 

landscape isn’t always good 

news, exploring the various 

zones is an absolute joy. I’m not 

exaggerating when I say Horizon 

has one of the most beautiful 

game worlds I’ve seen to date. 

I vividly recall the moment I 

came to this realization. I was 

walking through one of the more 

dense forests around sunset, and 

suddenly the light broke through 

the trees in such a way that I 

stopped touching any buttons and 

just stared. All sense of direction 

dissipated, and suddenly I was 

standing there just listening to the 

birds sing. I was lost in the jungle. 




21

REVIEW 


BEASTBY.NET 

“AND MY BOW!” 

It’s moments like this that set the 

perfect backdrop for Horizon’s 

sharp and intricate combat. While 

nearly all of the weapons in the 

game are essentially creative 

variations on bows, crossbows, 

and slingshots, each serves a 

specific tactical purpose. Certain 

bows have special elemental 

arrows, tripwire arrows, and 

devastating explosive arrows for 

breaking armor. Heck, you can 

even channel your inner cowboy 

and tie them critters down with 

a ropecaster! My only gripe is 

you can only equip 4 weapons 

at a time. That’s a bummer. 

From top to bottom, the fights 

are just spectacular. You may find 

yourself overwhelmed at first, 

but unlocking new abilities will 

even the playing field quite a bit. 

I’ll be honest though, the slowmo 

ability when jumping is so 

useful it’s almost broken. I used 

it so often during fights, that if 

you played it back in real-time, 

I’d look like a coked-out Quake 

player fishing for headshots. 

That being said, it’s a good 

kind of broken, as it saved my 

bacon more than a few times. 

Despite all this, the game 

does fall prey to many of the 

less desirable “open-worldgame” 

tropes such as fetch 

quests, map towers, and resource 

crafting. However, they make 

this a bit more interesting by 

taking the Far Cry 3 approach: 

where you hunt and kill various 

creatures to get resources for 

upgrades. I also very much like 

that you can generate a miniquest 

for any item you need to 

find parts for, and it shows you 

exactly where to look for that 

part. Seriously, why doesn’t 

every game have this feature? 

HAKUNA MATATA 

Horizon is a spectacular new IP. 

From its layered plot-line to its 

thoughtful second-to-second 

combat, it’s an absolute triumph 

for Guerrilla Games, and proof 

positive that they have gotten 

their footing back since the 

last Killzone game. It is also 

a graphical wonder, perfectly 

contrasting the quiet solidarity of 

the wild with the sheer brutality 

and heartlessness of your 

mechanical foes. Even though it 

tries to play it safe in a select few 

areas, it is still a stellar game that 

is absolutely worth your time. 

HORIZON ZERO DAWN 

Developer 

Publisher 

Platform 

Genre 

Origin 

Release 

Guerrilla Games 

Sony 

PS4 

Action RPG 

Netherlands 

Feb 28th 2017 

Varied and strategic combat 

Incredibly gorgeous world with 

awesome foes 

Interesting story and memorable 

characters 

Plays it safe with tired open-world 

gaming tropes 

Having only 4 active weapon slots 

makes changing tactics cumbersome 

Hawkeye 



REVIEW 


BEASTBY.NET 



REVIEW 

NIER: 

AUTOMATA 

By Robert Hogge 

Looks can be deceiving. On the outside Nier: 

Automata looks like a run-of-the mill 

hack n’ slasher where you cut up walking 

trash cans wearing a french maid outfit. But 

is that really all it is? 



REVIEW 


BEASTBY.NET 

“Everything that lives is designed 

to end. We are perpetually trapped 

in a never-ending spiral of life and 

death. Is this a curse, or some kind 

of punishment? I often think about 

the god who blessed us with this 

cryptic puzzle... and wonder if we’ll 

ever have the chance to kill him.” 

The cold open for Nier: 

Automata is certainly 

brimming with nihilism. 

It’s the kind of poetically 

existential thing you’d expect to 

hear from someone who’s been 

reading a bit too much Edgar 

Allan Poe. But after finishing it’s 

30+ hour campaign and starting 

anew, only to see those words 

cross my screen once more, it 

feels like quite an apt conclusion 

to such an amazing ride. 

OR NOT (2) BE 

You begin your journey as 2B, a 

combat android belonging to the 

organization “YoRHa”, who is 

tasked with fighting to protect 

what remains of mankind. 

Hundreds of years have passed 

since the Earth was invaded by 

aliens and swarmed by their 

robot minions, and to this day 

the battle rages on. Humanity 

now resides on the moon, hoping 

and praying that someday YoRHa 

will land the final blow, and 

they can reclaim the planet. 

2B is a hardened veteran of 

war, and it shows through her 

cold, distant demeanor as she 

ruthlessly and precisely eviscerates 

anything standing in her way. 

Very shortly into the introductory 

act however, she is joined by her 

counter-part known as 9S, who 

is a reconnaissance model. He 

primarily assists by gathering 

data and hacking enemies, using 

their own weapons against 

them. He also seems to grow 

quite bored with his work and is 

prone to idle chit-chat, much to 

the dismay of his colleagues. 

The farther you get into the 

story, the more you begin to 

realize that these two androids 

are the perfect yin to each other’s 

yang, and that this balance is an 

underlying theme throughout 

the entire experience. A large 

and intimidating-looking male 

robot may have a soft and 

endearing female voice, for 

example. They also might be 

the most memorable and tragic 

character in the entire game, but 

I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Despite their stark differences, 

all of Nier’s characters share 

one important trait: they all feel 

intrinsically human. They feel 

pain, fear, sadness, and even love. 

This is true right down to the 

most basic enemies you encounter. 

Some cry out in terrified anger 

at the sight of you, vowing to 

avenge their fallen brothers, 

while others beg for their life 

as you cut them down. It slowly 

becomes apparent that there is 

more to this world than what 

is initially presented, and not 

everything is what it seems. 

DESPITE THEIR STARK 

DIFFERENCES, ALL OF NIER’S 

CHARACTERS SHARE ONE 

IMPORTANT TRAIT: THEY ALL 

FEEL INTRINSICALLY HUMAN 

KILL (B)ILL 

Plot and character development 

aren’t the only areas where you’ll 

find nuance, however. The game 

primarily functions as a thirdperson 

action brawler, but often 

shifts perspectives to become 

everything from a bullet-hell 

shooter to a visual novel. These 

transitions between play-styles 

are often a refreshing change of 

pace in key scenes, and make for 

some of the most ear-splittingly 

satisfying gaming moments 

I’ve had in a long time. 

That being said, the core 

combat mechanics that you’ll be 

spending most of your time with 

are no slouch. Platinum Games 

didn’t just dip it’s finger into 

this game, it went full Gallagher 

and smashed it out of the park. 

And all over the walls. You slash 

at your foes with dizzyinglyfast 

combos that bleed directly 

into your next attack without 

even flinching. You can also do 

a familiar last second teleportdodge 

maneuver and follow it 

up with a brutal counter-attack. 

The game wears its Bayonetta 

influences on its sleeve, and I’d 

be damned if I said it doesn’t 

work heavily in Nier’s favor. 

Although the fighting is amazing 

and immediately approachable 

from the start, the way you level 

and augment your character’s 

abilities is initially a bit confusing 

and daunting. Leveling up in 

general is quite bone-standard: 

every time you gain a level you get 

a little bit more health, hit a tad 

bit harder, and that’s more or less 

it. Where you find the real meat of 

this system is in the use of “plugin 

chips” and “pod programs”. 

Each YoRHa unit is assigned 

a floating helper bot called a 

“pod”. The pod can fire projectiles 

towards hostiles at will, and 

never runs out of ammo. 



REVIEW 


BEASTBY.NET 

They can also be upgraded 

and customized through the 

use of “pod programs”, which 

gives them special abilities and 

attacks. You start the game 

with a very powerful laser blast 

program, but can later buy and 

equip many others such as a giant 

digital hammer, or a black-hole 

gravity trap to hold down your 

foes while you wail on them. 

The plug-in chips are a bit 

harder to explain. Your character 

has what is essentially a memory 

pool. Everything from the 

operating system that keeps you 

alive to individual elements of the 

HUD take up chunks of memory, 

and you only have so much 

memory to spare. Plug-in chips 

also take up this space, but grant 

you special benefits such as more 

health, stronger attacks, or a bigger 

window to dodge attacks. You get 

these chips by either buying them, 

receiving them as quest rewards, 

or by killing tough enemies. 

This provides a fascinatinglydeep 

level of customization, as you 

can cut back parts of your display 

that you don’t need to make room 

for upgrades, or instead add even 

more information like enemy 

HP and damage values. Also, if 

you are on easy mode, you can 

install “auto” chips for literally 

any combat action, and the game 

will do that action for you. So if 

you aren’t particularly skilled 

at dodging for example, equip 

auto-dodge, press L1 to activate 

“auto mode”, and you won’t have 

to miss a dodge ever again. 

WILL I DRE(A)M? 

Some might scoff at the idea of 

an auto-mode, but I absolutely 

welcome it, because it means 

more people can enjoy what 

Nier has to offer. As far as I’m 

concerned, If I could convince 

even one person who was on the 

fence/turned off about this game 

to give it the ole’ college try, 

I’d be over the moon. I also feel 

personally that it is imperative 

to understand a few key things 

about the game’s structure in 

order to get the most out of it. As 

a result, the following paragraphs 

may require me to spoil very 

minor aspects of the game. 

MINOR SPOILERS 

(BUT NOT REALLY) 

Now I know how sensitive some 

people are to even the most 

minute of spoilers, so I’ll say this 

bolder and more clearly: minor 

spoilers incoming. Skip to the 

summary if you are absolutely 

convinced to get the game or want 

to go in as blind as possible. 

For those of you still here, let’s 

get into a few things. Firstly: the 

game pretty much requires you 

to play through it multiple times 

to get the full story. I wouldn’t 

usually disclose something like 

this but I feel like it’s, as Burt 

Gummer would say, “critical 

need-to-know information”. 

If you finish the campaign 

once after 10 hours and put it 

down, you may walk away from 

the experience unsatisfied. 

Secondly: If you do decide 

to play through the game a 

second time, I implore you to 

play it through a third time 

after that. This may seem 

like an odd proposition, and 

arguably a bit unnecessary, but 

believe me when I say that the 

game was designed this way. 

Each playthrough is different, 

and gives you more insight on 

the story the deeper you go. 

But trust me when I say that 

playthrough 3… Oh mama, it’s 

a doozy! Don’t cheat yourself by 

stopping short, you will regret it! 

HANG ON, R(2)! 

I am absolutely floored by Nier: 

Automata. Every character, 

friend or foe, is presented 

fantastically and has you 

constantly questioning what it 

really means to be human. Each 

step of the way it continued to 

surprise me, and even 30 hours 

in is still introducing new, 

meaningful game mechanics 

and concepts. It made me feel 

like an action anime superhero 

one minute, and want 

to fall to my knees and weep 

the next. Buckle up people, 

it’s gunna be a bumpy ride! 


Developer 

Publisher 

Platform 

Genre 

Origin 

Release 

Square Enix 

Square Enix 

PS4, Xbox One, PC 

Action RPG 

Japan 

Mar 17th 2017 

Spectacular layered story and 

characters that only get better with 

time 

Constantly shifting gameplay 

mechanics that keeps you on your 

toes 

Extensive replayability 

Players may miss out on a majority 

of the game if they never catch on to 

what the devs are doing 

Deus Ex Machina 



REVIEW 


BEASTBY.NET 



REVIEW 

PERSONA 5 


Persona 5 lets you change the 

hearts of others. In doing so, 

it’ll steal yours. 



REVIEW PERSONA 5 

BEASTBY.NET 

Persona has, and will 

always be, one of the 

quirkiest franchises on 

the market. Talking teddy 

bears, meat-loving tomboys, 

gun-toting puppy dogs; you 

name it, and Atlus has probably 

put it in the series. Despite the 

“immature” aspects, Persona has 

consistently managed to push 

the boundaries for Japanese roleplaying 

games. The series has 

taken large strides to modernize 

and popularize the genre, 

mainly by giving it an urban 

setting and story. After nine long 

years, the prodigal turn-based 

series returns with Persona 5 

which, quite frankly, blows all 

previous JRPGs out of the water. 

For the uninitiated, the 

Persona series throws you into 

the shoes of a Japanese highschooler 

arriving in a new town. 

Each entry is separate from 

the last, yet carries thematic 

similarities and Easter eggs that 

hearken back to its predecessors. 

You’ll play through almost 

every single day for a whole 

in-game year. This creates 

a sort of “social simulator” 

in which you grow closer to 

your school friends or level 

up various stats like “charm,” 

“guts,” and “proficiency.” 

The tale of Persona 5 begins 

simply enough, as the protagonist 

moves to a new school in 

Tokyo. The reason for the move, 

however, is much darker: he’s got 

a criminal record and was kicked 

from his last school, thanks 

to a recent “assault charge” 

he erroneously received while 

trying to stop a rape. This is 

the perfect setup for the game’s 

overarching theme: adults don’t 

always know best, despite their 

ego. Kids can be infinitely more 

competent, when needed. 

Suspense quickly builds as you 

befriend fellow troublemakers, 

find a talking cat, and unearth 

horrible crimes being committed 

in your community. While 

Persona 3 tackled secrets and 

misinformation, and Persona 

4 dealt with murder and truth, 

Persona 5 takes a hearty dive 

into darker issues that hit much 

closer to home. Each new, 

terrible adult has a horrifying 

secret. What’s a kid to do? 

That’s where you come 

in. Soon after moving, the 

protagonist stumbles upon “the 

Metaverse,” a distorted world 

formed from the wretched 

wants of corrupt individuals and 

housing their deepest desires. 

It’s now your job to masquerade 

alongside your school friends 

as “the Phantom Thieves of 

Hearts” and sneak through 

these monolithic Palaces to steal 

the hearts of the manipulative 

adults around you. Doing so 

should cause them to confess 

their sins, or so you hope. 

Since these Palaces are 

formed by the subconscious, 

they are also guarded by the 

subconscious. Each dungeon 

asks you to stealthily navigate 

its halls and take down troves 

of patrolling psyche-based 

monsters in order to progress. 

Ambushing an enemy from 

behind will give you the upperhand 

in battle, but being spotted 

puts you at a disadvantage. 

Stealth is an important trait 




BEASTBY.NET 

for a Phantom Thief, turns out. 

Thankfully, the stealth system 

is built so that a simple press 

of X moves you between cover 

spots. It’s quick and intuitive 

to sneak up on guards, rip off 

their masks, and start a fight. 

Here, Persona 5 truly shines. 

Every member of your party is 

equipped with their own Persona, 

or inner-self. These manifest as 

various creatures and humanoids, 

each with specific strengths and 

weaknesses. Bad-boy Ryuji is able 

to strike enemies with lighting 

and pack a punch with physical 

attacks, while the bandit cat 

Morgana can heal your party and 

devastate foes with wind magic. 

As the protagonist, however, you 

can switch your Personas at will, 

by changing the mask you wear. 

Every fight requires a decent 

array of strategies and tactics. 

Hitting an enemy‘s weakness 

will make them collapse, and 

grant the attacker an extra 

turn–no matter if they’re 

friend or foe. This means most 

fights will consist of team 

experimentation and movetesting 

until you find that sweet 

spot, all while covering your own 

frailties. These extra turns can 

be passed to other team mates 

via a “Baton Pass,” ensuring 

that you can combo hits on 

certain elemental weaknesses. 

Things get interesting, as more 

often than not, your personal 

arsenal of Personas may not able 

to bash all enemy weaknesses, 

while your teammates’ can. In 

such a case, you can switch to 

your appropriate demon, let 

your elemental magic loose, and 

Baton Pass your free turn to 

another Phantom Thief who can 

pick up your slack. Once every 

enemy monster is down on the 

ground, they’re held at gunpoint, 

and the Phantom Thieves are 

provided a few options: attack 

the monster, ask for an item or 

money, or negotiate with them. 

Attacking them normally 

does a fair amount of damage 

and can quickly turn a battle 

in your favor. However, the 

time comes when that extra 

dough or restorative can really 

come in handy. Taking either 

option, though, forces you 

to miss out on the real treat: 

negotiation. These enemies can 

be persuaded to join your team! 

After some quick conversational 

navigation, the creature may 

suddenly decide to join you in 

the form of a new Persona. 

Your personal progression 

and stats are pushed forth 

by the collection of stronger 

Personas. However, these innerselves 

can also be combined 

in a mysterious consciousness 

known as the Velvet Room. 

Here, two adorable prison 

wardens can sentence multiple 

of your devilish allies to death, 

only to be reborn as a tougher 

Persona. This fusion allows 

you to choose the best moves 

and skills from your original 

Personas, and carry them 

over to a new one with better 

attacks and less weaknesses. 

That’s a lot to take in, but 

thankfully Persona 5 somewhat 

guides you in the opening 

hours (almost too much). 

Surprisingly, each and every 

mechanic is important to the 

overall experience, and overlaps 

with each other in surprising 

ways. Hanging out with your 

new Tokyo contacts (aptly 

titled Confidants) will give 

you new skills and abilities in 

dungeons. Carrying certain 

Personas can also help you 

grow closer to specific allies. 

This all combines to form a 

very strategic time-management 

system. The game doesn’t 

happen in real-time, but 

performing specific actions will 

automatically advance time a few 

hours forward. For example, after 

school you may have the option 

to chill with the lovely Ann, 

train at a gym to raise your HP, 

work part-time for money and a 

possible stat increase, or explore 

the latest Palace. One you pick 

your agenda, it’s suddenly night 

time, which provides a different 

array of options. It’s a gratifying 

risk/reward system, as players 

are tasked with choosing the 

activities closest to their hearts, 

and are never urged to chase 

the ones that disinterest them. 

If these descriptions make 

you feel that Persona 5 has a 

heavy emphasis on text and 

menus, that’s because it does. 

The experience is most certainly 

defined by listening to highschool 

heart thieves banter back 

and forth, and by optimizing a 

perfect fighting style. However, 

Persona 5 touts a high level of 

quality and panache regarding 

its UI. Every menu is designed to 

look like a ransom note, or the 

inner mind of a misunderstood 

teen. It’s a refreshing change 

of heart compared to the 

uninspired menus of most AAA 

titles. Each button and prompt 

is responsive and fast–the 

battle menu can technically be 

navigated before the graphic 

even unfolds on your screen. 

These menus are a handsomely 

clever way to keep the genre fast 

and fresh. Whereas grinding and 

fighting in older Final Fantasy 

games can feel tedious, battles in 

Persona 5 feel quick and exciting. 

They provide a visual spectacle 

and a short brain teaser, then 

they’re over. The game is 

entirely built upon bite-sized 

actions like quick fights, short 

study sessions, and minutelong 

conversations with friends. 

Yet in this simplicity, Persona 

draws you in: before you know 

it, you’ve played for 25 hours. 

That’s not to say Persona 

doesn’t provide a challenge, 

because it most certainly 

does. Each Palace is topped 

off with a grand heist to steal 

an adult’s heart, leading to 

a confrontation with that 

individual’s “Shadow.” These 

boss fights normally introduce 

some new trick or fighting style 

that you must adapt to on the 

fly, lest you die. Persona 5 favors 

those who look for patterns 

and weaknesses, and chastises 

those who strike blindly. 

After all the hard work the 

Phantom Thieves put in, it’s 

gratifying to see their targets fess 

up to their crimes. Persona 5 creates 

a harrowing world of adults 

with unquenchable thirsts for 

power, willing to step on the 

heads of those around them in 

the climb to the top. It’s many 

shades darker than any game 

I’ve played in the past few 

years. This tale is one that you 

can hear essentially any time 

you turn on an actual TV. Yet 

Persona also provides a ray of 

hope and an uplifting narrative, 

and proclaims that even children 

can rise above the murk and 

do great things to counteract 

corruption. It preaches change 

and personal revolution, and 

asks players to break the chains 

of society to grasp happiness. 

If you’re not a fan of lengthy 

intros, menu-heavy games, 

turn-based battles, or Japanese 

titles, Persona definitely won’t 

change your mind. However, 

you’d be sorely remiss to pass 

on it, simply because Persona 5 is 

arguably even more revolutionary 

than its predecessors. The 

charming, stylish behemoth 

finds new ways to reincarnate 

“boring” mechanics into ones 

that are enticing, modern, and 

bold. It fixes many complaints 

the general populace has with 

turn-based games and lengthy 

RPGs, yet provides next to 

no flaws in return. Persona 5 

is an exquisitely fashionable 

treat, and will surely steal 

your heart. 

PERSONA 5 

Developer 

Publisher 

Platform 

Genre 

Origin 

Release 

Atlus 

Atlus, Deep Silver 

PS3, PS4 

JRPG 

Japan 

Apr 4th 2017 

Astonishing and fun UI design 

Exciting, tactical combat 

Somber story filled with charming 

characters 

Fascinating time-management system 

Lengthy introduction and tutorial 

Artful 




BEASTBY.NET 



REVIEW 


BEASTBY.NET 

STORIES 

UNTOLD 


Stories Untold is an engrossing adventure 

game that layers up storytelling in 

clever and surprising ways. With a brief 

runtime of just four hours, does it achieve 

everything it sets out to do? 

This is going to be one of 

those reviews where I stay 

vague and ambiguous while 

trying to advise you as much 

as possible. Much of the joys of 

Stories Untold comes from going in 

blind, so I’m not going to take that 

away from you. All I had to go by 

was a handful of screenshots, a one 

minute trailer and a positive rating 

on Steam. For someone that makes 

a concerted effort to avoid knowing 

too much about a game before 

purchase, that was plenty for me. 

Booting up the game, the tone is 

immediately apparent. A droning 

synthesizer provides the main menu 

with an ominous backdrop as you 

stare at the lonely VHS case on the 

table. Everything about it oozes 80’s 

nostalgia, and while many games 

are adopting this style, for better 

or worse, Stories Untold owns it. Not 

only is it an aesthetic choice but it’s 

a mechanical one too, as you’ll be 

interacting with a range of equipment 

from that era across the four episodes. 

A fair chunk of Stories Untold consists 

of text-based adventuring but 

deviates in clever ways, leap frogging 

various mechanics as you progress. 

That’s what was most surprising 

to me. No Code have managed 

to take age old gameplay and 

inject modern ideas for a level of 

inventive design that truly put 

me on edge. Let me explain. 

The first episode, one released as 

a proof of concept back in August 

2016, sits you in front of an old 

computer to play a game called 

House Abandon. Older gamers will 

definitely get that sweet hit of 

nostalgia as the title builds on screen, 

screeching and groaning with every 

row of pixels that appear. Younger 

gamers may finally understand 

what they had to deal with. 

As you play, everything will feel 

relatively normal at first, you may 

even forget that you’re playing a game 

within a game. After navigating your 

way through the house, you’ll trigger 

something that flips the game on 

it’s head. Objects within the room 

begin reacting to events in House 

Abandon. I won’t detail any specifics 

but, as the game runs with this idea, 

you can expect to find the whole 

experience quite mind bending. 

The following episodes are 

variations on the same concept 

but will have you interacting in a 

somewhat different fashion. The 

second episode, for example, sees 

you in a cramped laboratory carrying 

out an experiment. You’ll be flicking 

switches, tuning sine-waves and 

operating a series of equipment as 

directed by a manual found on a 

nearby computer. Like me, you’ll 

probably fumble around for the 

first few minutes as you figure out 

what everything does, but you’ll 

acclimatise eventually. There’s no 

failure state to speak of and you can 

take Stories Untold as slow as you’d 

like. All the game asks is that you 

carry out the necessary motions 

to uncover more of the story. 

Honestly, these motions do feel 

like busy work at times. Often you’ll 

be repeating the same tasks until the 

story makes its next development. 

I will also admit that the game gets 

less scary with time, something 

I was a little disappointed to find 

out. This isn’t because you become 

desensitised to the spooks, but 

because it starts to make trade-offs 

to tell a deeply personal story. 

In spite of this, it kept me heavily 

engaged. Stories Untold has a wide 

array of interesting storytelling 

techniques that were enticing enough 

that I felt compelled to carry on. 

The whole game is presented like a 

television show with a theme tune 

and opening credits. You could treat 

it as such and play one episode at 

a time. I ended up so engrossed in 

the story and concepts that I played 

through the entire game in one 

sitting. I recommend you do the same. 

Where this game truly shines 

is in its tone and atmosphere. The 

warm lights contrasted against cold 

environments is very reminiscent 

of 80’s movies. The machines, in 

the lifespan of technology, feel 

ancient and clunky. Interacting with 

the variety of analogue and digital 

interfaces is very immersive and lends 

itself well to the experience. The 

mostly static viewpoints are brought 

to life by smart sound design that 

not only induces nerves, but makes 

each press of a button and flick of a 

switch have a satisfying weight to it. 

This is vastly different from 

anything you’ll probably play this 

year, and it’s one that shouldn’t be 

missed. Yes, its a short experience, 

not really unusual this day and age, 

but its a unique one. And if you 

don’t enjoy Stories Untold? Well the 

price point of £7/$10 is low enough 

that it’ll eliminate any regrets. 


Developer 

Publisher 

Platform 

Genre 

Origin 

Release 

No Code 

Devolver Digital 

PC 

Text-Based Adventure 

UK 

Feb 27th 2017 

Incredibly atmospheric 

Unique take on horror 

Inventive storytelling 

Can feel repetitive at times 

Engrossing 




43

REVIEW 

SNAKE PASS 

BEASTBY.NET 

SNAKE PASS 


Snake Pass reels you in with its 

cute and colourful presentation, 

only to guilt you with the constant 

suffering of a once cheerful snake. 

It’s a surprisingly challenging 

experience, even if it is a little on 

the thin side. 

HHave we time travelled? 

Where am I? Why are 

my armpits so hairless?! 

What year is this?! Oh 

god, I’m a child again! Sorry 

about that, I’ve just took a drink 

of Nostalgia, it’s dusty stuff. 

It seems there are quite a few 

games cropping up recently that 

are chasing the 3D platformer 

again. This isn’t a bad thing, but 

I’m curious as to how these studios 

plan on making something that 

doesn’t have awkward controls 

and repetitive gameplay. 

This is where Snake Pass comes 

in, sort of. You play as Noodle, 

a happy-go-lucky snake. With 

his pal Doodle, a hummingbird, 

you will set off on an adventure 

to save the jungle and restore 

balance. Saving the world in 

a 3D platformer likely means 

collecting stuff, so it’s safe to say 

that Snake Pass asks this of you. 

However, while some collectables 

are just laying around, there are 

plenty that will require a new 

type of skill and patience. 

As Yooka-Laylee has proven, 

a straight recreation of the 3D 

platformers of old isn’t really 

good enough. They often lack any 

real challenge and the camera 

is to blame for many of your 

failings, so why repeat history? 

Snake Pass chooses innovation 

over re-creation and puts a 

unique spin on the classic genre. 

You will need to move and think 

like a snake, wriggling your 

way around floating chunks of 

earth, overcoming obstacles and 

returning ancient crystals back to 

their pillars. Ok, that last part isn’t 

innovative, but the controls are. 

It’s immensely satisfying once 

you figure out how to move around 

and climb things. It was definitely 

frustrating at first, I’d often lose 

all coordination as I held down 

certain buttons while having to 

let go of others. But, the first 

series of levels do a good job at 

easing you in and allowing you to 

grasp one concept after another. 

The gist of the controls (using 

the Xbox controller) is to use the 

right trigger to move forward 

while rhythmically moving his 

head with the left analog stick to 

gain speed and momentum. While 

climbing, you’ll be using the A 

button to lift Noodle’s head and the 

left trigger to grip. The Y button 

will whistle Doodle over to pick 

up his tail. He’s not strong enough 

to lift him up entirely, instead 

he helps with shifting balance so 

you’re able to “leap” further and 

scramble up onto ledges. It’s all 

very intuitive and allows you an 

impressive amount of control. 

The second set of levels are 

a very different story, however. 

There is a noticeable difficulty 

spike and the game expects you 

to climb obstacles that are in 

somewhat of a contrast compared 

to what you’ve encountered before. 

It’s not ridiculous, just apparent. 

Now, a fairly big contributor to 

this spike is the dreaded camera, 

the thing to plague the majority 

of 3D platformers. In order to 

succeed at grabbing collectables 

you’ll need to wrestle with your 

view point. Often the game will 

try and do this for you, but the 

level of accurate climbing requires 

manual camera control. This 

means releasing some buttons 

to do so and this would often 

result in me falling into a bed 

of spikes or having to start the 

entire climb all over again. 

It’s not really a deal breaker as 

it comes with the territory of this 

genre, and I learnt at a very early 

age to live with it. Trust me, I’ve 

experienced far worse. It’s just 

that it can be a little frustrating 

considering that Noodle is 

incredibly satisfying to control. 

Your time with Snake Pass 

will run you around six to eight 

hours, and during that time, the 

gameplay doesn’t change a whole 

lot. The environment in each set 

of stages certainly offer a variety 

of interesting puzzles, some being 

straightforward and others that 

require some exploring, but that’s 

kind of it. While some players 

could play Snake Pass for many 

hours at a time, I tended to only 

play a level or two and move on. 

The lack of variety and paper thin 

story doesn’t really leave much to 

get excited about. It is clear that 

the game exists because of its core 

idea and nothing else. Snake Pass is 

a result of a game jam after all, so 

this makes sense. The visuals are 

indeed fantastic and the characters 

cute, but there isn’t anything more 

to it. It’s just the icing on the cake. 

I quite enjoyed my time with 

the squiggly fellow. It’s a nice 

deviation from deeper experiences 

you might be having without 

skimping on a challenge. Sadly, 

Snake Pass is incapable of being 

anymore than what it is: a 

concept. I can’t see any way it 

could be expanded upon what 

with the main character being 

a snake, but this is totally fine. 

The game offers up fifteen levels 

and an additional time trial mode 

for speed running fans, though 

I don’t see many playing this 

mode. Regardless, I recommend 

you give Snake Pass a go. 

SNAKE PASS 

Developer 

Publisher 

Platform 

Genre 

Origin 

Release 

Sumo Digital 

Sumo Digital 

PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC 

3D Platformer 

UK 

Mar 28th 2017 

Unique and pleasant controls 

Bright, colourful visuals 

Challenging obstacles and puzzles 

The camera isn’t always your friend 

Shallow 

Sssatisssfying 



REVIEW 

THE BINDING OF ISAAC: AFTERBIRTH+ 

BEASTBY.NET 

THE BINDING OF ISAAC: 

AFTERBIRTH+ 

OVERCOMING THE ODDS 


NEED TO KNOW 

Developer Nicalis 

Publisher Nicalis 

L 

et’s be real here: chances are, 

you’ve played The Binding of 

Isaac in some form or another. 

Whether it was the original release or 

the expanded Rebirth version, you’ve 

at least heard of the game. It’s a huge 

indie success, from one half of the 

team that developed Super Meat Boy. 

The little roguelike dungeon-crawler is 

know a well-known property, and has 

seen two DLC additions to its Rebirth 

re-release. The game has stayed 

amazing, but by adding on so much 

content, Isaac has made itself a little 

less accessible to the casual audience. 

Isaac has always followed the 

philosophy of “easy to pick up, 

difficult to master,” with great success. 

You move in four directions, and shoot 

tears (yes, you play as a crying child) 

in four directions. You can also nab 

trinkets, items, bombs, keys, pills, 

and other goodies to help you in your 

quest. Isaac does all of this simply 

to avoid his mother, who has been 

told by God to kill her son. As 

such, Isaac illustrates a scary 

basement from the eyes of a kid, 

filled with odd Christian imagery 

and pop-culture references. 

While you delve deeper into the 

depths of your home, Isaac tasks you 

with killing odd abominations while 

dodging their attacks. As mentioned 

Platform PS4, XBox One, Switch, PC & More 

Genre Rogue-like 

earlier, it provides the adequate items 

to do so, but each room is randomly 

generated as you play. Maybe you’ll 

find a cool item on the next floor– 

then again, maybe you’ll just find the 

one that makes you pee uselessly. 

Despite being a “bullet hell” 

roguelike, The Binding of Isaac feels so 

smooth to control and never asks too 

much of you. “Dodge a few bullets. 

Kill a few dudes.” That is, until you 

die, and everything resets. The world 

rebulds itself anew, and you need to 

grab new power-ups. Dying sucks…but 

it’s also the funnest part of the game. 

Isaac ceaselessly rewards you for 

learning the game and getting better. 

Players learn enemy patterns and 

random room layouts by playing 

Origin US 

Release Mar 17 2017 (For Switch) 

over and over; however, they’ll also 

unlock new item drops and bosses. 

During your first runs, the game 

limits the item and enemy pools 

so that newbies are never too 

overwhelmed. It saves the crazy 

stuff for the end: the overpowered 

stat boosts, the hard-to-hit enemy 

variations, the screw-you-over-ina-heartbeat 

room layouts. As you get 

better, the game gets harder. It’s the 

perfect training system; in fact, put 

an AI in there, and you’ll have a cliché 

anime war machine in no time. 

I’ve played The Binding of Isaac 

since its original Flash version, 

which released in 2011. Granted, I 

was never amazing at it, but I could 

get the job done. The same can be 

said for its updated re-release, The 

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, and its first 

DLC, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth. 

Both editions boasted unique 

modes, enemies, rooms, bosses, and 

items, but also kept the difficulty 

relatively normal for beginners. They 

were fantastic in every regard. 

After speaking with a few friends 

and playing the Switch port a few 

times, I can truly say that the game 

feels much harder from the get-go. It 

doesn’t hand you very many helpful, 

awesome power-ups, but does throw 

you into your fair share of cheap 

rooms designed to kill you quickly. 

Progressing through a run usually 

unlocks varied and more difficult 

enemies for your next play, but rarely 

gives you new toys to beat them with. 

As I said, I knew what I was 

getting myself into. I can only 

imagine what it’d be like for someone 

who’s never played before. 

The Binding of Isaac has always been 

known for its random generation and 

difficulty, but Afterbirth+ seems to 

kick these aspects into overdrive. Sure, 

it adds a new layer of challenge for 

veterans. But I fear that this update 

might make things a little too unfair 

for newbies. Simply put, Isaac is 

already a game about overcoming the 

odds and surviving a bullet storm. 

Was it really a good idea to make 

it even harder from the outset? 

Afterbirth+ adds a ton of unique 

powerups and fun bosses, and helps 

the 6 year old franchise feel fresh. 

Once players push past the 

overwhelming odds and unlock extra 

characters and upgrades, things begin 

to turn in their favor. That’s when 

everything gets fun. The Binding of 

Isaac shines when you can pick up 

a myriad of unsettling mutations 

to test how they work together, and 

how they might fare in combat. 

Unexpected runs are arguably the 

best ones; you discover something 

new and exciting, or try an item 

combination you’ve never seen 

before. It perfectly captures the 

wonder of playing The Legend of Zelda 

on the NES, albeit with a grotesque 

art style. Sadly, in Afterbirth+, the 

question isn’t always “Will I enjoy 

the gameplay loop?” but rather “How 

many unfair runs will it take for me to 

have one in which I stand a chance?” 

Thankfully, the Nintendo Switch 

lends itself very well to this difficulty 

spike. Instead of sitting in one spot 

for hours to hone your skills, The 

Binding of Isaac can now taunt you 

anywhere. It becomes the perfect 

distraction for car trips, plane rides, 

and wait times between classes. The 

pixel art pops on the bright, sharp 

Switch screen. It’s enjoyable and easy 

to explore this musty dungeon on 

the go, and all the more rewarding. 

The addition of Afterbirth+ doesn’t 

ruin The Binding of Isaac, but it will 

undoubtedly cause its fair share of 

beginner rage quits. That being said, 

once the game has been “beaten” 

a few times, enough items and 

characters open up to let you truly 

enjoy everything the game has to 

offer. Afterbirth+ adds a ton of unique 

powerups and fun bosses, and helps 

the 6 year old franchise feel fresh. 

As it always has been, The Binding of 

Isaac is a seminal experience for the 

industry that all should play; it just 

so happens that the game is greater 

with portability. 

THE BINDING OF ISAAC: 

AFTERBIRTH+ 

Addictive levels of replayability 

Charm and quirk out the wazoo 

Creative item combinations and 

unlockables 

Sharp graphics with responsive 

controls 

Almost unfair difficulty in the early 

game 

Bizarre 




47

REVIEW 

HUMAN RESOURCE MACHINE 

I AM SETSUNA 

BACKLOG REVIEW 

HUMAN RESOURCE MACHINE 

THE HEADSCRATCHING SORT-OF SORTING GAME 

By Henry Melville 

NEED TO KNOW 

I AM SETSUNA 

ALMOST A HEARTFELT CLASSIC RPG 


NEED TO KNOW 

Developer Tomorrow Corporation 

Publisher Tomorrow Corporation 

Platform PC, Switch, Wii U, Mobile & More 

Genre Puzzle 

Origin US 

Release Mar 16 2017 (for Switch) 

Developer Tokyo RPG Factory 

Publisher Square Enix 

Platform PS4, Vita, Switch, PC 

Genre Turn-based RPG 

Origin Japan 

Release Feb 18 2016 

S 

o you want to be a corporate 

lackey, do you? Great! Do you have 

a deep understanding of coding 

logic, mastery of mathematics and a 

keen sense of problem solving? No? 

Well, that’s probably not going to do 

you any favours in Human Resource 

Machine. Masquerading as a simple 

drag-and-drop puzzle game, HRM 

is a challenging title that asks you 

to learn fast, screw up, and fix your 

mistakes. As a nameless employee, 

your job in this bland world is to take 

items from an inbox, and drop them 

in the outbox. Riveting stuff so far. 

However the conditions of each task 

change with every level. Each puzzle 

completion equates to a year of the 

unexciting worker’s life, and ramps 

up the difficulty as you pass through 

the building. Earlier in the game you 

may only be required to drop numbers 

in if they are positive in value, yet 

its later stages may require that you 

must also turn negative numbers 

into their positive equivalent before 

dropping them in the outbox. 

As you progress, you unlock new 

commands that allow you to subtract, 

add, jump through your code, and 

many more. Although they sound like 

they could be helpful, the addition of 

these new commands often presents 

even greater challenges. I’m not a 

coder, and at times the difficulty of 

these puzzles was infuriating. At it’s 

core, this is a game of logic, and so 

the occasional brain strain eventually 

turns into relief when you crack the 

code. This is until you realise you 

spent 36 commands on a level, where 

the game challenges you to complete 

it in 23 or fewer. I’ve not felt a sense 

of stupidity quite like it before! These 

performance objectives are a fun 

way to implement replayability, but 

at times I felt so exhausted from 

completing a puzzle that I definitely 

wasn’t up to the task of trying again. 

At times, the most infuriating 

part of Human Resource Machine is it’s 

controls on the Nintendo Switch. In 

handheld mode, you can quickly pick 

apart puzzles with the touch-screen 

interface. Switching over to TV mode 

instead required you to use the Joy- 

Con as a pointer, utilising the advanced 

gyro to estimate where you are pointing 

on screen. It felt slow and quite often 

required re-calibrating to find its centre 

again. I’m struggling enough as it is 

without the damn controls taunting me! 

In all honesty, I did not expect 

much from this title. Certainly the 

loose plot that plays out feels much 

like an afterthought. You definitely 

aren’t picking up this title for the 

charming characters or the misplaced 

story, however. I won’t downplay the 

humour that the quirky employees 

emit, its a nice break from mashing 

your mind with sorting items. 

Despite minor issues, Human 

Resource Machine is a charming title 

with surprising replayability, and 

a depth of puzzles that will keep 

you entertained for hours. You may 

want to consult your dermatologist 

however, due to the sheer amount 

of headscratching involved. 

HUMAN RESOURCE 

MACHINE 

Challenging puzzles 

Performance objectives offer 

replayability 

Fun, quirky characters 

Nintendo Switch controls are 

lacklustre 

Oddly displaced plot 

Resourceful 

I 

n today’s industry, role-playing 

games seem to be taking off in 

many different directions. Titles 

like Persona 5 push the genre forward 

in new and intriguing ways, while 

modern action RPGs like Horizon Zero 

Dawn branch off in another direction 

entirely. Yet the old-fashioned turnbased 

top-down games of yore are 

all but abandoned. Square Enix 

understood this dilemma and in 

response created I Am Setsuna, a 

traditional RPG from their newest 

studio, Tokyo RPG Factory. The team 

was formed solely to recapture the 

look and feel of SNES-era RPGs such 

as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 

VI, which is perhaps the only feat 

their debut title accomplishes. 

I Am Setsuna follows a small envoy 

whose task is to safely escort a 

“Sacrifice” to the Last Lands. This 

Sacrifice just so happens to be the 

titular Setsuna, a beloved party 

member. If you can’t see where this 

is going, I’ll spell it out: I Am Setsuna 

is incredibly dark and melancholy. 

The entire quest is about bringing 

a friend to the altar, so that she can 

die to save the world from agitated 

monsters. This undertone sets up a 

memorable journey, as you cherish 

every fleeting second with your team. 

The world here is absolutely 

drenched in sadness. It’s constantly 

snowing, the colors are all faded, 

and a beautifully haunting piano 

orchestrates every scene. Each new 

town provides some hardship to 

overcome, or hides a revelation about 

the past. Sorrow is omnipresent, 

which makes the small, hopeful 

moments in the story that much 

more special. Quaint scenes help flesh 

out the plot, as every character is 

interesting, mysterious, and charming. 

Fights use an active-battle system: 

once a character uses their turn, they 

must wait for a bar to refill before 

they can attack again. Unique spells 

and abilities (known as “Spritnite”) 

can be used to turn the tide in your 

favor. By pressing a button during 

an attack animation, players may 

add special effects or extra damage 

to an attack. This can only be done 

once another bar has filled up. 

Although Setsuna has deep stores 

of aesthetic and charm, I can’t say 

the same for its gameplay. Combat 

feels shallow, as the various Spritnite 

never affect the fight as much as you’d 

like them to. Some will help you do 

more damage, while some will do 

fire damage in a small area. Others 

can boost your gauge refill speed. 

Enemies in these bouts often feel 

copied-and-pasted from the earlier 

sections; usually, they boast simple 

palette swaps and stat boosts. Even 

the boss fights feel unimaginative, 

as their only challenge is their 

ridiculous amount of health. 

Every battle is fun, though not 

especially distinct from the one before 

it. Setsuna certainly looks and feels 

like an old role-playing game, yet sadly 

never sets itself apart as something 

new. It emulates and masquerades as 

the games that enraptured you years 

ago, but never presents new fighting 

tactics, side quests, or mechanics. 

Somewhere in this over-simplicity 

lies the heart of a good game. I Am 

Setsuna provides a nice time capsule; a 

glimpse into the past, and a look into 

the future of turn-based experiences. 

The title forms a sturdy base for the 

studio to build upon, and with a few 

more mechanics, it could easily be 

fantastic. Yet in its current state, it 

isn’t. I Am Setsuna is a fun, memorable 

journey that ultimately leans too 

much on nostalgia, and never toys 

with any unique, meaningful ideas. 

I AM SETSUNA 

Haunting atmosphere and setting 

Charming characters and story 

Barebones combat, equipment system, 

and sidequests 

Half-Hearted 



BACKLOG REVIEW 

MANUAL SAMUEL 

BEASTBY.NET 

MANUAL SAMUEL 

A GAME THAT STRUGGLES TO FIND ITS FOOTING 


NEED TO KNOW 

Developer Perfectly Paranormal 

Publisher Curve Digital 

W 

hen I first saw Manual Samuel 

on the Steam storefront, I had 

high hopes for it. As far as 

indie titles go, anyway. It looked like 

a goofy, gimmicky, good time. Much 

like Octodad, I could play it, enjoy it, 

and move on. It’d be a short experience 

but one I’d look back on with fondness, 

and one that’d join the pantheon of 

must-play indie experiences. Only, this 

is one we’ll probably be forgetting. 

The game starts off in a quaint 

cafe with our vessel-to-be Samuel 

catching flak for missing his 

girlfriend’s birthday for the third year 

in a row. After receiving a lecture 

over his laziness he shrugs it off, 

explaining that because he has a 

rich and successful family he can 

just coast through life. This doesn’t 

go down well and the conversation 

ends with a swift strike across the 

face with a bottle of broccoli juice. 

This is when the player is handed 

control. You help the dazed and 

confused Samuel to his feet and work 

out how to use his limbs. The triggers 

move his legs, shoulder buttons move 

his arms, and the face buttons will 

control…well… his face. The controls 

Platform PS4, Xbox One, PC 

Genre Adventure 

are fairly straightforward but when 

pressed in the incorrect order, or not at 

all, Samuel will fall into a heap on the 

floor. Controlling someone manually 

is, as you’d expect, clumsy and slow, 

but entertaining at the same time. 

One aspect of Manual Samuel 

I enjoyed, aside from the control 

scheme, was the narrator. The 

sarcastically dry storytelling provided 

throughout is tonally correct for a 

game like this. While the humour 

didn’t always land, it was a nice 

surprise to hear him react to the 

player’s actions. He’d often remark if 

I’d taken too long (sometimes telling 

me exactly what to do) or ad-libbed 

if I kept repeating the same action 

unnecessarily. It’s just a shame that 

every other character is without merit. 

So, Samuel stumbles outside in 

pursuit of his girlfriend, and as he 

limps across the road he’s hit by a 

truck. As the narrator puts it “The 

impact renders him eight types of 

dead,” whatever that means. This 

is when we meet Death, arguably 

the most annoying character, who 

has a deal for Samuel. If he’s able 

to “manually” survive for the next 

Origin Norway 

Release Oct 14 2016 

twenty-four hours he can have his 

life back. A difficult task regardless, 

but even harder for a man who’s 

never had to lift a metaphorical 

finger. Of course, Samuel agrees and 

we’re taken back a day before the 

accident. After getting the hang of 

blinking and breathing, we set off 

on our day while Death practices 

his kickflips in the background. 

This is when the clever and 

interesting mechanics of Manual 

Samuel come into play, and they make 

you truly appreciate our “automatic” 

lifestyles. Having to juggle basic 

bodily functions is hilariously 

chaotic, and the first few levels are 

filled with many forehead slapping 

moments. How could I be so stupid 

to believe that I could inhale while 

having a mouth full of hot coffee?! 

There’s something inherently 

funny about struggling to complete 

mundane, everyday tasks, and 

that’s when Manual Samuel is at its 

most entertaining. Sadly, the game 

takes a very different direction 

that misses the point entirely. 

The second half turns into somewhat 

of an awkward brawler as it tries to 

adapt the mechanics to fit the story. 

You’re no longer laughing along as 

you endeavour to live a normal life, 

instead you’re required to complete 

a bunch of precise sequences with 

imprecise controls. It’s frustrating, 

especially as the story isn’t engaging 

enough to will you to the end. 

Manual Samuel would have been a 

better game if it didn’t put its mediocre 

story in front of the mechanics. A 

simple tale of a man just trying to 

get through the day would have been 

sufficient enough to let players enjoy 

the gameplay. I’d much rather struggle 

with grocery shopping and mowing 

the lawn than fighting robots and 

demons. It’s an odd story, one filled 

with uninteresting characters with 

dialogue that often fails to stick the 

landing. It’s like playing a video game 

adaptation of a TV show I’ve never 

heard of, and the only people who get 

the bigger picture are the developers. 

It’s not a terrible game by any 

means, and it’s cheap enough that 

it may warrant a purchase from 

anyone curious enough. It’s just a 

middle of the road indie title that 

may satisfy the QWOP fans out there, 

if those people actually exist. 

MANUAL SAMUEL 

An entertaining first half 

Retro-kitschy art style 

A soundtrack to match 

A terrible second half 

Uncoordinated 




51

FEATURE 

TOP TRUMPS: VIDEO GAME BEARDS 

BEASTBY.NET 

TOP 

TRUMPS 

JOEL 

With Clickers and bandits 

running amok, Joel couldn’t 

have a clean shave even if he 

wanted to. Yes, it may be on the 

scruffy side, but it gets the job 

done: Joel is not a man you want 

to wrestle for a bottle of water. 

Also, He scores bonus points for 

the salt and pepper action he’s 

got going on. 

Can you feel it? Just a small hint of change, gliding through 

the valley on the wind? More and more of our beloved video 

game characters are sporting beards. We have no clue why 

this phenomena is happening, but it’s about time we started 

getting this beard-mania organised. Here are Beastby.net’s 

official (not really) Top Trump Video Game Beards! 

ZANGIEF 

The Red Cyclone represents 

the Motherland with style, 

power and a beastly bush. 

Sharp cuts and strong 

growth go hand in hand to 

strike fear in any opponent. 

Bonus points for having 

an astoundingly unique 

chest hair pattern. There’s 

fighting like a bear, and 

then there’s looking like 

one too. 

JACK BAKER 

You’d be forgiven for not 

noticing that Jack sports a 

mighty man growth considering 

his most ghastly features 

revolve around the visceral 

regeneration of his body. Make 

no mistake, his bushy grey beard 

is actually well kept, and even 

survives through the severe burns 

he receives in the first act of 

Resident Evil 7. Truly horrific. 

DR. ROBOTNIK 

When you spend so much of 

your time building an obtuse 

amount of sphere-shaped 

death robots, facial hair only 

proves to be an occupational 

hazard. Thankfully for Eggman, 

the “fuzzy caterpillar” look not 

only prevents him from looking 

like an albino Diglet, it stays 

flared out violently to each side. 

Probably due to flying around in 

that egg pod so much. 

PROF. 

ROWAN 

Though he may 

be old, Professor 

Rowan knows his 

way around the 

Pokémon world. 

Not only that, he 

definitely knows 

his way around a 

razor blade. Opting 

for a sideburn and 

stache combo, 

his face is both 

dignified and rockin’. 

GERALT 

Geralt’s beard is a lot 

like his fighting abilities: 

versatile, stylish and 

majestic. It’s a damn 

shame when he’s forced 

into civilised company 

and made to hit the 

razor. If we had it our 

way he’d stay clear of 

the pompous “nobles”, 

but the man does have a 

business to run. Luckily, 

it seems meditation and 

mutation give Geralt the 

hair growing speeds he 

needs to return to form. 



FEATURE 

TOP TRUMPS: VIDEO GAME BEARDS 

BEASTBY.NET 

GORDON 

FREEMAN 

Saving the world from a 

threat you accidentally 

helped create doesn’t 

leave you with a lot of 

time to worry about style. 

Gordon is a simple man 

with straight-forward 

goals, and likely trims his 

mane with the business 

end of a crowbar. Even so, 

when you see this glasses 

and goatee combo emerge 

from the shadows, the last 

thing you’ll be thinking 

about is his grooming 

habits. 

BILL 

The oldest and 

most experienced 

L4D crew member, 

Bill is a seasoned 

badass who is 

willing to put it all 

on the line for the 

team. He embraces 

the grey, but doesn’t 

seem to do much 

more with his beard 

aside from possibly 

shortening it with a 

bowie knife. I also can’t 

imagine boomer bile is 

an easy thing to wash 

out in a rush. Gross. 

ADAM JENSEN 

If only Adam put as much 

time into developing a 

personality as he has 

pruning, shaping and dying 

his beard, we might’ve got 

an interesting protagonist. 

There comes a point 

where hair-care goes too 

far. Unfortunately for Mr. 

Jensen, he missed his stop 

at Man-Crush City and 

found himself at a Jafar fan 

club in Try-hard Town. 

KRATOS 

Forget all of those times Kratos killed 

a god or brought down a Titan: he 

never truly became a man until he 

grew that immense, testosteronefuelled 

beard. It seems he’ll need 

it for the latest iteration of the 

God of War series, too. Not only to 

retain some warmth to his body 

(however minor), but to give his son 

something to aspire to. 

TORBJÖRN 

Torbjörn has some fantastic 

facial hair, which couples 

with his Swedish accent 

to give him an eerie 

resemblance to Warcraft’s 

Dwarves. Players should be 

sick of seeing it though, as 

a good Torb gets Play of the 

Game in almost every match 

he’s in. 

DOCTOR LIGHT 

The robotics expert Dr. Light 

also happens to be an expert in 

grooming. His beard must have 

caused quite the trouble when he 

was putting together his various 

Robot Masters, but its excellence 

pays for itself. We hope that he 

steers clear of Cut Man, though. 



SELECT 

STILL THE BEST PIXAR FIRST PERSON 

SHOOTER ON THE MARKET 

BEASTBY.NET 

GROUNDHOG DAY IN SAPIENZA 

HITMAN 

DARREN 

BURCHETT 

It’s a sunny day in Sapienza. Again. 

I can’t tell you how many times 

I’ve lived this day, all I can say is 

that I know this part of town like 

the back of my hand. Silvio Caruso 

will be meeting his golf coach, 

Roberto Vargas, for another lesson 

soon. After that he’ll have another 

session with his psychiatrist, and the 

hopeless chef will regrettably serve 

up lunch with spoiled tomatoes. 

Hmm, how should I ruin Mr. 

Caruso’s day this time? Exploding 

golf ball? Nah. It was pretty hilarious 

last time, but I’ve done that already. 

Dress as his psychiatrist and smother 

him with a pillow? Too boring, and 

I don’t want to have to hear about 

his mummy-issues. Oh! I could put 

him in the wood chipper! Wait. I’ve 

done that too. Well, I could dress as a 

plague doctor and slit his throat with 

a circumcision knife. Sure! Why not. 

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been 

playing Hitman. Despite purchasing 

the entire game on day one, I’ve 

only just started my dive into this 

fascinating thing. I am in complete 

awe with the amount each level has to 

offer, and I didn’t expect to have the 

overwhelming urge to try every option. 

There’s just one thing, though. There’s 

still four levels I’ve yet to try. I cannot 

get enough of the Sapienza map. It is 

an example of incredible level design 

and, as well as being a beautiful 

location, provides variety like no other. 

Compact, windy streets. A huge 

mansion. Castle ruins. A church. 

Beach. Docks. Underground lab! 

Have I got your attention yet? 

Each provides something new and 

exciting for your next assassination 

attempt, and I can’t stop. 

Each level I’ve experienced so 

far feels like an ant nest. Everyone 

and everything is going through 

the motions like clockwork, and it’s 

not until you start poking with your 

stick that the world starts to react. 

It’s also like a field of dominos, 

and when you knock one piece over 

there’s no telling how much of a 

knock-on effect it’ll have. And I’ve 

run out of analogies for now. 

Hitman is a special game, 

people. I can’t believe I’ve 

waited until now to play it. 

WHEN ANGELS 

DESERVE TO DIE 

DARK SOULS 3 

ROBERT 

HOGGE 

Most of my gaming this month has 

been directed towards the ones I 

reviewed, but when not doing that I 

was able to dive into the Dark Souls 3: 

Ringed City DLC. I was grinning from 

ear to ear for the most part, except 

when encountering one specific 

enemy: the angels. They are infinitely 

frustrating, unrelenting, and the way 

you get rid of them for good is frankly 

absurd. Outside of that though, I’ve 

been having a blast! The spectacle 

and environmental puzzles have been 

extremely satisfying, and the first 

boss threw me for a loop in such a 

clever way, I can’t even be mad that he 

wrecked me shortly after. I honestly 

cannot wait to dig further and uncover 

the mystery that lies within. 

OVERWATCH 

DYLAN 

BISHOP 

Aside from playing Breath of the 

Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn, March 

was a month of connections for me. 

It was dedicated to strengthening 

bonds with friends and family, and 

what better way to do that than 

with Overwatch? Almost a year after 

launch, our small group of six stays 

consistently enthralled with Blizzard’s 

competitive shooter, thanks to healthy 

doses of characters, world lore, game 

modes, and skins being injected 

on a regular basis. It’s genuinely 

exciting to see how the game’s meta 

will evolve next, whether through 

a balance patch or a hero release. 

As expected, April 11th was met 

with one such event: “Overwatch 

Uprising.” For the next few weeks, 

players can cooperatively battle 

against hordes of robots in the streets 

of London. This small mission ties 

into Overwatch’s extensive in-game 

history, and sheds some light on 

GREAT PASS! S#@%! NICE SHOT! CHAT HAS 

BEEN DISABLED FOR 3 SECONDS... 

ROCKET LEAGUE 

HENRY 

MELVILLE 

It’s that time of year where players 

new and old are thrust into a 

maelstrom of unpredictability, 

unbalance, and downright 

ridiculousness. Yes folks, Rocket 

League’s rank resets are a difficult 

time for all. I sometimes like to think 

that this is the moment I can sherpa 

some newbies and help them climb 

the ranks of greatness. Instead, I’m 

forced to steal balls, compensate 

and obliterate players who definitely 

didn’t deserve it. Matchmaking is a 

tricky problem for Rocket League’s 

season refresh. After all, we all have 

to start somewhere. But being thrust 

into a lobby where your teammates 

couldn’t tell the difference between 

their boost button and their own goal 

the backstory of certain heroes. The 

new PvE mode is genuinely fun and 

fresh--it proves that Blizzard could 

create a bright, colorful campaign 

mode, if they wanted. Until then, 

Uprising suffices, as do the plethora 

of new, themed “Origin” skins. 

It’s astonishing that Overwatch is 

still relevant on all platforms. It’s rare 

to see a console game that’s played 

more than six months after release. 

Nevertheless, Blizzard has created 

something truly special: a charming, 

animated multiplayer title, where all 

players feel that they’re contributing. 

Whether you want to spam the 

dwarfish turret engineer or play every 

hero in the game, Overwatch is a 

fantastic title that everyone should try. 

makes for cringeworthy viewing. 

There is great satisfaction, however, 

in somehow taking down a full squad 

of Grand Champions in Hollywoodsports-movie 

fashion. Rocket League 

is a game like no other. The raw 

emotion and elation when on a hot 

streak is quickly dismantled as you 

crash down the ladder faster than 

you can say “Wow! What a save!”. 

I wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

Dropshot has made for a frantically 

fantastic distraction from the woes 

of ranked play. The new mechanics 

and visuals are a real treat. It’s 

this consideration that Psyonix 

have for their players that has me 

continuously hooked up to the Rocket 

League needle. I’m now closing in 

on 700 hours played, and there’s no 

signs of me stopping any time soon. 

Fingers crossed I can hit my target 

of Diamond rank this season! 



@BEASTBYBLOG 

/BEASTBY 

CONTACT@BEASTBY.NET

Beastby - Issue 02 May 2017

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