What Lies In The Multiverse An Interesting Adventure Across Worlds

 Note: I received a game code for What Lies In The Multiverse for my review. Thank you to Untold Tales for the game code. 

What Lies In The Multiverse starts with something that I appreciate, a trigger warning about flashing light patterns and the fact that the story talks about death and loss. Not many games do that so that showed genuine care for people who want to play the game. I was able to adjust the volume and game settings on my Switch comfortably. After that, I was ready to begin the adventure. The story introduces us to the hero who we only know as Kid, sitting at his computer writing an algorithm that will let him travel and explore other universes. The computer glitches and sends him to a new universe. Kid doesn't know where he is and explores this new place and meets Everett, a laissez faire scientist who can switch through dimensions at will with his cane called The Voyager. 

Kid meets Everett. 

Kid finds Everett fascinating and asks to come with him. Everett says okay and the duo travel together across a charming and unique puzzle platformer that tells a fantastic story along the way. The main mechanic of the game is using The Voyager to swap dimensions. Kid can't jump very far and has pretty limited mobility. The whole point is to switch dimensions to solve those puzzles to help create a path that he can follow. I found myself enjoying figuring out to get across a vast chasm I had to quickly jump to a dimension that reversed gravity so I could walk upside down on a platform to cross and then switch back to the previous dimension. If I didn't switch back quickly enough, I could fall upwards into the air and die. Honestly, that led to some hilarious results and game deaths before I got the hang of it, but all of it was fun. 

Reverse gravity dimension was fun! 

The pixel artwork for What Lies In The Multiverse is charming and the music for the game really fits each chapter and setting. What really stood out for me was the story. Initially, Everett isn't really keen on Kid being his assistant and briefly alludes to the fact that he had an assistant before, but something happened to him. Exploring everywhere, I would find journals and notes about the various dimensions and frankly, some of them were dark and disturbing. However, it added beautiful layers and nuance to the story and as Kid and Everett continued their adventure, I got to see them start to get closer until eventually they considered each other friends. There are humorous moments with what can only be described as a group of dimension time cops, ZENITH who know Everett and while they're the "villains" they're not so bad and a few of them seem to genuinely care about Everett and want to save him from himself. Those moments made me laugh with some of the silliness and comedy of errors that happened followed by Everett telling Kid to run. I wanted to know more about ZENITH, but the story only gives you a few crumbs here and there about each one so it never felt like you were getting the whole story which is a shame because there were a couple among them that were my favorites. 

This was really silly and hilarious at the same time. 

As the adventure continued, the puzzles got a little more complicated and sometimes it would really make me rack my brain for the solution. This could be a little frustrating at times, but it wasn't too bad. I felt that some puzzle dimensions were better than others. I loved the reverse gravity dimension and the one with climbing vines and interferences, a cool way to switch dimensions for half a second and then back. I really didn't like the ice dimension or the puzzles where the boxes were so fragile they broke the moment you dropped them. 

Climbing across some vines and ready to dimension jump. 

The game itself is not very long; I was able to finish it in about six hours. I didn't know what to expect when I started What Lies In The Multiverse, but by the time I arrived at the end of the journey I realized that I had a wonderful time with it. The story and game mechanics created an interesting adventure across worlds and gave us moments of drama, humor, and understanding about how we process loss and how we hold onto the relationships we hold dear. What Lies In The Multiverse told a beautiful story while having a good time along the way. That makes it a delightful indie gem. 

A beautiful setting in the game.

*What Lies In The Multiverse is now available on: Steam, Epic, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch

*Join our community on Twitch as we enjoy games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Zorya: The Celestial Sisters, A Charming Co-Op Puzzle Adventure

 Note: I received a game code from the publisher for my unbiased review. Thank you to TLM Partners for the game code. 

Zorya: The Celestial Sisters is a fully co-op game that you can play with a friend on local co-op or online co-op. The introduction to the story is done really well with beautiful artwork showing two owls who are sisters; Solveig the goddess of the sun and Aysu goddess of the moon. Aysu must safely find a path through the shadows to regain her powers that are scattered across the land. You and your game partner can decide which character you want to play as at the start of the game. I went with Solveig and my friend chose Aysu. The nice thing is you can always switch characters after a level if you like. 

Choose your character. 

The artwork for the game is beautiful with a colorful palette that looks like a fairytale storybook as it tells an interesting story of the two sisters. It is slow paced and relaxed, but that's not a bad thing as it allows you to savor the story and appreciate the art for each scene. 

Solveig and Aysu. 

Each level can be easily accessed on the world sky map and they are named after constellations. This is also where you can switch characters if you like. Each area has a set of three gems that you can get which encourages multiple playthroughs of a level to get them because one gem is for Aysu and one is for Solveig with the other being a bonus gem. This encourages switching characters as well so you can get all the gems for a level. 

The world map has many levels.

As the player controlling Solveig you have to move the shadows by changing the time of day which gives Aysu a safe path because the sunlight hurts her. You get a bird's eye view of the map so you can figure out the puzzle and which path is safe for Aysu to walk. Aysu can press buttons that open doors so that Solveig can direct the shadows. Each puzzle is a little more intricate and complex than the last and it's fun working with your co-op partner figuring out each puzzle and pathing. Communication is key as you work together throughout the game. There was definitely a lot of trial and error, but it felt great every time we solved a puzzle and got the gems in each level. 

Working together to solve the puzzle. 

That's not to say Zorya is perfect. There are issues with having to switch between the characters in order to see everything. While Solveig can see the entire map, Aysu has to work with what's in front of her and while you can switch back and forth it can be tricky especially when having to fight enemies. Solveig can stun them with the sunlight so Aysu can defeat them and keep it moving. The controls can be a little sticky at times, but for the most part it works. If you fail, you can always start over at the beginning and try the puzzle again, but that can become tedious after a bit. That being said, Zorya is a charming co-op puzzle adventure with a good story, beautiful art, and worth your time if you love puzzle games. 

Aysu collects a gem. 

*Zorya: The Celestial Sisters is now available on Nintendo Switch and Steam

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Horizon Forbidden West, A Grand Adventure

 The moment that Horizon Forbidden West was announced I was ecstatic and waited patiently until the day it was here. I was ready to dive in and have more adventures with the wonderful Aloy once again. Right from the start Forbidden West hooks you in explaining that six months have gone by after defeating HADES and that Aloy is searching for a backup of GAIA in order to help the biosphere which is degrading. The game also gives an explanation for why Aloy doesn't have her upgraded equipment with Aloy stating she lost a lot of her items while looking for the GAIA backup. The setup for the game settings is very well done with being able to choose the difficulty that you prefer. I go with story mode because it allows me to enjoy the game without too much trouble and is easier on my arthritic hands. The accessibility for the game is pretty good with being able to adjust controls, sound settings, and there is a Tinnitus setting with the audio as well. I did appreciate the fact that I could adjust the settings easily so I could play the game the way I wanted. 

Aloy begins her adventure.

Aloy soon realizes her journey is going to take her into the Forbidden West and makes her way there. Along the way in the first area, I found myself stopping to explore everywhere. The world is even bigger here and I loved discovering new places. Exploration is highly encouraged because of new locations, side quests, and gorgeous vistas. The world of Forbidden West is quite beautiful and the fact that there is photo mode in the game is fantastic because you can get so many fantastic shots of the game. 

An epic shot in photo mode. 

Another good thing with exploration is it's a great way to level grind as well as discover new machines. Aloy is able to scan these with her focus just like in the previous game and gather information on them. There are the usual machines including my personal favorite, a robot t-rex known as a thunderjaw and some new machines that range from elephants to triceratops. Combat in the game can be stealthy or full on melee, but whatever you choose the fights are fun. I preferred stealth, but could go toe to toe with the machines if I had to. Level grinding in the game is not a chore because of the many things to do in regards to exploration, story, and tons of side quests. When Aloy levels up she is able to unlock skills and upgrade them in the skill tree depending on what kind of build you want. 

Aloy's skill trees. 

Aloy gets new weapons and tools during her travels to the west. Each weapon has different elements that work with each machine. My favorite weapon was a gauntlet shredder because it worked with my stealth build and could hit machines from long distances. The different tools could be used for things such as tearing down a crumbling wall or creating a new path. Each item could be upgraded at a workbench which could be found in villages and camps as long as you had the right materials. 

Upgrading weapons at the workbench. 

The story for Forbidden West is definitely interesting. There were moments where when I thought the story couldn't get any wilder, it did. One of the elements I appreciated in the story was Aloy reflecting on how she felt about doing everything herself and struggling to accept help from her friends. I thought the slow burn of this was thoughtfully done as it showed how Aloy gradually came to understand that she didn't have to do everything alone and that it was okay to ask for help and rely on her friends for this big endeavor. 

Aloy does a deep dive underwater. 

Forbidden West is very much a sci-fi story and there are some great cutscenes with pivotal moments and character development not just with Aloy, but with many of her companions like Varl and Erend. The west also introduces new people such as the tribes of the Tenakth, Utaru, and Quen. I loved all of them because they each brought something new and while different, they also showed how they all wanted to work together towards making a better world. Aloy herself is a force of nature as her reputation precedes her because of events in the first game and some pretty legendary things she gets to do in the current game. I feel where she really shines is during a lot of the side quests because it shows how far Aloy's reach goes with her willingness to help others and wanting to do the right thing. There are places where the story stumbles a bit, but overall it's really well told and I was invested and wanted to know what would happen next. 

Aloy stops to take in a sunset view. 

There were definitely some quests that were my favorite such as one with an Oseram inventor who wanted to honor his grandfather's legacy of giving a great show with wonderful storytelling. There are characters that really stand out and there are quests that offer poignant moments such as holding onto the good memories you have of someone who passed away or doing the right thing even when it's scary or hard. The voice acting is fantastic all across the board for the main characters and minor characters and because of their brilliant performances this is what makes the writing for the story really shine. 

Aloy on a tallneck. 

Now, it's time to talk about what doesn't work. There's a mini game in Forbidden West called Machine Strike. It's a board game that feels like a mix of battle chess and Stratego. There are a lot of rules to Machine Strike and I did manage to get through the tutorial and try out a couple matches, I did not find it fun at all. There's a lot of rules and things to remember. I do understand what they were trying to do, but it doesn't necessarily work for me. I tried it out and decided it was not for me. The other thing you can try is the melee pits. This is where Aloy can hone her battle skills with opponents or practice battle moves. The issue with the melee pits is they're very buggy. Sometimes, inputs don't work even though they were done correctly and the instructions are not clear at all for some. There's also a weird delay with the combo controls. It made these very frustrating to get through and they definitely need a rework. 

Other than those couple of things, I loved Horizon Forbidden West. The overall game is fantastic and it's very clear Horizon is meant to be a trilogy and the ending sets up the intro to a third game beautifully. When you finish the game, you can go explore more and wrap up any side quests you may have missed. There is no new game plus yet, but that may change in the future like with Zero Dawn. Forbidden West story and world building wise gave me everything I wanted and I thoroughly enjoyed this grand adventure. 

Aloy flies off on a Sunwing. 

*Horizon Forbidden West is available on the following platforms: Playstation 4 and Playstation 5

*Join our community as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Wytchwood

 Full Disclosure: I received a Steam key for Wytchwood for my unbiased review of the game. Thank you to Alientrap for the Steam Key. Now, let's dive in and begin the review. #wytchwood

The minute I started Wytchwood I was immediately drawn in by the charming artwork of the game. It brought to mind fairy tale books with a darker spin which absolutely works for Wytchwood. The story starts with introducing us to a witch that lives in a little house in the woods.

Our story begins. 

The story then jumps to the witch who looks interesting with a pot on her head and a cute house that looks like it's straight from a storybook. I loved the witch's house because it really came to life with all the books, the bubbling cauldron, and the vivid colors. 

Our witch in her charming house. 

The witch has been asleep for years and when she wakes up and she's having trouble with her memories. She chases after a goat who it turns out is a demon that tells her she has to collects souls if she wants to fulfill the contract she has with it. The problem is, the witch doesn't remember the contract at all. The demon goat makes it clear that it doesn't care about that and directs the witch to get to it on collecting all those souls. 

The witch meets the demon goat. 

While the witch may not have her memories, she does know how to mix potions. She has an ability called Witch's Eye that allows her to see the unseen as well as being able to tell what creatures she comes across are weak to. This introduces a tutorial on how to set up traps to catch critters for parts, use nets to catch pixies, chop wood, gather plants, and use all the materials to mix potions and create magical items to be used during her adventure. The recipes get saved to the witch's grimoire and show what materials and ingredients are needed for each item. 

The witch's grimoire. 

The witch can travel between gates to different areas as she continues her journey to gather souls. There are a series of quests that involve crafting potions and items in order to complete them. Some of the quests are a bit dark such as making tablets to feed to a frog king to get him to cough up the corpse of an old woman's husband or putting salt in a leech monster's wine. Wytchwood is very much a crafting adventure, but it's very well thought out making it fun and it flows with the story which is quite well written. When the witch completes her story oriented task, she is able to collect the soul from the item.

The witch collects a soul. 

Wytchwood is very much a series of fetch quests, but the charm and whimsy of the story works quite well with it as you meet a menagerie of interesting characters, magical creatures, and continue to unravel the mystery of the witch's lost memories. The music and vibe of the game is relaxing and you can take your time exploring each beautifully created area. I absolutely adored Wytchwood because the all of these elements tied together wonderfully making a charming game that tells a great story. 

Chatting with a whimsical farmer. 

*Wytchwood is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

 

The Adventures Of Pirotess: Valentione's Day Event 2022

 It's that time of year in Eorzea again where everything is decorated for Valentione's Day. Yes, it's time for the Final Fantasy XIV Valentine's Day event. The event started on February 8 and will be running until February 21 so if you haven't checked it out, you still have plenty of time. In order to participate in the event your adventurer needs to be at least level 15 on a melee or mage class. 

It's time for Valentione's Day! 

In order to start the quest head to Old Gridania to Min Khetto's Amphitheater to start the quest No Love Lost where you get a cutscene with the moogle Kupka Kupp. The point of this quest is to deliver Valentione's letters to specific NPCs throughout Gridania. Once that's done, you can return to Old Gridania to complete the quest. 

Talking to our cute moogle friend. 

The next quest is Love's Labors which will have you helping a woman named Aloyse with her love troubles. During the cutscene you get to help her write a letter to her fiancee. Pick whichever dialogue option you agree with. The post moogle will deliver her letter and you can watch the cutscenes. 

Starting the next quest. 

Once you finish the custcenes you can head back to Old Gridania to turn the quest in. When the quest is completed you get rewarded with the Postmoogle Barding for your chocobo which is very cute. 

Chocobo barding for your chocobo. 

There is also a repeatable quest Better Letters which has you giving advice to NPCs that are writing letters to their friends and loved ones. The reward for each completion of this quest is 10 prismatic left heart side and 10 prismatic heart side right. You can also buy the prismatic hearts from the NPC vendor and a Valentione's Day mobile, an indoor furniture item for your house. The Valentione's Day event this year is short, but sweet and the rewards you get for it are pretty nice. Thanks for reading, see you at the next adventure! 

See you at the next adventure! 

*Final Fantasy XIV is available on the following platforms: PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, 

*Join our community on Twitch for gaming and discussion about mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

The Adventures Of Pirotess: All Saints' Wake 2022

 Remember how many of us were disappointed that we didn't have a Halloween event for two years? Well, we get one in January! Yes, Halloween in January. It's time for the All Saints' Wake a Halloween event in Final Fantasy XIV. The event started on January 20 and runs until February 2, 6:59 a.m. PST. To be able to do the event you need to have a war/mage class that is at least level 15 and completed the quest It's Probably Pirates. In order to start the event, you need to head to Old Gridania. 

This is Halloween! 

You need to talk to the Adventurers' Guild Investigator to start the quest All Clowns' Wake. He tells you about a mysterious stranger dressed in strange clothing. This has you running around town talking to different NPCs about whether or not they have seen anything odd. 

Starting the event. 

Eventually, you do meet the stranger and have a conversation with him. Then you have to return to the investigator and tell him what information you have found. 

Pirotess meets the mysterious stranger. 

This leads you to the next part of the event which is in Central Shroud. Talk to the Adventurers' Guild Investigator again to start the quest A Feast To Remember. After a short cutscene you meet up with the mysterious stranger again for another short cutscene. 

Starting the next quest. 

Doing all this unlocks the seasonal dungeon The Phantoms' Feast. The instance itself is a four person dungeon with no class, job, or level restrictions. Instead of your usual battle moves you use a fiendish lantern and holy water. The lantern creates an area of effect when you use it destroying clown wraiths in the dungeon. The holy water is used to save captive souls and there are 30 captive souls to rescue in total. Progression through the event dungeon is fairly straightforward and it's pretty short with only four areas to get through. Once you complete the dungeon you are rewarded with 6 pumpkin cookies and you complete the quest by going back and talking to the Adventurers' Guild Investigator once more and are rewarded with another pumpkin cookie.

Starting the event dungeon. 

To get the event rewards, you need to trade in your pumpkin cookies to the NPC vendor Shady Smock in Old Gridania. It costs 12 cookies to unlock the full clown gear set and 6 cookies to get the two housing items. If you have cookies to spare, you can get pumpkin prisms as well. To get more cookies, you can run the Phantoms' Feast dungeon again. All you have to do is talk to the Harlequin Guide who is next to the Shady Smock vendor in Old Gridania. 

Saints' Wake rewards. 

There you have it. A bit of Halloween fun to brighten up the Winter season. The events are always a good time and the Halloween events are a personal favorite of mine because I love Halloween. All Saints' Wake is great and you can do it solo or with a group of friends. Now, get out there and have some spooky fun! Thanks for reading, see you at the next adventure!

See you at the next adventure! 

*Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, OS X, Playstation 4, and Playstation 5

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Noble Fates, Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown

 Thank you to Xobermon LLC for providing the steam key for the game. My thoughts about the Noble Fates game are my own and I will do my best to give a fair review. Now, let's dive in. 

What is Noble Fates exactly? Think Rimworld meets the Sims meets Civilization all melded into one colony building game. The game is in Steam early access so I took that under consideration as I started my noble adventure. 

Starting the adventure! 

The introduction to Noble Fates is interesting as it sets the scene, explaining that you are a divine being with the power to influence mortals and control their decisions to a degree. At the start of the game your demigod self is resting upon the corpse of your long dead champion. I noticed the artwork for the game has its own unique style which I really liked.  

Get ready to use your divine powers. 

The first thing you have to do is choose a leader among several outcasts from a randomly named kingdom. Each person has a different set of skills and alignments ranging from cooking to building. You can choose whoever you want to be your leader, but no matter who you pick at least one of the party members will not be happy with the leader who is picked and will want to leave. This is where the intricacies of Noble Fates truly begins. You have some choices here and the big picture of Noble Fates is each choice you make has consequences which means you can decide to be a good and fair ruler or you can decide to be evil and a tyrant. One of the choices is you can let the person leave with all their supplies or you can decide to execute them. It is ultimately up to you and whichever choice you make, you have to live with it and the opinions your other party members will have of you. Personally, I let the person leave with all their supplies in my game. 

Choose your own leader. 

Once your leader is chosen, it's time to start building your kingdom. It's strongly advised that you enable the Guided Experience in the game especially if this is your first world building game. The guide acts as a tutorial for you early in the game and will make things easier for you in the beginning until you get the hang of how everything works. Make sure you save and save often as well as you go on your journey. You have to find a good location to start building. I went with a flat area because it made for easier building and less digging. Once you have your location, it's time to start foraging for building materials such as wood and grass. 

It's time to chop some trees! 

The in game style is cute with fluffy trees and people. Building for me was a little frustrating at first because it's not always intuitive, but once I figured it out I had a good time with it. The opinions of your followers will also affect how you build. First, they will absolutely need shelter, beds, and food. Each decision you make has a ripple effect and if a follower doesn't like your decision or they become too unhappy with you, they will desert. When you add in rival factions who may attack you, it adds another layer of fun chaos to the game. Will you come out on top or will your kingdom fall? The big thing in Noble Fates is to always be stockpiling. You never know when you're going to need wood for more buildings or materials to build defenses to ward off attacks. I really enjoyed the fact that I could do a top down perspective in the game so I could see everything which made building easier and I could switch to third person view when talking to followers. I was grateful for the guided experience because it helped immensely with learning the ins and outs of building and how the game worked. Building is fun and Noble Fates does give a lot of freedom with your creativity in how you want to build your kingdom. It really is all up to you. 

Building a shelter and a kingdom. 

Now, it's time to talk about the things in Noble Fates that I feel could be better or could be improved upon. One of the big things is the accessibility. When I started the game and checked out the game settings, there are not a lot of options. Accessibility is a concern for me personally because I have arthritis in my hands which is why I play a lot of my computer games with a controller/gamepad because it makes things easier for me and does not add stress to my hands. The default keyboard controls can be customized through the main menu at least which is a point in the games favor. I did play the game with my controller and frankly, the controls are not great. They're very clunky and sometimes they would stick with a lot of lag which could be incredibly frustrating. The zoom in and zoom out for the camera can be a little temperamental at times causing terrible camera angles and sometimes would spin wildly which would create some weird viewpoints. The loading times for the game can sometimes be very slow which is not ideal. Noble Fates has a lot of potential and if these issues can be addressed, it can be a great game. Now, I have more kingdom to build!

Let's build more kingdom! 

*Noble Fates is available in early access on Steam

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer