Until Dawn is a 2015 horror-movie-styled adventure game for the Playstation 4 from relatively unknown developer Supermassive Games. It’s unusual for being a “Triple-A” adventure game, exclusive to the PS4 and with a duration of only around 8 hours. Guide a group of teens through a dangerous array of horror movie tropes!

Horror movie fans will find a lot to love here but reactions to the game have been mixed. Does a $60 8 hour adventure game have a place in the modern gaming landscape?

This is a story-centric game; our spoiler break is at about 35 minutes.

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Superhot is a first person shooter where time only moves when you do. That’s the elevator pitch that launched the original version of Superhot from a 2013 7 Day FPS game jam contender to an internet darling and Kickstarter success. Three(ish) years later, the full game is out on Steam and Xbox One. Does its clever but simple premise stand up as a larger game?

You have to check out this game. It’s the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT.

Superhot is available on Steam and the Humble Store for $24.99. Expect it to take about 2-4 hours to complete the game’s story mode.

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Firewatch is a narrative first-person mystery game set in a the Wyoming wilderness. It blends the storytelling of “walking simulators” like Gone Home with the narrative dialogue of Telltale adventure gamesgames (and indeed it is written by Sean Vanaman, the writer of Telltale’s Walking Dead.)

It’s very, very good.

Before the spoiler break (at 29 minutes) we discuss the game’s stunning visuals courtesy of designer Olly Moss, environment artist Jane Ng, and the rest of the small but impressive team.

After the spoiler break we discuss the story. This game is full of twists and turns, so make sure you’ve played the game before listening past the break.

Links for this episode

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Oxenfree is the first game from Night School Studio, a team with roots at Telltale and Disney. Dialogue takes center stage here, as a bunch of teenagers set off to spend the night on an island that is home to an old military outpost, in a story with equal measures of supernatural horror and teen adventure nostalgia.

Before the spoiler break we discuss the game’s excellent dialogue and painterly art style. After the spoiler break (about 30 minutes in) we discuss the the strange events of the game and the story’s climax.

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In Tharsis, you command the crew of the badly damaged Mars mission Iktomi, scrambling to keep the ship’s systems active and the crew alive. In form it’s closer to a solo board game than a typical video game, with on-screen dice and lots of information and resources. Reviews have been divided, with some loving the game’s take on board game mechanics and others being turned away by the game’s punishing difficulty. We discuss the game, who it’s for, and strategy tips on getting your crew safely to Mars.

Tharsis costs $14.99 for Mac and PC on Steam, and is also available for PS4.

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