Reviews

A Game About Exploration By Leo Nickerson

Among Trees was a game undiscovered by the exploration community due to its classification as an Indie game. 3-5 people designed and edited the game at FJRD Interactive, located in the Swedish wilderness. This game, when launched on the Epic Games store on June 13 2020 was thrown in with all the other Indie survival games despite having key differences. It had no story to follow and no real direction or plot. It is only you and your cabin in the middle of the woods.

Among Trees was always intended to be a game that incorporated zen elements; the only dangers are the bears and wolves, and they do not actively pursue you or taunt you like in other Indie survival games like The Long Dark and The Forest. They merely exist to create a sense of danger when entering those areas. The mechanics are basic and easy to understand. There are no production lines or fabricators and there are no lithium nitrate combinations, it’s just very basic crafting recipes that need small amounts of supplies to make sure you don’t get stuck trying to make one item that progresses the story. All of the mechanics are slowly introduced, with specific rooms designated for specific purposes so you unlock their function as you build the house.

The game’s main goal (if you could call it that) is building the house itself. As you create more and more rooms the recipes become just a little bit more complicated, inviting you to explore. Exploration is the key mechanic in the game, and the fluid graphics show that it is an exploration game based on the art style alone. The mechanics just feel right for the game, you don’t come into a town and have to talk to one specific person or go and kill 30 goblins, you merely go further and further into the forest, admiring the landscape and finding broken power lines and buildings along the way. With the world being so big the structures are far and few between. Coming across one feels like a small achievement in its own right. You can find these structures in every environment, from the dense forests to the wet swamps.

All of these things are amazing in every way, letting the player go at their own pace, but some issues do occur when trying to play the game. You need to have a powerful pc for the game to show better graphics, and even on the lowest settings you still need a good pc to make it run above 20 FPS. There is also the problem of saving game progress. Among Trees has no autosave feature and that makes playing the game hard for people just getting into gaming or the exploration genre. There are no apparent bugs other than the occasional ai malfunction, such as trying to run smashing the character’s heads into a wall, or clipping through trees, but those are minor and don’t impact the game very much. Overall this game is simple and sweet. It’s the best way to join gaming or join the exploration genre of games. Everything is simple and easy to understand, making it easy to grasp hold of. Even with some of the issues it is most definitely worth the 15 USD price tag that comes with it.

top left: The cabin that you stumble across in the woods. This is where your story in Among Trees begins and ends. bottom left: One of the lakes you come across in-game. It bustles with life and is close to your cabin.

From Scratch: Review

By Zoe Watts

John Mulaney, a popular comedian among young adults and teenagers, recently performed at Red Rocks Amphitheater. He had two shows back to back on April 17th, both of which entirely sold out.

The show was a phone-free event which meant that every attendee was required to put their phone in a locked case which they could keep with them. They had this precaution because they don’t want the comedian’s skit to get out before the tour is over. It was odd to see a crowd that huge without anyone checking their devices, but it wasn’t bad in any way. I went to his second show of the night. There were two openers, Seaton Smith and Dan Levy. Both did fantastic jobs of warming up the crowd and setting a tone for the rest of the night.

It’s important to note that this is Mulaney’s first tour after he went through various scandals. The biggest one was his time in rehab for several drug addictions, but, despite having hurt his reputation, a large part of his show was about that very experience.

I was worried that the show would be vastly different from his other work, which is what I came to love him for. However, he did an excellent job of recognizing his mistakes and turning them into something he could use to re-establish who he is as a comedian.

Even though I was freezing with a minor cold, it was a great night. Mulaney pulls the audience in with ease and keeps them laughing the whole time. He is truly one of the best comedians of our generation.

The ‘From Scratch’ tour was an incredible experience. I sincerely hope I get to see Mulaney perform again.

Cover art by Robert Ball Renegades: Review

‘Renegades’ by Marissa Meyer is an amazing science fiction novel that demonstrates truly impeccable worldbuilding. The trilogy takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that’s just starting to build itself back up again. In the world, superheroes are the leaders and idols of civilization. However, just because they’re superheroes, not all of them are good.

The premise of the books is all about the fine line between good and evil. Meyer tackles complicated issues such as when the ends justify the means. Every issue that she includes is written with an elegance that keeps the reader engaged.

With multiple POVs, the novel is able to tell the same story through varying perspectives. Meyer lets the characters show the readers who they are by how they react to the same events. No character is ever truly correct or incorrect in their perception, which only adds to the book’s depth. Not only does ‘Renegades’ keep the audience on the edge of their seats, but it also forces them to question their own sense of right and wrong. This isn’t seen very often in literature aimed at young adults and is usually reserved for a more mature demographic. It adds a whole new layer to the story’s complexity.

Meyer is known for writing the ‘Cinder’ series and the ‘Lunar Chronicles’. Her abilities as a writer are well-known throughout the book world. She generally writes fairytale retellings, but the ‘Renegade’ trilogy is not fairytale-based at all, which is just further proof that Meyer is an incredible storyteller.

Readers who love enemies to lovers, superheroes, corruption, and secrets will love these books. Meyer is one of the most prominent YA authors and the literature world should be keeping an eye on her work as it will be nothing short of fantastic.

By Zoe Watts