The Best Game of December 2016

Honorable Mention #1: Her Majesty’s Spiffing

Read the Review!

Staff Writer Jordan Oloman: Her Majesty’s Spiffing is the debut title from BillyGoat Entertainment, a small independent studio based out of Northern Ireland. It is primarily an adventure game, and puts you in the shoes of Captain English, an astronaut cast off into space in light of the ‘Brexit’ decision, eager to chart an uncertain new course for the United Kingdom.

The writing in this game is a triumph, echoing both Monty Python and Monkey Island, and is littered with excellent tongue-in-cheek references to the classic adventure games of the 1990’s. The game breathes new life into the genre, offering old school tricky puzzles, but with an astounding level of polish. The graphical style is charming, and everything bursts into life whether it’s the zany characters, the inside of the gorgeous spaceship, or the desert planet you’re sent out to capture. If you like British humor, schadenfreude, or just want to get a nostalgia buzz for the adventure genre, Her Majesty’s Spiffing is an excellent game to try.

Honorable Mention #2: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier

Episode 1 Review & Episode 2 Review

Senior Editor Chris Jecks: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier- Ties That Bind was the return to form that fans had wanted following the mixed feelings associated with Season 2. With most of the old cast dead and buried, A New Frontier introduced players to Javi and his family. From the way Javi and co. were introduced, to the typical family dynamics that seep into decision making, they’re an very interesting cast to follow. They keep you constantly guessing on where the story will go next, and the decision making feels like it means something now.

It’s no different with everybody’s beloved Clem either. You’ve spent so long caring for this character, that her reappearance in Ties That Bind as a much older, wiser, and badass Clementine will bring a smile to everyone’s face. Telltale should be applauded for the way they’ve designed this older Clem. It is a natural development of her former, more timid self. She still has traits that are noticeable, and it’s certainly the girl we watched learning to shoot a gun with Lee on the train back in Season One.

After the three to four hours it took me to reach the end of Part II, I’m completely hooked. It has perfectly set up the rest of the season, and I need to know how that major decision will play out. Oh, and how that one I thought wouldn’t matter at all is going to bite me in the ass and completely screw up my hopes later on. Episode three cannot come soon enough.

December 2016’s Game of the Month: The Last Guardian

Read the Review!

Editor-in-Chief Sharon Coone: The Last Guardian is filled with a beautiful kind of discomfort. You awaken in a dungeon along with a massive, chimeric beast, and for the next ten hours, love and fear for it as though it were your last friend on earth. This bird-dog-cat, Trico, moves with unsettling life. It teeters on the edge of uncertain leaps, and winces with hesitation near bodies of water. Trico’s hundreds of feathers billow independently, while its eyes follow you around corners, desperate not to lose their only hope of freedom.

The creature’s visible dread and ambitions pierce through The Last Guardian’s troublesome gameplay. Wide spaces stretch indiscriminatorily in every direction, with no splash of light or color to guide your way. More notably, Trico is infamous for its stubbornness. So often will your commands fall on unmoving ears that you’ll question furiously which is broken, the game or your attempted puzzle solution. The answer tends to be neither — Trico is just too real to follow call-and-response as perfectly as your average AI.

Trico questions your directions, staring confusedly at the item you want it to grab, rolling with self-doubt in the face of large jumps. Sometimes you will want to climb one wall, but a stray torch has brought Trico’s interest to another. Only when you’ve patiently goaded your companion in just the right way will it actually do as you hope.

It’s a frustrating mechanic, no doubt, but one that pulls from you all the patience, confusion, and understanding of a genuine bond. A hundred moments of quiet sincerity string together these exasperations, and every so often, push both characters to new mechanical feats. Alongside The Last Guardian’s mysterious plot, gorgeous visuals, and stirring musical score, the draw of such a challengingly real companion makes for an unforgettably emotional journey, and December’s best gaming experience.

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That does it for our December 2016 Game of the Month. Congratulations to The Last Guardian! What was your favorite game this month? Discuss in the comment section below.