#56 - MiSide

On the surface, MiSide looks like a dating simulation game. And I very nearly passed right over it in the Steam store. But then I caught the "psychological horror" tag and thought, 'That's an odd tag to put on a dating sim.' At worst, maybe it's commentary on dating sims as a whole; letting you experience a loving relationship with the perfect partner that you may never find in the real world. But at best...

This game just released on December 10th, just over a month ago, and it was currently for sale on Steam, so I figured, why not? I'll give it a shot and see what it's all about. And it's even better than I imagined.

By the way, I want to apologize in advance for the subtitles in these screenshots. They moved so fast, they were already swiping away at the beginning of the line as the end of the line appeared. So some of these subtitles might not be very legible. Hopefully you'll still understand the context.

MiSide starts out a little meta; you're hanging out in your bedroom when you get a text from a friend, suggesting you download this cool new game. As a former IT guy, I was internally screaming at the fact your character just installs a random file someone texted him, especially with a vague clickbait message like "check this new version!" But... there wouldn't be a game if you didn't. So you install the game and check it out.

You boot up the game on your phone and are greeted by Mita, the protagonist, who asks for your name. You can type any name you want and she'll use it to address you throughout the game.

She asks for help tidying up her home a bit, and you assist her in a mini game.

You play more mini games with Mita, helping her cook, find lost items, and even earning money in-game to buy her nice things.  Time passes in the "real world," and after about a month of playing this phone game, Mita suddenly shows a desire to meet in person. After a dramatic pause, she just announces that now you're together! Huh?!

You look up from your phone and you're no longer in your bedroom, but in a familiar apartment...

You can explore the empty apartment if you like. I especially enjoyed the "Love Note" notebook; a cutesy version of the Death Note. Also, some of the books on the bookshelves were a bit concerning...

In Mita's bedroom, you find a machine hooked up to a platform. The whiteboard on the wall gives you directions to get it updated and functioning.

You get it running and it opens a portal on the platform. Having nothing else to do, you step into it...

You find yourself in a creepy, dark bedroom. The machine tells you to go hit the breaker in the living room, then track down four batteries to get the portal back online.

Things start to get a little weird. The rooms have a nasty habit of changing when you go through doorways, and creepy scribblings start appearing on the walls.

When you get the machine working again, you jump on the portal pad and find yourself in a normal bedroom. When you step away from the pad, you might find yourself jump-scared by Mita suddenly being right behind you.

She's so grateful to see you! She explains she built the machine to bring you into the game world with her, but you accidentally ended up in another version of the game. But none of that matters now, because you're finally here!

At this point, you start getting some different paths you can follow. I tried my best to explore every option, but some choices required you pick one of two options and forced you down that path. So my gameplay may not be exactly the same as yours, but the overall game probably went down the same path. Probably.

I helped Mita cook some food, got drugged by some "love sauce" which made me sick, and Mita forced me to take some pills to help me recover.

She also wanted to play games with me. I picked a card game, but I kept hearing an unsettling banging noise coming from her wardrobe.

I wouldn't drop it, and when I went to investigate, she threw herself in front of the closet door, desperate to change my mind.

Finally, Mita grows tired of everything and her personality shifts. She decides, with an evil grin, to let me check out the wardrobe... if I dare.  She snaps her fingers and the room goes dark.

Suddenly, I found myself in a horror game, terrified of what's lurking in the dark. The wardrobe had a door inside it, but it was locked, so I grabbed a flashlight and explored the dark apartment, looking for a key. All while terrified of being jump-scared by Mita.

I found the key and unlocked the door in the wardrobe, to find stairs leading down into a basement.  In one small room, there's a studio with a camera, where it looks like Mita was broadcasting herself on an overlay of the apartment for the mini games. You can see yourself on the screen when you step in front of the camera.

And in a locked cage under the stairs is... Mita. Except not the same Mita.

You help this Mita escape (dubbed "Kind Mita") and she sends you on a journey through multiple versions of the game and its backdoors, trying to find a way to stop "Crazy Mita" and get yourself home. You even run into many other versions of Mita, some that are exceptionally fun...

And some that are quite terrifying...

...As well as a variety of different looks and personalities. Cool Mita, a.k.a. "Cappie" (because of her cool cap) is by far my favorite Mita. She's funny, playful, and a bit flirty.

This was a unique twist on the horror genre. I haven't beaten it yet, but I've been enjoying it thus far. I'm still not sure where the plot is heading, but I've heard that there are at least three endings that have been discovered, so it will be interesting to see where my initial run lands me. Here's hoping I can survive and escape the game world!

#55 - A Way Out

Don't worry, I'm alive! I took the holidays off and traveled to visit family, then had a hard time getting back into posting about the games I've been playing, so I apologize for my nearly 2 months of silence. I actually have a bunch of games lined up that I want to write about, so hopefully you'll see more posts in the coming weeks.

Despite setting this game to 4K resolution, it apparently only stretched to 1080p, so these screenshots are smaller than my usual ones. I'm sure 90% of you won't even notice a difference, but I'm sorry for the 10% who like my 4K screenshots.

A Way Out is a brilliant 2-player co-op game about two inmates escaping from prison and seeking revenge against a common enemy. To be honest, I originally though the whole premise of the game was just to work with a partner to devise an escape route from prison. But there's an actual story with some deep lore and intrigue, and escaping from prison is only the first chapter of the game.

This game is ONLY 2-player, so you'll need a partner to play. It's been sitting in my Steam library for a few years now, until I finally convinced a buddy of mine to play with me. The first thing you do is pick which character you want to play as. It just so happens that Vincent's personality mirrors mine perfectly, and Leo's personality mirrors my friend exactly, so this was an easy pick for both of us.

The game opens in 1972, with Vincent arriving to prison while Leo looks on from within the fence.

The first thing you'll notice is that you get a split-screen view, even if playing online with someone. This allows each player to explore their area independently, while also being able to see what the other is up to. Which is very convenient when you need to work in tandem from different locations. You also end up occupying cells right next to each other, which is advantageous for working together to escape.

Almost immediately, Leo is cornered by some thugs in the yard who were paid by a guy named Harvey to kill him. While trying to see what's going on, Vincent finds himself thrown into the action and he ends up helping Leo fight off the thugs until the guards come to break it up.

Later in the cafeteria, the leader of the thugs makes another attempt at Leo's life, this time landing Leo and Vincent in the infirmary.  While there, Leo tries to convince Vincent to cover for him while he sneaks around the offices. Vincent wants no part of it, but begrudgingly helps to avoid getting them both thrown in the hole.

Leo manages to steal a chisel and toss it onto a ledge outside the window, then crawls back into his hospital bed before being noticed.

Later in the yard, Vincent approaches Leo, asking him what his plan for escape is. He asks what Leo plans to do to Harvey, which sets off Leo.

Turns out, Vincent also has a bone to pick with Harvey, and he's willing to escape with Leo if it means they can help each other track Harvey down.

The first step is to retrieve the chisel from the window ledge. Leo gets himself and Vincent on roof repair duty, then distracts the guards while Vincent climbs to the window ledge.

Chisel in hand, the two go back to their cells, where they take turns chipping away at their cell walls. Turns out, there's a hole in the wall behind the toilet, covered with metal bars. Some quick chipping at the concrete around the bars (while one person keeps an eye out for the patrolling guards) and you're both free from your cells!

You come across a drop that's way too far to jump, and too dark to see. With no way forward, you return to your cells to prepare the next step in your escape plan.

Soon, you're both volunteering for laundry duty, where you cause a commotion so you can sneak into a back room and throw some sheets through the vents.  Now you can make a rope to climb down!

You also grab a couple flashlights. Now you're ready to continue! That night, you sneak out again and climb down the deep shaft into the sewers.

On the other end of the tunnels, you find your only way out... a tall narrow shaft upwards.

Vincent convinces Leo to climb it together with him by interlocking their arms and walking up the shaft. This can be tricky if your game partner isn't very coordinated. I highly recommend doing a countdown for each step or you're likely to fall.

The two get to the top... only to find a metal grate over the hole. No way to get through this without a wrench. So... you go back to your cells once more.

The next day, you volunteer to help in the workshop so you can sneak a wrench out. Again, you need to work together to sneak a tool out without being caught.

Later that day Leo gets a visit from his wife. He lets her know he's about to escape with Vincent, reassuring her that Vincent is legit and they're both going after Harvey together. It's only a little longer until they can be together again, along with his young boy who doesn't yet know his daddy is in prison.

Vincent is also waiting for a visit, but no one shows. Asking to make a phone call, he calls his very angry and very pregnant wife, who is pissed he's still planning to go after Harvey when he's about to become a father. Now we're getting some emotional stakes for each character!

That night, the two plan their final escape attempt from prison. It just so happens to be storming out, which provides some noise cover in certain areas.

The two are almost free when they're spotted! Sirens blare through the night and the prison goes on full alert! Vincent and Leo run off into the woods, where a mad foot chase (and car and boat chase!) ensues. And so ends the first chapter of this game...

This was truly an incredible game! Escaping from prison was fun, but also the slowest part of the game. The story gets more intense as you go on, and the stakes for both characters get higher and higher as they bond while plotting revenge against this Harvey guy.

The game has two endings and it's up to you and your partner to decide how it ends. I wish I could gush about the ending because it's just fantastic storytelling, and the gameplay is so intense and emotional. I was in tears by the end! It's definitely one of those games I wish I could wipe from my memory so I could play it fresh again.

You can play this online with strangers, but I highly recommend playing with a friend, as the personal connection makes the game much more interesting. Only one of you needs to own the game; the other person can install the trial version, then play through the entire game with the person who owns the full game. You will only earn achievements if you own the full game though, so if that's your thing, you should buy it.

Another great game by Hazelight Studios is It Takes Two, which I will probably be reviewing soonish. It's also a 2-player co-op only game, about a divorcing couple who are forced to work together in a fantastical version of their home when they find themselves transformed into tiny dolls!

Their studio is also about to drop a new game in March called Split Fiction, which is, again, a 2-player co-op only game. Sounds like it's about two writers who get trapped in their own fantasy/sci-fi stories and have to work together to escape with their memories intact. I'll need to check that out when it drops!

#54 - Get To Work

Get To Work is a tongue-in-cheek game about climbing the corporate ladder.  But it's more metaphorical than literal, as you spend the game on your hands and knees, rollerblading your way up difficult obstacles (and falling back to the ground level) just for the slightest recognition in the workforce.

It's one of those climbing games, like Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, or Only UP!, or A Difficult Game About Climbing, except you're on rollerblades instead of climbing with your own two hands.  This game just released two days ago, so it's very new.

I like the title screen of this game.  It's designed to look like a business magazine, while showing off the main character and your game options.  Your character reminds me of the political activist Charlie Kirk, with his tiny face on a large head.

I also love the article call-out for Sam Bankman-Fried.  In case you're not familiar, he was considered the poster boy for all things crypto, having founded FTX cryptocurrency exchange.  That is, until FTX went bankrupt and he was arrested and charged for fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. As of this year, he's serving 25 years in prison and was forced to pay back $11 billion.

Get To Work opens in your bedroom, with you staring at a poster encouraging you to climb that corporate ladder.  So you set off, with rollerblades on your hands, feet, knees, and elbows.  There is no walking or standing in this game; you rollerblade everywhere.

You reach your first room of obstacles, with the goal being to show up for your first interview.  You may notice that there's a clock in the top left corner, giving you a subtle tracker for how long you struggle throughout this game.

A narrator explains the jist of this game for you, essentially claiming that NFTs were more far-fetched than a game about rollerblading up the corporate ladder.  If you can't read the narration subtitles at the bottom of this screenshot, click the image to see its full 4K resolution.

Hidden around each room are these spinning logos for The Grindset, a podcast about business.  They have short (usually funny) discussions about corporate life and what you need to know to succeed in today's work climate.  As if the climb wasn't hard enough, most of them are in hard-to-reach areas.  But there are three achievements for collecting these, so grab every one you can find!

Here's an excerpt of unprompted narration.  It sounds silly and preposterous, but is also real in America and kind of sad.  Two of my close friends are in this exact situation right now, having spent the past year job-hunting and still not having any luck being seriously considered.  And one of them has a Harvard degree!

I'm almost to the interview...

You finally get to your first interview, only to find that it's not going to be that easy.  We've gone so far metaphorical now, it's wrapping back around to literal!

You finally get an offer letter!

...Only to be rejected and fall all the way back to the start.

Thankfully, you have a family member who can hook you up with a warehouse job in the meantime.  So you set out again to climb a new corporate ladder.

The game starts to get really sassy at this point.  I got stuck in this room for about an hour, and the more I fell to the ground, the more the narrator had to say about it.

Eventually, the game gave me a GIVE UP button to press, for when I'm "feeling like this game is too much and it's time to give up."  They also started mentioning shoes a lot, claiming it would probably be in my best interest to buy a pair and just walk my way to the top instead.

I finally made it to my first pay raise! ...Only to learn it wasn't feasible at this time and instead I received a pizza party.  Goddamn, that's too real.  But at least there's a manager role that I can promote to, so I'm not done yet, right?  RIGHT?

I finally made it to the promotion to manager!  Woo!

Only to have a brick wall literally pop up in my face, proclaiming that a college degree is required.  Which I apparently don't have.

This was the first time my character seemed to be in real despair.  Normally if he fell, he'd immediately pop back up and be ready to go.  But after this one, he just lied there, unmoving.  I had to jiggle the controls to get him back up.

There was a hallway off to one side that led to an unpaid internship, the only option left for a warehouse worker with no degree.  Sigh.

After climbing this next room of obstacles and getting accepted for the unpaid internship, I finally had to call it a night.  This humor in this game was starting to get too real and painful.  And I spent an hour and a half just to get this far!  You will eventually work your way up to CEO before the game ends, so I still have a long way to go.

By the way, I couldn't resist making this:

Get Stick Bugged lol