Cheese knockoff restaurant where all the animatronics are frog people. Even though there is only one you really interact with and the rest you talk to for a maximum of one minute each, they all look and act like rejects from a Chuck E. Speaking of, the NPCs in A Story About My Uncle are the only element that have not aged well at all, and may not have looked great by 2014 standards either. The challenge is completely optional unless you can’t stand an NPC talking smack about you in a video game, and it was handily the most difficult section of the game. The only portion that’s frustrated me so far is Maddie’s Challenge where Maddie, a resident of the strange world you have to venture across, dares you to complete a portion of the game without using the grappling hook. A third charge on your grappling hook, rocket boots, and crystals that recharge your grappling hook in midair all add variation to the platforming so the gameplay never gets stale. After completing the tutorial and getting familiar with the game’s core mechanics, new elements get introduced to shake up the basic formula. Gameplay consists of flinging yourself from floating island to floating island, bringing out heavy Spider-Man vibes. ‘Sanctuary’ adds the first shake-up to the platforming midway through the level by giving a second charge on your grappling hook, which could until that point only be used once per jump. The game lets you live through the dreams of parkour that you always had but were too scared to try for fear of breaking your back. While there isn’t a lot of variety with the movement so far (the only options are running, jumping and grappling around), what options there are blend so well together no other options are really needed. A Story About My Uncle is Mirror’s Edge if Faith Connors was replaced by Peter Parker. Each stage has you sprinting and leaping through the air, zipping and grappling around with the goal of getting from point A to point B, island to island until you reach the end of each level. Once you hit ‘Sanctuary’, the first platforming level of the game, it’s like the player character took off his weight vest to reveal his true power. It’s great fun to come across a bowl of frog eggs or a campsite littered with junk food that launches the narrator into a tangentially related memory about his uncle.įrog eggs, junk food and camping gear all launch the narrator into lighthearted, off topic stories. Hidden collectables scattered across the game also impact the narration and stories that are told. As you progress through the game, the narrator gives his account of what’s happening on screen to his daughter, all while she asks questions about the adventure and her great uncle. The narration is gentle and charming, even meandering at times. This is added to by the easter eggs that are scattered across the first level, for example part of the script for the narrator in pages scattered on the floor of your uncle’s lab. The story focuses around an adventure that the main character went on one day while searching for his missing Uncle Fred. This charismatic flow begins right away, with the narrator telling a fantastic tale about his uncle as a bedtime story to his daughter. The entire game has a dream-like, almost fairytale feel radiating off of everything from the story to the setting to gameplay itself. Even though your character moves at the same speed as a tortoise sifting through molasses, this intro scene does a good job of setting the stage and tone for the adventure you’re about to go on. ![]() The game’s intro is a slow burn for the player, which starts by exploring your Uncle’s abandoned lab at a snail’s pace. As far as I can tell one day this game popped into existence from nowhere and sat collecting digital dust until this review. Even going as far as to check my purchase history, I didn’t find a single piece of information on how I got the game. A Story About My Uncle was a strange addition to my Steam library, as I don’t remember buying it or getting it as a gift. The first-person platformer is named quite literally, with the plot just being a tale about the main character’s uncle and your quest to track him down. ![]() Starting as a free demo developed over the course of three months by a few college students, A Story About My Uncle was given a full release in May 2014. Only the very best titles will stand up to scrutiny today. Brutal Backlog is a semi-regular feature where the JDR team plough through some of the unplayed games on their shelves (both digital and physical), disregarding their age or the technical limitations of their era.
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