2019-05-01+PC+Gamer

B

irdofPassagegivesyouthe
opportunitytodonthe
whitesheetandclanking
chainsofag-g-ghost,butwithout
havingtodiefortheprivilege.
You’reaspectrethat’sbeen
hauntingthestreetsofTokyosince
1923,whentheGreatKanto
earthquakerippedTokyoasunder,
andsentyoutoanearlygrave.
Ratherthantakeupresidenceina
creepyoldmansion,youinstead
taketotheroads,hoppingendlessly
fromonetaxitoanother,sharing
yourstory–orthebitsyoucan
rememberofit,atleast–overand
overagain.

Initially,thegametakesplaceinan
endlessloop.Yourghostchaphops
intoataxi,tellshislifestorytothe
driver(viaabranchingdialogue
system),andthenjumpsout,readyto
dothesamethingwithanother
unsuspectingcabbie.Andsoon,and

soon,untilyoufigureouthowto

breakthecycle,andfreeyourself.

Asloopsgo,it’soneofthemost

mesmerisingI’vecomeacross,thanks

totheexpertlyframedscenes,the

gracefulanimationoftheghost

protagonist,andtheoverall

smoothnessofactionasyouenter

andexiteachtaxi,timeandagain.It

wasonlywhenInoticedthe

repeatingdialoguethatIwasfinally

snappedoutofthisdreamlikereverie.

IthoughtthenthatBirdofPassage

mightbeintentionallyendless,but

thereisanendinglurkingbehindthe

‘correct’setofdialogueoptions–and

nocluewhatsoeverwhatthose

correctchoicesmightbe.That

mirrorstheexperienceoftheghost,

whohasnoideahowtomoveon

either,butitisultimatelyquite

frustratinghavingto

replaythesame

conversationsuntilyou

finally‘win’them.

66

GhosT advenTures

Haunting Tokyo in Bird of Passage. By Tom Sykes

DEvElOPEr

SpaceBackyard

PublishEr

In-house

link

spacebackyard.itch.io

NeedtoKNow

The negative space reinforces the

limbo-like nature of your world.

Occasionally you’ll hop into a

‘silent’ taxi, and have to leave.

A

Knight’sFeestartswitha

premisethat’sstill

surprisinglyrareingames

• thatactuallybeinginvolvedina
  battlewouldbeterrible.Thisshort
  buteffectivemedievalbattlesim
  isn’tyouraverageheroicpower
  fantasy,whereyoucanswinga
  swordwithabandonandchuga
  potiontoinstantlyhealyourself–
  you’reanordinaryknight,withan
  ordinarilyfrailbody,andyou’relost
  in afogofcannonfireandenemies.

Youbeginthegameinformation,
linedupwithyourfellowcombatants
whowillsoonbeonthereceiving
endofagiantwhompythingthat
landslikeameteorite.Youwakeup
sometimelaterwithshoutingand
screamingallaroundyouandthe
alarmingwhinnyingofahorse
gallopinginyourdirection.
Survivethatencounter(don’t
worry,therewillbemoreofthem)

andyouhaveevenbiggerproblems:

theseeminglyrandomcrashof

cannonfire,andthesuddenarrivalof

enemyinfantrythroughthefogof

war.CombatissimpleinAKnight’s

Fee–perhapsabittoosimple,as

enemiesperishinasinglehitfrom

yourblade.Likewise,everyenemy

thwackcanbedivertedbyholding

yourshielduptoyourface,even

attackscomingfrombehindyou.

Itdoesthejobhowever,whilethe

generousshieldmechanicmakesit

slightlyeasiertolastlongenough

toseetheend.

Thereisanendtothis

nightmarishbattle,butuntilthat

pointyou’regoingtobedyingand

restartinguntilyoubrute-forceyour

waytosuccess.Notthat‘success’is

anappropriateterm–this

atmosphericandunheroic

battlesimisagameyou

endure,fromtheedgeof

yourseat.

70

KniGhT’s waTch

War is hell inaKNigHt’sfee. By Tom Sykes

DEvElOPEr

Andos

PublishEr

In-house

link

andos.itch.io

NeedtoKNow

“You’ve got jam in your eye, I’ll

just poke it loose...”

BirdofPassage/AKnight’sFee

FrEE GaMEs rEviEW