In Sunset, you sweep dusty floors, wash spotted windows, and fold a stranger’s well-pressed, tailored clothes--every week for a full year.
These acts might sound routine and tedious, but when you’re rooted in the fictional Latin American country of Anchuria during a 1972 military coup, a ritualistic comfort goes along with carefully making a bed or unclogging the upstairs sink. Still, uncertainty lies even within these constants because the man whose house you maintain has ties to the political and cultural turmoil engulfing the streets. Sunset beautifully pairs its dull corners with a sharp, sociopolitical edge, and while its inconsistent pacing and nagging technical hiccups blur the vision, there’s an unquestionable beauty in watching the sunset kiss the tips of skyscrapers as another somber day comes to a close.
No matter the time of day, Sunset is a beautiful game.
You'll spend Sunset's four-hour run with Angela Burns, an African-American engineer working as a housekeeper to cover her hefty school bills. Angela works for the affluent art collector Gabriel Ortega, whom Angela gets to know solely through his surplus of sculptures and paintings, his eclectic taste in literature, and a series of notes on which you can write personal responses. You become most intimately acquainted with the actual apartment, though, which both subtly and dramatically morphs as the revolution outside its walls progresses. It’s a character all its own, and you grow accustomed to its many distinguishing features--such as the deep closet dug into Ortega’s bedroom, the neatly prepared chess board in the game room that pines for players, and, maybe most importantly, the wide windows by the patio that act as a thin veil between calm and chaos.
How this apartment is decorated and what you do during each in-game hour is up to you. If you feel compelled to go above and beyond the to-do list and hang up pictures of Ortega’s accomplishments, you have the option. If you just don’t feel up to lifting a finger on a cool September evening, you can simply turn around, open the elevator doors, and call it a night.
The diary entries tend to provide the most poignant writing.
You do work within boundaries, though. You can’t throw a chair in the fireplace or send the grand piano out the window and into the streets (I tried), but the chores you’re assigned have variations. You’re given a warm and a cool option when you hover your cursor over a task, which determines whether you want to add some personality to the work or complete the task plainly. You can decorate the second floor with bright, floral wallpaper or slap on whatever drab design Ortega has tucked away in the closet. The material of the rug in front of the fireplace, the color of the fresh coat of paint on the bar walls, the care taken when stitching a patch into a ripped piece of clothing--this system provides a fork in every road. How these decisions affect actual change in the grand scheme of things isn’t always clear, but they do act as a silent, day-to-day means of communication between you and Ortega.
Much of the storytelling in this first-person experience is visual, but Angela’s running monologue provides direct context for each week’s happenings and her current feelings toward Ortega. In addition, Angela can sit on a canvas-wrapped chair located within the apartment at any time to begin scribbling notes into her diary. Beyond questioning Ortega’s intentions and worrying for her rebel brother’s safety during the conflict, she digs deeper into her interpretation of Ortega’s art, the social differences between Anchuria and her hometown of Baltimore, and her place in this unstable country. This is where the superb writing shines brightest, and while the text’s sluggish scroll quickly drains precious minutes before the sun sets, it’s worth your time to drink it all in.
Continuing to clean while buildings burn just down the street is real dedication to your job.
Depending on how often you complete tasks and reply to notes with a warm sensibility, a strong romantic bond begins to form between tenant and housekeeper. It starts as an innocent flirtation, but as the revolution escalates, so do their feelings toward one another. And while the passion isn’t capped by a nightly embrace and kiss goodbye, watching the unspoken dance grow and evolve into something deeper is satisfying. It’s hard to know whether or not it’s a kinship born from tragedy and stoked by fear, but they find comfort in each other’s presence--even if that presence isn’t physical.
For the most part, the deliberate pacing benefits the relationship’s establishment. However, the steady climb toward a resolution is occasionally broken by days of inactivity and narrative stagnation. More than a few visits feel like filler, with no notes to respond to and few tasks to complete. These periods slowly drag you away from an otherwise compelling story. Sunset excels at using subtlety to build tension and curiosity, but when the progression halts, the activities start to feel like exactly what they are--chores.
Running Sunset on higher graphical settings can also be called a chore. Even after experimenting with a handful of different option combinations, I couldn’t find a mix that permanently steadied my framerate or prevented hitching. The presentation--from the glamour of the sky’s often-lavender glow to the dark smoke billowing from the buildings in the distance--is salient but often muddled by technical inconsistency. It’s a shame, too, because when Sunset does run smoothly for a visit or two and the powerful, orchestral soundtrack booms across the household, it can be an audiovisual marvel.
The only time you ever really see Angela is through her reflection.
Sunset presents so much, all while asking you to do so little. A revolution burns, bombs burst just out of sight, and all you can do is decide if your boss would rather have a fancy dinner or a hefty portion of macaroni. The complexity of your decisions is occasionally greater than setting the table, but Sunset succeeds at making each small action feel significant by giving them all similar weight. Though the story is peppered with periods of inactivity that are detrimental to the pace, Sunset acts as a thoughtful, pensive walk through social themes and struggles not often explored in this medium.
Danny and Andy spotted Cyberpunk paraphernalia while shooting at CD Projekt's offices in Poland So with the news that the studio won't be talking about it soon, we discuss when we think we'll see it in action.
Until Dawn gets a release date and another celebrity actor; Witcher dev says they won't talk about next game for a couple years; Phil Spencer clarifies the Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox exclusivity situation, and The Witcher 3 gets a patch for consoles.
CD Projekt Red has released a new patch for the that this patch is currently going through Microsoft's certification process, which means, barring any problems, it should be released soon.
Witcher 3 PS4 Patch 1.03:
Corrects a bug where the player was able to shoot bolts at friendly NPCs.
Corrects an issue related to Stamina regeneration while sprinting.
Corrects a bug that could cause spontaneous combustion of gas clouds.
Reduces spawn times for certain groups of NPCs.
Blood particles will now properly appear on water surfaces after foes are killed.
Corrects a visual effect in the Wandering in the Dark quest.
Improves foliage behavior in scenes.
Reduces foliage shadow popping.
"Melltith" sword is visible again.
Fixes some minor graphics bugs in gwent.
Corrects some missing translations in localized versions.
Improves performance, especially in cutscenes and during gameplay.
Introduces a number of minor improvements in SFX.
Fixes an issue that could have caused an infinite loading screen in certain circumstances in Wandering in the Dark quest.
Corrects an issue in the dialogue system that might have caused rare instances of dialogue looping in certain scenes.
Improves stability in gameplay and the UI, especially during games of gwent.
Upgrading items included in gear sets no longer destroys rune sockets on said items.
Fixes an occasional bug in the Journal in the Fake Papers quest.
Enlarges the loot pop-up window in the UI.
The update should be available now in the following countries:
United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Poland, UK, Sweden, The Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal; Greece, Cyprus, Malta; Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; Czech Rep + Slovakia; Hungary, India, Romenia, Bulgaria; Isreael; Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Romania, Croatia,Montenegro; Turkey, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, France, Monaco, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, San Marino, Spain, Andorra, Australia, New Zealand; South Africa; Angola; Botswana; Ghana; Lesotho; Kenya; Malawi; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Tanzania; Swaziland; Zambia; Zimbabwe and Uganda.
The latest Humble Bundle features games for , a non-profit group that works to expand computer science education and encourage participation in the field by women and students of color.
Humble Bundles are typically comprised of PC and mobile games, though in recent years the company has branched out to occasionally offer things like ebooks and music albums.
Activision today revealed the first details about the third DLC pack for .
Activision's descriptions of the new multiplayer maps follow:
Parliament: Docked on the River Thames, this military cargo ship delivers a view of the London cityscape along with a fast-paced combat experience. Mixed sight lines provide opportunities for all styles of play to dominate this medium-sized map. Players can take control of the map-based scorestreak to unleash a barrage of missiles that annihilate enemies.
Kremlin: Gamers must prepare for intense combat outside Russia's presidential palace in the new map Kremlin, as they navigate the worn-torn buildings of Red Square in this medium-sized, three-lane map. Secure elevated positions to give the team a strategic advantage, or use exoskeleton capabilities to avoid being caught in the minefield that activates mid-match.
Compound: Players take combat preparation to the limit in an Atlas training facility hidden away in the Colorado wilderness, as they'll have to be quick on the trigger in this small, symmetrical map, which funnels high-speed combat through tight corners to the main tower structures.
Skyrise: Players deploy to an Atlas Skyscraper overlooking the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Based on the fan-favorite, Highrise, from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by Infinity Ward, this map brings new exoskeleton mechanics to the classic multiplayer layout. Gamers must dominate the power positions in the center of this small-to-medium sized map to control the key navigation points.
Visceral Games on Tuesday released the first gameplay trailer for (among other things), but these are presumably being saved for another trailer. The DLC arrives in June for all platforms, though Battlefield Premium ($50) members will get a two-week headstart.
Three additional Hardline expansions will follow: Robbery (summer), Getaway (fall), and Betrayal (early 2016). Pricing has not been announced for people who buy Hardline's expansions outside of the Premium offering. However, history suggests that they will go for $15 each.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been localized into 15 languages. 7 of them are localizations with full voice-overs while 8 offer subtitles. To showcase the beauty and variety of so many languages, the developers have prepared this special video.
A friend once joked that HBO's Game of Thrones show should be renamed "A Series of Meetings," given its string of recent episodes featuring more exposition and chatter than action. I'm applying this moniker to Sons of Winter, the fourth episode of
A bit about the presence of the TV show characters: Daenerys is totally out of character. She's mean and hard in ways that she isn't in the TV series; in the show she is firm and always open to listening, but Telltale has made her into a vicious would-be despot. Her scene happens early in the episode and jarred me out of the experience; she just didn't fit, her behavior so off it was harder for me to find my emotional footing for the rest of the episode.
As Telltale's Game of Thrones passes its halfway mark, it takes a bit of a dip, staging a set of scenes that feel less like something you can control and more like something you can only passively watch. There's no real sense of agency in the choices you are offered, other than spinning a conversation in a certain direction before coming full circle to a pre-determined outcome. Sons of Winter feels like more set dressing, but what happens in its last two minutes is strong enough a taster to make you hunger for Episode Five. It's a bit disappointing that the rest of the episode doesn't quite hit the dramatic bar Telltale has already set for itself.
As part of Activision's ongoing "Tracklist Tuesday" campaign, the company today revealed an additional ten tracks for upcoming music game from Harmonix.
An inkling runs through an Amiibo level in Splatoon.
Team orange goes on an inking spree in Turf War.
Watch extended gameplay footage from Regency Solitaire featuring the Giant Bomb crew.
Danny and Andy spotted Cyberpunk paraphernalia while shooting at CD Projekt's offices in Poland So with the news that the studio won't be talking about it soon, we discuss when we think we'll see it in action.
Until Dawn gets a release date and another celebrity actor; Witcher dev says they won't talk about next game for a couple years; Phil Spencer clarifies the Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox exclusivity situation, and The Witcher 3 gets a patch for consoles.
Take a first look at Supremacy, the third DLC pack for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been localized into 15 languages. 7 of them are localizations with full voice-overs while 8 offer subtitles. To showcase the beauty and variety of so many languages, the developers have prepared this special video.
