#Cape Hideous betrays its title by being unusually fascinating
One of many worst issues concerning the trade at present is that there are simply so damned many video games popping out at anyone time. Among the finest issues about it’s that there’s no finish to the variability between them. A recreation may be about mainly something, and builders are consistently exploring how far they will push “something.”
I’m undecided Jake Clover’s Cape Hideous is about something. I’m not even certain it’s about one thing. It might be! Perhaps I’m simply too daft to see it. Nevertheless, from what I can inform, it’s only one actually unusual slice of life instructed with a particularly ugly however fascinating artwork type.
You’re dropped with little rationalization on a ragged however large ship on the ocean. You play as a lady who smokes three pipes concurrently; a formidable feat, to make certain, however you’ll quickly meet those that can juggle extra. The ship is headed towards a nasty-looking storm, however whether or not they’re going towards it deliberately or not isn’t actually revealed, even by the tip. Nevertheless, the ship is in extraordinarily tough form, so there’s work to be completed if it’s going to climate it.
You aren’t instructed what you ought to be doing, however you possibly can solely transfer on a 2D axis. Decide a path and see the place it goes. You’ll ultimately discover a knife, and then you definitely’ll discover that you may climb the mast. Alongside the way in which, you’re handled to the sights and sounds of the opposite inhabitants of the ship as they work away. There’s not likely any indication that you just’re the ship’s captain or anybody necessary, or even when there’s a captain in any respect. You’re simply left to discover.
Essentially the most placing factor about Cape Hideous is that it’s, properly, hideous. The entire manufacturing seems prefer it was created in MS Paint with a trackball mouse. The fill bucket has been labored arduous. Nevertheless, it doesn’t show an absence of inventive capability. Quite the opposite, the ship is alive with nice, elaborate element. There are lots of moments the place it makes nice use of perspective to offer all the pieces a surreal high quality. Its lo-fi, nearly childlike artwork type is little question deliberate.
The aim of the sport, for those who can name it that, is to easily discover. As you do, the protagonist will begin knocking down flags from the mast. She’ll additionally meet characters, and whereas a lot of them are ignored, there are some exchanges, as properly. There is no such thing as a dialogue, nonetheless, and the surreality is commonly at its peak throughout character interactions.
You’re by no means directed the place to go, a minimum of not explicitly. There are solely so many locations you possibly can go (you’re on a ship, in spite of everything), so if it’s not apparent what you’re purported to do at that time, you’re by no means removed from figuring it out. The truth that you’re by no means instructed what to do however by no means left wandering offers Cape Hideous a way more natural feeling than you’d in all probability count on from any 2D strolling sim.
Which is ideal since Cape Hideous is fully vibes. The quiet ambient sounds of labor, wind, and the ocean may be heard beneath an acoustic guitar-heavy soundtrack by magicdweedoo (of Dryft Metropolis Kyngs fame). The shop web page additionally suggests in all-caps, “BEST EXPERIENCED WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS, WITH NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES.” I didn’t try this, however I can see the place that will be helpful.
However once I say that Cape Hideous is fully vibes, I imply that it’s fully vibes. In case you haven’t picked up by now, it’s not a recreation aiming to supply a problem or some distinctive gameplay hook. It’s a 2D strolling sim with none form of puzzle ingredient. I hate that, and that’s one thing I have to warn about, however I perceive that even amongst individuals who get pleasure from these kinds of video games, there’s typically a temper for it.
It’s additionally a really bizarre and art-forward recreation. As a lot because it seems thrown collectively, there’s a considerable quantity of depth to its aesthetic. Repeated playthroughs permit you to glean extra data from the environments, and the sound design meshes with what’s occurring so properly that it would as properly be a scripted cartoon.
As a result of it so deftly handles its presentation, it really works as extra than simply an artwork mission. You don’t have to totally grok any form of message from it and even perceive the story that’s being instructed. You’ll be able to merely immerse your self within the gelatinous vibes of possibly pirates. There is likely to be substance abuse concerned. I’m undecided. I’m not fully assured that I perceive what the hell is occurring in Cape Hideous.
Which is okay. It took me simply North of a half-hour to get by way of it, and I’ve no regrets. It does what it must do, gives a singular and memorable expertise, after which units sail once more. The very best half concerning the state of recreation growth proper now could be that video games may be about something. And Cape Hideous is definitely something.
