You know what I really, really, really adore? Spot-the-difference games. I can’t quite remember how good I was at “I Spy” since it’s been a few years since I’ve played that, but I’ve been killing these recent influx of indie horror games that require a keen eye for survival.
Case in point: I’m On Observation Duty. I swear I’m obsessed with that game. Specifically the fourth one, since that’s when the developers found their mojo. The fifth one is basically a more advanced rendition of that, and I haven’t played the sixth game, but I’m pretty certain it’s just like the other two.
Anyway, I’m incredible at those games, and that’s not a brag I can say lightly. Despite having…okayish hand-eye coordination thanks to having been drawing eighteen out of my twenty-one years alive (wow, when you put it that way…), I suck utter blowhole at video games. I just don’t have the independent usage of my hands in order to thrive at them. I have to use my hands together- you know, typing, etc…I can’t use my hands unless they’re doing the same task, or at least similar enough to trick my brain into thinking they are.
So, I’m not super good at using WASD, and I really should switch over to using EASD, since the keys are closer, but then I can’t reach the shift button or anything…Anyway, you catch my drift. I usually blow at regular video games, which is why I’m finally in good ground when I have a game that requires none of that. That’s right, we’re taking hands out of the equation and focusing solely on the eyes.
They don’t call me “Sly Eye Simone” for nothing…actually, they call me “Quicksilver Simone,” but I’m sure someone somewhere out there has noticed my penchant for observation.
I’ve always had a natural inclination and thrill for noticing details. You couldn’t slip this shit past the FBI if you tried, which is why I sometimes still debate whether or not I should go work for them before I turn 35. I’ve solved enough party murder mysteries to be a candidate in the running.
But I digress. Back to the video games. Anyway, after I played about twenty hours total of all the Observation Duty games (which, I know isn’t a lot, but gaming tends to fall to the wayside when I don’t have the time, and as a busy uni student, I tend to not have much of it), I started itching for more. Not that I was bored of it, or anything, but there aren’t too many games out there like it, even if there have been a recent influx of anomaly-based spot-the-difference games, like Alternate Watch or Caught on Camera. (And, while I was in the middle of writing this post, I actually ended up coming across another one called Anomaly Exit, which is similar in style to Exit 8, which actually had another game called Platform 8…maybe I’m just not looking in the right place, ironically…)
Which leads me back to my latest obsession: That’s Not My Neighbor. Or That’s not my Neighbor, if you want to stylize it the way it’s written. I know I’m a few months late to the party, but it’s the thought that counts, not the price tag on the gift. Either way, this is exactly my cup of tea, and I’ll down it boiling hot if I have to. If there’s two things I love, it’s job simulator games and anomalies. And oh boy, do I love me some anomalies.
This is exactly the kind of affordable entertainment I’ve already spent like four hours on, and I just bought the game two days ago. I think I’m a little too good at it, though. Other than the back-to-back Nightmare runs I made of the game (which really do require more trial and error), I have yet to get anything lower than an S ranking for the game, or even be killed by a doppelganger. Does that make it any less fun? Hell no! I never get the opportunity to say I can crush a game with ease!
Of course, now that I’m outwardly bragging to the world that I’m good at it, that means I’m going to blow hard on it later, but I feel like I’ve earned my bragging rights. And it’s not like the game still isn’t challenging. You start doubting your judgements, start wondering if you’ve overlooked anything…It’s still no walk in the park! I’ve just developed a sort of confidence from it.
Matter of fact, maybe I should go play some right now…it is summer break, after all.
(And on the topic of this game, it first came on my radar after seeing it pop up on my Twitter timeline. Not the game itself, though, but the Milkman. Yes, the one who’s got several pairs of panties wet because he looks like an Americanized Sangwoo knock-off.
Funny enough, I actually came across him several months before I even knew what this game was. YouTube decided to autoplay a short, and it was some FlipaClip-tier animation meme featuring his many forms. I had no clue who he was and was mostly annoyed that YouTube put it on my screen, so I paid it no mind until someone pointed out that THIS was the guy everyone was going crazy over for that brief period of time.)
(I’m not saying I approve of it, but I understand.)
(Edit: Holy fuck, I found a treasure trove of these things! I take back what I said- I’m as blind as a bat! I just wasn’t looking right at all!)
HAPPY 