The Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is an absolutely unbelievable bundle of games. So many games that nobody will ever be able to get through all of them, even me. What we can do however is document our progress as we make our way through some of them. Below you will find each game I have played from the list with a small paragraph containing my thoughts, as well as a ranked list. This will be an ongoing page that I will update as I play the games. Enjoy.

How To They Stack Up?

1. Minit
2. Witch Way
3. Quadrilateral Cowboy
4. Kids
5. Cook Serve Delicious 2
6. Catlateral Damage

1. Minit

Devolver Digital have a great track record of producing games that have a compelling hook. You won’t get AAA production values or graphics, but what you will get is an intelligently made system or mechanic, fleshed out into an experience that will leave its mark on players long after they have put the game down. Minit continues this tradition by not only dispensing with AAA production values, but apparently nearly any production value at all. Players take control of what appears to be a black and white duck who picks up a curse sword reducing its life to one minute increments. Players have a minute to complete their task before they die and are sent back to the beginning, hopefully having completed their task then moving on to the next. This is a compelling little adventure that is far more engaging than descriptions or game play screenshots can get across to the player. The puzzles unfortunately become a little obtuse that involve a lot of trial and error and it’s surprising how long a minute can feel like if you make a mistake and know the run is wasted, but for the most part, this is well worth a look.

2. Witchway

What a pleasant surprise this game turned out to be. The last few years have seen a vicious resurgence of the old school 8/16 bit variety, to the point that it feels a little wrote and dare I say boring? I could be forgiven then, having not bothered to read the synopsis of Witch Way to assume that this would be a run of the mill, inoffensive, but uninteresting platformer, but I’m glad to report that I could not have been more wrong.

What Witchway is, is a really charming and interesting puzzle platformer. Players take control of a lovely Witch sprite with a magic wand that all allows her to manipulate purple blocks that she can move around the environment to solve a selection of puzzles. Charming and suitably challenging, this game has much more to offer than the boring, uninspired art style might suggest. Don’t let this game fool you, it’s great fun and well worth a look.

3. Quadrilateral Cowboy

This is a charmingly eccentric puzzle game. Players take on the role of what appears to be a sort of vigilante thief, using a small computer to hack terminals and solve puzzles that will allow you to get to the objective at the end. In the early game, it was a little confusing trying to work out what the game wanted from the player, but once you get into a groove, this is a delightful experience that is well worth your time and attention. Eventually I was a little put off by the nature of the puzzles and they began to feel like simple coding, but I’m cognisant that this is personal preference over a legitimate problem with the game. The pacing could have been better, but an action game this is not. It’s hard to find much more to say than that. This is definitely one of the must plays in the bundle.

4. Kids

This is probably worth a look, as it’s at minimum an interesting experience and will only take people about 20 minutes to experience. Gameplay wise, there’s not much to speak of. Players will be presented with a  screen, usually containing a number of white men and have to click them until the next screen comes up. It’s an interesting game that leaves me feeling like it has something to say… but what it has to say is a bit lost on me. I spent a lot of time wondering about what it was trying to tell me, wondering if it was making a comment about society, perhaps it’s about the fact that we all follow one another like sheep making me  ponder the virtues of being willing to go against the crowd and what rewards wait for us on the other side. It’s not clear what this game wants me to feel or think, but maybe that’s the point. If art exists to provoke, then at minimum this game has made me think about society and the hive mind we all exhibit for a short period of time.

Maybe that is what the developer was hoping for, maybe it isn’t and maybe what their aim was doesn’t matter. I can’t describe this as a fun experience, but it got me thinking and that I suppose should be enough.

5. Cook Serve Delicious 2

Players take on the role of a chef, following recipes given to them by their customers. As you progress, recipes become more complex. For example, you might get a customer requisition nachos, with various toppings. You then go through the ingredients available and add the correct items to the dish before serving as quickly as possible. Players will be judged on the accuracy of their order, as well as the speed in which it can be delivered to the customer.

I have to admit I don’t find this game even remotely fun. Following a list and garnering difficulty from my ability to memorise short cut keys and whether a fake person wants fake cheese on their fake burger is not a good time. There’s a relatively large niche audience for games like this, but I can’t count myself among them. Hard avoid from me.

 

6. Catlateral Damage

Utter garbage to be honest. You take control of an ugly looking cat in an ugly looking room and swipe your paws to knock things to the ground. Pillow? Knock it to the ground. Pictureframe? Knock it to the ground. Vase? Knock it to the ground… you get the point. That’s it. No more no less.