One moment I’ve become a walking vending machine, leading a gaggle of happily waddling ducklings back to their concerned mother, the next I’m thrown into a post-apocalyptic shopping mall, cleaving snarling creatures in two with a gigantic sword. Throughout the 10-hour romp, there are several moments where I have to double check I’m not having a Covid-induced fever dream. What I really enjoyed about this kid-friendly adventure is that Nintendo gets endearingly weird. From an opening sequence in which our perky pink blob transforms into a car and cruises along to a Japanese pop song (complete with karaoke-ready lyrics) to the bouncing ball’s signature level-completion moonwalk, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a delight from start to finish. ![]() Happily, Kirby’s colourful capers prove to be just the tonic I need. Through the Darkest of Times is a turn-based gaming-experience. ![]() However, it was playable and I got used to it on the Switch. The reading-heavy gameplay doesn’t mesh too well with a large TV or the semi-small Nintendo Switch screen. This inherent drama created by colour contrast plays beautifully with the themes of the game- resistance, survival and hiding in plain sight. Too often its undermined by the game also having systems that contain the same kind of resource juggling and time management that we see in anime dating sims. Through the Darkest of Times uses colour really well also, mostly focusing on a black, white and red canvas with occasional additions of other colours. After eight or nine hours exploring Berlin through the lens of a resistance member. As Kirby is whisked away to an overgrown world that looks eerily like a post-apocalyptic Earth, the skies outside my flat turn an ominous grey. Through the Darkest of Times honestly makes far more sense on PC. The writing in Through the Darkest of Times is evocative, powerful and poignant. The obvious limitations indie studios tend to have can be seen with Times, but its nevertheless still good. ![]() A s I start this latest cutesy adventure with the adorable pink blob Kirby, I’ve just returned from a journey of my own – and with an unwelcome stowaway, in the form of whatever variant of Covid I picked up on the trip. Welcome to Through the Darkest of Times a game surprisingly close to the bone considering it’s set over 80 years agowhich offers a historical resistance strategy game experience in Berlin.
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