Monday Media Musings on... Wednesday? Oh dear -- 5/26/21

It Takes Two: A cute two-person couch co-op puzzle platformer. T and I are always looking for good cooperative games, and he came across a review of this one that inspired us to give it a try. The concept: you play a couple, Cody and May, whose marriage is in deep trouble. When they inform their daughter, Rose, that they're planning to divorce, Rose transports their consciousnesses into two tiny dolls, and the two of them are forced to work together to make their way back into their bodies. Good puzzles that are challenging but rarely too difficult, ever-changing gameplay -- the characters have unique abilities, often tied to their interests and personalities, that change with almost every level -- and some of the best level design I've ever seen, with different parts of their house and yard transformed into dangerous landscapes for them to navigate. I didn't quite buy the character development; it's obvious from the beginning that being forced into situations where they have to cooperate to survive will potentially rekindle their love for each other, or at the very least a mutual respect, but they're still sniping at each other far too late in the game for the moves toward reconciliation to feel natural. That said, I still enjoyed the gameplay a lot, and even the story for the most part.

Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet: The first season of the Apple TV series, which is a workplace comedy about the creators of an MMORPG. T and I watched all nine episodes plus the special filmed entirely during the Spring 2020 lockdown in two or three days, which is pretty unlike us, but we had a deadline (some of our friends were starting Season 2 last night and we wanted to be able to watch with them), they're pretty short (less than 30 minute each), and it's a potato chip show (you can't eat just one). It was pretty funny, and although I've never worked for a game or software company, lots of the workplace business still felt painfully true to life. The cast is excellent -- my favorite is Ashly Burch as a tester with a crush on her co-worker Dana, and it was particularly entertaining to watch Danny Pudi play a sales bro asshole type to perfection. (We also started Season 2 last night, but I'll talk more about that when we finish.)