GamePass takes: Backbone, Despot's Game, Monster Train
The latest edition of Passterpiece Theater
Life, to an extent, presents an almost endless stream of opportunities to feel humbled. Dumb, really.
Over and over again, I spend unsettling amounts of money chasing fancy-pants video game consoles. Yet, most of the time, I end up gravitating to games that could be “played on a toaster.”
Now, that’s not universally true. But maybe it’s a reminder to those who are wiser with their money: you can use something like GamePass to play some really fun games, on a budget, and generally without the most up-to-date hardware like a PS5.
Let’s roll out the latest edition of Passterpiece Theater with another title soon to leave GamePass (Backbone), one that’s a fairly new edition to the service (Despot’s Game), and a mainstay that’s something of a “forever game” for the O’Brien household (Monster Train).
Backbone: Pretty, furry noir leaving GamePass on October 31
During my youth, and through my teen years, I either didn’t have much of a computer, or trudged along with some clunky hand-me-down. So, I experienced the sensation of hearing a dial-up modem struggle along, and saw glimpses of the very early mainstream Internet. But I didn’t have anything “state of the art,” so aside from a love affair with Age of Empires 2, PC’s generally were there for barely getting term papers written on time and other non-glamorous things.
So, I never really played the sort of “point-and-click” adventure games that are kinda sorta coming back into vogue.
Without that element of nostalgia, I and many others instead experience a game like Backbone on its own merits.
Luckily, for the most part, Backbone doesn’t seem to demand too much fluency in genre tropes. Early on, there’s an annoying puzzle (advice: when you’re stuck around lockers, just look up the code) that likely harkens back to that era of gaming. There are also some silly stealth sequences that would become grating if they weren’t mercifully short and sparse.
Overall, you could argue that the “game” part of Backbone is pretty sparse, in general, really.
Instead, this is about noodling around in conversations, breathing in the beautiful art and atmosphere, and watching as the story unravels. To avoid spoiling anything, I’ll try to keep it vague: Backbone goes places.
And those places are often rendered in breathtaking pixel art.
Personally, I’m glad that I never had to write a formal review for a game like Backbone, because it would be difficult to assign it a number or letter grade. Not every story beat lands, especially later in the game. Again, the “game” parts are pretty underwhelming.
But it’s the sort of game that was deeply rewarding to dive into for its brief run time. While the I recommended a different game close enough to its deadline (Sable left GamePass on Oct. 15), I think you could probably complete Backbone with time to spare by Oct. 31.
With the weather generally getting gloomier, it could be a nice, cozy experience — even if the subject matter isn’t always so cozy. Although I wouldn’t give this a “bugging you to keep playing it”-type of recommendation, I’d instead endorse it if you want to experience something different and would rather not slog through a bloated prestige TV show.
Also, the game takes place in a fictional version of Vancouver, and this screen reminded me of my trip to that great city, where I was comically enthralled to easily see a mountain through some city streets.
So, again, consider this a solid recommendation for Backbone in a way you’d note that a solid movie or show is about to leave Netflix. It’s not a must-play, but I’m glad I did.
Now, if your time and money is infinite, I’d say play something even more spellbinding, such as Disco Elysium (which is definitely not on GamePass).
For even more on Backbone, including insight on racist animals, check out Jonathan Lee’s pieces at Kotaku.
Something new-ish to GamePass: Despot’s Game
As much as I adore crunchy games that capture most (if not all) of your attention and senses, I also treasure “podcast games.”
A podcast game doesn’t need to be totally empty. Instead, it’s something you can enjoy — maybe become mesmerized by — while the game itself is mute. Ideally, you can easily pause both the game and podcast when, say, a needy dog demands a walk through relentless, adorable + annoying barks.
For me, there’s a stable of podcast games that virtually always work.
Monster Train, which basically inherited the throne from Slay the Spire, its clear inspiration. (Both are on GamePass; both get my hearty recommendations).
Zoning out in the honestly cumbersome and clunky franchise/Be a GM mode of the EA NHL games, though not yet NHL 23. And sometimes different, often better (but not comfort-foody) sports video games.
Another GamePass treat: Dead Cells.
Theoretically, I don’t need more podcast games. Nonetheless, I enjoy the spice of video game variety, and so I’m often looking for new challenges. It’s early, but Despot’s Game scratches some of those itches: it nails that “simple to learn, hard to master” feeling, and it’s something I can play with the sound off.
After 5-10 runs (who can say?), I can tell there are certain limitations that might keep this from being a more permanent podcast game fixture.
While you can definitely play this game competently on a controller, it seems a lot better-suited for a mouse and keyboard. A big part of your strategy is making sure that your army gets enough food, and every time you go to a different room, you feed everyone. So, if you accidentally hit the wrong button, you run the risk of wasting a round of food. Sometimes, I’ve accidentally left a room when I needed to buy fresh troops and supplies, thus dooming a run to the dreaded “fat fingers.”
Some might get annoyed by the “auto-battler” element of this game. I can see that, although Buried Treasure’s John Walker neatly contextualized Despot’s Game as — in some ways — a lot like playing cards.
Once a fight has started, you can’t intervene, which is both the game’s strength and weakness. I feel many will be frustrated by the hands-off approach, not being able to take action when things are falling apart. But then if you’re me, and I am, it makes it a super-streamlined way of presenting a fight, that otherwise might be two playing cards being put next to each other in a similar game.
Personally, I’m fairly new to the “auto-battler” genre. I got some enjoyment out of Loop Hero, but wouldn’t say that it had me loopin’ like a loon.
Soon, I’ll try Vampire Survivors, a game in a similar vein (get it, vampires?) that isn’t on GamePass but is quite cheap. I’ve heard great things, and it might be the sort of thing that blows Despot’s Game out of the water.
For now, though: Despot’s Game scratches certain itches, and any irksome elements are easier to shrug off thanks to the low barrier of entry of it merely being a GamePass game.
Monster Train: a forever game
If you want to go in proper order, you’d probably be best served playing Slay the Spire before Monster Train. In a way, you’d simply be tricking yourself into playing two very good titles in the rather-abundant “rogue-like deckbuilder” genre.
You’d also play the game (Slay the Spire) that jump-started the genre to the point that Monster Train and plenty others essentially owe their existence to StS.
In some ways, I view Slay the Spire as a more well-tuned, precisely prepared meal, while Monster Train leans closer to a delicious-yet-over-the-top buffet. Where Slay the Spire has a pretty interesting art style, Monster Train sometimes looks lame enough that you might be embarrassed by what’s on the screen. (At least if you’re around people who use the words “bop” and “banger” to describe songs they like.)
At first, Monster Train seems like a shameless rip-off. Maybe it is. But video games, as a genre, iterate upon each other in ways that probably ape music as much as any other form of pop culture. Sometimes a band/video game comes along and basically creates a new genre or sub-genre. Should they get royalties for anyone who cribs from their notes? I mean, probably, but that’s not how modern capitalism generally works.
Anyway, both Slay the Spire and Monster Train are good enough that I’d name-drop them to anyone I’d expect to be vaguely interesting in games. They’re both elite podcast games: presenting plenty of tactical and strategic challenges, but also totally viable to mute for music or some audio documentary about food and/or unsolved murders.
Games like Backbone and Despot’s Game fit with those HBOMax/whatever streaming service programs you never would’ve tried, but you’re glad you did. With Slay the Spire and Monster Train, we’re talking about games essential enough to justify the price of GamePass on their own.
(I’d absolutely recommend Monster Train’s expansion if you like the game; doing so opens up an extra daily challenge, which is my go-to mode for the game these days.)