The Scoop Spillzone: SU&SD Newsletter #86

Matt: It feels like an age since we got back from Essen, but we’ve still got SO MANY games left to check out and play. If you’ve been keeping up with our podcast you’ll have heard us chat a little about a lot of them, but as we start to wind down 2024 we’ve still got so many games buzzing in our brains like lovely fat bees.

And SO - this month’s newsletter is a simple one: here's a whirlwind tour of a bunch of games we've yet to talk about on SU&SD, but that we will be talking about SOON.

I've been really charmed this year by Seaside - a game in a bag designed for playing outside that’s a really simple push your luck game with a shared pool of potential sea-creature goodies being snaffled up by players that have the landscapes - or snacks! - needed to entice them. Relatable! It’s just a very likeable production all around, and it’s consistently delightful to see friends and family alike getting furious about CRABS.

Also very pleasant and equally wet, Souvenirs from Venice is a gentle game of set collection from Oink - not an all-time great from this publisher of tiny games, but one I enjoyed a lot more than I expected. The premise is a fun one, with players heading out in Gondolas into the city of Venice in a mad rush to collect decent trinkets before then getting back to the airport in time. It feels a bit like an alternate reality version of Deep Sea Adventures - using a grid instead of a linear path, and offering players an experience that isn’t just “drowning”.

Speaking of Deep Sea Adventures - the new “BOOST” edition of the game is pretty neat, and a definite improvement on the original - accelerating the game and ensuring that most players find themselves meeting that sticky end sooner. I still don’t think it’s a very good game, but it’s definitely better than the original!

One of the games from Essen that’s really stuck with us is Power Vacuum - a slightly fiddly trick-taking game with a Death of Stalin / home appliances theme that’s undeniably perfect. We’ve mentioned this one already but we’ll be doing so s a little bit special?

On a dimmer note though, we’ve been a little cold on Beyond the Horizon? There’s a lot of hype around this one, mainly because of the shared DNA with Beyond the Sun, which we overall liked and Tom really loved - but it seems like - for us -  that lightning just isn’t striking this time. More thoughts on that one soon too, but we’d just advise that folks temper expectations.

Finally just a quick mention of a game I still can’t stop thinking about - I still don’t know if Minecart Town is a great game, but it’s delightful and harsh and consistently quite funny. As players you’re all snapping up buildings from a shared pool that you then add immediately to your strictly-orthogonal town, with the rub that you also need to build minecart tracks that connect these buildings if you want to move resources to and from these locations. Building infrastructure first is probably sensible, but when there’s a risk that someone else might take that sheep farm? It’s a recipe for recklessness and gosh, I think I might really like it.

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What are we video games!  🎮

Tom: Only one video game recommendation from me this month, and it’s STRAFTAT!

It’s a 1v1 only arena shooter that blends Quake and Duck Game. I think it’s the absolute business. Zip around these tiny maps with a bundle of bizarre weaponry. Test your skill and goof around with equal measure. Hang out with a random person somewhere in the world for about fifteen human minutes and be delighted by their quirky behaviours. It’s great.

What are we music!  🎵

Tom: Tom: I’ve got a very strange pick here, because I don’t really know anything about it. 

Spotify randomly recommended I listen to “Erased Tapes 20･･－－－0” - a record with such hits as “･ ･－･ ･－ ･･･ ･ －･･ －･ －－－ ･･･ － ･ ･－－･ －－－ －･” and “･ ･－･ ･－ ･･･ ･ －･･ ･－･･ ･ － ･･ － －－･ －－－” . Catchy stuff!

I presume that this record is just a compilation of off-cuts from various artists working under a specific label or similar collective - but I’ve adored the mystery of not knowing exactly who is behind any of them! It’s a deeply unusual thing, that swings between so many styles but remains so textural throughout. Give it a go!

I’ve also (predictably) been enjoying the new Geordie Greep record - ‘The New Sound’. Frothing fanbase and grating personality aside, I’ve enjoyed seeing his work evolve from the noisy peaks of early black midi to the much more eclectic and voracious stylings on this record. I think ‘Holy Holy’ is one of the most straightforwardly fun songs of the year, and ‘The Magician’ is achingly beautiful. A lot of ‘online’ has shared the sentiment that it’s a “perfect album”, and I think it’s far too tangled a tracklist for that kind of accolade. But it’s fun! It’s a good time! I would suggest a big listen.