Goo Goo Grapplers

Goo Goo Grapplers is my game of the year, and here's why: Narrative: Johnson Grappler's story of redemption is second perhaps only to Arthur Morgan's. During the ~60 hour campaign, you truly get to know Mr. Grappler not only as a Goo Goo Grappler, but as a father, husband, and capable desperado with a heart of gold. The segment in which he faces off against Dark Grappler, his evil alter-ego born of his distorted desires that manifested during the Tangiers crisis of 1969, in which he lost his long-time partner to a gang of renegade radical Jainists, is an unbelievable story beat that seems capable of only coming from the minds of legends like JRR Tolkien or Kentaro Miura. Yet it was neither of these literary geniuses who blessed us with such palpable and moving fiction. It was Both Good Productions. I highly recommend choosing the neutral-good ending, at least for your first playthrough. I'm currently working on the pure good ending, and I'm not sure if I can bring myself to ever finish any of the evil endings. Samuel L. Jackson's performance as Hytham Grappleton is quite gripping as well. Graphics: The 16-bit art style harkens back to classics such as Super Metroid and Drilldozer. The thematically rich environments are incredibly immersive, and almost make you forget you're looking at pixel art with the amount of detail on display. Gameplay: The campaign offers a good demonstration of what fun there is to be had, but the mechanics really shine through in multiplayer. Movement is challenging yet responsive. Power-ups are useful yet require apt skill. But most crucially, the gameplay is easy to learn, yet hard to master. The best type of game there is. Sound / Music: Featuring an original score by John Williams in collaboration with Caused By Carelessness (Who still owe me a physical copy of their album "Get Better"), the only games I can think of with a better soundtrack would be Super Smash Bros. and Guitar Hero 3. Not since Star Wars (1977) has John Williams sounded so inspired and refreshed by a project. That's all to say nothing of the sound effects, which are quite good. Unfortunately, I am not experienced enough with sound design to offer detailed commentary. In conclusion, Goo Goo Grapplers is one of those games that only appear once in a generation to truly shake up the industry and challenge the medium of video games, while serving as the newest example of video games as an art form. It is sometimes said that first person shooters can be divided into pre- and post- Half-Life. Well, I believe that video games henceforth can be divided into pre- and post- Goo Goo Grapplers.