PEGBRJE: Football Drama and Fumiko
Death defying in two different ways.
Football Drama is a narrative sports management simulation made by Open Lab Games, a quartet of Italian developers focusing on narrative adventures. Players will follow the trails of Rocco Galliano, famed football coaching star that has made his return to the managerial staff for the struggling Calchester FC at the request of its billionaire president Boris Aluminovitch. He has high expectations for Rocco, and it’s up to players to determine the path needed to succeed; be warned, however, that success can be measured in more ways than a championship victory.
As with many simulations, players do not control the actual footballers but instead control the strategy that revolves around them. This is done primarily before matches begin in which players will decide on ‘magic cards’ that represent ideas and strategies for Rocco’s footballers to use. These cards have symbols on them to correlate to different statistics that are familiar to any that have played a sports title; endurance, morale, speed and more soccer related stats such as goalkeeping, midfield and defense. There are other stats with more ominous implications such as Kaos and Karma to influence how the public and others view Rocco, altering the gameplay and the narrative as players accumulate either. Once cards have been selected (and they can only be used once, as I found out the hard way), players will also decide on a training regiment for the ballers to do before the match to increase one specific stat; or they might just have a beer and relax before the game. It’s completely up to the player’s preferences and their ability to decide what is best of the team.
The actual match itself was something that threw me for a loop if I’m honest, as it is a turn-based soccer match. As manager, Rocco does not have individual control over all of his players, so instead he gives them strategies to utilize while on the field. Without direct intervention, footballers will employ two different tactics regardless of whether they are on the offensive or defensive; a ‘passive’ approach that relaxes the players and focuses on control, and an ‘aggressive’ approach that increases the strain on the players but creates plays. Every decision made has a possible outcome, as the player goes back and forth with the AI with the hopes of getting a goal. It’s actually the closest I’ve ever felt to watching a live sport, as while I was making decisions they all felt somewhat out of my control. Every turn over was met with a groan and fear that they might score, and every goal felt like a massive win. I couldn’t just ‘outplay’ my opponents, nor could they just curb stomp me with their computer accurate passing; we both had a chance of winning no matter what. I honestly thought that this level of abstractness would detract from the experience, but Rocco’s small control and his ability to use his ‘deck of cards’ to alter the game gives just enough engagement to change this. Those cards from earlier? They are used in game to alter the general strategy of the players, but there’s a caveat. Just like an actual coach, Rocco must yell it from the sidelines and wait for his players to implement these strategies, and sometimes they don’t actually work. How the player chooses to train the footballers becomes a lynchpin as too complicated strategies will completely be botched.
Between matches is where Football Drama becomes as dramatic as advertised, as players must decide on Rocco’s actions for all of his problems that occur. Press conferences happen after every game for Rocco to answer questions an gauge how his team is doing to the public, altering his Karma or Kaos depending on answers. Appeasing the president and getting a good reputation, interactions with a shady dark market man and even flirting with the president’s attractive wife are all possible scenarios for Rocco to deal with and can affect his relationships with all of his peers. These decisions can become dangerous, as angering the wrong group of people can lead to serious issues for him to deal with. He can even get fired before the championship if the president sees fit, so players need to be attentive and deliberate over every one of the decisions brought before them. This is the closest I’ve seen to a shady football network, almost as if Rocco was the star in a Football Noire.
I wasn’t expecting to be so drawn into Football Drama, but it’s telling of a gritty football fantasy simulation through constant decision making won me over. The games themselves all felt like I was watching a true sports match and drew me in every time, even though my control was essentially just clicking a button and hoping that the randomness favoured me. If you’re looking for an alternative simulation with different matches every time and a storyline to match, this is definitely one to try out.
Fumiko is a 3D cyber platformer made by Fumiko Games, a solo dev based out of Germany. Players are the aforementioned Fumiko, a computer program that seems to be running into some bizarre issues. The ‘operator’ only known as Wilson keeps attempting to run simulations for Fumiko. However, someone or something keeps interacting with Fumiko, and players will find themselves outside the original grid attempting to discover what happened to our little AI.
Players will control a seemingly weightless avatar representing Fumiko as they attempt to find the exit nodes in each level. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds, as levels are massive sprawling voids of cubes and shapes, with only a small light trail as a guide. I actually really enjoy this openness thatThankfully, this weightlessness is a massive boon for Fumiko as they are able to jump massive distances in a single held jump, floating upwards farther than I was expecting at first. Add on the extra jumps that players gain (I was at 4) and the air dash technique that players can use to add even more horizontal distance and landing becomes a worry for a later time. This does lead to some slippery moments when I did attempt to land though, so there’s a small indicator on where the player will be dropping to to help with the visual difficulty that is 3D platforming.
What adds a bizarre flavour to Fumiko is this constant cybernetic theme, as players don’t have to wait long before having their screen covered in bizarre code fragments and seemingly broken sequences. The screen is constantly being toyed with, thankfully not while the player is platforming, and is even shut off at times to simulate certain effects. There are memory fragments scattered throughout the levels to give more context, usually within bizarre locations that are difficult to track down without some sense of exploration. They are completely optional, as players can finish the entire game without finding more than the first one, but they may feel a tad confused as to what exactly may be happening or not feel as invested if they don’t.
Fumiko! is an interesting title, one that I’m certain I am completely out of my element to discuss — unlike the other times I’ve made this point, 3D platformers are by far my weakest genre of discussion as I have so little experience with them. So believe me when I say that I‘m uncertain if this title is for me, but I can definitely see the appeal that many may gain from it, especially thanks to its tone and aesthetic. There is a lot going on within Fumiko, and finding out who they were and what happened is a journey you can enjoy if you are one looking for more 3D platformers.
