Look Mum No Computer Review

A Musical Experiment in a Clunky Pixel-Artwork Shell

I don’t actually get the entire “Youtube Celeb” factor, I’ve to say,. My son watches much more of those folks than I take into account to be wholesome (though it may very well be worse, I suppose), however I can’t get on with them.

This leads me neatly to the topic of at the moment’s assessment, Look Mum No Computer, coming from The Bitfather and Headup. You see, Sam James Battle is a well-known Youtuber who runs a channel known as Look Mum No Pc and has accomplished so since 2013. He apparently is an electronics fanatic, musician and composer, who posts movies about making audio gear that he then makes use of to make music.

Nicely, he’s now branching out into the world of video video games with the discharge of a sport by the identical title and Look Mum No Pc (the sport) is a pixel artwork, twin stick shooter. However are we higher off watching a video or taking part in the sport? I’ll try and let you know now.

Must you dive into Soldersworth?

Sinking into Soldersworth

Kicking off with the story, and Sam has made a computerised backpack known as Kosmo, and with Kosmo’s assist, he might be made smaller, porting into numerous digital gadgets kicking concerning the city of Soldersworth. Nevertheless, it seems that numerous bits of apparatus have begun to go haywire: all the pieces from a fridge to Sam’s synthesiser. Utilizing Kosmo’s energy, our mission is to go inside every of the home equipment, type out what’s ailing them and return them to correct operation. Sounds fairly simple, no?

Nicely, the gameplay does have one thing to say about that final assertion, sadly. The sport is, as I discussed above, at coronary heart a twin stick shooter. And so far as the precise taking pictures goes, it isn’t too dangerous.

Weapons or Waveforms

The conventional twin stick controls apply, with the left stick transferring Sam about, and the suitable stick firing his weapon of selection. Nevertheless, there’s a wrinkle to this complete sport: the shoe horning in of the music type of content material that the Youtube channel is legendary for. You see, as we discover the interiors of assorted home equipment, we discover new artefacts that may be utilised so as to construct new components. Components for what, I hear you ask? Nicely, components for our weapons or for the syntheiser that Sam has in his workshop. And it’s upgrading this that permits further bits of music to be added into the soundtrack of the sport.

Due to this fact, you’ll be able to select how a lot of the music you wish to hear. Do you spend all of the modules within the offensive capabilities, as each sport ever has taught us, or go extra down the musician route and blend up the soundtrack. Nicely, the selection is yours. To be sincere, I wasn’t overly enamoured by this characteristic. Possibly if you’re a fan of the channel, it might float your boat greater than mine, however I couldn’t see the purpose. Approaching it as a gamer, quite than a musician, the selection is just about a no brainer.

A pinball stage from Look Mum No Computer on Xbox — Pinball wizard?

When Taking pictures and Strolling Turn into the Actual Enemies

After which the opposite factor that actually lets Look Mum No Pc down are within the controls, as they’re clunky and customarily dreadful. There’s a half in an early equipment (a vacuum cleaner, if you happen to should know) the place we’re challenged to a race by a mud bunny, one of many inhabitants. The race takes place in a maze made up of each destructible and non-destructible components and the thought is clearly for Sam to destroy the components of the maze he must to get round. The factor is, the taking pictures controls are so wayward that the race feels virtually unattainable to win.

You may then add in the truth that the weapon overheats when you are desperately waving it round attempting to shoot stationary objects, and it’s simple to see the problems that we face. Hell, even the strolling controls are a bit ropy, as attempting to get via slim areas is a bit difficult and very often sees you getting hung up: often simply lengthy sufficient for a baddy to return and get you, usually if you find yourself in your final sliver of well being.

A Premise with Potential

This will all make it look like I didn’t notably get pleasure from taking part in Look Mum No Pc, however that isn’t fairly the complete image. There isn’t any doubt that the premise is attention-grabbing, and whereas the graphics are exceedingly fundamental (retro pixel artwork is a phrase I’m starting to dread after I learn the synopsis of a sport), they do have a specific amount of allure about them. The worlds accessible for exploration are fairly effectively designed and realised too, while the enemies and managers are additionally fairly effectively accomplished.

And additional to that? The upgrading of Sam’s weapons is kind of rewarding (upgrading the music much less so, to my thoughts) however on the entire, the much less interesting parts just do outweigh the nice, sadly.

Some of the musical elements of Look Mum No Computer on Xbox — You’ll discover enjoyment, if you happen to’re a fan of the Youtube channel

One for the YouTube Followers, Not the Style Veterans

As a sport, there are significantly better twin stick shooters on the market, and as an digital music expertise, I’ve actually nothing to match it to, and that due to this fact makes Look Mum No Pc a tough one to attain.

Finally, I’ve to assessment this as a sport (this can be a gaming web site, in any case). Simply ensure that if you’re accustomed to the Youtube channel it’s based mostly on, you could discover enjoyment in Look Mum No Pc, however for the remainder of us, there are significantly better video games on the market.