Media Retrospect of the ‘10’s
Hi. I’m here to talk about some stuff that came out in the last decade. But I have a lot of thoughts on a lot of things so I’m just kinda going to stream of consciousness this in a way — there may be some headers or categories or what have you but for the most part I’m winging it. So, if you want to hear recommendations or things I liked in the last 10 years, read on friendo.
Slay the Spire — Video Game, available on multiple platforms
Slay the Spire is a seductive game. It’s a true challenge to put it down once you get into the swing of things; and it has a steep mastery curve to boot, providing near endless progression and challenge to even the most seasoned of players. There just isn’t another game out there with this level of awesome variance every run. You will, in every way, never play the same game twice.
Put simply, it’s a roguelike deckbuilding game. You select a class, which determines the types of cards you see in the game, and then climb “the Spire”, a sort of tower-like structure filled with enemy encounters, mystery events, and shopkeepers who really don’t want to sell their rug. The gameplay is super easy to understand, but has deep decision trees that make the right play harder and harder to find the more cards you add to your deck. It’s my number one game recommendation across the whole decade — do not miss this game. Even if you aren’t a gamer, it only runs you $24.99, and is pretty regularly still getting free content updates.
The Last of Us — Video Game, available on Sony consoles
Words will never do justice to the journey that is a fresh play-through of The Last of Us. Naughty Dog’s 2013 adventure game remains one of the best examples of “games as art” out there; it elevates the medium in a way no game I’ve played since does. Joel and Ellie’s story is not easy on the brain. It asks hard questions of its player, and more crushing, doesn’t give you a choice in the way the tale ends. The performances that Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson deliver transcend the motion capture and game world completely. They own the characters in an outstanding way and give them real life and emotion, making the high (and low) notes of the game that much more punchy. It’s a game about love; real, gross, and difficult as it can be.
For a game that’s so incredible as a story, it isn’t without weakness. Combat can be frustrating, and it does have the loathsome stealth mechanics that often make good games end up feeling clunky and confusing due to weird A.I. Regardless, if you’re inclined to spend a solid chunk of time putting yourself in Joel’s shoes, the payoff is 100% there. And even more exciting — a sequel is due just a few months out from now. Play it! Or watch someone play it.
Nier: Automata — Video Game, available on multiple platforms
Nier: Automata is the weirdest game on this list. It is a truly bizarre game. It earned its way by having some really unique game design elements, wrapped up in a philosophical (but convoluted) plot. While technically a sequel, you don’t have to have played any of the related games to understand what it’s about. I’d categorize it mostly as a hack-and-slash, but one of the wonderful thing about this game is that it bounces between so many genres smoothly and without effort. Bullet hell, puzzle game, RPG, platformer — you name it, Nier’s got it.
I can’t write about Nier without mentioning two things: the first is that it’s very anime. That can be a turnoff for a lot of people, for totally understandable reasons… but I’d encourage those who are wary that it’s worth it. The second thing is the reason it’s worth it: Nier: Automata has 26 endings. The first three you acquire by playing the campaign, but I won’t spoil exactly how that works. The other 23 are for you to discover, and range from hilarious to bleak. If you’re looking to jump into a truly weird and thoughtful game, pick this up.
No Closer to Heaven by the Wonder Years — music
The Wonder Years have been a band for over 10 years, and in that time they’ve done a whole lot of growing. Nowhere is that growth more obvious than on their 2015 album No Closer To Heaven, a 45 minute trip through frontman Dan “Soupy” Campbell and company’s brains as they struggle with mental health, approaching 30, losing friends, and clawing for hope when things are hopeless. This record got me through a lot in this decade — it helped me deal with my depression, it was by my side through my brother’s darker days, it brought me closer to friends who had drifted away… it’s very important to me. If you give it a listen, I recommend having lyrics nearby during your session to get the full effect. Soupy is a very talented writer, and I’ve never felt spoken to the way I did on first listen of I Don’t Like Who I Was Then.
New Levels New Devils by Polyphia — music
New Levels New Devils is the jazziest, grooviest, jammiest instrumental album in the universe. Four piece band Polyphia demonstrate peak instrumental virtuosity across all of their instruments, and do it with a pop and hip-hop sensibility never seen before in a prog rock album. They are truly breaking new ground, and while their contemporaries in artists like Plini and Intervals continue to noodle on, Polyphia rages forward with banger after banger that even the most uninitiated prog fan can enjoy. Blues guitar, Latin music, metal, EDM, hell, even MEMES, this is the complete package. New Levels New Devils is the album I would have everyone on Earth listen to if I could; it’s my album of the decade, and I am so pumped to see where these guys go on their next LP.
Emotion by Carly Rae Jepsen — music
For the artist behind Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen has some seriously impressive musical chops. Emotion is a stunning, bright, fun romp of a record that completely ditches the bubbly radioness of her previous effort Kiss for a synth-pop driven sound straight from the 80’s. The sound is just so big and fun it’s hard not to love. It might be one of the only albums of the last decade that makes me dance in my chair when it comes on. Even more impressive, Emotion Side B, a collection of unreleased songs initially intended for the album, is just as good. Jepsen rose towards the top of pop with this album, and her third, Dedicated, places her firmly atop the pop sphere in my book.
The Spectacular Now — film
Okay, so I love a coming-of-age story. Sue me. The Spectacular Now is the best of the bunch this decade. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are some of Hollywood’s best and brightest young talents, something Teller would prove later in the decade with Whiplash and Woodley had already shown with The Descendants. The film displays one of the more honest and organic relationships between young people in recent history, and offers some hope to young people today who may not fit the standard model of what society would define as “success”. Sutter’s journey to love himself in spite of his flaws, and subsequently to work on the flaws he does see inside instead of just accepting them, is one more people could stand to see.
Arrival — film
Arrival is a contemplative movie, with deep symbolism and theme. That language is such a focus of the film is no mistake, and Dennis Villeneuve takes care and craft in making it a thoughtful focus. Characters are constantly unable to hear each other, losing satellite communication, struggling with language barrier in international politics… but the real treat of the movie is that the delicious center in all that is a deeply moving and sad story about a mother and her daughter. This is Amy Adams’ magnum opus so far, make no mistake. She is jaw-droppingly good in her role, so much so that’s it’s easy to forget there are even other characters in the movie. Let’s hope for more adaptations of Ted Chiang’s works, especially if they continue to get masterful directors like Villeneuve.
Her — film
In some ways Her is another movie with only one important actor ever on screen. In truth, Scarlett Johansson’s role as Samantha is just as important as Joaquin Phoenix’s Theodore, if not more, despite the fact that she never appears physically on screen. Her is pretty out there conceptually — it’s easy to think that a story about a man falling in love with a computer would be weird. It’s delivered so well, however, by the leads of the movie and by Spike Jonze’ directing, that it feels almost natural, as if this was obviously what would happen in the future. The whole movie is bright and full of wonder, and the dialogue is so even and, well, human. The lesson the film wants to tell about human relationships rings all too true today — even more so than it did when it came out in 2013.
Hope you enjoyed that! There’s plenty more I could talk about (books, TV, board games, etc), but it’s getting late and I’m not here to write the Iliad. Send me a message on Facebook or talk to me on Twitter @TSM_Nefaria if you want to chat about the things I wrote about here. If you want to see me write more things, either about this decade or other stuff, let me know! Happy 2020 y’all, let’s make it a good one.
Keep loving. -Neil
