I’m finally back with my promised second article on Cassette Beasts! If you missed the first one, you can read it here; that one serves as my mostly spoiler-free general recommendation of the game. However, I also wanted to do some deeper looks into the game, its systems, its themes, and so on, which necessitates some spoilers. I’ll give a general warning when I start getting into mild things (like discussing specific monsters or the game’s mechanics), and then give a warning at the midpoint when I start moving into more serious story-related spoilers (as well as a few mentions about the story of Bytten Studio’s first game, Lenna’s Inception, which I covered here). Generally, I think this game is strong enough that being spoiled wouldn’t ruin it for you, but if you are sensitive to those, feel free to take advantage of those warnings as jumping off points, or even bookmark this for later, and come back later after you’ve played it some .
In the first part of my Cassette Beasts review, I mentioned that the game lived up to all of the expectations I had for it after loving Bytten Studio’s first game, Lenna’s Inception. And I want to look at that a little more; I’ve already said that they make for an interesting comparison, but there was something specific that stood out to me when I was looking at what I wanted to cover in a spoilered review. See, while it lived up to Lenna in quality, it was actually kind of funny how much expecting Cassette Beasts to be like its predecessor ended up surprising me, particularly in its world building.
Not to spoil it too much, but Lenna’s Inception breaks the fourth wall several times over the course of a playthrough, culminating in a few big reveals during the final dungeon that recontextualize everything you’ve seen to that point, in a way that directly calls attention to the fact that it is a video game. It’s a really big and fun twist, the kind of thing that makes you go back and think “Oh, why didn’t I notice that earlier!”, and I kept expecting something like that in Cassette Beasts. Maybe it’s not fair to expect some huge surprise like that twice, but I can also see why I thought that; there are a few moments where you can see some similar ideas popping up, so it’s maybe not too big of a stretch to think that Cassette Beasts might at least have similar ideas on its mind.
Editor’s Note (please ignore that the editor and writer are the same person): As you might be able to tell from the article below, I really like this game, and have a lot to say about it. So, in order to prevent the sort of schedule slippage that can happen when I try and sort out more complicated thoughts, I’m going to be trying something new: running two, shorter articles. This one will serve as a basically spoiler-free recommendation, and the second piece that follows (schedule very much TBD) will have a more in-depth commentary, and include more spoiler-y details. Maybe the shorter length will make them both a little more readable too, we’ll see.
In the meantime, if you’d like, you could pick up Cassette Beasts now (it’s on sale as part of the Steam Summer Sale!) and maybe you’ll have thoughts of your own by the time part 2 arrives! And of course, as always, feel free to sign up for my email list if you'd like to be notified when that article goes live; I promise that I'll only send things when there's new writings to read!
Back in December, I wrote about the greatness that was Neon White, and mentioned the excitement that comes when something that you’ve greatly anticipated lives up to high expectations. Well, I’m excited to announce that yet again*, another indie video game has pulled it off, with Bytten Studio delivering an absolute masterpiece in Cassette Beasts.
*I originally said “for the second year in a row” here, but 2021 had Chicory and Demon Turf, so I suppose it’s a little more frequent than that. We’re just in a good time for indie games!
I first became aware of the game while writing about the two-person studio’s previous game, Lenna’s Inception, which was my favorite game that I played in 2020. In fact, my memory might be wrong, but I think the announcement came out while I was doing research for that article? Either way, from the moment I saw that first trailer, I have been pumped, and I’m glad it’s lived up to all of my anticipation.
I’m going to be trying something slightly new this year. I like making playlists and writing about what I’ve been listening to, as you can see here. It kind of started as me making a summer playlist, which wound up covering everything I’d been listening to from the start of the year through roughly Labor Day, and then me making a smaller article to cover the rest of the year. But last year’s summer playlist wound up being way longer and more involved than I liked, and it looked like that trend would only continue.
So instead, this year I’m splitting it into two playlists to keep things more manageable. The Summer one should come at more or less the regular time, but I’m cutting it down to just May through August, more or less. And this Spring Playlist will cover January through April (even though it’s posting in late May; sorry, but I do still need time to actually write out my thoughts).
I’ve had a lot of fun looking for new music and collecting my thoughts on it (and not overwhelming myself with eight months worth of it! And spacing out the writing over a few weeks!), so if you want to follow along, I’ve included both Spotify and Youtube playlists. And if any of the songs jump out at you, definitely check out the records and artists they’re from; a lot of the time, I’m picking my favorite songs from full albums that I loved (especially if it’s one of the albums I’m writing about!).
Some housekeeping notes on the playlists, before we dive in: the Spotify version is missing 8 songs. Three of those (the DDRKirby(ISQ) and Jamie Paige ones) are on the Youtube version. The Hiro Tadomatsu songs can be found on his Soundcloud (here and here). 7mai’s can be found on their Bandcamp page (here, here, and here). In fact, most of these artists also have Bandcamp pages you can check out; it’s where I found a lot of them! Things are roughly arranged in the order I go through in the article, but also obviously feel free to skip around if you want; it’s not like the pacing of the music and writing will sync up, I’m not that skillful.
Also, if you’re a fan of these playlists or my game articles and want to be notified when they go up here, a reminder that you can sign up for my Out of Left Field mailing list below!
Expert in a Dying Field, The Beths
I’m sure this will come as a shock to everyone, but my two playlists from last year featuring a few dozen recommendations? They don’t cover the entire sum of music released by humanity in the year 2022. So I spent the first but of the year catching up on some of the albums that I saw getting discussed on End of the Year Best lists, which is what brought me to New Zealand power pop band The Beths and their stellar record Expert in a Dying Field. And as you might be able to tell by looking at the contents of the playlist, I liked it so much that I wound up listening to even more of their stuff.
Really, I don’t know what else to say, other than it’s a perfect pop-rock record. The Beths excel at packing in catchy hooks and melodies that will get stuck in your head and have you singing along by the end of your first listen, even as they keep everything to reasonable lengths. The guitar riffs are jangly and energetic, the rhythm section is tight, and their vocal harmonies provide a lot of fun layering in the background. Lead singer Elizabeth Stokes has an understated but powerful vocal style that accentuates her lyrics, which have this beautiful melancholy to them, as she recounts all the anxieties that make up life and provides a cathartic release for those pent up emotions.
From the first notes of the opening titular track as it slowly builds from staccato pick ups to big chorus while weaving a metaphor between a failing relationship and seeing your life work die out, it has the way of just hooking you in, being relatable in an almost mundane way while also making you want to pump your fist to big guitar moments. But even the lower-key numbers, like “Your Side”, have an energy to them while still feeling intimate. And my favorite moment might be towards the end, “A Passing Rain”, another rumination on anxiety where Stokes relates her many fears before expressing shock and gratefulness at a partner who accepts her in spite of that, a sweet moment that’s made so much bigger by the kickass guitar riff and belted chorus of “I cave! Like I was built to break!/You stay! Like it’s a passing rain!” Man, it just feels like a high point that’s been slowly building for the entire album, even as there are so many good points on the way to it; I feel like I’m appreciating new songs each time I re-listen (even now, on my latest re-listen, I’m debating whether to swap in “Best Left” for one of these).
If you try Expert in a Dying Field and also find yourself liking it, my next move was trying the singles from before and after it, as well as their previous album, Jump Rope Gazers. It’s all just great in the same ways (check out “Dying to Believe” for a highlight), even if I think Expert is still a cut above them.
