AfroRyan's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Run, Jesus Run!]

The best Christian Videogame ever!

Not even kidding; the bible verses that reference each scene are perfect for anyone that is unfamiliar with the New Testament stories of Christ i.e. about 90% of Newgrounds. It's really funny that the most simple, 10 second microgame manages to teach people the Gospels better than any of the old NES games ever did.

The parody here runs deep; 'Jesus is a friend of mine' as the main 8-bit theme is hilarious on so many different levels. The best kind of parody is the kind that relates to the source material, understands the subject matter, all while managing to be funny and engaging. This is clearly that kind of parody. 10/10

That could have been an 11/10 had there been medals. 'But you can't give an 11/10' I hear you say; but brother, with God all things are possible.

[The Company of Myself]

One of the best examples supporting 'Art Games.'

This game manages to stand near the summit of the "Games are Art" debate, even above Braid in my opinion. Many games tell stories, but rarely does the gameplay actually ADD to the story. Everything about TCoM's gameplay compliments its story.

The music is somber, and fitting for such a melancholy tale. I nearly cried at the end due to the combined effects of the narrative, music, and 'reveals.'

The game is very touching, and the only flaw anyone could even bring up may be concerning the graphics/animation...but I'd argue that they needed to be relatively simple in order to allow as many machines to run it as possible. I admit that it would be hard to argue that TCoM's style is 'purposely' retro. It's even hard to argue that it's 'authentic' retro. However, the graphics are still better than many flash games out there, and still manage to be stylistic and consistent. If I had to think of one reason the graphics are effective to the overall experience, then I'd argue that due to the simplistic nature of the graphics and animation, it's much easier to focus on the story, and overall meaning of objects in the game. It may also add to the overall 'wow' factor at the end; in spite of having such simplistic graphics, TCoM still manages to have such a real emotional impact.

Truly, 'The Company of Myself' is a game that will always stay with me. As far as I'm concerned, a game designer could only hope to create a game as emotionally rich, yet non-abstract as TCoM.