22) Pinstripe (2017)

Developed by a single person, Thomas Brush, Pinstripe took a little over five years to create. Originally slated to be released in 2016, Brush took to Kickstarter in order to get funding to quit his full time job and focus solely on development. The Kickstarter not only met, but exceeded its goal in under two days, quickly hitting all of the set goals and stretch goals, which included a bonus level, a new game mode, and full voice acting. For the sake of full transparency in discussing my thoughts on the game, I was one of the people who helped fund the game, thus my name is included in the credits as a co-producer. Despite this, it took eight years to actually play the game, but it honestly helped, as the themes of the game resonate a bit differently with me now.

We play the game as Teddy, a former minister, as we begin the story riding on a train with our daughter, Bo. The train ride serves as our tutorial, teaching us the basics of movement and puzzle solving, before we meet a mysterious figure on the train. The figure introduces himself as Pinstripe and kidnaps Bo. Shortly after, the train crashes and the search for our daughter begins. As we explore, we find our dog George, who can talk, as well as Bo's slingshot, which serves as both our only form of defense and as a tool to solve puzzles. We meet inhabitants of the small town, all of whom seem more than a bit off, which can be attributed to them imbibing in Sack Juice, which is more or less what it sounds like, which is provided by Pinstripe.

The game is relatively short, but what's presented is an incredibly polished, well thought out and executed experience. The artwork is visually stunning, selling the sense of foreboding and melancholy. As you proceed, you'll occasionally be taunted by Pinstripe, who's presented as an otherworldly figure who has a tight grip on the land and its people. You'll also, with the aid of your dog George, collect clues that hint toward the actual plot and what led up to our initial train ride. While the underlying story isn't fully presented to you, it's not hard to infer and adds another layer of complexity to Teddy's search for his daughter.

The music in the game helps sell the feeling of dread and other-worldliness, as do the people you encounter in your journey. Everyone you meet is eccentric, if I'm being polite, and fucking insane if I'm being less so. Very few of them show any interest in helping you find your daughter, preferring instead to sit around and drink the aforementioned Sack Juice, which is presented as a poison that causes them to be lethargic and accept the world around them. All of the inhabitants are fully voice acted, with several prominent Youtubers lending their voices. Listen closely and you'll hear PewDiePie and JackSepticeye, as well as Danny Sexbang, lead singer of my favorite band, Ninja Sex Party.

While the game is relatively short, there is a modest amount of replay value. As you explore and interact with people, you're given dialogue choices that affect which ending you'll get. The choices are, rather plainly, being either rude or polite, with the rude options being obvious and over the top, though in a somewhat charming way. There are also weapons and outfits you can buy which, unless I missed something, are next to impossible to acquire on a first playthrough. These include outfits for George, dressing Teddy up in Pinstripe's suit, and trading in your slingshot for a fully automatic rifle. The game also lends itself quite well to speedrunning, which, while not a playstyle I personally like, I can still appreciate the value of.

The story, on the surface, is a somewhat simple affair of a father trying to save his daughter from a supernatual being. However, peel back that top coat and you get a much darker, though far more human tale. The full story, as presented by the items you collect, is one of a man driven to alcoholism by the loss of his wife. The people around him showed concern, but he brushed them away, and eventually he is involved in a drunken car crash that kills both him and his daughter. Pinstripe, it's revealed, is the name of his whiskey of choice, thus the idea of Pinstripe being this supernatural being that poisons people and takes his daughter away from him is sadly far more literal than one might think at first blush.

Overall, while I personally find the underlying narrative to be powerful and compelling, I have to admit to a certain degree of bias, both in the fact that I helped fund the game and due to real life events. Still, the game is charming with beautiful visuals and tight gameplay and mechanics. It's a thoroughly fun game made with a lot of love and care, made all the more impressive by the fact that everything, aside from the voices, is the work of one person.