Penny Arcade is a comic strip about Tycho and Gabe, who are characterizations of their real-life creators. They have appeared in two previous video games. They (well, the real-life versions) host expos twice a year where thousands of fans wait for hours to hear them speak and revel in general nerdiness. They are also vastly more wealthy and famous than I will ever be. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is about the entirety of my knowledge of the Penny Arcade universe until I plugged in my Xbox controller and booted up Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3.
I think I should have studied a bit more.
Zeboyd Games, who previously helped that Lovecraftian monster save the world, has resurrected the dormant franchise and spruced it up with their 16-bit can of paint. Even though there’s a new developer, the game picks up just a few weeks after the previous two and feels very much a part of the same world. At least, I have to assume it does since I haven’t spent ten minutes with the previous games. If you’re better versed in Penny Arcade lore than I – and odds are, you are – the frequent cameos, plot twists, and references to events long-ago transpired probably make a lot more sense. But since we all only get one brain, I’m forced to approach the game through my n00b eyeballs, and you know what? It’s still pretty damned funny.
