Level Up: App, podcast & game of the week
Sylvia McKeown reviews 'The Nod', 'WeTransfer' and 'Night in the Woods'
GAME: Night in the Woods
It's a story that plays out like an indie movie. Your character is a college kid who's dropped out under mysterious circumstances and has to go home. Back in your home town your ex-bandmates and friends have moved on, but the locals still remember your past transgressions and won't let you forget them.
WATCH the trailer for the game
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You embarrass yourself in front of your ex-boyfriend at the cool party in the woods and, as one does, you discover a severed arm in the street. Wait a minute, did I mention that your character is a cat?
Night in the Woods has fantastic graphic illustrations and the dialogue is fun, personable and humorous. It's a favourite for a spot in my top 10 game of the year list.
• Available on Steam and Playstation 4.
PODCAST: The Nod
Co-hosted by self proclaimed "nerds of colour" Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings, The Nod is a podcast that explores African American culture with humour, a good grip on history and a lot of insight ... and occasionally peanut butter.
WATCH The Nod's hosts tell the back story of how they started the podcast
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Presented in a conversational reportage style, each show focuses on tackling a topic from a unique angle with the help of a outside voice and opinion; for example, a man who dresses and cooks like his enslaved ancestors.
If you have to listen to a single podcast episode this year make sure it is Greetings, My Brothas, in which Eric introduces Brittany to a Beyonce conspiracy theory. Hilarity ensues.
APP: WeTransfer
I've used WeTransfer faithfully on my computer for years, but when my photos became trapped on a new phone I discovered that my favourite file-sharing site had a handy mobile friend.
The WeTransfer app has everything its desktop version has, but in miniature, allowing you to simply tap your selection of pics in order to send it on its way. But now that phone cameras have bigger megapixels and layered imagery, e-mailing them with a 25mb Gmail cap won't cut it. What you need now is decent wi-fi.
• Available for Apple and Android.
• This article was originally published in The Times.