The story is far too surreal to take seriously, but the constant barrage of imaginative, “I can’t believe they’re really taking it this far” moments and hilarious cameos make this one of the most fun indie titles I’ve yet encountered. Not only is Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden - independently developed or not - one of the single funniest games I have ever played, but it’s also a fun RPG in its own right. I don’t wanna say too much more, except to say that if you - like me - initially assumed Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden would be a mere exercise in style over substance, that it would only serve as one large, wacky joke which would quickly grow unfunny thanks to a complete lack of gameplay, then rest assured that you have nothing to fear. The familiarity of such a “been there, done that” RPG is offset by the sheer insanity of watching Charles Barkley use basketball shots to vanquish the reanimated corpses of NBA referees.

If you took away all the basketball references, you’d still have a perfectly serviceable (if obviously cliched) RPG storyline. Since the Great B-Ball Purge of 2041, he hasn’t picked up a basketball under threat of death at the hands of the fascist B-Ball Removal Department (headed by Michael Jordan). He’s jaded and cynical, and cares only about himself. No, the only real way to make the joke work - and Tales of Game had the intelligence to realize this, thank God - is to treat it as seriously as possible.Ĭharles Barkley has lost his wife, his friends, and his hope in the human race. With a premise as ridiculous as this, to start making self-aware gags or goofy jokes would be an act of comedic suicide.

If you’re going to set an RPG in the year 2053 in a postcyberapocalyptic universe where a Chaos Dunk destroys Manhattan Island and it’s up to Charles Barkley and the octaroon great-grandson of LeBron james to save the world, you can’t treat it as a joke.

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