KiSs
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Fire Emblem Engage
2023
Intelligent systems, is this a bit?
As soon as it was announced Engage is a game that was raising a bunch of red flags. Nostalgia baiting, the awful focus on a myunit, gimmicky new mechanics and fucking GACHA? The whole thing really looked like intelligent systems giving into the worst tendancies of post-awakening Fire Emblem.
And y'know, if that was it, i'd probably be at least fine with that. Fates, even revelations, one of the dumbest fucking things i've ever played, are all still at the very least, compelling. I have like 100 hours in Fates, embarassing as that is, because the Fire Emblem formula is still pretty great, conquest has like 5 good maps and the bad stuff is mostly ignorable. I have played fucking Gaiden to completion even after Echoes was out just to see what was up.
With engage ive got 15 hours in it and I can barely stomach a moment more. I want to keep going because I love FE. But I absolutely cannot stand this game.
Yes, like Fates, Engage is a game that falls prey to IS' stupid tendancies. But the real sin with Engage is that what has been cribbed about just does not gel together at all.
Main issue is bloat, on a gameplay level. Part of the genius of Fire Emblem is how really quite simple it all is, and how limited the resources and options really all are. The best section of the entire franchise, and it's not even close, is Thracia 776's Munster arc, a section which truly relies on you making the most of an incredibly limited toolset and pushing it as far as you can against overwhelming odds. Of course, over the years the complexity inevitably increased, to mixed but often positive results. Engage firmly goes too far though.
The big problem is the mixing of the social sim stuff from 3 houses whilst also incorporating its new stuff with the engage system and so on. Being able to boost stats and stuff in a hub was questionable but mosty worked in 3H, a game structured around it. In Engage all the stat boosting, friendship boosting, animal handling(why), minigames (WHY) are mindnumbing roadblocks to the fun strategy. These sorts of things have never really sat right in FE, where the ways damage formulas and speed formulas in particular work make tiny stat boosts often have huge implications, but this goes way too far in a game system very unsuited to it. It essentially stretches the preperations stage, already too long in most FEs, to being the majority of the game. It's unnaceptable.
And it's a real shame as a lot of the changes in the gameplay department are actually really good. Map design is probably the best it's been since radiant dawn, unit balance doesnt seem so overfocused on a small amount of strong units, bosses actually move about and honestly the engage system, regardless of it being insulting to the original characters and whatever, is a pretty neat gimmick honestly. It's a way more balanced version of pair up that gives effectively more burst damage and interesting techniques, which combined with enemies being generally stronger than previous games makes for an interesing loop. Obviously, its in this game so the execution is flubbed - the rings being limited in number kinda undoes the balance improvements on its own, and the skill inheritance, bonding, and gacha ring stuff is yet more pointless fluff to waste your damn time.
If the game just had the engage system over lets say, Radiance series levels of prep and other stuff going on, the gameplay could have been great, probably the best the series had seen in over a decade. But there's way too much going on to waste your time and it does not gel together.
The story and characters are so bafflingly bad I don't know who it's even for. As ludicrously bad as fates' are, at least it's very easy to pinpoint what's going for - the sheer power trip of being infalliable corrin, the stupid golden route both sides-ing and being able to have children with your big booba wyvern riding sister. Engage's is less bad in the "IS is down bad" regard, but it's worse in that it just completely forgets to have anything at all. It's completely hookless, the world and characters feel like they've got nothing going on at all, and it all feels very rote. The mystical/dragon elements feel tappen onto a pretty normal fire emblem plot and all they do is make the MC less personable and relatable. FE has only really had a good story in like 4 games, but it's structure as a series has always made it very easy to connect to characters and it has never dropped the ball this hard, and it's not like it's even trying something.
The whole game is just a confused mess, and doesnt even seem to be sure of who it's appeal is for. It's nostalgia bait to an extreme whilst barely resembling the simple, down to earth nature of those games. It goes for a simpler structure, dropping choice and most of the social sim elements (which people quite liked even if they're not entirely my bag), but keeps just enough of them to be really annoying. Characters are less of a focus for some reason? Romance is less of a thing? I can't even tell who this game is for because it feels like it consciously does something to alienate a fan of every game in the series, and it certaintly isnt for new players. Even as a "we needed 20 more characters to eventually put in heroes" joint it's a complete failure.
I hesitate to say this is the worst FE - Revelations is truly awful - but even Fates had like, an idea of what it was going for, as bad as what that is and as bad as it's execution is. Engage is aimless and awful and for the first time ever, it's easy for me to put an FE down.
As soon as it was announced Engage is a game that was raising a bunch of red flags. Nostalgia baiting, the awful focus on a myunit, gimmicky new mechanics and fucking GACHA? The whole thing really looked like intelligent systems giving into the worst tendancies of post-awakening Fire Emblem.
And y'know, if that was it, i'd probably be at least fine with that. Fates, even revelations, one of the dumbest fucking things i've ever played, are all still at the very least, compelling. I have like 100 hours in Fates, embarassing as that is, because the Fire Emblem formula is still pretty great, conquest has like 5 good maps and the bad stuff is mostly ignorable. I have played fucking Gaiden to completion even after Echoes was out just to see what was up.
With engage ive got 15 hours in it and I can barely stomach a moment more. I want to keep going because I love FE. But I absolutely cannot stand this game.
Yes, like Fates, Engage is a game that falls prey to IS' stupid tendancies. But the real sin with Engage is that what has been cribbed about just does not gel together at all.
Main issue is bloat, on a gameplay level. Part of the genius of Fire Emblem is how really quite simple it all is, and how limited the resources and options really all are. The best section of the entire franchise, and it's not even close, is Thracia 776's Munster arc, a section which truly relies on you making the most of an incredibly limited toolset and pushing it as far as you can against overwhelming odds. Of course, over the years the complexity inevitably increased, to mixed but often positive results. Engage firmly goes too far though.
The big problem is the mixing of the social sim stuff from 3 houses whilst also incorporating its new stuff with the engage system and so on. Being able to boost stats and stuff in a hub was questionable but mosty worked in 3H, a game structured around it. In Engage all the stat boosting, friendship boosting, animal handling(why), minigames (WHY) are mindnumbing roadblocks to the fun strategy. These sorts of things have never really sat right in FE, where the ways damage formulas and speed formulas in particular work make tiny stat boosts often have huge implications, but this goes way too far in a game system very unsuited to it. It essentially stretches the preperations stage, already too long in most FEs, to being the majority of the game. It's unnaceptable.
And it's a real shame as a lot of the changes in the gameplay department are actually really good. Map design is probably the best it's been since radiant dawn, unit balance doesnt seem so overfocused on a small amount of strong units, bosses actually move about and honestly the engage system, regardless of it being insulting to the original characters and whatever, is a pretty neat gimmick honestly. It's a way more balanced version of pair up that gives effectively more burst damage and interesting techniques, which combined with enemies being generally stronger than previous games makes for an interesing loop. Obviously, its in this game so the execution is flubbed - the rings being limited in number kinda undoes the balance improvements on its own, and the skill inheritance, bonding, and gacha ring stuff is yet more pointless fluff to waste your damn time.
If the game just had the engage system over lets say, Radiance series levels of prep and other stuff going on, the gameplay could have been great, probably the best the series had seen in over a decade. But there's way too much going on to waste your time and it does not gel together.
The story and characters are so bafflingly bad I don't know who it's even for. As ludicrously bad as fates' are, at least it's very easy to pinpoint what's going for - the sheer power trip of being infalliable corrin, the stupid golden route both sides-ing and being able to have children with your big booba wyvern riding sister. Engage's is less bad in the "IS is down bad" regard, but it's worse in that it just completely forgets to have anything at all. It's completely hookless, the world and characters feel like they've got nothing going on at all, and it all feels very rote. The mystical/dragon elements feel tappen onto a pretty normal fire emblem plot and all they do is make the MC less personable and relatable. FE has only really had a good story in like 4 games, but it's structure as a series has always made it very easy to connect to characters and it has never dropped the ball this hard, and it's not like it's even trying something.
The whole game is just a confused mess, and doesnt even seem to be sure of who it's appeal is for. It's nostalgia bait to an extreme whilst barely resembling the simple, down to earth nature of those games. It goes for a simpler structure, dropping choice and most of the social sim elements (which people quite liked even if they're not entirely my bag), but keeps just enough of them to be really annoying. Characters are less of a focus for some reason? Romance is less of a thing? I can't even tell who this game is for because it feels like it consciously does something to alienate a fan of every game in the series, and it certaintly isnt for new players. Even as a "we needed 20 more characters to eventually put in heroes" joint it's a complete failure.
I hesitate to say this is the worst FE - Revelations is truly awful - but even Fates had like, an idea of what it was going for, as bad as what that is and as bad as it's execution is. Engage is aimless and awful and for the first time ever, it's easy for me to put an FE down.
A game about being haunted by what could have been, a game about knowing exactly what you're going to be haunted by for the rest of your life before you've even had a chance to really live it, and a game about the tragedy of not being able to stop someone from being haunted the way you were.
And above all a game about knowing that in the midst of that, there are still experiences that are worth fighting to see, people that are worth fighting to save. Even if there are just a few.
And above all a game about knowing that in the midst of that, there are still experiences that are worth fighting to see, people that are worth fighting to save. Even if there are just a few.
metal gear solid 2 is arguably the most discussed videogame ever. you can just google “metal gear solid 2” with the words “meaning”, “themes”, “analysis”, “essay” or something like this that you will find plenty of articles and youtube videos. a lot of very good reviews on this game page here on backloggd, too. so… what can I say about it? everyone already said something. everyone already called it a postmodern masterpiece, everyone already called it a prophetic game, everyone already said how great the level geometry is, how deep the mechanics can be, everyone knows about the marketing campaign and how sexy raiden is and how well-written his relationship with rose is. everyone knows everything. what more can i say? still, metal gear solid 2 is the kind of game that you do want to say something. it feels impossible not want to, even if you lack words. for me, what i want to say this time, finishing it for the first time in 7 years, is: this is a very life-affirming game. it tells us that, even in the capitalist system we live in, controlled by the same old people, influencing everything we consume, molding our thoughts and ideals, we can still break free, shape our own personality and look for the meaning in our lives, building the future for the next generations. maybe we will not face a revolution, maybe we will not change the world, but someone will. our sons, grandsons or anyone influenced by our mark, we just need to pass the torch.
Atlus certainly did not waste the rare opportunity to tell a character focused story where most of the main cast isn’t composed of snot nosed brats. No stupid kids here to spoil the fun of leading a party of nothing but sad, pathetic individuals going through their quarter-life crisis. FUCK you, Persona 5. Adults ROCK!
Joking aside. Within the context of the Persona franchise, Eternal Punishment is definitely among one of the more distinct entries. As opposed to the other games, major character moments don’t consistently act as these scenes of clarity that overtly define a character’s progress as a person. In fact, it’s not uncommon that these moments will raise more questions than they answer, rarely ever making it immediately clear how a scene reflects on someone’s journey in the moment. And it’s through this handling where I think P2EP’s cast shines. At the start of the story, these characters feel genuinely detached from each other. They really struggle to open up, sometimes even lashing out over the simple idea of emotionally connecting. But they don’t strictly develop through opening up about their insecurities and immediately growing past them. It’s more so through their amazing chemistry and challenging each other through their unique perspectives on life that you feel a real bond begin to form. It’s a perfect balance between focusing on the cast members as individuals while also highlighting their importance in how they work as a collective.
I find one of the more under-appreciated aspects of Eternal Punishment are the major, fundamental changes it makes to Persona 2’s core to accommodate for the new, jaded perspective of its characters. The tone is far more subdued. Gone is the goofy, lighthearted bickering between Ginko and Eikichi; replaced now by moral conflicts of ideals between Katsuya and Baofu. The importance of individuality is put into question by the recurring motif of ‘Fate’. Asking what purpose is there to finding one’s self if one’s self can crumble under the power of nihilism, fortune, and higher powers? Its apparent emphasis on challenging gameplay, not only finally forces the player to fully engage with the duology’s battle mechanics, but reinforces the brutality the characters endure throughout the story. The game isn’t some cynical tale that spits in the face of its prequel. Nor is its prequel worse off because of its more outlandish and comedic nature. FAR from all of that. These aspects just allow for Eternal Punishment to act as a wonderful contrast to Innocent Sin, establishing a tone that compliments and builds off the heavy nature of the prequel’s final act.
Where Innocent Sin is remarkable for its effective balancing act of heartfelt character work and the most insane set pieces you could possibly imagine, Eternal Punishment looks to take a bit of a different approach with its priorities. The constantly escalating tension and shocking revelations remain, but the downtime between these moments become just as integral. It’s the short conversations mixed with powerful silence and contemplative penitence that’ll leave just as big of an impact as most of the overarching drama. It’s no surprise one of the lead writer’s favorite scenes is a short, one minute exchange revolving around the nature of adulthood where most of the dialogue boxes are filled with nothing but pauses.
As I further age into early adulthood, it’s easy to get lost in the confusion spurred forth by taxing shit like sin, identity, and especially responsibility. I’m not usually one to see myself reflected somewhere within a story’s world, but I find it’s so easy to attach myself to a cast so… human in their writing and presentation. Whether it be Ulala’s longing for comfort. Katsuya and Baofu’s ever-present battle with their regret. Tatsuya struggling to introspect on his strange, confusing life while dealing with consequence. Or the way everyone is able to find some sort of value in their relationships and provide for each other in their own ways. There’s a resonant aspect to find in every character that hits twice as hard thanks to the narrative’s mature handling of its personal beats.
It’s good, for my sake, that Eternal Punishment is here to affirm that there truly are some good things about being an adult… Just a few.
Joking aside. Within the context of the Persona franchise, Eternal Punishment is definitely among one of the more distinct entries. As opposed to the other games, major character moments don’t consistently act as these scenes of clarity that overtly define a character’s progress as a person. In fact, it’s not uncommon that these moments will raise more questions than they answer, rarely ever making it immediately clear how a scene reflects on someone’s journey in the moment. And it’s through this handling where I think P2EP’s cast shines. At the start of the story, these characters feel genuinely detached from each other. They really struggle to open up, sometimes even lashing out over the simple idea of emotionally connecting. But they don’t strictly develop through opening up about their insecurities and immediately growing past them. It’s more so through their amazing chemistry and challenging each other through their unique perspectives on life that you feel a real bond begin to form. It’s a perfect balance between focusing on the cast members as individuals while also highlighting their importance in how they work as a collective.
I find one of the more under-appreciated aspects of Eternal Punishment are the major, fundamental changes it makes to Persona 2’s core to accommodate for the new, jaded perspective of its characters. The tone is far more subdued. Gone is the goofy, lighthearted bickering between Ginko and Eikichi; replaced now by moral conflicts of ideals between Katsuya and Baofu. The importance of individuality is put into question by the recurring motif of ‘Fate’. Asking what purpose is there to finding one’s self if one’s self can crumble under the power of nihilism, fortune, and higher powers? Its apparent emphasis on challenging gameplay, not only finally forces the player to fully engage with the duology’s battle mechanics, but reinforces the brutality the characters endure throughout the story. The game isn’t some cynical tale that spits in the face of its prequel. Nor is its prequel worse off because of its more outlandish and comedic nature. FAR from all of that. These aspects just allow for Eternal Punishment to act as a wonderful contrast to Innocent Sin, establishing a tone that compliments and builds off the heavy nature of the prequel’s final act.
Where Innocent Sin is remarkable for its effective balancing act of heartfelt character work and the most insane set pieces you could possibly imagine, Eternal Punishment looks to take a bit of a different approach with its priorities. The constantly escalating tension and shocking revelations remain, but the downtime between these moments become just as integral. It’s the short conversations mixed with powerful silence and contemplative penitence that’ll leave just as big of an impact as most of the overarching drama. It’s no surprise one of the lead writer’s favorite scenes is a short, one minute exchange revolving around the nature of adulthood where most of the dialogue boxes are filled with nothing but pauses.
As I further age into early adulthood, it’s easy to get lost in the confusion spurred forth by taxing shit like sin, identity, and especially responsibility. I’m not usually one to see myself reflected somewhere within a story’s world, but I find it’s so easy to attach myself to a cast so… human in their writing and presentation. Whether it be Ulala’s longing for comfort. Katsuya and Baofu’s ever-present battle with their regret. Tatsuya struggling to introspect on his strange, confusing life while dealing with consequence. Or the way everyone is able to find some sort of value in their relationships and provide for each other in their own ways. There’s a resonant aspect to find in every character that hits twice as hard thanks to the narrative’s mature handling of its personal beats.
It’s good, for my sake, that Eternal Punishment is here to affirm that there truly are some good things about being an adult… Just a few.
Signalis
2022
A nearly perfect sapphic love-letter to horror and sci-fi.
At the time of writing I've only gotten one ending of Signalis but I'll be getting the others ASAP. I don't even know where to begin with this game, I've been a huge fan of survival horror games most of my life and frankly I think Signalis is one of the best ever made. It's got a fun, tense gameplay loop, the item management may be a bit of stress to some people but after a bit it clicked with me and I found joy in planning routes and using resources, also frankly I think a lot of people that play Signalis and games like it are a little TOO hoard-happy, use those bullets baby! The lore and story are tight and interestingly told in a way that reminds me of early Silent Hills or Twin Peaks, where you are given a lot of concrete facts, a lot of symbolism, and you have to kind of discuss and piece together parts, but not in a way where things are overly cryptic or unexplained, quite the opposite. People (read:me) have discussed and theorized elements of Silent Hill's world, lore and symbolism for literal years and I feel strongly Signalis will have this same effect. Sorry if this review is kind of all over the place, I have played a lot of games in my life but this one is new yet already so truly special to me I hope I can make even one person try it out!
At the time of writing I've only gotten one ending of Signalis but I'll be getting the others ASAP. I don't even know where to begin with this game, I've been a huge fan of survival horror games most of my life and frankly I think Signalis is one of the best ever made. It's got a fun, tense gameplay loop, the item management may be a bit of stress to some people but after a bit it clicked with me and I found joy in planning routes and using resources, also frankly I think a lot of people that play Signalis and games like it are a little TOO hoard-happy, use those bullets baby! The lore and story are tight and interestingly told in a way that reminds me of early Silent Hills or Twin Peaks, where you are given a lot of concrete facts, a lot of symbolism, and you have to kind of discuss and piece together parts, but not in a way where things are overly cryptic or unexplained, quite the opposite. People (read:me) have discussed and theorized elements of Silent Hill's world, lore and symbolism for literal years and I feel strongly Signalis will have this same effect. Sorry if this review is kind of all over the place, I have played a lot of games in my life but this one is new yet already so truly special to me I hope I can make even one person try it out!
Fire Emblem Engage
2023
Do you like Genshin? Do you like Vtubers? Do you like FEH? Here’s all of that!
So this is the supposedly latest "mainline" game in this franchise. I know Engage is allegedly a game celebrating
the 30th anniversary of FE, but that's even worse. Bold move celebrating the 30th anniversary of FE with a game that doesn't look like FE at all.
FE always looked like anime and followed the latest trends in artstyle etc, but all character designs still had a coherent theme. The medieval europe aesthetic was always a big influence. Even in a horny game like Fates (even the Hoshido desgins were coherent for the aesthetics of the nation). Ignoring the fanservice most designs looked decent (though there were some stinkers like Peri).
But Engage looks like it has no theme at all. It's just "fantasy" and goofy. The character designs are all over the place like they're all from different fantasy gacha games.
These designs seem like a perfect blend of every currrent day anime design trope and it just looks soulless as a result.
This artstyle is by far the worst the series has ever seen, and it makes me appreciate Three Houses, SoV, Path of Radiance etc. all the more. You know what actually bothers me the most, more than just disliking the aesthetics of the designs? All the women I see look like goddamn kids and suffer from same face syndrome. And my god, the 3D models in general look absolutely atrocious. Even the past lords look like shit in this game's style. Engage is certainly more colorful, but that's honestly it. The textures in Engage are another problem, they're mostly not there. The textures on everything are so flat. Everything looks so artificial because of it. FE3H was not a good looking game but I expected more from a game that released nearly 4 years later.
This game looks like a dollar store genshin that collabs with FE, but at least the Genshin characters look coherent for the themes and aesthetics of the nation they come from.
Colgate and friends look like a travelling circus. I remember when some pictures of this game leaked some time ago and people were 100% convinced that this was a chinese bootleg FE gacha, because of course they would.
Well, let's talk about the gameplay. It's FE so the gameplay was bound to be fun. People say that Engage is going back to its roots because the game "focuses more on the
tactical gameplay than the story, lore and characters". While it's true that Engage offers more variety in the tactical side of things, it still falls flat since the game is lacking some kind of balance. Thanks to the rings units are broken from the start. The problem is, to balance against this, you’d need to have absurdly difficult enemy units, who would invalidate all non-ring using characters and they didn't do that. Though, there are units/classes that are broken in general, so clearing maps wasn't really challenging. Engage offers average FE gameplay with some neat battle animation updates. There are some improvements, but also some step backs. But hey, at least we got weapon triangle back, right?
This is by far one of the easiest FE game I've played. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is fun but it's not "more challenging" than the past games in that regard. Also, Engage got new game modes and mechanics that are straight up from FEH and I'm not a fan.
The story...exists. Most FE stories aren't really all that unique but can still be enjoyed as political dramas on surface level for most of the time (I greatly enjoyed PoR, Thracia and 3H)
Engage's plot is the most vanilla, over the top anime story in this franchise and I mean this in a bad way. Yeah, it's even more "anime" than Fates. The story simply does not live up to previous installments in the series writing-wise.
Oh and Emblem heroes don't factor much into the plot at all, even Marth.
Also, I hate the "but FE was always anime!!!" argument. Yeah, no shit. Anime can have different genres, artstyle and a difference in tone and groundedness. Not every modern anime has to look like a generic moe harem isekai. Because you know, even "anime" can be serious. And it's not like the series cannot try to do that these days - see SoV and 3H. Now, I'm not against lighthearted plots in this franchise, but Engage's plot is just a joke that overstays its welcome way too long. It's been a while since I cringed so many times while playing a game.
The cast is also the most forgettable one. None of the characters felt unique or interesting in any way. Everyone here is meant to either be a laugh, a bland stereotype, or combination of the two. So, tiresome one-note gimmicks whose character profile never left the draft drawer but was put into the game anyway. Supports heavily focus on the character's gimmicks, which got annoying very fast. The supports are not engaging in any way. It's quantity over quality. All of them are very short, but I appreciate that they fully voiced all of them.
Honestly, the only reason I played this game is because I love Fire Emblem and wanted to give this game a chance. I enjoy FE gameplay, but even good gameplay can get tedious and boring if I don't care about the rest of the game. After finishing a map, I got rewarded with more over the top anime crap and meh characters. I was just not invested enough because of that and hated my time with it as a result. See, I love plenty of gameplay-focused games. The issue is that Engage isn't structured like a gameplay-focused game, it's structured like a game with a shit story featuring shitty characters. Does it give you a rough outline of a story to then let you play freely with no distraction? No. It's not a dungeon crawler, it's not XCOM, it's a very classic FE game with tons of character introductions and interactions that are wasting your time, they're just bad. I can't just admit the game's writing is so shit that it's better to skip every cutscene and call that "gameplay-focused", it's clearly a failure and not the intended experience. That was the worst experience I had with a FE game.
The only interesting thing about Engage are the past lords but if I want to see them I just play their games, where they look decent and not like...this. They're also not even able to
interact with each other or are all that relevant in the story, so whats the point of this "celebration"? That you'll point at your favorite lords and clap? That's what FEH is for. This game that shoves in generic anime designs, gags, lines, acting, same baby face women, and non fitting outfits and other elements is for me the worst FE game. I hope the next one will be better, because this was very disappointing after FE3H's big success. I understand that Engage is supposed to be a goofy and lighthearted "celebration" of this franchise, but why is it mainline? And why is it done so bad? There are many other and better ways to celebrate this franchise that I came to really love. But not like this. It's nothing more than a soulless cashgrab.
(The game leaked a few days ago, so I had the chance to play it early.)
So this is the supposedly latest "mainline" game in this franchise. I know Engage is allegedly a game celebrating
the 30th anniversary of FE, but that's even worse. Bold move celebrating the 30th anniversary of FE with a game that doesn't look like FE at all.
FE always looked like anime and followed the latest trends in artstyle etc, but all character designs still had a coherent theme. The medieval europe aesthetic was always a big influence. Even in a horny game like Fates (even the Hoshido desgins were coherent for the aesthetics of the nation). Ignoring the fanservice most designs looked decent (though there were some stinkers like Peri).
But Engage looks like it has no theme at all. It's just "fantasy" and goofy. The character designs are all over the place like they're all from different fantasy gacha games.
These designs seem like a perfect blend of every currrent day anime design trope and it just looks soulless as a result.
This artstyle is by far the worst the series has ever seen, and it makes me appreciate Three Houses, SoV, Path of Radiance etc. all the more. You know what actually bothers me the most, more than just disliking the aesthetics of the designs? All the women I see look like goddamn kids and suffer from same face syndrome. And my god, the 3D models in general look absolutely atrocious. Even the past lords look like shit in this game's style. Engage is certainly more colorful, but that's honestly it. The textures in Engage are another problem, they're mostly not there. The textures on everything are so flat. Everything looks so artificial because of it. FE3H was not a good looking game but I expected more from a game that released nearly 4 years later.
This game looks like a dollar store genshin that collabs with FE, but at least the Genshin characters look coherent for the themes and aesthetics of the nation they come from.
Colgate and friends look like a travelling circus. I remember when some pictures of this game leaked some time ago and people were 100% convinced that this was a chinese bootleg FE gacha, because of course they would.
Well, let's talk about the gameplay. It's FE so the gameplay was bound to be fun. People say that Engage is going back to its roots because the game "focuses more on the
tactical gameplay than the story, lore and characters". While it's true that Engage offers more variety in the tactical side of things, it still falls flat since the game is lacking some kind of balance. Thanks to the rings units are broken from the start. The problem is, to balance against this, you’d need to have absurdly difficult enemy units, who would invalidate all non-ring using characters and they didn't do that. Though, there are units/classes that are broken in general, so clearing maps wasn't really challenging. Engage offers average FE gameplay with some neat battle animation updates. There are some improvements, but also some step backs. But hey, at least we got weapon triangle back, right?
This is by far one of the easiest FE game I've played. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is fun but it's not "more challenging" than the past games in that regard. Also, Engage got new game modes and mechanics that are straight up from FEH and I'm not a fan.
The story...exists. Most FE stories aren't really all that unique but can still be enjoyed as political dramas on surface level for most of the time (I greatly enjoyed PoR, Thracia and 3H)
Engage's plot is the most vanilla, over the top anime story in this franchise and I mean this in a bad way. Yeah, it's even more "anime" than Fates. The story simply does not live up to previous installments in the series writing-wise.
Oh and Emblem heroes don't factor much into the plot at all, even Marth.
Also, I hate the "but FE was always anime!!!" argument. Yeah, no shit. Anime can have different genres, artstyle and a difference in tone and groundedness. Not every modern anime has to look like a generic moe harem isekai. Because you know, even "anime" can be serious. And it's not like the series cannot try to do that these days - see SoV and 3H. Now, I'm not against lighthearted plots in this franchise, but Engage's plot is just a joke that overstays its welcome way too long. It's been a while since I cringed so many times while playing a game.
The cast is also the most forgettable one. None of the characters felt unique or interesting in any way. Everyone here is meant to either be a laugh, a bland stereotype, or combination of the two. So, tiresome one-note gimmicks whose character profile never left the draft drawer but was put into the game anyway. Supports heavily focus on the character's gimmicks, which got annoying very fast. The supports are not engaging in any way. It's quantity over quality. All of them are very short, but I appreciate that they fully voiced all of them.
Honestly, the only reason I played this game is because I love Fire Emblem and wanted to give this game a chance. I enjoy FE gameplay, but even good gameplay can get tedious and boring if I don't care about the rest of the game. After finishing a map, I got rewarded with more over the top anime crap and meh characters. I was just not invested enough because of that and hated my time with it as a result. See, I love plenty of gameplay-focused games. The issue is that Engage isn't structured like a gameplay-focused game, it's structured like a game with a shit story featuring shitty characters. Does it give you a rough outline of a story to then let you play freely with no distraction? No. It's not a dungeon crawler, it's not XCOM, it's a very classic FE game with tons of character introductions and interactions that are wasting your time, they're just bad. I can't just admit the game's writing is so shit that it's better to skip every cutscene and call that "gameplay-focused", it's clearly a failure and not the intended experience. That was the worst experience I had with a FE game.
The only interesting thing about Engage are the past lords but if I want to see them I just play their games, where they look decent and not like...this. They're also not even able to
interact with each other or are all that relevant in the story, so whats the point of this "celebration"? That you'll point at your favorite lords and clap? That's what FEH is for. This game that shoves in generic anime designs, gags, lines, acting, same baby face women, and non fitting outfits and other elements is for me the worst FE game. I hope the next one will be better, because this was very disappointing after FE3H's big success. I understand that Engage is supposed to be a goofy and lighthearted "celebration" of this franchise, but why is it mainline? And why is it done so bad? There are many other and better ways to celebrate this franchise that I came to really love. But not like this. It's nothing more than a soulless cashgrab.
(The game leaked a few days ago, so I had the chance to play it early.)
Silent Hill 2
2001
A story that deals with tragedy, along with self-loathing, mistakes and pain and how these characters deal with it. A gloomy and oppressive atmosphere that's on point. This is psychological horror at its finest.
To me this game was more psychological than scary. Some moments were tense, yes, but it was definitely more of a mind bender which I personally enjoy way more than mindless gore and jumpscares.
The voice acting wasn't the best but the game certainly made up for it with its narration, details, music and use of sounds.
To me this game was more psychological than scary. Some moments were tense, yes, but it was definitely more of a mind bender which I personally enjoy way more than mindless gore and jumpscares.
The voice acting wasn't the best but the game certainly made up for it with its narration, details, music and use of sounds.
Signalis
2022
couldn't dream this shit up
Signalis
2022
It is hard to describe how much joy it brings me that there are a pair of brilliant minds at the helm of rose-engine who truly understand the horror video game genre. SIGNALIS feels like the best of all worlds, having borrowed the best parts of its predecessors to create something unique.
From the moment you open up the inventory screen for the first time, the inspiration is plain. The Silent Hill/Resident Evil is here, and the striking art style comes from a fidelity just above the PS1 era but not PS2. You also aren't locked to tank controls, and can even move around while aiming. There are a multitude of weapons (evidently a couple of which are very missable), but the ones I did not miss sound and feel amazing. The game also even features a radio, but unlike the one featured in the Silent Hill series, there are quite a lot of extra gameplay functions, many puzzles of which make use of tuning it to different channels to find solutions. A lot of the major puzzles lean a little too often on being collectathons to unlock your next area, but they are usually made up of smaller more interesting puzzles to claim the pieces. The map screen is well done too, marking the names of rooms you have visited and the status of doors you have tried (unlocked/locked/broken). It will also mark key interactables if present, but you aren't told if you have picked up every item which I feel is a good balance.
The story is intriguing and emotional with a focused cast of interesting characters and themes, and the tone is a lot closer to something like Silent Hill than Resident Evil. If you love classic survival horror and science fiction, SIGNALIS is unmissable. I'm really glad there are game creators out there who still truly get it.
From the moment you open up the inventory screen for the first time, the inspiration is plain. The Silent Hill/Resident Evil is here, and the striking art style comes from a fidelity just above the PS1 era but not PS2. You also aren't locked to tank controls, and can even move around while aiming. There are a multitude of weapons (evidently a couple of which are very missable), but the ones I did not miss sound and feel amazing. The game also even features a radio, but unlike the one featured in the Silent Hill series, there are quite a lot of extra gameplay functions, many puzzles of which make use of tuning it to different channels to find solutions. A lot of the major puzzles lean a little too often on being collectathons to unlock your next area, but they are usually made up of smaller more interesting puzzles to claim the pieces. The map screen is well done too, marking the names of rooms you have visited and the status of doors you have tried (unlocked/locked/broken). It will also mark key interactables if present, but you aren't told if you have picked up every item which I feel is a good balance.
The story is intriguing and emotional with a focused cast of interesting characters and themes, and the tone is a lot closer to something like Silent Hill than Resident Evil. If you love classic survival horror and science fiction, SIGNALIS is unmissable. I'm really glad there are game creators out there who still truly get it.
Good morning.
This farewell is as sad for me as it is for you.
I’ve prepared a goodbye party for tonight. A game competition will be included as well, so please feel free to participate.
The difficulty is small, but not to be trifled with.
As this will be the last opportunity, why not take part yourself?
Written in 1928 by S. S. Van Dine, the article “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories” is a fascinating collection of 20 writing regulations that could, in theory, elevate a given investigation tale to its best possible iteration. Described by close friend and timeless author T. S. Eliot, as to one day having a nervous breakdown and spending the following 2 years in bed reading more than two thousand detective stories, the poet argues that during that time, Van Dine methodically distilled the genre’s formulas and began writing novels, to which he considered them to be masterpieces.
Out of his absurdly strict rulings, some may argue that most of them can in fact improve the narrative such as (10) stating that the culprit must play a role in the story and (15) stating that the truth of the problem must at all times be apparent, giving so a chance to the reader to decipher the story alongside the detective and not having to rely on hunches from time to time. The reception for his failed jurisdiction on the detective genre became a moderate success from the makers of such stories but not so much by the fans. It rejected possible clichés such as (11) servants not being able to be the culprits, and narratives that were not explored around enough at time such as (12) multiple culprits. People like clichés what can you do...
Over time however, reception of it started to get even worse, not only because of what was mentioned before, but in no small part due to the release in the following year of a much moreCHAD reasonable article dissecting the mystery genre and its inner workings, called Knox's Decalogue, written by Ronald Knox. In one of literature's biggest middle finger ever, his 10 points were almost 1 to 1 with half of the Twenty Rules, prioritized giving the viewer a fair challenge of a tale, but this time allowing cliché tropes and creative liberties about its possible cast. Imagine Van Dine’s reaction seeing that become overwhelmingly more praised from writers and viewers alike. Take this big fucking L, nerd.
And while we get gaslit into thinking that the viewers rights to “fight back” in the intellectual game wasnt started by Dine, he will probably keep seething in his grave over the fact that some rules are obviously made to be broken at times, simply for fun. Even looking at the books in "golden age", some break fundamental rules that are praised nonetheless for it's creativity, as sometimes you can fix this unfairness in the game by using foreshadowing effectively (hats off to Disco Elysium). I am here solely to add to his perpetual torment in the history books arguing that his ruling number 3 in particular, is fundamentally why people like me and other highly sexy and intellectual individuals preffer theCHAD reasonable Knox's Decalogue more.
COMMANDMENT 3:
THERE MUST BE NO LOVE INTEREST. THE BUSINESS IN HAND IS TO BRING A CRIMINAL TO THE BAR OF JUSTICE, NOT TO BRING A LOVELORN COUPLE TO THE HYMENEAL ALTAR
It’s easy to just stop here and think about how many great mysteries would have not existed or be less impactful had every writer followed up on that, but we have to remember that this comes from someone living in what was soon perceived as the “golden years” for said genre. While you could argue that love could bypass any resemblance of a logical reasoning to which it would be the ends but not the why’s (aka when love devolves into lunacy with the killer incessantly screaming “I loved her” while being taken away) these are far and few between to be argued on Van Dine’s favor. Human affection can and will lead to insanity, but if the ultimate end goal is also one, was it really love?
The important element about love as a reason that has failed to be comprehended here, is that it can take many forms that I simply wouldn’t have time to begin describing here, as with just the change of a simple word in “love for others” becoming “love of others” you can turn tragedy into fortune. While the advent of romantic love that is heavily implied here does mean that the amount of plausible given possibilities are diminished, lesser infinities are still endless.
Now I’m sorry, but will there EVER be a better motive to kill, murder and slaughter someone, than the reason that brings up the loss of reason itself?
I will go further. There CANNOT be a single plausible reason for a murder in a tale that values the life of its characters and doesn't treat them as pieces waiting to fall off the board, other than actions relating to the innate fondness of others that we so desperately need. A given character in a tale that has their own romantic life all figured out should never be the killer nor suspect, as the most impactful and sincere motivation, from the bottom of their hearts, cannot be present.
Van Dine’s precepts make it very clear that (17) crimes by house-breakers and bandits are the province of the police department, not of authors and brilliant amateur detectives. If you fail to treat your victims and killers with the same amount of respect for an action that isn’t guided by an illogical leap-of-faith that seeks adoration of some sort, was it really a murderer or an overly intricate common burglar?
Love is the reason we sin.
Love is the reason we go further.
Love is the reason we are humans.
And to put it extremely bluntly.
Love just makes us do some stupid ass shit.
“ Love is generous, love is merciful.
Love does not envy, it does not boast. “ - Zepar & Furfur
" At times, love can make the invisible visible. " - Featherine
“ The love we give away is the only love we keep. “ - Ushiromiya Ange
“ To fear love is to fear life, and vice-versa.
One must never embrace death as long as love persists. “ - Ronove
“ Without love, it cannot be seen. “ - Beatrice
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Welp, I’ve used all my pretentiousness for now.
I know someone really special will be reading this soon so I’ll be brief now.
Merry Christmas Audrey.
I love you so much.
Do you want to be my girlfriend?
This farewell is as sad for me as it is for you.
I’ve prepared a goodbye party for tonight. A game competition will be included as well, so please feel free to participate.
The difficulty is small, but not to be trifled with.
As this will be the last opportunity, why not take part yourself?
Written in 1928 by S. S. Van Dine, the article “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories” is a fascinating collection of 20 writing regulations that could, in theory, elevate a given investigation tale to its best possible iteration. Described by close friend and timeless author T. S. Eliot, as to one day having a nervous breakdown and spending the following 2 years in bed reading more than two thousand detective stories, the poet argues that during that time, Van Dine methodically distilled the genre’s formulas and began writing novels, to which he considered them to be masterpieces.
Out of his absurdly strict rulings, some may argue that most of them can in fact improve the narrative such as (10) stating that the culprit must play a role in the story and (15) stating that the truth of the problem must at all times be apparent, giving so a chance to the reader to decipher the story alongside the detective and not having to rely on hunches from time to time. The reception for his failed jurisdiction on the detective genre became a moderate success from the makers of such stories but not so much by the fans. It rejected possible clichés such as (11) servants not being able to be the culprits, and narratives that were not explored around enough at time such as (12) multiple culprits. People like clichés what can you do...
Over time however, reception of it started to get even worse, not only because of what was mentioned before, but in no small part due to the release in the following year of a much more
And while we get gaslit into thinking that the viewers rights to “fight back” in the intellectual game wasnt started by Dine, he will probably keep seething in his grave over the fact that some rules are obviously made to be broken at times, simply for fun. Even looking at the books in "golden age", some break fundamental rules that are praised nonetheless for it's creativity, as sometimes you can fix this unfairness in the game by using foreshadowing effectively (hats off to Disco Elysium). I am here solely to add to his perpetual torment in the history books arguing that his ruling number 3 in particular, is fundamentally why people like me and other highly sexy and intellectual individuals preffer the
COMMANDMENT 3:
THERE MUST BE NO LOVE INTEREST. THE BUSINESS IN HAND IS TO BRING A CRIMINAL TO THE BAR OF JUSTICE, NOT TO BRING A LOVELORN COUPLE TO THE HYMENEAL ALTAR
It’s easy to just stop here and think about how many great mysteries would have not existed or be less impactful had every writer followed up on that, but we have to remember that this comes from someone living in what was soon perceived as the “golden years” for said genre. While you could argue that love could bypass any resemblance of a logical reasoning to which it would be the ends but not the why’s (aka when love devolves into lunacy with the killer incessantly screaming “I loved her” while being taken away) these are far and few between to be argued on Van Dine’s favor. Human affection can and will lead to insanity, but if the ultimate end goal is also one, was it really love?
The important element about love as a reason that has failed to be comprehended here, is that it can take many forms that I simply wouldn’t have time to begin describing here, as with just the change of a simple word in “love for others” becoming “love of others” you can turn tragedy into fortune. While the advent of romantic love that is heavily implied here does mean that the amount of plausible given possibilities are diminished, lesser infinities are still endless.
Now I’m sorry, but will there EVER be a better motive to kill, murder and slaughter someone, than the reason that brings up the loss of reason itself?
I will go further. There CANNOT be a single plausible reason for a murder in a tale that values the life of its characters and doesn't treat them as pieces waiting to fall off the board, other than actions relating to the innate fondness of others that we so desperately need. A given character in a tale that has their own romantic life all figured out should never be the killer nor suspect, as the most impactful and sincere motivation, from the bottom of their hearts, cannot be present.
Van Dine’s precepts make it very clear that (17) crimes by house-breakers and bandits are the province of the police department, not of authors and brilliant amateur detectives. If you fail to treat your victims and killers with the same amount of respect for an action that isn’t guided by an illogical leap-of-faith that seeks adoration of some sort, was it really a murderer or an overly intricate common burglar?
Love is the reason we sin.
Love is the reason we go further.
Love is the reason we are humans.
And to put it extremely bluntly.
Love just makes us do some stupid ass shit.
“ Love is generous, love is merciful.
Love does not envy, it does not boast. “ - Zepar & Furfur
" At times, love can make the invisible visible. " - Featherine
“ The love we give away is the only love we keep. “ - Ushiromiya Ange
“ To fear love is to fear life, and vice-versa.
One must never embrace death as long as love persists. “ - Ronove
“ Without love, it cannot be seen. “ - Beatrice
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Welp, I’ve used all my pretentiousness for now.
I know someone really special will be reading this soon so I’ll be brief now.
Merry Christmas Audrey.
I love you so much.
Do you want to be my girlfriend?
God of War Ragnarök
2022
love to get backseated in a game with the complexity of a "put the shape in the hole" puzzle for toddlers
[Every year my buddy starts a “year in review” thread where a bunch of friends and friends of friends share their favorite things/experiences of the year. Since I played the entirety of FFXIV over the past 10 months, I wrote a piece about it and figured I’d copy it here]
…Legs weary from a day spent in the chocobo saddle, I reclined on a bench in the heart of a town tucked cozy away in an ancient forest and watched a man named Daddy pluck the sugary notes of "Californication" on a glowing guitar, while a nearby gaggle of catgirls whipped out brooms and tried in vain to sweep in rhythm to the song. I was home…
2022 was the shittiest year of my life. I spent much of it watching my dad die—the ALS slowly wearing his muscles down to nothing. The inevitability of an incurable disease means you start the grieving process while the subject of your grief is still beside you. It’s weird and intense
Weeks and months spent with family in my hometown tugged at a slowly tightening knot that reprieves in the city where I currently live would loosen again. Although the greatest source of relief for me was my family and friends and the good times I still managed to have with them this year, I'm also a big believer in escapism, and boy did I do some escaping this year: a vital means of loosening that knot was Final Fantasy XIV, a fathomless game that can swallow you whole
In FFXIV, you're dropped into a vast and bewildering and beautiful world, the result of over a decade of work by a whole (whole) lot of people. Simply put, you go on an adventure. Less simply put, you play through action-packed quests while engaging with a sprawling narrative in a world inhabited by many other human players (leading to spontaneous moments of amusement like the one described in the prelude)
FFXIV’s quests are consistently imaginative and wonderful and filled with meticulous mechanics and design. I chose to play as a healer when teaming up with others, and found it one of the most singular experiences I've had with a game. I would get zoned into this pristine zen-like state of thought-to-action translation, a deluge of information reverberating around my skull from which I would glean a single Next Action to take from dozens of possibilities. And then half a second later it's time to do it again. It's gameplay enlightenment. The feeling of muscling your party back from the brink of death to finish off some creative horror and then setting off again to explore more wondrous locales never got old
"…in the end, I will always be of the sea," Yugiri said, wistfully casting her gaze toward her hometown, out of sight over the endless waves, as the nation she swore to protect lay shattered and blazing at our backs. I watched her desperately try to reconcile her origins with her present duties after brutally bearing witness to the fear and despair that had left her countrymen broken under the iron fist of their oppressor. The delivery of her monologue paired with the swelling, haunting orchestral accompaniment set my mind on fire…
From hour one, FFXIV shines for its deep gameplay systems framed in a gorgeously crafted world. Sadly, the narrative of the early game isn't quite on par in quality, offering only a boilerplate fantasy storyline. With its first two expansions, the broader ambition of the writing team begins to come into focus, and the story becomes more than satisfying enough to propel you through the game's myriad content, but, like many a broadly swept epic narrative, the many plot threads that are woven can feel uneven, and some become neglected over time in favor of ever-fresh, ever-new ones. With the third expansion, Shadowbringers, however, they handed the keys to Natsuko Ishikawa and let her finally tie this monstrous work together with a story that transcends the whole affair into pure sublimity (and thus unfortunately making this game the ultimate and worst example of "you just have to get x hours in and then it gets really good," and therefore a difficult investment to wholeheartedly recommend to anyone)
[heads up: the next two paragraphs contain Shadowbringers spoilers]
Despite my love for hyperbole, I will stop quite a ways short of calling Shadowbringers the greatest story ever told……however! I will say it pulls off the most remarkable magic trick I've ever seen in fictional storytelling. It plucks you up out of the world that's been laboriously built up around you, and plops you down in an alien and dying land utterly isolated from everything you know. Here you might say, "Ah I see, the writers unload themselves of the baggage of the earlier plot to give themselves the freedom to tell a whole new story." To which I would smugly retort, "Wrong! While forging this new story in a new world, they also simultaneously resurrect every single one of the threads they constructed over the first few hundred hours of the game and manage to re-contextualize everything in a way that retroactively makes every bit of the preceding narrative orders of magnitude better in hindsight!" That's the magic trick
One key conduit for Shadowbringers' narrative success is one of the most miraculously conceived and executed villains I've ever had the pleasure of traveling with in a game (in one of the many neat inversions of expectation, the villain is not a destination you work your way towards, but rather a companion accompanying you on your journey (and the fact he is a villain is not some third act twist either; you always know)). The story's finale struck a sincere chord with me to the point that I teared up, and those misty eyes weren't for the sake of something so dull as a comrade's self-sacrifice; they were for this villain whom cosmic circumstance (rightfully) bade me strike down. Magic
[end of Shadowbringers spoilers]
"…Reconciliation…I was needed. I withdrew myself…for them." A commitment forgotten, but still upheld. Loved ones forgotten, yet still felt. "My people. My brothers…my friends." Varicolored stones clutched in a child's hands. "Stay strong. Keep the faith. At duty's end, we will meet again. We will." A tear slips from behind the mask, then drifts upward alongside this poor soul's aether. "The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day…"
And now I should probably mention that Shadowbringers is only the second best expansion. If SB deconstructs and re-contextualizes the game's overarching narrative into a snug and tidy baseball, then Endwalker is the slugger that smacks that puppy into orbit (and I'm not just speaking figuratively here). It's a little messy, sure, and it takes a few zigs and zags along the way, but it does get there
In this year defined by a vigil over illness, I have looked longly upon the face of despair, and I have felt my own temperament incline in such a direction, felt the tug of the whirlpool of nihilism. And as stupid as this feels to say, Endwalker was one of the hands that pulled me from that current. It names despair itself one of its antagonists, paints a world in which despair is not just a consequence but a temptation, and where succumbing to the feeling invites literal monstrosity upon one's neighbors. And then it earnestly puts forth a message not of hope triumphing over despair but rather of hope regaining its rightful place alongside despair, acknowledging that darkness is not a thing to be defeated but rather a natural and inevitable part of life that we must learn to accept if we are to truly gaze upon this existence as the beautiful thing that it is. The way this message is delivered is so on-the-nose it could be a pair of glasses. It's so brazen, so saccharine that in any other year it may have repulsed me. But not this year. This year I let that message saturate my being. I cherished the story's more graceful moments and looked past its less graceful ones with ease. I wept when the hero of this tale—the avatar for myself, the player—through no input of my own, performed the single most tender and gut-wrenching act of mercy and understanding I've ever seen on a screen
I wish I had the words to convey how moving this journey was…for an MMO to drop a story on my head that was silly and exuberant in one moment, then dark and ponderous in the next, yet always brimming with a rare kind of messy emotional wisdom; brooding meaningfully on themes such as memory and legacy; impactful in the moment of experiencing it, then continuing to grow richer in hindsight as I think and read on it more…it's still hard to believe. In a year where joy was hard to find, Final Fantasy XIV provided it and provided it generously
"The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it"
"Fate can be cruel, but a smile better suits a hero"
…Legs weary from a day spent in the chocobo saddle, I reclined on a bench in the heart of a town tucked cozy away in an ancient forest and watched a man named Daddy pluck the sugary notes of "Californication" on a glowing guitar, while a nearby gaggle of catgirls whipped out brooms and tried in vain to sweep in rhythm to the song. I was home…
2022 was the shittiest year of my life. I spent much of it watching my dad die—the ALS slowly wearing his muscles down to nothing. The inevitability of an incurable disease means you start the grieving process while the subject of your grief is still beside you. It’s weird and intense
Weeks and months spent with family in my hometown tugged at a slowly tightening knot that reprieves in the city where I currently live would loosen again. Although the greatest source of relief for me was my family and friends and the good times I still managed to have with them this year, I'm also a big believer in escapism, and boy did I do some escaping this year: a vital means of loosening that knot was Final Fantasy XIV, a fathomless game that can swallow you whole
In FFXIV, you're dropped into a vast and bewildering and beautiful world, the result of over a decade of work by a whole (whole) lot of people. Simply put, you go on an adventure. Less simply put, you play through action-packed quests while engaging with a sprawling narrative in a world inhabited by many other human players (leading to spontaneous moments of amusement like the one described in the prelude)
FFXIV’s quests are consistently imaginative and wonderful and filled with meticulous mechanics and design. I chose to play as a healer when teaming up with others, and found it one of the most singular experiences I've had with a game. I would get zoned into this pristine zen-like state of thought-to-action translation, a deluge of information reverberating around my skull from which I would glean a single Next Action to take from dozens of possibilities. And then half a second later it's time to do it again. It's gameplay enlightenment. The feeling of muscling your party back from the brink of death to finish off some creative horror and then setting off again to explore more wondrous locales never got old
"…in the end, I will always be of the sea," Yugiri said, wistfully casting her gaze toward her hometown, out of sight over the endless waves, as the nation she swore to protect lay shattered and blazing at our backs. I watched her desperately try to reconcile her origins with her present duties after brutally bearing witness to the fear and despair that had left her countrymen broken under the iron fist of their oppressor. The delivery of her monologue paired with the swelling, haunting orchestral accompaniment set my mind on fire…
From hour one, FFXIV shines for its deep gameplay systems framed in a gorgeously crafted world. Sadly, the narrative of the early game isn't quite on par in quality, offering only a boilerplate fantasy storyline. With its first two expansions, the broader ambition of the writing team begins to come into focus, and the story becomes more than satisfying enough to propel you through the game's myriad content, but, like many a broadly swept epic narrative, the many plot threads that are woven can feel uneven, and some become neglected over time in favor of ever-fresh, ever-new ones. With the third expansion, Shadowbringers, however, they handed the keys to Natsuko Ishikawa and let her finally tie this monstrous work together with a story that transcends the whole affair into pure sublimity (and thus unfortunately making this game the ultimate and worst example of "you just have to get x hours in and then it gets really good," and therefore a difficult investment to wholeheartedly recommend to anyone)
[heads up: the next two paragraphs contain Shadowbringers spoilers]
Despite my love for hyperbole, I will stop quite a ways short of calling Shadowbringers the greatest story ever told……however! I will say it pulls off the most remarkable magic trick I've ever seen in fictional storytelling. It plucks you up out of the world that's been laboriously built up around you, and plops you down in an alien and dying land utterly isolated from everything you know. Here you might say, "Ah I see, the writers unload themselves of the baggage of the earlier plot to give themselves the freedom to tell a whole new story." To which I would smugly retort, "Wrong! While forging this new story in a new world, they also simultaneously resurrect every single one of the threads they constructed over the first few hundred hours of the game and manage to re-contextualize everything in a way that retroactively makes every bit of the preceding narrative orders of magnitude better in hindsight!" That's the magic trick
One key conduit for Shadowbringers' narrative success is one of the most miraculously conceived and executed villains I've ever had the pleasure of traveling with in a game (in one of the many neat inversions of expectation, the villain is not a destination you work your way towards, but rather a companion accompanying you on your journey (and the fact he is a villain is not some third act twist either; you always know)). The story's finale struck a sincere chord with me to the point that I teared up, and those misty eyes weren't for the sake of something so dull as a comrade's self-sacrifice; they were for this villain whom cosmic circumstance (rightfully) bade me strike down. Magic
[end of Shadowbringers spoilers]
"…Reconciliation…I was needed. I withdrew myself…for them." A commitment forgotten, but still upheld. Loved ones forgotten, yet still felt. "My people. My brothers…my friends." Varicolored stones clutched in a child's hands. "Stay strong. Keep the faith. At duty's end, we will meet again. We will." A tear slips from behind the mask, then drifts upward alongside this poor soul's aether. "The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day…"
And now I should probably mention that Shadowbringers is only the second best expansion. If SB deconstructs and re-contextualizes the game's overarching narrative into a snug and tidy baseball, then Endwalker is the slugger that smacks that puppy into orbit (and I'm not just speaking figuratively here). It's a little messy, sure, and it takes a few zigs and zags along the way, but it does get there
In this year defined by a vigil over illness, I have looked longly upon the face of despair, and I have felt my own temperament incline in such a direction, felt the tug of the whirlpool of nihilism. And as stupid as this feels to say, Endwalker was one of the hands that pulled me from that current. It names despair itself one of its antagonists, paints a world in which despair is not just a consequence but a temptation, and where succumbing to the feeling invites literal monstrosity upon one's neighbors. And then it earnestly puts forth a message not of hope triumphing over despair but rather of hope regaining its rightful place alongside despair, acknowledging that darkness is not a thing to be defeated but rather a natural and inevitable part of life that we must learn to accept if we are to truly gaze upon this existence as the beautiful thing that it is. The way this message is delivered is so on-the-nose it could be a pair of glasses. It's so brazen, so saccharine that in any other year it may have repulsed me. But not this year. This year I let that message saturate my being. I cherished the story's more graceful moments and looked past its less graceful ones with ease. I wept when the hero of this tale—the avatar for myself, the player—through no input of my own, performed the single most tender and gut-wrenching act of mercy and understanding I've ever seen on a screen
I wish I had the words to convey how moving this journey was…for an MMO to drop a story on my head that was silly and exuberant in one moment, then dark and ponderous in the next, yet always brimming with a rare kind of messy emotional wisdom; brooding meaningfully on themes such as memory and legacy; impactful in the moment of experiencing it, then continuing to grow richer in hindsight as I think and read on it more…it's still hard to believe. In a year where joy was hard to find, Final Fantasy XIV provided it and provided it generously
"The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it"
"Fate can be cruel, but a smile better suits a hero"
Signalis
2022
I recently got a 3060ti and decided the perfect game to stress test this sucker was Signalis, a game that looks like it clawed its way out of a Playstation. Plus, uh, it never hurts to get really fucking depressed right before Thanksgiving.
I'm not going to write a lengthy review on its themes or its story, because frankly I'm not sure I can untangle it all. There's some excellent write-ups on this site already that really dig in to what Signalis means and what it has to say about identity, the loss of self, and the pain of losing others. It tells its story in a way that is intentionally confusing, always keeping you questioning who is who, what your motivation is, where you're even at, and when in time you're currently existing. There's a lot of great stuff going on with its narrative and I think it's best enjoyed without understanding anything more specific than what I just laid out, but I probably couldn't dissect it with any more accuracy than that if I tied.
As a game, Signalis is survival horror in the most old school way possible, with limited resources that need to be managed, and scant few inventory slots with which to do so. Enemies cannot be properly killed, only incapacitated for a period of time, almost like REmake's Crimson Heads, though without the added aggression on resurrection. Signalis uses respawning enemies to force the player to consider who to put down and who to spare. A tight corridor you often travel might be better to clear out than a wide open room where enemies can be safely juked, but you also have to consider that corridor will become dangerous again if you don't hustle. Enemies also patrol on set patterns regardless of whether or not you're in a room, which is at times problematic given their predilection to group near doorways, leading to some cheap shots; but the idea is certainly there, and it does nevertheless add to the tension when enemies aren't stationed in a way that's predictable.
Puzzle design is mostly good with a few clunky ones hampering the experience. On the one hand you have things like the Magpie frequency puzzle, on the other you have the pump room puzzle which is so bad they just write the solution down next to the pump station. The game bounces around between Resident Evil and Silent Hill in terms of how difficult these are to solve, though the vast majority are very engaging, and the story is woven in with progression in a way that feel quite seamless. Every problem you have to solve carries some narrative weight, it tells you more about the place you're in and the people who used to live there, so even the few that are mechanically iffy still have something there to draw you in.
One area where my criticisms aren't metered with praise is the controls. The targeting system is just not good, and it doesn't feel like it's by design. It frequently fails to target enemies you've got a clear shot at, and attempting to line up accurate shots in a crowd is a pain given its propensity to target whoever the hell it deems worthy of getting blasted, whether they're who you wanted to unload into or not. Going through doors can also be troublesome, as it sometimes just doesn't seem to register inputs. This isn't too much of a problem unless you're being chased by an enemy, in which case i just want the door to open please open they're coming for me oh god why is their head a leg open up please god please
But really, control problems and a few dodgy puzzles are absolutely not enough to take away from how good Signalis is. Every single survival horror game to resonate with me this much is at least two decades old at this point. That's not to say I don't like modern survival horror, but good god, I haven't played anything "modern" that feels so clued in to the design ethos of the genre's earlier days like Signalis.
A lot of this game is going to stick with me. Its story, its puzzles, its atmosphere... The game's art style is just gorgeous, I adore the way it mixes aliased graphics with pre-rendered elements. A few locations (such as Nowhere, the highlight of the whole game for me) seem to be clearly inspired by Silent Hill, while others reminded me of Myst in ways I'm not sure were really intentional, but impactful nonetheless. It's been a long time since I felt a modern game was made just for me, appealing to everything I love about not just the survival horror genre, but horror in general, with a presentation that is also so tuned in to what I like that it almost makes me a bit paranoid, like I'm being spied on. Like someone is in my head.
God damn. Go play Signalis.
I'm not going to write a lengthy review on its themes or its story, because frankly I'm not sure I can untangle it all. There's some excellent write-ups on this site already that really dig in to what Signalis means and what it has to say about identity, the loss of self, and the pain of losing others. It tells its story in a way that is intentionally confusing, always keeping you questioning who is who, what your motivation is, where you're even at, and when in time you're currently existing. There's a lot of great stuff going on with its narrative and I think it's best enjoyed without understanding anything more specific than what I just laid out, but I probably couldn't dissect it with any more accuracy than that if I tied.
As a game, Signalis is survival horror in the most old school way possible, with limited resources that need to be managed, and scant few inventory slots with which to do so. Enemies cannot be properly killed, only incapacitated for a period of time, almost like REmake's Crimson Heads, though without the added aggression on resurrection. Signalis uses respawning enemies to force the player to consider who to put down and who to spare. A tight corridor you often travel might be better to clear out than a wide open room where enemies can be safely juked, but you also have to consider that corridor will become dangerous again if you don't hustle. Enemies also patrol on set patterns regardless of whether or not you're in a room, which is at times problematic given their predilection to group near doorways, leading to some cheap shots; but the idea is certainly there, and it does nevertheless add to the tension when enemies aren't stationed in a way that's predictable.
Puzzle design is mostly good with a few clunky ones hampering the experience. On the one hand you have things like the Magpie frequency puzzle, on the other you have the pump room puzzle which is so bad they just write the solution down next to the pump station. The game bounces around between Resident Evil and Silent Hill in terms of how difficult these are to solve, though the vast majority are very engaging, and the story is woven in with progression in a way that feel quite seamless. Every problem you have to solve carries some narrative weight, it tells you more about the place you're in and the people who used to live there, so even the few that are mechanically iffy still have something there to draw you in.
One area where my criticisms aren't metered with praise is the controls. The targeting system is just not good, and it doesn't feel like it's by design. It frequently fails to target enemies you've got a clear shot at, and attempting to line up accurate shots in a crowd is a pain given its propensity to target whoever the hell it deems worthy of getting blasted, whether they're who you wanted to unload into or not. Going through doors can also be troublesome, as it sometimes just doesn't seem to register inputs. This isn't too much of a problem unless you're being chased by an enemy, in which case i just want the door to open please open they're coming for me oh god why is their head a leg open up please god please
But really, control problems and a few dodgy puzzles are absolutely not enough to take away from how good Signalis is. Every single survival horror game to resonate with me this much is at least two decades old at this point. That's not to say I don't like modern survival horror, but good god, I haven't played anything "modern" that feels so clued in to the design ethos of the genre's earlier days like Signalis.
A lot of this game is going to stick with me. Its story, its puzzles, its atmosphere... The game's art style is just gorgeous, I adore the way it mixes aliased graphics with pre-rendered elements. A few locations (such as Nowhere, the highlight of the whole game for me) seem to be clearly inspired by Silent Hill, while others reminded me of Myst in ways I'm not sure were really intentional, but impactful nonetheless. It's been a long time since I felt a modern game was made just for me, appealing to everything I love about not just the survival horror genre, but horror in general, with a presentation that is also so tuned in to what I like that it almost makes me a bit paranoid, like I'm being spied on. Like someone is in my head.
God damn. Go play Signalis.
Signalis
2022
Actual masterpiece shit. Much like last year's Unmetal, a microstudio throwback game has swooped in and stolen my heart right before GOTY season. This is a beautiful, gloriously-realized survival horror experience that pays homage to and even improves upon its all-time classic predecessors while still being incredibly unique all the same.
There is so much to love here, it's like a game tailor-made for me - where to even begin? The gorgeous artistic design? The enigmatic, surreal, heartbreaking storyline? The best horror game puzzles I've solved in countless years? The way it plays with perspective and genre expectations? I wish the inventory limit was bigger, because that is absolutely going to be a sticking point for many people, but the occasional tedium barely even fazed me. I finished my first playthrough, then went right back in on the hardest difficulty to see the secret ending and get the rest of the achievements. I never do that.
After years of games promising to be the "new Silent Hill" and seeing Konami pimp out the SH2 remake to Bloober Team of all people, I'd grown jaded... but no more. This is the new Silent Hill. The spirit of our favorite games will always live on in the hearts and minds of dedicated indie developers.
There is so much to love here, it's like a game tailor-made for me - where to even begin? The gorgeous artistic design? The enigmatic, surreal, heartbreaking storyline? The best horror game puzzles I've solved in countless years? The way it plays with perspective and genre expectations? I wish the inventory limit was bigger, because that is absolutely going to be a sticking point for many people, but the occasional tedium barely even fazed me. I finished my first playthrough, then went right back in on the hardest difficulty to see the secret ending and get the rest of the achievements. I never do that.
After years of games promising to be the "new Silent Hill" and seeing Konami pimp out the SH2 remake to Bloober Team of all people, I'd grown jaded... but no more. This is the new Silent Hill. The spirit of our favorite games will always live on in the hearts and minds of dedicated indie developers.
Signalis
2022
You writhe beneath my skin
Born of ailing flesh and love
My thoughts, consumed by your sorrow.
Waking nightmares plague me, endless
A slow rotting miracle plucked from time,
You are all that I love, everything I fear
And all the entanglement festering between
For want of fair chances,
I stared into your abyss
As I've done for many before
And in return, you tore out my heart,
Impaled my eyes with your scarlet terror
Invaded the privacy of solitude,
And plunged your iron claws into my very soul.
You interrupt my nights.
My days, occupied by you
You are inescapable, yet...
For all your malignance,
Burrowed under flesh
and boiling blood,
I refuse
to let
go
–
Signalis bores its hooks into my skull, carving grooves into my brain where my psychoses pool. There’s something to be said for its reliance on the narrative language of anime and survival horror, but whether it’s derivative or iterative is a moot point. These beats that ring familiar are sores that Signalis splits open with a sadist’s pleasure. I could sit here and rattle off references, the obvious calls that permeate the body of the work, but where does that get you? Where does that get any of us, other than a cognizant “if you know you know” stranglehold? The language of Signalis isn’t concerned with simply being “Space Resident Evil”, or “Utena by way of Evangelion”. Much like the doomed Penrose, the referential nature of Signalis is, in itself, a repetitious time loop. It is not a work of references, it is its references.
I bolt awake, and Signalis presses on the nerve center that kick started my love of horror. 2008, in front of a bombed-out Gamecube, Jill Valentine tinkers though a puzzle box called the Spenser mansion. 2022, I bumblefuck through the escape room that is Sierpinski S-23.
Another restless night, another stab into my brain. 2012, my first pangs of personalized gender misanthropy at the hands of Asuka Langley Sohryu and Rei Ayanami, the brilliant shine of sapphic love reflected by Utena and Anthy. A decade later, the hate has faded and its place remains remorse for the past, regret for the now as the signature flashes of light and text flicker, as LSTR-512 and Ariane waltz in their final moments.
Again, interrupted sleep prevails. October, last year, the clattering of keys clicked out a cacophonous rhythm as I parse out a write up for Illbleed, a game that set ablaze the dying candle that was my love for gaming, for horror as a whole. Now, after a global rotation, I return to Signalis in the same spot, a love for writing, for fear, for gaming, for love itself, rekindled after a seasonal stagnation.
To try to put definitive words to Signalis seems contradictory to the way the game is delivered, indirect and symbolic in a way anathemic to thematic deduction. In it, I saw the spark of life relight my passion, and I enacted swift death to the tyrant, critical analysis. I could brandish lofty terms, of this having flawless gameplay, immersive writing, a memorable soundtrack, or any other terms I would gladly throw around about games that I will forget in a week. It’s not perfect. I don’t want it to be perfect: It’s for me. I don’t need it to be anything more than what it means to me, and what it means is that I think I love games again.
I awaken once more from broken sleep.
It’s 2014. I’m sitting with someone who, at the time, was my closest friend. We’re huddled around a laptop deep into the night, burning through works that would come to reflect what matters to me in games.
It’s tonight. I’m on call with someone I love. I’m huddled over a keyboard, burning through a write-up of a work that redefines what matters to me in games.
Play Signalis. You probably won’t get what I got out of it. That’s a good thing; it means there’s going to be something else out there that gives you the same feelings that this gave me. For now, I can push you to try a game I view as my personal perfection.
Born of ailing flesh and love
My thoughts, consumed by your sorrow.
Waking nightmares plague me, endless
A slow rotting miracle plucked from time,
You are all that I love, everything I fear
And all the entanglement festering between
For want of fair chances,
I stared into your abyss
As I've done for many before
And in return, you tore out my heart,
Impaled my eyes with your scarlet terror
Invaded the privacy of solitude,
And plunged your iron claws into my very soul.
You interrupt my nights.
My days, occupied by you
You are inescapable, yet...
For all your malignance,
Burrowed under flesh
and boiling blood,
I refuse
to let
go
–
Signalis bores its hooks into my skull, carving grooves into my brain where my psychoses pool. There’s something to be said for its reliance on the narrative language of anime and survival horror, but whether it’s derivative or iterative is a moot point. These beats that ring familiar are sores that Signalis splits open with a sadist’s pleasure. I could sit here and rattle off references, the obvious calls that permeate the body of the work, but where does that get you? Where does that get any of us, other than a cognizant “if you know you know” stranglehold? The language of Signalis isn’t concerned with simply being “Space Resident Evil”, or “Utena by way of Evangelion”. Much like the doomed Penrose, the referential nature of Signalis is, in itself, a repetitious time loop. It is not a work of references, it is its references.
I bolt awake, and Signalis presses on the nerve center that kick started my love of horror. 2008, in front of a bombed-out Gamecube, Jill Valentine tinkers though a puzzle box called the Spenser mansion. 2022, I bumblefuck through the escape room that is Sierpinski S-23.
Another restless night, another stab into my brain. 2012, my first pangs of personalized gender misanthropy at the hands of Asuka Langley Sohryu and Rei Ayanami, the brilliant shine of sapphic love reflected by Utena and Anthy. A decade later, the hate has faded and its place remains remorse for the past, regret for the now as the signature flashes of light and text flicker, as LSTR-512 and Ariane waltz in their final moments.
Again, interrupted sleep prevails. October, last year, the clattering of keys clicked out a cacophonous rhythm as I parse out a write up for Illbleed, a game that set ablaze the dying candle that was my love for gaming, for horror as a whole. Now, after a global rotation, I return to Signalis in the same spot, a love for writing, for fear, for gaming, for love itself, rekindled after a seasonal stagnation.
To try to put definitive words to Signalis seems contradictory to the way the game is delivered, indirect and symbolic in a way anathemic to thematic deduction. In it, I saw the spark of life relight my passion, and I enacted swift death to the tyrant, critical analysis. I could brandish lofty terms, of this having flawless gameplay, immersive writing, a memorable soundtrack, or any other terms I would gladly throw around about games that I will forget in a week. It’s not perfect. I don’t want it to be perfect: It’s for me. I don’t need it to be anything more than what it means to me, and what it means is that I think I love games again.
I awaken once more from broken sleep.
It’s 2014. I’m sitting with someone who, at the time, was my closest friend. We’re huddled around a laptop deep into the night, burning through works that would come to reflect what matters to me in games.
It’s tonight. I’m on call with someone I love. I’m huddled over a keyboard, burning through a write-up of a work that redefines what matters to me in games.
Play Signalis. You probably won’t get what I got out of it. That’s a good thing; it means there’s going to be something else out there that gives you the same feelings that this gave me. For now, I can push you to try a game I view as my personal perfection.