what i crave more then just ab anything in my time as an Art Appreciator is pieces that resonate so intrinsically and cohesively with some aspect of my heart that literally every single moment spent with it is full of emotion, even when not prodded by some narrative or structural crescendo. video games r often uniquely suited to having relatively long stretches of breath and quiet inbetween everything (with the understanding that the engagement of Mere Interaction is enough to keep attention), and thus of all mediums have evoked this feeling for me perhaps the most. very very few have come anywhere close to this...the sobriety of its ending (even post-epilogue, to a lesser degree) hit me like a truck because of how completely on the wavelength i was: of the game, the heroes, the island. it did all still Matter ofc, and im glad for that catharsis,,,but if im to take the pre-epilogue ending at its word, i must also make do with being separated from its beautiful protective shell that i became so intimately entwined with. simultaneously analgesic's most spellbinding game and the one that breaks the spell to the greatest effect...just ab the most convincingly brechtian indie game studio out there. this is not anodyne 3, but it is a meaningful continuation of those games, specifically the original game's structural anti-crescendo.
i feel like i could write a book on this thing...i havent even rly discussed How it got me so intwined , from its extremely deliberate attention-demanding platforming/level design (a refreshing and gutsy design choice considering Maximum Effortless Flexibility tends to be the way indie 3d platformers are going), the calm but similarly attention-demanding puzzle segments, the dizzyingly layered writing, the peak of their Dreamy Lo-fi aesthetic from anodyne 2, melos' best music to date....i dont have it all in me rn. and if im being completely honest with myself, anodyne 2 does hit me a lot more specifically and personally, and winds up a wee bit more of a powerful text as a result. but this is almost certainly Analgesic's magnum opus, as game design, as storytelling, as the Realization That The Line Between The Two Is Kinda Meaningless. a better way to live, a correct way to care.
i feel like i could write a book on this thing...i havent even rly discussed How it got me so intwined , from its extremely deliberate attention-demanding platforming/level design (a refreshing and gutsy design choice considering Maximum Effortless Flexibility tends to be the way indie 3d platformers are going), the calm but similarly attention-demanding puzzle segments, the dizzyingly layered writing, the peak of their Dreamy Lo-fi aesthetic from anodyne 2, melos' best music to date....i dont have it all in me rn. and if im being completely honest with myself, anodyne 2 does hit me a lot more specifically and personally, and winds up a wee bit more of a powerful text as a result. but this is almost certainly Analgesic's magnum opus, as game design, as storytelling, as the Realization That The Line Between The Two Is Kinda Meaningless. a better way to live, a correct way to care.