193 reviews liked by Modal
Thief Simulator
2018
Once you complete the tutorial levels, that's pretty much all this game is. Kind of infuriating game design as well, to be honest, from having to learn the schedules of every house, to having too little inventory space to actually clean out most houses in one go (meaning you have to make multiple trips) it all adds up to a cocktail of frustration instead of the actual joyful glee you should be feeling at being a thief.
Lesson learnt, I guess - crime is boring.
Lesson learnt, I guess - crime is boring.
Façade
2005
Trip, get in the kitchen and make me a damn beer or I'll keep kissing you. If you're gonna kick me out I'm taking this huge cracked yoni egg home with me.
Mortal Kombat 1
2023
By far the worst game NetherRealm Studios has put out since rebranding. I'm not sure what happened in development that caused this to be such a train wreck, whether it being the publisher forcing microtransaction-heavy modes or if there was truth to the rumors about it originally being Injustice 3. But on a macro and micro level, the game is completely flawed.
Story Mode is where the small bit of good in the game is. The story is certainly absolute nonsense with nonstop plot holes and dumb decisions, but it was refreshing to get a more grounded and sometimes reimagined take on many characters. If anything they didn't take this far enough and could've switched up a lot more. The graphics and especially facial animations are some of the best I've ever seen in a video game. Top notches performances all around... Except for the hilariously bad Megan Fox as Nitara. Were they scared to ask her to do a second take?
Invasions mode is pushed as the driving force behind the game and is basically the only thing to do in single player once you finish the main story. And unless you care about unlocking costumes in 35 different shades of the same exact ugly color, there is 0 reason to do so. Nonstop boring grindy content, no fun to be had.
Even the classic towers are somehow ruined. Each character's ending, rather than being the story of what would happen if they were the one to beat the big bad boss as it is traditionally, instead shows what they do after the main story of the game. Not only is this boring, but it causes multiple characters' ending to be the exact same thing due to being involved in each other's epilogues. And speaking of the big bad boss at the end of the tower? It's literally just Shang Tsung in a dumb looking outfit, he doesn't even get a buff. There is no challenge whatsoever. He's literally just a regular character in the game.
I've seen people say that despite the game's flaws this is the best Mortal Kombat gameplay-wise. I get it, but personally I despise the whole Kameo system, so the gameplay is a major bust for me.
The whole thing feels like a giant step down from Mortal Kombat 11 (Which wasn't exactly amazing, but is great next to this garbage). The fatalities are totally uninspired. Even the character interactions before each match seem so cold - most of them don't even make sense, 2 characters who are friends agreeing on a point or something rather than explaining why it is that they're about to fight.
Story Mode is where the small bit of good in the game is. The story is certainly absolute nonsense with nonstop plot holes and dumb decisions, but it was refreshing to get a more grounded and sometimes reimagined take on many characters. If anything they didn't take this far enough and could've switched up a lot more. The graphics and especially facial animations are some of the best I've ever seen in a video game. Top notches performances all around... Except for the hilariously bad Megan Fox as Nitara. Were they scared to ask her to do a second take?
Invasions mode is pushed as the driving force behind the game and is basically the only thing to do in single player once you finish the main story. And unless you care about unlocking costumes in 35 different shades of the same exact ugly color, there is 0 reason to do so. Nonstop boring grindy content, no fun to be had.
Even the classic towers are somehow ruined. Each character's ending, rather than being the story of what would happen if they were the one to beat the big bad boss as it is traditionally, instead shows what they do after the main story of the game. Not only is this boring, but it causes multiple characters' ending to be the exact same thing due to being involved in each other's epilogues. And speaking of the big bad boss at the end of the tower? It's literally just Shang Tsung in a dumb looking outfit, he doesn't even get a buff. There is no challenge whatsoever. He's literally just a regular character in the game.
I've seen people say that despite the game's flaws this is the best Mortal Kombat gameplay-wise. I get it, but personally I despise the whole Kameo system, so the gameplay is a major bust for me.
The whole thing feels like a giant step down from Mortal Kombat 11 (Which wasn't exactly amazing, but is great next to this garbage). The fatalities are totally uninspired. Even the character interactions before each match seem so cold - most of them don't even make sense, 2 characters who are friends agreeing on a point or something rather than explaining why it is that they're about to fight.
Mortal Shell
2020
Getting pretty tired of these indie souls games that have no identity outside of being a really bad dark souls with no bells or whistles attached except arbitrarily changing one mechanic to make it even worse. This game might feel worse than Lords of the Fallen, which really just means it's one of the worst feeling games I've ever played. Also in all the time I played the game I never once heard an actual song play and I know this game has music I see that soundtrack but until further notice I don't think it's real actually. Basically we should outlaw indie developers that want to make souls games I refuse to believe any of these are good
Really makes you feel like you're playing an Ubisoft game
It's definitely good, but I had high hopes and they were certainly let down. The main story is good once the boring first act finally lets up - There's plenty of great emotional moments and Kraven is absolutely fantastic, every scene he's in is elevated. But Venom was a big disappointment and just felt rushed. It's hard to have much of an emotional attachment to Harry when he wasn't even in the first game.
The biggest disappointment though is the open world - The side missions range from mundane to awful and any post-game content/features are basically non-existant. The map is twice as big but honestly feels smaller than the first game given how little there is to do.
It's definitely good, but I had high hopes and they were certainly let down. The main story is good once the boring first act finally lets up - There's plenty of great emotional moments and Kraven is absolutely fantastic, every scene he's in is elevated. But Venom was a big disappointment and just felt rushed. It's hard to have much of an emotional attachment to Harry when he wasn't even in the first game.
The biggest disappointment though is the open world - The side missions range from mundane to awful and any post-game content/features are basically non-existant. The map is twice as big but honestly feels smaller than the first game given how little there is to do.
"This is a shelter. There's nothing to steal. Get out." and he did! - A secret dialogue when Aunt May talks to a promising Brooklyn Kid from 2018's Marvel’s Spider-Man.
This conversation is incredibly important and details how strong May’s willpower is to face off a major villain all by her lonesome. And her nephew Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man also inherits the strong willpower to face off dangerous adversaries. And the sequel is no different giving off the same phenomenal faceoffs, secret dialogue, and payoffs. Speaking of face-offs. The Spider-Men will struggle against new foes on the hunt with a different flair from the earlier. Like noticing sand in the air… Hmm… Strange… Guess the forecast for the day is sandy, with little chance of rain. A pity. Still what remains from the foreboding skies is a bolder game from the previous installment with new developments and reaching higher wings alongside venomous tidings. And yet a question arises whenever any game receives a sequel and follow-up. Is it better? And 2020’s Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales? The short answer is yes. And the long answer is a bit complicated to call this almost everything I wish for.
Before I start I have to say I’m no expert regarding how sequels do a stronger job than the predecessor. In my eyes the next entry has to meet certain criteria to call itself worthy. I won’t bore you with the exact standards because sequel principles vary for every other individual and everyone has their own values on which they can base. To put it simply and succinctly I’ll say if any of ‘X’ improves that the earlier entry didn’t. Then that should be enough. I’ll attempt to condense my thoughts as to why Marvel's Spider-Man 2(MSM2) exceeded my expectations to the point I think it is a spectacular must-play for those who enjoyed the first and follow-up game. Without any spoilers. I’ll try to vaguely reference without hinting at anything concrete. If I fail to do so, you have my permission to send me to the dark dimension. First, the story. Moving past the sinister plot in the beginning and set up with Morales in the follow-up. Two strives to enrich the player in becoming not just Spider-Man within the game, but the man behind the mask. A focus on Peter Parker's desire to become a better person while Miles struggles to become a better Spider-Man. It features new villains kraving for a final hunt, a return of a scaly foe, and one para-. Man New York City can’t catch a break huh? Gotta stay positive and not negative with the webhead's rogue gallery eh?
Gameplay is a solid step up from eating decent pizza from before. Now we're having quality dishes served for NYC’s finest without a certain J. Jonah Jameson(JJJ) harping on our heels. Same but with improved combat and traversal mechanics. The former received new abilities to utilize like spider arms reminiscent of Parker's greatest enemy. Switching between the older and wiser web dude to a Brooklyn kid. So, you can’t go wrong playing as either a mentor or a fresh dude on the block to help the innocent. Morales has youthful, vibrant enthusiasm for taking on his new role from his debut and MSM2 demonstrates a wonderful way of how he is coming to terms with helping beyond Harlem for close to a year since his debut. As you progress further you can unlock new abilities once you accrue enough experience, allocating tokens for new suits and gadgets. These help instrumentally and leave a nice way to keep the gameplay fun factor fresh and exciting. Costumes allow you to customize each protagonist's looks with favorites like Cat Bodega and Scarlet + 2099 suits with classic into and across the spider-verse outfits. Honestly, there’s plenty to unlock to suit your needs heh. Gadgets return, a tad bit simplified from the many weaponry you could utilize, but it's not a downside since you have new abilities to utilize. Both arachnids have their skill trees with a shared linked tree to take advantage of new combat moves on foolish baddies. Super cool. The latter concerning traversal introduces a new form of travel in the form of webwings. And I kid you not, I felt like I was transported back in my childhood playing Spyro once again except taking inspiration from the guiding wind mechanic from Ghost of Tsushima in the form of wind tunnels to guide and accelerate our web slingers across blocks and tall skyscrapers. The new addition is very satisfying to a degree I find myself forgoing fast traveling multiple times to woop in delight as I soar to the skies and keep my arms by my sides to keep my speed in tip-top form. Ah, magnificent. Man if Vulture or Shocker were here, I bet we could fly circles around them.
Side activities (including city-wide collectibles) are a remarkable improvement. In the past I had mixed feelings about them as a whole since there were some activities worth completing to become a taskmaster with some caveats. In the 2020 game, they for the most part improved on the side content a vast deal. Here they’ve taken a sensational upgrade, with minor blemishes I’ll discuss later. Without going into too much detail to prevent spoilers. Mysteriums, photo ops, M. memories, Flame, FNSM App, prowler, EMF experiments, cultural museum, Brooklyn visions, and hunter blinds/bases are satisfying to complete in my honest opinion. To give a brief praise why: Mysteriums offers both a visual treat and somewhat of an extension from 2019’s Far From Home film concerning a mysterious baddie. Taking on handicap challenges to defeat within each location. Photo ops return. You gain cool NYC lore from Pete’s old Daily Bugle coworker Robbie Robertson. M. Memories, offers a melancholy monologue from the man who has sand, offering the big question of why he’s here and what he was doing. Moving on, The Flame quests is a nice departure from the pleasant vibe of the city, detailing a very serious tone and atmosphere bringing a familiar companion back to spice up moments. Love the companion of which I wont to say the name, but I’ll keep it as a surprise. The development the individual undergoes with Parker is a must-see and offers a tantalizing tease of a possible DLC. Anyway, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man app returns taking cues from 2020’s excellent side-content to help the troubled New Yorkers in the Big Apple is without a doubt spectacularly strong. They’re not the most fleshed out, not visually stunning nor are they dropping maximum compelling narratives with eyes glued to the screen nor do they offer awesome scenes with the funnest gameplay inside. Instead, what is here is simply helping your everyday citizens. And while others might see this as “meh not worth it then!” I assure you if I were to rank all the optional content. This would easily be at the top. Two requests in particular brought home an excellent display of the man behind the mask to help the people in need. Howard and the Grandpa's request demonstrate the little things of simply talking with a person in need resulting in I would say superbly profound dialogue I witnessed. I want to say so much more here and why I appreciate these two requests in particular but I’ll refrain. Suffice it to say, please complete them. The other quests from the app are also beneficial to do to a lesser extent displaying humorous & serious content.
Prowler stashes. A banger job to showcase more conversations between Miles and his uncle. Very nice re-connecting filled with bonds, love, redemption, and greater insight into the brotherhood between Miles' father and his brother. Excellent addition from the 2020 follow-up. EMF experiments, please forgive me for not saying the acronym, but again a pleasant surprise for when you learn-ingame. This features creative tasks to do in a similar vein to the research stations in the first installment. Here were charged with healing the world. Using methods to help citizens via finding alternative sources of food, preventing pollution, and providing new means to make the world a better place. Much like how Pete and Doc did with their start-up. Terrific to do featuring different tasks like blasting wasps, testing out a new bike, and more. Man, I couldn’t get enough of these. Cultural Museum surprised me considerably in enriching the player on notable African-American idols while intertwining an investigation spearheaded by none other than Miles and his mom. Finding clues as to who would try to steal priceless artifacts related to music. Nice to see them not just for culture learning, but bonding with his mom. Brooklyn Visions is a series of simple, yet creative tasks on Miles' high school to help his fellow students. Sneaky Insomniac pulling inspiration from Talos Principle puzzles, a rescue, a very heartwarming quest to help a student help facilitate a proposal for homecoming, etc. Lastly, Hunter blind/bases offer a classic clearing out hideouts, but I felt they’re more reduced in quantity and far less in numbers which is a smashing plus in my books because the previous game featured them too much imo. You also get a nice slice of lore background upon completing them. So worth it to complete. And it is cool to flex out new powers to test on foolish goons who still think once again they have a chance at defeating the spider-bros. Seriously, these guys never learn…
Speaking of learning, the devs learned quite a lot since their debut with the webslinger back then. I am over the moon to say there are plenty of interactions of the men behind the mask to show, don’t tell. And this is huge because at the core of the wall-crawler is a man who continues to struggle to manage his personal and hero life. His relationships with Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, two lifelong buddies, are instrumental in giving him the push and nudges he needs to support him and vice-versa. I witnessed endearing flashbacks back in high school, I spent a well-earned break with my loveable comrades in an amusement park. Taking the time to wisely, but gently push Miles to remember his college application. And partake in an old memory with none other than JJJ. These memories are vital to Pete’s mental health and maintaining a healthy balance. It is something that was touched upon earlier, but I felt it coming more into fruition here to a high degree. This coupled with interesting gameplay sequences like finer stealth sections and not drawn out added a stronger tie to the plot while delicately embracing bonds, friendship, brotherhood, and even love. Magnificent to witness and playthrough.
Also, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I like JJJ’s podcast. Shocker I know. I didn’t before since dude continues to be a douchebag. But the sheer amount of mental gymnastics the man has to go through to tear apart the Web menace/s is quite frankly amusing to hear. More so to listen to how he included Miles in the equation with Spider-Men. But I have to give props to him. Due to one segment in the game, which made me go “Huh I didn’t think of him that way before.” A layer was peeled off upon completing the segment and in a way brought a shaky new light to him. So here’s to you Jonah I’m giving you the praise for doing that. Although, I can never forgive you for smearing Pete’s name over the years… manchild never quits having a hate mode for all things web-like.
Before I forget I have to confess on coming into this game doubting how much Miles will contribute and I’m glad to report how wrong I was to think of that. There are plenty of main story and optional quests to undertake which do a sizzling job of contextualizing the kid becoming a man, and transitioning his life from high school to college all while maintaining healthy relationships with family. Despite hurdles along the way, he manages to help his mentor in becoming a reliable partner. Shows no fear in telling the truth and admits when he’s wrong to become a better person. Struggles internally with understandably traumatic episodes with unresolved emotions toward someone I shall not name. But here, we see so much relatability emerge and how the human element of Miles shines brightly among the darkness. And most of all he’s not alone, others think highly of him and support him when he needs it. Like Hailey. There is a wholesome segment regarding her which made me reminiscent of Jet Set Radio Future oddly enough. Pretty rad.
Before I move on, I must talk about the fantastic accessible settings the game features. QTE autocomplete, puzzle/explicit hints with skipping, chase assist, dodge/parry timing increased, swing/parkour mode, tricks mode, and turning off visual effects like motion blur and depth of field is an absolute godsend. I kid you not I abused these settings without an inch of shame so much so it increased my enjoyment of every aspect of the game to the nth degree. No more failing chases, no more head-scratching puzzles! There are loads of different and varied ones you can complete so it feels good to try and solve them before resorting to the skip option. Moving on, forgiving dodge/parry mechanic, auto web-slinging, and turning off unneeded visual effects help so much in making the hero’s life easier. Don’t get me started on the quick-time events. I love watching the cutscenes uninterrupted without the requirement to press a button. I get it if others like that, but for me, I prefer a smooth scene to watch, soak in the dialogue, and take a breather from intense action sequences. At least it's not Hideo Kojima long cutscenes to movie length here… Despite the fact, that I love long cutscenes heh.
As much as I love the game. I did have some mixed feelings. Not a positive or a negative, but for the sake of transparency I’ll note them below, since I think these elements could’ve been improved, cut, or redone. Let's start with the big one.
Two villains needed more screen time and development which was another case I talked about previously for the 2018 game. And while I didn’t make a review(yet) of Miles Morales I completed the game twice to get a feel of them. From what I could ascertain, the 2018, 2020, and 2023 arachnid games share similar problems with not enough focus on antagonists/s which I won’t name. Twist the knife deeper and attack one of either spider’s family/friends, more depth to the bad guys, more missions. Additional screen time and development. Etc. While MSM2 improves tremendously in doing something for past foes. An element I liked to see. Nonetheless, I was hungry for everything above on my suggestions regarding the two. However, I think the devs do a good job of fleshing out enough of the rest you’ll come across later.
MJ stealth missions are back and while I was dreading their possible resurgence, I have to admit it does improve a bit from the original formula. Thankfully not dragging out too much while giving her enough new tools to help. Their frequency of coming back to these sections is enormously lessened too. Granted I believe they could’ve forgone with some of this or implemented other changes than a back to the old rinse and repeat method. The director sure ain't caring a whole lot it looks like, which I think speaks volumes about her stealth sections. So perhaps it’ll change in a possible third entry? Though considering his words I heavily doubt it. Would love to be wrong though.
Several activities needed major improvement. Such as Spider-Bots return in certain parts of the game and as a collectible to collect which I love, but this time I'll discuss strange spider-bots in random parts of NYC to capture. I find it mega lacking since both web dudes will say a brief comment and a very short note in the collections menu. Felt this could be improved like how finding backpacks included a nugget of lore for past Spidey villains. They could’ve added a recording from where the bots originated to confuse Parker and Morales on why the information being extracted feels so unfamiliar and familiar. Nonetheless, the reward for collecting all of them is such a tease for fans. So I recommend it despite my thoughts on it. Furthermore, one optional activity is rinse and repeat following a drone. With barely any payoff in the end. Nice to know the outcome, but I think this could’ve been constructed differently to make the gameplay more engaging. Thankfully there is a button you can press in the menu to skip the activity altogether, yet this is merely a band-aid instead of a proper solution. The [redacted] nests are pretty repetitive time-limit challenges to complete by preventing enemies from destroying a device to destroy said nests. An easy alternative would’ve been to include more lore/worldbuilding here or replace it by having our heroes rescue our allies. Granted I will give credit for making it a cleanup task to do.
Finally, there is a stretch of the game I won’t pinpoint while excellent in its execution I think the section needed more time fleshing out. At least two to five plus hours more to let the events that occur settle in and explore more complicated nuances in what happens in friendships/family. This ties into the [redacted] nests from earlier along with more missions to showcase devastation, further ramifications of a character's actions, and worthwhile optional content related to it. Why not a side mission to save some close friends? Family? Heck, even JJJ. Introduce new enemies taking advantage of the city and criminal team-ups. I had heavy nostalgia despite the fact I’ve barely played any Spider-Man games. And there’s one in particular this game takes large inspiration among other things like the films.
One silver lining to all these mixed feelings I have that it doesn’t impact my overall experience too much. The full package of controlling either Spider-Men and living their private life is as gratifying as it is to see their hero life continue among troubled times. Which reminds me of one quote that the dev’s continue to hit time and time again to marvelous effect. “-nothing ever turns out 100 percent OK; he's got a lot of problems, and he does things wrong, and I can relate to that.” From a Stan Lee interview with the Chicago Tribune. We see constant internal and external forces continuing to batter our strong-willed protagonists to the point I was left on the edge of my seat at times. Saw them during their darkest moments. Leaving me filled with dread and anxiety. Yet despite these tumultuous emotions. There is careful thought, precision and passion in crafting original new material while taking great cues from classic sources we know like Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. among certain liberties with one of their IPs to excellent effect. Making MSM2 almost like a careful love letter without treading on familiar material to utilize. Embracing realistic and surprising scenarios sending my eyebrows nearly to the top of my hairline and my eyeballs close to expelling from my sockets. So you could say I was pretty impressed by how far Insomniac continues to twist the narrative to make it both compelling and impactful to newcomers/ veterans well used to spidey lore. And boy oh boy are we in for one hell of a ride with a spectacular duo. If this is how much Insomniac upgraded after several years, I can only shudder at how much a third possible entry would reach in the future.
8.5/10
Additional Material:
Why Miles is the MVP - Major spoilers to endgame, good focus on Miles parts.
Villains and %^&$ - Same warning as above, related to what I discussed early on villains doing something
Black Suit $%^* - Same warning as above - Related to my last point in mixed feelings
Discourse on Peter and Miles - Same warning as above - I’m hesitant to link this since I think its kinda controversial in the fandom, but I think its good food for thought. Regardless, I agree with OP.
Marvel Spider-Man 2 & Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 scenes compilation - Same warning as above. Related to my point on Raimi above. I love it.
MJ in Spider-Man 1 vs. Spider-Man 2- minor spoilers, but meme sums up her performance to a T.
If this Be My Destiny - Fascinating look on early Spidey and one of his most defining traits.
My spoiler thoughts throughout the game up to the post-credit scene - same warning as above
Spider-Man’s Marriage- Not related to MSM2. But this recent news is so uplifting I have to share it since we’ve been in major dark times ever since Paul was introduced in the comics. Finally, good news.
This conversation is incredibly important and details how strong May’s willpower is to face off a major villain all by her lonesome. And her nephew Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man also inherits the strong willpower to face off dangerous adversaries. And the sequel is no different giving off the same phenomenal faceoffs, secret dialogue, and payoffs. Speaking of face-offs. The Spider-Men will struggle against new foes on the hunt with a different flair from the earlier. Like noticing sand in the air… Hmm… Strange… Guess the forecast for the day is sandy, with little chance of rain. A pity. Still what remains from the foreboding skies is a bolder game from the previous installment with new developments and reaching higher wings alongside venomous tidings. And yet a question arises whenever any game receives a sequel and follow-up. Is it better? And 2020’s Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales? The short answer is yes. And the long answer is a bit complicated to call this almost everything I wish for.
Before I start I have to say I’m no expert regarding how sequels do a stronger job than the predecessor. In my eyes the next entry has to meet certain criteria to call itself worthy. I won’t bore you with the exact standards because sequel principles vary for every other individual and everyone has their own values on which they can base. To put it simply and succinctly I’ll say if any of ‘X’ improves that the earlier entry didn’t. Then that should be enough. I’ll attempt to condense my thoughts as to why Marvel's Spider-Man 2(MSM2) exceeded my expectations to the point I think it is a spectacular must-play for those who enjoyed the first and follow-up game. Without any spoilers. I’ll try to vaguely reference without hinting at anything concrete. If I fail to do so, you have my permission to send me to the dark dimension. First, the story. Moving past the sinister plot in the beginning and set up with Morales in the follow-up. Two strives to enrich the player in becoming not just Spider-Man within the game, but the man behind the mask. A focus on Peter Parker's desire to become a better person while Miles struggles to become a better Spider-Man. It features new villains kraving for a final hunt, a return of a scaly foe, and one para-. Man New York City can’t catch a break huh? Gotta stay positive and not negative with the webhead's rogue gallery eh?
Gameplay is a solid step up from eating decent pizza from before. Now we're having quality dishes served for NYC’s finest without a certain J. Jonah Jameson(JJJ) harping on our heels. Same but with improved combat and traversal mechanics. The former received new abilities to utilize like spider arms reminiscent of Parker's greatest enemy. Switching between the older and wiser web dude to a Brooklyn kid. So, you can’t go wrong playing as either a mentor or a fresh dude on the block to help the innocent. Morales has youthful, vibrant enthusiasm for taking on his new role from his debut and MSM2 demonstrates a wonderful way of how he is coming to terms with helping beyond Harlem for close to a year since his debut. As you progress further you can unlock new abilities once you accrue enough experience, allocating tokens for new suits and gadgets. These help instrumentally and leave a nice way to keep the gameplay fun factor fresh and exciting. Costumes allow you to customize each protagonist's looks with favorites like Cat Bodega and Scarlet + 2099 suits with classic into and across the spider-verse outfits. Honestly, there’s plenty to unlock to suit your needs heh. Gadgets return, a tad bit simplified from the many weaponry you could utilize, but it's not a downside since you have new abilities to utilize. Both arachnids have their skill trees with a shared linked tree to take advantage of new combat moves on foolish baddies. Super cool. The latter concerning traversal introduces a new form of travel in the form of webwings. And I kid you not, I felt like I was transported back in my childhood playing Spyro once again except taking inspiration from the guiding wind mechanic from Ghost of Tsushima in the form of wind tunnels to guide and accelerate our web slingers across blocks and tall skyscrapers. The new addition is very satisfying to a degree I find myself forgoing fast traveling multiple times to woop in delight as I soar to the skies and keep my arms by my sides to keep my speed in tip-top form. Ah, magnificent. Man if Vulture or Shocker were here, I bet we could fly circles around them.
Side activities (including city-wide collectibles) are a remarkable improvement. In the past I had mixed feelings about them as a whole since there were some activities worth completing to become a taskmaster with some caveats. In the 2020 game, they for the most part improved on the side content a vast deal. Here they’ve taken a sensational upgrade, with minor blemishes I’ll discuss later. Without going into too much detail to prevent spoilers. Mysteriums, photo ops, M. memories, Flame, FNSM App, prowler, EMF experiments, cultural museum, Brooklyn visions, and hunter blinds/bases are satisfying to complete in my honest opinion. To give a brief praise why: Mysteriums offers both a visual treat and somewhat of an extension from 2019’s Far From Home film concerning a mysterious baddie. Taking on handicap challenges to defeat within each location. Photo ops return. You gain cool NYC lore from Pete’s old Daily Bugle coworker Robbie Robertson. M. Memories, offers a melancholy monologue from the man who has sand, offering the big question of why he’s here and what he was doing. Moving on, The Flame quests is a nice departure from the pleasant vibe of the city, detailing a very serious tone and atmosphere bringing a familiar companion back to spice up moments. Love the companion of which I wont to say the name, but I’ll keep it as a surprise. The development the individual undergoes with Parker is a must-see and offers a tantalizing tease of a possible DLC. Anyway, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man app returns taking cues from 2020’s excellent side-content to help the troubled New Yorkers in the Big Apple is without a doubt spectacularly strong. They’re not the most fleshed out, not visually stunning nor are they dropping maximum compelling narratives with eyes glued to the screen nor do they offer awesome scenes with the funnest gameplay inside. Instead, what is here is simply helping your everyday citizens. And while others might see this as “meh not worth it then!” I assure you if I were to rank all the optional content. This would easily be at the top. Two requests in particular brought home an excellent display of the man behind the mask to help the people in need. Howard and the Grandpa's request demonstrate the little things of simply talking with a person in need resulting in I would say superbly profound dialogue I witnessed. I want to say so much more here and why I appreciate these two requests in particular but I’ll refrain. Suffice it to say, please complete them. The other quests from the app are also beneficial to do to a lesser extent displaying humorous & serious content.
Prowler stashes. A banger job to showcase more conversations between Miles and his uncle. Very nice re-connecting filled with bonds, love, redemption, and greater insight into the brotherhood between Miles' father and his brother. Excellent addition from the 2020 follow-up. EMF experiments, please forgive me for not saying the acronym, but again a pleasant surprise for when you learn-ingame. This features creative tasks to do in a similar vein to the research stations in the first installment. Here were charged with healing the world. Using methods to help citizens via finding alternative sources of food, preventing pollution, and providing new means to make the world a better place. Much like how Pete and Doc did with their start-up. Terrific to do featuring different tasks like blasting wasps, testing out a new bike, and more. Man, I couldn’t get enough of these. Cultural Museum surprised me considerably in enriching the player on notable African-American idols while intertwining an investigation spearheaded by none other than Miles and his mom. Finding clues as to who would try to steal priceless artifacts related to music. Nice to see them not just for culture learning, but bonding with his mom. Brooklyn Visions is a series of simple, yet creative tasks on Miles' high school to help his fellow students. Sneaky Insomniac pulling inspiration from Talos Principle puzzles, a rescue, a very heartwarming quest to help a student help facilitate a proposal for homecoming, etc. Lastly, Hunter blind/bases offer a classic clearing out hideouts, but I felt they’re more reduced in quantity and far less in numbers which is a smashing plus in my books because the previous game featured them too much imo. You also get a nice slice of lore background upon completing them. So worth it to complete. And it is cool to flex out new powers to test on foolish goons who still think once again they have a chance at defeating the spider-bros. Seriously, these guys never learn…
Speaking of learning, the devs learned quite a lot since their debut with the webslinger back then. I am over the moon to say there are plenty of interactions of the men behind the mask to show, don’t tell. And this is huge because at the core of the wall-crawler is a man who continues to struggle to manage his personal and hero life. His relationships with Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, two lifelong buddies, are instrumental in giving him the push and nudges he needs to support him and vice-versa. I witnessed endearing flashbacks back in high school, I spent a well-earned break with my loveable comrades in an amusement park. Taking the time to wisely, but gently push Miles to remember his college application. And partake in an old memory with none other than JJJ. These memories are vital to Pete’s mental health and maintaining a healthy balance. It is something that was touched upon earlier, but I felt it coming more into fruition here to a high degree. This coupled with interesting gameplay sequences like finer stealth sections and not drawn out added a stronger tie to the plot while delicately embracing bonds, friendship, brotherhood, and even love. Magnificent to witness and playthrough.
Also, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I like JJJ’s podcast. Shocker I know. I didn’t before since dude continues to be a douchebag. But the sheer amount of mental gymnastics the man has to go through to tear apart the Web menace/s is quite frankly amusing to hear. More so to listen to how he included Miles in the equation with Spider-Men. But I have to give props to him. Due to one segment in the game, which made me go “Huh I didn’t think of him that way before.” A layer was peeled off upon completing the segment and in a way brought a shaky new light to him. So here’s to you Jonah I’m giving you the praise for doing that. Although, I can never forgive you for smearing Pete’s name over the years… manchild never quits having a hate mode for all things web-like.
Before I forget I have to confess on coming into this game doubting how much Miles will contribute and I’m glad to report how wrong I was to think of that. There are plenty of main story and optional quests to undertake which do a sizzling job of contextualizing the kid becoming a man, and transitioning his life from high school to college all while maintaining healthy relationships with family. Despite hurdles along the way, he manages to help his mentor in becoming a reliable partner. Shows no fear in telling the truth and admits when he’s wrong to become a better person. Struggles internally with understandably traumatic episodes with unresolved emotions toward someone I shall not name. But here, we see so much relatability emerge and how the human element of Miles shines brightly among the darkness. And most of all he’s not alone, others think highly of him and support him when he needs it. Like Hailey. There is a wholesome segment regarding her which made me reminiscent of Jet Set Radio Future oddly enough. Pretty rad.
Before I move on, I must talk about the fantastic accessible settings the game features. QTE autocomplete, puzzle/explicit hints with skipping, chase assist, dodge/parry timing increased, swing/parkour mode, tricks mode, and turning off visual effects like motion blur and depth of field is an absolute godsend. I kid you not I abused these settings without an inch of shame so much so it increased my enjoyment of every aspect of the game to the nth degree. No more failing chases, no more head-scratching puzzles! There are loads of different and varied ones you can complete so it feels good to try and solve them before resorting to the skip option. Moving on, forgiving dodge/parry mechanic, auto web-slinging, and turning off unneeded visual effects help so much in making the hero’s life easier. Don’t get me started on the quick-time events. I love watching the cutscenes uninterrupted without the requirement to press a button. I get it if others like that, but for me, I prefer a smooth scene to watch, soak in the dialogue, and take a breather from intense action sequences. At least it's not Hideo Kojima long cutscenes to movie length here… Despite the fact, that I love long cutscenes heh.
As much as I love the game. I did have some mixed feelings. Not a positive or a negative, but for the sake of transparency I’ll note them below, since I think these elements could’ve been improved, cut, or redone. Let's start with the big one.
Two villains needed more screen time and development which was another case I talked about previously for the 2018 game. And while I didn’t make a review(yet) of Miles Morales I completed the game twice to get a feel of them. From what I could ascertain, the 2018, 2020, and 2023 arachnid games share similar problems with not enough focus on antagonists/s which I won’t name. Twist the knife deeper and attack one of either spider’s family/friends, more depth to the bad guys, more missions. Additional screen time and development. Etc. While MSM2 improves tremendously in doing something for past foes. An element I liked to see. Nonetheless, I was hungry for everything above on my suggestions regarding the two. However, I think the devs do a good job of fleshing out enough of the rest you’ll come across later.
MJ stealth missions are back and while I was dreading their possible resurgence, I have to admit it does improve a bit from the original formula. Thankfully not dragging out too much while giving her enough new tools to help. Their frequency of coming back to these sections is enormously lessened too. Granted I believe they could’ve forgone with some of this or implemented other changes than a back to the old rinse and repeat method. The director sure ain't caring a whole lot it looks like, which I think speaks volumes about her stealth sections. So perhaps it’ll change in a possible third entry? Though considering his words I heavily doubt it. Would love to be wrong though.
Several activities needed major improvement. Such as Spider-Bots return in certain parts of the game and as a collectible to collect which I love, but this time I'll discuss strange spider-bots in random parts of NYC to capture. I find it mega lacking since both web dudes will say a brief comment and a very short note in the collections menu. Felt this could be improved like how finding backpacks included a nugget of lore for past Spidey villains. They could’ve added a recording from where the bots originated to confuse Parker and Morales on why the information being extracted feels so unfamiliar and familiar. Nonetheless, the reward for collecting all of them is such a tease for fans. So I recommend it despite my thoughts on it. Furthermore, one optional activity is rinse and repeat following a drone. With barely any payoff in the end. Nice to know the outcome, but I think this could’ve been constructed differently to make the gameplay more engaging. Thankfully there is a button you can press in the menu to skip the activity altogether, yet this is merely a band-aid instead of a proper solution. The [redacted] nests are pretty repetitive time-limit challenges to complete by preventing enemies from destroying a device to destroy said nests. An easy alternative would’ve been to include more lore/worldbuilding here or replace it by having our heroes rescue our allies. Granted I will give credit for making it a cleanup task to do.
Finally, there is a stretch of the game I won’t pinpoint while excellent in its execution I think the section needed more time fleshing out. At least two to five plus hours more to let the events that occur settle in and explore more complicated nuances in what happens in friendships/family. This ties into the [redacted] nests from earlier along with more missions to showcase devastation, further ramifications of a character's actions, and worthwhile optional content related to it. Why not a side mission to save some close friends? Family? Heck, even JJJ. Introduce new enemies taking advantage of the city and criminal team-ups. I had heavy nostalgia despite the fact I’ve barely played any Spider-Man games. And there’s one in particular this game takes large inspiration among other things like the films.
One silver lining to all these mixed feelings I have that it doesn’t impact my overall experience too much. The full package of controlling either Spider-Men and living their private life is as gratifying as it is to see their hero life continue among troubled times. Which reminds me of one quote that the dev’s continue to hit time and time again to marvelous effect. “-nothing ever turns out 100 percent OK; he's got a lot of problems, and he does things wrong, and I can relate to that.” From a Stan Lee interview with the Chicago Tribune. We see constant internal and external forces continuing to batter our strong-willed protagonists to the point I was left on the edge of my seat at times. Saw them during their darkest moments. Leaving me filled with dread and anxiety. Yet despite these tumultuous emotions. There is careful thought, precision and passion in crafting original new material while taking great cues from classic sources we know like Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. among certain liberties with one of their IPs to excellent effect. Making MSM2 almost like a careful love letter without treading on familiar material to utilize. Embracing realistic and surprising scenarios sending my eyebrows nearly to the top of my hairline and my eyeballs close to expelling from my sockets. So you could say I was pretty impressed by how far Insomniac continues to twist the narrative to make it both compelling and impactful to newcomers/ veterans well used to spidey lore. And boy oh boy are we in for one hell of a ride with a spectacular duo. If this is how much Insomniac upgraded after several years, I can only shudder at how much a third possible entry would reach in the future.
8.5/10
Additional Material:
Why Miles is the MVP - Major spoilers to endgame, good focus on Miles parts.
Villains and %^&$ - Same warning as above, related to what I discussed early on villains doing something
Black Suit $%^* - Same warning as above - Related to my last point in mixed feelings
Discourse on Peter and Miles - Same warning as above - I’m hesitant to link this since I think its kinda controversial in the fandom, but I think its good food for thought. Regardless, I agree with OP.
Marvel Spider-Man 2 & Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 scenes compilation - Same warning as above. Related to my point on Raimi above. I love it.
MJ in Spider-Man 1 vs. Spider-Man 2- minor spoilers, but meme sums up her performance to a T.
If this Be My Destiny - Fascinating look on early Spidey and one of his most defining traits.
My spoiler thoughts throughout the game up to the post-credit scene - same warning as above
Spider-Man’s Marriage- Not related to MSM2. But this recent news is so uplifting I have to share it since we’ve been in major dark times ever since Paul was introduced in the comics. Finally, good news.
In a FAQ on Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. It was revealed that "The Vision of Kain'' was conceived to be a game which adults would want to play. The character Kain was modeled in part after Clint Eastwood's character in the movie "Unforgiven". In this movie, there were no "good" or "evil" characters, they were all "gray". The vision of Kain was to create a game where the player is put in the position where everyone believes you are evil, perhaps even yourself. We wanted to ask the question "What is evil? Perhaps it is merely a perspective."
The notion of evil has long been exercised for, against, and studied at length for varying degrees across countless years before the release of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Most often against the opposite side of ‘good,’ yet intensely analyzed with a fine pen from the schools of philosophy and psychology. Yet, here the concept is used in a uniquely interesting manner compared to all the other titles in the PSX library I’ve played thus far. Since released back in 1996. Offering a nuanced dark story, featuring an unconventional ‘hero’ protagonist. Where you play as the aforementioned character. A recently slain petty noble turned vampire on his quest for revenge and cure for his vampirism status. His quest is fraught with peril at every turn. He’s weak and isn’t a badass for one turned into a dark creature of the night. Hasn’t adjusted well to his transformation thus his monologues both external and internal display a cynically arrogant personality throughout. A type I vehemently abhor in video games. Yet I cannot help but become allured to his actions throughout as he marches across the lands of Nosgoth.
A medieval fantasy land full of vampires, humans, and other manner of terrifying supernatural creatures prowling the night and day. And before I entered the game, I checked the world map to see what the world is like from a geographical perspective. Nosgoth is filled with large swathes of diverse terrain. Mountainous regions, lush forests, spots of bustling towns, and fortified cities lie amidst the gentle rivers and calm lakes. Most eye-catching of all is the unusually large architectures: big skull, floating island, tall fortress near flowing lava, nine giant pillars, some kinda frozen water temple? A haunting mansion, and one colossal knight statue similar to the Argonath from Lord of the Rings. There’s more I could list but hopefully you get the picture. Jutting out with varied names attached related to the Circle of Nine. Nine powerful sorcerers who protect the pillars of Nosgoth. These pillars reflect the health of the lands. And I was struck with a burning wanderlust to travel to each exotic location and see what each experience has to offer me.
A clear strength at the forefront to lure me like bait on a hook for subtle worldbuilding. Sure it’s not as rich and dense as the Forgotten Realms universe or how nuanced the deep characters of the Witcher are in complexity. Nor does it boast the rich history from Fallout or the sinister and epic clashes from the Diablo games spilling into the world of man. Nay, Nosgoth’s light world-building is steeped in the powerful echelon of the circle, the unholy might of vampires grip onto fearful mortals, breeding suspicion, fear, and all manners of dark monsters waiting, watching to grab innocents and thus bring them closer to death's embrace. Oh yes, right off the bat the unforgiving tone and presentation caught me unawares to the point my wonder was viscerally torn at how brutal events play out here. Evil thrives in all forms and I am here for it.
Despite the malevolent atmosphere, I had plenty of fun here with some caveats I’ll talk about later. For now, I’ll reminisce on the good memories. My first impressions as several hours passed shocked me. To find the gameplay remarkably similar to the Legend of Zelda (LoZ) formula except twisted in a Vampire’s tale filled with a darker domain and dubious individuals at nearly every turn. Short to medium-length dungeons with multiple rooms and puzzles. Seen from a top-down perspective. Linear with non-linear segments for optional items or for the most studious in exploring to be richly rewarded in permanent upgrades to health and magic capacities. Different weapons, armor, spells, and transformations can be found and earned in optional caverns and cleverly tucked away basements in mausoleums or normal houses. Not a wide selection, but useful nonetheless in overcoming multiple obstacles in your path. Use a mace to break stone formations, and axes to chop trees blocking your way. Turn into a wolf to leap across great distances, a bat to fast travel and so much more. Hell, spells are useful when you’re in a pickle like summoning a lightning bolt to activate a switch from a fair distance. A light spell to illuminate your surroundings, and my favorite mind control. Oh, man! You can assume control of any enemy except bosses to reach inaccessible areas, activate a mechanism on the wall, procure consumable items, and even kill enemies! Seriously, I'm amazed at how versatile his powers are in both equipment and utility. I used them habitually time and time again as I progressed further into my quest. Removing anyone and anything from my path.
Vae Victus
In the opening FMV, those lines were uttered by Kain as he suffers with a big sword lodged through his chest and again used during combat as a battle cry. The iconic line and more is profoundly voiced by Simon Templeman. A man who eloquently becomes the aforementioned character to deliver rich monologues both external and internal. His many years of theatre experience provide such a dash of realism to the protagonist to the point I am instantly captivated by his voice just as any time Morgan Freeman talks. And this without a shadow of a doubt is one of the game's strongest points. “Where the entire story is conveyed through voice-over and first-person narrative.” told by Denis Dyack, who created the original concept of Kain. & director. I was engrossed any time Templeman spoke, and beyond the cutscenes lies numerous mystical signs littering the grounds of Nosgoth where he would speak. Of his internal thoughts. The Shakespearean-like voiced lines provide a fascinating look into the thought process, habits, personality, beliefs, values, history, relationships and so much more. Through Kain’s eyes, we see the story in a personal nature arise and combine with the mature plot. Complementing the FMV and plot beats in tandem with the excellent voice acting. In layman’s terms think of our central figure commentating aloud on the previous events, of goals in mind, self-doubts, and ruminations. It is here I felt the voiced narrative intertwine with the inhabitants ranging from all kinds of human hierarchy. Commoners, beggars, nobles, knights, guards, kings, and of course the nine sorcerers who become major subjects of interest to our 'hero' within thirty minutes of starting the game. Their voices contribute a stark contrast to the audacious personality our titular character conveys. Mortanius the necromancer, speaks to the newly turned vampire via telepathy. Supporting him with new goals. Vorador the elder vampire, a mighty being who without remorse advocates embracing blacker-than-night tendencies. Ariel, the balance of the circle, offers our main character an unusual proposal to cure his sickness. Common folks are not spared either. Granting hints via gossip on unnatural events occurring nearby. Spells, weapons, armor, and items are also given fair treatment. Our key player will briefly talk about the item at hand, any relevant history, and their purpose during battle. Never was tiring hearing these precious lines or other beings like foes. Administering an immersive quality and thus bringing liveliness and deadliness as we journey onward.
His journey, for a closer inspection underneath the surface, upholds a somewhat deadly, but mostly fair design in how dungeons, puzzles to a certain extent, and boss fights are constructed. Tying to the fun gameplay I mentioned earlier. The adequate Legend of Zelda-esque dungeon designs are designed with a mix of traps, like spikes coming from walls and floors. While pesky enemies like skeletons, wraiths, ghosts, murderous humans, etc litter rooms. Thankfully, the game employs a lot of enemy variety so we're not bored seeing mob #1 to mob #2. Switches and levers on walls to open a passageway, sometimes big puzzles requiring more than simply hitting a switch reside. Tingling the brain to use other means within your arsenal. Traveling to another location in a specific path, do so wrongly and I am teleported back to the beginning, one had me teleporting to different places, so backtracking may be needed to remember paths, some walkways may seem insurmountable, but using a handy spell or transformation will make the march trivial. There’s more I could list, but hopefully, you get the picture. To contend with these endeavors in dungeons lies a dungeon boss. Most bosses can be eliminated by any means of weaponry or ability at your disposal. The hard part is getting close to them. Usually, they’ll have a gimmick or two involved making any movement closer hastily punishing. For example, bullet hells. Illusion of death, oh you thought this would be a fair fight man vs. man, bouts of strength and attrition, etc. Overall I would say most of the encounters with each big baddie were decent to very satisfying. Some worrying signals to know though.
And this is where I'll talk about my mixed feelings. Not a positive or a negative. Simply some concerns I found that may prove troublesome for others in varying degrees. For me, all of these points brought the all-embracing experience a tad. Yet doesn’t detract too much from the positives the game entails.
First, every time you re-enter a room or corridor all enemies will re-spawn. In spite of already defeating them into oblivion. This wouldn’t be so egregious if we could gain a reward like extra items to replenish our vitality. Yet some adversaries are troublesome to defeat since they will always be without end once your character moves closer to them. Become public enemy #1 where you cannot escape until you run a sufficient amount of distance. Distance from what I experimented with leads from afar. You go into another room. And two. Run a decent amount so they cannot catch up to you. Both parts aren't really helpful in the long run if I need to go back to a previous room. Driving the knife deeper are several enemies like wraiths shooting magical bolts dealing a decent amount of damage and flinging you to one side. The game loves to slap several of these infuriating dudes in a room and have us try to kill or evade them. Imagine killing the insufferable apparitions only to forget there was a spare hidden path tucked cleverly. Oh, I should head back. OH, MAN. You guys again f%^ my life. For what it’s worth, these occurrences didn’t happen often, merely uncommon to rare times. Doesn’t help that we can't suck the essence out of foolish enemies to recover our strength. And more often than not I faced scores of foes where I cannot possibly suck their juice. Thereby taking my enjoyment a bit at times in a minor form.
Second, speaking of opponents. I think the game needs to lessen the attackers' devastation in the middle to late game. Enemies hit hard, so you’ll need to be careful of wasting precious items and spells. Dying here and using up your remaining heart of darkness(these are the only consumables to automatically restore you to life with 1/7 of your max health) sucks. I think more enemies chained on walls to freely replenish our vigor would’ve helped and a decrease in overall damage from 10-25% towards endgame would’ve helped smoothen my slight frustration. He doesn’t have a lot of health in the beginning. Regardless of the player exploring thoroughly to upgrade their total HP supply. Therefore, my endgame suffered a bit until I decided to use cheats the game employs. Starting from the halfway mark. Think button commands ala Grand Theft Auto III to restore health. Only used the commands as a last resort to recover my magic/health. And only when I had less than three hearts of darkness in my pockets. Die without any of the hearts and goodbye save file. Hello, game over screen and back to your last known save location. I should confess to prevent any misconceptions. I explored thoroughly to grab as many health and magic upgrades. To the point I was still struggling somewhat with this amount of health and magic Yet I still suffered through bloodshed. Even when I ran away most of the time. I barely used any blood spells which according to the spell description can restore your health from enemies. Using the heart as a consumable might also mitigate loss in endurance due to restoring a decent amount of health instead of dying and reviving. So maybe my playstyle suffered more because of this. Thus, your mileage may vary.
Third, both qualities of constant re-spawning of enemies as we re-enter rooms and high damage output from assailants lead me to believe the Silicon knights(the developers who created Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain) perhaps had trouble configuring the right balance of enemy placement and harmful properties. The fact there are cheats available leads me to believe that the devs saw this as a temporary bandaid to solve possible frustrations from lack of healing/revival items. I suspect perhaps if I were more vigilant and prepared properly with some tips and hints then maybe I wouldn’t have any issues. However, one other factor that may cause further difficulty is how the save system is implemented. Innately players cannot save manually anytime. They have to approach a blood shrine to activate. I found these shrines constantly in caverns, mausoleums, castles, towns, cities, and homes where a multiple-floor level resides. The problem is that they only appear at the start. So if you die mid-way through a dungeon. Welp, my dude back to square one. Only if you have no heart of darkness. If you do, you can come back alive. Thankfully before hitting a major boss, the devs saw fit to include another shrine before a bossfight. A large sigh of relief overcame my being once I saw this implemented again and again, yet this doesn’t remove the underlying dilemma. Progress lost is still progress lost. Losing minutes to half an hour can be morale-inducing to my detriment. So beware of each shrine location and how far you are from one. Still, the aspect isn’t a major negative in my books, since I was able to complete the game using the titular mechanic constantly. Merely a warning for those curious about how to save properly.
That’s it for my mixed feelings. Honestly quite a lot of my troubles I feel were attributed to my negligence to seek help in favor of a blind playthrough. I don’t regret it. But a lingering doubt in my head feels like it could’ve been better to smoothen out my overall experience. Nevertheless, the sheer strengths Silicon Knights employed back in 1996 deserve special praise to this day. The music hits the orchestral high notes while giving off epic drums and beats to intensify our moods into mythical dimensions. Complementing well with Templeman’s impeccable voice acting among others. Luring me like a helpless slave to their magnificent voices. Reminiscent of Louis de Pointe du Lac detailing his past stories as a vampire to a reporter in the film Interview with a Vampire(1994). And similar, but different in some respects to Sang-hyun. A priest who turns into a vampire. From the Korean film Thirst(2009).
In the end. The dark fantasy & bloodthirsty LoZ-like formula works almost perfectly, the solid arsenal and wicked powers our titular character can utilize are maximized to a degree, I didn’t have trouble figuring out the right solution to solve the puzzles. Sufficient amount of paths to back-track for the curious fella in need of any upgrades to become stronger. A large and dense world to traverse while listening to Kain’s constant monologues is alluring, if not horrifying to witness. As a consequence, we are treated to a captivating nuanced character development take, of a 'hero' into something else. A remarkable campaign experience from the good old days and most certainly punches above its weight class for the grayish gothic story-telling. Delving without excess on what shapes evil, different forms that come to be, why the notion exists, and for what purpose does evil maintain in a world against a different ‘evil.’ And ultimately what is the result of our malicious acts? Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain asks these mature questions without forgiveness. Through his eyes and actions, the unmaking of the human soul surges. Blackened with dark tapestry and removed of all sensible feeling. Hmmm… I wonder what awaits me plus others, as the saga moves forward to Soul Reaver. And what fate ultimately lies to Kain in the end.
Vae Victus. Suffering to the conquered.
7.7/10
References & Additional Material:
FAQ on Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. - Frequently Asked Questions on BO:LoK. Inspirations, original concept, creator etc.
Evil. Origins and all forms from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - More reading material on Evil.
Nosgoth world map - Lord of the Rings Argonath - Picture example
Playing Catch-Up - A conversation with Denis Dyack, founder of Silicon knights and creator of the original concept of Kain
Interview with Denis Dyack - On Simon Templeman who voices Kain
2nd interview with Denis Dyack - on Silicon Knights and what they tried to achieve with the first entry of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain “Where the entire story is conveyed through voice-over and first person narrative.” and more like Too Human and guild philosophy.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain cheats - Cheats if you need it. Think of button commands like GTA III cheats
Example of my endgame health and magic - Disregard the subtitle
Youtube example of slow load times on PS1 - Compared to fast loading speed on PC -
Simon Templeman - who voices Kain in every game.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain on Mobygames - Interesting to see the narrative in the genre section is horror. When wikipedia classifies the game as dark fantasy.
Plot Guide to the whole series - For all games + observations after the ending
Highly Recommend installing fan-patch on PC - Verok's GL wrapper & patch should be enough. Was easy to add after first installing the GOG version. Game is super cheap when on sale at less than 2 bucks.
Essential tips on for newcomers to Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - Previously prior to this review. There was no section for BO:LoK. On the Before I play website. So I contacted the owner and sent him my tips! Hope this helps newcomers!
The notion of evil has long been exercised for, against, and studied at length for varying degrees across countless years before the release of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Most often against the opposite side of ‘good,’ yet intensely analyzed with a fine pen from the schools of philosophy and psychology. Yet, here the concept is used in a uniquely interesting manner compared to all the other titles in the PSX library I’ve played thus far. Since released back in 1996. Offering a nuanced dark story, featuring an unconventional ‘hero’ protagonist. Where you play as the aforementioned character. A recently slain petty noble turned vampire on his quest for revenge and cure for his vampirism status. His quest is fraught with peril at every turn. He’s weak and isn’t a badass for one turned into a dark creature of the night. Hasn’t adjusted well to his transformation thus his monologues both external and internal display a cynically arrogant personality throughout. A type I vehemently abhor in video games. Yet I cannot help but become allured to his actions throughout as he marches across the lands of Nosgoth.
A medieval fantasy land full of vampires, humans, and other manner of terrifying supernatural creatures prowling the night and day. And before I entered the game, I checked the world map to see what the world is like from a geographical perspective. Nosgoth is filled with large swathes of diverse terrain. Mountainous regions, lush forests, spots of bustling towns, and fortified cities lie amidst the gentle rivers and calm lakes. Most eye-catching of all is the unusually large architectures: big skull, floating island, tall fortress near flowing lava, nine giant pillars, some kinda frozen water temple? A haunting mansion, and one colossal knight statue similar to the Argonath from Lord of the Rings. There’s more I could list but hopefully you get the picture. Jutting out with varied names attached related to the Circle of Nine. Nine powerful sorcerers who protect the pillars of Nosgoth. These pillars reflect the health of the lands. And I was struck with a burning wanderlust to travel to each exotic location and see what each experience has to offer me.
A clear strength at the forefront to lure me like bait on a hook for subtle worldbuilding. Sure it’s not as rich and dense as the Forgotten Realms universe or how nuanced the deep characters of the Witcher are in complexity. Nor does it boast the rich history from Fallout or the sinister and epic clashes from the Diablo games spilling into the world of man. Nay, Nosgoth’s light world-building is steeped in the powerful echelon of the circle, the unholy might of vampires grip onto fearful mortals, breeding suspicion, fear, and all manners of dark monsters waiting, watching to grab innocents and thus bring them closer to death's embrace. Oh yes, right off the bat the unforgiving tone and presentation caught me unawares to the point my wonder was viscerally torn at how brutal events play out here. Evil thrives in all forms and I am here for it.
Despite the malevolent atmosphere, I had plenty of fun here with some caveats I’ll talk about later. For now, I’ll reminisce on the good memories. My first impressions as several hours passed shocked me. To find the gameplay remarkably similar to the Legend of Zelda (LoZ) formula except twisted in a Vampire’s tale filled with a darker domain and dubious individuals at nearly every turn. Short to medium-length dungeons with multiple rooms and puzzles. Seen from a top-down perspective. Linear with non-linear segments for optional items or for the most studious in exploring to be richly rewarded in permanent upgrades to health and magic capacities. Different weapons, armor, spells, and transformations can be found and earned in optional caverns and cleverly tucked away basements in mausoleums or normal houses. Not a wide selection, but useful nonetheless in overcoming multiple obstacles in your path. Use a mace to break stone formations, and axes to chop trees blocking your way. Turn into a wolf to leap across great distances, a bat to fast travel and so much more. Hell, spells are useful when you’re in a pickle like summoning a lightning bolt to activate a switch from a fair distance. A light spell to illuminate your surroundings, and my favorite mind control. Oh, man! You can assume control of any enemy except bosses to reach inaccessible areas, activate a mechanism on the wall, procure consumable items, and even kill enemies! Seriously, I'm amazed at how versatile his powers are in both equipment and utility. I used them habitually time and time again as I progressed further into my quest. Removing anyone and anything from my path.
Vae Victus
In the opening FMV, those lines were uttered by Kain as he suffers with a big sword lodged through his chest and again used during combat as a battle cry. The iconic line and more is profoundly voiced by Simon Templeman. A man who eloquently becomes the aforementioned character to deliver rich monologues both external and internal. His many years of theatre experience provide such a dash of realism to the protagonist to the point I am instantly captivated by his voice just as any time Morgan Freeman talks. And this without a shadow of a doubt is one of the game's strongest points. “Where the entire story is conveyed through voice-over and first-person narrative.” told by Denis Dyack, who created the original concept of Kain. & director. I was engrossed any time Templeman spoke, and beyond the cutscenes lies numerous mystical signs littering the grounds of Nosgoth where he would speak. Of his internal thoughts. The Shakespearean-like voiced lines provide a fascinating look into the thought process, habits, personality, beliefs, values, history, relationships and so much more. Through Kain’s eyes, we see the story in a personal nature arise and combine with the mature plot. Complementing the FMV and plot beats in tandem with the excellent voice acting. In layman’s terms think of our central figure commentating aloud on the previous events, of goals in mind, self-doubts, and ruminations. It is here I felt the voiced narrative intertwine with the inhabitants ranging from all kinds of human hierarchy. Commoners, beggars, nobles, knights, guards, kings, and of course the nine sorcerers who become major subjects of interest to our 'hero' within thirty minutes of starting the game. Their voices contribute a stark contrast to the audacious personality our titular character conveys. Mortanius the necromancer, speaks to the newly turned vampire via telepathy. Supporting him with new goals. Vorador the elder vampire, a mighty being who without remorse advocates embracing blacker-than-night tendencies. Ariel, the balance of the circle, offers our main character an unusual proposal to cure his sickness. Common folks are not spared either. Granting hints via gossip on unnatural events occurring nearby. Spells, weapons, armor, and items are also given fair treatment. Our key player will briefly talk about the item at hand, any relevant history, and their purpose during battle. Never was tiring hearing these precious lines or other beings like foes. Administering an immersive quality and thus bringing liveliness and deadliness as we journey onward.
His journey, for a closer inspection underneath the surface, upholds a somewhat deadly, but mostly fair design in how dungeons, puzzles to a certain extent, and boss fights are constructed. Tying to the fun gameplay I mentioned earlier. The adequate Legend of Zelda-esque dungeon designs are designed with a mix of traps, like spikes coming from walls and floors. While pesky enemies like skeletons, wraiths, ghosts, murderous humans, etc litter rooms. Thankfully, the game employs a lot of enemy variety so we're not bored seeing mob #1 to mob #2. Switches and levers on walls to open a passageway, sometimes big puzzles requiring more than simply hitting a switch reside. Tingling the brain to use other means within your arsenal. Traveling to another location in a specific path, do so wrongly and I am teleported back to the beginning, one had me teleporting to different places, so backtracking may be needed to remember paths, some walkways may seem insurmountable, but using a handy spell or transformation will make the march trivial. There’s more I could list, but hopefully, you get the picture. To contend with these endeavors in dungeons lies a dungeon boss. Most bosses can be eliminated by any means of weaponry or ability at your disposal. The hard part is getting close to them. Usually, they’ll have a gimmick or two involved making any movement closer hastily punishing. For example, bullet hells. Illusion of death, oh you thought this would be a fair fight man vs. man, bouts of strength and attrition, etc. Overall I would say most of the encounters with each big baddie were decent to very satisfying. Some worrying signals to know though.
And this is where I'll talk about my mixed feelings. Not a positive or a negative. Simply some concerns I found that may prove troublesome for others in varying degrees. For me, all of these points brought the all-embracing experience a tad. Yet doesn’t detract too much from the positives the game entails.
First, every time you re-enter a room or corridor all enemies will re-spawn. In spite of already defeating them into oblivion. This wouldn’t be so egregious if we could gain a reward like extra items to replenish our vitality. Yet some adversaries are troublesome to defeat since they will always be without end once your character moves closer to them. Become public enemy #1 where you cannot escape until you run a sufficient amount of distance. Distance from what I experimented with leads from afar. You go into another room. And two. Run a decent amount so they cannot catch up to you. Both parts aren't really helpful in the long run if I need to go back to a previous room. Driving the knife deeper are several enemies like wraiths shooting magical bolts dealing a decent amount of damage and flinging you to one side. The game loves to slap several of these infuriating dudes in a room and have us try to kill or evade them. Imagine killing the insufferable apparitions only to forget there was a spare hidden path tucked cleverly. Oh, I should head back. OH, MAN. You guys again f%^ my life. For what it’s worth, these occurrences didn’t happen often, merely uncommon to rare times. Doesn’t help that we can't suck the essence out of foolish enemies to recover our strength. And more often than not I faced scores of foes where I cannot possibly suck their juice. Thereby taking my enjoyment a bit at times in a minor form.
Second, speaking of opponents. I think the game needs to lessen the attackers' devastation in the middle to late game. Enemies hit hard, so you’ll need to be careful of wasting precious items and spells. Dying here and using up your remaining heart of darkness(these are the only consumables to automatically restore you to life with 1/7 of your max health) sucks. I think more enemies chained on walls to freely replenish our vigor would’ve helped and a decrease in overall damage from 10-25% towards endgame would’ve helped smoothen my slight frustration. He doesn’t have a lot of health in the beginning. Regardless of the player exploring thoroughly to upgrade their total HP supply. Therefore, my endgame suffered a bit until I decided to use cheats the game employs. Starting from the halfway mark. Think button commands ala Grand Theft Auto III to restore health. Only used the commands as a last resort to recover my magic/health. And only when I had less than three hearts of darkness in my pockets. Die without any of the hearts and goodbye save file. Hello, game over screen and back to your last known save location. I should confess to prevent any misconceptions. I explored thoroughly to grab as many health and magic upgrades. To the point I was still struggling somewhat with this amount of health and magic Yet I still suffered through bloodshed. Even when I ran away most of the time. I barely used any blood spells which according to the spell description can restore your health from enemies. Using the heart as a consumable might also mitigate loss in endurance due to restoring a decent amount of health instead of dying and reviving. So maybe my playstyle suffered more because of this. Thus, your mileage may vary.
Third, both qualities of constant re-spawning of enemies as we re-enter rooms and high damage output from assailants lead me to believe the Silicon knights(the developers who created Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain) perhaps had trouble configuring the right balance of enemy placement and harmful properties. The fact there are cheats available leads me to believe that the devs saw this as a temporary bandaid to solve possible frustrations from lack of healing/revival items. I suspect perhaps if I were more vigilant and prepared properly with some tips and hints then maybe I wouldn’t have any issues. However, one other factor that may cause further difficulty is how the save system is implemented. Innately players cannot save manually anytime. They have to approach a blood shrine to activate. I found these shrines constantly in caverns, mausoleums, castles, towns, cities, and homes where a multiple-floor level resides. The problem is that they only appear at the start. So if you die mid-way through a dungeon. Welp, my dude back to square one. Only if you have no heart of darkness. If you do, you can come back alive. Thankfully before hitting a major boss, the devs saw fit to include another shrine before a bossfight. A large sigh of relief overcame my being once I saw this implemented again and again, yet this doesn’t remove the underlying dilemma. Progress lost is still progress lost. Losing minutes to half an hour can be morale-inducing to my detriment. So beware of each shrine location and how far you are from one. Still, the aspect isn’t a major negative in my books, since I was able to complete the game using the titular mechanic constantly. Merely a warning for those curious about how to save properly.
That’s it for my mixed feelings. Honestly quite a lot of my troubles I feel were attributed to my negligence to seek help in favor of a blind playthrough. I don’t regret it. But a lingering doubt in my head feels like it could’ve been better to smoothen out my overall experience. Nevertheless, the sheer strengths Silicon Knights employed back in 1996 deserve special praise to this day. The music hits the orchestral high notes while giving off epic drums and beats to intensify our moods into mythical dimensions. Complementing well with Templeman’s impeccable voice acting among others. Luring me like a helpless slave to their magnificent voices. Reminiscent of Louis de Pointe du Lac detailing his past stories as a vampire to a reporter in the film Interview with a Vampire(1994). And similar, but different in some respects to Sang-hyun. A priest who turns into a vampire. From the Korean film Thirst(2009).
In the end. The dark fantasy & bloodthirsty LoZ-like formula works almost perfectly, the solid arsenal and wicked powers our titular character can utilize are maximized to a degree, I didn’t have trouble figuring out the right solution to solve the puzzles. Sufficient amount of paths to back-track for the curious fella in need of any upgrades to become stronger. A large and dense world to traverse while listening to Kain’s constant monologues is alluring, if not horrifying to witness. As a consequence, we are treated to a captivating nuanced character development take, of a 'hero' into something else. A remarkable campaign experience from the good old days and most certainly punches above its weight class for the grayish gothic story-telling. Delving without excess on what shapes evil, different forms that come to be, why the notion exists, and for what purpose does evil maintain in a world against a different ‘evil.’ And ultimately what is the result of our malicious acts? Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain asks these mature questions without forgiveness. Through his eyes and actions, the unmaking of the human soul surges. Blackened with dark tapestry and removed of all sensible feeling. Hmmm… I wonder what awaits me plus others, as the saga moves forward to Soul Reaver. And what fate ultimately lies to Kain in the end.
Vae Victus. Suffering to the conquered.
7.7/10
References & Additional Material:
FAQ on Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. - Frequently Asked Questions on BO:LoK. Inspirations, original concept, creator etc.
Evil. Origins and all forms from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - More reading material on Evil.
Nosgoth world map - Lord of the Rings Argonath - Picture example
Playing Catch-Up - A conversation with Denis Dyack, founder of Silicon knights and creator of the original concept of Kain
Interview with Denis Dyack - On Simon Templeman who voices Kain
2nd interview with Denis Dyack - on Silicon Knights and what they tried to achieve with the first entry of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain “Where the entire story is conveyed through voice-over and first person narrative.” and more like Too Human and guild philosophy.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain cheats - Cheats if you need it. Think of button commands like GTA III cheats
Example of my endgame health and magic - Disregard the subtitle
Youtube example of slow load times on PS1 - Compared to fast loading speed on PC -
Simon Templeman - who voices Kain in every game.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain on Mobygames - Interesting to see the narrative in the genre section is horror. When wikipedia classifies the game as dark fantasy.
Plot Guide to the whole series - For all games + observations after the ending
Highly Recommend installing fan-patch on PC - Verok's GL wrapper & patch should be enough. Was easy to add after first installing the GOG version. Game is super cheap when on sale at less than 2 bucks.
Essential tips on for newcomers to Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - Previously prior to this review. There was no section for BO:LoK. On the Before I play website. So I contacted the owner and sent him my tips! Hope this helps newcomers!
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