Penumbra
Before I start this review, can I just say that I love it when games have demos? If it weren't for Dragon Quest Builders 2's (DQB2) aptly named XXL Demo I'm not sure I would've given this game a chance yet, as I never had any interest in Minecraft and this looking very much like that type of game… because it is, in a way. But there are several features that make it quite unique, such as it being a full fledged JRPG that incorpates the fact that you are playing as a genius builder that can use the sandbox in a million creative ways into its story and lore as opposed to the story just being tacked onto some Minecraft-clone.
I'm not super familiar with the Dragon Quest series, but having played DQXI I found many things that I loved also present in DQB2, such as the cute monster designs, the charming characters, the simple but endearing story that is often funny, playful, and - I don't know how to say this, maybe 'quietly emotional'? It never gets heavily dramatic, but the game being mostly light-hearted makes the emotional scenes have more depth than a more heavy-handed presentation during those moments would achieve, at least that's how I experienced it.
During the story you visit three big islands (there are two areas in the story that work a bit differently that I don't want to spoil) where you help the NPCs with their island-specific problems in the only way you know how - building! And fighting! Though the fighting is pretty simple and not too exciting, you can only attack and jump out of harm's way, and you only invest in stronger armour and weapons to get better. The boss fights with their own gimmicks are more fun.
Every island has one big goal you work towards to, but there are also smaller sidequests where NPCs want a certain type of room built, for example. 'Rooms' is where the fun begins: The game can recognize a variety of rooms, like a kitchen, a bedroom, a pool or a field, that NPCs will use accordingly; so cooking in the kitchen, sleeping in the bedroom etc. There are different types of NPCs that will do different tasks according to their job. So farmers will work on fields,playboy bunnies dancers will dance in a dance hall, soldiers will fight monsters. Everyone of them will use communal places, and you can also assign rooms to individual people. There are farm animals and many different crops, because you need food to function.
The tasks of what and where to build during the story don't leave much room for imagination, the main quest is essentially designed for you to learn what is possible to build in this game. In between chapters you return to your home island where you are free to build whatever. Though the game only really opens up after completing the story which took me (including side-questing and exploring) ca. 70 hours. In the late-/endgame you are encouraged to fulfill certain tasks to unlock better equipment that will really help with planning, building and terraforming.
There are several smaller islands on the world map that are randomly generated but always adhere to a special biome that has specific ressources you can collect. If you 'marked' every single ressource of an island once you unlock an infinite amount of the most commonly used ressources like wood and stone. You can also recruit new NPCs from these islands to come back home with you. In short, there's lots to do and to explore even late into the game and the game rewards you pretty much every time for it. And that's not even taking into account the things you build just for fun.
Regarding the Minecraft comparison, there were two big reasons I never tried it: I don't like the look, and I wouldn't know what to build anyway. DQB2 counters this on one hand with being a very pretty game that has more geometrical shapes than just blocks. Characters look like DQ characters, monsters like DQ monsters. There are of course many block shaped blocks to build structures and landscapes, but also a huge amount of normal looking stuff like furniture, plants and flowers, food and decorative food items, other decorative items etc. And on the other hand, the more restrictive nature during the main story and the NPC-usable rooms coupled with them having their own room preferences give an uncreative and not at all architecture-savvy person like me guidance enough for knowing what to build. It also gives my buildings purpose because they will actually get used by someone other than me. The world feels alive, and it's my mission to make it habitable. And pretty. And in a couple hundred hours I may actually achieve that… (No, you did not just see me building a mini Las Vegas-like entertainment paradise for 100 hours straight just to finish it and thinking, well, that was fun, let's bulldoze it all to the ground and build something new 🙃)
I'm not super familiar with the Dragon Quest series, but having played DQXI I found many things that I loved also present in DQB2, such as the cute monster designs, the charming characters, the simple but endearing story that is often funny, playful, and - I don't know how to say this, maybe 'quietly emotional'? It never gets heavily dramatic, but the game being mostly light-hearted makes the emotional scenes have more depth than a more heavy-handed presentation during those moments would achieve, at least that's how I experienced it.
During the story you visit three big islands (there are two areas in the story that work a bit differently that I don't want to spoil) where you help the NPCs with their island-specific problems in the only way you know how - building! And fighting! Though the fighting is pretty simple and not too exciting, you can only attack and jump out of harm's way, and you only invest in stronger armour and weapons to get better. The boss fights with their own gimmicks are more fun.
Every island has one big goal you work towards to, but there are also smaller sidequests where NPCs want a certain type of room built, for example. 'Rooms' is where the fun begins: The game can recognize a variety of rooms, like a kitchen, a bedroom, a pool or a field, that NPCs will use accordingly; so cooking in the kitchen, sleeping in the bedroom etc. There are different types of NPCs that will do different tasks according to their job. So farmers will work on fields,
The tasks of what and where to build during the story don't leave much room for imagination, the main quest is essentially designed for you to learn what is possible to build in this game. In between chapters you return to your home island where you are free to build whatever. Though the game only really opens up after completing the story which took me (including side-questing and exploring) ca. 70 hours. In the late-/endgame you are encouraged to fulfill certain tasks to unlock better equipment that will really help with planning, building and terraforming.
There are several smaller islands on the world map that are randomly generated but always adhere to a special biome that has specific ressources you can collect. If you 'marked' every single ressource of an island once you unlock an infinite amount of the most commonly used ressources like wood and stone. You can also recruit new NPCs from these islands to come back home with you. In short, there's lots to do and to explore even late into the game and the game rewards you pretty much every time for it. And that's not even taking into account the things you build just for fun.
Regarding the Minecraft comparison, there were two big reasons I never tried it: I don't like the look, and I wouldn't know what to build anyway. DQB2 counters this on one hand with being a very pretty game that has more geometrical shapes than just blocks. Characters look like DQ characters, monsters like DQ monsters. There are of course many block shaped blocks to build structures and landscapes, but also a huge amount of normal looking stuff like furniture, plants and flowers, food and decorative food items, other decorative items etc. And on the other hand, the more restrictive nature during the main story and the NPC-usable rooms coupled with them having their own room preferences give an uncreative and not at all architecture-savvy person like me guidance enough for knowing what to build. It also gives my buildings purpose because they will actually get used by someone other than me. The world feels alive, and it's my mission to make it habitable. And pretty. And in a couple hundred hours I may actually achieve that… (No, you did not just see me building a mini Las Vegas-like entertainment paradise for 100 hours straight just to finish it and thinking, well, that was fun, let's bulldoze it all to the ground and build something new 🙃)
2021
As someone too young to have been able to experience the NES-era of games, playing Final Fantasy felt a bit unreal to me. I got into the series with XV in 2019 and have since played all mainline singleplayer FFs (and a few spin-offs) available on PS4. With the announcement of the Pixel Remasters I was excited to experience that 'classic era' of FF, starting with the original: Final Fantasy.
Although the plot is simple and the characters are more of a player insert, the overall presentation is what makes the journey charming and memorable. The soundtrack, for one, was beautifully rearranged (though you can select the original OST if you prefer). The graphics and especially the character and monster designs are just so pretty to look at. Final Fantasy really achieves that fairytale feeling that makes you marvel at the world.
Your party consists of four characters with six classes to choose from - I chose the inital setup consisting of warrior, thief, white and black mage, with red mage and black belt also being available. Various quality of life changes like being able to save anywhere on the overworld and to quicksave in dungeons, and things like characters automatically hitting the next available enemy if the targeted one died before their turn results in faster gameplay than in the original version. I don't know why I expected the ATB system, but that apparently doesn't appear until FFIV. In this game, you select the actions for all four characters at once, and only then do enemy actions come into play. After your fourth action was performed, you do it again etc. It's not a mechanic that I prefer (I'd say I like the fighting in VIIR, XII & X the most), but it also didn’t prevent me from enjoying the fighting. The magic system is interesting: For each level of magic, you can purchase 3 out of 4 spells for a character. Each level also has a set amount of magic points which determine how often you can cast a spell. At the beginning it is low, like 2 for example, so you can use a spell only two times before you have to sleep in an inn to replenish. It's a nice change to the usual MP mechanic I'm used to and made the battles more tactical.
In general, the battles are fairly easy except for the final boss. In the beginning, you may find yourself debilitated by poison, or some groups of stronger enemies are threatening, but you quickly overcome these early difficulties. Battles are also annoyingly frequent, so the option to disable random encounters was at times really appreciated. The usefulness of loot from treasure chests also varied. In the end, these criticisms didn't matter that much because the game didn't overstay its welcome, as I finished it in around 13-14 hours.
Even if many things seemed familiar because of my knowledge of later FF games, this game was more than just >insert Leo DiCaprio pointing meme here<. It may not be perfect or my favourite in the series, but it's so endearing and sincere. And when the final scrolling text addresses you, the player, directly… sometimes it's the little things that really get you, you know?
Although the plot is simple and the characters are more of a player insert, the overall presentation is what makes the journey charming and memorable. The soundtrack, for one, was beautifully rearranged (though you can select the original OST if you prefer). The graphics and especially the character and monster designs are just so pretty to look at. Final Fantasy really achieves that fairytale feeling that makes you marvel at the world.
Your party consists of four characters with six classes to choose from - I chose the inital setup consisting of warrior, thief, white and black mage, with red mage and black belt also being available. Various quality of life changes like being able to save anywhere on the overworld and to quicksave in dungeons, and things like characters automatically hitting the next available enemy if the targeted one died before their turn results in faster gameplay than in the original version. I don't know why I expected the ATB system, but that apparently doesn't appear until FFIV. In this game, you select the actions for all four characters at once, and only then do enemy actions come into play. After your fourth action was performed, you do it again etc. It's not a mechanic that I prefer (I'd say I like the fighting in VIIR, XII & X the most), but it also didn’t prevent me from enjoying the fighting. The magic system is interesting: For each level of magic, you can purchase 3 out of 4 spells for a character. Each level also has a set amount of magic points which determine how often you can cast a spell. At the beginning it is low, like 2 for example, so you can use a spell only two times before you have to sleep in an inn to replenish. It's a nice change to the usual MP mechanic I'm used to and made the battles more tactical.
In general, the battles are fairly easy except for the final boss. In the beginning, you may find yourself debilitated by poison, or some groups of stronger enemies are threatening, but you quickly overcome these early difficulties. Battles are also annoyingly frequent, so the option to disable random encounters was at times really appreciated. The usefulness of loot from treasure chests also varied. In the end, these criticisms didn't matter that much because the game didn't overstay its welcome, as I finished it in around 13-14 hours.
Even if many things seemed familiar because of my knowledge of later FF games, this game was more than just >insert Leo DiCaprio pointing meme here<. It may not be perfect or my favourite in the series, but it's so endearing and sincere. And when the final scrolling text addresses you, the player, directly… sometimes it's the little things that really get you, you know?
In my review of the original Sins of the Fathers I explicitly mentioned the strength of Jane Jensen’s script as the defining core of the game. This remake being faithful to that, it inherits this particular strength from its predecessor. Its differences in art, atmosphere, design and voice-over on the other hand make it clearly inferior to the original. Its few positive changes might still be an argument for some players to rather play this than the original if they simply cannot do with the pixely/old-schooly-ness (that's a word, right?). To not repeat myself in this review, I’ll just mention the positive and negative changes I noticed:
The Good: The new interface is a change for the better; the context menu makes interactivity easier. The inventory menu now highlights items that can be more closely examined or combined. The higher resolution plus new 'view angles' for some shelves, tables, etc. also let you examine stuff more easily and add more detail. The map is accessible from anywhere, meaning that you don’t have to walk to an exit every time. These are all welcome quality of life changes. One other positive change is the interior of the castle hall, which is now more realistic and closer to the sequel's depiction.
There are also some new additions: There is a new scene added later in the game at the police station, which is cool. The prequel comic for Sins of the Fathers that was shipped with the original game‘s box is now accessible from the main menu. It explains the background of what is going on in Gabriel's dreams. You don't have to read it before playing the game, in fact, it might be better for the mystery if you don't because Gabriel only gradually learns about his family's past.
At every location in-game you can access a newly added menu which shows the original sketch for that location and the look from the original game. Interviews and comments from the original developers were also added. (Have I said 'original' enough times?)
The 'meh': Very few puzzles are slightly changed but it's not detrimental. Some puzzles were added and feel weirdly out of place. I don't think they're completely bad, just unnecessary. Then, the music: The sound quality is undoubtedly an improvement. But, and I am biased here loving the original OST so much, the arrangements are a bit hit or miss. Some I really like, some are worse because they lose the atmosphere of the original - compare the vooodoo museum track: old vs. new - which is a problem of the game itself and therefore I won't judge the music for that; it has to adapt to the new style. I just prefer the more synth-y feel of the original.
The Bad: I'll start with a nitpick, but why roll the credits after the initial nightmare sequence? It hurts the pacing and is just such a weird way to start the adventure. With that out of the way, onto the heavy stuff: The characters' animations are not so great. They take too long (being not as fluid as the 2D sprites) which makes certain actions they take annoying. They can also suddenly change their pace while walking or make awkward gestures while moving. They feel weirdly outdated, but that's probably due to the budget. The animated character portraits during conversations are also weird, some of them having outright dead eyes. The faces are sometimes a drastic change from the original… They also replaced some scenes which were originally created in-game with more comic panels (these being used in both games for important cutscenes) and removed many incidental movements to cut extra animation.
The biggest change is rooted in the initial idea of making the remake episodic (ugh): The game is more linear than the first, with the intention of giving each day the same amount of content. Even disregarding that the non-linear approach was so good in the original, this new design makes no sense in some scenarios. Without spoiling, there is a character you now 'have to' find and figure out how to talk to, but can’t advance with further because you lack information you gain on another day. It also affects the hunt for specific clues, with one clue obtainable when you don’t need it anymore. This makes the new structure feel artificial, as well as frustrating for returning players. Though it may make some puzzles easier for newcomers, I doubt that clicking on several locations only to learn that they are 'closed' at the moment is very inviting.
The new voice actors are… okay. They are generally a good fit for the characters. But they just don’t compare to the original cast, e.g. in regards to nuance, charm and personality.
The new backgrounds, and the lighting especially, are much warmer than the original. And, in some places, also more drab - some comparisons here. It’s a completely different atmosphere that, of course, changes the tone for the whole game. It has less of a distinct 'look' and just isn’t as nice as the original - higher resolution or not. It also makes the supernatural stuff feel less realistic by not reflecticing the gothic nature of the story appropriately.
In summary, while the remake offers some quality of life changes that can be genuinely considered positive, the overall presentation and forced linearity are too much of a change for the worse. This also applies, but less harshly, to the new voice-over. The 20th Anniversary Edition feels too different and loses so much of what made the original truly special, with these design decisions not making it have a solid identity of its own, either.
The Good: The new interface is a change for the better; the context menu makes interactivity easier. The inventory menu now highlights items that can be more closely examined or combined. The higher resolution plus new 'view angles' for some shelves, tables, etc. also let you examine stuff more easily and add more detail. The map is accessible from anywhere, meaning that you don’t have to walk to an exit every time. These are all welcome quality of life changes. One other positive change is the interior of the castle hall, which is now more realistic and closer to the sequel's depiction.
There are also some new additions: There is a new scene added later in the game at the police station, which is cool. The prequel comic for Sins of the Fathers that was shipped with the original game‘s box is now accessible from the main menu. It explains the background of what is going on in Gabriel's dreams. You don't have to read it before playing the game, in fact, it might be better for the mystery if you don't because Gabriel only gradually learns about his family's past.
At every location in-game you can access a newly added menu which shows the original sketch for that location and the look from the original game. Interviews and comments from the original developers were also added. (Have I said 'original' enough times?)
The 'meh': Very few puzzles are slightly changed but it's not detrimental. Some puzzles were added and feel weirdly out of place. I don't think they're completely bad, just unnecessary. Then, the music: The sound quality is undoubtedly an improvement. But, and I am biased here loving the original OST so much, the arrangements are a bit hit or miss. Some I really like, some are worse because they lose the atmosphere of the original - compare the vooodoo museum track: old vs. new - which is a problem of the game itself and therefore I won't judge the music for that; it has to adapt to the new style. I just prefer the more synth-y feel of the original.
The Bad: I'll start with a nitpick, but why roll the credits after the initial nightmare sequence? It hurts the pacing and is just such a weird way to start the adventure. With that out of the way, onto the heavy stuff: The characters' animations are not so great. They take too long (being not as fluid as the 2D sprites) which makes certain actions they take annoying. They can also suddenly change their pace while walking or make awkward gestures while moving. They feel weirdly outdated, but that's probably due to the budget. The animated character portraits during conversations are also weird, some of them having outright dead eyes. The faces are sometimes a drastic change from the original… They also replaced some scenes which were originally created in-game with more comic panels (these being used in both games for important cutscenes) and removed many incidental movements to cut extra animation.
The biggest change is rooted in the initial idea of making the remake episodic (ugh): The game is more linear than the first, with the intention of giving each day the same amount of content. Even disregarding that the non-linear approach was so good in the original, this new design makes no sense in some scenarios. Without spoiling, there is a character you now 'have to' find and figure out how to talk to, but can’t advance with further because you lack information you gain on another day. It also affects the hunt for specific clues, with one clue obtainable when you don’t need it anymore. This makes the new structure feel artificial, as well as frustrating for returning players. Though it may make some puzzles easier for newcomers, I doubt that clicking on several locations only to learn that they are 'closed' at the moment is very inviting.
The new voice actors are… okay. They are generally a good fit for the characters. But they just don’t compare to the original cast, e.g. in regards to nuance, charm and personality.
The new backgrounds, and the lighting especially, are much warmer than the original. And, in some places, also more drab - some comparisons here. It’s a completely different atmosphere that, of course, changes the tone for the whole game. It has less of a distinct 'look' and just isn’t as nice as the original - higher resolution or not. It also makes the supernatural stuff feel less realistic by not reflecticing the gothic nature of the story appropriately.
In summary, while the remake offers some quality of life changes that can be genuinely considered positive, the overall presentation and forced linearity are too much of a change for the worse. This also applies, but less harshly, to the new voice-over. The 20th Anniversary Edition feels too different and loses so much of what made the original truly special, with these design decisions not making it have a solid identity of its own, either.
After she had co-designed EcoQuest and King’s Quest VI at Sierra On-Line, Jane Jensen was encouraged by Roberta Williams to pitch her own adventure game series to Sierra. When she came up with Gabriel Knight, it was unlike anything the company or the genre at large had produced up to that point: a dark and mature supernatural mystery, with a huge focus on story, characters and dialogue. Jensen, a writer at heart, thought that this type of game would lend itself perfectly to the adventure game genre, unveiling a mystery by collecting and combining clues, talking to people etc. - and, as it turns out, she was right.
The game is divided into days that serve as chapters. A day ends when certain objectives have been achieved. Despite this structure Sins of the Fathers is a very non-linear game. You can visit many locations in and around New Orleans from Day 1 on, regardless if they’re important for the task at hand. This lets you explore at your own terms, making the city feel more alive and trusting the player to follow along the clues and the overall mystery, which is very satisfying.
The story is intriguing from the very beginning, with Gabriel’s nightmares mirroring the events of the past. His investigation slowly but surely uncovers more horrifying truths while the supernatural elements keep increasing, until he has to confront his family’s secret legacy. The game is not devoid of humour, though: Gabriel is a womanizing rogue that is kept in check by Grace, his assisstant, and her sarcastic replies. His and Detective Mosely’s banter is equally as delightful. The dialogue is brought to life by terrific actors: Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Leah Remini, Michael Dorn, as well as Virginia Capers who acts as the narrator, which means she mostly describes objects the player investigates, often giving witty remarks in regards to Gabriel ("Gabriel’s mini-stereo isn’t exactly high-fidelity. Then again, neither is he."). You can devote much of your time listening to what the characters have to tell you outside of the necessary investigation stuff, talking about their backgrounds, interests or any topic of conversation you have unlocked so far.
The game oozes atmosphere with its beautifully drawn backgrounds that deliver a cold, dark, mysterious mood with lots of symbolism in either details or strong colour accents. Places like Grandma Knight’s house or Gabriel’s bookstore have the warmth they need while still adhering to the overall colour palette. The art really makes the gothic personality of the story come to life visually. The soundtrack was composed by Robert Holmes who was also the producer for the game. His music complements every scene perfectly - one of my personal favourite game soundtracks. Just listen to the tracks for the Voodoo Museum, Lake Pontchartrain, the Bayou, or the Main Theme.
Even though the art style is charming, the low resolution means a bit of pixel hunting. You may think you investigated an area fully - some pixels may disagree. This, combined with some complex puzzles, means the difficulty for the game is relatively high. The non-linearity also plays into that, but it’s never illogical. There is a focus on the puzzles containing actions the character would realistically do. Another part where the game shows its age is the point-and-click interface which is a bit awkward to use. You can change the cursor and the associated action - look, use, etc. - by right-clicking. This in itself is fine, but having eight different cursors makes switching them not as fluid as it could be. You can also choose the cursor from the extendable menu at the top of the screen, which is fine but again not as fluid as mechanics found in later adventure games. Of course, this being a Sierra game after all, deaths are to be expected and can occur in later parts of the game; so you better save regularly.
Except for these few age-related issues, the game is a great adventure to play even today. (And definitely better than the remake.) Presentation and game design are superb, with the story and characters as the game's heart and soul - a strength that would consistently define all of Jensen's following adventures.
The game is divided into days that serve as chapters. A day ends when certain objectives have been achieved. Despite this structure Sins of the Fathers is a very non-linear game. You can visit many locations in and around New Orleans from Day 1 on, regardless if they’re important for the task at hand. This lets you explore at your own terms, making the city feel more alive and trusting the player to follow along the clues and the overall mystery, which is very satisfying.
The story is intriguing from the very beginning, with Gabriel’s nightmares mirroring the events of the past. His investigation slowly but surely uncovers more horrifying truths while the supernatural elements keep increasing, until he has to confront his family’s secret legacy. The game is not devoid of humour, though: Gabriel is a womanizing rogue that is kept in check by Grace, his assisstant, and her sarcastic replies. His and Detective Mosely’s banter is equally as delightful. The dialogue is brought to life by terrific actors: Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Leah Remini, Michael Dorn, as well as Virginia Capers who acts as the narrator, which means she mostly describes objects the player investigates, often giving witty remarks in regards to Gabriel ("Gabriel’s mini-stereo isn’t exactly high-fidelity. Then again, neither is he."). You can devote much of your time listening to what the characters have to tell you outside of the necessary investigation stuff, talking about their backgrounds, interests or any topic of conversation you have unlocked so far.
The game oozes atmosphere with its beautifully drawn backgrounds that deliver a cold, dark, mysterious mood with lots of symbolism in either details or strong colour accents. Places like Grandma Knight’s house or Gabriel’s bookstore have the warmth they need while still adhering to the overall colour palette. The art really makes the gothic personality of the story come to life visually. The soundtrack was composed by Robert Holmes who was also the producer for the game. His music complements every scene perfectly - one of my personal favourite game soundtracks. Just listen to the tracks for the Voodoo Museum, Lake Pontchartrain, the Bayou, or the Main Theme.
Even though the art style is charming, the low resolution means a bit of pixel hunting. You may think you investigated an area fully - some pixels may disagree. This, combined with some complex puzzles, means the difficulty for the game is relatively high. The non-linearity also plays into that, but it’s never illogical. There is a focus on the puzzles containing actions the character would realistically do. Another part where the game shows its age is the point-and-click interface which is a bit awkward to use. You can change the cursor and the associated action - look, use, etc. - by right-clicking. This in itself is fine, but having eight different cursors makes switching them not as fluid as it could be. You can also choose the cursor from the extendable menu at the top of the screen, which is fine but again not as fluid as mechanics found in later adventure games. Of course, this being a Sierra game after all, deaths are to be expected and can occur in later parts of the game; so you better save regularly.
Except for these few age-related issues, the game is a great adventure to play even today. (And definitely better than the remake.) Presentation and game design are superb, with the story and characters as the game's heart and soul - a strength that would consistently define all of Jensen's following adventures.
If you’ve played The Witcher 3 you probably have an opinion about Gwent, its playing cards mini game. From what I’ve heard/read, people either get super into it - or are completely ignoring it. I was part of the latter, after losing my first two or three matches. Though when I gave it an honest try in a new playthrough, I became hooked.
Before I knew about Thronebreaker, I’d only heard about the online multiplayer game, Gwent, which I had no interest in. But Thronebreaker is more than just an extension of that, it’s its own singleplayer game, a 'card game RPG' with a fully detailed story and characters and tough decisions to make. If you liked the worldbuilding in the Witcher games, you get one just as rich here, and if you liked Gwent in The Witcher 3, you’ll probably like the gameplay here, too - although it’s quite a bit different.
The biggest change is that every card has active or passive abilities of its own, and there are many of them. At the beginning this may seem a bit daunting, but even during a match you can always look up how each card and its ability works, and eventually you can come up with ways to synergize and develop strategies that go beyond what the original mini game could offer.
Matches are either battles or puzzles. During battles you have to defeat your opponent, either in a straightforward have-more-points-than-them way, or under certain conditions, like under x amount of turns. Puzzles are especially fun: They provide you with a specific deck of cards that you must use creatively to solve the puzzle. They can get pretty difficult and there were a few instances where the conditions where a bit unclear, but I enjoyed those types of matches the most. Also like everything else in this game, they are always part of a story, and the cards that are used reflect that.
Speaking of story, you play as queen Meve, one of the - in my opinion - best written protagonists in video games. The premise, reclaiming your kingdom, may seem simple, but Meve’s journey is anything but. Throughout the game you are faced with dilemmas, and the responsibility for your troops and occupied kingdom makes many of the choices weigh even heavier than in The Witcher 3. At least from my perspective, I could usually find a way to argue for the 'lesser evil' in that game, which I feel is harder to do in Thronebreaker. There are short and long-term consequences that will not only affect the story, but also the gameplay. Your relationships to the characters that accompany you will change depending on what you do.
When you are not playing cards or following the story you move Meve on the beautifully drawn world maps from an isometric perspective. You can search for treasure chests and resources, or engage in side quests. The camp, where you can manage and create cards, read documents and talk to your companions, is not a fixed location but can be accessed anytime on the world map. Upgrading it and the card deck is what the resources are for.
What hinders Thronebreaker in achieving greatness are pacing and difficulty issues that become apparent in the later parts of the game. If you want to explore the map fully you get thrown into too many battles that seem to just stretch the game’s runtime. They also become almost exclusively three-round matches, which means you have to at least play two rounds to win, as opposed to one-round matches that appeared more frequently before. You also begin to easily defeat enemies (at least on normal difficulty) in a 'one strategy to rule them all' way and are not pushed to really familiarize yourself with new cards. The final battle on the other hand is really tough and requires strategies that were not needed in (boss) battles before that. This can all feel a bit tiring when you just want for it to end.
Regardless, I'd recommend Thronebreaker to people who like Witcher-esque storytelling and are open to a different version of Gwent, that, despite some issues, is engaging to play.
Before I knew about Thronebreaker, I’d only heard about the online multiplayer game, Gwent, which I had no interest in. But Thronebreaker is more than just an extension of that, it’s its own singleplayer game, a 'card game RPG' with a fully detailed story and characters and tough decisions to make. If you liked the worldbuilding in the Witcher games, you get one just as rich here, and if you liked Gwent in The Witcher 3, you’ll probably like the gameplay here, too - although it’s quite a bit different.
The biggest change is that every card has active or passive abilities of its own, and there are many of them. At the beginning this may seem a bit daunting, but even during a match you can always look up how each card and its ability works, and eventually you can come up with ways to synergize and develop strategies that go beyond what the original mini game could offer.
Matches are either battles or puzzles. During battles you have to defeat your opponent, either in a straightforward have-more-points-than-them way, or under certain conditions, like under x amount of turns. Puzzles are especially fun: They provide you with a specific deck of cards that you must use creatively to solve the puzzle. They can get pretty difficult and there were a few instances where the conditions where a bit unclear, but I enjoyed those types of matches the most. Also like everything else in this game, they are always part of a story, and the cards that are used reflect that.
Speaking of story, you play as queen Meve, one of the - in my opinion - best written protagonists in video games. The premise, reclaiming your kingdom, may seem simple, but Meve’s journey is anything but. Throughout the game you are faced with dilemmas, and the responsibility for your troops and occupied kingdom makes many of the choices weigh even heavier than in The Witcher 3. At least from my perspective, I could usually find a way to argue for the 'lesser evil' in that game, which I feel is harder to do in Thronebreaker. There are short and long-term consequences that will not only affect the story, but also the gameplay. Your relationships to the characters that accompany you will change depending on what you do.
When you are not playing cards or following the story you move Meve on the beautifully drawn world maps from an isometric perspective. You can search for treasure chests and resources, or engage in side quests. The camp, where you can manage and create cards, read documents and talk to your companions, is not a fixed location but can be accessed anytime on the world map. Upgrading it and the card deck is what the resources are for.
What hinders Thronebreaker in achieving greatness are pacing and difficulty issues that become apparent in the later parts of the game. If you want to explore the map fully you get thrown into too many battles that seem to just stretch the game’s runtime. They also become almost exclusively three-round matches, which means you have to at least play two rounds to win, as opposed to one-round matches that appeared more frequently before. You also begin to easily defeat enemies (at least on normal difficulty) in a 'one strategy to rule them all' way and are not pushed to really familiarize yourself with new cards. The final battle on the other hand is really tough and requires strategies that were not needed in (boss) battles before that. This can all feel a bit tiring when you just want for it to end.
Regardless, I'd recommend Thronebreaker to people who like Witcher-esque storytelling and are open to a different version of Gwent, that, despite some issues, is engaging to play.
I’ll be honest: When I first laid eyes on Gabriel Knight 3, I found it ugly. It reminded me of that phase where 'traditional' 2D point-and-click adventures jumped on the 3D bandwagon, which mostly meant that they had a less pretty art style and/or had to incorporate new controls to move the player character in three-dimensional space; which, seeing how the pointing-and-clicking mechanic had developed to be even more comfortable to use - compare the SCUMM commands to the context menus or change of cursor - seems like a step back. Also, I couldn’t get the game to run properly and it would frequently crash. I played for maybe five minutes, got discouraged, and dropped it.
Well, considering Gabriel Knight 1 & 2 are among my favourite video games ever, and replaying them made me crave more of that Jane Jensen Magic™, I gave GK3 a second try. I’m no PC expert, but I got it to run well and, to my surprise, I quickly immersed myself in the game world. It reminded me of simpler times, where the graphical power of a PS1 was enough to let me daydream and wonder about all these worlds I could enter. And reading this interview about the nearly disastrous development of the game that almost led to it being canceled made me appreciate the end product all the more.
And it actually plays well. The only time it stutters a bit is if you try to move the camera directly after saving/loading; it takes a few seconds to run smoothly again. The cursor is used in old point-and-click fashion: If it changes its colour slightly, you can left-click on the object to open a context menu to further interact with it. Right-clicking lets you access your inventory as well as the settings. The keyboard, in conjunction with the mouse, is used to move the camera, which isn’t tied to the player character. This takes some time getting used to, but it works and is probably the best way to make the genre work in 3D space. The context menu usually includes the option to put the camera at an optimal angle to view something, which is very helpful. What’s interesting to note is that this whole new perspective also shaped some of the puzzles and how specific scenes will play out in real time.
Similar to its predecessors, GK3 is divided into chapters. Unlike them, a chapter doesn’t last a whole day, but only a few hours. This makes the world feel more alive, because as the time progresses, NPCs will do different things at different locations. A chapter ends when specific conditions are met, e.g. a specific puzzle solved or clue unveiled. But along the way are often optional things to be done, which, while not necessary to complete the game, broaden your perspective on things. One example: At one point you will get a fingerprint kit. Throughout the game you will have several opportunities to get the fingerprints from your pool of suspects. You can miss some (or even all of them?), but getting them and finding out stuff by yourself is more rewarding. This 'optional side-quest' works understandably especially well with the constant movement of characters between chapters. Even smaller things like dialogue options or just investigating objects more thoroughly is optional stuff that yields you - apart from being rewarding in itself - extra points. It may be frustrating from a completionist standpoint to miss some of these things (there are also timed events), but it, too, makes the investigation and world feel more alive. You can also save anytime, as well as quicksave, so doing that before you enter a new area at a new time makes potential backtracking less tedious.
The story is again dealing with the supernatural, which is intertwined with real world history and beliefs. It starts in medias res with Gabriel following a pair of maybe (definitely) vampiric kidnappers in France and spins a complex tale where a conspiracy about a hidden treasure and the involvement of the Knights Templar only marks the beginning. The in-game computer (which is also used for a rather complex but fascinating series of puzzles) even has its own little Wikipedia-like database with dozens of entries relating to all the events mentioned in the game. The investigation and uncovering of all mysteries is very captivating.
If there is one thing to criticize about the story it's that its different threads don’t lead to quite a satisfying ending; I feel that the primary antagonist and his unfolding scheme in the end are a bit lacking. On the other hand, the game succeeds in giving a pretty WTF revelation at the end that feels rather daring. It also makes me sad that we’ll probably never get a fourth entry in the series, oh well… at least we get a free post-GK3 short story / comic (Sadly, the website shut down, but the story is still available in both formats via the Wayback Machine/Internet Archive // Spoilers for the whole series).
The characters and dialogue are interesting and witty as always, and I especially like how Gabriel and Grace grow individually, as well as how their relationship develops. Gabriel is once again voiced by Tim Curry, who manages to walk the fine line of Gabriel's characterization; honestly, many dialogue bits that he mumbles to himself would sound plain ridiculous if it weren’t for his coolness and attitude, he’s fantastic.
What else is fantastic? The soundtrack! It’s composed by David Henry and Robert Holmes. While Holmes had previously contributed to the series, Henry was new. I couldn’t find any decisive info how big each composer's contribution for the whole thing was, but from my understanding Henry was the main composer and took inspiration from Holmes' established themes for the series.
In the end all that is left to say for me is that I find it fascinating how the Gabriel Knight series turned out. Starting as a more traditional 2D pixel-y point-and-click game (from today’s perspective, its direction was a whole new thing for Sierra at the time), becoming an FMV adventure and lastly transforming into 3D: Every entry is a fresh, unique experience, while the essence of what makes the series great stays the same. After initially rejecting Gabriel Knight 3, I now wouldn’t have it any other way.
-----
- Again, I’m no expert, but how it worked for me on Windows 10 was: Right-click on the .exe file that launches the game --> go to properties, then compatibility --> make it run in compatibility mode for Windows 95, select the 640x480 screen resolution, deactivate full screen optimization, et voilà!
- FYI: When you overwrite a save, make sure to hit 'Save' again after agreeing to overwrite it :)
Well, considering Gabriel Knight 1 & 2 are among my favourite video games ever, and replaying them made me crave more of that Jane Jensen Magic™, I gave GK3 a second try. I’m no PC expert, but I got it to run well and, to my surprise, I quickly immersed myself in the game world. It reminded me of simpler times, where the graphical power of a PS1 was enough to let me daydream and wonder about all these worlds I could enter. And reading this interview about the nearly disastrous development of the game that almost led to it being canceled made me appreciate the end product all the more.
And it actually plays well. The only time it stutters a bit is if you try to move the camera directly after saving/loading; it takes a few seconds to run smoothly again. The cursor is used in old point-and-click fashion: If it changes its colour slightly, you can left-click on the object to open a context menu to further interact with it. Right-clicking lets you access your inventory as well as the settings. The keyboard, in conjunction with the mouse, is used to move the camera, which isn’t tied to the player character. This takes some time getting used to, but it works and is probably the best way to make the genre work in 3D space. The context menu usually includes the option to put the camera at an optimal angle to view something, which is very helpful. What’s interesting to note is that this whole new perspective also shaped some of the puzzles and how specific scenes will play out in real time.
Similar to its predecessors, GK3 is divided into chapters. Unlike them, a chapter doesn’t last a whole day, but only a few hours. This makes the world feel more alive, because as the time progresses, NPCs will do different things at different locations. A chapter ends when specific conditions are met, e.g. a specific puzzle solved or clue unveiled. But along the way are often optional things to be done, which, while not necessary to complete the game, broaden your perspective on things. One example: At one point you will get a fingerprint kit. Throughout the game you will have several opportunities to get the fingerprints from your pool of suspects. You can miss some (or even all of them?), but getting them and finding out stuff by yourself is more rewarding. This 'optional side-quest' works understandably especially well with the constant movement of characters between chapters. Even smaller things like dialogue options or just investigating objects more thoroughly is optional stuff that yields you - apart from being rewarding in itself - extra points. It may be frustrating from a completionist standpoint to miss some of these things (there are also timed events), but it, too, makes the investigation and world feel more alive. You can also save anytime, as well as quicksave, so doing that before you enter a new area at a new time makes potential backtracking less tedious.
The story is again dealing with the supernatural, which is intertwined with real world history and beliefs. It starts in medias res with Gabriel following a pair of maybe (definitely) vampiric kidnappers in France and spins a complex tale where a conspiracy about a hidden treasure and the involvement of the Knights Templar only marks the beginning. The in-game computer (which is also used for a rather complex but fascinating series of puzzles) even has its own little Wikipedia-like database with dozens of entries relating to all the events mentioned in the game. The investigation and uncovering of all mysteries is very captivating.
If there is one thing to criticize about the story it's that its different threads don’t lead to quite a satisfying ending; I feel that the primary antagonist and his unfolding scheme in the end are a bit lacking. On the other hand, the game succeeds in giving a pretty WTF revelation at the end that feels rather daring. It also makes me sad that we’ll probably never get a fourth entry in the series, oh well… at least we get a free post-GK3 short story / comic (Sadly, the website shut down, but the story is still available in both formats via the Wayback Machine/Internet Archive // Spoilers for the whole series).
The characters and dialogue are interesting and witty as always, and I especially like how Gabriel and Grace grow individually, as well as how their relationship develops. Gabriel is once again voiced by Tim Curry, who manages to walk the fine line of Gabriel's characterization; honestly, many dialogue bits that he mumbles to himself would sound plain ridiculous if it weren’t for his coolness and attitude, he’s fantastic.
What else is fantastic? The soundtrack! It’s composed by David Henry and Robert Holmes. While Holmes had previously contributed to the series, Henry was new. I couldn’t find any decisive info how big each composer's contribution for the whole thing was, but from my understanding Henry was the main composer and took inspiration from Holmes' established themes for the series.
In the end all that is left to say for me is that I find it fascinating how the Gabriel Knight series turned out. Starting as a more traditional 2D pixel-y point-and-click game (from today’s perspective, its direction was a whole new thing for Sierra at the time), becoming an FMV adventure and lastly transforming into 3D: Every entry is a fresh, unique experience, while the essence of what makes the series great stays the same. After initially rejecting Gabriel Knight 3, I now wouldn’t have it any other way.
-----
- Again, I’m no expert, but how it worked for me on Windows 10 was: Right-click on the .exe file that launches the game --> go to properties, then compatibility --> make it run in compatibility mode for Windows 95, select the 640x480 screen resolution, deactivate full screen optimization, et voilà!
- FYI: When you overwrite a save, make sure to hit 'Save' again after agreeing to overwrite it :)
2022
Having played God of War Ragnarök left me with complicated feelings that I find difficult to sort out. I was not familiar with the series before playing God of War (2018), but I loved the reboot and was seriously impressed by it; story, direction, gameplay, soundtrack etc. all felt being coherent to one 'vision'. In my mind it’s comparable to a statue, where the artist has this single piece of marble and they need as definitive of a vision as possible of the end product beforehand because there is no room for mistakes. Well, in game development there is certainly room for mistakes, but as the God of War Making-of shows, the team learned from them and that vision - coming mainly from game director Cory Barlog - was the groundwork everything could thrive on.
It seems to me that Ragnarök lacks a vision - which doesn’t mean that a lot of care, planning and designing wasn’t put into it, because that is definitely the case. And there are things I seriously enjoyed about Ragnarök that ultimately aren’t overturned by the things I didn’t enjoy, but gravely soured by them. Ragnarök’s 'statue' isn’t made from one block; head, torso, arms and legs are glued together from different materials.
So what did I enjoy? I liked many individual character moments and some character arcs. The acting was strong and I loved seeing Kratos at his probably most emotionally vulnerable. I liked Kratos‘ and Atreus‘ relationship which felt like a natural growth from 2018, although it was at times inconsistent - but this is more of a 'plot problem' and I’ll get to that later. Overall the story had several emotional moments that hit me; without these I would be even more critical of it, I think.
I also liked the depiction of the Æsir gods, mainly Thor and Odin, and how the theme of fatherhood, redemption and personal growth was carried over from 2018. The soundtrack, too, carried over with nice new arrangements of known themes as well as memorable new ones.
The visuals were beautiful. I was originally wondering if there would not be enough variety with Fimbulwinter, but aside from Midgar and the inherently snowy worlds there was no 'winter' elsewhere. There was also more enemy variety and more fun - and unexpected - mini-bosses throughout the world. Lastly, I very much appreciated seeing more creatures and events of the mythology in action that were only hinted at in God of War (2018).
For the things I didn’t enjoy, I’ll start with which is probably a 'me' problem: the combat. I was struggling with enemies attacking from all sides which wasn’t pleasant to deal with considering Kratos’ comparably slow movement and the camera which is too close. I don’t remember having this problem with the reboot, although the combat is practically the same. The user reviews I’ve read either say that Ragnarök’s combat is better or that it didn’t do enough to fix the mistakes of its predecessor, so it being worse is maybe just my take.
Though what I am sure about is that Ragnarök‘s upgrade system is worse than 2018’s. It is too bloated, too RPG-like. There is too much to collect and upgrade, coupled with unintuitive UI/menus. I much prefer the simpler and less tedious approach in the reboot. I love RPGs, but when I play an Action-Adventure I don’t want to go into the menu and manage my loot and craft upgrades all the time. There are other ways to make the player feel progression.
Lastly, but most importantly, the story. I’m usually not someone to wonder how things could have been, but Ragnarök has at least two instances where it is so aggressively not following through with the plot that I can’t help but wonder. The first instance is that the game did not elaborate on things set up by God of War (2018). Even as someone who rather casually follows the lore I did expect these things to at least get mentioned, but ideally being a core part of the story in either a straightforward or twisted manner. The second instance is when the game treats or reveals plot points to be important and then they lead to nothing. This happening more than once, and considering pacing isn’t Ragnarök’s strongest suit anyway, leaves me not understanding why the developers would make these choices.
Coming back to the topic of lack of 'vision', for me it’s most noticeable by the lack of motivations or intentions the characters have. For the first half of the game I struggled to identify any defined goal for Kratos or Atreus. It feels more like the plot needs them to work things off a checklist. It is also not until later in the story where we get a more interesting take on the whole concept of 'fate'. Besides, there is still like one fundamental question that I think got never asked in the first place (but also doesn’t seem relevant to the story at all so idk how important that really is). Overall the story seems to not really know where it is going and how it is getting there. That doesn’t mean there aren’t good things happening along the way, but it‘s heavily inconsistent.
To be fair, wrapping the saga up in this game had to be difficult because God of War’s focus on a personal story forced Ragnarök to introduce the Æsir and set up and resolve the 'twilight of the gods' which it couldn’t really live up to - the finale was especially disappointing. On the other hand it weirdly doesn’t even feel like it necessarily wants to be a sequel - in some ways narratively, but more importantly spiritually - and just ends up feeling like a 'franchise entry'. For me, the spark that made the reboot special sadly didn’t carry over to Ragnarök.
PS: This got longer than expected, though I feel that I narrowed down my main concerns as much as possible. I’m not sure about the star rating, 3 or 2,5 stars? It might change.
It seems to me that Ragnarök lacks a vision - which doesn’t mean that a lot of care, planning and designing wasn’t put into it, because that is definitely the case. And there are things I seriously enjoyed about Ragnarök that ultimately aren’t overturned by the things I didn’t enjoy, but gravely soured by them. Ragnarök’s 'statue' isn’t made from one block; head, torso, arms and legs are glued together from different materials.
So what did I enjoy? I liked many individual character moments and some character arcs. The acting was strong and I loved seeing Kratos at his probably most emotionally vulnerable. I liked Kratos‘ and Atreus‘ relationship which felt like a natural growth from 2018, although it was at times inconsistent - but this is more of a 'plot problem' and I’ll get to that later. Overall the story had several emotional moments that hit me; without these I would be even more critical of it, I think.
I also liked the depiction of the Æsir gods, mainly Thor and Odin, and how the theme of fatherhood, redemption and personal growth was carried over from 2018. The soundtrack, too, carried over with nice new arrangements of known themes as well as memorable new ones.
The visuals were beautiful. I was originally wondering if there would not be enough variety with Fimbulwinter, but aside from Midgar and the inherently snowy worlds there was no 'winter' elsewhere. There was also more enemy variety and more fun - and unexpected - mini-bosses throughout the world. Lastly, I very much appreciated seeing more creatures and events of the mythology in action that were only hinted at in God of War (2018).
For the things I didn’t enjoy, I’ll start with which is probably a 'me' problem: the combat. I was struggling with enemies attacking from all sides which wasn’t pleasant to deal with considering Kratos’ comparably slow movement and the camera which is too close. I don’t remember having this problem with the reboot, although the combat is practically the same. The user reviews I’ve read either say that Ragnarök’s combat is better or that it didn’t do enough to fix the mistakes of its predecessor, so it being worse is maybe just my take.
Though what I am sure about is that Ragnarök‘s upgrade system is worse than 2018’s. It is too bloated, too RPG-like. There is too much to collect and upgrade, coupled with unintuitive UI/menus. I much prefer the simpler and less tedious approach in the reboot. I love RPGs, but when I play an Action-Adventure I don’t want to go into the menu and manage my loot and craft upgrades all the time. There are other ways to make the player feel progression.
Lastly, but most importantly, the story. I’m usually not someone to wonder how things could have been, but Ragnarök has at least two instances where it is so aggressively not following through with the plot that I can’t help but wonder. The first instance is that the game did not elaborate on things set up by God of War (2018). Even as someone who rather casually follows the lore I did expect these things to at least get mentioned, but ideally being a core part of the story in either a straightforward or twisted manner. The second instance is when the game treats or reveals plot points to be important and then they lead to nothing. This happening more than once, and considering pacing isn’t Ragnarök’s strongest suit anyway, leaves me not understanding why the developers would make these choices.
Coming back to the topic of lack of 'vision', for me it’s most noticeable by the lack of motivations or intentions the characters have. For the first half of the game I struggled to identify any defined goal for Kratos or Atreus. It feels more like the plot needs them to work things off a checklist. It is also not until later in the story where we get a more interesting take on the whole concept of 'fate'. Besides, there is still like one fundamental question that I think got never asked in the first place (but also doesn’t seem relevant to the story at all so idk how important that really is). Overall the story seems to not really know where it is going and how it is getting there. That doesn’t mean there aren’t good things happening along the way, but it‘s heavily inconsistent.
To be fair, wrapping the saga up in this game had to be difficult because God of War’s focus on a personal story forced Ragnarök to introduce the Æsir and set up and resolve the 'twilight of the gods' which it couldn’t really live up to - the finale was especially disappointing. On the other hand it weirdly doesn’t even feel like it necessarily wants to be a sequel - in some ways narratively, but more importantly spiritually - and just ends up feeling like a 'franchise entry'. For me, the spark that made the reboot special sadly didn’t carry over to Ragnarök.
PS: This got longer than expected, though I feel that I narrowed down my main concerns as much as possible. I’m not sure about the star rating, 3 or 2,5 stars? It might change.
2019
This game offers a short but sweet experience that ultimately left me satisfied even though I think the last third of the game could have been handled better gameplay-wise.
The core gameplay consisting of painting on all the walls of the little town, a bit of platforming and solving rather easy puzzles with your genie friends is fun throughout. It is not meant to be challenging, the focus lies in the imagination of the protagonist and his - and your - creative work in filling the world with colorful flowers, rainbows, trees,… and monsters, called 'genies'. These cute little guys act as animated NPCs that can move along the walls around the town. They are necessary to solve puzzles, but are more importantly the lonely protagonist’s friends, and their purpose is strongly tied to the narrative. Their cute, caring or funny behaviour and the fact that they can interact with your paintings make them very endearing and are big factor in making the world you create feel alive.
While you’re having a pretty free hand in designing the monsters, I wish that would also apply to the scenery. I realise that the scope of the game and the dev team doesn’t allow for a huge amount of different things to paint, but it would have been nice to customize what ended up being in the game more, e.g. changing colors/color palettes. And while you are collecting more blueprints along the way, the last few don’t offer much variety in colour because they were snow/ice themed. It also would have been better if the last third of the game weren’t action-oriented and instead would have stuck with or elaborated on the painting or monster interactivity mechanic.
Nevertheless, the art style and atmosphere are gorgeous and I think that the game achieved what it set out to do overall, creating a sweet, cozy and (mostly) relaxing experience with its gameplay and story. I would be happy about a more consistent sequel that could further improve the player’s own creative freedom and the 'liveliness' of the paintings.
The core gameplay consisting of painting on all the walls of the little town, a bit of platforming and solving rather easy puzzles with your genie friends is fun throughout. It is not meant to be challenging, the focus lies in the imagination of the protagonist and his - and your - creative work in filling the world with colorful flowers, rainbows, trees,… and monsters, called 'genies'. These cute little guys act as animated NPCs that can move along the walls around the town. They are necessary to solve puzzles, but are more importantly the lonely protagonist’s friends, and their purpose is strongly tied to the narrative. Their cute, caring or funny behaviour and the fact that they can interact with your paintings make them very endearing and are big factor in making the world you create feel alive.
While you’re having a pretty free hand in designing the monsters, I wish that would also apply to the scenery. I realise that the scope of the game and the dev team doesn’t allow for a huge amount of different things to paint, but it would have been nice to customize what ended up being in the game more, e.g. changing colors/color palettes. And while you are collecting more blueprints along the way, the last few don’t offer much variety in colour because they were snow/ice themed. It also would have been better if the last third of the game weren’t action-oriented and instead would have stuck with or elaborated on the painting or monster interactivity mechanic.
Nevertheless, the art style and atmosphere are gorgeous and I think that the game achieved what it set out to do overall, creating a sweet, cozy and (mostly) relaxing experience with its gameplay and story. I would be happy about a more consistent sequel that could further improve the player’s own creative freedom and the 'liveliness' of the paintings.
2019
It seems like every time GreedFall gets mentioned, there has to be a mandatory warning about how you shouldn’t expect a AAA experience. Though it can definitely compete in many ways within that market, the developers don’t have the man-power or budget to give GreedFall that level of polish and features. I was hesitant to try it out because I feared that meant it would be buggy or clunky, a game that would be admired more for the effort a small studio put into it or the old-school feel it delivered. But after having played it myself I can say that yes, it doesn’t feel AAA, and yes, knowing that a small studio developed it made me be in awe several times while playing. And I can also say that I love this game, not 'despite its flaws', but because of its many and genuine strengths.
The setting and story are refreshingly unique and the writing and pacing keep you grounded in this strange world. The different ways to influence the story and build your character deepen the role-playing experience in a meaningful way. Regarding the latter, every level up and every point spent feels important. Your decisions also affect the relationships you have with whole factions and individual people. In general, the game gives you the sense that everything you do or that does happen is part of a greater whole, e.g. the side stories that usually tie in to the main plot, as do your companions' personal quests. Speaking of companions, if your relationship level is high enough, they strengthen specific skills of yours. In that way, that narrative inter-connection even reaches the gameplay.
There are other reviews here that go into more detail about the positives and negatives, so I’ll just add some final thoughts: Although the animation is wooden, the great voice acting makes up for it. (And I personally prefer wooden faces over whatever happened to the faces in Mass Effect: Andromeda, yes, even post-patch.) And lastly, on my base PS4 I encountered no bugs and had an overall smooth experience.
The setting and story are refreshingly unique and the writing and pacing keep you grounded in this strange world. The different ways to influence the story and build your character deepen the role-playing experience in a meaningful way. Regarding the latter, every level up and every point spent feels important. Your decisions also affect the relationships you have with whole factions and individual people. In general, the game gives you the sense that everything you do or that does happen is part of a greater whole, e.g. the side stories that usually tie in to the main plot, as do your companions' personal quests. Speaking of companions, if your relationship level is high enough, they strengthen specific skills of yours. In that way, that narrative inter-connection even reaches the gameplay.
There are other reviews here that go into more detail about the positives and negatives, so I’ll just add some final thoughts: Although the animation is wooden, the great voice acting makes up for it. (And I personally prefer wooden faces over whatever happened to the faces in Mass Effect: Andromeda, yes, even post-patch.) And lastly, on my base PS4 I encountered no bugs and had an overall smooth experience.
This is a visual novel-like game where your only interaction is collecting chunks of data via drag-and-drop, as you are working for ORWELL, a new and secret database and tool that lets you thoroughly spy on every person the government deems dangerous.
As the name indicates, the game’s story deals with topics like information control, an authoritarian government, freedom of thought etc. It especially highlights the dangers of taking information out of context, evaluating people with that information, and it questions the integrity of the one collecting it. Based on the data you feed ORWELL with, the story can go slightly different ways and you can also choose between different endings. The gameplay, while minimal, is fun and engaging throughout the short span of the game - which is ca. 5 hours - and helped by the clean UI that acts as if you were on your in-game work PC. Regardless, there are sometimes arbitrary limits and annoying situations regarding the data you can/can’t/must use to advance the plot.
The story, while interesting, doesn’t have much to tell or add to the topics listed above that hasn’t been discussed before, but it does raise awareness of what a bad government (or any government) with total surveillance can do. As the player is in control of the information, and therefore in shaping the 'truth', their morals is what all this depends on, but in the end this isn’t a really eye-opening personal experience. For me it feels more like a role-playing game:
Do you play as the bad or good guy, do you blindly follow orders or act according to your conscience? Either way, it’s fun, but not as thought-provoking as it’s probably supposed to be.
As the name indicates, the game’s story deals with topics like information control, an authoritarian government, freedom of thought etc. It especially highlights the dangers of taking information out of context, evaluating people with that information, and it questions the integrity of the one collecting it. Based on the data you feed ORWELL with, the story can go slightly different ways and you can also choose between different endings. The gameplay, while minimal, is fun and engaging throughout the short span of the game - which is ca. 5 hours - and helped by the clean UI that acts as if you were on your in-game work PC. Regardless, there are sometimes arbitrary limits and annoying situations regarding the data you can/can’t/must use to advance the plot.
The story, while interesting, doesn’t have much to tell or add to the topics listed above that hasn’t been discussed before, but it does raise awareness of what a bad government (or any government) with total surveillance can do. As the player is in control of the information, and therefore in shaping the 'truth', their morals is what all this depends on, but in the end this isn’t a really eye-opening personal experience. For me it feels more like a role-playing game:
Do you play as the bad or good guy, do you blindly follow orders or act according to your conscience? Either way, it’s fun, but not as thought-provoking as it’s probably supposed to be.
1995
The Dig is a Sci-Fi point-and-click adventure that was initially conceived as a film by Steven Spielberg, but because of technological limitations that film was never made and the idea for The Dig was instead turned into a video game. That development too almost didn’t come to fruition; two versions of the game were planned and canceled over the years before the third and final one could see the light of day. Maybe it’s this history that makes The Dig a pretty atypical LucasArts game: Compared to Day of the Tentacle or Monkey Island it is less humorous and more mature, with the focus on telling an engaging story and exploring its alien locations. Though there is still some sarcastic banter and a certain 'hopefulness' to the core of the plot that is very reminiscent of Spielberg.
The gameplay is based on an advanced version of the SCUMM engine, where one click automatically results in the appropriate action. This could be seen as too simplistic, but the puzzles themselves more than make up for it. Because the game is set on an alien world, most objects seem strange and unfamiliar, and navigating through the locations and figuring out what you are supposed to do and how things work in this world is the reason for the puzzles' difficulty. This is great for immersion, because it makes sense in the context of the story and makes you approach these puzzles differently and with more curiosity than you might be used to from other point-and-click adventures. Even so, some puzzles are a bit too obscure and almost require a guide or at least a lot of patience. I personally can excuse that because the overall concept of how they are handled and woven into the narrative is exceptional.
The locations are stunning, suitably strange and at the same time beautiful. The colours and designs create a dream-like atmosphere that also evokes a sense of danger from the un-familiarity of this place. The soundtrack is mostly ambient and complementary to what you see; haunting, dark yet also majestic and hopeful.
Sci-Fi stories always make a statement about society or humanity at large in relation to advanced technology, and The Dig is no exception. It explores themes like mortality, greed and the human spirit, and while it doesn’t delve into 'hard science' and most of the technology stays rather fantastical these themes remain compelling and central to the story.
The gameplay is based on an advanced version of the SCUMM engine, where one click automatically results in the appropriate action. This could be seen as too simplistic, but the puzzles themselves more than make up for it. Because the game is set on an alien world, most objects seem strange and unfamiliar, and navigating through the locations and figuring out what you are supposed to do and how things work in this world is the reason for the puzzles' difficulty. This is great for immersion, because it makes sense in the context of the story and makes you approach these puzzles differently and with more curiosity than you might be used to from other point-and-click adventures. Even so, some puzzles are a bit too obscure and almost require a guide or at least a lot of patience. I personally can excuse that because the overall concept of how they are handled and woven into the narrative is exceptional.
The locations are stunning, suitably strange and at the same time beautiful. The colours and designs create a dream-like atmosphere that also evokes a sense of danger from the un-familiarity of this place. The soundtrack is mostly ambient and complementary to what you see; haunting, dark yet also majestic and hopeful.
Sci-Fi stories always make a statement about society or humanity at large in relation to advanced technology, and The Dig is no exception. It explores themes like mortality, greed and the human spirit, and while it doesn’t delve into 'hard science' and most of the technology stays rather fantastical these themes remain compelling and central to the story.
Objectively, the status of perfection is hard to determine - but to me, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a perfect game. So the following will be more of a love letter than an objective review.
First, the story: What makes it different from other games in the series/other JRPGs is, that there is no central protagonist, and there is no 'chosen one' story - at least not front and center and without subversions. Sure, Vaan serves as an introduction into the world and plot and is kind of a 'default', especially during the side quests, but the whole party is more or less equal in terms of importance - the princess Ashe on a quest to restore her kingdom is as central to the narrative and its themes as the orphan Penelo, whose friendship to an Archadian closes the gap between the Kingdom and the Empire. The way the main characters are introduced, enter and temporarily leave the party until they are set on their path together feels very in line of their motivations and backgrounds. Though they lead very different lives, they have one thing in common: The war took something or someone important from them, and in one way or another they tried to run away or cope, but as of now have not succeeded in finding closure. But their tragedy is not without hope, their doubt not without resolve. With the broader political meta-plot of FFXII this makes for a mature story that does not fall into usual JRPG tropes.
The presentation is another highlight: Every cutscene is rich in direction and meaning. The overall pacing of the story and unraveling of intrigue on the Empire’s side is in favour of the scope and themes it presents. Some of it gets even better on a second watch, where more details and foreshadowing are recognized. The localization is one of the best there is: Not only is the dialogue masterfully translated (which isn’t always the case going from Japanese to English), but every voice actor does a wonderful job, and there are some outstanding and memorable lines. The game is also generous with its amount of CGI cutscenes, which look phenomenal even today.
The world: The story does a great job at presenting the political nuances of Ivalice, but the world itself - its deserts, jungles, grasslands and mountains - are not easily outshined. Though it is no open world, the areas are huge and fun to explore. This is one of those games, where you really feel you’re on a journey, as opposed to just traversing the world. The cities are also big and immersive, with tons of NPCs you can talk to and whose dialogue changes throughout the story. Their dialogue relates to story events, their everyday life or other kinds of information that makes the world of Ivalice feel so alive. The soundtrack enhances this feeling too, because every area has its own theme and the usage of leitmotifs for the story and the quality of the composition overall makes the OST inseparable from the gameplay and narrative experience.
The gameplay: FFXII is a game that can be as fast or as slow as you want it to be. The gambit system, through which you can 'program' the AI of every party member, is easy to understand, satisfying to use and fun to optimize. And even if you use a gambit for everyone, you can always pause the gameplay and input controls manually. The job system also gives the player freedom to develop the characters and every bit of progress is felt. This level of freedom in the customization of your party is what makes the gameplay so compelling. Speaking of freedom, there are no random battles either. If you see an enemy, you can fight it or just run away. The amount of side content is huge: There is a long hunt club quest, where you hunt increasingly difficult monsters, you can fight optional bosses and explore optional dungeons and areas, and engaging with certain NPCs in the world will also lead to side quests.
In summary, this is what makes it perfect to me: A fighting and progression system that gives me full control to be as creative as I want. A world that goes out of its way to make me feel immersed. A story so full of themes, nuances and presentation that is a joy to experience.
I feel like I have so much on my mind when talking about FFXII and what makes it so special, and I’m not sure if what I’ve written really does it justice. But if you’re still here: Thanks for reading!
First, the story: What makes it different from other games in the series/other JRPGs is, that there is no central protagonist, and there is no 'chosen one' story - at least not front and center and without subversions. Sure, Vaan serves as an introduction into the world and plot and is kind of a 'default', especially during the side quests, but the whole party is more or less equal in terms of importance - the princess Ashe on a quest to restore her kingdom is as central to the narrative and its themes as the orphan Penelo, whose friendship to an Archadian closes the gap between the Kingdom and the Empire. The way the main characters are introduced, enter and temporarily leave the party until they are set on their path together feels very in line of their motivations and backgrounds. Though they lead very different lives, they have one thing in common: The war took something or someone important from them, and in one way or another they tried to run away or cope, but as of now have not succeeded in finding closure. But their tragedy is not without hope, their doubt not without resolve. With the broader political meta-plot of FFXII this makes for a mature story that does not fall into usual JRPG tropes.
The presentation is another highlight: Every cutscene is rich in direction and meaning. The overall pacing of the story and unraveling of intrigue on the Empire’s side is in favour of the scope and themes it presents. Some of it gets even better on a second watch, where more details and foreshadowing are recognized. The localization is one of the best there is: Not only is the dialogue masterfully translated (which isn’t always the case going from Japanese to English), but every voice actor does a wonderful job, and there are some outstanding and memorable lines. The game is also generous with its amount of CGI cutscenes, which look phenomenal even today.
The world: The story does a great job at presenting the political nuances of Ivalice, but the world itself - its deserts, jungles, grasslands and mountains - are not easily outshined. Though it is no open world, the areas are huge and fun to explore. This is one of those games, where you really feel you’re on a journey, as opposed to just traversing the world. The cities are also big and immersive, with tons of NPCs you can talk to and whose dialogue changes throughout the story. Their dialogue relates to story events, their everyday life or other kinds of information that makes the world of Ivalice feel so alive. The soundtrack enhances this feeling too, because every area has its own theme and the usage of leitmotifs for the story and the quality of the composition overall makes the OST inseparable from the gameplay and narrative experience.
The gameplay: FFXII is a game that can be as fast or as slow as you want it to be. The gambit system, through which you can 'program' the AI of every party member, is easy to understand, satisfying to use and fun to optimize. And even if you use a gambit for everyone, you can always pause the gameplay and input controls manually. The job system also gives the player freedom to develop the characters and every bit of progress is felt. This level of freedom in the customization of your party is what makes the gameplay so compelling. Speaking of freedom, there are no random battles either. If you see an enemy, you can fight it or just run away. The amount of side content is huge: There is a long hunt club quest, where you hunt increasingly difficult monsters, you can fight optional bosses and explore optional dungeons and areas, and engaging with certain NPCs in the world will also lead to side quests.
In summary, this is what makes it perfect to me: A fighting and progression system that gives me full control to be as creative as I want. A world that goes out of its way to make me feel immersed. A story so full of themes, nuances and presentation that is a joy to experience.
I feel like I have so much on my mind when talking about FFXII and what makes it so special, and I’m not sure if what I’ve written really does it justice. But if you’re still here: Thanks for reading!
2010
After being introduced to the work of Jane Jensen trough the Gabriel Knight series, I was very happy to discover that she was still making point-and-click adventures after the genre disappeared from the mainstream.
Similar to those games, Gray Matter features an engaging story with supernatural elements, real-life locations, dual protagonists and chapter progression, meaning that a story chapter ends when all necessary puzzles, talks and observations were made to progress the plot. While the puzzles themselves are well made and have a nice difficulty curve towards the end, this structure may be a bit annoying if you’re kept back by just one detail to continue. Thankfully the map can show you which location you should revisit. When playing as Sam, you also have to solve some puzzles with a magic trick, which fits her character well and is a nice mechanic alongside the usual point-and-click gameplay.
The story is intriguing and well written, and both protagonists, Sam and Dr. Styles, have their own motivations to solve the mystery, as well as different perspectives on it. I can’t say anything about the English voice actors, but fwiw the German ones did their job very well.
The 3D art style - design, models, lighting - is very pretty, the 2D cutscenes do not achieve that same level but aren’t bad either. The soundtrack by Robert Holmes is great as always. It enriches the story’s themes and the locations‘ designs and creates a melancholic, magical or suspenseful atmosphere when necessary.
Gray Matter has all the qualities a great point-and-click adventure and Jane Jensen game should have.
As a slow player and without using a guide, it took me ca. 20h to complete, which also makes it one of the longer games in the genre.
Similar to those games, Gray Matter features an engaging story with supernatural elements, real-life locations, dual protagonists and chapter progression, meaning that a story chapter ends when all necessary puzzles, talks and observations were made to progress the plot. While the puzzles themselves are well made and have a nice difficulty curve towards the end, this structure may be a bit annoying if you’re kept back by just one detail to continue. Thankfully the map can show you which location you should revisit. When playing as Sam, you also have to solve some puzzles with a magic trick, which fits her character well and is a nice mechanic alongside the usual point-and-click gameplay.
The story is intriguing and well written, and both protagonists, Sam and Dr. Styles, have their own motivations to solve the mystery, as well as different perspectives on it. I can’t say anything about the English voice actors, but fwiw the German ones did their job very well.
The 3D art style - design, models, lighting - is very pretty, the 2D cutscenes do not achieve that same level but aren’t bad either. The soundtrack by Robert Holmes is great as always. It enriches the story’s themes and the locations‘ designs and creates a melancholic, magical or suspenseful atmosphere when necessary.
Gray Matter has all the qualities a great point-and-click adventure and Jane Jensen game should have.
As a slow player and without using a guide, it took me ca. 20h to complete, which also makes it one of the longer games in the genre.
1993
Lost in Time is a point-and-click adventure game that combines FMV with a first-person perspective and centers around a time travel plot. Sadly I cannot say many positive things about it. Though the premise might seem intriguing at first glance and the gameplay unique, it falls flat on both accounts.
The time travel is a gimmick that is never build upon. The puzzles - which mostly urge you to become the next MacGyver - are never involved in any time travel shenanigans, unlike, for example, the puzzles of Day of the Tentacle. The gameplay has further annoyances, like backtracking due to bad FMV design decisions and unmotivating direction.
The bare-bones plot goes nowhere, the characters are uninteresting, and dialogue and acting are at times comically bad. The soundtrack is barely there and mostly annoying.
It frustrates me that the game doesn’t do anything good with the premise it‘s given.
The time travel is a gimmick that is never build upon. The puzzles - which mostly urge you to become the next MacGyver - are never involved in any time travel shenanigans, unlike, for example, the puzzles of Day of the Tentacle. The gameplay has further annoyances, like backtracking due to bad FMV design decisions and unmotivating direction.
The bare-bones plot goes nowhere, the characters are uninteresting, and dialogue and acting are at times comically bad. The soundtrack is barely there and mostly annoying.
It frustrates me that the game doesn’t do anything good with the premise it‘s given.
Act I Aria to the Moon "You cannot match the glow of the sun, but where you rule the day does not dawn"
The newest installment in the Gabriel Knight series was to be made in an FMV format, as per Sierra's wishes to utilize the hottest trend for adventure games at the time. Game designer and writer Jane Jensen was all for it because she loved having the story come alive with live actors. Even when FMV games would fall out of fashion not long after the release of The Beast Within, she remained confident that live actors and other movie making techniques would play a role in future story driven video games - if you look at cinematic adventures and motion capture performances today, she was right. There is a certain charme to FMV games, even though many of them haven't aged as well as The Beast Within. For Sierra's previous FMV title, Phantasmagoria, everyone involved had to learn what a production for this kind of game really entailed and there were many technical difficulties the crew struggled with. Their experiences led to The Beast Within having an overall smooth production with a great outcome.
The idea for this game involving werewolves, a mysterious hunt club and King Ludwig II of Bavaria came from Jensen living in Germany for a few months before she worked in the games industry. Several tours of historic locations painted the popular romanticized picture of Ludwig, which Jensen used as the basis for her story. The backgrounds were mostly shot in Germany, and the actors worked with props - and sometimes real wolves - in front of a bluescreen in Sierra's studio in Oakhurst, CA.
Act II Happy Minstrels "Where is the music? Where is the entertainment?"
The composer, Robert Holmes, stated that he only had two weeks to compose the soundtrack for this game due to scheduling conflicts, and in only three days he and Jay Usher wrote and produced the opera, which is an important subject for the finale of the game. The music is Wagner-inspired, featuring dark brass and trombones. It has a melancholic feel to it and has great theme-variations. The opera is certainly a highlight and I'm baffled at how this was all conceived in such a short amount of time.
Being an FMV game, the puzzles are bit more limited than in the other GK games, but I think they walk a fine line of neither being too easy nor too hard, although some absurdity still exists (which is to be expected from a point-and-click adventure :-) ). The interface is easier to use, having just one cursor and two actions - look at and interact - by right- or left-clicking. Looking at the map you can highlight locations where there are still things to solve to end the chapter.
You play as both Gabriel and his assistant Grace. Grace's role got expanded into being a playable character because of the scope of the story which would've been too huge for Gabriel alone. While he investigates the hunt club, Grace is in charge of learning the history of Ludwig - as is the player: In several locations around Munich you unravel the story's mysteries using the info the character gets while exploring, reading and even visiting museums. Thanks to the FMV nature of the game it feels like taking a real life vacation.
Act III Transformation Aria "The hunter, the hunter, he sneaks up on his victim"
Similar to GK1, the story of The Beast Within is the result of real world history being creatively combined with supernatural legends, resulting in a compelling tale. Gabriel, currently residing in his family's castle in Bavaria, has to take on the role of shadow hunter as the townsfolk insist that the latest killings of people were not done by escaped zoo wolves, but a werewolf. He infiltrates a local hunt club with a secret philosophy and soon has a pool of suspects to draw from. The story once again manages to be personal for Gabriel and he has to deal with a darker, more aggressive side of himself. Fun Fact: Gabriel-actor Dean Erickson was approved by Jensen after he "scared the crap out of her" during an emotional scene, so there's that. The acting in this game is good, and the excellent script certainly played a role in that. The German of the American actors can be pretty funny for a native speaker, but I honestly think they tried their best and did a good job. (If you want to suffer, play the German dub of the game: Gabriel speaks High German, everyone else Bavarian - to mimic the language barrier).
Finale As you would expect for a GK game, this one shines with its story, characters, and locations. It has an interactive film-like quality with elaborate cutscenes and is mechanically less obscure than its predecessor. While I love both, I prefer this one due to its poetic nature and the nostalgic atmosphere it evokes through its setting and being FMV.
To summarize in the words of the singers: "It is a joy!"
The newest installment in the Gabriel Knight series was to be made in an FMV format, as per Sierra's wishes to utilize the hottest trend for adventure games at the time. Game designer and writer Jane Jensen was all for it because she loved having the story come alive with live actors. Even when FMV games would fall out of fashion not long after the release of The Beast Within, she remained confident that live actors and other movie making techniques would play a role in future story driven video games - if you look at cinematic adventures and motion capture performances today, she was right. There is a certain charme to FMV games, even though many of them haven't aged as well as The Beast Within. For Sierra's previous FMV title, Phantasmagoria, everyone involved had to learn what a production for this kind of game really entailed and there were many technical difficulties the crew struggled with. Their experiences led to The Beast Within having an overall smooth production with a great outcome.
The idea for this game involving werewolves, a mysterious hunt club and King Ludwig II of Bavaria came from Jensen living in Germany for a few months before she worked in the games industry. Several tours of historic locations painted the popular romanticized picture of Ludwig, which Jensen used as the basis for her story. The backgrounds were mostly shot in Germany, and the actors worked with props - and sometimes real wolves - in front of a bluescreen in Sierra's studio in Oakhurst, CA.
Act II Happy Minstrels "Where is the music? Where is the entertainment?"
The composer, Robert Holmes, stated that he only had two weeks to compose the soundtrack for this game due to scheduling conflicts, and in only three days he and Jay Usher wrote and produced the opera, which is an important subject for the finale of the game. The music is Wagner-inspired, featuring dark brass and trombones. It has a melancholic feel to it and has great theme-variations. The opera is certainly a highlight and I'm baffled at how this was all conceived in such a short amount of time.
Being an FMV game, the puzzles are bit more limited than in the other GK games, but I think they walk a fine line of neither being too easy nor too hard, although some absurdity still exists (which is to be expected from a point-and-click adventure :-) ). The interface is easier to use, having just one cursor and two actions - look at and interact - by right- or left-clicking. Looking at the map you can highlight locations where there are still things to solve to end the chapter.
You play as both Gabriel and his assistant Grace. Grace's role got expanded into being a playable character because of the scope of the story which would've been too huge for Gabriel alone. While he investigates the hunt club, Grace is in charge of learning the history of Ludwig - as is the player: In several locations around Munich you unravel the story's mysteries using the info the character gets while exploring, reading and even visiting museums. Thanks to the FMV nature of the game it feels like taking a real life vacation.
Act III Transformation Aria "The hunter, the hunter, he sneaks up on his victim"
Similar to GK1, the story of The Beast Within is the result of real world history being creatively combined with supernatural legends, resulting in a compelling tale. Gabriel, currently residing in his family's castle in Bavaria, has to take on the role of shadow hunter as the townsfolk insist that the latest killings of people were not done by escaped zoo wolves, but a werewolf. He infiltrates a local hunt club with a secret philosophy and soon has a pool of suspects to draw from. The story once again manages to be personal for Gabriel and he has to deal with a darker, more aggressive side of himself. Fun Fact: Gabriel-actor Dean Erickson was approved by Jensen after he "scared the crap out of her" during an emotional scene, so there's that. The acting in this game is good, and the excellent script certainly played a role in that. The German of the American actors can be pretty funny for a native speaker, but I honestly think they tried their best and did a good job. (If you want to suffer, play the German dub of the game: Gabriel speaks High German, everyone else Bavarian - to mimic the language barrier).
Finale As you would expect for a GK game, this one shines with its story, characters, and locations. It has an interactive film-like quality with elaborate cutscenes and is mechanically less obscure than its predecessor. While I love both, I prefer this one due to its poetic nature and the nostalgic atmosphere it evokes through its setting and being FMV.
To summarize in the words of the singers: "It is a joy!"