Callisoto Protocol is a game that faced harsh criticism at launch, and it seems that sentiment remains unchanged among many critics. My experience with the game, however, was more balanced. I found it to be an okay game overall, with an average quality that doesn't offer any particularly unique elements. But yes, this truly is "We-Have-Dead-Space-At-Home" level of plagiarism, or at least an attempt to borrow all of the good things that made us love that title.

The combat system works adequately in one-on-one encounters but becomes problematic when facing groups of enemies. The boss fights are notably underwhelming, relying on repetitive mechanics. The primary strategy involves dodging left or right and then shooting, which quickly becomes tedious and detracts from the challenge and excitement one would expect from a boss encounter. Lastly, too many stealth levels.

The narrative had potential, but its execution was flawed by too many improbable events. The protagonist experiences numerous setbacks, such as walkways and bridges collapsing just before reaching the goal. These repetitive and predictable incidents eventually diminished my engagement with the story.

I accessed the game through a PS Plus membership, which made it a "cost-free" experience for me. I spent over 11 hours playing on the maximum difficulty setting, which included a lot of game over screens. A lot.

Callisto Protocol is worth playing if you have access to it at a steep discount. However, it's not compelling enough to justify purchasing anywhere near full price. The game is a mixed bag with some functional aspects but ultimately lacks innovation and has several design flaws that hinder its overall enjoyment.

Playtime: 7 Hours
Score: 7/10

A fun and interesting horror action game! Never heard of this game until I watched GmanLives review of it on YouTube and it seemed right my alley! So what did think after playing it?

I liked the mood and atmosphere of the game with it being set on a prison island and all the inmates being turned into vicious monsters. I love the designs for them too being based on different kinds of prisoner executions. And of course you have the big monster that your main character turns into which can be fun when you want to smack enemies around or get out of a tough fight easily. I also enjoyed the ability to switch from first to third person with a push of a button, kind of like a Bethesda RPG and it was quite unique to have in a horror game.

While some of the horror is pretty decent, this is very much more of an action horror game, similar to something like Resident Evil 4. But I think the game balanced it all very well. The game also features a bit of a morality system which helps shape's the main character's past and whether he actually did the crime to get the time. While some choices are obvious, there are some optional ones that I feel help test your own morality as a player and I felt rewarded when I made those choices.

Only issue this game has is that the last two levels are absolutely awful and they can leave a bad taste in your mouth. The ending is alright, but the actual bosses are kind of lame, especially the second last one which is just terribly designed.

But still a fun horror game overall. Thankfully GOG did the work of restoring this game and its sequel, which I look forward to playing at some point.

All Games I have Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/

Look, this game is really bad, but it is far from being "one of the worst games ever made". Yes, the performance is atrocious and the gameplay is miserable, but I mean, literally any other 7th gen military shooter could also qualify as such. It has the same disgusting morality as your average Call of Duty/Splinter Cell and the same shitty design from most shooters at the time (hallway levels and cover system).

It is very loosely based - and by this I mean that nothing that takes place here showed up on the book and, obviously, didn't happen in real life - upon the biography of the guy that made Seal Team SIX, represented in-game as pathetic egotistical maniac, which is what he actually was, that never stops quipping and dropping deeply stupid one-liners ("What a shithole, how the fuck did I end up in Jersey"), and even sings a rap in the end credits. This was made by a studio that was forced or conditioned one way or another to make it, after the project was tossed around previously between other studios like a hot potato (edit: this game was originally assigned to Zombie Studios, but after three years of development, that version was scrapped and Rebellion, coming from the flop of Shellshock 2, was assigned to make the game again and they came up with this in less than a year). It's very clear that none of the involved, not even Mickey Rourke, who for some reason dubs the main character, had the slightest of interests in making this game, so the end product is what it was doomed to be from the very beginning.

Nevertheless, it is mildly entertaining, but it isn't going to transcend beyond memes and quote compilations, plus it is so unveliebably short that you can beat it in just a couple hours. This ain't getting less than one star because there are definitely worse things out there.

Also, I just noticed that the cover art for this game is vaguely similar to the poster for Punisher: War Zone.

With my place in the minority opinion, it would be for the better to not step out of line, I’ll try not to, but man… do I have a bone to pick with this game. As it pertains to taking up the name of its venerable counterpart, Resident Evil 2 attempts to bring back an aged classic and weave it new threads, as any remake is ordained to do. I have gone on record in saying that creative license can not only be taken, but is welcome, and it can breath new life into an already hearty piece of work.

However, where the mainstream comes up short in how it evaluates remakes, and adaptations too come to think of it, isn’t in how they reinterpret works, or what they do to introduce it to new audiences. No, what’s worth spotlighting is the way those things eek into the collective unconscious, if you don’t mind my manner of saying, in turn practically replacing what came before it. It may not be the mentality but it is what comes about it. Aging is not an inherent sign of weakness, whether it be in people or in things; sometimes aged things are better off. The older the wine, the tastier right? The older the person, the wiser?

When molds are established, it would only serve to cast iron out of them, processing the metallurgy into the finest shape. They are built upon over time. That’s why genres are a thing, they had to come from somewhere to be what they are, to classify certain styles. But lest we not forget the first that came or we won’t have the baseline to improve on.

Case and point: This remake. Marketed as more of a “reimagining” whatever the fuck that means, this game set out to take the baseline of the original and build upon it to suit contemporary fancies. Make it prettier, make it play better, the works. But to whomever reads this, which is probably no one, is there not a chance to lose sight of what made the original work as much as it did? I think so, but even in cases where I feel like such a thing happens, and I agree with the consensus around it, I can still let bygones be and enjoy the work on its own, even with that thought of the lost gnawing at me.

So it is with this game that not just part, but chunks of what made the original game so good, and special to me, were either watered down, or outright stripped away. Does it ruin the game? Not by any means, it’s still a solid game, but it also happens to bastardize the game that preceded it. Sure, not to the same extent as RE3, which that is a whole other can of worms I’m not willing to crack open right now. I’m not saying there wasn’t love poured into the seams of this game, there was, it’s still a blast to play and has the staples you’d come to expect. But it feels so compromised, and for no good reason.

Plot points, characterization, structuring, they have been ran through like a bull in a China shop. Things that defined the original are husks of what they used to be, take for instance, the A/B scenarios, or lack thereof. In place of which being second runs that were so hamstrung they created continuity errors that weren’t there before. The zapping system being tossed in the bin, meaning no way to spice up each play-through, making an important layer of decision making gone.

It hurts because there are things here that were welcome additions. Even if I prefer the classic formatting and control scheme, and wish AAA devs went back to those design conventions and improved upon them rather than leaving them at the curb, there are pluses to the over-the-shoulder perspective. Tactical shooting and the detailed dismemberment adds to the gameplay in a way that wouldn’t have been possible at the time. Even if you can’t avoid being bitten once grappled, the handy set of knives you can find are a viable form of self-defense that expend and have their limits because of their durability.

That’s just gameplay, I also liked the fatherly role they gave Bob Kendo, if ever so briefly, and how they portrayed Marvin. Even though the story of the original is stronger, they had stronger presences here than they did then. Not to mention the carry-over from this game to the remake of RE4, where the double-edged stiletto Leon uses is the one Marvin entrusted him rather than being the random one he deployed with like it was in the original RE4. It’s good shit. But at the same time, the good is met in equal measure with the, not quite bad, just not as good.

The downfall of the Birkin family, the revelation of Chief Irons, the build up of the relationship between Leon and Ada, hell, the lack of one between Leon and Claire even, it’s all just worse. Seriously, Leon and Claire barely talk to each other and they only really interact at like, three places: at MIZOIL once they cross paths and head to the station, the courtyard near the back entrance of the RPD, and the second run ending. They had more interplay and on-screen time together than that in the original, c’mon. It’s like they missed the steps to making the through-line for the story being earned the way it was in the original.

It’s still pretty good, but it's a pale imitation that doesn’t reach the heights it should have. The game just feels unfinished, it may not be but I just can’t shake it. At the end of the day that’s what it feels like. As for the game itself, yeah it holds up. Again, it is a solid modern survival horror game, but I just don’t see how this is the worthy remake that improves on the original that it’s generally made out to be.

Oh, and to clear things up, I know what it says on the description: "The game was not developed with the intent of improving the original, but rather a reimagining of the original story with redesigned maps, characters and story elements." If that is the case, then I would be easier on the game, but it does not come off that way from the litany of reviews I've read from major publications and minor Joe-Shmoes alike. Even if that were the case, it kind of falls short of those things too, at least compared to the original. The original the original the original THE ORIGINAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fuck. Alright maybe the rose-tinted glasses are fogging up my vision, I won't deny that, but still, OG > RE, sorry, not sorry.

Beautiful railroading.

Hellblade II reminds me of Evolve. It really shouldn't. The games are nothing alike. Nearly a decade removed from one another, they don't share any gameplay similarities. They aren't made to appeal to similar audiences. Their only visual similarity is... "dark." But the comparison between the two is far more pervasive than any of those traits though. Simply put, I heard about both games way too much before they finally came out.

Part of Hellblade's appeal was surprise. Not to belittle the accomplishments of that game, but the package was really complete because each moment was an unexpected treat--a testament to big things in small packages. It was a new IP doing unique and exciting things. Hellblade II is almost the opposite: a 6-hour movie stuffed with more of the same. Gorgeous simplicity polished to a safe, market-researched, and replicable sheen.

To be fair, there's a notable amount to love here that's done extremely well. Hellblade II features a full cast joining Senua brought to life by killer performances across the board. The audio design is second to none and the visuals throughout made me feel like I was less playing a video game and more watching some kind of 4K tech demo for high-end TVs. All good stuff. But man, that is not why I play video games. None of that will stick with me. The game is shockingly simple. Most of my playtime was spent slowly walking forward (there's a toggle sprint option in settings; retweet to save a life). There are a handful of combat instances that look insane but are extremely rudimentary. I figured out in the second combat sequence that there are very few reasons to ever use the heavy attack. Spam light attack, dodge/block, activate #SenuaMode, and move on.

I would be remiss to not mention the valid critique of both Hellblade titles falling prey to the "magical disabled person" trope but dude. It is it in full force in Hellblade II. Whereas the first title felt earnest if a bit flawed in its attempt to emulate and respectfully consider psychosis, Hellblade II swings wildly between presenting Senua's struggle as either not affecting her at all and it serving as a superhuman ability making her the only one who can heal the world of its darkness. It's messy and ultimately pointless this time around.

Hellblade II was initially announced and marketed as a launch title for the Xbox Series consoles which came out about 3.5 years ago at the time of this writing. I know art is never as simple as "more time = better thing" but as someone trying to figure out what good is coming of Microsoft gobbling up all these developers, I'm still left wondering. We're waiting longer for fewer, less interesting games.

A waste.

I didn't finish the original Hellblade. I remember spending about an hour wandering through a forest where traveling through a gate would change the surrounding terrain, and it just kept going and going and going far longer than it had any right to. It was a ridiculously badly-paced section that was placed early in what was set to be a padded game, so I stopped. In the wake of the news of Xbox shutting down some of my favorite modern studios, I was surprised to see that they'd picked up Ninja Theory back in 2018; I hadn't noticed, given how many companies Microsoft has been keen on acquiring in the past few years. To be perfectly transparent, I was going into this sour. It was with my arms folded and my face screwed up that I downloaded Hellblade II — a sort-of defiant "well, let's see what Xbox thinks is worth keeping alive if not Arkane and Tango". What I had managed to play of the original game was, at the very least, interesting. I figured Ninja Theory would be able to tread water and release something that was about on par with the last title.

It's worse.

I wrote in my Breath of the Wild review that people who thought that game was doing anything seriously impressive or novel probably haven't played many games. It wasn't an especially polite thing to say, and it ruffled some feathers, but I stand by it. I'd like to take this opportunity to go further and suggest that anyone praising Hellblade II for being like a movie probably doesn't watch many movies; if they do, they don't have any actual understanding of the medium beyond blind, uncritical consumption. I've seen praise get heaped on this for its cinematography when it's comprised almost exclusively of over-the-shoulder shots, the most bog-standard drone flyovers you've ever seen in your life, and simulated shaky-cam group shots where everyone stands stark still in a circle while having a conversation about nothing of importance. This is shot, cinematographically speaking, like shit. Watching this feels like someone gave a film student an eight-figure budget. Take a shot every time you're in one of the over-long combat encounters and Senua gets grabbed from behind to transition into the next battle.

While I was settling in expecting a visual feast, this is more of a visual buffet. Maybe a visual McDonald's. It looks good, to be certain, but it's really not that impressive. The mandatory upscaling present here forces some compromise to be made where it really ought not to be; DLSS is hailed as being the best option of the lot, but it still leaves shimmering artifacts on the edges of models where it can't quite get the anti aliasing right. Switch over to FSR and you can mostly get rid of the edge-shimmer, but it similarly demands that you manually set the sharpness a bit too high and fuck up the graphics everywhere else. I can say without hesitation that I've seen a lot of games that look significantly better than Hellblade II. For probably the same amount of money and about six months earlier, Alan Wake 2 does everything that this wants to and more convincingly. Go back a few years to Detroit: Become Human or Death Stranding and it's plain to see that those are far more impressive works from an entire console generation prior. I wouldn't normally give a fraction of a fraction of a fuck about graphical fidelity, but seeing all of the praise for how good this game looks makes me wonder if our eyes are working the same way.

I appreciate Crystar for pointing this out in her review, but Hellblade II has a very funny concluding monologue. Ending the game on the statement "all the questions were answered" implies that any answers were given, and further suggests that any questions were asked. There's not all that much that's ambiguous here, and the parts that are don't manage to raise any interesting questions. I had a feeling that the giants didn't actually exist, which Senua seemingly confirms at the end when she screams it at the final boss. "There are no giants, it's just you", she says. Unfortunately, the giants not being real means that most of the game didn't actually happen. All of the characters who were talking about giants weren't. All of the characters who died fighting the giants didn't. Everyone who thought they saw Senua kill a giant didn't. The natural disasters that the giants caused were just random and unrelated; whether they ended after Senua "killed the giants" is either another coincidence, or they didn't actually end at all. Cut all of this away, and there's really not much story left. Senua and her friends (who may not exist) trek across the land (which might be ravaged by natural disasters) while fighting the undead (who may not exist) so that Senua can get a blessing (that definitely doesn't exist) from a group of underground mystics (who definitely don't exist) until they get to the slaver king's doorstep and beat him in a fight. This reads like one of those early-10s fan theories about Rugrats being Angelica's dying dream. I know I like to exaggerate for comedy's sake when writing reviews like this, but this is a stone-faced recap of what happens. There are no jokes here.

The command to not pay too much attention to the writing comes a little too late into the game, long after you've already sat through dozens of ridiculously trite scenes. The bar for the writing sits around the point where Senua cries while looking at her bloody hands, and the voices in her head say "you have blood on your hands", just to make sure that you understand. The voices aren't much more than exposition fairies. They exist to recap story events that just happened with breathless awe, never giving you a chance to think about anything being said. A character will mention something that Senua hasn't heard of — giants that control the weather, let's say — and the voices immediately pivot to acting like confused toddlers. "Giants? What are giants? Can we kill a giant? Are giants real? They can't be real. There's no such thing as giants. We don't know what's real. Giants might be real. What does he know about giants? Why is he telling us about giants? I wonder how much he knows about giants. Does anyone know what giants are? What if he's lying? Can we ask someone else about giants?" It continues at this pace for about five hours until the game ends. The voices chattering on and on is one thing, and I could at least understand it as something the devs were doing to intentionally provoke the player, but this constant motor-mouthing falls apart when you enter into combat. The voices somehow don't have enough lines to cover these incredibly strict and linear fights, so they're constantly repeating themselves. I heard the line "their bodies strong like rocks, you have to hit harder!" four times in a single encounter, and at least ten in total before the game ended. I was half expecting them to start asking if I had any potions, or food. Add this to the canon of game characters who manage to annoy the player by spamming voice lines like they're running HLDJ.

Pacing is, regrettably, another factor that Ninja Theory has regressed on. A vast, vast majority of this game is spent holding the left bumper and up on the left stick. You walk forward, and you walk forward, and you walk forward, and Senua's never really in much of a hurry to get anywhere. You'll have a good twenty minutes where you're doing quite literally nothing besides walking in a straight line while the voices ask questions about shit that you already know. They'll also celebrate you figuring out the solutions to the ridiculously simple puzzles in the most simpering way imaginable. I do not need to be told that Senua is a very, very smart girl who can do no wrong when the game told me where the symbol was, and then automatically solved the puzzle for me when I held the focus button vaguely in its direction. These over-long sections where you walk around and do nothing are occasionally interrupted by over-long combat encounters where you tap dodge and spam light attacks, and that's where the fun really begins.

Most of these fights are fucking silly; the part where Senua interrupts the ritual is easily five minutes, as is the cave fight, as is the undead raid on the village. This is only as much of a problem as it is because Senua can only ever fight one enemy at a time, which makes them drag. There are about nine distinct enemy types that exist in the entire game, and they all take turns to lazily swing at Senua and slowly get chipped down. A lot of games that do mob fights will have some enemies hang back while others slowly come at you, but this doesn't even attempt to give you the illusion. Senua never has to fight more than one enemy at a time, regardless of how surrounded she is. What really gets me is the fact that this wasn't a problem in the original Hellblade. Enemies would come at you in twos and threes, and that was even in the earliest fights of the game. This is a total regression of a system that was already pretty thin, and the fact that Ninja Theory have cut out a majority of Senua's attacks to streamline the combat even further than it was boggles the mind.

There are glimmers of something good in here. I really do like the part in the cave where Senua starts to get the blessing from the hidden men, and the entire place lights up like a LIDAR scan. It's got some genuinely good pacing, too; you've got puzzle sections that lead into little combat encounters, and then those lead into walking sections, and that leads into a stealth section, and then it leads into another puzzle. It's the only place in the entire game where any of these systems feel like they're working together in harmony, rather than existing solely to interrupt one of the others for going on too long. It's a shame that Senua has to exist outside of that cave. I thought it was a good place for her to be. It was interesting, at least.

Anyway, I'm not sure I buy Ninja Theory's Games for Impact-bait shift in the past few years. I see their logo and I think back to how they would write Monkey killing escaping slaves because it was badass, or that GDC talk they did for DmC: Devil May Cry where they dedicated a section to making fun of Dante for being gay. The company, to my knowledge, has never really had a reckoning for any of that. Tameem Antoniades seems to have slipped out the back door just in time for this to release, but he's still got the sole creative director credit. I'm willing to believe that Senua's actress Melina Juergens actually believes in what she's doing — she's said in interviews that her father had a psychotic disorder, and she seems to have the most solid understanding of the crew when it comes to how the narrative ought to handle Senua's mental illness — but I'm not extending that faith much further than her. There's something about the documentaries that Ninja Theory self-publishes where they go over how very, very carefully they handled psychosis (we promise!) that doesn't pass the sniff test. I don't think it's bad that this exists, and I won't erase the people who have said that these games have been genuinely good reflections of their own mental illnesses; I just have some strong doubts that Ninja Theory is doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. One look at their back catalog suggests to me that they only wanted to make a Serious Mental Health Story because their old shit stopped selling and they could tell which way the wind started blowing. With the constant distractions of giant-slaying, risen undead warriors, and the sins of the fathers subplot, the current big game on the market "about psychosis" barely has time for the psychosis.

The conclusion that I'm forced towards, reductive as it is, is that people who love Hellblade II don't play anything else. They don't really watch anything else, either. I don't know what they do. It's not worth just harping on the fans, though; I don't think many people dislike this game for the right reasons, either. Complaining about a game not offering a good enough playtime-to-dollar ratio is peabrain shit. People also cry about Senua being Sweet Baby-core because she's got peach fuzz and bug eyes, all acting as though she isn't the the textbook definition of conventionally attractive. And the game isn't bad because it's story-focused — the game is bad because it's fucking boring. You engage with it in a boring way, and it tells a boring story. This isn't an inherently broken game. The concept is fine. It's the execution where Ninja Theory makes it clear that they've got no fucking clue what they're doing.

Great photo mode, though.

In a 2013 GDC talk on the development of Dragon’s Dogma. The director Hideaki Itsuno wanted specific principles: “high degree of freedom, simple action, highly realistic.” With examples: Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Fable 2. Disclosing their units shipped and the same quality/s each possesses. These three aspects I'm quite fond of. With the first as numero uno what I look for. Freedom. Always. His “job was to convince internal members of Capcom that this is a challenge he wanted to take on. Similar games in this open world RPG genre didn't really exist in Japan. And they weren’t able to accurately forecast if the project would sell or the market potential.”

I couldn’t help but remember a comparable individual I look up to, Tetsuya Takahashi. The man behind the creation of the Xeno series along with his team and his wife Soraya Saga. In a 2015 Venturebeat interview he answered a question on what is the "biggest difference between Western and Japanese audiences, especially in terms of what they want from a role-playing game?” Takahashi said “What you’ll find quite often is that a lot of the markets outside of Japan are interested in games where you can do anything you want. They put a high priority on a great degree of freedom. In the Japanese market, it’s more common for people will demand a certain flow to the events in a game. We find that they’re more comfortable with a linear framework. We have our theories about why this might be.”

The comparison is relative due to the creators of their respective franchises aspiring to replicate near identical reception and appeal within their works. To differing results. Moving outside their comfort zone creating a fusion in a way. As much as I would revel in going off on Xenoblade Chronicles X, that’s a story for another time. Among the challenges and expectations, Itsuno is trying to match Skyrim’s massive reception with Dragon’s Dogma. An ambitious endeavor I appreciate as he remarks transparently in March 20, 2012. “At Capcom, we’ve made Dragon’s Dogma and come up to this point through our experience of action games. We’re trying to make a new genre: We’re using our action heritage and putting that into an action RPG.”

Emphasizing “changing action RPG to ACTION rpg.” Going for ambition is not inherently wrong. Great to have these goals to strive towards. As long as they stick the landing, journey and beginning. And I must say, after 3 playthroughs. One on normal, on hard mode, and finishing a speedrun whilst completing everything I can in postgame and the DLC on Bitterback isle of the Dark Arisen version, I firmly believe they succeeded in accomplishing all three qualities. However, despite my abundant enjoyment I did come across a sizable bulk of concerns I’ll discuss later in my mixed feelings. For now, I’ll discuss immediate sections I love.

Freedom is unrestricted. You can forget the main quest and go gallivanting off the beaten path and run towards any place on the map. Delving freely into dark dungeons, rocky caverns or forgotten ruins where a lantern is a must to combat the darkness. Filled with a plethora of variable attackers you won’t usually see copy-paste monsters on a budget. Harpies, undead skeletons, zombies, knights, mages, bandits, goblins, liches, ghosts, ogres, and etc. Even their variants are suitable. Clashing heavyweights against yours. Thus I can’t complain on the diverse enemy enriching every location you stumble in your wanderlust. Speaking of stumbling, you can upon completing a small bit of central plot early on set your fast travel points within reason. I didn’t like the approach since you receive a limited lot but ultimately came around to liking the unorthodox system. Helped by the fact the world didn’t feel too huge to traverse. Nor too meager to explore the sum of the whole caboodle within a short amount of time. Instead, the locales are filled with interesting locations. Multiple medium to large-scale dungeons displaying serviceable level design beyond linear corridors. Plenty of paths to tread both up and down. Breathtaking scenery during adventures. Bluemoon Tower made me feel as if I was transported in Rome’s Colosseum except fantasied. Ruined in decay where a single step can lead to certain death. Or embark on a long fog-filled forest where directions can prove futile for a newbie traveler. Yet for the experienced, hitting misty poles can unveil the true path. Mayhaps you will partake in a water temple? Which by the gods isn’t as arduous as other infamous water temples in games I’ve played. Link would breathe a sigh of relief here. Levers and switches to change the water level. Or for the speedy, they can excuse the routes and with careful jumping reach the end of the dungeon. Outside the danger is palpable with special zones where never-before-seen creatures lurk. Dangerous lichs and small drakes patrol. A functional day/night cycle capable of giving goosebumps if you decide to tackle the absence of sun with naught but your companions along. Hopefully, you brought ample oil flasks for your lantern. Cause oh boy does the night present dangerous adversaries not just in a greater supply of darker denizens but boss behemoths roaming the lands. Reminded me a bit of turning tail and running towards safety amid the nights in Dying Light. Seeing a chimera pop up near my location still gives me shivers…

Additionally changing vocations called classes and specializing in whatever playstyle you so choose is near-painless. Parallel to the weapon classes from Monster Hunter, but different. As you kill bounties of opponents and level up your vocation rank, unlock new skills and abilities. Allowed me to play as a mystic knight capable of dishing out spells while tanking with a shield and upon switching my staff in the menu. I return, bashing heads without remorse. Each class is satisfying with strengths and weaknesses. I honestly didn’t expect to fancy bow and arrows, and DD made me a fan of archery. What the heck man? I was a longtime Greatsword user.Heck, you can grab and climb any large creature during conflicts whenever. Hiroyuki Kobayashi, the producer said in an 2011 Siliconera interview. How DD’s grab mechanic in addition to “...the main character can go and do whatever he wants in this world, it gave birth to the idea that he’s fighting enemies and he should be able to fight them in any way that he wants and so we came up with the idea of the grabbing mechanic. He can climb on these enemies and fight them however he chooses.” A defining trait adding an essential option for players to tactfully embrace a closer savage quarrel against any terrifying freaks. Though the concept isn’t fresh, Shadow of the Colossus(SOTC) requires players to climb and weaken a colossus by striking their weak-spots. The influence I feel resonates still with characters conducting similar operations. If I am climbing a Cyclops then surely the eye is the weakness right?! Yes! Chimera for instance as an early boss functions in a comparable manner. Slay the snake tail, to make climbing safer. Hitting the goat head silences spells, then bashed the lion head to finish off the triple threat in a single body. Refreshing to play an open realm granting players simple mechanics and then shooing them off, if they decide not to embrace the major narrative at will.

For folks who don’t know the premise is simple and lightly intriguing. Within a small village called Cassardis you(after creating your protagonist) live a relatively normal life. Until one day. A BIG RED DRAGON starts scorching your fellow villagers on the nearby beach. Wreaking havoc. Heart pounding you decisively run out. Brandish a rusted sword and try to fight off the savage dragon. You can undoubtedly realize how such an encounter fared. Very poorly. We lose our life. But wait! We are alive? The dragon decides to steal our ‘heart’ literally. And some way, somehow we are alive as “Arisen” A human being whose destiny is tied to stopping the dragon. Welp, there goes my regular routine. I already had plans for. Although facing the dragon is the least of our concerns, immediately you are bombarded with new main and side quests to undertake at your leisure. And it is here where the realistic portion emerges.

Highly realistic is accurate. For better or worse, everything operates and contributes to the unique presentation. Resembling real life, a black market exists for counterfeiting necessities. Try saving key special quest items instead of returning them to the owner. Giving them a pale counterpart. The outcome may raise eyebrows. Moving on, all items have weight. Healing, tools and materials are not spared. Gathering materials takes time. Thankfully not too slow and not too fast. I mentioned the grab mechanic earlier, but just as you are provided the ability to climb onto giants, so too do they have the innate ability to pin you down in their grasp! Best to keep on the move Arisen! Lest you fall into their hands! Stamina(ST) is your lifeline. Every weapon ability used will deplete a small portion of your gauge. Sprinting slowly depletes it. Running then jumping can induce a noticeable chunk gone. Don’t forget grabbing is affected. And behind a hidden blindspot. Your height and weight matter too. Being a figure with low density grants the highest stamina regen and the lowest encumbrance(Volume you can carry). Attaining a higher amount of body load causes you to restore a bit slower, on the offset causes you to be granted extra capacity for ST and encumbrance. Here is a chart for reference. Height also plays a key role. Being of a minimal stature allows entrance upon tiny openings and perhaps smaller hitboxes. Whereas a tall guy cannot enter limited spaces. Will have the inverse effect of hitboxes. Forget plans to go underneath a Cyclops as a six footer fella. If you thought that was the term of the realistic portion. Think again. Encumbrance affects all the above. Here is another chart for reference. Depending on how your current carry load. From ultra light to over-encumbered. Parameters in values will alter jogging & running speed, recovery time, climbing, carrying, grapple, and running. Naked for instance will have little to no penalty. Can grapple giants for the longest, run for an extended period along with moving at the fastest speed. Compared to a heavy individual. Oh man, you’ll be as slow as molasses. Not to that extent, but a noticeable degree changes with whatever you do. Finding yourself out of breath easily. Constantly recharging your gauge and good lord don’t get me started on the inability to pick up items except for several exceptions. Not strictly a requirement to understand these mechanics as you assemble your character and comrade. To the surface-level player, but to those who love knowing every itty bitty detail, they prove their tonnage in gold. Attention to detail in weight, height, ST and encumbrance demonstrates a philosophy that is neither half-baked nor too overly complicated. Functions as a well-oiled cog with alternative core features the developers are trying to convey. Such as a satisfying fight loop.

Action albeit simplified achieves hallmark makings of a gratifying beast slaying loop. Imagine facing a near insurmountable boss only to win succeeding ‘x’ or ‘xx’ amount of tries. Hmm, I’m reminded of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Soul series. Good. That works. Broadening your horizons then, input a hardy challenger with a health bar and conjure the memory of facing a troublesome 2+ health bar encounter. That too is acceptable. Finally, remember how Monster Hunter immersified you to hunt, check for clues then melee and perhaps trail a weakened creature? Well, erase the busy work and focus on the bout. Hit any usable abilities with the smash of a button. 3 or six depending on the class provided. Sure it uses stamina, but the expense is negligible unless spammed. An immediate gratification than a delayed response. A real-time shift to having the ideal battles in Dragon’s Dogma. Except missing a couple major details. You. Are. Not. Alone. Pawns are lifelong companions. A main pawn is always at your side. With two spares you can summon in through an online feature. Connecting online accommodates your world a random assortment of online pawns. No need returning to base and recruit, simply talking with them and as long as they meet your current level. A free no cost sign-up to your party begins. Thus, clashes against adversaries transform regular duels into a group brawl. Facing a horde of goblins never got old by channeling my inner Goblin Slayer party. A towering cyclops becomes inadvertently a fantasy AT-AT skirmish to bring them down. Here’s a hint. Focus on the legs! Encountering a drake in the wilds is a flee-on-sight order early on. Impossible to finish a coup de grace as a greenhorn adventurer. Though, you are welcome to try. The outcome is less PTSD inducing trying to sneak by a Xenoblade Rotbart. Death awaits…

Nevertheless, vocations are powerful when used effectively. Applies, to companions too. Having a standard tank, healer, archer, and a mage. Deja vu DND party? A nice callback to Western party composition. Of which has never failed me yet. A tank as a fighter and warrior offers the classic sword and shield capable of taunting foolish dumb dumbs. Embracing the greatsword yields high damage at the expense of losing blockability. Archers employed as striders are quick dual daggers with flashy moves and evasion skills to support both in and outside of combat. Ranger provides an extended longbow specialization capable of sniping from long distances. Attaining greater firepower. Supplemented by a decent dagger skillset. Mages offer a wealth of healing and buffing parties with elemental enchantments. Having a dagger imbued with either fire, ice, electric, holy, or dark offers an extra modifier damaging susceptible opposition with a weakness towards certain aspects. The sorcerer class trades healing with an increased arsenal for magickal power. Those who know Konosuba's Megumin* blasting everyone to smithereens illustrating a magical nuke. Can render analogous results with a hurricane. If not satisfied, summon a meteor from the skies, Ice spikes, or seismic ground spells, yeeting hostiles to kingdom come. There’s a reason why I didn’t use the magickal jobs a lot. Matches end quicker once I finish casting. And I prefer not one-shotting everything hehe. Before I forget, three hybrid vocations exist solely for the player. Mystic knight, magick archer, and the assassin. By far I enjoyed these plenty than regular jobs due to the fact they can use further than two weapons. Mixes classes, thereby offering distinct move sets and abilities. Launch magickal arrows raining from above, use spells as a tank whilst hiding behind a shield, or gouge enemies biting deeper and causing severe blows when mounted. Are a miniscule taste of what they offer. Don’t be me who spent twenty hours as a warrior slamming my greatsword deep into mons. Viscerally pleasant. Even supposing I had the foresight to experiment. So go off my friends! Trial and error with whichever job you fancy.

As an addendum to the combat above the realism meshes well enough during bloody encounters. Low health causes the screen to die in red and slight screen shakes will occur. Buffs can benefit you in the tides of clashing steel, but so too do debuffs, classified as debilitation's from the other side may prove detrimental. Blind for instance will blind your screen. Almost literally except for a very limited view. Petrification will turn you into stone sooner or later. Torpor plays out as if the player is in a slow-mo. Super cool to see at first glance. But dread and despair abruptly emerge. I could add extra into the next 16 debuffs. But I’m trying not to scare you… Notwithstanding these harsh conditions, there is a respectable measure of curatives restoring to normal statuses so thou-shalt-not fear them too much. You can at least spam them to your liking without an animation. So Skyrim spamming HP foods restores health after a near defeat is both humorous and a valid strategy. Reminds me of the Tales series because I'm properly making use of my inventory management instead of hoarding. I'm eating grass plants, raw meat, and questionable rotting meals if I have no choice… Oh boy no wonder why I have horrible indigestion and poison… I won’t say the reason why...Ugh.

The addendum is vital because in peeling a layer, a fresh coat arises next. In learning and understanding these miniature details do we embrace and take advantage of the rules connected and presented. I’m reminded of Masahiro Sakurai. Talking about his Eight Hit Stop Techniques Video. For those unaware he first educates the viewer by asserting “'Hit stop' is an effect added just as an attack hits its target. Both you and your opponent stop for a brief moment." Fighting games apply the method among plenty of auxiliaries outside the genre, but I want to direct your attention to a technique. On point five - Control the amount of hit stop. I’m paraphrasing but he displays a sword’s tip that deploys higher damage than merely slashing. Creating a multiplier effect. DDDA has something similar, performing buffs to maximize attacks given and while not the same as Sakura with the sword tip. The placement of weapon attacks is crucial. Hitting a weak spot on a cyclops' eye presents far better devastation than hitting steel plates adorning their feet. Bouncing your weapons off. Deadly monstrosities present separate qualities to take advantage of their weaknesses. I won’t declare any more to spoil the surprise, though keep an eye out for possible body vulnerability. A few may not be as clear-cut as the above example, but in the course of conflicts, pawns can learn strategies to call out. “Wolves hunt in packs.” “Tis weak to fire!” Or “Strike from the rear!” Improving as you do. Making ventures into the unknown is not so daunting. Creating opportunities midst facets of combat that in turn grasp both parties on strengths and weaknesses. Resulting in an easy curve to comprehend. Oh undead weak to holy? Quickly enchant my weaponry in holy magic! Blast I'm being possessed? Guess I'll pray for my ally to friendly fire me gently. For fellow Arisen struggling with AI behavior there is an overlooked characteristic in determining inclinations. I didn’t constantly re-tool inclinations and inputted a sort of aggressive stance during clashes. One and done setting their parameters. Think of it slightly like gambits from FFXII. Determining what they should prioritize when facing enemies. Defending, healing, focusing on spell-casters, adventurous etc. Not complicated at all and I found to my gratification their Artificial intelligence surprising at times to slap me from a possession, heal me when I need it, or taunt foes while I recover. I recommend re-configuring a pawn’s priorities when you see a nearby knowledge chairs in Inns if you’re unsatisfied with what they’re doing.

Additionally, Sakurai posits the pinnacle of hit-stop techniques. By keeping the attacker moving slightly during the hitstop. DDDA operates in the same vein at landing a blow on an enemy. Even launching them into the air works super effectively. Man, I thought there were no supplementary hidden features. You wish! A knockback rule exists! I won’t go into the finer details, but suffice it to say you can stun an enemy by delivering a threshold of damage. Staggering blows into dazed status. Each enemy has different thresholds. Not earth-shattering, but players from Smash,min-maxers, or fellows who enjoys reading the closer details. Proves an invaluable mechanic. Why should I endure a long battle whereas I could blast the creature off a cliff? A flying griffin for instance who loves employing guerilla warfare can’t do anything once tethered onto sweet dirty ground. And if so inclined, may use dastardly tactics to grind a deathly foe later on. Furthermore, The motion of following through with attacks remains intact. Wonderful smacking foolish opponents daring for a challenge. Resulting in throwing attackers into the sky or yourself. And despite a lack of playing DMC games from Itsuno’s library(I’ll get there trust me) I will confess I felt Monster Hunter DNA at times. The feeling of every physical melee weapon impacting on a mon’s flesh is visceral and resorts back to the hit-stop. In searching for validation I dug deeper into the team’s qualifications and found despite a lot of heavy hitters from the DMC4. There is a decent chunk of old veterans. You can see a full list here from MobyGames.. Figures like as Minae Matsukawa, Kento Kinoshita, Programming lead - Yoshiharu Nakao all have experience from the franchise. So it is not a stretch to declare DD has a lot of combat expertise in the action department. A respectable load of history bleeds beyond the monster IP and forges a sort of culmination so to speak of their past practices. If that’s not enough, compare the two cover art and see striking resemblances. It’s no wonder why I had comforting familiarity with its systems in place and not-clunky responses working adequately on my controller. The fact there is no innate lock-on button speaks volumes in conveying a move harkening key positioning. Strats over stats or vice-versa is a viable method. Learning the ins and outs of brute patterns, dodging if needed, and persevering in spite of a tough, challenging harsh world that can eat you up. As a consequence the clunkiness and jank were nonexistent. Therefore, the fun loop in engagements felt ruggedly smooth. Leaving out conniptions. And followed up by "Try and beat me!"

Moreover, Majority of quests excel in rising above the average of mundane. Close in regards to boring me due to how the design usually offers a fetch, extermination. But digging deeper by talking to various NPCs, investigating for clues, escorting helpless innocents, following suspicious individuals, and by far ones that raised my eyebrows were chained side quests which act as further development arcs of NPCs. These missions flesh out the remaining cast further, don’t expect full nuance ala CD projekt RED quality. Within these hidden assignments emerge uncommon cutscenes for the side-cast, once their character arcs reach their cusp. Giving precious glimpses into the lives of the folks asking for Arisen's services. Not extraordinary, filled with the most amazing must-play ever. But also not being boring to the gills. If you ever wanted to know their background then embrace their inquiries without complaint. I found to my amusement notable ones. I'll share vague memoirs. I assisted a traveling merchant who wanted to know what happened to his father, while infuriating because of the number of requests early on. I quickly forgave him when I learned the reasoning. To my amazement, I chanced a weird meeting with a naive fool whose wanderlust knows no bounds. Often leaving him in dire straits of remarkably horrible stamina. An irony not lost on me. Gathering healing curatives was less of a task than above and by the boundary of his errands, I found a relatable dude who took his hardships by heart and appreciated my efforts to aid him. In contrast to the people I said earlier, I came across a flirtatious gal who swindled me for money. Forgive me for I was besotted by her charms and foolishly gave her a decent chunk of my purse. Thinking perhaps she’ll repay me cash someday. Wrong. I got played like a damn fiddle. Turning my heart darker. Lightening once I saw her in trouble later on, I could not leave her alone. And to my shame, I became a white knight to save her again. The lesson I learned thereafter is to never be infatuated by the charms and beauty. I was foolish. But continued in the pursuit of lore I found to my delight a worthy sidequest of my time that granted me further insight into the lands of Gransys. Not lore shattering, but close. I won’t mention anything concrete, but I live for these conclusions despite the almost mundane design. I would claim they’re worth it if you relish learning deeper the days of yore and its hearty and duplicitous denizens. For those looking to tie a deeper love. You can gift presents to vital NPCs. Ah very realistic the developers are striving towards.

Need a break from the RPG nature? Partake in platforming. Where you have to reach the highest point of a building, structure, or ruin to take a medallion. Employ the environment. Didn’t expect platforming, but hey it's pretty refreshing. And this is tucked away in noticeboard operations. 50 of them are available. A good friend of mine mentioned they lead you to secret spots. Hell the starting area after creating your character has one! A cool benefit of learning precise maneuvers on wall structures/spaces. Never hurts to check your surroundings, my dude!

The story itself I initially perceived to be a nothing burger for about ??% of the way. However, the remaining ??% due to lore bombs and recontextualization of the narrative because of the lore-dropping revelations opened my eyes beyond a basic story into clever territory. Make no mistake, this doesn’t mean the plot elevated and demolished my initial impressions. Instead, I think I’m on board with what the writers were trying to achieve, and it's a concept I don’t see often in JRPGs except my favorites. Delving not too simple and not too complex which is bonus credit for me. But in terms of impact? I find it acceptable, but incapable of mesmerizing me to the terminus. A clean “Oh you clever dastard” for lack of a specific conclusion. If viewed alongside the whole shebang, I believe it is appropriate judging about the overall thematic messaging. And for that, I respect, admire and praise it in the confines of which it struggles to desperately convey to the masses. To fluctuating outcomes.

Despite, the praise I said above. I must confess to a host of mixed feelings. Concerns I had amid my playthroughs, I feel are worth noting to varying degrees that are neither positive nor negative.

First, I realize certain systems and mechanics are too realistic for my blood. This isn’t laziness. I’m tolerant of many things and if I wasn’t I wouldn’t have played three reruns. Be that as it may. I still feel the beginning hours can be something of a hurdle to unfamiliar folks unused to the style of play. Can take a while to reach a constant cycle of enjoyment in lieu of a delayed gratification. A few assorted examples that will trickle below on numerous fragments. I don't appreciate having a limit placed on me regarding weight. I revel collecting anything in my sight. So the constrained encumbrance based on character creation is debilitating in maintaining a constant fun flow. Perhaps doubling or tripling the maximum supply would be an acceptable softer blow. I recognize this is a balanced measure to not spam healing items amid combat. Regardless, I can make my Pawns into mules carrying rations and whatnot. Also, I abhor the stamina system over sprints, when no enemies are nearby. I believe my limiter should drain exclusively in the nearby vicinity of adversaries. No malicious entities close by? No depleting. So I can freely sprint to my destination without frustration. Thereby, respecting the player’s focus and investment. The forceful nature of realism is apparent anytime I'm out roaming. Yet entering a city/town, I can jog to my heart's content.

Second. The focus to limit fast travel points via port crystals in a limited volume feels constricting. inside, you cannot teleport regularly like in other rpgs. A simple click on a town/city and voila “I'm there” is not the same. You have to set a handful of crystals(by completing the prime quests in an NG playthrough(NG being a new game) to place on any overworld spot, not a town or dungeon. Then you gain the power to transport there with a ferrystone. The Dark Arisen version comes equipped with an eternal ferry stone to acquiesce unlimited travel back to places. Very weird. know I've come around on the concept earlier, yet I cannot help but remark the NG+ implementation of buying another crystal feels like the right approach. Extras cannot be available for purchase until reaching NG+ With previously set crystals already shown on the map ready to be teleported at your leisure. Makes backtracking to old areas somewhat of a pain to trek repeatedly. Wonder if the sequel changes things up and adjusts normal travel if they already discovered the location. Rather than setting their own. But the underlying problem arises just as I am forced revisiting former whereabouts where I don’t have a teleportation ready. Perhaps an alternative was to balance the components by discovering locales, and therefore freely travel excluding the requirement of a crystalline item.

Third - Failable & Missable quests. Mostly concerning the side-content. Imperative to note, changing several quests in the menu. Can fail certain operations outright. I remember a particular instance of escorting a fella only to switch to separate assignment real quick to complete as well. Failing the assignment. I was shocked. My entire work and I must revert to my old save file or checkpoint. Not a major deal since I activated it like a madlad. But DD operates on a single file. Thereby, I cannot pull from a list a quick load easy peasy. You get 1 solo file and a checkpoint. The latter is akin to a hard autosave. And activates as you sleep among divergent matters. Ergo if you’re screwed by the 1st option a 2nd exists. The alternative choice is reverting to the checkpoint. A weird implementation system feels again restrictive in freely managing their save options. Resorting to a strict implementation of accepting the consequences. Reminds me of the Souls series where a similar loadout occurs. Nevertheless, necessary to keep in mind. On missables. Keeping in mind your employer’s deadlines is advisable since the whole title operates under a day/night cycle with every important NPC patrolling a different route. And so you will need to remember where they're previously. Admittedly I didn’t have much trouble finding them since almost always there is a marker on the map/mini-map to lead you to the corresponding location. Plus they can fail if you don’t finish them quickly. Let’s say, you decide tackling the side content from NPCs just before the final boss. Welp, you missed out on nearly checking all boxes they have to offer. Most of them must be finished as you progress through the leading narrative. If there is a big pet peeve I have is that unknown to my knowledge missables may be incurred. Hence why I decided to casually refer to a guide to not miss any of them. Brumbek’s Steam’s guide was immensely helpful in solving an ungroovy dilemma. And of course the Before I play section too.

Fourth - Miscellaneous areas such as the expansion's secret augments should’ve been an extra free section to equip in place of having to override your set augments already. Aside from abilities, you can equip more than five augments. Acting as passives, these to a certain degree substantially add effective modifiers to gameplay. Extra carry heft. Extra damage, reduction of a blow upon your life, etc. Each job upholds special properties to procure with discipline points. The expansions make it so you would have to replace them if you find them worthy of your attention. Several, I found extremely lacking. Gathering faster? Ballista ammo reloading faster? These in my mind should’ve been freely equippable without replacing old skills. Perhaps in a separate section. I haven’t seen the entirety, but looking at the list I would claim a decent chunk are not important than others. Plus the post-game area needs further diverse environments than copy-pasting several variants together and re-using few bosses. Make it truly unique. No half-measures. The expansion at the least did a full-blown dungeon crawler area complete with original foes to combat and traps to escape from. The process of gifting, could've been enhanced rather of on NPC's. Have the player romance our main pawn please. I conceived this would be a natural way to induce a pure love than seeing a human on the street, you meet one day to become your beloved before end credits rolled. Call me a romantic, but friendships forged by fire together are super satisfying as my best buddy likes to disclose mhm. Lastly, I firmly believe changing abilities while on the field than having to resort to a friendly neighborhood is less burdensome. Wherefore I am endowed with alternating cool powers to try. I loathe retreating to a town/city just to change my job and set current skills repeatedly. These are added busywork and do little respecting a player's time. I dearly wish a loadout is readily available, so I don't always have to reapply my normal gear every occasion I change vocations. Why must I become naked anew… I’m not asking for auto-changing jobs midway through skirmishes, that would be extremely silly. Merely asking for tweaks in minor quality-of-life suggestions. For instance, Baffling having three ability slots for warrior in spite of distinct jobs having no trouble slotting six. I'm not carrying a shield man!

Despite the mixed concerns. These issues can vary greatly from person to person. As of now, they didn’t impact my overall experience severely, but if you had randomly bumped into me years prior in 2015. Playing the PS3 version. I would quickly comment "I fell off hard" and subsequently again over several years across different platforms before I decided enough was enough to click with many things. Then my initial past impressions would not be as kind as I am now. It's why I think anyone who concluded poorly of the game is without a doubt true. Everything can be perceived as mundane, busywork, tiring, troubling, lacking for the sake of realism. Perhaps buckling under the pressure of its ambitions. Not connecting with the player sufficiently to invest farther into Gransys and what they offer. And I firmly believe that’s fair and valid. Because that’s what I thought of it before. On the other hand, there’s a special oomph underlying the working limitations and minor laws in play uplifting, transforming into a greater than the sum of its parts. Critically understanding interconnected features in place. Emerges a particular identity. A Japanese open-world ACTION rpg styled in the likeness of a Western RPG, but with the "Hiyah!" DNA of Capcom’s legacy is a sight to behold. And while I am not as versed as I am in Capcom’s library, isn't the game the first bold showing of a true open-world RPG at least from the corporation in 2012? I was checking the company’s past titles and I saw Okami and Monster Hunter titles released prior. But the former isn’t a true RPG as far as I am aware and the latter had segmented zones, not seamless. Tying back to what Itsuno said earlier of similar games not existing in Japan. In such a way Dragon’s Dogma is akin to a blueprint inspired by Skyrim. A WRPG made by JRPGs developers.

At the end of the day, this is the first title I've played directed by Hideaki Itsuno with his team, and holy moly does this man cook blazing fire! Very ambitious plan splicing Western RPG ideas with a considerable degree of freedom and Capcom's long standing history has most certainly paid off. A new IP since launching in 2012 has sold 8.4 million units as of December, 2023. Boasts a humongous market of consumers vying for this type of medium. Of course it didn't reach Skyrim's far reaching sales records, but for a New IP it is a worthy achievement. And one I can only say exceedingly rare that I replay again and again. My last memory was Final Fantasy XVI and Shadow of the Colossus. Thus it comes as no surprise that I enjoy to the fullest extent what is offered here. A tough, brutally challenging low fantasy medieval adventure handling the reins of a plain yet straightforward action formula. A pawn system never fails to leave me alone even in the darkest of days. Nakama power at its peak. Allowing a party to venture without restraint into dangerous areas. Accepting the consequences of my activities due to the sheer freedom given. Wrestling with the unique ideas offered unorthodoxly yet refined presents a hell of an ordeal. For better or worse the realism can destroy the immersiveness and fun, but for those who stick through thick and thin. I believe there is something quite special in store for you. And in my case. The light premise, in the beginning, invigorated me to face my ultimate opponent at the end of the primary story, post-game and expansion. And I was left not disappointed. Rather grinning from ear to ear at one of the finest battles and experiences I've determined from my multiple adventures for a JRPG. Move over Monster Hunter. I became a Dragon Slayer.

9/10

References & Additional Material:
2013 GDC talk on Dragon’s Dogma development
2015 XCX Director Interview
2012 Itsuno and Skyrim
2011 Siliconera interview
Credits of Dragons Dogma

Systems & Mechanics:
19 Debilitations Overview
Encumbrance Overview
Augments Overview
Weight Overview
Pawn Inclinations

Helpful links:
Brumbek’s Missable Quests Guide
Before I play

To say Hylics isn't an interactive piece of art is an understatement. I will get more into the visuals later, but there's clear inspiration here from Earthbound. There's not much of a story, and there doesn't need to be one, because the world is a character itself. There is no possible way to make heads or tails of the world, so it makes sense that the story wouldn't. There are four characters in your party, and you do go around fighting in dungeons, beating up bosses, and collecting loot, but in a less traditional fashion.

You start out with the character Wayne. There's not much to say about Wayne. We get no backstory or epic dialog because we don't need it. You start out inside your house, and you slowly introduce yourself to gameplay mechanics. Notice I said, "Introduce yourself." There's no tutorial or even any dialog messages stating anything is happening. I highly recommend playing this the first time with a guide, as some areas can be a little cryptic for how small of a world this game is. You have your typical RPG fight mechanics. You take turns with the enemies; you can attack or cast special attacks, run away, guard, etc. That's all standard so far. You can also equip armor, weapons, accessories, etc. That's about as standard as it gets. Everything else is either similar to Earthbound or just plain weird.

The entire game is finite. Every enemy's death is permanent, as they are placed physically in the game world. There are no random encounters here. When enemies die, they are represented as a pile of flesh and bones on the ground. Most bosses are also optional. This game takes a rogue-lite approach to the RPG foundation by encouraging you to die. When you die, you go to the afterlife, which is a small building with a surrounding ocean of red. You can heal here and turn in flesh meat, which increases your hit points. This is the only way to "level up," and that's in the loosest sense of the word. Enemeis drops lots of cash, items, and meat, and this meat is needed to get further in the game. However, starting out is rough. You die a lot, and you usually can't kill a single enemy part alone. It's important to get the second party member quickly before engaging in battle.

That's where the guide is needed. That is not a conventional way to play a game. Thankfully, the game is so short that you can get your first party member in 20 minutes. There is a world map that has different locations on it. There are a few main dungeons with bosses in them, but they aren't shown or given to the player as typical bosses. They are just another enemy on screen, or you need to interact with them to start the battle. There is a single town in the whole game that has a few vendors. You can buy armor, accessories, items, and so forth. Items like frozen burritos can be microwaved from projectile weapons into warm burritos, which revive an ally. Hot dogs give full health, and other weird and alien items will do other things. 

You can learn new special moves by finding TVs. The one small issue here is that you need to revisit every TV to give each party member the ability. Some do huge attack damage, and they are pretty much required to beat the final boss, while others can be used for defensive purposes like protecting from blind status or poison. Attacks are 1:1 to your mightiness power given by weapons. It's important to seek out the most powerful weapons that are usually hidden in chests or locked behind something, such as needing to die three times or using dynamite to blow up a wall. There aren't many locations like this, but they are important. 

There are other weird quirks that you would never know are things, such as the fact that the character Somsnosa, who is the strongest, can only equip a single weapon and can pick up bugs found in areas to increase her might. These are weird-shaped creatures that are all white and are found in dungeons or safe zones. You can also run across merchants who offer a one-time type of food that is used on a specific animal back at Wayne's house to acquire their skull for a shield. That would be completely missed without a walkthrough. These kinds of things are also present in games like Earthbound and either require you to stumble across them by accident or have a lot of abstract thinking going on. 

Outside of the gameplay, the game's most impressive feature are the visuals. They have avant-garde status in surrealism. They mesmerize, question, and barely represent anything remotely human or recognizable on our planet. The game has a Toejam & Earl vibe mixed with Earthbound. That's the sense I got, but there's not a single game in existence that looks or sounds like this one. Strange alien noises, weird haunting ambient music—none of it is scary or horror-themed. The game is so odd that it will make you feel lonely and empty just playing it. The world itself is a character, and the poetic dialog (the little there is) and Shakeperian story (if you can call it a story) don't matter. It's not that I cared, but I just didn't need it. Just seeing these characters on screen, running across the few NPCs, and fighting the bosses was enough to keep my mouth shut. I just took in the fantastic visuals and played.

This goes for animations too. The game has a very claymation look and feel to it. The first-person combat animations feature strange hand gestures, alien symbols, and an odd sense of emptiness. There is nothing typical or trope-like about this game. Your brain wants to constantly categorize, put it in a box, or rationalize with the visuals. All you can do is accept what's there and keep pushing on. The game can be finished almost 100% within 4-5 hours. Once you get three party members, the game becomes more enjoyable, and you quickly gain power where small enemies are pushovers. It's just bosses you have to focus on. I wish you didn't need to hold off on your consumable leveling up items once you have all party members. The finite supply in the world makes this a requirement. But the satisfaction of being level 63 and having 5,000 HP at the end of the game allows for getting 100% a breeze.

All in all, Hylics is an insane piece of interactive art. There is nothing like it out there, and while the cryptic RPG elements feel dated and the game is difficult to get going, you will have a blast with it and not want to put the game down.

Taking any sort of dormant franchise and bringing it back into the “modern” era is always a risky move, no matter what the franchise in question is, but it was clear that Rare was able to pull this off seamlessly with the original Donkey Kong Country for the SNES. Sure, the bosses may have been lacking in plenty of areas, and there is some bullshit to be found when it comes to some of the secrets, but all of that is made up for with the game’s tight platformer, superb gameplay, wonderful gimmicks, impressive graphics for the time, and wonderful music, tying everything up together in one, banana-flavored package that many have enjoyed ever since it had initially released. Not only that, but the game was also extremely successful, selling over 9.3 MILLION copies, so it was clear that both Rare and Nintendo needed to keep this money train rolling with a sequel of some kind. However, this is the part of Rare’s life as a company where they were going to go through a bit of character development: they were sitting on a gold mine with this property, so they couldn’t just hash out something cheap and terrible like they did with Battletoads. They needed to make sure that this game was better than the rest, the true king of the jungle, one that can stand amongst the greatest of the greats, and personally, if you were to ask me, I think they succeeded in doing that and then some with Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest.

While I did get the original DKC as one of the first games on my SNES, and I would go onto playing it a lot because of that, I initially didn’t get DKC2 for quite some time, even though I was well aware of it existing for a while. It was only when another video game convention managed to roll through my town a good couple of years ago that I was able to snag myself a physical copy of the game to try it out, and HOT DAMN, I definitely should’ve hopped on it a lot sooner before then. The original game was already great enough as is, but this game manages to take everything that game did, expand upon it, and improve upon every criticism that I could have with that game, making for what I would say is not only a perfect sequel, but also a masterpiece of the platforming genre.

The story is just that little more complex when compared to the extremely simplistic premise of DKC 1, where while relaxing on the beach, Donkey Kong is suddenly ambushed and kidnapped by a group of Kremlings, who take him to the dastardly Kaptain K. Rool. Shortly after this, he then sends a message to the other Kongs, saying that if they want to ever see DK again, they need to give him the banana hoard that he failed to get from the previous game, which the Kongs refuse to give up, so it is up to Diddy Kong now, alongside his girlfriend Dixie Kong, to travel through the lands of Crocodile Isle, save DK, and defeat Kaptain K. Rool once and for all. It is still a very basic premise, one that decided it wanted to be even more like Mario and involve a kidnapping of some kind, but it is still an effective story, and not gonna lie, having the main character of the previous game be the one that needs rescuing in this is a bit of a nice twist.

The graphics are pretty great, looking on par with the original game in many different aspects, but also expanding on the visuals with much more creative environment, character, enemy and boss designs, with great animations paired right alongside them as well, the music is fantastic once again, having plenty of incredible tracks that range from the menacing and exciting like this one, to the much more calm and serene like this one, all of which are an absolute joy to listen to even after all this time, and the gameplay/control is just as tight, fun, and masterfully put together as last time, not only providing plenty of fun levels and gimmicks for you to mess with ahead, but also plenty of challenges ahead that will make you feel like a true champ for conquering.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of either Diddy Kong once again or Dixie Kong, go through many different worlds of varying shape and size, each having a very different, unique theme that makes them stand out from each other, while also not feeling like complete copies of what came before in the previous game, defeat plenty of enemies using various techniques while gathering plenty of different bananas, collectibles, animal buddies, and power-ups along the way to help you out, run into many other members of the Kong family such as Funky Kong, who is STILL the coolest motherfucker on the planet, Wrinkly Kong, the one that reminds you of all the horrible teachers that you had back in school, and Swanky Kong, the one that will prove to you just how much of a dumbass you really are, who will each help you out in their own way (except for Cranky again, who I’m surprised hasn’t dropped dead from a heart attack at this point), and take on plenty of bosses who, unlike the last game, are not only very fun to fight, but also have a level of creativity to them that makes taking them each on feel incredibly fun and rewarding. As any good sequel does, this game takes all the great elements from the previous game and retains all of their great qualities, while expanding on them just enough to make it even better than before, and trust me, back when I first played this a long time ago after only having the original game some time, I was FLOORED by just how massive the jump in quality really was, despite not being all too clear by just looking at it.

For starters, since he is now the damsel in distress of this game, you can’t play as DK anymore, which does kinda suck, but hey, at least you still get to play as Diddy Kong, who still plays just as wonderfully as he did in that original game, being very nimble and quick. Not only that, but we now also have Dixie Kong in the crew, who when you start to play as for the first time, you will decide from there on out to ONLY play as Dixie Kong whenever you get the chance, because she is AWESOME in this game. Not only does she have all the same strengths (and weaknesses) as Diddy Kong, but she can also twirl around in the air with her hair, allowing her to safely glide over plenty of obstacles, which, by default, makes her the better character to play as. It’s just like when you discover how Peach can float in Super Mario Bros. 2: it is just broken enough to where you will stick with it for the whole game, and you will accept no other alternatives……….. except when you are forced to.

The game features just as many different kinds of levels as you would find in the original game, this time featuring plenty of new, creative gimmicks that do make it feel a lot more exciting and fun to play. Of course, at first, you just get your standard kinds of levels, where you just run through, jumping on enemies, collecting things, and watching Diddy perform a rap at the end of the stage, just as a means of getting you back into the groove of things, which it manages to do so very smoothly. This then leads onto the levels then quickly spicing things up, with levels where you will have to change the temperature of the water via some magic seals, making it so that you gotta make a mad dash through before you end up dead, levels where you have to ascend up a pirate ship quickly before the water catches up to you so that the piranhas will eat you, levels where you will have to maneuver on hot air balloons to catch hot steam over molten lava, and even levels where you are riding a roller coaster while being chased by a creepy spector, needing to hit checkmark barrels to open gates to avoid your own ghastly demise. Those are only just SOME of the gimmicks that you will encounter with the levels in this game, and they are much more fun to mess around with this time, making the game feel more like a proper evolution of what came before it other then just a simple retread.

This can also be seen in the game’s difficulty, because this game is HARD AS FUCK, even more so compared to DKC 1. Sure, there are plenty of easy levels that you will run into that will take no time to beat, but even by the second world of the game, you will be running into plenty of tricky platforming challenges, enemies that you can’t take out as easily as you would like to, gimmicks that push you to the limit in many different ways, even forcing you to play as certain animal buddies in some levels, and then you add getting the collectibles on top of that, and that adds a whole nother layer to the difficulty in many different instances. This even extends further beyond what you would expect to see from traditional video game difficulty, which can be seen with the simple aspect of saving the game, where you initially can save the game normally once in each world, but then after that one time, you then have to pay banana coins each time, making it so that you will now focus on collecting these things much more in levels, which can lead to plenty of other roadblocks as well. Hell, if that doesn’t convince you enough, how about the fact that there is an enemy in this game who, if he touches you, can zap away your lives from your life counter until you ultimately have nothing left? That is just one of the many cruel ways that this game can fuck you over if you aren’t ready.

However, with all that being said, the harsh difficulty that the game presents you with is one of the reasons why the game is so fantastic to begin with. It truly feels like you are being presented with a challenge, where the original DKC could be seen as the training grounds for you to get used to how this kind of game works and what it could throw your way, and now this game is the true test of everything you have learned, throwing whatever it can at you to kill you, while also giving you everything that you need to conquer every single challenge you face. It never feels unfair in that regard, which makes playing through these levels much more fun, especially whenever you do eventually succeed in beating some of these challenges, as the wave of satisfaction washes over you, making you feel like you truly have accomplished something here today, and that feeling carries out through most of the game.

But of course, what would a DKC game be without having some sort of collectible, and this game has plenty of them for you to find. There are still the many different bonus areas you can find, each giving you a Kremkoin for beating them, as well as the new DK coins that you can get in each level, which if you get enough of them, you can place yourself amongst the others in the Video Game Heroes Contest, allowing you to beat out Mario, Yoshi, Link, and even non-Nintendo characters like Sonic and Earthworm Jim. It’s a pretty cute easter egg to get, and it does prove once and for all that DKC is better then all of those other games, and you can’t change that fact no matter what you say. That’s not all the reward you can get though, as with the Kremkoins in hand, you can then gain access to the Lost World, a bonus world of the game that houses some of the hardest levels in the entire game, such as one level where you have to complete multiple sections as each of the animal buddies that you found throughout the whole game. Needless to say, these levels are no joke, but again, completing them only adds to the satisfaction you feel throughout, and helps you stand on top as the best Video Game Hero of all time.

Overall, if I haven’t made it clear enough at this point, this is a near-perfect sequel to the original DKC in just about every way, and one of the best games that you could find from the SNES era, not only providing many more fun levels to run through, exciting boss fights, incredible music, and gameplay that is as fresh and tight as ever, but it also provides quite a hefty challenge that feels oh so satisfying to overcome, leading to plenty of neat rewards waiting around the corner. I would absolutely recommend it, not just for those who played and loved the original DKC, but also to anyone in general, because it is just that damn good to where if you haven’t tried it out at least once, then do yourself a favor and load it up, possibly with a friend to join you, and get ready to have a blast. satisfied sigh... man, it felt great to revisit this game again after so long, and it really has me looking forward to what comes next in this series. I mean, come on, how could they possibly screw it up at this point now?............... oh right, with a stupid little fuck named Kiddie Kong, that’s how.

Game #586

Long before I decided to become a reviewer, I used to jot down brief thoughts on the games I was playing in order to capture my feelings at the moment of completion for personal archival purposes. Since then, I’ve of course evolved my craft into full-fledged write-ups, but I do think there is enough merit to some of these earlier critiques to warrant their publication, especially for titles I do not intend on replaying (in the near future at least). I’ve thrown in some updates, but this is one of them.


STORY
-Premise is basic - father died and left behind a mine to his son Rusty, which you have to go through to discover what secrets he was creating/hiding. Nothing else narrative-heavy happens that I can recall. The ending does try to be semi-emotional, but fails because of the lack of real development between Rusty and the townsfolk.

-Would've liked to have seen the lore of the game expanded upon. It's cool seeing all these creatures, but you don't get to know much about them outside of brief mentions from the townsfolk (i.e. Shiners being partially responsible for the creation of steambots).

-Some satirical writing, but surprisingly light on spoofing western tropes despite the homages (the tagline is literally called "A Fistful of Dirt").


GRAPHICS
-Graphics are great, looking akin to those flash animations you’d seen on Newgrounds with bold outlines combined with steampunk and weird western aesthetics. Some really beautifully colored interiors, particularly as you get deeper into the Earth.


SOUND
-No voice acting, just hit-or-miss vocalized noises like in Skyward Sword (the fat salesman's tone, in particular, being REALLY annoying).

-All the items sound good. Explosions, whether you're using dynamite or hitting a TNT barrel or dodging a suicidal robot, have the same stock noise though regardless of quantity. Same with enemies dying.


GAMEPLAY
-Game initially feels like a lovechild between Minecraft and the Snowmuncher minigame from Neopets, albeit with a surprising amount of platforming and RPG mechanics. Unfortunately, the game is too short to really capitalize on either of those elements.

-Some Metroidvania aspects since you can discover secret areas and have to revisit previous levels. However, regarding the latter, that part only happens at the end and there's a quest arrow to help you, which I liked but others probably won't.

-At $10.00 it gives you about 4-5 hours of gameplay, so it just barely passes my rule for a buy. However, be warned that the pacing is all over the place - the first couple of hours feel like forever, while the ending is rushed.

-Then again, that does make sense given that the more upgrades you have, the faster you dig. However, all the upgrade options end up being pointless since you don't need the lion’s share of them to advance further. You may ask "what about strategy?" And I suppose there is some of that, but really you'll be fine so long as you adopt an “all-around” strategy in terms of getting a decent amount of armor, decent amount of water tanks, and so forth.

-.Also upgrades for your pickaxe are as worthless as the melee upgrades in the first Deus Ex since the vast majority of players will just utilize the faster drill for navigating. The only thing the pickaxe ends-up being good for in the long-run is getting through crates (of which there are very few) and hitting one of the bosses (which you can either way do, albeit longer, with the drill).

-I like how the underworld stays the same as when you leave it. There's a bit of a Minecraft element to it in that regard. Transitions are extremely smooth from place-to-place.

-One thing I was mixed on were the respawning enemies and minerals: repeat enemies were annoying to deal with while the minerals made the game significantly easier since you could theoretically just exit and reenter a place to farm the same minerals ad nauseam.

-Inventory management makes no sense- I could never tell if I was close to being full since there's no indication as far as I could tell. Also, the game goes out of its way to separate the minerals, which, while a cool touch, ultimately remains pointless since I doubt anyone will go out of their way to discard and replace minerals they find.

-Didn't like that you could only lay one teleporter to return to the surface. Should've been able to create several throughout the world as it’s a pain to backtrack, especially towards the endgame.

-Cannot use ladders or lanterns inside the levels. Can use dynamite though. Dying inside them luckily restarts from within so you don't have to go back to them from the surface.

-Experience (i.e., money) expands the town with new shops, but is again underutilized.

-All the upgrades are cool. I liked how water was the source for most of them.

-You get something called a "mineral detector," but I honestly have no idea what it did, if anything.


VERDICT
-Despite my negatives, I cannot deny that Steamworld Dig is addicting. I loved excavating further and further into the underground to discover new areas and secrets (especially since it wasn't procedurally-generated). It feels a bit grindy at first until you get the drill (about 1-2 hours in), but outside of that the game does a good job making you feel like you're progressing forward.

Surrealism in gaming is fascinating to me. It's one thing to see a painting or photo, but to see it moving and interacting with it is a whole new scale. In my bottomless hunger for the surreal, dreamlike, and psychological in gaming, Isolomus fits a few of these categories. This claymation interactive art exhibit is not for those looking for a full-on game, puzzles, or even a story. There is a lot the player needs to interpret or just be square with not having an answer to. This is a game that can be completed 100% in less than an hour. My interpretation of the game is that it represents humans being slaves to our daily schedules and needs. I will leave it at that.

Each "cycle" of the game starts out the exact same, and there are two different endings. You just start clicking on objects on the screen. Squishing green men into blobs and then watching the "hub" of the day and night cycle as a man does a task you select. This can be eating, using a computer, looking out a window, brushing your teeth, etc. Each task is shown in full during the first cycle, and then you sleep. Once you sleep, you can choose two different doors. Once you start the next cycle, each activity is an interactive scene. I don't want to spoil them too much, but you need to figure out how to advance the scene by interacting with their objects in a certain manner. Each scene has two different endings, and how you interact determines that ending.

The entire game barely represents anything human or discernible to the human eye. Strange shapes, sounds, and the eerie, dreamlike soundtrack playing in the background will keep you glued to the screen just to see what whacky thing comes next. The animations are uncanny, inhuman, and downright bizarre, but that's what I love about this game, if you can even call it that. The gameplay here isn't much, but you still need to be curious and find new ways to interact with the game, which I found a lot of fun.

There is no dialog in the game or even any written text. Just grunts, sounds, and ambient music. Sometimes this is just what the doctor ordered. You can vibe out and relax in a game like this that doesn't require any skill to even interpret a story. This is a game that will stick with you. Maybe even more than a 50-hour-long AAA game. It's so strange and surreal that you will need to talk about it with somebody just to make sense of it all. Isomolus may not get the players or attention it deserves, but for $1, what more can you ask for? You can't buy anything for $1 anymore.