SuperScabs
A much more polished product than the first and it's all the worse for it. Feels like it exists out of obligation; the studio needing to leverage the success of the first game to keep footing. I'm glad I went back and played these, really illuminates the subtext of Alan Wake with this already feeling like the devs were done with this property. Still it felt good enough to play and 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 polished, so if anything it played like a popcorn movie. I'll never think about it again in earnest, but if it did some good for the devs in the real world then why not.
Also, rest in peace James McCaffrey, these games could get by on your performance alone.
Also, rest in peace James McCaffrey, these games could get by on your performance alone.
To everyone who has recommended this as the best VN I need to ask - do you read books?
Aggressively gauche piece with the malformed bones of a decent narrative. Insists on making incest and pedophilia justifiable in the narrative for some reason. Narrative beats indulge in a deluge of pointless details and tired anime clichés. Also feels the need to explain literally everything to the reader. It tried explaining to me misdirection and I nearly quit playing the game. That was a mistake.
The creator wrote it earnestly enough, there's no malice here. A story about an intersex person in a cursed house, the subtext should be worn on its sleeve. Instead we get a series of imprudent narratives which only serve to propel a tired tale of revenge and redemption.
I'll sum it up with an event from the game
"The world around me went brown"
And they proceeded to dunk her head in shit
How I felt the entire time.
Aggressively gauche piece with the malformed bones of a decent narrative. Insists on making incest and pedophilia justifiable in the narrative for some reason. Narrative beats indulge in a deluge of pointless details and tired anime clichés. Also feels the need to explain literally everything to the reader. It tried explaining to me misdirection and I nearly quit playing the game. That was a mistake.
The creator wrote it earnestly enough, there's no malice here. A story about an intersex person in a cursed house, the subtext should be worn on its sleeve. Instead we get a series of imprudent narratives which only serve to propel a tired tale of revenge and redemption.
I'll sum it up with an event from the game
"The world around me went brown"
And they proceeded to dunk her head in shit
How I felt the entire time.
Look man, I know it's just the tetris equivalent of jingling keys in front of a baby, but I like the jingling and it's all sparkly and look there's a whale.
Coffee got spilt on the computer and they called it an ending so I quit.
2020
A great sequel, but a less perfect game. There's a greater emphasis on combat and movement, but the combat is easily broken and the movement is somewhat deliberately obtuse to a fault. My point being that neither of those things are why I liked the first Hylics. It was easy and chill. The combat is interesting from a conventional RPG sense, but I can just play SMT or any of the classics if I want great RPG combat. Same goes for the movement. I come to Hylics for the vibes.
Vibes-wise A++++++++. I love this game as a sequel. I just find that the attempts to refine elements from the first game undermine those vibes.
(There is full well a possibility that there's some sub-textual stuff going on relating to the movement and RPG mechanics that I need to ruminate on so these are definitely NOT my final thoughts)
Vibes-wise A++++++++. I love this game as a sequel. I just find that the attempts to refine elements from the first game undermine those vibes.
(There is full well a possibility that there's some sub-textual stuff going on relating to the movement and RPG mechanics that I need to ruminate on so these are definitely NOT my final thoughts)
2023
I tried it purely based on the aesthetic they were going for and I made it about 2 hours before I dropped it. I have no problem fast travelling everywhere if they at least did it seamlessly, but it's just loading screens and annoying pull outs to a third person perspective when taking off, landing, or just jumping to a new system. That and the immediate reliance on space magic to propel the narrative really turned me off. I really just want an LoGH game with this kind of NASA aesthetic. Something politics and decision driven with very little combat and an emphasis on taking advantage of space as a setting. This likes the aesthetic of space, but hates the intricacies of its traversal.
2021
This review contains spoilers
All of the writing that surprised me was kinda blown right at the start of the game. Everything else is fairly linear to a fault. Also a severe misunderstanding of its own premise as it leans into punishing the supposed villains of the game. The entire end of the game has you getting a god to empathize with people only to punish them. There's no attempt to work through problems. Strangely black and white for how much it's been built up unfortunately. Still better than most Bethesda games, no joke.
2023
Funny, funny, very funny, and even inspiring. Absolute gem of a game.
2021
This hurts to do, but I'm dropping it. It's not that it's bad, just so bland. It is, in essence, a sequel to Nocturne and while I like the idea of a follow up, this just builds on the bones of the world that game created. The problem is this was Nocturne's weakest element.
When I go to Nocturne it's not really for that sense of world, it's primarily for the world established through combat. Nocturne is at its core a really good boss rush. The world is minimal to accentuate the atmosphere given by the difficult combat and resource management. The general overworld is just generic demons who exist in this world, but don't inhabit it. SMT IV, despite the gameplay changes, made it a point to have an interesting and lived in world that was worth exploring. V just brings over the boring overworld of Nocturne without any of the interesting aspects of it.
The magatsuhi system, while novel, also doesn't really expand on the gameplay established in IV:A. That game is contentious for some very legitimate reasons, but the one thing I will absolutely defend is the way they improved and fleshed out smirk. Decreasing the rng and making it a choice in combat added another layer to press turn that, to me, makes that game have the best combat in the entire series. Magatsuhi is an attempt to carry it over while integrating some overworld elements. Only thing is, it wasn't broken. They fixed it once already, trying to slap more stuff on top of press turn at this point just feels like floundering.
You can always create a unique and fleshed out aspect of your game. Strange journey, even with its gameplay regression, proved all you need is a cool world. IV reaffirmed that. Simply taking that excellent gameplay from IV:A and putting it into an interesting new world would have been enough. Instead we have a game that lacks an identity of its own. Content to continue the series, but not expand on it.
When I go to Nocturne it's not really for that sense of world, it's primarily for the world established through combat. Nocturne is at its core a really good boss rush. The world is minimal to accentuate the atmosphere given by the difficult combat and resource management. The general overworld is just generic demons who exist in this world, but don't inhabit it. SMT IV, despite the gameplay changes, made it a point to have an interesting and lived in world that was worth exploring. V just brings over the boring overworld of Nocturne without any of the interesting aspects of it.
The magatsuhi system, while novel, also doesn't really expand on the gameplay established in IV:A. That game is contentious for some very legitimate reasons, but the one thing I will absolutely defend is the way they improved and fleshed out smirk. Decreasing the rng and making it a choice in combat added another layer to press turn that, to me, makes that game have the best combat in the entire series. Magatsuhi is an attempt to carry it over while integrating some overworld elements. Only thing is, it wasn't broken. They fixed it once already, trying to slap more stuff on top of press turn at this point just feels like floundering.
You can always create a unique and fleshed out aspect of your game. Strange journey, even with its gameplay regression, proved all you need is a cool world. IV reaffirmed that. Simply taking that excellent gameplay from IV:A and putting it into an interesting new world would have been enough. Instead we have a game that lacks an identity of its own. Content to continue the series, but not expand on it.