pabli
13 reviews liked by pabli
Nine Sols
2024
Im having a hard time figuring out where to start in unpacking my thoughts on Nine Sols, their pullulation of which make them hard to grasp . Im going to try coming at this in a more procedural way, starting with more superficial things I could say and digging deeper from there. The most useless thing I could say about Nine Sols is: its one of the best games Ive ever played in an era of some of the best games ever made.
The next thing I want to say that is a little clumsy but I dont think I can leave out: Nine Sols is Hollow Knight if, instead of “Dark Souls meets Metroid”, it was 30% Metroid and 70% Sekiro. This isnt a shallow comparison, Nine Sols directly shares some conventions with Hollow Knight (map acquisition, charm analogue, pogo-style platforming) but with a reduction in the platforming and map complexity in favor of more dedicated combat systems. As a Metroidvania curmudgeon, this ratio of influences suits me so much more.
Heres the rub tho: very few games even begin to come close to Fromsofts level of quality and combat spectacle, especially Sekiros - so its in fact breathlessly exciting that Nine Sols, a game made by a dev who previously only made horror games, manages to stand shoulders with titans and deliver some of the most badass combat experiences in gaming to date. Part of what drives me the most in video games is “gamefeel”, a term used somewhat nebulously but which for me refers to the experience of moving around in the game world. Nine Sols has a sense of speed and momentum, youre zipping back and forth around your enemy leaving them pockeyed with explosions in your wake; youre leaping into the air to bounce and fling yourself between the deflections of your enemies attacks like some sort of lethal bird poised to swoop down and deliver a flurry of blows in every brief window you can find. To me this is like opium, the humming nirvanaous frequency my mind vibrates at while it processes the complex array of swords and knives being thrown my way is the closest thing to euphoria Ive ever experienced without a heavy prescription and I cannot overstate how much I fucking love that shit.
I feel like I need to expound on this. Theres just...... something about the sensation of being airborne in a video game. When its done right theres a mezmerizing and immensely satisfying rhythm to sustaining the lofting of your character. Its surprising then how rare this is, among action games, how terrified most games are to let you waft and fly around an arena. The crown is left uncontested for Nine Sols as it engineers moments of fluttering aerial jousting, swaying in elliptical lateraluses through your enemies with motions that feel vageuly Tai-Chi. "There is frankly not enough here" cries the man hopelessly addicted to the flow state.
But it wasnt good enough that Nine Sols could exceed my expectations just as an action game, no, Red Candle had to also somehow create a dense, expertly crafted, brilliantly laid-out taoist parable of ambition and suffering. The withholding, secretive style of narrative popularized by the Souls games is fashioned into a faceted character-driven drama in an unexpected and kinda visionary sort of way. Red Candle demonstrates an almost capricious amount of creative range, even somehow figuring out ways to infuse Nine Sols with moments of their horror pedigree. On a kickstarted budget of $420,000 Nine Sols eclipses the stories of AAA games working with 10x the financial backing, hands down, not even close. Who the hell let them cook??? For as excellent as Fromsofts work is, you wanna know one thing their games usually dont do? Make me mfing cry during the ending !! Shout it so people in the back can hear you: “Hurt People hurt people”.
The next thing I want to say that is a little clumsy but I dont think I can leave out: Nine Sols is Hollow Knight if, instead of “Dark Souls meets Metroid”, it was 30% Metroid and 70% Sekiro. This isnt a shallow comparison, Nine Sols directly shares some conventions with Hollow Knight (map acquisition, charm analogue, pogo-style platforming) but with a reduction in the platforming and map complexity in favor of more dedicated combat systems. As a Metroidvania curmudgeon, this ratio of influences suits me so much more.
Heres the rub tho: very few games even begin to come close to Fromsofts level of quality and combat spectacle, especially Sekiros - so its in fact breathlessly exciting that Nine Sols, a game made by a dev who previously only made horror games, manages to stand shoulders with titans and deliver some of the most badass combat experiences in gaming to date. Part of what drives me the most in video games is “gamefeel”, a term used somewhat nebulously but which for me refers to the experience of moving around in the game world. Nine Sols has a sense of speed and momentum, youre zipping back and forth around your enemy leaving them pockeyed with explosions in your wake; youre leaping into the air to bounce and fling yourself between the deflections of your enemies attacks like some sort of lethal bird poised to swoop down and deliver a flurry of blows in every brief window you can find. To me this is like opium, the humming nirvanaous frequency my mind vibrates at while it processes the complex array of swords and knives being thrown my way is the closest thing to euphoria Ive ever experienced without a heavy prescription and I cannot overstate how much I fucking love that shit.
I feel like I need to expound on this. Theres just...... something about the sensation of being airborne in a video game. When its done right theres a mezmerizing and immensely satisfying rhythm to sustaining the lofting of your character. Its surprising then how rare this is, among action games, how terrified most games are to let you waft and fly around an arena. The crown is left uncontested for Nine Sols as it engineers moments of fluttering aerial jousting, swaying in elliptical lateraluses through your enemies with motions that feel vageuly Tai-Chi. "There is frankly not enough here" cries the man hopelessly addicted to the flow state.
But it wasnt good enough that Nine Sols could exceed my expectations just as an action game, no, Red Candle had to also somehow create a dense, expertly crafted, brilliantly laid-out taoist parable of ambition and suffering. The withholding, secretive style of narrative popularized by the Souls games is fashioned into a faceted character-driven drama in an unexpected and kinda visionary sort of way. Red Candle demonstrates an almost capricious amount of creative range, even somehow figuring out ways to infuse Nine Sols with moments of their horror pedigree. On a kickstarted budget of $420,000 Nine Sols eclipses the stories of AAA games working with 10x the financial backing, hands down, not even close. Who the hell let them cook??? For as excellent as Fromsofts work is, you wanna know one thing their games usually dont do? Make me mfing cry during the ending !! Shout it so people in the back can hear you: “Hurt People hurt people”.
Here is a list of every single joke review I considered making:
Shellden Ring
Floodborne
Dark Shoals
Lies of Sea
Black Myth Dugong
Shellkiro: Shallows Rise Twice
Coral Shell
I couldn't pick one.
Anyway, weird how the funny-ass crab game is the best soulslike ever made that wasn't made by fromsoft. A fun art direction, a surprisingly good story, a really cool shell mechanic, and some very strong boss encounters. It's certainly lacking polish in a few areas and the music is occasionally quite bad, but I had a really REALLY good time with this game!
Shellden Ring
Floodborne
Dark Shoals
Lies of Sea
Black Myth Dugong
Shellkiro: Shallows Rise Twice
Coral Shell
I couldn't pick one.
Anyway, weird how the funny-ass crab game is the best soulslike ever made that wasn't made by fromsoft. A fun art direction, a surprisingly good story, a really cool shell mechanic, and some very strong boss encounters. It's certainly lacking polish in a few areas and the music is occasionally quite bad, but I had a really REALLY good time with this game!
Animal Well
2024
It is the closest any game since Hollow Knight has gotten to recapturing that feeling, so you KNOW this game is going to be peak. Considering this was made entirely by one dude including the engine over 7 years, they managed to craft something absolutely extraordinary here. The lack of any direction makes exploring this beautifully dark and atmospheric well so surprising. It's equal parts terrifying and joyful to see how the animals react to everything you do.
This game has maybe the best use of metroidvania upgrades in history??? With each new item having dozens upon dozens of different uses based on the animals it interacts with, how you interact with it, and more. This huge swab of options leads to some of the most cleverly designed puzzles and "boss" sequences I've seen in such a long time.
If there is one issue I have with the game is that I was kind of hoping for more on the music end, but it fits a good amount of areas in the game and the sound design is so amazing that it sticks with me just as hard. It's truly astounding how a game like this can come out from such an unassuming place, a 33MB game developed by one dude and published by a fucking YouTuber ended up quickly becoming my favorite game of the year, and unless my trip to Pharloom is booked this year as I hope for so dearly, I doubt anything will beat it.
This game has maybe the best use of metroidvania upgrades in history??? With each new item having dozens upon dozens of different uses based on the animals it interacts with, how you interact with it, and more. This huge swab of options leads to some of the most cleverly designed puzzles and "boss" sequences I've seen in such a long time.
If there is one issue I have with the game is that I was kind of hoping for more on the music end, but it fits a good amount of areas in the game and the sound design is so amazing that it sticks with me just as hard. It's truly astounding how a game like this can come out from such an unassuming place, a 33MB game developed by one dude and published by a fucking YouTuber ended up quickly becoming my favorite game of the year, and unless my trip to Pharloom is booked this year as I hope for so dearly, I doubt anything will beat it.
Celeste: Farewell
2019
i wavedashed and cried was peak
Ok I get it now
Bread & Fred
2023
was having fun until my friend who i was playing w/ abandoned me and started playing with his gf. half a star for the deep despair of betrayal.
This review contains spoilers
This was my favorite arc when I first watched the anime version of Higurashi, so I was excited to read the original version since all the previous arcs have been significantly better as VNs. Overall it definitely met my expectations, though in some aspects I feel that the anime was actually better paced.
The OST takes another huge step up, since kai is when dai first started composing some of the tracks. "You" playing for the first time ever in the credits hits super hard. My favorite track was "Festivals," basically every scene using it was pure peak, particularly the fight with Rika and the Mion screaming match that followed. The voice acting (with the 07th mod) is fantastic the whole way through, especially Shion.
Shion is easily one of the most interesting and nuanced characters to receive a POV in Higurashi. She's a lot more openly flawed compared to the rest of the main cast, who are mostly great people with some caveats. Shion meanwhile is flagrantly arrogant, rude, and greedy (she's just like me fr). This greed is the primary driver of conflict for the entire arc, being the cause of her hyperfixation on Satoshi and everything surrounding him, as well as laying the foundation for her conflict with Mion over their birthright. Her blatant hatred for Satoko (again stemming from greed) also really makes her stick out compared to all the heartjaks around her. She's overall just really riveting to read through, especially as she becomes more manipulative and unhinged throughout the arc. Watching her develop a sort of rivalry with Rena along the way was also great.
Meakashi is divided into two sections, one for 1982 and one for 1983. The first half is a fun read, especially since its so close to before Keiichi first shows up, making it more contemporary than the Akasaka experience from the prior arc. Satoshi is goofy and likeable, and his and Shion's relationship is really sweet to read. It's nice to see his and Satoko's bond as well, especially after how much he gets gassed up in Tatarigoroshi. I loved the fingernail scene towards the end of this half, as well as Shion and Mion's reconciliation.
Probably the worst part of Meakashi is the transition from 82 to 83, which feels kind of rushed. Shion and Keiichi's first meeting is funny, but the segment is definitely slapdash and just trying to get to the Watanagashi.
83 is a rollercoaster. Shion is the best L5 character to watch and it's not even close. She's cunning, manipulative, and cocky all the way through. She always reminded me of something like Vegeta on Namek, it's all really just the perfect role for her. Her revenge quest and desire to find the truth makes her significantly more sympathetic on first viewing, even though her methods are extreme. When I first watched this blind, I was rooting for her to uproot the corruption from its source and to find the truth behind the string of deaths. Her murders of the 3 heads were all enthralling, especially Rika's section. Watching her just gaslight Keiichi throughout the entire arc makes it way funnier too.
The second half of 83 is where you really lose any sympathy you might've garnered for Shion, as her hatred for Satoko rises back to the forefront. There's like a 5-10 minute long torture scene that's just painful to get through. The conclusion to that scene with Satoko's resolve is fantastic though, and honestly was better development for Satoko than even the entirety of Tatarigoroshi imo. It was very heartwarming to read, especially considering what happened literally right before it. It's also cool to watch Shion become exactly what she hated, doing to Satoko exactly what she suspected her family of doing to Satoshi.
The side plot about Shion reclaiming her birthright as Mion is excellently sprinkled throughout the arc, and I really can't believe it was something that the anime decided to exclude entirely. It not only adds significantly more depth to the entire arc, but also completely recontextualizes Mion and Shion as characters.
The main negative I can say about this arc is that it's one of few that gets a little worse upon reread. Part of my initial appeal to this story was being excited to learn with Shion as she uncovered the corruption in the village and dealt with it from the source, but when you actually know the causes it makes the arc feel a lot more futile and tragic (though that can arguably make it better depending on your perspective). It is cool to see how she got relatively close to figuring things out before falling to paranoia though, and then having to completely reconsider her perspective after Mion's confession towards the end.
The final scene with the balcony is also incredible, watching that and then going into the credits with You playing was an incredibly memorable experience. I'd put it right up with Tatarigoroshi's ending as one of my favorite Higurashi moments. I also love the post-credits scene at the school.
Overall its still my favorite arc, Shion is just such an entertaining protagonist to read as. It's a crime that she really didn't get to do much after this point, and she's immediately shafted again as soon as the next arc. It's still a fantastic experience nonetheless though.
The OST takes another huge step up, since kai is when dai first started composing some of the tracks. "You" playing for the first time ever in the credits hits super hard. My favorite track was "Festivals," basically every scene using it was pure peak, particularly the fight with Rika and the Mion screaming match that followed. The voice acting (with the 07th mod) is fantastic the whole way through, especially Shion.
Shion is easily one of the most interesting and nuanced characters to receive a POV in Higurashi. She's a lot more openly flawed compared to the rest of the main cast, who are mostly great people with some caveats. Shion meanwhile is flagrantly arrogant, rude, and greedy (she's just like me fr). This greed is the primary driver of conflict for the entire arc, being the cause of her hyperfixation on Satoshi and everything surrounding him, as well as laying the foundation for her conflict with Mion over their birthright. Her blatant hatred for Satoko (again stemming from greed) also really makes her stick out compared to all the heartjaks around her. She's overall just really riveting to read through, especially as she becomes more manipulative and unhinged throughout the arc. Watching her develop a sort of rivalry with Rena along the way was also great.
Meakashi is divided into two sections, one for 1982 and one for 1983. The first half is a fun read, especially since its so close to before Keiichi first shows up, making it more contemporary than the Akasaka experience from the prior arc. Satoshi is goofy and likeable, and his and Shion's relationship is really sweet to read. It's nice to see his and Satoko's bond as well, especially after how much he gets gassed up in Tatarigoroshi. I loved the fingernail scene towards the end of this half, as well as Shion and Mion's reconciliation.
Probably the worst part of Meakashi is the transition from 82 to 83, which feels kind of rushed. Shion and Keiichi's first meeting is funny, but the segment is definitely slapdash and just trying to get to the Watanagashi.
83 is a rollercoaster. Shion is the best L5 character to watch and it's not even close. She's cunning, manipulative, and cocky all the way through. She always reminded me of something like Vegeta on Namek, it's all really just the perfect role for her. Her revenge quest and desire to find the truth makes her significantly more sympathetic on first viewing, even though her methods are extreme. When I first watched this blind, I was rooting for her to uproot the corruption from its source and to find the truth behind the string of deaths. Her murders of the 3 heads were all enthralling, especially Rika's section. Watching her just gaslight Keiichi throughout the entire arc makes it way funnier too.
The second half of 83 is where you really lose any sympathy you might've garnered for Shion, as her hatred for Satoko rises back to the forefront. There's like a 5-10 minute long torture scene that's just painful to get through. The conclusion to that scene with Satoko's resolve is fantastic though, and honestly was better development for Satoko than even the entirety of Tatarigoroshi imo. It was very heartwarming to read, especially considering what happened literally right before it. It's also cool to watch Shion become exactly what she hated, doing to Satoko exactly what she suspected her family of doing to Satoshi.
The side plot about Shion reclaiming her birthright as Mion is excellently sprinkled throughout the arc, and I really can't believe it was something that the anime decided to exclude entirely. It not only adds significantly more depth to the entire arc, but also completely recontextualizes Mion and Shion as characters.
The main negative I can say about this arc is that it's one of few that gets a little worse upon reread. Part of my initial appeal to this story was being excited to learn with Shion as she uncovered the corruption in the village and dealt with it from the source, but when you actually know the causes it makes the arc feel a lot more futile and tragic (though that can arguably make it better depending on your perspective). It is cool to see how she got relatively close to figuring things out before falling to paranoia though, and then having to completely reconsider her perspective after Mion's confession towards the end.
The final scene with the balcony is also incredible, watching that and then going into the credits with You playing was an incredibly memorable experience. I'd put it right up with Tatarigoroshi's ending as one of my favorite Higurashi moments. I also love the post-credits scene at the school.
Overall its still my favorite arc, Shion is just such an entertaining protagonist to read as. It's a crime that she really didn't get to do much after this point, and she's immediately shafted again as soon as the next arc. It's still a fantastic experience nonetheless though.
It's the kind of game that makes you want to hug the people you love, to wake up and face the world, to not waste a minute being anything other than your truest self.
"Life is special because of these ordinary things we see every day."
"Life is special because of these ordinary things we see every day."
Palworld
2024
pure unoriginality and soullessness
heartwrenchingly tragic, unflinching and brutal, and one of the greatest love stories ever told. incredibly solid soundtrack, to boot.
fatamoru has one of THE most rewarding true endings ive ever experienced in a game period. watching everything fall into place the further in i got was an experience like not a whole lot else ive read. its really something special, and a game i hold close to my heart for giving me a big push and a lot of courage almost 4 years ago when i sorely needed it.
fatamoru has one of THE most rewarding true endings ive ever experienced in a game period. watching everything fall into place the further in i got was an experience like not a whole lot else ive read. its really something special, and a game i hold close to my heart for giving me a big push and a lot of courage almost 4 years ago when i sorely needed it.
