an incredibly stylish and fascinating game that puts its worst foot forward with an absolute exhausting beginning. im convinced backloggd users who slap this five stars with some sort of quirky one-liner or the word ‘kino’ have never experienced media outside the mainstream or are straight lying to themselves for their ‘eccentric tastes' image; i loved this a lot, but there’s no denying it has some considerable flaws and chalking those up to “but it’s a metaphor!” seems like denial; the bosses are horrible (not you ulmeyda and curtis), the puzzles are built for five-year-olds, the map sucks ass at all times, angel and sunset have pretty bland and forgettable environments, and the farcical sociopolitical commentary is really insipid and overbearing sometimes.
now let’s get to the goods…
the smiths are one of the best casts of characters in gaming; each one designed for a specific gameplay style and containing their own unique sense of individuality whilst still remaining a collective unit. one of my favorite things to do in this game was to go into a saferoom and listen to each of their TV intros. “don’t make me say it again. im a cleaner.” and the dialogue that ensues every time you hit a critical point too. “YOU’RE F'CKED!" loved spamming that one, the voice acting for each character is just so... satisfying?
and while the core gameplay is a bit disorientating at first, it’s pretty fun and satisfying once you get the hang of it. nothing quite like blasting a bunch of heaven smiles with one shot while simultaneously switching between smiths for maximum efficiency against their weaknesses. additionally, this game will always look fantastic; the combination of gradient coloring and chiaroscuro lighting creates a great aesthetic. also helps that the soundtrack is god-tier and perfectly complements each area's atmosphere.
as i stated earlier, i didn’t really care for the political commentary of this, but the overall themes and character stuff was highly interesting. the peak of this is probably the cloudman mission; the idea of some megacorp that doesn’t exist and only runs commercials is just too good, additionally the whole ‘driving a car to death’ thing. the entire cutscene at the end of the chapter is just as terrifying as it is entertaining. and cloudman being such a peak shouldn’t steer you away from the brilliance of the following chapters either. it’s hard for me to exactly pinpoint what makes each chapter so good because they’re all each one big canvas splattered with different themes and character moments that never really care to explain themselves too much; this game is constantly moving from idea to idea in such a unique and interesting way, giving you just enough time to appreciate the significance of super sentai power ranger assassins before one of the smiths old serial-killing mentor comes back to haunt without losing any depth or energy.
so yeah, i finally played backloggd aficionados' favorite game.
suffice to say, it’s pretty good.
now let’s get to the goods…
the smiths are one of the best casts of characters in gaming; each one designed for a specific gameplay style and containing their own unique sense of individuality whilst still remaining a collective unit. one of my favorite things to do in this game was to go into a saferoom and listen to each of their TV intros. “don’t make me say it again. im a cleaner.” and the dialogue that ensues every time you hit a critical point too. “YOU’RE F'CKED!" loved spamming that one, the voice acting for each character is just so... satisfying?
and while the core gameplay is a bit disorientating at first, it’s pretty fun and satisfying once you get the hang of it. nothing quite like blasting a bunch of heaven smiles with one shot while simultaneously switching between smiths for maximum efficiency against their weaknesses. additionally, this game will always look fantastic; the combination of gradient coloring and chiaroscuro lighting creates a great aesthetic. also helps that the soundtrack is god-tier and perfectly complements each area's atmosphere.
as i stated earlier, i didn’t really care for the political commentary of this, but the overall themes and character stuff was highly interesting. the peak of this is probably the cloudman mission; the idea of some megacorp that doesn’t exist and only runs commercials is just too good, additionally the whole ‘driving a car to death’ thing. the entire cutscene at the end of the chapter is just as terrifying as it is entertaining. and cloudman being such a peak shouldn’t steer you away from the brilliance of the following chapters either. it’s hard for me to exactly pinpoint what makes each chapter so good because they’re all each one big canvas splattered with different themes and character moments that never really care to explain themselves too much; this game is constantly moving from idea to idea in such a unique and interesting way, giving you just enough time to appreciate the significance of super sentai power ranger assassins before one of the smiths old serial-killing mentor comes back to haunt without losing any depth or energy.
so yeah, i finally played backloggd aficionados' favorite game.
suffice to say, it’s pretty good.