Arus
Bio
I almost like playing video games just as much as I like thinking and talking about them. I find myself drawn to transitional pieces, left behind relics of the DS era and large questions asked in the smallest of games.
I almost like playing video games just as much as I like thinking and talking about them. I find myself drawn to transitional pieces, left behind relics of the DS era and large questions asked in the smallest of games.
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This review contains spoilers
Whatever way you imagine it, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodline is a really interesting game to think about. I'm drawn to messy transitional games that are polysemic in nature and Bloodlines fits that to a tee. A game that is all at once a CRPG adaptation of a complex and unorthodox tabletop rpg, a source engine FPS and an immersive sim lite. A game that marked the death of a continuous tradition of mainstream non-indie choice and consequence heavy rpgs while also highlighting how it might have continued to evolve. Its a game that is impossible to break down into any one thing and its for that reason I believe it has endured past its launch as a cult classic among so many different audiences.
I only wish it was as interesting to experience. I say 'experience' rather than 'play' because I'm well used to a lot of my favorite rpgs having less than stellar individual systems, my favorite rpgs offer a holistic experience that surpasses their many shortcomings. I think even Bloodlines biggest fans would say the same thing about this game. I was prepared to accept the wonky gunplay, stealth and melee but the overall experience never came together the way it has for my friend and many others.
I'll talk a bit first on what did come together. I think Bloodline's execution of character building comes together brilliantly well and offers a genre high creation screen with its (seven!!!) playable races each moulding the player's journey in big and small ways. I got Malkavian during the intro quiz and got a lot of mileage out of the dementation skill unique to them, whether that be spamming veil of madness to suck people to death or using the voice of Bedlam to cause chaos among crowds. And outside of combat I had just as much fun trying to determine what my character was trying to say and chatting with stop signs and a monitor bound news anchorman. I played this as part of a monthly gaming club me and my friends do and it was thrilling to hear how differently other peoples playthroughs were. If I ever play this game again, seeing how the other clans play will be my primary motivation.
I also adore the setting and all the early noughties grunge that comes with it. I could never get enough of the sights and sounds of Santa Monica, Downtown and Hollywood. The Piers alone took me back to a place of deep nostalgia. Bloodlines often fixates on the minutiae of mundane urban spaces and more broadly a melancholy and even ominous sense of aimlessness and alienation. It is felt most keenly in the many one-off mission spaces. Oceanview Hotel is often praised as the best of these but honestly I loved nearly all of them. Whether it be continually descending through a parking lot or traipsing through a near empty apartment block, I wish the game had emphasizes these smaller spaces more at the expense of the hubs. They are more distinctly themed and paced, functioning as bespoke little challenges in which the game's systemic opportunities and more immersive sim qualities shine the brightest.
As for everything else the operative term would be 'unfinished'. Virtually every other facet of Bloodlines' design feels either unfinished or unrealized to a substantial degree. I enjoy the theming and atmosphere of the hubs but beyond that they are static and bare in contrast to the more dynamic and denser mission spaces. Past the first visit there are no new encounters or changes that make them anything more than avenues for backtracking. And though I enjoyed most of the mission spaces, the Nosferatu sewer is easily the worst dungeon I've played in a game this year and the endgame dungeons are of a similar unfinished quality. The main narrative for the most part railroads the Fledgling into working for LaCroix and thus there is little actual politicking in a game that emphasize the inter-clan intrigue and conflict. LaCroix himself isn't a particularly nuanced figure and while I came to appreciate his punchable nature, the slack isn't really picked up anywhere outside of the Voerman sisters and Nines. Characters like Ming Xiao feel more like sketches than complicated people with their own agendas. And it all unravels in the last third of the game into a series of heavily telegraphed betrayals and double-crossings that make the protagonist seem like the most inept vampire in existence while also perpetuating a very ugly Yellow Peril message that I hope was done out of unintentional ignorance. I generally enjoyed a lot of the side quests and individual characters but by the end they weren't quite able to make up for a narrative that is half-sketched at best and kind of misanthropic and outright racist at worst.
I enjoyed Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. I get why people love this game so much, I'm glad my friend got to recommend it to me. I certainly vibe with how it looks, sounds and even feels. It makes me want to go the West Coast. It also never really rose above 'disjointed' and 'incoherent' for me. Deeply compelling and disjointed in equal parts.
I only wish it was as interesting to experience. I say 'experience' rather than 'play' because I'm well used to a lot of my favorite rpgs having less than stellar individual systems, my favorite rpgs offer a holistic experience that surpasses their many shortcomings. I think even Bloodlines biggest fans would say the same thing about this game. I was prepared to accept the wonky gunplay, stealth and melee but the overall experience never came together the way it has for my friend and many others.
I'll talk a bit first on what did come together. I think Bloodline's execution of character building comes together brilliantly well and offers a genre high creation screen with its (seven!!!) playable races each moulding the player's journey in big and small ways. I got Malkavian during the intro quiz and got a lot of mileage out of the dementation skill unique to them, whether that be spamming veil of madness to suck people to death or using the voice of Bedlam to cause chaos among crowds. And outside of combat I had just as much fun trying to determine what my character was trying to say and chatting with stop signs and a monitor bound news anchorman. I played this as part of a monthly gaming club me and my friends do and it was thrilling to hear how differently other peoples playthroughs were. If I ever play this game again, seeing how the other clans play will be my primary motivation.
I also adore the setting and all the early noughties grunge that comes with it. I could never get enough of the sights and sounds of Santa Monica, Downtown and Hollywood. The Piers alone took me back to a place of deep nostalgia. Bloodlines often fixates on the minutiae of mundane urban spaces and more broadly a melancholy and even ominous sense of aimlessness and alienation. It is felt most keenly in the many one-off mission spaces. Oceanview Hotel is often praised as the best of these but honestly I loved nearly all of them. Whether it be continually descending through a parking lot or traipsing through a near empty apartment block, I wish the game had emphasizes these smaller spaces more at the expense of the hubs. They are more distinctly themed and paced, functioning as bespoke little challenges in which the game's systemic opportunities and more immersive sim qualities shine the brightest.
As for everything else the operative term would be 'unfinished'. Virtually every other facet of Bloodlines' design feels either unfinished or unrealized to a substantial degree. I enjoy the theming and atmosphere of the hubs but beyond that they are static and bare in contrast to the more dynamic and denser mission spaces. Past the first visit there are no new encounters or changes that make them anything more than avenues for backtracking. And though I enjoyed most of the mission spaces, the Nosferatu sewer is easily the worst dungeon I've played in a game this year and the endgame dungeons are of a similar unfinished quality. The main narrative for the most part railroads the Fledgling into working for LaCroix and thus there is little actual politicking in a game that emphasize the inter-clan intrigue and conflict. LaCroix himself isn't a particularly nuanced figure and while I came to appreciate his punchable nature, the slack isn't really picked up anywhere outside of the Voerman sisters and Nines. Characters like Ming Xiao feel more like sketches than complicated people with their own agendas. And it all unravels in the last third of the game into a series of heavily telegraphed betrayals and double-crossings that make the protagonist seem like the most inept vampire in existence while also perpetuating a very ugly Yellow Peril message that I hope was done out of unintentional ignorance. I generally enjoyed a lot of the side quests and individual characters but by the end they weren't quite able to make up for a narrative that is half-sketched at best and kind of misanthropic and outright racist at worst.
I enjoyed Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. I get why people love this game so much, I'm glad my friend got to recommend it to me. I certainly vibe with how it looks, sounds and even feels. It makes me want to go the West Coast. It also never really rose above 'disjointed' and 'incoherent' for me. Deeply compelling and disjointed in equal parts.
More than anything this game reminds me of Dragon Quest 11. They both share the same light, hands off approach to modern JRPG design trends. In spite of its vintage clothing, the body of Ara Fell is decidedly more Xenoblade than Chrono Trigger in its density of cutscenes and gameplay systems. I was weary of the potential for bloat yet like Dragon Quest, Ara Fell is conscientious of the ideas its drawing from and the result is a lean and focused adventure.
On a kinaesthetic level, I appreciate how deeply the devs leaned into the inherently cozy feel of RPGMaker. I love the richness of these scrolling tilesets and the awkward frictions of trying to perceive where these squat sprites can manouevre into. There's an intimate sense of place these RGPmaker-isms produce, further accentuated with a lush art direction in which you can practically smell the grass scented winds and feel the drifting snow. It's a game that is staid rather than kinetic, about soaking in the world and all its lovely details rather than rushing towards the next plot point.
To that end, regular battles are de-emphasised. Battles against normal mooks are both easy to avoid and (relatively) easy to defeat, you recharge mp after every turn so there is no reason to resort to spamming basic attacks. There is not even any accompanying battle music. Growth then is mainly earned through boss fights and sidequests. The latter of which are found by naturally exploring alongside one off resources that are used for a simple linear crafting system for armor and weapon upgrades. Progression in Ara Fell is concise and silent, power is earned naturally rather than throguh constant notifications and checklists.
'Silent' is maybe the key term I've come to appreciate about Ara Fell so much. The story is wordy yet much of that weight is used to effectivley characterise the Protagonist and explore a perspective that is unique as far as JRPGs go. There are big bombastic themes yet much of the soundtrack is ambient and pleasingly blends into the overall soundscape. There are side-quests to complete and materials to collect for a crafting system but they're all diegetically interwoven into the world. In everything thus far, Ara Fell has been succinct and to the point, a joy in every way.
Random Notes:
- I appreciate how the Devs leaned into clunkiness a bit with giving every exploration activity a distinct animation and sound, it imparts a sense of weight and presence in the protagonist you don't usually see in this type of game.
- Once again I can't emphasize enough how refreshing it is to have a JRPG with no normal battle theme. I don't know if the devs were inspired by Sakimoto's work on FF12 but the lack of a hype battle theme threatening to take over imparts a similar naturalism and interconnectedness to area exploration here. Not every rpg needs a battle theme.
- I didn't really mention it much in the review but I appreciate as well how non-gated and non-railroaded the game has been up till this point. It really gives you a wide berth in terms of areas, quests and things you can find before the story even sends you there, again sort of similar to FF12. Can you tell I really love FF12 lol.
- Dungeon design is fun, nothing too complex but the little puzzles and bespoke mechanics go a decent way in contextualising them as spaces beyond hallways full of random encounters.
On a kinaesthetic level, I appreciate how deeply the devs leaned into the inherently cozy feel of RPGMaker. I love the richness of these scrolling tilesets and the awkward frictions of trying to perceive where these squat sprites can manouevre into. There's an intimate sense of place these RGPmaker-isms produce, further accentuated with a lush art direction in which you can practically smell the grass scented winds and feel the drifting snow. It's a game that is staid rather than kinetic, about soaking in the world and all its lovely details rather than rushing towards the next plot point.
To that end, regular battles are de-emphasised. Battles against normal mooks are both easy to avoid and (relatively) easy to defeat, you recharge mp after every turn so there is no reason to resort to spamming basic attacks. There is not even any accompanying battle music. Growth then is mainly earned through boss fights and sidequests. The latter of which are found by naturally exploring alongside one off resources that are used for a simple linear crafting system for armor and weapon upgrades. Progression in Ara Fell is concise and silent, power is earned naturally rather than throguh constant notifications and checklists.
'Silent' is maybe the key term I've come to appreciate about Ara Fell so much. The story is wordy yet much of that weight is used to effectivley characterise the Protagonist and explore a perspective that is unique as far as JRPGs go. There are big bombastic themes yet much of the soundtrack is ambient and pleasingly blends into the overall soundscape. There are side-quests to complete and materials to collect for a crafting system but they're all diegetically interwoven into the world. In everything thus far, Ara Fell has been succinct and to the point, a joy in every way.
Random Notes:
- I appreciate how the Devs leaned into clunkiness a bit with giving every exploration activity a distinct animation and sound, it imparts a sense of weight and presence in the protagonist you don't usually see in this type of game.
- Once again I can't emphasize enough how refreshing it is to have a JRPG with no normal battle theme. I don't know if the devs were inspired by Sakimoto's work on FF12 but the lack of a hype battle theme threatening to take over imparts a similar naturalism and interconnectedness to area exploration here. Not every rpg needs a battle theme.
- I didn't really mention it much in the review but I appreciate as well how non-gated and non-railroaded the game has been up till this point. It really gives you a wide berth in terms of areas, quests and things you can find before the story even sends you there, again sort of similar to FF12. Can you tell I really love FF12 lol.
- Dungeon design is fun, nothing too complex but the little puzzles and bespoke mechanics go a decent way in contextualising them as spaces beyond hallways full of random encounters.
I love timeloop video games because they stress a resource more precious than health or money: time. Games like Dead Rising, Lightning's Returns and Ghost Trick have managed to create a meaningful gameplay loop entirely off of the thrill and friction of limited time. The Sexy Brutale attempts to do the same with a groundhog day-style series of murders you seek to prevent in its eponymous mansion. Rather than embrace the sandbox side of timeloop games, it is more so a series of mini loops in the form of linear puzzles a la Ghost Trick. Its a small indie game and so I have no problem with such a reduction in scope as long as the puzzle design benefits from a more linear and iterative approach like Ghost Trick but this is unfortunately not the case. The solution to saving each of the mansion's guests don't become anything more complex than "interact with one or maybe two specific object out of a bunch of red herrings at a specific time and win". You are always given more than enough time to carry out the intended sequence and so the 12 hour limit ends up being a percunctory feature, something that really disappointed me given how few of these games there are. There's no eureka moment of realising the solution and subsequent thrill of trying to complete it within the time limit. In spite of its fantastical "all bets are off" roaring 20s aesthetic, the only emotional high I ever achieved while playing this was 'mildly engaged'. The ending was the high point of the game but was this half-hearted timeloop structure really the best avenue to get there? This was the first game me and my friends played as part of our monthly game club and I'll derive more enjoyment from time spent discussing The Sexy Brutale than the time I spent playing it.