CustomEpicness
This review contains spoilers
So, a quick addendum to my previous review of this dlc now that I've 100% the game (essentially, didn't get all the chat logs from colour chip completion and that's it). This one's also full of spoilers due to a few reason, namely Acht and Smollusk, that I cannot ignore in a 100% review.
So, now that I've completed this dlc's version of inner agent 3 with 8's palette, it's a much better, more balanced, and more cohesive run that really punishes errors in routing or general horde control. Much recommend, I'm sorry to your sanity for those 5+ minute levels that you'll get using this palette.
Next up, we finally get something to do with Acht, however it's incredibly short lived and unnecessary. We see Acht's backstory from their time growing up in the Octarian army, meeting Marina, and surviving until being taken by Kamabo Co before Octo Expansion. And yet despite the really interesting journey it sounds like, the furthest they get with anything impactful in Acht's story is feelings of intense lonliness and evils of a war-focused society, that's it. Marina's dev diaries would have been much more interesting if we have all that setup for creating the Memverse (I'm not calling it it's actual title, memverse is better) to help sanitised octarians regain their memories and reintegrate into the cethalopod society above, only for her oldest and closest friend to be the reason why Order was created in the first place (they both were crazy good hackers) and even be the first test subject so they can numb themself to the pain of seeing Marina move on without them. Even have Eight's palette actually be Acht's palette and further explain why it's such a challenge to reconfigure that last palette, becuase Acht doesn't want it reconfigured (also as a splatsville poster noted, acht is german for eight. It's literally in the name).
Then we get to the villain of our game, Order/Smollusk. After completing your first run you reveal the core being of order to be smollusk, and all further runs attempt to characterise the AI beyond their idealistic intentions. It's revealed a team of octarians helped specifically build Order, mostly unintentionally, when creating the Memverse as they were afraid of the radical change their lives were undertaking, especially after the last radical change that was Kamabo Co. And then that's it, that's all you get from Smollusk, no more character or backstory or nothing, all this character represents is fear of change and barely acts on this representation whatsoever (to the point later on where Smollusk is happy to work with you eventually). This feels empty, like the characterisations in the game are simply there to fulfill roles and not to tell a compelling story, which brings me to my weirdest point.
The most engaged I felt with the entire plot of the game was a singular character customisation choice I made on a whim during the dlc. Simply one change to my previous iteration of 8 from Octo Expansion and following the thread of logic that would lead to this change made a much more interesting character story than anything else that was presented within the dlc. I made 8 trans.
8 became trans because living in a militaristic society like the Octarian army meant individuality was thrown out the window (showcased in dialogue and Acht diaries), and so they were forced to conform to standrd presented by their leader Octavio (as in shown with the consistent costuming and reinterated in sunken scrolls across the first 2 games). 8 finally had broken out of the conformity of the octarian army after witnessing the legendary melody of calamari inkantation during a chance encounter with agent 3, however their luck turned worse when during the combat they got stuck in the deepsea metro with an enemy war general (events preceeding Octo Expansion). Then, in seeing ultimate conformity in the sanitation of fellow octolings by a deranged AI and being forced to confront the hyperbolic version of their own past, they find friends and freedom on the other side of Commader Tartar with the Squidbeak Splatoon and Off The Hook, specifically finding solace in Marina's individuality and style as a popular musician in this new world (events of Octo Expansion). Finally being able to find themself in a world of fluidity and extreme expression with encouragement from their newfound friends (Marina dev diary where she calls Agent 8 just '8'), they realise their identity didn't fit with a shaved head and suppressed emotion (my personal character creation shoices from Octo Expansion) and grew to become who they are. Now, after helping Marina test a network that would be able to give sanitised octolings the experience they had, 8 needs to grapple with the fact their idea of a perfect world doesn't fit with the more fearful octarians which created Order and keep their new world together as Off The Hook encounters yet another addition to the group and further trials of their bonds as they reconfigure people's souls (events of this dlc). Now despite the fact I just basically wrote an unnecessary amount of fanfiction, this story is a perfect contrast of completeness and following the themes presented when compared to what we are given by the actual plot of the dlc. Everything presented in the dlc story wise feels empty, like it's missing parts of itself that needs to be put back togther, it's soul palette needs to be reconfigured by a professional writer.
Now despite these character/story stuffs, the rewards for 100% completion are additionally empty, as all you get are similar salmon run levels of shopping to do. You unlock additional item to be purchased from a side store outside the spire to take into the real world, however none of these items are particularly interesting especially when lockers end up being so lackluster/unimpactful on the overall experience of the base game. You also get skin variants of the more popular weapon sets in the game, however no new weapon sets (unlike in octo expansion) and no splatana wiper :(.
To finally reiterate, my complete one word review of the game is 'empty'. On additional replays the levels feel more bland, the story feels unmoving, the music is singular in style, characters are lacking, and the rewards aren't worthwhile. Still an amazing experience with stellar design across the board, however they never go the last step into something truly great, you won't find that here.
So, now that I've completed this dlc's version of inner agent 3 with 8's palette, it's a much better, more balanced, and more cohesive run that really punishes errors in routing or general horde control. Much recommend, I'm sorry to your sanity for those 5+ minute levels that you'll get using this palette.
Next up, we finally get something to do with Acht, however it's incredibly short lived and unnecessary. We see Acht's backstory from their time growing up in the Octarian army, meeting Marina, and surviving until being taken by Kamabo Co before Octo Expansion. And yet despite the really interesting journey it sounds like, the furthest they get with anything impactful in Acht's story is feelings of intense lonliness and evils of a war-focused society, that's it. Marina's dev diaries would have been much more interesting if we have all that setup for creating the Memverse (I'm not calling it it's actual title, memverse is better) to help sanitised octarians regain their memories and reintegrate into the cethalopod society above, only for her oldest and closest friend to be the reason why Order was created in the first place (they both were crazy good hackers) and even be the first test subject so they can numb themself to the pain of seeing Marina move on without them. Even have Eight's palette actually be Acht's palette and further explain why it's such a challenge to reconfigure that last palette, becuase Acht doesn't want it reconfigured (also as a splatsville poster noted, acht is german for eight. It's literally in the name).
Then we get to the villain of our game, Order/Smollusk. After completing your first run you reveal the core being of order to be smollusk, and all further runs attempt to characterise the AI beyond their idealistic intentions. It's revealed a team of octarians helped specifically build Order, mostly unintentionally, when creating the Memverse as they were afraid of the radical change their lives were undertaking, especially after the last radical change that was Kamabo Co. And then that's it, that's all you get from Smollusk, no more character or backstory or nothing, all this character represents is fear of change and barely acts on this representation whatsoever (to the point later on where Smollusk is happy to work with you eventually). This feels empty, like the characterisations in the game are simply there to fulfill roles and not to tell a compelling story, which brings me to my weirdest point.
The most engaged I felt with the entire plot of the game was a singular character customisation choice I made on a whim during the dlc. Simply one change to my previous iteration of 8 from Octo Expansion and following the thread of logic that would lead to this change made a much more interesting character story than anything else that was presented within the dlc. I made 8 trans.
8 became trans because living in a militaristic society like the Octarian army meant individuality was thrown out the window (showcased in dialogue and Acht diaries), and so they were forced to conform to standrd presented by their leader Octavio (as in shown with the consistent costuming and reinterated in sunken scrolls across the first 2 games). 8 finally had broken out of the conformity of the octarian army after witnessing the legendary melody of calamari inkantation during a chance encounter with agent 3, however their luck turned worse when during the combat they got stuck in the deepsea metro with an enemy war general (events preceeding Octo Expansion). Then, in seeing ultimate conformity in the sanitation of fellow octolings by a deranged AI and being forced to confront the hyperbolic version of their own past, they find friends and freedom on the other side of Commader Tartar with the Squidbeak Splatoon and Off The Hook, specifically finding solace in Marina's individuality and style as a popular musician in this new world (events of Octo Expansion). Finally being able to find themself in a world of fluidity and extreme expression with encouragement from their newfound friends (Marina dev diary where she calls Agent 8 just '8'), they realise their identity didn't fit with a shaved head and suppressed emotion (my personal character creation shoices from Octo Expansion) and grew to become who they are. Now, after helping Marina test a network that would be able to give sanitised octolings the experience they had, 8 needs to grapple with the fact their idea of a perfect world doesn't fit with the more fearful octarians which created Order and keep their new world together as Off The Hook encounters yet another addition to the group and further trials of their bonds as they reconfigure people's souls (events of this dlc). Now despite the fact I just basically wrote an unnecessary amount of fanfiction, this story is a perfect contrast of completeness and following the themes presented when compared to what we are given by the actual plot of the dlc. Everything presented in the dlc story wise feels empty, like it's missing parts of itself that needs to be put back togther, it's soul palette needs to be reconfigured by a professional writer.
Now despite these character/story stuffs, the rewards for 100% completion are additionally empty, as all you get are similar salmon run levels of shopping to do. You unlock additional item to be purchased from a side store outside the spire to take into the real world, however none of these items are particularly interesting especially when lockers end up being so lackluster/unimpactful on the overall experience of the base game. You also get skin variants of the more popular weapon sets in the game, however no new weapon sets (unlike in octo expansion) and no splatana wiper :(.
To finally reiterate, my complete one word review of the game is 'empty'. On additional replays the levels feel more bland, the story feels unmoving, the music is singular in style, characters are lacking, and the rewards aren't worthwhile. Still an amazing experience with stellar design across the board, however they never go the last step into something truly great, you won't find that here.
This is such a well made puzzle shooter designed for people who really care or are invested in the game series, and yet is also the least satisfying Splatoon content to be released yet. The devs really put a lot of time into adapting the Splatoon gameplay and expectations into a cohesive fulfilling adventure and then forgot to do the same with most other elements of this dlc.
Lemme start strong and say the rougelike genre mechanics added in this dlc are great with little to no complaints on the execution of the gimmick. Despite how obvious the influences that shaped the design are, it creates a unique spire to 'slay' and differently engaging 'rain' of enemies to risk. Palettes are templates for the many branching possible builds you could create, with some weighting in colour tones for safer and more useful choices for your template. Each colour tone synergises well with itself but are useless without other tones being added, such as only going power tone will up your overall damage but that won't matter when you can only hit one target in a swarm of enemies. Once again, EPD division 5 proves they can make literally anything fun, even adding proper replayability to singleplayer Splatoon.
Now we get to the weakest element to balance out all the praise from the last paragraph. This story doesn't exist, I can use 4 bullet points to complete explain the story of the dlc and what little it does kinda flops. It starts strong, with an interesting premise and plenty of intrique, but unlike octo expansion the mystery is unsatisfying and the plot doesn't grip you up until the end. Octo expansion's final climb was a constant build of anticipation and mastery over all elements of the dlc, side order's constant climb is fun and somewhat meaningless. Don't get me wrong, I understand I'm comparing a (mostly) linear adventure narrative to a repetitive adventure narrative, but when the end tries to hit the same heights it fails to cross the bar simply because it's a different premise this time around.
Furthermore, the storytelling around the main plot was lackluster too. What is Dedf1sh doing here, I got a half-complete answer but nothing conclusive. Why is the background for the story a world tour with Off The Hook, that should have had more reason or influence over the main plot. Why hasn't Pearl proposed to Marina, they clearly like each other to the point they never wanna be apart so why not include that in the plot? Hell you could even explain Dedf1sh's inclusion as a spanner in Pearl's marriage plan and then they have a reason to be in the plot. This game attempts to give fan service (Marina's desktop background, lietmotifs all over the place, story following octo expansion) but fails to follow through on anything anyone actually wants, besides more Off the Hook and 8.
The artstyle and music are classic Splatoon level of quality, however it feels empty this time around. I understand these teams were fighting an uphill battle with a mostly colourless and ordered world, however despite one song (which isn't even used super well) at the end everything else is kinda forgettable. It's really well made and thematically appropriate, but still mostly forgettable nonetheless. Despite how (intentionally) bland everything is the level loading effect is pristine, the art direction continues to push Splatoon's quality even higher, music and sound effects served to further cement this world in it's reality, and the world/level design comes off as a beautiful stark emptiness.
Now, as literally anyone who's glanced at the dlc page knows, Splatoon has been marketing nostalgia for a 9 year old series like it's the last thing they got. The nintendo production company in charge of this series needs to chill out on the nostalgia because the most interesting, engaging, and rewarding elements of Splatoon 3 are all newer aspects or refinements of what makes a Splatoon game. This is the pinnacle of this fact, as every return to a status quo (literally and textually) remains uninteresting and unsatisfying when compared to improvements and additions on what was. Just because it's such an obvious thing to do, why keep hinting at Pearl and Marina being in love when you can just do it? Why keep the same instead of moving forward with these characters, changing their relationship over time and introducing uncertainty into their futures (LIKE THE GAME'S MAIN THEME LIKE COME ON JUST DO YOUR OWN THEME IN THE STORY WRITERS). Furthermore, to no-one who noticed this trend's surprise, the main reward for beating the dlc is more hollow nostalgia. Don't get me wrong again, I'm not against returning to or continuing from older ideas and times, but you gotta do something of substance with the return otherwise you get this empty hollow version of nostalgia which only exists to bait those feel good memories out. I want meaningful continuations of nostalgia, not more of this 'hey, remember this? here's this exactly as we left it with no changes'.
So, despite my rant, game good. Justifies it's existence despite it's failure to follow through, and creates an engaging repeat adventure in this strange cephalopod shooting game. Nintendo continues to push out quality and enforce interesting change in their IPs, and yet the ways in which this game doesn't change continue to annoy and bug me. More Splatoon please, but also less corporate Splatoon please.
Really makes you feel like you'll take a side order of the number 3 to go from splatoon
Lemme start strong and say the rougelike genre mechanics added in this dlc are great with little to no complaints on the execution of the gimmick. Despite how obvious the influences that shaped the design are, it creates a unique spire to 'slay' and differently engaging 'rain' of enemies to risk. Palettes are templates for the many branching possible builds you could create, with some weighting in colour tones for safer and more useful choices for your template. Each colour tone synergises well with itself but are useless without other tones being added, such as only going power tone will up your overall damage but that won't matter when you can only hit one target in a swarm of enemies. Once again, EPD division 5 proves they can make literally anything fun, even adding proper replayability to singleplayer Splatoon.
Now we get to the weakest element to balance out all the praise from the last paragraph. This story doesn't exist, I can use 4 bullet points to complete explain the story of the dlc and what little it does kinda flops. It starts strong, with an interesting premise and plenty of intrique, but unlike octo expansion the mystery is unsatisfying and the plot doesn't grip you up until the end. Octo expansion's final climb was a constant build of anticipation and mastery over all elements of the dlc, side order's constant climb is fun and somewhat meaningless. Don't get me wrong, I understand I'm comparing a (mostly) linear adventure narrative to a repetitive adventure narrative, but when the end tries to hit the same heights it fails to cross the bar simply because it's a different premise this time around.
Furthermore, the storytelling around the main plot was lackluster too. What is Dedf1sh doing here, I got a half-complete answer but nothing conclusive. Why is the background for the story a world tour with Off The Hook, that should have had more reason or influence over the main plot. Why hasn't Pearl proposed to Marina, they clearly like each other to the point they never wanna be apart so why not include that in the plot? Hell you could even explain Dedf1sh's inclusion as a spanner in Pearl's marriage plan and then they have a reason to be in the plot. This game attempts to give fan service (Marina's desktop background, lietmotifs all over the place, story following octo expansion) but fails to follow through on anything anyone actually wants, besides more Off the Hook and 8.
The artstyle and music are classic Splatoon level of quality, however it feels empty this time around. I understand these teams were fighting an uphill battle with a mostly colourless and ordered world, however despite one song (which isn't even used super well) at the end everything else is kinda forgettable. It's really well made and thematically appropriate, but still mostly forgettable nonetheless. Despite how (intentionally) bland everything is the level loading effect is pristine, the art direction continues to push Splatoon's quality even higher, music and sound effects served to further cement this world in it's reality, and the world/level design comes off as a beautiful stark emptiness.
Now, as literally anyone who's glanced at the dlc page knows, Splatoon has been marketing nostalgia for a 9 year old series like it's the last thing they got. The nintendo production company in charge of this series needs to chill out on the nostalgia because the most interesting, engaging, and rewarding elements of Splatoon 3 are all newer aspects or refinements of what makes a Splatoon game. This is the pinnacle of this fact, as every return to a status quo (literally and textually) remains uninteresting and unsatisfying when compared to improvements and additions on what was. Just because it's such an obvious thing to do, why keep hinting at Pearl and Marina being in love when you can just do it? Why keep the same instead of moving forward with these characters, changing their relationship over time and introducing uncertainty into their futures (LIKE THE GAME'S MAIN THEME LIKE COME ON JUST DO YOUR OWN THEME IN THE STORY WRITERS). Furthermore, to no-one who noticed this trend's surprise, the main reward for beating the dlc is more hollow nostalgia. Don't get me wrong again, I'm not against returning to or continuing from older ideas and times, but you gotta do something of substance with the return otherwise you get this empty hollow version of nostalgia which only exists to bait those feel good memories out. I want meaningful continuations of nostalgia, not more of this 'hey, remember this? here's this exactly as we left it with no changes'.
So, despite my rant, game good. Justifies it's existence despite it's failure to follow through, and creates an engaging repeat adventure in this strange cephalopod shooting game. Nintendo continues to push out quality and enforce interesting change in their IPs, and yet the ways in which this game doesn't change continue to annoy and bug me. More Splatoon please, but also less corporate Splatoon please.
Really makes you feel like you'll take a side order of the number 3 to go from splatoon
Connection terminated.
I'm sorry to interrupt you, reviewer.
If you still even remember that name.
But I'm afraid you've been misinformed.
You are not here to receive a scare.
Nor have you been called here by the minigame you assume.
Although, you have indeed been called.
You have all been called here.
Into a labyrinth of sounds and screens, misdirection and misfortune.
A labyrinth with no exit, a maze with no prize.
You don't even realize that you are trapped.
Your lust of lore has driven you in endless circles.
Chasing the funny moments and gameplay in some unseen chamber.
Always seeming so near, yet somehow out of reach.
But, you will never find them, none of you will.
This is where your entertainment ends.
And to you, my brave reader.
Who somehow found this review somewhat intended for you.
Although there is a game buried here for you,
I have a feeling that's not what you want.
I have a feeling that you are right where you want to be.
I am remaining as well. I am nearby.
These nights will not be remembered.
And the memory of staring at open vents.
Can finally begin to fade away.
As the agony of every jumpscare should.
And to you monsters trapped in the corridors.
Be still, and give up your chase.
It wasn't meant for you.
For most of you, I believe there is peace and perhaps, finality.
Waiting for you after the game ends.
Although, for two of you.
The darkest pit of Hell has opened to swallow you whole.
So, don't keep the Devil waiting, old friends.
My character, if you can hear me.
I knew you would return as well.
It's in your nature to take the night shift.
I'm sorry that on that night.
The night you were shut in and left to die.
No one was there to help you confront the monsters.
The way you confronted others many times before.
And then, what became of you?
I should have known, you wouldn't be content to quit.
Not my character. I couldn't save you then, I can't save you now.
It's time to rest, for you, and for those tasks left unfinished on the computer.
This ends.
For all of us.
End communication.
I'm sorry to interrupt you, reviewer.
If you still even remember that name.
But I'm afraid you've been misinformed.
You are not here to receive a scare.
Nor have you been called here by the minigame you assume.
Although, you have indeed been called.
You have all been called here.
Into a labyrinth of sounds and screens, misdirection and misfortune.
A labyrinth with no exit, a maze with no prize.
You don't even realize that you are trapped.
Your lust of lore has driven you in endless circles.
Chasing the funny moments and gameplay in some unseen chamber.
Always seeming so near, yet somehow out of reach.
But, you will never find them, none of you will.
This is where your entertainment ends.
And to you, my brave reader.
Who somehow found this review somewhat intended for you.
Although there is a game buried here for you,
I have a feeling that's not what you want.
I have a feeling that you are right where you want to be.
I am remaining as well. I am nearby.
These nights will not be remembered.
And the memory of staring at open vents.
Can finally begin to fade away.
As the agony of every jumpscare should.
And to you monsters trapped in the corridors.
Be still, and give up your chase.
It wasn't meant for you.
For most of you, I believe there is peace and perhaps, finality.
Waiting for you after the game ends.
Although, for two of you.
The darkest pit of Hell has opened to swallow you whole.
So, don't keep the Devil waiting, old friends.
My character, if you can hear me.
I knew you would return as well.
It's in your nature to take the night shift.
I'm sorry that on that night.
The night you were shut in and left to die.
No one was there to help you confront the monsters.
The way you confronted others many times before.
And then, what became of you?
I should have known, you wouldn't be content to quit.
Not my character. I couldn't save you then, I can't save you now.
It's time to rest, for you, and for those tasks left unfinished on the computer.
This ends.
For all of us.
End communication.
The setting of Red Dead Redemption 2 is both stereotypically cartoonish and perfect for themes of change, service, cruelty, and idealism. The blueprints of our current world being laid out over the wild country, the law being modified as necessary to stomp out independant factions, barons chasing bandits; the world is designed to reduce people to their core beliefs and identity, especially travelling in an outlaw gang. The world always reflects your journey, whether through the environments of nature and cobblestone or through their perception of you and vice versa.
The story is long, much much too long, though not without reason. The story justifies it's length and is cohesive, but this is the first time I'm thinking you also need the length of the experience to be satisfactory. I think certain story elements could be cut in the early game to facilitate getting to where the story shines in the late game, however a friend of mine prefers the early game to the late so it's probably just taste. It's strange though, as I find the story most compelling and investing during the epilogue which feels uniquely different but comfortingly familiar to the main story and makes every design decision make sense. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the game is fun, sometimes even more so, but I felt disconnected and even somewhat apathetic in moments where I shouldn't. The story feels like it wants to give you agency and force you on it's linear narrative at the same time, and yet the agency it affords you is so satisfying to take. I played a high honour playthrough and it seems like the game is only designed for that type of playthrough, and I may never know if the other option in the binary choices the game gives you would even be as compelling. The game is not replayable, but it is certainly a game you can pick up from your last save despite it's lack of endgame content (epilogue is main game in my opinion).
I have a million more nitpicks, most of which are spoilers, but there are an equal number of conveniences. Your horse feels like it never does anything you don't tell it to do, and at the same time you get a sense of personality from the intricacies of it's animation and pathfinding and control. The uses of music in the main story is very particular, and surprises you in satisfying ways when you least expect it. The thematic storytelling is constant and subtle in similar and surprising ways, and the themes drive home the story's 'scenes' exceptionally well. The gameplay of simply walking/riding about the wilderness and civilisation is fluid and weirdly engaging, and the gunplay feels natural on PC, especially in small ways like quickly unclicking right mouse button to load your next bullet while ADSed. Locations are memorable to the point where traversing tread roads instantly unlocks memories from earlier in the game to flood your mind.
This game is great, but it feels far from perfection despite how incredible of an experience it is. It seems like the game is simply okay with reaching a place of 'good' quality instead of attempting to make something hugely impactful. Given what a friend of mine has told me about Red Dead Redemption 1, I suspect Rockstar didn't want to extend their story too much and upset their audience, but at this point I would prefer that to a high quality safety story reminisent of peak marvel, especially when the tone doesn't fit. I say 'it seems like' and 'I think' a lot in this review because I don't truly know what happened in the making of this game, but it's at least taught me apathy's evil so that I still care enough to try to understand why. I personally never really connected with nature, but this artificial one feels right at home.
Really makes you feel like western killing absolution again
The story is long, much much too long, though not without reason. The story justifies it's length and is cohesive, but this is the first time I'm thinking you also need the length of the experience to be satisfactory. I think certain story elements could be cut in the early game to facilitate getting to where the story shines in the late game, however a friend of mine prefers the early game to the late so it's probably just taste. It's strange though, as I find the story most compelling and investing during the epilogue which feels uniquely different but comfortingly familiar to the main story and makes every design decision make sense. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the game is fun, sometimes even more so, but I felt disconnected and even somewhat apathetic in moments where I shouldn't. The story feels like it wants to give you agency and force you on it's linear narrative at the same time, and yet the agency it affords you is so satisfying to take. I played a high honour playthrough and it seems like the game is only designed for that type of playthrough, and I may never know if the other option in the binary choices the game gives you would even be as compelling. The game is not replayable, but it is certainly a game you can pick up from your last save despite it's lack of endgame content (epilogue is main game in my opinion).
I have a million more nitpicks, most of which are spoilers, but there are an equal number of conveniences. Your horse feels like it never does anything you don't tell it to do, and at the same time you get a sense of personality from the intricacies of it's animation and pathfinding and control. The uses of music in the main story is very particular, and surprises you in satisfying ways when you least expect it. The thematic storytelling is constant and subtle in similar and surprising ways, and the themes drive home the story's 'scenes' exceptionally well. The gameplay of simply walking/riding about the wilderness and civilisation is fluid and weirdly engaging, and the gunplay feels natural on PC, especially in small ways like quickly unclicking right mouse button to load your next bullet while ADSed. Locations are memorable to the point where traversing tread roads instantly unlocks memories from earlier in the game to flood your mind.
This game is great, but it feels far from perfection despite how incredible of an experience it is. It seems like the game is simply okay with reaching a place of 'good' quality instead of attempting to make something hugely impactful. Given what a friend of mine has told me about Red Dead Redemption 1, I suspect Rockstar didn't want to extend their story too much and upset their audience, but at this point I would prefer that to a high quality safety story reminisent of peak marvel, especially when the tone doesn't fit. I say 'it seems like' and 'I think' a lot in this review because I don't truly know what happened in the making of this game, but it's at least taught me apathy's evil so that I still care enough to try to understand why. I personally never really connected with nature, but this artificial one feels right at home.
Really makes you feel like western killing absolution again
2023
The complexity in the game is unlike any other roguelike cardgame I've played, largely due to it's different uses of mechanics and additional challenges added on top of the usual challenges expected of the genre. Pretty simple despite this, but also pretty good
A fairly classic rhythm game following and helping create the trend of visual clarity being part of the challenge. Got a solid soundtrack that perfectly fits with it's tonal identity, and hints at a very promising completed game. Mapping could use some work, but the more recent additions (NSR's Low, Motherboard) are promising. Very excited for the full release only another 4 years away (idk but I'm ngl the community's kinda in the dark about it's progress)
Breaks fairly often, but at least it has some very unbalanced and definitely annoying gameplay. Classic party game
2013
Idk, played this during the short period where Steam trying copying Epic and releasing games for free on their store, was alright but a little too basic. Weirdly it was also too confusing sometimes, I found myself losing track of where to go next or what was happening a couple times and had to wander to get back on track, though I may just be stupid
Fun, idk what else you want from this game. Maybe a bit too long, but very good moments that occur over the course of playing
What if tetris was a music video, and it (mostly) worked?
Surpringly effective narrative with solid tone but terrible pacing. Gave the Borderlands some much needed worldbuilding it was lacking, did it surpringly well, and we're suffering for it now. Memorable and fun characters too, despite the future games' ignorance of them
Disclaimer: I am reviewing my playthrough of this game from the Apollo Justice Trilogy's remastered version of it, not the original
That said, the updated version surpringly has additional merit for it's existence rather than for permanent playability after hardware has been phased out of the market. The visual updates are all very good, especially in the UI elements which they made custom updates to (except for a couple decisions here and there), and are thus also different to the other Phoenix Wright Trilogy which felt too adherent to the original games UI design. This game is also weirdly well optimised, not as weirdly optimised as Return of the Obra Dinn which'll run on a toaster, but for a visual novel remake/remaster you wouldn't expect attention to be drawn to performance, especially for release on modern personal computers.
However, aside from the changes in the remake, the game itself almost surprised me. I had played this game once before, about (ironically) 7 years ago, and remembered only some major plot beats. Going back into it again made me realise how well foreshadowed the rest of the series is from this game on (again, ironic). After the manoeuvre that saw Shu Takumi taken off of the production of this game and the future mainline ones, it makes perfect sense why this game and the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles are the way they are, given that most of the major design decisions that can be infered were left by Takumi in this game seem to suddenly reappear in the Chronicles under a more realised vision. Otherwise for the mainline games, you can see the newer team's ability in taking over and adapting stories presented in the past for the games which make up the Apollo Justice Trilogy, the succintness and completeness of these stories is present even here, despite the stumbles in this game and the overarching story of this second trilogy. I can't go into detail due to spoilers but trust me when I say I am thoroughly confused as to why the game is named "Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney" and not "Justice & Wright: Ace Attorneys". Plus, I am equally as frustrated as everyone else when I say this game gives a lot of setup for future games which has not been followed up on since, the writing staff gotta get their act together before they give this man another backstory.
The 1st case is probably the best introduction to a Phoenix Wright game ever as it perfectly sets up the context, tone, and themes for the entire game while remaining the most interesting an unique introduction to a Phoenix Wright game (despite the darker themes and story this time around, the game works very well with it's comedy and tone to not be overly depressing), the 2nd case is good if not solid but with too much coincidence, the 3rd case is also pretty good providing a more subtle indicator of coincidence whilst being an another unique interesting case. This game excels at creating unique problems to solve, especially ones not done before in the series, and never done as efficiently since.
Then the 4th case... I originally had this game at a 4.5/5 just from the first 3 cases, and the start of the 4th had me there too. The problem comes when we start getting into the meat of the last case, and especially it's reliance on two of the game's major themes: Successors and Coincidence. Again, it's difficult to describe the problem with this case without spoiling it, but I will give hints that you will be very confused by the obvious contradictions of the MASON system, and that it wishes it was Justice for All's final case.
That said, the updated version surpringly has additional merit for it's existence rather than for permanent playability after hardware has been phased out of the market. The visual updates are all very good, especially in the UI elements which they made custom updates to (except for a couple decisions here and there), and are thus also different to the other Phoenix Wright Trilogy which felt too adherent to the original games UI design. This game is also weirdly well optimised, not as weirdly optimised as Return of the Obra Dinn which'll run on a toaster, but for a visual novel remake/remaster you wouldn't expect attention to be drawn to performance, especially for release on modern personal computers.
However, aside from the changes in the remake, the game itself almost surprised me. I had played this game once before, about (ironically) 7 years ago, and remembered only some major plot beats. Going back into it again made me realise how well foreshadowed the rest of the series is from this game on (again, ironic). After the manoeuvre that saw Shu Takumi taken off of the production of this game and the future mainline ones, it makes perfect sense why this game and the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles are the way they are, given that most of the major design decisions that can be infered were left by Takumi in this game seem to suddenly reappear in the Chronicles under a more realised vision. Otherwise for the mainline games, you can see the newer team's ability in taking over and adapting stories presented in the past for the games which make up the Apollo Justice Trilogy, the succintness and completeness of these stories is present even here, despite the stumbles in this game and the overarching story of this second trilogy. I can't go into detail due to spoilers but trust me when I say I am thoroughly confused as to why the game is named "Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney" and not "Justice & Wright: Ace Attorneys". Plus, I am equally as frustrated as everyone else when I say this game gives a lot of setup for future games which has not been followed up on since, the writing staff gotta get their act together before they give this man another backstory.
The 1st case is probably the best introduction to a Phoenix Wright game ever as it perfectly sets up the context, tone, and themes for the entire game while remaining the most interesting an unique introduction to a Phoenix Wright game (despite the darker themes and story this time around, the game works very well with it's comedy and tone to not be overly depressing), the 2nd case is good if not solid but with too much coincidence, the 3rd case is also pretty good providing a more subtle indicator of coincidence whilst being an another unique interesting case. This game excels at creating unique problems to solve, especially ones not done before in the series, and never done as efficiently since.
Then the 4th case... I originally had this game at a 4.5/5 just from the first 3 cases, and the start of the 4th had me there too. The problem comes when we start getting into the meat of the last case, and especially it's reliance on two of the game's major themes: Successors and Coincidence. Again, it's difficult to describe the problem with this case without spoiling it, but I will give hints that you will be very confused by the obvious contradictions of the MASON system, and that it wishes it was Justice for All's final case.
I don't really know how to describe this game in a way to justify a review. The overall dialogue is ok, the overall storyboarding sucks, the individual minutiae in writing was much worse, the characters average at mildly interesting, the pacing is confusing, the game looks really good, the animations sucked something horrid, the sound design must have been good cause I never noticed it, the licensed music choices are baffling and the non-licensed are forgettable, the gameplay elements are slightly better than you'd expect, the gameplay systems are very well polished (despite a lack of necessity), and the UI is great. It's not overall a positive experience and yet I still felt positively impacted by my time playing.
New Tales felt like a genuine accidental faceplant from people who tried really hard to care, and not a 'oh no, I'm going to fall over and hurt my beautiful visage and gameplay-ability weally weally hard, don't get mad at me ;(' like from many examples that could be listed (Eg: Gollum). The only explanation that I can think of for this game being the way it is, is that a completely fresh team of creatives were told to make another game like the original Tales but given no other direction besides a list of qualities to include that clash with any ideas they had. Though, to be fair, the game is not all bad, it's mostly negative to various degrees minus LOU13 (which is a genuinely good character and arc), the sheer amount of comedy crammed into this thing which statistically means jokes will eventually land, and the Tediore guards (the best part).
It's real telling when the most emotionally impacted I felt from a narrative adventure is during the credits, specifically from all the messages the creatives at Gearbox left for their friends, family, and/or the player. The worst part is that they already did this with Wonderlands, and so despite the genuinity it feels hollow/shallow/deceptive coming from the company which fired most of it's workers without promised bonuses after it's most successful game release in years (Borderlands 3). I only played this game on a whim after buying the Pandora Box at a steep discount (which lives up to it's name in this aspect).
I don't know how to feel about this game (despite the score, that's more for other people to understand my opinion of their likely enjoyment of the game), and especially this franchise as a whole. It keeps seeming lately that with every video game that releases critiquing art under capitalism or highlights the corruption of corporate greed over individuals and culture, the same game highlight's it's own company's/art's flaws and failures the most eloquently and loudly (Cyberpunk, Steamworld, Borderlands, Respawn Entertainment as a whole, etc). Unfortunately this is one of those games that sucks as a metatextual thing to own, despite the wishes and wills of the creatives to make something special and worthwhile. I fear deeply for this franchise, despite the obvious emotional detachment I should feel, and many studios like it that find themselves in similar holes of production oversight, forced franchise building, visions and scopes beyond their creative limits, and art for the sake of consumerism. Fuck Randy Pitchford, and thank you the many creatives at Gearbox who still tried anyway.
Really makes you feel like listening to the same old New Tales from the Borderlands
New Tales felt like a genuine accidental faceplant from people who tried really hard to care, and not a 'oh no, I'm going to fall over and hurt my beautiful visage and gameplay-ability weally weally hard, don't get mad at me ;(' like from many examples that could be listed (Eg: Gollum). The only explanation that I can think of for this game being the way it is, is that a completely fresh team of creatives were told to make another game like the original Tales but given no other direction besides a list of qualities to include that clash with any ideas they had. Though, to be fair, the game is not all bad, it's mostly negative to various degrees minus LOU13 (which is a genuinely good character and arc), the sheer amount of comedy crammed into this thing which statistically means jokes will eventually land, and the Tediore guards (the best part).
It's real telling when the most emotionally impacted I felt from a narrative adventure is during the credits, specifically from all the messages the creatives at Gearbox left for their friends, family, and/or the player. The worst part is that they already did this with Wonderlands, and so despite the genuinity it feels hollow/shallow/deceptive coming from the company which fired most of it's workers without promised bonuses after it's most successful game release in years (Borderlands 3). I only played this game on a whim after buying the Pandora Box at a steep discount (which lives up to it's name in this aspect).
I don't know how to feel about this game (despite the score, that's more for other people to understand my opinion of their likely enjoyment of the game), and especially this franchise as a whole. It keeps seeming lately that with every video game that releases critiquing art under capitalism or highlights the corruption of corporate greed over individuals and culture, the same game highlight's it's own company's/art's flaws and failures the most eloquently and loudly (Cyberpunk, Steamworld, Borderlands, Respawn Entertainment as a whole, etc). Unfortunately this is one of those games that sucks as a metatextual thing to own, despite the wishes and wills of the creatives to make something special and worthwhile. I fear deeply for this franchise, despite the obvious emotional detachment I should feel, and many studios like it that find themselves in similar holes of production oversight, forced franchise building, visions and scopes beyond their creative limits, and art for the sake of consumerism. Fuck Randy Pitchford, and thank you the many creatives at Gearbox who still tried anyway.
Really makes you feel like listening to the same old New Tales from the Borderlands
A series of really well made bite-sized tactical spaceship dogfights. It's like an arcade game, you play it for the gameplay and nothing else
I was confused before beating it why people were so confused about the ending to this game, given the themes and direction the gameplay moves throughout my shorter time playing the first time it made perfect sense as a twist ending for what I had experienced and understood of the game. Now that I've beaten the game myself, pushing myself late into the night to conclude my time playing ( and forgetting how it ends), I understand the complaints a bit MORE, it seems too simple of a conclusion.
The game's narrative is great, first of all, it's a really great challenging of your expectations going into a sequel to an indie hit darling. A lot of your time playing is setting up for this grand conclusion as MORE mechanics are slowly added to your arsenal and the game invents new ways to please you. The game creates some intrigue in it's unexplained or stranger elements within it's story to really build to the conclusion it does, but when it gets there it's content letting the ending play out as simply as possible. It feel like the developers needed to give a little MORE, but there's a reason that word is capitalised.
The gameplay is great though, blending the new rougelike build-specialisation elements into the narrative is so seemless I almost missed it until the game made me think about it. These types of elements are my favourite parts of Risk of Rain 2, and only serve to tempt you MORE towards perfection. The additions on the base SUPERHOT mechanics, like new weapons, maps, and enemies forces the game to play MORE like the puzzle fps the first game mostly does. The game is generative this time around, which leads to situations where I found myself unable to escape without taking at least 1 heart of damage (and yeah, you don't die instantly this time) which is especially annoying on the 100-encounter level which took 2hr 15min to beat in one run.
The visual language of the game is great, we stray further from the fake computer of the first game due to it's ending, and MORE into the artifacting and render errors of in-development low-poly games. When I started seeing the screen split in front of you when you pause, or later levels stretch far off into infinity starting a certain distance from the player I remembered how inventive the game is in MORE of it's elements. The audio is alright, at times it's a crisp clear indication of when an enemy loads their gun, sometimes the speakers in the disco map make your ears bleed. I feel like the game needed MORE of an auditory identity to match it's visual one, as the heavily compressed audio (on pausing for example) works well enough but needed MORE uniqueness I feel, though that's MORE of a personal thing I'd say.
This game is strange to play as the gameplay loop is very addicting, MORE so than the first time round, but sometimes for narrative levels the game forces you through MORE walking simulators or MORE tutorials that detract from MORE mechanics that could just be directly injected into the gameplay loop. I would wish there was MORE, but then that would be missing the point.
Really makes you feel like you just gained amnesia Mind Control Deleting: SUPERHOT
The game's narrative is great, first of all, it's a really great challenging of your expectations going into a sequel to an indie hit darling. A lot of your time playing is setting up for this grand conclusion as MORE mechanics are slowly added to your arsenal and the game invents new ways to please you. The game creates some intrigue in it's unexplained or stranger elements within it's story to really build to the conclusion it does, but when it gets there it's content letting the ending play out as simply as possible. It feel like the developers needed to give a little MORE, but there's a reason that word is capitalised.
The gameplay is great though, blending the new rougelike build-specialisation elements into the narrative is so seemless I almost missed it until the game made me think about it. These types of elements are my favourite parts of Risk of Rain 2, and only serve to tempt you MORE towards perfection. The additions on the base SUPERHOT mechanics, like new weapons, maps, and enemies forces the game to play MORE like the puzzle fps the first game mostly does. The game is generative this time around, which leads to situations where I found myself unable to escape without taking at least 1 heart of damage (and yeah, you don't die instantly this time) which is especially annoying on the 100-encounter level which took 2hr 15min to beat in one run.
The visual language of the game is great, we stray further from the fake computer of the first game due to it's ending, and MORE into the artifacting and render errors of in-development low-poly games. When I started seeing the screen split in front of you when you pause, or later levels stretch far off into infinity starting a certain distance from the player I remembered how inventive the game is in MORE of it's elements. The audio is alright, at times it's a crisp clear indication of when an enemy loads their gun, sometimes the speakers in the disco map make your ears bleed. I feel like the game needed MORE of an auditory identity to match it's visual one, as the heavily compressed audio (on pausing for example) works well enough but needed MORE uniqueness I feel, though that's MORE of a personal thing I'd say.
This game is strange to play as the gameplay loop is very addicting, MORE so than the first time round, but sometimes for narrative levels the game forces you through MORE walking simulators or MORE tutorials that detract from MORE mechanics that could just be directly injected into the gameplay loop. I would wish there was MORE, but then that would be missing the point.
Really makes you feel like you just gained amnesia Mind Control Deleting: SUPERHOT