Can't give it a perfect right now, as it's not even considered finished by the developer yet, but honestly, it's a hell of a lot closer than I expected. Everything feels like Miro has become something of an indie master at this point. While there are still plenty of derivative elements from media they love here, it feels even more uniquely its own thing than the first, with quite a bit less than expected that I can describe as "just X character/thing from Y", for a game with this title with The Funny Moon right on the cover. The thematic lore/broad plot writing is just as solid as it was in the first game, and while it's even more cryptic than the first game, it's so brilliantly blended together with the gameplay and setting design this time that I'm honestly in awe.
That blending of gameplay, thematic storytelling, and map design is one of two elements that really makes this game so fantastic. I honestly can't imagine a battle royale game that does this better- the first time I killed a character (O'saa, who I accidentally aggro'd but I was sure would have been recruitable anyway later) that wasn't mutated, I felt intense remorse, but because of how sparse saves are and how tight the time limit feels, I couldn't bring myself to reset and lose over an hour of progress. So I pressed on, and became FAR stronger thanks to the benefits killing him gave me, this incident probably leading to my success. Despite being pretty strictly scripted, on a blind run (and the next couple after that), many elements of the game feel emergent- I knew August would show up after fighting Moonless on a second run, for example, but it still surprised me, because I thought he was off elsewhere. This psuedo-emergent design and matching map building feels perfectly tied to the feeling of desperation for community and belonging that the game winds up largely being about- a belonging that, as the transition from night 2 to day 3 surprised and devastated me with, can be shattered in a moment thanks to circumstances beyond our control.
A game about community and the desperate modern urge for belonging would mean absolutely nothing, though, if not for fantastic character writing, and holy shit this game has that. None of the characters are done being developed yet, says the developer, who is currently adding details to all of their backgrounds- and I can't fucking wait for more. Even with what we have right now, these characters feel alive, so much so that an unexpected kidnapping on morning 3 left me sitting dead-eyed for ten minutes, trying to decide what the hell to do.
This is a god-awful ramble, but I just adore this game. Everything works together so perfectly, building on everything (mechanically, thematically, and literally) that the first game created, and it ends up being one of my favorite RPGs in years.
One of the only criticisms I'll give it is that the changed setting and different themes makes the sexual horror of the game feel less justifiable than in the first. There's one fight in particular- a priest- where the sexual element feels entirely gratuitous, unexpected in a way that made my eyes roll in annoyance, something neither game had ever made me do before. It's the only instance of implied sexual abuse of children, and it feels entirely unjustified and without any relevance. It's the only time in either game I felt like something was there just for the shock factor, and it's a shame, because it comes at the end of a very solid, atmospheric level. The game is still fantastic, but god, Miro's amateur-ness still does poke through sometimes, doesn't it? I admire that about their work, but almost every other time in the series, it at least still reads as thematically justified and horrific in ways that the game has built up to.
Game's great, though, and I can't wait for update 2.0.
Funger.
That blending of gameplay, thematic storytelling, and map design is one of two elements that really makes this game so fantastic. I honestly can't imagine a battle royale game that does this better- the first time I killed a character (O'saa, who I accidentally aggro'd but I was sure would have been recruitable anyway later) that wasn't mutated, I felt intense remorse, but because of how sparse saves are and how tight the time limit feels, I couldn't bring myself to reset and lose over an hour of progress. So I pressed on, and became FAR stronger thanks to the benefits killing him gave me, this incident probably leading to my success. Despite being pretty strictly scripted, on a blind run (and the next couple after that), many elements of the game feel emergent- I knew August would show up after fighting Moonless on a second run, for example, but it still surprised me, because I thought he was off elsewhere. This psuedo-emergent design and matching map building feels perfectly tied to the feeling of desperation for community and belonging that the game winds up largely being about- a belonging that, as the transition from night 2 to day 3 surprised and devastated me with, can be shattered in a moment thanks to circumstances beyond our control.
A game about community and the desperate modern urge for belonging would mean absolutely nothing, though, if not for fantastic character writing, and holy shit this game has that. None of the characters are done being developed yet, says the developer, who is currently adding details to all of their backgrounds- and I can't fucking wait for more. Even with what we have right now, these characters feel alive, so much so that an unexpected kidnapping on morning 3 left me sitting dead-eyed for ten minutes, trying to decide what the hell to do.
This is a god-awful ramble, but I just adore this game. Everything works together so perfectly, building on everything (mechanically, thematically, and literally) that the first game created, and it ends up being one of my favorite RPGs in years.
One of the only criticisms I'll give it is that the changed setting and different themes makes the sexual horror of the game feel less justifiable than in the first. There's one fight in particular- a priest- where the sexual element feels entirely gratuitous, unexpected in a way that made my eyes roll in annoyance, something neither game had ever made me do before. It's the only instance of implied sexual abuse of children, and it feels entirely unjustified and without any relevance. It's the only time in either game I felt like something was there just for the shock factor, and it's a shame, because it comes at the end of a very solid, atmospheric level. The game is still fantastic, but god, Miro's amateur-ness still does poke through sometimes, doesn't it? I admire that about their work, but almost every other time in the series, it at least still reads as thematically justified and horrific in ways that the game has built up to.
Game's great, though, and I can't wait for update 2.0.
Funger.