A game of contradictions. Within its interesting story, it's a conflict of generational divide, and the differences that bring us together and push us apart.
In its game design, it's a constant battle between great concepts and wonky executions.
One of the most serene, gorgeous open worlds in gaming, yet it's empty for so many long stretches. SuckerPunch employs obnoxious breadcrumb elements and map markers to steer you towards every noteworthy thing on the island without encouraging you to explore, as if to acknowledge that beyond story content and small upgrade spots, it's just a beautifully modeled wasteland.
The combat soars in the cinematic, intense duels you encounter with legendary swordsmen. Outside of that, standard enemy combat is a fucking mess. The lack of a controllable lock-on will have you spinning around for enemies to stab like a slab of meat on a merry go round. You'll hit allies by accident, you'll get pulled in the direction of a new enemy right as you're about to finish off another one, and in general any combat scenario with more than 3 opponents at once is a nightmare.
Let's get back to aesthetics quick. Here's a game that wants to revel in the beauty of its period setting, yet it becomes hilarious how much mother nature can turn into another enemy type at the worst moments. Having an epic, emotional duel against a setting sun? Get ready for that sunlight to obscure the color-coated signals of your enemies attacks. Need to lay down some firepower to protect an ally? The particle effects from the flames will literally obscure your ally so much that you won't be able to hit the enemies attacking them. The efforts to go as realistic as possible end up hurting the gameplay.
And let's not forget the Kurasowa of it all. The woefully understated performances in this are worlds away from the expressive, interesting characters Akira would populate his films with. And while the cutscnes often offer some inspired compositions, they pale in comparison to the masterful blocking, layering, and intent Kurosawa brought to every picture. The much touted "KURASOWA MODE" display filter was shut off minutes into the game when I realized that I was fighting my fellow troops instead of enemies, because everything can look the same in black and white unless the production design is specifically crafted to make things stand apart!
Aside from its mildly compelling story, this is the most over-hyped and under-delivered PlayStation exclusive I've experienced to date. A pale ghost drifting in the shadows of flesh and blood open world games that actually stick the landing.
In its game design, it's a constant battle between great concepts and wonky executions.
One of the most serene, gorgeous open worlds in gaming, yet it's empty for so many long stretches. SuckerPunch employs obnoxious breadcrumb elements and map markers to steer you towards every noteworthy thing on the island without encouraging you to explore, as if to acknowledge that beyond story content and small upgrade spots, it's just a beautifully modeled wasteland.
The combat soars in the cinematic, intense duels you encounter with legendary swordsmen. Outside of that, standard enemy combat is a fucking mess. The lack of a controllable lock-on will have you spinning around for enemies to stab like a slab of meat on a merry go round. You'll hit allies by accident, you'll get pulled in the direction of a new enemy right as you're about to finish off another one, and in general any combat scenario with more than 3 opponents at once is a nightmare.
Let's get back to aesthetics quick. Here's a game that wants to revel in the beauty of its period setting, yet it becomes hilarious how much mother nature can turn into another enemy type at the worst moments. Having an epic, emotional duel against a setting sun? Get ready for that sunlight to obscure the color-coated signals of your enemies attacks. Need to lay down some firepower to protect an ally? The particle effects from the flames will literally obscure your ally so much that you won't be able to hit the enemies attacking them. The efforts to go as realistic as possible end up hurting the gameplay.
And let's not forget the Kurasowa of it all. The woefully understated performances in this are worlds away from the expressive, interesting characters Akira would populate his films with. And while the cutscnes often offer some inspired compositions, they pale in comparison to the masterful blocking, layering, and intent Kurosawa brought to every picture. The much touted "KURASOWA MODE" display filter was shut off minutes into the game when I realized that I was fighting my fellow troops instead of enemies, because everything can look the same in black and white unless the production design is specifically crafted to make things stand apart!
Aside from its mildly compelling story, this is the most over-hyped and under-delivered PlayStation exclusive I've experienced to date. A pale ghost drifting in the shadows of flesh and blood open world games that actually stick the landing.