Mijal
4 Reviews liked by Mijal
A Plague Tale Innocence is a depressive game, that doesn’t want you to experience much goodness in a world that is hostile towards you and your little brother. The story, which is set in 1300 France, tells nothing particularly new and feels like something you might have seen or played already, but it’s elevated by a superb atmosphere due to great natural lighting, (especially towards the end) great sequences and set pieces and some clever tricks throughout the game, to connect you to the characters emotionally. The strings based soundtrack adds a lot to that atmosphere, it’s minimalistic when it has to be and helps get your heart rate up in other situations.
I love the fact that you are playing through the game while holding the hand of your little brother most of the time, only sometimes telling him to stay put or give him a task. It’s weird that something so little has such a huge impact on how I felt. Having him hold your hand and moving around with him at all times makes it a lot scarier to leave him behind or have him do something on his own. Sometimes you carry him and sometimes other npcs hold you and you move all together - it gives you a strong sense of responsibility.
The rats in this game are impressive from a technical standpoint and also a great way to introduce the most fun parts of the game. Especially towards the end, when you start controlling them, it’s extremely satisfying to have them on your side after they wrecked havoc for most of the game.
Sadly A Plague Tale also brought up my issues with stealth sequences in games again. The problem is, this game relies almost entirely on it and it just breaks immersion almost on every corner, because guards are as stupid as it gets. It’s not rare, that a fellow guard gets eaten alive and screams only a couple of feet away from another one and they just don’t react, keep staring at a wall or some other direction. There is basically no skill needed because you can just pick em off one by one and continue to the next area. I’ve seen this terrible AI in so many games lately and I wonder why we need those stealth elements or even entire games based on it, if nothing of that concept has changed, since maybe splinter cell. It’s just boring and uninspired and it kills all the immersion for me, if I destroy and entire camp because they just don’t care.
I want to play stealth games, but they need to be challenging and with a great AI. Until then just stop doing the same thing over and over again PLEASE.
It’s unfair to rant about it in a review for this game solely, because basically all games with stealth elements are guilty. But yeah, I had to let it out.
Otherwise the game has a lot going for it and I’m pretty sure it’s enjoyable for fans of dark story driven games.
I’m glad I finally got to playing it and I’m excited to see where the next game will take us.
I love the fact that you are playing through the game while holding the hand of your little brother most of the time, only sometimes telling him to stay put or give him a task. It’s weird that something so little has such a huge impact on how I felt. Having him hold your hand and moving around with him at all times makes it a lot scarier to leave him behind or have him do something on his own. Sometimes you carry him and sometimes other npcs hold you and you move all together - it gives you a strong sense of responsibility.
The rats in this game are impressive from a technical standpoint and also a great way to introduce the most fun parts of the game. Especially towards the end, when you start controlling them, it’s extremely satisfying to have them on your side after they wrecked havoc for most of the game.
Sadly A Plague Tale also brought up my issues with stealth sequences in games again. The problem is, this game relies almost entirely on it and it just breaks immersion almost on every corner, because guards are as stupid as it gets. It’s not rare, that a fellow guard gets eaten alive and screams only a couple of feet away from another one and they just don’t react, keep staring at a wall or some other direction. There is basically no skill needed because you can just pick em off one by one and continue to the next area. I’ve seen this terrible AI in so many games lately and I wonder why we need those stealth elements or even entire games based on it, if nothing of that concept has changed, since maybe splinter cell. It’s just boring and uninspired and it kills all the immersion for me, if I destroy and entire camp because they just don’t care.
I want to play stealth games, but they need to be challenging and with a great AI. Until then just stop doing the same thing over and over again PLEASE.
It’s unfair to rant about it in a review for this game solely, because basically all games with stealth elements are guilty. But yeah, I had to let it out.
Otherwise the game has a lot going for it and I’m pretty sure it’s enjoyable for fans of dark story driven games.
I’m glad I finally got to playing it and I’m excited to see where the next game will take us.
Holy moly... What is there to be said about this game, that hasn't been said already? I freaking love The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This, is my 4th favorite game of all time.
In my opinion, there are two main types(ideal) of fantasy stories.
One is the type that doesn't show the seedy side of medieval times, which is the basis of fantasy.
The other is the type that pursues realism and shows the dark side thoroughly.
The Witcher series, of course, falls into the latter category.
The sadly unfinished Berserk also falls into the latter category. (Although its ancestors are completely different.)
My first impression was, "I'm beat!".
"Finally, Western games have come this far. At this rate, the dominance of Japanese game companies will be wiped out in a few years.”
Japanese culture has always had a weakness for realism (both cultural and political). With the exception of a few geniuses, such as Kentaro Miura of Berserk.
This is because the essence of Japanese culture is caricature, deformation.
There is very little cultural soil for realism and realism in expression. In this sense, Kentaro Miura and Hideo Kojima is a rare breed.
I'm hesitant to complain too much about the poor combat action.
Small drawback and Japan’s game culture aside, I think the main attraction of this game is its worldview.
The detail is extraordinary.
The reality of war in a medieval world reminiscent of the Thirty Years' War, the language of the people of a poor village turned into a war zone.
For example, just after the opening scene. When I saw the corpse hanging from the tree, I was reminded of Jacques Callot's painting.
At that moment, I thought: "I've bought a tremendous game!”.
The second thing that struck me was the word of the peasants. I'm not going to write about this because it would be a serious breach of political correctness(laughs).
The funniest line came from a beggar in the city. "Help me! I'm being killed!!!...... To poverty.” Do you ever find yourself laughing when you shouldn't? lol.
I don't know of any game that expresses the world in such detail. And from the point of view of the Poles who made it, it's a dark part of their own past.
By the way, my favorite characters are Lambert, the lovable son of a bitch. And the ruthless and ruthless patriot, Dijkstra.
There are fewer and fewer characters with such strong habits in Japanese manga and games. I miss.
Maybe the negativity towards this game is a repudiation of the reality/facts of their past and present through the game. (It's just a guess.)
However, I applaud the great courage of CDprojektRED in making this expression.
It's a shame that the next cyberpunk had to go down like that, but it doesn't take away from the brilliance of The Witcher 3.
When I read it again, I see that I wrote it as I thought of it, so the sentence development is very messy.
I would like to make an additional correction later.
One is the type that doesn't show the seedy side of medieval times, which is the basis of fantasy.
The other is the type that pursues realism and shows the dark side thoroughly.
The Witcher series, of course, falls into the latter category.
The sadly unfinished Berserk also falls into the latter category. (Although its ancestors are completely different.)
My first impression was, "I'm beat!".
"Finally, Western games have come this far. At this rate, the dominance of Japanese game companies will be wiped out in a few years.”
Japanese culture has always had a weakness for realism (both cultural and political). With the exception of a few geniuses, such as Kentaro Miura of Berserk.
This is because the essence of Japanese culture is caricature, deformation.
There is very little cultural soil for realism and realism in expression. In this sense, Kentaro Miura and Hideo Kojima is a rare breed.
I'm hesitant to complain too much about the poor combat action.
Small drawback and Japan’s game culture aside, I think the main attraction of this game is its worldview.
The detail is extraordinary.
The reality of war in a medieval world reminiscent of the Thirty Years' War, the language of the people of a poor village turned into a war zone.
For example, just after the opening scene. When I saw the corpse hanging from the tree, I was reminded of Jacques Callot's painting.
At that moment, I thought: "I've bought a tremendous game!”.
The second thing that struck me was the word of the peasants. I'm not going to write about this because it would be a serious breach of political correctness(laughs).
The funniest line came from a beggar in the city. "Help me! I'm being killed!!!...... To poverty.” Do you ever find yourself laughing when you shouldn't? lol.
I don't know of any game that expresses the world in such detail. And from the point of view of the Poles who made it, it's a dark part of their own past.
By the way, my favorite characters are Lambert, the lovable son of a bitch. And the ruthless and ruthless patriot, Dijkstra.
There are fewer and fewer characters with such strong habits in Japanese manga and games. I miss.
Maybe the negativity towards this game is a repudiation of the reality/facts of their past and present through the game. (It's just a guess.)
However, I applaud the great courage of CDprojektRED in making this expression.
It's a shame that the next cyberpunk had to go down like that, but it doesn't take away from the brilliance of The Witcher 3.
When I read it again, I see that I wrote it as I thought of it, so the sentence development is very messy.
I would like to make an additional correction later.
Blood and Wine might just be the best bang for buck expansion you will ever purchase
Blood and Wine features an expansive new region called Touissaint, a vibrant French inspired piece of land full of political intrigue, humor, and defined culture. You will also be pitched against new monsters, in a fully fetched campaign helping out the local Duchess.
The story and side missions are characteristically as good as the original Witcher 3 game, and perhaps better in some areas. The characters you encounter are well written and engagement, and much of the activities to be had are quite fun. This expansion also features a full length soundtrack, which further immerses you into the escapist heaven of the Witcher series.
All-in-all, this expansion deserves an honest 10/10. In all my years of PC gaming, this expansion has reached a milestone, and set a bar so high that I doubt any other developer can reach in a long time.
A great wonderful new addition that contrasts the drearier areas of Witcher 3 with a much more fairytale and playful world of Blood and Wine. Filled with many more great interactions and characters with even some of the best in the Witcher series overall, this DLC seeks to give the series an ending for Geralt that satisfies fans of the game. New Beautiful visuals, enemies, quests, there is very little reason not to buy this immediately if you own the Witcher 3.
Blood and Wine features an expansive new region called Touissaint, a vibrant French inspired piece of land full of political intrigue, humor, and defined culture. You will also be pitched against new monsters, in a fully fetched campaign helping out the local Duchess.
The story and side missions are characteristically as good as the original Witcher 3 game, and perhaps better in some areas. The characters you encounter are well written and engagement, and much of the activities to be had are quite fun. This expansion also features a full length soundtrack, which further immerses you into the escapist heaven of the Witcher series.
All-in-all, this expansion deserves an honest 10/10. In all my years of PC gaming, this expansion has reached a milestone, and set a bar so high that I doubt any other developer can reach in a long time.
A great wonderful new addition that contrasts the drearier areas of Witcher 3 with a much more fairytale and playful world of Blood and Wine. Filled with many more great interactions and characters with even some of the best in the Witcher series overall, this DLC seeks to give the series an ending for Geralt that satisfies fans of the game. New Beautiful visuals, enemies, quests, there is very little reason not to buy this immediately if you own the Witcher 3.