I started this and felt maybe it was a little more forgiving than the first Fear and Hunger. I got loads of healing items out the gate, wasn't immediately attacked by giant trolls while getting my bearings and the first few enemies I encountered were easily beatable with my initial melee build. Then I wandered into an area with a massive, naked lumberjack whose penis detached from his body and choked me to death because I messed up a coin flip.
And that was just the first in a long line of reminders that there's nothing quite like the relentless trigger-warning city that is Fear and Hunger. This time around, I spent 20 hours being chased by a clown named Needles who wanted to shoot opium into my veins, met an 8ft cat man that violently stuffed a child into a sack when we saw each other and faced off against monstrous mutations of my former friends, one of which was a giant elephant lady that could crush my head in two seconds flat. Basically, what I imagine a day out in Birmingham is like.
Regardless of the fact they're definitely not for everyone, Miro Haverinen is undeniably cooking with these games. I think the reams of exposed monster genitalia and endless list of ridiculously grotesque ways you can get disembowelled veer a little too heavily into edge-lord territory at points, but there's no denying that these are some of the most unique RPGs out there right now. They have such a fascinating, almost meta way of approaching the genre, providing this twisted mishmash of Berserk's story, Undertale's reinvention of the old-school RPG and Final Fantasy's battle system. But we knew all that from the last game. What's impressive here is how Miro didn't just make more Fear and Hunger; he changed the formula significantly and offered a whole new perspective on the systems he built.
Aside from the time jump changing a lot of the weaponry and resources available, Termina is also a much grander, more open game that really rewards players exploring, learning and restarting runs to perfect their strategy. It's almost like Fear and Hunger's take on Majora's Mask, setting the conflict over three days and asking you to perfect what you do in those days to get the best ending possible. Considering your main objective is to fight 13 other people to the death, many of which are your allies, it creates a very interesting moral dilemma, especially as teaming with these people is essential to surviving most of the game's hardest battles. If I'm honest, it didn't click with me quite as well as the original, especially as the game's obtuse relationship with guiding the player combined with the strict three-day time limit leaves you confused at so many points. But I have to respect that this is wholly different and has so many new ideas and mechanics.
Ultimately, like the first game, it's a fantastic example of how letting go of the player's hand creates the best experiences. Exploring this world is haunting, and that's partially because Miro is so good at telling stories using the horror fantasy genre. But it's also because you have no clue what's around the next corner and the thrill of adventure makes this another memorable RPG that I'll be thinking about for months and months to come... I mean, it's pretty damn hard to forget a game where you get choked out by a lumberjack's genitals regardless, but still...
And that was just the first in a long line of reminders that there's nothing quite like the relentless trigger-warning city that is Fear and Hunger. This time around, I spent 20 hours being chased by a clown named Needles who wanted to shoot opium into my veins, met an 8ft cat man that violently stuffed a child into a sack when we saw each other and faced off against monstrous mutations of my former friends, one of which was a giant elephant lady that could crush my head in two seconds flat. Basically, what I imagine a day out in Birmingham is like.
Regardless of the fact they're definitely not for everyone, Miro Haverinen is undeniably cooking with these games. I think the reams of exposed monster genitalia and endless list of ridiculously grotesque ways you can get disembowelled veer a little too heavily into edge-lord territory at points, but there's no denying that these are some of the most unique RPGs out there right now. They have such a fascinating, almost meta way of approaching the genre, providing this twisted mishmash of Berserk's story, Undertale's reinvention of the old-school RPG and Final Fantasy's battle system. But we knew all that from the last game. What's impressive here is how Miro didn't just make more Fear and Hunger; he changed the formula significantly and offered a whole new perspective on the systems he built.
Aside from the time jump changing a lot of the weaponry and resources available, Termina is also a much grander, more open game that really rewards players exploring, learning and restarting runs to perfect their strategy. It's almost like Fear and Hunger's take on Majora's Mask, setting the conflict over three days and asking you to perfect what you do in those days to get the best ending possible. Considering your main objective is to fight 13 other people to the death, many of which are your allies, it creates a very interesting moral dilemma, especially as teaming with these people is essential to surviving most of the game's hardest battles. If I'm honest, it didn't click with me quite as well as the original, especially as the game's obtuse relationship with guiding the player combined with the strict three-day time limit leaves you confused at so many points. But I have to respect that this is wholly different and has so many new ideas and mechanics.
Ultimately, like the first game, it's a fantastic example of how letting go of the player's hand creates the best experiences. Exploring this world is haunting, and that's partially because Miro is so good at telling stories using the horror fantasy genre. But it's also because you have no clue what's around the next corner and the thrill of adventure makes this another memorable RPG that I'll be thinking about for months and months to come... I mean, it's pretty damn hard to forget a game where you get choked out by a lumberjack's genitals regardless, but still...