What's with the recent trend of schizophrenic, dream-like games starring anime girls?
The Serial Experiments Lain inspired anime aesthetic has seeped it's influence into western circles. Artists like Sewerslvt have captured the soundscape to these schizophrenic dream worlds, Milk has gone in and out of bags. Disillusion is no different.
It's hard to put into words just what exactly the appeal to this type of aesthetic is. I guess for me, it's the distortion of reality into a jagged colorful kaleidoscopic nightmare. The ties to it's psychological aspects are intriguing to me. I'm interested in the field, so it's only natural. The disease itself brings about terrifying, if not fascinating outcomes within those who suffer from the disease. Artists with the disease sculpt their reality through art work, bringing all of us closer to their reality. The only time I can ever relate to this is through dreams.
What's always fascinated me about dreams is that can hold unconscious feelings that manifest from the waking world. They're drenched in meaning, yet also filled with garbage data that's been spat out like static on a TV. It's garbled up information that's been constructed and reconstructed to create some kind of purposeless purpose.
Disillusion feels much like this description at first. Imagery taken from the unconscious mind of what someone remembers the early 90's dungeon crawling, computer gaming aesthetic was like. This is then filtered through the "anime girl with schizophrenia" filter. Mix in some weird, bizzare looking creatures, near nonsensical levels for textures, and you've got yourself a genuine fever dream to explore. It can feel surface level at times because of this.
As you continue your journey upwards within the tower, the abstractions become a bit more clear. This is someone suffering from schizophrenia, yet may also exist within the reality of this illusion. The hindu spiritual influence and the creation myth that bares the backdrop of the protagonist's journey to break free of this illusion. The souls of all beings ascend a tower in order to reach Nirvana, prone to losing themselves along the way. The protagonist slowly redevelops their memories, or rather their sense of self throughout this journey, fitting for a character named "Golem".
On this journey you're accompanied by a Sage, who's your anime girl tupla. Often times, she comments on your situation, bringing levity and intrigue to just what exactly she is. She's a bit of an untrustworthy character given she admits that she's here to bring about tragedy, but it is her job as a sage. It's hard to blame the gods for their jobs.
There's meaning to be read from all of this, I'm sure. It's better to stay in reality than it is to live in the illusion is more of the surface level analysis. If I was smart, I would have stopped playing the game to look up some of the names and concepts found within the game to follow along better with the backdrop of the setting.
I did not do this. I am not a smart man.
I was definitely here to soak the atmosphere in more than anything else. Disillusion is definitely built for that. The bizzare world is helped molded by the dissonant soundscape, some songs acting like a distortion of songs and sound clips found on TV. They create this air of uncanny weirdness that's not only foreign to listen to with their composition, but reminds you of the familiarity of the real world.
The gameplay is reminiscent of dungeon crawling turn based RPGs, and is fairly average with it's approach. It's simple RPG maker skeleton has very little added on top of it. Most of the time, I'd just find myself tanking hits, raising my strength and just slashing enemies to death. There never felt like there was a need for experimentation when I could just do massive damage like that. I died only once throughout the entirety of the 5 hour experience, and that may have been due to an enemy glitching out and not staying dead after I had just killed it. Exploring these mazes can end up becoming quite tiresome after 3 hours, one level of the tower just being a gigantic labyrinth filled with drops of lore to find. There's no map to fill out, so I'd often find myself just holding forward and turning whenever I saw a corner, taking up an half hour worth of time. It felt exhausting.
Disillusion let me explore an interesting world that was equal parts uncanny, strange, silly, demented, and eerie, but the game feels more like a concept first that was then shifted into having some kind of meaning. It was as if the creator had a dream that was then crafted to have a purpose. The ending I received had my character rejecting the offer of one of the gods in order to remain free from this prison, only to return to their reality, alone in the forest, looking at a the sun, which is fitting for the story that was eventually built up. In that respect, Disillusion works. As a game though, there's a bit here that leaves something to be desired. The game does have a sequel in development that expands the concept into more of an infinite trek through bizzare worlds, and from screenshots, it looks like it'll appeal to me much more in that regard. I just hope the gameplay satisfies.
The Serial Experiments Lain inspired anime aesthetic has seeped it's influence into western circles. Artists like Sewerslvt have captured the soundscape to these schizophrenic dream worlds, Milk has gone in and out of bags. Disillusion is no different.
It's hard to put into words just what exactly the appeal to this type of aesthetic is. I guess for me, it's the distortion of reality into a jagged colorful kaleidoscopic nightmare. The ties to it's psychological aspects are intriguing to me. I'm interested in the field, so it's only natural. The disease itself brings about terrifying, if not fascinating outcomes within those who suffer from the disease. Artists with the disease sculpt their reality through art work, bringing all of us closer to their reality. The only time I can ever relate to this is through dreams.
What's always fascinated me about dreams is that can hold unconscious feelings that manifest from the waking world. They're drenched in meaning, yet also filled with garbage data that's been spat out like static on a TV. It's garbled up information that's been constructed and reconstructed to create some kind of purposeless purpose.
Disillusion feels much like this description at first. Imagery taken from the unconscious mind of what someone remembers the early 90's dungeon crawling, computer gaming aesthetic was like. This is then filtered through the "anime girl with schizophrenia" filter. Mix in some weird, bizzare looking creatures, near nonsensical levels for textures, and you've got yourself a genuine fever dream to explore. It can feel surface level at times because of this.
As you continue your journey upwards within the tower, the abstractions become a bit more clear. This is someone suffering from schizophrenia, yet may also exist within the reality of this illusion. The hindu spiritual influence and the creation myth that bares the backdrop of the protagonist's journey to break free of this illusion. The souls of all beings ascend a tower in order to reach Nirvana, prone to losing themselves along the way. The protagonist slowly redevelops their memories, or rather their sense of self throughout this journey, fitting for a character named "Golem".
On this journey you're accompanied by a Sage, who's your anime girl tupla. Often times, she comments on your situation, bringing levity and intrigue to just what exactly she is. She's a bit of an untrustworthy character given she admits that she's here to bring about tragedy, but it is her job as a sage. It's hard to blame the gods for their jobs.
There's meaning to be read from all of this, I'm sure. It's better to stay in reality than it is to live in the illusion is more of the surface level analysis. If I was smart, I would have stopped playing the game to look up some of the names and concepts found within the game to follow along better with the backdrop of the setting.
I did not do this. I am not a smart man.
I was definitely here to soak the atmosphere in more than anything else. Disillusion is definitely built for that. The bizzare world is helped molded by the dissonant soundscape, some songs acting like a distortion of songs and sound clips found on TV. They create this air of uncanny weirdness that's not only foreign to listen to with their composition, but reminds you of the familiarity of the real world.
The gameplay is reminiscent of dungeon crawling turn based RPGs, and is fairly average with it's approach. It's simple RPG maker skeleton has very little added on top of it. Most of the time, I'd just find myself tanking hits, raising my strength and just slashing enemies to death. There never felt like there was a need for experimentation when I could just do massive damage like that. I died only once throughout the entirety of the 5 hour experience, and that may have been due to an enemy glitching out and not staying dead after I had just killed it. Exploring these mazes can end up becoming quite tiresome after 3 hours, one level of the tower just being a gigantic labyrinth filled with drops of lore to find. There's no map to fill out, so I'd often find myself just holding forward and turning whenever I saw a corner, taking up an half hour worth of time. It felt exhausting.
Disillusion let me explore an interesting world that was equal parts uncanny, strange, silly, demented, and eerie, but the game feels more like a concept first that was then shifted into having some kind of meaning. It was as if the creator had a dream that was then crafted to have a purpose. The ending I received had my character rejecting the offer of one of the gods in order to remain free from this prison, only to return to their reality, alone in the forest, looking at a the sun, which is fitting for the story that was eventually built up. In that respect, Disillusion works. As a game though, there's a bit here that leaves something to be desired. The game does have a sequel in development that expands the concept into more of an infinite trek through bizzare worlds, and from screenshots, it looks like it'll appeal to me much more in that regard. I just hope the gameplay satisfies.