33 reviews liked by Yu_hero


Disregarding my extreme disappointment with the complete replacement of genres and gameplay styles, I dunno man, I just really don't want to have to deal with the controls.

Killer7 is weird, confusing, and edgy. There's a strong sense of angst in the game, mostly contributed to the fact the game is tied down to the messy and dark time period of the years after 9/11. When given the context of the time period Killer7 came out in, a lot of interesting symbolism can come out of this game, such as how the Heaven Smiles attacking the very foundations of the United States Government in the name of their god can be seen as a parallel to the attacks of 9/11 and the motivation of the terrorist behind it, or how the United States utilizes the state of their terrorist situation to insert dominance over the world, or the feeling of apathy people gained over large scale tragedies as time has gone on. Killer7 is an uncomfortable work for those, and for other reasons, like I said earlier it’s edgy… But that edge has a point, the game is a scathing critique of the nationalism drummed up by the United States to justify a war that only served to propagate financial gain, about the limited perspective people take when it comes to the matter of the terrorist attack and the hypocritical ways the everyday American with the disregard of the tragedies they enable on other nations for their needs. Killer7 is a reflection about the messy political times it was made in and how the world had become a more harrowing and dark place.
That is an extremely limited way of analyzing Killer7 though.

Killer7 is deceptive, it utilizes a false framing of the US government to create a piece that dissects the political climate of Japan and how much of a nightmare it is, it is a cynical reading into how the systems of Japan fail its people and perpetuates a depressing and horrible image for Japan. The depiction of American Politics in Killer7 is weak most of the time, it never draws attention to the inner nuances of the American government, it ignores the own division the American government has regarding democrats and republicans, it makes up some random ideas of the American Government for some twists, and often the government more serves as a vehicle to push the conflict of the story over being an actual fleshed out group. Often though, the American government’s actions tend to have ripple effects on the Japanese government, which the game shows a lot more of a solidified perspective on. There are defined political parties when it comes to Japan, Japan has a massive importance in the context of the ramifications of some of the most important chapters of the game, and it criticizes the strong and thorough chokehold the older generation of the Japanese population has on the government. Japan is depicted as a country in a state of instability struggling to define itself, but in that instability Japan’s old ways can be thrown and the youth can take over and lead Japan into a more prosperous era. The Yakumo is one of the most important pieces of the plot, and it is a Japanese document of all things. Japan has an impact even in parts of the plot we don’t realize at times as the story goes on. Some of the most important and heavy hitting moments of Killer7 hinge on Japan’s messy and flawed nature in a truly interesting way and it does a great job of acting as an introspective piece about the nature of Japan.
That is an extremely limited way of analyzing Killer7 though.

Killer7 is large in scale, dense with imagery of the clashing values of the eastern and western fronts of the world making, and begins and ends on the same note of the two representatives of the East and West clashing over dominance over the unstable world as it explores the idea that the values of East and West will repeat itself, no matter who is in power at the moment. It’s a piece that utilizes various forms of symbolism to depict this ongoing clash, and the main character of Killer7, Garcian Smith, is at the center of this eternal conflict. A character with connections to both sides as the plot alludes to, wrapped around the messy web of this conflict as both Japan and the United States try to assert their dominance over each other. A lot of the major chapters of Killer7 tend to focus on America Vs Japan, Sunset frames the intense threat the United State imposes on Japan and how Japan is placed into a state of weakness while also being a piece about the struggle for the Japanese and the US trying to get ahold of the Yakumo to assert dominance, the Heaven Smiles are a product of the east that constantly corrodes on the United States as an everlasting threat trying to create some intense form of chaos so the East can arise, Smile is all about the juxtaposition of the values of the east and the west and how this crossfire actively ruins the lives of innocent people, and the one true choice of the game asks the player whether they think Japan or the United States should be in power, at the expense of the other side, and the game’s ending no matter what reflects the cycle repeating. There’s a very strong sense of pessimism that Killer7 hones in on, that no matter what this fruitless conflict will do nothing more than cause harm than good.
That is an extremely limited way of analyzing Killer7 though.

Killer7 is incoherent, it's a story that actively contradicts itself, and it isn’t concerned about having a world that makes much sense. There’s a lot of elements in the overarching plot that contribute to the world building that are actively contradicted from chapter to chapter, the game purposefully creates a mockery of the political landscape of the setting with some utterly absurd scenarios that makes things seem confusing, disconnected, and surreal. This is all by design of course, as Killer7’s major motif of individuality and the past come up. Almost every chapter in some sort focuses on conflicts surrounding individuality, may it be that of the past of individual characters coming to trudge up chaos within the current lives of the characters (Angel (Harman), Sunset (Mask De Smith,) Encounter (Dan,) Smile (Garcian,) the eradication of individuality for the greater political goal (Sunset (Julia, Jean De Paul, Matsuoka,) the power which individuality brings (Cloudman (Andrei,) Lion (Garcian,) and the importance of finding oneself against the ever changing tides of the world (Smile/Lion (Garcian.) Killer7 often depicts characters moving away from the larger political ramification of matters and instead moving into the more personal aspects about the drama behind these events, what it means for the characters involved in these plots. The ending of the game makes it clear that above all else, before trying to really make something of the world around you, it is important to try to understand yourself and confront the history you have. Kill the baggage of the past, let the legacy die, and maybe then you’ll be able to make a more meaningful change in this world than most would ever dream of. And even if that’s not the case, at the very least even when things outside of your control in the overarching world creates a cycle of pain and suffering, you can create your own form of personal happiness amidst it all.
That is an extremely limited way of analyzing Killer7 though.

Killer7 is one of my absolute favorite works of art ever for how it can be analyzed over, and over, and over again with some new meaning to be had. It is a work that nearly has an infinite amount of things to say, no matter who analyzes the work there’s bound to be a new and interesting perspective about what Killer7 is. I’d like to credit Killer7 as the first game to really broaden my understanding of “what a story can be” to the current state it's at, it is a game I’ve done so much research on just for the fun of it. I’ve read a lot of pieces regarding Killer7 on the internet, I’ve watched so many video essays about the game and I am never given the same old one dimensional perspective, and it all feels… Valid, intentional, it feels as if in the vacuum Killer7 was catered to each individual perspective, I wanted to illustrate that with the way I framed everything, yet… Every perspective applies here. I know I’ve missed some other interesting reading of what Killer7 was trying to convey, and that makes me extremely happy because that’s one more new perspective to learn about. The genius behind Killer7 isn’t just defined by a few perspectives, but in the fact it can create so many unique and interesting perspectives in such a dynamic way because Suda51 is a fucking crack head, and I an utterly happy he managed to make such a masterful mess of a game.

I just don't have any appreciation for physics-sandboxes, which is the only thing this game really has going for it. The shrines and divine beasts are bad, and the open-world's main appeal is unappealing to me. 1/5 as I am not the target-demo.

Una de las cosas que no esperaba de Metroid Prime es que fuera un zelda. Los jefes son de zelda, cada nivel está planteado como mazmorra de zelda y hasta suena la tonada de zelda cada vez que resuelves un puzzle. Pero también es super metroid, así que prepárate para dar vueltas, muchas vueltas, y ahí tienes tus puertas cerradas para más adelante y el tramo final de recolección de 12 artefactos. El tedio de la filosofía Nintendo se prolonga toda la aventura, sala por sala. Llegas a una puerta sin energía, busca tres interruptores con la visión térmica para abrirla. Entras a la siguiente sala, la puerta está sin energía, busca tres interruptores con la visión térmica para abrirla. Consigues una mejora para el blaster, una señal te indica que debes ir a la zona contraria del mapa.

La mazmorra no funciona como lugar creíble pues la verosimilitud se pierde entre artificales secciones de plataformas y rompecabezas. No funciona como espacio a resolver ya que la exploración no es el reto en ningún momento. No funciona como escenario para una acción de repetitivos encuentros con la profundidad de un charco. Y yo me pregunto, ¿en qué funciona Metroid Prime?

Lo que tiene de propio suena mejor en la teoría que en la práctica. La primera persona, que nos pone en la piel de la cazarrecompensas, con su interfaz orgánica, tiene su gracia y da personalidad a un avatar que de otra forma quedaría desdibujado. Aparte, intenta sacarle algo de partido al punto de vista con los distintos visores, aunque acaben teniendo un uso anecdótico. El escáner, la excusa narrativa para conocer la fauna y flora local, termina siendo una herramienta de ayuda al avance y una guía de puntos débiles de jefes y enemigos antes que un instrumento para el aprendizaje y descubrimiento del ecosistema. Poco interés naturalista muestra el juego cuando los únicos seres que podemos escanear son los que tienen repercusión directa en el juego y nada nos dirá de un banco de peces, insectos fluorescentes o las aves del cielo.

Me da hasta pena Samus, pues con todo su traje de terminator y habilidades extraordinarias no deja de tener la misma voluntad individual que el escarabajo que se te lanza al ataque en el mismo pasillo de siempre. En este escenario artificial con apariencia de mundo, ocupa su lugar como eslabón que mueve el engranaje que es el videojuego, pero nunca como exploradora, cazadora o aventurera.

i didnt like this game because im not a fat smelly atheist

an appalling, self-righteous, insecure act of apologia for a generation of emotionally distant fathers that characterises motherly love and affection as smothering, manipulative, and toxic, whilst characterising casual emotional neglect and abuse as Good, Actually.

god of war 4 is just as sexist as the earlier games in the series, it's just more crypto about it, and the vast swathes of people taken in by this completely surface-level nuance baffles me to a degree not seen since DmC: Devil May Cry was hailed as the "more mature" reboot that series needed despite the existence of a literal sniper-rifle abortion scene and the fact that every single female character in it was called "whore" ad nauseum.

the "one take" gimmick is just that: a total gimmick, adding absolutely nothing to the story and in many ways detracting from it. the staccato nature of this journey, of going up and down the same mountain and teleporting all over the place is only made more absurd by the camera framing this as an uninterrupted trek which it clearly is not.

also it plays like ass and you fight the same boss twenty times. i hope you like that animation of kratos slamming a big pillar down on an ogre because you're going to see it an awful lot.

EDIT: removed a shitty joke.

The original God of War trilogy are games that have a really fun gameplay but the story is really bad.

As a teenager, I could excuse the latter for the former. As an adult, I cannot. I have to say it, I hate everything about Kratos as a main character in this. He's a stubborn, violent brute whose tragic backstory doesn't excuse what he does in this game. His characterization doesn't go beyond: "I'm angry, therefore I'll murder everything around me." He isn't sympathetic; the occasional, casual cruelty to random civilians (such as the man in the Hydra's maw in the 1rst game, or the priestess in the 3rd game) kill off any sympathy I've had for him from the 1rst game.

Usually, I'm forgiving of how certain games and movies utilize Greek mythology, for I even enjoy things such as Disney's Hercules, but God of War II fails to take full advantage of the mythology it's taking inspiration from, focusing more on the "rule of cool" over everything else, on top of showing nudity and gratuitous violence to fuel the power fantasies of a hormone-filled teenager in the early 2000's

Things in the story just happen for the sake of it, and the motivations of every character are really flimsy. At times they're not explained and require you to have played a side game beyond the 1rst God of War to understand why certain characters act the way they are, such as the gods being jerks and fearful of Kratos because of Pandora's Box, but it's never explained outside of a chunk of lore not present within the game, meaning I had to do research outside of the game to fully understand it.

Meaning that this game, which is about 12 hours long, failed to fully develop its story for the sake of a shallow power fantasy made for edgy teenagers who wanted to feel like big boys.

Biohazard RE:2 is a game that prefers to forget its legacy in favour of mass marketability. It is the ultimate embodiment of the futility of remaking a piece of media, and comes off more as a sigh of frustrated contempt for its origins rather than anything truly celebratory or appreciative.

Obviously, that opening statement is incredibly hyperbolic and opinionated. Not every remake needs to feel like it owes everything to its predecessor, nor does every remake need to respect that origin in its adaptation. But, every remake will inevitably find itself compared to that original and inevitably it will expose the tendencies and desires of those most intimately working on it.

To discuss RE:2, we first must discuss the issues, cultures, and ultimate success of the original, as well as the state of the franchise leading up to the release of its remake. The development timeline of the original Biohazard 2 and the games that followed has always been obscured and hard to follow, but over the years many fans have been able to sketch out a rough developmental period, placing 2 at the start of a mass franchising of the series. Towards the end of its development, several projects were greenlit, in discussions, or already being developed, including its own sequel (Then titled BIO3, later named BIO4), three spin-offs (Gun Survivor, Last Escape (then called Gaiden), and a GBC title), as well as a pseudo-sequel side story (Code: Veronica), and a full fledged prequel (Zero). The impetus for all of this was the explosive success of BIO HAZARD earlier in 1996, and a lot of faith was placed in Biohazard 2 to recapture that success and expand upon it, to not just save Capcom from any potential turmoil, but to lift the company up to its highest highs and create something beyond just a simple duology of games.

Shockingly, such a gamble proved successful. While not every game in development succeeded, the success of 2 in spite of its rough development period spurred the franchise to blossom into what it is today, or rather, what it was in the 2000s. The state of Biohazard in the "FLAGSHIP" era of 1998 to 2005 is quite unlike the current "RE Engine" era of 2017 to now, and the issues leading up to both of them were drastically different.

Capcom in 1998 wanted a franchise, something that could have longtime fans who would be all over a complete media mix. Video games, sound dramas, novels (both a 'Perryverse' in the west, and canonical side stories in the east), films, amusement park attractions, even an early stage production. Echoes of this still exist today with the recent Death Island and the many stage productions the franchise saw in the 2010s.

But, we arrive at the early days of the RE Engine era divorced from the successes of Biohazard. After the series' lead writing team was dissolved, and its narrative guru in Noboru Sugimura passed away, the franchise briefly spiraled until reaching a pseudo conclusion with Biohazard 5. The idea then was a similar gamble to the one made in 1998, by putting several titles into development and resurrecting the franchise once more, only for it to fail completely. Biohazard 6 ended up being too massive to ever realistically succeed, Revelations was briefly looked upon as a serviceable title, but was ultimately forgotten when time came to port it, and Operation Raccoon City was a dismal affair that, while moderately successful, saw Slant Six closing its doors due to the game not meeting expectations.

Biohazard had effectively died, and was in dire need of rebooting, otherwise Capcom would have to close the casket on their most successful and iconic IPs at the time. So, they looked towards the past. Ports of Biohazard (2002) and Zero were released, alongside an episodic sequel to Revelations, all testing the waters of what appealed most to fans, and fans desired a return to the Flagship era of the franchise. This led to the once upon a time infamous "We do it!" video, where a Biohazard 2 remake was announced.

But, an issue arises when developing such a remake in what was the current state of Capcom. Biohazard 7 wouldn't release and receive unanimous praise until the remake was already well underway, so it too was another entry point, a way to welcome in new fans despite the original title being an explosive way to take fans of the surprisingly popular BIO HAZARD, and make them dedicated to a franchise.

What results is a game that exudes an air of contempt for what the original game accomplishes, intentional or not. Character motivations and narratives extending outside this title are effectively neutered, unfortunately reducing the narrative roles of Claire and Ada to side character territory (despite the former being the playable other half of the game), and leaving key plays like William Birkin or Brian Irons as mere footnotes in the grand scheme of things. It has no interest in pursuing the grander tale that was once constructed, and would rather focus all of its attention on the masculine, as if in an attempt to broaden its appeal further.

In the original Biohazard 2, it was often joked that Claire was the true main character. While Leon was often pushed around by his contemporaries, and was ultimately uninvolved with the machinations of the antagonists, Claire confronts both Brian Irons and Annette Birkin, having full dialogue scenes with them. Claire's scenario shines the most light on Sherry and the G-Virus, along with being the only character able to develop a vaccine for it. This isn't to undermine Leon's narrative, which is a far more personal scenario, focused on the slow character development of Ada and how Leon causes her to grow, but it is to state that Claire was a strong female character.

The Claire of the remake is not that. The scene that makes this clear is her meeting with Brian Irons, and it goes from a scene where she slowly wrestles some control her way, to one where she is tied up and forced to watch a rapist and a murderer drag away a little girl. Her second confrontation with the man only makes this worse, as she doesn't even speak to him, he only dies in a way not unlike how Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken would deal with the scum of the wastelands. Her agency and control is robbed in these scenes, and beyond them her attachment to the narrative of the game is tenuous at best, with her role being truly reduced to the babysitter type, not even getting to wield the rocket launcher in her final boss fight.

Much of the focus for this remake seems to have been placed on Leon, in a desperate attempt at marketability if I were to be cynical. He is the character with two completely distinct costumes he wears throughout the game, he is the character who has the more emotional connection to Marvin, he is the character that the true final boss, Mr. X, is after in the labs. It is made clear time and again that he is the main character, and that Claire's role is secondary, or even tertiary, by comparison.

But, this doesn't mean his role in the narrative is well constructed. He may have the greater focus, but he loses so much in this title that it is almost unbearable. In the original and subsequent games, his greatest desire is to protect and save people, and that is why he became a police officer. In the remake, it is often shown that his desire to be a police officer supersedes his desire to protect people, best shown through how his interactions with Ben have changed, going from wanting to get him out of his cell and get him out of the city, to being dismissive of his concerns and just watching as he dies. It's such a stark contrast in scenes that it is shocking the remake version was included, but it shines a light on the shallowness of the remake, how little it wants to do with the original game.

It is almost a complete inversion of it. From four completely unique scenarios, to one scenario with three slight variations. From a man who wants to save people so he becomes a cop, to a guy who becomes a cop and doesn't really save anyone. From a strong female character, to a female character that is literally saved by the grotesque monster of a man. From a spy that learns how to open up and feel compassion for everyone (this is why she appears no matter what to give the rocket launcher in the original), to a spy that only gives into a more carnal lust for our protagonist. From actually well written antagonists, to one note caricatures in Annette and Irons.

Annette Birkin is by far the character that receives the worst treatment among the side cast come this remake. She goes from a woman who loves her daughter more than anything, despite being an absent mother, to a woman who barely knows her daughter exists. Someone whose last scene is more clearly meant to be the spiteful "Got you" in Leon's scenario, rather than the one of her daughter grieving over her corpse. A character so shallow and worthless that the narrative tries its best to forget she exists the moment she dies, her own daughter talking about playing happy families in the conclusion.

The ending is one of the worst offenders narratively as well. The original concludes on a promise of more, that these characters haven't lost hope- if anything, this has only emboldened them to go further. In Claire's case, this is revealed to be a negative trait, but it is a strong note to end on, our main cast knowing they could be out of the woods, and deciding to continue fighting. The remake chooses to end on a confused note, a shallowly happy ending where the characters act out the most vapid casual dialogue possible (an issue that persists in any scenes that feature both leads), and all that happened is forgotten.

"1998... I'll never forget it" rings hollow in the face of this ending, as it has been forgotten already. Both narratively, and in a meta sense- we have forgotten 1998. We have forgotten the struggles of Kamiya, Sugimura, and the rest of the staff. The passion that went into the original work, as well as the hope that they could continue striving forward.

Ultimately, Biohazard RE:2 has no interest in any of this, wishing to merely be another product bearing the name Biohazard, rather than anything truly meaningful under the hood. I don't discuss the themes in depth all that much because they aren't present, or are so reduced in scope as to be flaccid and not worth mentioning, unlike the original title. This is less a game, and more a product of the general ethos of Biohazard. Clean, sterile labs from the films, a Raccoon City of wide streets and traffic jams, music that is rarely present so that the scare noises are all the more noticeable, character and environment designs that do more to blend in than actually be something. Looking at the poster on this page, the game is trying to evoke the time tested blue-orange, a set of innately appealing colours to a viewer's eyes. It lacks distinction or class, leaving only a product to be consumed.

I can feel nothing other than contempt for this game, deigning itself to be more 'product' than 'art'.

I think I can guess why they call it "The Wonderful 101"—it's because you're guaranteed to fall asleep at least 101 times while playing this game. Talk about a snooze fest! For a second, maybe 12 hours in, I thought I had gotten to the "good" part of this game. Turns out I had just nodded off and was dreaming about playing a better game. If I was at the ESRB, I wouldnt rate it T for teen, I'd rate it "Z", for "Zzz zzz I'm falling asleep this game is so boring."

I'd reccomend Viewtiful Joe to anyone who is having some trouble sleeping, especially if something like Ambien isn't working. If the pitch drop experiment stream is a little too stimulating for you, this game will help you take the express train to snooze town. Sometimes kids try to pull "all-nighters," where you stay up all night to play a fun video game or study for a test. This game is an "all-dayer" where if you play it you'll be so bored you accidentally sleep all day. 3/9, the soundtrack was ok.

A pesar de formar gran parte de mi infancia, la franquicia de God of War nunca me pareció tan resaltante. Mi relación con ella es una similar a la que tengo con Sonic: una IP en general mediocre pero debido a la cantidad de memorias y aprecio que tengo se me hace inevitable no jugar un próximo titulo suyo, quizás para ver si el ultimo juego realmente será bueno o por mero capricho nostálgico. Es por eso que jugué GOW4, y por ahí tenía un mínimo de esperanza ya que la recepción fue bastante mixta entre los usuarios, y no había muchas opciones para probarlo por mi cuenta. Ahora que salió en PC, lo hice, y lo único que valió la pena fue sacarme la duda de que en efecto es el peor God of War.

Primero a lo que es obvio y mi mayor temor, el combate. God of War Ascension no es un juego bueno, pero algo que carrea este es el mejor sistema de combate de todo GOW, reemplazando el devil trigger convencional con un sistema más experimental pero que conecta mucho mejor con la narrativa al mantener un ritmo en los combos para aumentar la barra de ira, y así desbloquear nuevos ataques, algo que no sé si sirvió de inspiración para la jugabilidad de Vergil en futuros DMCs con su barra de concentración, al ser sospechosamente similares. Y sin contar eso, el juego solo se enfoca en el combate de las espadas del caos pero a compensación expande su moveset al triple, convirtiendo las típicas magias de la franquicia en ahora skills pasivas y activas para estas armas y la posibilidad de montar enemigos y robarles sus armas.

Todo eso se perdió en GOW4, absolutamente todo. Uno podría justificar de dos formas, como que Kratos intenta ser menos agresivo que antes, ocultando su faceta de Dios y darle esa enseñanza a su hijo (uno de los mensajes principales del juego) o que el sistema hack n slash convencional ya está anticuado y no vende. La segunda se desmiente fácilmente viendo que juegos como Metal Gear Rising, Bayonetta, DMC5 y otros más siguen siendo bastante rentables y tienen muchos fans que no necesariamente son consumidores viejos, pero la primera también es ridícula al simplemente ver que, cronológicamente, Kratos no es derechamente un Dios sino hasta GOW2 (como cuatro juegos después) y es ridículo creer que el primer GOW sea muchísimo más versátil, de hecho, duele muchísimo lo lento que es el combate en GOW4, aún cuando vuelves a conseguir tus espadas. Ni los 60FPS hacen que sea más rápido, muestran un Kratos más lenteja con movimientos pausados en pro de la "epicidad y espectacularidad" cuando su único aporte es que tengas tiempo para sacarle una captura con el modo foto.

Ya no existe esa barra de ira de Ascension, volvió el tipico devil trigger que realmente solo lo usarías para recuperar vida. Los combos con el hacha podría decirse que están buenos, pero pierde el chiste cuando sus mejores habilidades (Mantener R2/RT y tirar el hacha) son ataques que consigues muy pronto en el juego y acaban siendo los más rotos, no es broma que casi todos los jefes que te puedes encontrar su estrategia es simplemente alejarte y tirarle el hacha (ya que muy pocos tienen ataques de lejos) o mantener R2/RT para atontarlos y hacer que repitan la misma estrategia, es triste ver esto cuando casi todos los jefes de GOW tenían segmentos de puzzle los cuales se diferenciaban de los típicos enemigos comunes. Es más, algunos de estos jefes SE VUELVEN ENEMIGOS REGULARES, ya es para reírse.

Como reemplazo de la magia, existe ahora los hechizos rúnicos, que son sencillamente skills que parecen sacadas de algún MOBA. Se supone que están diseñados para que solo puedas cargar dos por arma activamente en combate con un sistema de enfriamiento para no abusar como ocurria en casi todos los god of war al disponer de una barra de magia, pero ahí reitero de nuevo: Ascension ya arregló ese problema volviendo la barra en stocks, iniciando con un uso hasta poder mejorarlo a cuatro usos. De hecho, al mejorar estas runas a la par que tu equipamiento hace que su enfriamiento realmente no se sienta, volviéndolos casi que igual de spameras que los juegos de PSP y PS2 LMAO.

Y hablando de spam, tenemos a Atreus. En sí, la dinámica jugable es un intento de expandir a lo poco visto en el jefe final de Ghost of Sparta, cuando Kratos y Deimos luchan juntos para matar a Tánatos. Solo podemos llamar a Atreus a que use sus flechas y que dispare su runa mágica, de resto todo lo hace la IA. Jugablemente llega a ser de muchisima ayuda si mejoras sus movimientos, pero llega a un punto que baja la dificultad del juego horriblemente, ya que puede incluso atontar jefes con simples flechas, y ni te digo si maxeas su atributo de electricidad. Tiene un sistema de enfriamiento también, pero apenas se siente incluso sin mejorar, asi que por más que diga que "no está listo" igual spamearás su botón de ayuda porque la diferencia es de segundos. Sus problemas no acaban ahí, tiene casi el mismo problema de Ellie en TLOU que es invisible a los enemigos. El "casi" es porque técnicamente no lo es, ya que puede ser atacado e incluso abatido, pero el 100% de atención siempre la tendrá Kratos (e incluso verás enemigos queriéndolo atacar y le tienen miedo a su arco pitero, tardando milenios en ensartarle un golpe) y cuando cae, simplemente es esperar como cinco segundos para que regrese al combate, aparentemente hay un miedo moderno de meter compañeros que realmente puedan morir en el juego o sean el foco de la atención de enemigos.

Otra cosa de Atreus (al igual que Mimir, otro secundario que se une más adelante) es que te dirá si alguien se te acerca un ataque enemigo. Esto técnicamente pudo haber sido muy bueno y el mejor punto de este personaje, al ser realmente un apoyo para evitar ataques que nosotros no podemos prever, pero resulta que... tarda en avisarte. O se equivoca. Más de una vez me ocurrió, que cuando decía "cuidado a tu espalda!" no solo me golpearon antes de que acabara su oración, sino que me golpearon por la izquierda, no por la espalda. Y no es un problema de audio: lo jugué en español españa, inglés, latino, portugués y chino, ocurre igual en todos ellos. Quizás sea un error minúsculo para algunos, pero tienen que tener en cuenta que la cámara ahora no es dinámica, sino libre, y sobre el hombro como TLOU, haciendo muchísimo más complicado dirigir ataques, evadir, correr o anticipar enemigos. Esto provoca que acabes confiando más en un elemento extradiegetico que no tiene sentido como UN PUTO SENTIDO ARÁCNIDO que en tu propio hijo.

La mayor novedad real del titulo es el sistema de crafteo, compra, venta y uso de armaduras, que francamente ni me quiero molestar en explayar, es de lo que vi el sistema más criticado del juego, tanto por haters como fans de esta entrega, asi que no hay mucho caso en detallar. No tiene cabida elementos RPG como estos porque, de ser sincero, acabé el juego en "give me challenge" y poco más de la mitad en "give me god of war", y con tal de que mejores el armamento que encuentras en el mapamundi ya estás, porque la diferencia real la acaba haciendo las runas y las mejoras de tus armas y vida.

Pasando a lo que es el pacing, este ahora es mundo abierto, que si vas a ir solo por la historia principal es simplemente ir ciegamente a donde te indica la brujula que te regala Freya y listo, porque encima no vas a investigar totalmente el juego hasta que consigas todos los items importantes (que ya seria llegando casi al final del juego) porque todo el mapa está bloqueado con llaves o magia que debes destruir con estos juguetes que consigues en campaña. Incluso te baitean con un selector de reinos que literalmente solo le sacarás provecho en postgame.

La razón real de ir a hacer cosas aparte de la campaña principal es para conseguir experiencia para mejorar tus armas, vida y runas, que solo se requeriría en la ultima dificultad. Hay misiones secundarias tambien, dadas por los herreros, hice como 4 y todas eran practicamente iguales, misiones de recados en su máxima expresión. Hay otras dadas por almas en pena y por valkirias, pero francamente, ya estaba cansado del juego al punto en el que me los encontré.

El diseño de los niveles increiblemente es un retroceso también. GOW en general nunca fue tan dislumbrante en este aspecto, todo se sentía muy "arcade" como dicen algunos, pero minimo era orgánico con lo que proponia, ya sea ludica o narrativamente. En GOW4, absolutamente cualquier cosa que te permita avanzar estará marcado con dibujos amarillos, pero CUALQUIER COSA. Esto sucedia ya en juegos como Resident Evil 3 Remake o TLOU, casualmente elementos amarillos, pero minimo estos los metian en el escenario de una forma más natural, acá son literalmente los mismos assets de los grafittis copypasteados en cada zona para que sepas que es interactuable. Es ridiculo pensar que podrías resolver un puzzle de otra forma, pero como no tiene el graffiti amarillo en su pared, no es interactuable. Rompe muchísimo la inmersión dentro de un juego donde la empresa supuestamente apoya a que todo sea lo más inmersivo posible en pro del realismo y cinematografía. Carajo, el fucking kratos antes podia saltar en el aire, y en las cinematicas de GOW 4 hace brincos sobrehumanos, por que carajo necesita que su hijo le tire una cuerda para subir o que necesariamente deba subir a los bordes amarillos?

Ahí es donde entrariamos a la parte de la historia del juego. Seré honesto, no lei todos los archivos que hay y los que si lo hice mis quejas llegan al nitpick (como por ejemplo que Atreus haya dibujado a Baldur a pesar de que no lo conoce sino hasta su primer encuentro con Mimir) pero francamente, la historia no me estaba molestando. En parte me estaba gustando incluso, pero poco a poco se estaba yendo al caño. Yo no entendía el odio de Atreus en muchas personas, era un chico muy curioso y un poco berrinchudo pero es un caracter que te podes esperar de un niño de 11, pero FUCK, en el ultimo tercio del juego DE LA RE NADA se pone como un maldito crétino, MENOSPRECIA A SU MADRE FALLECIDA y ATACA A SU PROPIO PADRE ¿todo por qué? porque se enteró que es hijo de un Dios, WOW, vete a la verga pendejo. Freya es un caso también, entiendo que la idea del personaje es que se repita el cuento de los Dioses de GOW original y tenga una excusa de odiar a Kratos, pero ¿que tan tarada podes ser para no comprender que Baldur es un puto edgy de mierda? ¿en serio hay madres que se sentirian felices si son asesinadas por su propio hijo o es acaso un fetiche raro que no me enteré?

Y no me vengan con que "no bro, es que tiene sentido porque en la mitología nórdica ocurría también" flaco, es una puta ficción, si me querés relatar esto en un videojuego por favor desarróllamelo más, ya faltaría que GOW4 es algo así como el aku no hana del videojuego y te esperes que me tenga que leer todos sus artículos en el rincón del vago para entenderle al jueguito.

Me quejaría también de por qué chucha las espadas que tiene kratos en este juego son las del caos y no las del exilio, pero aparentemente sacaron una novelización que retconea un CHINGO de mierda. Los retcons no me molestan tanto, de hecho DMC5 retconea bastantes cosas de DMC2 y 4 porque no se basaron en el juego en sí sino en sus novelas, el tema es que retconean cosas que son IMPORTANTES, y eso me pega en los huevos. Sacando el retcon de la novela, no veo otra excusa de meter las espadas del caos más allá de que son las más reconocibles del espartano.

GOW nunca fue tan consistente en su lore de todas formas, de hecho, los juegos de PSP existen para arreglar cagadas de GOW1 y 2. Pero siempre fueron ley dos cosas: el orden de las espadas de Kratos y su familia. En ningún momento del juego se mencionan a Lysandra, ni a Calliope, ni a Deimos, ni a Pandora. De hecho, se atreven a crearse un personaje totalmente nuevo del culo para justificar el nombre de Atreus, ya que Kratos revela que ese nombre se lo dió para honrar a un espartano que NUNCA VIMOS EN LOS CINCO JUEGOS PREVIOS (y no me vengan con que es el Last Spartan de GoS y 2, las descripciones literalmente no conectan por ningun lado). Alguno podría justificar con que "che, si menciona a su primera mujer y a su hija por ahi le caiga mal a Atreus" pero man, el pendejito le pregunta sobre su familia y va ni le menciona al pobre de Deimos, es más ¿por qué no era mejor llamar a Atreus, Deimos? es un personaje reconocible de la franquicia y de paso conectaría aun mejor con la audiencia, y se anticiparía mejor el hecho de que Kratos aún le queda humanidad y no anda tan ajetreado por todo lo que vivió en sus tierras. O mínimo llamarlo Orkus, si es que quería honrar a un amigo, él era el último compañero fiel que tuvo, pero nel, nombrémoslo por un espartano que nunca conoció ni conocimos.

Me iba a quejar tambien del cambio estético de la HUD, que honestamente no me gusta nada, pero meh, es algo que le está ocurriendo a muchos juegos de apelar a algo minimalista y no les sale, así que para qué gastarme. Es increible que el creador del juego sea el mismo que el resto de GOW a excepción del 1, es como si se olvidase por completo de todo el laburo que hizo. GOW4 no le habría dado tantos palos si fuese un reboot, porque en escencia, es Lords of Shadows de sony.