cujohjolyne
3 reviews liked by cujohjolyne
After finishing up Ragnarök, I felt an intense nostalgic desire to replay the old God of War games again. Since I already played all of these games multiple times, I decided to play through the series in chronological order this time. Unfortunately, my emulat- I mean, completely legitimate Sony PlayStation 3 System, just couldn't run Ascension. So I started off with the next earliest in the series chronologically: Chains of Olympus.
The worst thing I can say about Chains of Olympus is that it definitely feels like a PSP spinoff title. It's short, I was able to finish the game in under six hours on hard mode, and that's counting all the times I died later in the game. I was also surprised by how I managed to upgrade all of my health and magic before even hitting the three hour mark. Though if you're getting burnt out by games always been forty hours or more nowadays, this will be a great break from that.
The story might be the weakest aspect for some people. You can either view it as an interesting look into Kratos' past as a champion of the Gods and a look into Kratos' personality (specifically his relationship with his family). On top of that, this game has strong uses of foreshadowing, pitting Kratos against an enemy who reflects who he will one day become. It's something I never noticed before, but it's done surprisingly well.
Or, on the other hand, you can view it as "A thing that happened." And in all honesty, I think both are valid viewpoints. The game has plenty of interesting elements in regards to Kratos' future and the world, but since this is a spinoff made almost entirely to explain that one line Atlas says to Kratos in God of War II, it can feel a little empty at times. Ultimately, I don't think there would have been too much lost if Kratos' journey to save Helios from Atlas was just kept as background lore, something to be explored in a cutscene or novel.
But the elements that do keep the narrative interesting, like the aforementioned foreshadowing, the depiction of Persephone, and the interaction between Kratos and a particularly important character from his past more than make up for that in my eyes.
I personally don't think the game gets as engaging as its mainline counterparts until halfway through, but when you do reach that point, the game feels amazing. Aside from a little padding in the last hour of the game, and a frustrating first phase for the final boss, everything feels just like a God of War game should, though not as over-the-top as the mainline games. It's still fun as hell to ruthlessly obliterate hundreds of enemies before you, and that's all that really matters. Though I do with there were more boss fights, I think there were only three or four by the time I finished the game.
Overall, while I do believe Chains of Olympus is the second weakest in the series, right behind Ascension, it still does everything it needs to do to feel like a strong entry in the God of War series. If you love the other games for their combat, Greek Mythology, and crazy intense violence, then you'll most likely love this one as well. Just so long as your expecting a PSP spinoff and not too much more, you should have a great time.
The worst thing I can say about Chains of Olympus is that it definitely feels like a PSP spinoff title. It's short, I was able to finish the game in under six hours on hard mode, and that's counting all the times I died later in the game. I was also surprised by how I managed to upgrade all of my health and magic before even hitting the three hour mark. Though if you're getting burnt out by games always been forty hours or more nowadays, this will be a great break from that.
The story might be the weakest aspect for some people. You can either view it as an interesting look into Kratos' past as a champion of the Gods and a look into Kratos' personality (specifically his relationship with his family). On top of that, this game has strong uses of foreshadowing, pitting Kratos against an enemy who reflects who he will one day become. It's something I never noticed before, but it's done surprisingly well.
Or, on the other hand, you can view it as "A thing that happened." And in all honesty, I think both are valid viewpoints. The game has plenty of interesting elements in regards to Kratos' future and the world, but since this is a spinoff made almost entirely to explain that one line Atlas says to Kratos in God of War II, it can feel a little empty at times. Ultimately, I don't think there would have been too much lost if Kratos' journey to save Helios from Atlas was just kept as background lore, something to be explored in a cutscene or novel.
But the elements that do keep the narrative interesting, like the aforementioned foreshadowing, the depiction of Persephone, and the interaction between Kratos and a particularly important character from his past more than make up for that in my eyes.
I personally don't think the game gets as engaging as its mainline counterparts until halfway through, but when you do reach that point, the game feels amazing. Aside from a little padding in the last hour of the game, and a frustrating first phase for the final boss, everything feels just like a God of War game should, though not as over-the-top as the mainline games. It's still fun as hell to ruthlessly obliterate hundreds of enemies before you, and that's all that really matters. Though I do with there were more boss fights, I think there were only three or four by the time I finished the game.
Overall, while I do believe Chains of Olympus is the second weakest in the series, right behind Ascension, it still does everything it needs to do to feel like a strong entry in the God of War series. If you love the other games for their combat, Greek Mythology, and crazy intense violence, then you'll most likely love this one as well. Just so long as your expecting a PSP spinoff and not too much more, you should have a great time.
Psychonauts 2
2021
Okay possible hyperbole, but I think Raz might be one of the best video game character designs ever, up there with Mario, Pyramid Head, the King from Katamari, et al. He embodies so perfectly (apart from a lack of gender options which would have been nice, though I understand logistically why they were nigh impossible to provide) what every ten-year-old kid imagines they would look like as a cool spy. Like, oh hell yeah, I would wear some big-ass goggles on my head. I don't know why, I just would—and you bet your ass they would start glowing whenever I put them on. Oh and as a spy I would naturally rock a trenchcoat and gloves. And maybe, like, a turtleneck? Yeah, adults wear those. They seem classy. And one unruly lock of hair would always be escaping from my cool helmet, to show that I live on the wild side...
I fixate on this point because, if Psychonauts 2 illustrates anything, it is the power of good art design. The art team pretty much carries the game imo. Of course there are other elements at work here—gameplay, level design, writing, acting—and they certainly do their part, but I don't think any of it would have gripped me without the visual presentation. Maybe I am just a sucker for stylized graphics over realism, but I found this ineffably mid-2000s vaguely Dreamworks-adjacent eccentric animated film world so gosh-darn inviting. Given that I haven't even played the first game, I was surprised by how nostalgic this one made me feel.
So the throwback vibes are A+, while the rest is...a solid B? I have no major complaints—everything works insofar as I was compelled to keep playing until the end. But I was left feeling that, despite the nostalgia factor hitting me like a bull's eye, the substance of the story was aimed at someone younger. The characterization is, ironically, a little on the superficial side—although you ostensibly spend the game delving into the darkest corners of the psyche, I never felt like I got to scratch too far below the surface. The internal worlds, although visually dazzling and richly varied, are often quite simple thematically, reducing characters to a primary habit, illness, or fixation ("uh oh, this one's got anxiety!"). I am probably asking the game to be something it is not; if more time was spent developing complex character portraits, there would be less time for all the conventional game stuff—the hopping around and punching things and so on. But in my perfect world, there would have been fewer characters and fewer brains to explore in Psychonauts 2, with more unexpected depths revealed in each one.
I have to give a special shout-out to Raz's goofy family of circus acrobats, who are one of the most endearing families in video games. It's kind of wild that I can hardly think of any other games in which the main character has a big family. Usually you're some detached lone wolf with no connections, or your family is dead, or you have, like, a Pokémom who never leaves your house.
EDIT: Upon further reflection I'm docking another half-star because I really think the game bites off more than it can chew thematically and and there are inconsistencies in how things like consent are portrayed—like the game wants to say that tampering with minds, especially without permission, is bad and can't "fix" anyone, but then [redacted for spoilers] in the end?? Ultimately the game oversimplifies its subject matter a little too much to leave a good taste in my mouth, and I really do wish the characters were given more attention and development.
I fixate on this point because, if Psychonauts 2 illustrates anything, it is the power of good art design. The art team pretty much carries the game imo. Of course there are other elements at work here—gameplay, level design, writing, acting—and they certainly do their part, but I don't think any of it would have gripped me without the visual presentation. Maybe I am just a sucker for stylized graphics over realism, but I found this ineffably mid-2000s vaguely Dreamworks-adjacent eccentric animated film world so gosh-darn inviting. Given that I haven't even played the first game, I was surprised by how nostalgic this one made me feel.
So the throwback vibes are A+, while the rest is...a solid B? I have no major complaints—everything works insofar as I was compelled to keep playing until the end. But I was left feeling that, despite the nostalgia factor hitting me like a bull's eye, the substance of the story was aimed at someone younger. The characterization is, ironically, a little on the superficial side—although you ostensibly spend the game delving into the darkest corners of the psyche, I never felt like I got to scratch too far below the surface. The internal worlds, although visually dazzling and richly varied, are often quite simple thematically, reducing characters to a primary habit, illness, or fixation ("uh oh, this one's got anxiety!"). I am probably asking the game to be something it is not; if more time was spent developing complex character portraits, there would be less time for all the conventional game stuff—the hopping around and punching things and so on. But in my perfect world, there would have been fewer characters and fewer brains to explore in Psychonauts 2, with more unexpected depths revealed in each one.
I have to give a special shout-out to Raz's goofy family of circus acrobats, who are one of the most endearing families in video games. It's kind of wild that I can hardly think of any other games in which the main character has a big family. Usually you're some detached lone wolf with no connections, or your family is dead, or you have, like, a Pokémom who never leaves your house.
EDIT: Upon further reflection I'm docking another half-star because I really think the game bites off more than it can chew thematically and and there are inconsistencies in how things like consent are portrayed—like the game wants to say that tampering with minds, especially without permission, is bad and can't "fix" anyone, but then [redacted for spoilers] in the end?? Ultimately the game oversimplifies its subject matter a little too much to leave a good taste in my mouth, and I really do wish the characters were given more attention and development.
Resident Evil suffers ANOTHER identity crisis. First half of the game was good ending was abysmal. I really thought they struck a balance of action vs survival with RE7. Honestly a shame.
