Easily one of the most gripping titles I've played this year.
The conversation around Fear & Hunger being 'hard' isn't one I'm particularly invested in - I don't think it's the point of the game to finish it nor is it any more rewarding than dying miserably in these dungeons. You failing to save Le'garde is just as much of an experience as slaying the Yellow King. It doesn't matter if you reach Ma'habre or The Gauntlet or if you decide to flee or die to a mob of dogs before you even enter the dungeons; each attempt offers a whole different story for your chosen character and provides a gruesome epic that leaves you craving for more, push harder, see what else it got in store for you. After 30 hours (if not more) of playing this game I still find events I had not seen before, new nooks and crannies that are entirely unexplored, enemies, items, etc. that completely transform the way I'm playing and navigate this place. I cannot for the life of me grasp how Miro did that in RPG Maker.
This game is nothing short of phenomenal to me. It's drenched in sheer hopeless which can be felt in every corner, every piece of design. Its usage of body horror, gore and sexual violence is brutal enough to make me squirm yet its implementation and delivery is not putting me off entirely from playing. It's hard to put it into words, but there's more to it than pure shock value as it plays with our primal fears. There's purpose behind it - that purpose being horror - that amplifies the narrative and world building while keeping the actual unjustifiable acts captured in simplified, stylised graphics to endure. The game's concept and its realisation is nothing but perfect to me. I don't think that just anyone could create such an immersive and creatively polished adventure. The music, the character dynamics, the Gods and cults and cruelty; this game will stick in your brain like nothing else.
I still haven't developed the same kind of fascination for Termina as I have with this title; to me, Termina doesn't scratch that itch. While the world is larger, the cast more numerous and for some deeper, the sense of exploration and surprise is not there for me yet - perhaps because that game officially only has two splitting endgame paths. I'll let it cook for a few more years just like this title has. I hope it can throw me into the same world of misery as this game has.
The conversation around Fear & Hunger being 'hard' isn't one I'm particularly invested in - I don't think it's the point of the game to finish it nor is it any more rewarding than dying miserably in these dungeons. You failing to save Le'garde is just as much of an experience as slaying the Yellow King. It doesn't matter if you reach Ma'habre or The Gauntlet or if you decide to flee or die to a mob of dogs before you even enter the dungeons; each attempt offers a whole different story for your chosen character and provides a gruesome epic that leaves you craving for more, push harder, see what else it got in store for you. After 30 hours (if not more) of playing this game I still find events I had not seen before, new nooks and crannies that are entirely unexplored, enemies, items, etc. that completely transform the way I'm playing and navigate this place. I cannot for the life of me grasp how Miro did that in RPG Maker.
This game is nothing short of phenomenal to me. It's drenched in sheer hopeless which can be felt in every corner, every piece of design. Its usage of body horror, gore and sexual violence is brutal enough to make me squirm yet its implementation and delivery is not putting me off entirely from playing. It's hard to put it into words, but there's more to it than pure shock value as it plays with our primal fears. There's purpose behind it - that purpose being horror - that amplifies the narrative and world building while keeping the actual unjustifiable acts captured in simplified, stylised graphics to endure. The game's concept and its realisation is nothing but perfect to me. I don't think that just anyone could create such an immersive and creatively polished adventure. The music, the character dynamics, the Gods and cults and cruelty; this game will stick in your brain like nothing else.
I still haven't developed the same kind of fascination for Termina as I have with this title; to me, Termina doesn't scratch that itch. While the world is larger, the cast more numerous and for some deeper, the sense of exploration and surprise is not there for me yet - perhaps because that game officially only has two splitting endgame paths. I'll let it cook for a few more years just like this title has. I hope it can throw me into the same world of misery as this game has.