flowershroud
Bio
My name is Vivian. I grew up playing Touhou, RPGMaker Games, and reading Visual Novels, and as a result I've missed out on a lot of timeless classics that people know and love. I'm hoping to experience these games for the first time and share my blind reviews with you all. Feel free to join my journey!
My reviews will typically remain spoiler-free unless stated otherwise, or they're a game that is a decade old. I am also always open to new game suggestions, I want to try everything out there! =)
My name is Vivian. I grew up playing Touhou, RPGMaker Games, and reading Visual Novels, and as a result I've missed out on a lot of timeless classics that people know and love. I'm hoping to experience these games for the first time and share my blind reviews with you all. Feel free to join my journey!
My reviews will typically remain spoiler-free unless stated otherwise, or they're a game that is a decade old. I am also always open to new game suggestions, I want to try everything out there! =)
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This review contains spoilers
**Well come and well met, my brave little spark
How long you've wandered, burned bright as a star
Oh, I have awaited you patiently all this time...**
What lies at the end of everything? Even if the world is meant to have a terrible fate, can we continue our days with a smile? Is a blissful death better than living out our lives knowing what's to come? Endwalker came out at a time when these questions were ones that would weigh heavily on people's minds, and the tone and story of it's main scenario quests did not hold back when answering them. From the humble beginnings of entering Sharlayan and seeing the Forum shield their people's eyes to the reality of things, to the beginnings of The Final Days as we saw familiar flaming meteors raining from the sky, every place we went in Endwalker held powerful meaning, and every cutscene more powerful than the last.
I remember waking up 4AM the moment the patch went live in my timezone, sitting through the exaggerated queue numbers, and getting through as much story as possible before I fell back asleep and would have to wait again. Endwalker had that feeling of 'Just one more quest...' as you went through it. You continued to want to know more. Every moment felt like a cliffhanger wanting you to keep climbing. The heavy emphasis on emotions and the strong piano motifs the music this expansion had really gave for a somber, yet heart-strumming atmosphere that kept me craving more. The general theme of 'Hope vs Despair' has been done so many times over, but never before have I experienced in such a strong, passionate, and love-filled way.
And I think the love that's expressed in this expansion should certainly be addressed. From the characters, to their interactions, to every cutscene of our Warrior of Light gets when they save someone from the brink. There's that sense of admiration, respect, and just downright affection everyone has for each other-- and I do not mean this in an odd romantic sense. I mean to say, over the many years you've spent with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, you've essentially grown to become family. The minor scenes where certain characters will encourage you, saying how they know they can fully put their trust upon you, how you'd be stupid for being so worried... It's silly, but it's also heart-warming. To have a relationship with everyone that's this strong, unbreakable, even at the worst moments of the Star's life. Even as our life is threatened to be snuffed out by the threat of Meteion, who's own love for people corrupted into the sense of giving them peaceful sleep... You continue smiling, and you continue walking forth. Trust, bonds, and hope... It has how you have always kept moving, and it really pulled through in Endwalker.
Meteion herself is a great metaphor for depression, and that hopelessness that can prey upon you falling into it. She's a character you will come to care for so deeply once you get to understand her... A girl who truly just wants the world to be happy, for things to be bright and cheery as always... Only to be shown, time and time again, how people suffer. I'm sure many people could relate to that sense of dread that overtook the poor familiar as she suffered-- Given our own struggles in real life currently, we've all gone through the hoops and hurdles to keep our loved ones and family afloat. There's only so much one individual can do. Trying to be the hero, trying to resolve everything... It's not something that can be done. Even we must accept, one day, the world will come to ruin-- and it may not be so peaceful. But we cannot let such thoughts occupy our mind. Our lives will not have to suffer such anxiety. This is what Meteion herself could not understand, and it is what drove her character so strongly-- She did not want humanity, what she loved so strongly... To suffer. And putting forth the hopes of humanity, the strength that we can continue working forth our issues and better ourselves, to meet the end with a smile when it comes... To say it's a powerful message is probably too weak-worded.
I cried many, many times during this expansion. Not only during how powerful the cutscenes would get, but also it's music choice. Flow, which I've decided to quote at the beginning and end of this review, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful, and one of my favorite Final Fantasy tracks of all time. Amanda Achen's powerful vocals, that resilient piano backing... It's the perfect "theme" for Endwalker, and everytime it played in the Expansion I struggled not to tear up. Masayoshi Soken continues to amaze me with more and more of his amazing music-- and even working through the end of Shadowbringers as well as most of Endwalker while battling cancer... It's truly awe-inspiring just what he was able to create even while fighting himself. This expansion perhaps speaks Soken's own words strongly as well -- and even if you have no interest in the game itself, I encourage you to listen to the tracks he's made. All of them are incredible. This soundtrack, this game, would not be the same without him.
All-in-all... I can say Endwalker was a life-changing experience for me. Starting Final Fantasy XIV and being along for this journey has been a life-changing experience. Thanks to this game I myself have found new friends, new hope, and have a new future to look forward to. While this may be the 'ending' to the story we've had for almost a decade now, it's also just the beginning. There's still so much of the Final Fantasy XIV universe to explore, and while this finale gave me so much comfort, answers, and hope... I still smile, and look forward to what's next. I'll never regret experiencing this game in my lifetime.
**Hush, love, close your eyes, and in sleep abide
As sun's distant light, echoes down to dreams below
Know you will wake, on winds rise again
For this journey's end is but one step forward to tomorrow.**
How long you've wandered, burned bright as a star
Oh, I have awaited you patiently all this time...**
What lies at the end of everything? Even if the world is meant to have a terrible fate, can we continue our days with a smile? Is a blissful death better than living out our lives knowing what's to come? Endwalker came out at a time when these questions were ones that would weigh heavily on people's minds, and the tone and story of it's main scenario quests did not hold back when answering them. From the humble beginnings of entering Sharlayan and seeing the Forum shield their people's eyes to the reality of things, to the beginnings of The Final Days as we saw familiar flaming meteors raining from the sky, every place we went in Endwalker held powerful meaning, and every cutscene more powerful than the last.
I remember waking up 4AM the moment the patch went live in my timezone, sitting through the exaggerated queue numbers, and getting through as much story as possible before I fell back asleep and would have to wait again. Endwalker had that feeling of 'Just one more quest...' as you went through it. You continued to want to know more. Every moment felt like a cliffhanger wanting you to keep climbing. The heavy emphasis on emotions and the strong piano motifs the music this expansion had really gave for a somber, yet heart-strumming atmosphere that kept me craving more. The general theme of 'Hope vs Despair' has been done so many times over, but never before have I experienced in such a strong, passionate, and love-filled way.
And I think the love that's expressed in this expansion should certainly be addressed. From the characters, to their interactions, to every cutscene of our Warrior of Light gets when they save someone from the brink. There's that sense of admiration, respect, and just downright affection everyone has for each other-- and I do not mean this in an odd romantic sense. I mean to say, over the many years you've spent with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, you've essentially grown to become family. The minor scenes where certain characters will encourage you, saying how they know they can fully put their trust upon you, how you'd be stupid for being so worried... It's silly, but it's also heart-warming. To have a relationship with everyone that's this strong, unbreakable, even at the worst moments of the Star's life. Even as our life is threatened to be snuffed out by the threat of Meteion, who's own love for people corrupted into the sense of giving them peaceful sleep... You continue smiling, and you continue walking forth. Trust, bonds, and hope... It has how you have always kept moving, and it really pulled through in Endwalker.
Meteion herself is a great metaphor for depression, and that hopelessness that can prey upon you falling into it. She's a character you will come to care for so deeply once you get to understand her... A girl who truly just wants the world to be happy, for things to be bright and cheery as always... Only to be shown, time and time again, how people suffer. I'm sure many people could relate to that sense of dread that overtook the poor familiar as she suffered-- Given our own struggles in real life currently, we've all gone through the hoops and hurdles to keep our loved ones and family afloat. There's only so much one individual can do. Trying to be the hero, trying to resolve everything... It's not something that can be done. Even we must accept, one day, the world will come to ruin-- and it may not be so peaceful. But we cannot let such thoughts occupy our mind. Our lives will not have to suffer such anxiety. This is what Meteion herself could not understand, and it is what drove her character so strongly-- She did not want humanity, what she loved so strongly... To suffer. And putting forth the hopes of humanity, the strength that we can continue working forth our issues and better ourselves, to meet the end with a smile when it comes... To say it's a powerful message is probably too weak-worded.
I cried many, many times during this expansion. Not only during how powerful the cutscenes would get, but also it's music choice. Flow, which I've decided to quote at the beginning and end of this review, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful, and one of my favorite Final Fantasy tracks of all time. Amanda Achen's powerful vocals, that resilient piano backing... It's the perfect "theme" for Endwalker, and everytime it played in the Expansion I struggled not to tear up. Masayoshi Soken continues to amaze me with more and more of his amazing music-- and even working through the end of Shadowbringers as well as most of Endwalker while battling cancer... It's truly awe-inspiring just what he was able to create even while fighting himself. This expansion perhaps speaks Soken's own words strongly as well -- and even if you have no interest in the game itself, I encourage you to listen to the tracks he's made. All of them are incredible. This soundtrack, this game, would not be the same without him.
All-in-all... I can say Endwalker was a life-changing experience for me. Starting Final Fantasy XIV and being along for this journey has been a life-changing experience. Thanks to this game I myself have found new friends, new hope, and have a new future to look forward to. While this may be the 'ending' to the story we've had for almost a decade now, it's also just the beginning. There's still so much of the Final Fantasy XIV universe to explore, and while this finale gave me so much comfort, answers, and hope... I still smile, and look forward to what's next. I'll never regret experiencing this game in my lifetime.
**Hush, love, close your eyes, and in sleep abide
As sun's distant light, echoes down to dreams below
Know you will wake, on winds rise again
For this journey's end is but one step forward to tomorrow.**
This game has promise, it really does, but in it's current state I can't strongly recommend it. Starting with the pros of this game: It's a very unique take on the Rogue(vania) genre: For one, you cannot just bullet your way to the top. The main gimmick is you only have your special attack, which regenerates every 30 seconds by default, those this changes based on items you pick up. Each character in the game has a different attack, some easier to control than others, which means there is varying difficulty for those who like a challenge.
Another interesting thing Tokoyo does is have a different layout for it's dungeon daily, and that means real world time. This can be both a bane and a boon is a given map on a day is particularly easy or particularly hard, but this style of randomization might not be for everyone. This does also give it an interesting scenario where if you don't like a certain map, you're almost stuck with it on a given day. This sort of lock-out is definitely not for everyone, especially those who like the chaos of a randomized map every time they start, so be warned.
Most of my issues with the game are from a technical standpoint. The biggest drawback of this game is the learning curve is a steep, steep cliff. You will be dying constantly in the first two, possibly three sections due to how much the difficult jacks up. The main gimmick of the game is also a serious bane to the other gimmick they decide to introduce after the first section, which is the 'Karma' meter.
You have a limited amount of time to completely each little 'floor' portion of a section, and that time will quickly be drained if you mess something up. This mechanic is incredibly unforgiving and essentially encourages speedrunning or death-candying (Dying then using 'Candies' to revive yourself) your way to the top, as your reward for not escaping a floor in time is a slow and inescapable death. This sort of rushed gameplay makes the earlier, timing and dodging-focused style of fighting much less valuable, though I partially understand why it was done. For one, just sitting in a corner waiting for your special to refresh would be easily abuseable-- but I feel giving a time limit of under a minute that gradually dissipates was far from the solution.
Another small gripe with the game is some enemies look like interactable items, and some interactable items look like enemies. When I first encountered a portal, I had no clue it wasn't an enemy until I finally took a chance and jumped on top of it. There's also another enemy that like an item... It doesn't look intentional after a second glance, but maybe it is? Regardless, I feel there should be better distinction between what things should be avoided and what things are useful to the player (Portals, Items, etc.) Especially given how valuable time and health is with it's current gameplay loop.
Overall, I think the issues with this game make it hard to enjoy as it's not a system that's very rewarding / allows one to power up readily at the very beginning. While most of the time the solution is just to keep dying until you get good, the gameplay of Tokoyo and how punishing it is for minor mistakes makes it discouraging to keep playing. My suggestion is the rework the Mana system (perhaps to regenerate based off collecting coins / defeating enemies) and to remove the time limit per floor, making the game more strategy based rather than rushing a player to the top. Some people may enjoy this style of game, but it isn't for me personally.
Another interesting thing Tokoyo does is have a different layout for it's dungeon daily, and that means real world time. This can be both a bane and a boon is a given map on a day is particularly easy or particularly hard, but this style of randomization might not be for everyone. This does also give it an interesting scenario where if you don't like a certain map, you're almost stuck with it on a given day. This sort of lock-out is definitely not for everyone, especially those who like the chaos of a randomized map every time they start, so be warned.
Most of my issues with the game are from a technical standpoint. The biggest drawback of this game is the learning curve is a steep, steep cliff. You will be dying constantly in the first two, possibly three sections due to how much the difficult jacks up. The main gimmick of the game is also a serious bane to the other gimmick they decide to introduce after the first section, which is the 'Karma' meter.
You have a limited amount of time to completely each little 'floor' portion of a section, and that time will quickly be drained if you mess something up. This mechanic is incredibly unforgiving and essentially encourages speedrunning or death-candying (Dying then using 'Candies' to revive yourself) your way to the top, as your reward for not escaping a floor in time is a slow and inescapable death. This sort of rushed gameplay makes the earlier, timing and dodging-focused style of fighting much less valuable, though I partially understand why it was done. For one, just sitting in a corner waiting for your special to refresh would be easily abuseable-- but I feel giving a time limit of under a minute that gradually dissipates was far from the solution.
Another small gripe with the game is some enemies look like interactable items, and some interactable items look like enemies. When I first encountered a portal, I had no clue it wasn't an enemy until I finally took a chance and jumped on top of it. There's also another enemy that like an item... It doesn't look intentional after a second glance, but maybe it is? Regardless, I feel there should be better distinction between what things should be avoided and what things are useful to the player (Portals, Items, etc.) Especially given how valuable time and health is with it's current gameplay loop.
Overall, I think the issues with this game make it hard to enjoy as it's not a system that's very rewarding / allows one to power up readily at the very beginning. While most of the time the solution is just to keep dying until you get good, the gameplay of Tokoyo and how punishing it is for minor mistakes makes it discouraging to keep playing. My suggestion is the rework the Mana system (perhaps to regenerate based off collecting coins / defeating enemies) and to remove the time limit per floor, making the game more strategy based rather than rushing a player to the top. Some people may enjoy this style of game, but it isn't for me personally.
This review contains spoilers
Spoiler-Free Segment
This game is incredible, and it's hard to describe that without spoilers. Gameplay-wise, it's a very solid card game that even fans outside the genre can enjoy. The aesthetics of the game entice players to keep playing to unlock the mysteries of their mysterious captor, and there's so much replayability due to the mix-and-match nature as well as the necessity of deck-building with each playthrough.
The difficulty is up there, but it gets easier as you slowly clear bosses, which will unlock new items as well as cards for you to play with. Additionally, everytime you die you get to create your own card which will can become very over-powered depending how well your run was going. Needless to say, it's both a difficult and beginner-friendly card game that anyone can enjoy, and the game itself (as well as the free expansion with Kaycee's Mod) are 100% worth going through and seeing just how far you can get.
If you wish to remain unspoiled, please stop reading my review here.
Spoilers Begin Here
After clearing the first act of Inscryption, you truly find out why this game was created by Daniel Mullins. Well-renowned for Pony Island, it's no surprise Inscryption had more to it than beneath the surface, though I had the delight of picking up the game after seeing some streamers I enjoy playing it and not even knowing who had created it! The sudden shock of ARG-elements as well as Act 2's introduction of 4 card playstyles was both exciting and /slightly/ overwhelming. (There's point to argue that perhaps P03's section introducing the battery and mox mechanics should've came first, but I have no clue how to incorporate that in a narrative perspective.)
I'm certain that many people feel that Act 1, with Leshy, was the cream of the crop with the game-- and while I agree that the "introduction" to Inscryption was the best part when it game to the card game, as an overall story, I felt Act 3 really solidified my love with the game. Seeing P03's personality shine through, Grimora deleting Inscryption just as you get the hope point, your final game with Leshy-- I nearly teared up at this point--, as well as that hilarious Yu-Gi-Oh references game with Magnificus... Act 3 was really where Inscryption shined when it came to demostrating what it was beneath the surface.
The finale, with Luke Carder's sudden death as he finally means to bring GameFuna's crimes behind the scenes to life... I was completely in awe. Very rarely does a game have such an abrupt, downer ending... And in the case of Inscryption, it absolutely fits the tale. This game is truly like watching a horror movie unfold before your very eyes, and there's little you can do to change the ending. I commend Daniel Mullins once again for using such interesting mediums to bring his story to life-- and of course I cannot forget to mention the actual ARG that came along with all of this.
Hearing that not only did fans of the game crack codes behind the scenes to find out more lore to the game, but actually receive floppy disks to unlock a YouTube video revealing that P03 successfully uploaded Inscryption to the internet? It's almost like a mind-fuck in a way, if you think about it. The Steam version of Inscryption could very well be P03's upload of the game, and all of us are the viewers who are witnessing these events afterwards. A very interesting, and almost ironic time-loop sequence of events.
This game will certainly stick with me, not only for it's story but it's addictive gameplay. While I've yet to tackle all there is with the addition of Kaycee's Mod, just the taste of the base game was enough to leave me wanting more. My next goal will be wanting to clear all the achievements within this game, as well as uncovering all the secrets and lore there's yet to find. If you still are hesitant in picking up this game for some reason, I 100% assure you it's worth it, even off-sale. As of current, it's certainly in contention for GOTY for me.
This game is incredible, and it's hard to describe that without spoilers. Gameplay-wise, it's a very solid card game that even fans outside the genre can enjoy. The aesthetics of the game entice players to keep playing to unlock the mysteries of their mysterious captor, and there's so much replayability due to the mix-and-match nature as well as the necessity of deck-building with each playthrough.
The difficulty is up there, but it gets easier as you slowly clear bosses, which will unlock new items as well as cards for you to play with. Additionally, everytime you die you get to create your own card which will can become very over-powered depending how well your run was going. Needless to say, it's both a difficult and beginner-friendly card game that anyone can enjoy, and the game itself (as well as the free expansion with Kaycee's Mod) are 100% worth going through and seeing just how far you can get.
If you wish to remain unspoiled, please stop reading my review here.
Spoilers Begin Here
After clearing the first act of Inscryption, you truly find out why this game was created by Daniel Mullins. Well-renowned for Pony Island, it's no surprise Inscryption had more to it than beneath the surface, though I had the delight of picking up the game after seeing some streamers I enjoy playing it and not even knowing who had created it! The sudden shock of ARG-elements as well as Act 2's introduction of 4 card playstyles was both exciting and /slightly/ overwhelming. (There's point to argue that perhaps P03's section introducing the battery and mox mechanics should've came first, but I have no clue how to incorporate that in a narrative perspective.)
I'm certain that many people feel that Act 1, with Leshy, was the cream of the crop with the game-- and while I agree that the "introduction" to Inscryption was the best part when it game to the card game, as an overall story, I felt Act 3 really solidified my love with the game. Seeing P03's personality shine through, Grimora deleting Inscryption just as you get the hope point, your final game with Leshy-- I nearly teared up at this point--, as well as that hilarious Yu-Gi-Oh references game with Magnificus... Act 3 was really where Inscryption shined when it came to demostrating what it was beneath the surface.
The finale, with Luke Carder's sudden death as he finally means to bring GameFuna's crimes behind the scenes to life... I was completely in awe. Very rarely does a game have such an abrupt, downer ending... And in the case of Inscryption, it absolutely fits the tale. This game is truly like watching a horror movie unfold before your very eyes, and there's little you can do to change the ending. I commend Daniel Mullins once again for using such interesting mediums to bring his story to life-- and of course I cannot forget to mention the actual ARG that came along with all of this.
Hearing that not only did fans of the game crack codes behind the scenes to find out more lore to the game, but actually receive floppy disks to unlock a YouTube video revealing that P03 successfully uploaded Inscryption to the internet? It's almost like a mind-fuck in a way, if you think about it. The Steam version of Inscryption could very well be P03's upload of the game, and all of us are the viewers who are witnessing these events afterwards. A very interesting, and almost ironic time-loop sequence of events.
This game will certainly stick with me, not only for it's story but it's addictive gameplay. While I've yet to tackle all there is with the addition of Kaycee's Mod, just the taste of the base game was enough to leave me wanting more. My next goal will be wanting to clear all the achievements within this game, as well as uncovering all the secrets and lore there's yet to find. If you still are hesitant in picking up this game for some reason, I 100% assure you it's worth it, even off-sale. As of current, it's certainly in contention for GOTY for me.