Hello, and welcome to side Quest. This is our weekly video game show
here at geeg First and I'm your host, Dylan Muss, and I have
with me the clown Prince of Ragnarok, Travis. How are you doing,
my friend? From doing well? Coming off? That's my fire fire effect
right there. So yeah, it could have been like water, could have
been steam, but I like it fire. Yeah. Yeah, going with
the thing. I had the most trouble with which we'll talk about, I'm
sure in this game. But yeah, still I'm doing well. We were
just talking off air. Come up a long weekends, saw lots of family,
so that's always a good time. We actually did at the in laws
of roast like for hot dogs and swores and stuff like that. Okay,
so I thought you'd been like a roast, like one of the fas you
pick like an uncle and do a roast. Yeah. Uncle, It's Emily's
birthday tomorrow, so we just roasted her, the whole family, me and
the kids. You know. The kids had some really banger jokes, some
really inappropriate ones. I'm surprised about so uh but uh no, it was
good yesterday that I was sending you on air or offer. I was starting
to get a headache. Yesterday, I was not doing good because I think
your boy ate a little too much food. It was okay, I was
out by like ten. It was just one of those where it's like,
luckily it didn't get sick and luckily just to sleep edit it. But it's
one of those like, oh, I gotta, I gotta get to bed
right now. It's just just I think too much, too much greasy staff
burgers and wings and other stuff. So I my eyes were too big for
my stomach. Yes, that happens. Yeah, you mentioned that tomorrow is
Emily's birthday. It's also it's a big day for multiple reasons. One's birthday,
of course. Also, I mean we're talking about help Lay today.
This sequel comes out tomorrow May twenty first, or of course, according this
day early when people are here this. But also most importantly to me,
sorry, is that my game totion problem is finally releasing. It's ready to
go. I just got to hit the button. I'm gonna wake up in
the morning click that button, and it's gonna be live and people can check
it out. So of course, when this episode is out there, people
can go pick it up. It's on Steam you can check it out.
Check out the triggul little link below. I'm guessing right, and the episode
perfect there you go, yeah, link below, so go check it out
out. Yeah, very excited for people to play that and let me know
what you think. Yes, you get stuck, let me know. If
you can eat bugs or glitches, let me know. But hopefully it's a
pretty smooth sailing. I've tried, tried my best, done a fair amount
of testing, so hopefully that goes well. But we'll see. Yeah,
that's exciting. Finally here the day has come, like well, I guess
my tennis recording it's already came. But still that's but yeah, check out
those links. They'll be on the rest of the month's episode as well too.
Because that's exciting. That's a big that's a big step. So I'm
excited for you. I'm glad. I'm glad it's out there into the wild.
And now you can not put it to bed, because I'm sure you
know it's still always with you. But in a sense it's like as I'm
ready, I'm ready to put it in bed. Half years all ye,
I'm good to go. I'm ready to move on. I get that feeling
because I remember, like when we promoted it, Ben and I talked about
the film I was I was like, yeah, I don't need to see
this thing for a while. I don't want like I loved every second.
We worked really hard. But and I've not looked at it since it's released
because it's just like I need to just need space from it. But it's
it's a fun game, So go check it out. As I said before,
I love the vibe, and there's obviously you've talked about it, but
there's some just very cool items that I like. My big favorite is the
big Foot. That's the big old foot. Yeah, yeah, I'm glad
you like the foot. Yeah. I did have someone say that, like
the foot fetish people are gonna like this game out, Oh yeah, which
is one of my favorite like tidbits from play testing, one of my favorite
points of feedback. You gotta get that in qt's hand when he's retired.
You gotta get this game. And he should have sent him a copy and
yeah, dang, I'll look in the playbook for his email. Yeah,
but yeah, go download it, go by, go do all that stuff,
all that stuff. You can also join our discord. You can join
our Patreon to get episodes early and ad free. This week. I guess
we're doing a review of Furiosa. That should be fun. I got my
tickets, so I didn't join on the retro, but I'm joining for the
latest movies. That should be just good. You're subbing for Taylor because Taylor's
not joining us, and he was on all the episodes. I was on
the fence and then I heard he was gonna be away, so I was
like, oh, you know what, I'll sub in there and then fill
in in his place. We also haven't We're gonna do the news episode this
week. Anything else you like to promote, No, I think the best
single. It's not gonna be the second episode, but basically on the Patreon
for like early stuff. As we just started the Alien Retro, and as
we've talked about before, there's gonna be a sidecost episode of that, so
I'm not sure if that'll be earlier or not, but either way, the
Alien Retro has started. So we've done Mad Max and we did eight,
so that's going to be the next that's kind of last one for the year.
There'll be a couple of one offs, like Beetlejuice and a Christmas one
and Halloween one, but for our big retros, that's kind of it until
next year once we start doing like Fantastic four in Superman, which I'm excited
because those are ones that we haven't the f four we almost did during COVID
and then Tail and I'm excited the two shows started coming back. So yeah,
there's a couple of good ones. But yeah, no schol I forget
if I announced that last week, but yeah, we will be doing along
with the Alien movies, Alien Isolation, which I'm very excited. I've never
actually played the game, or maybe I played for like a few minutes or
something, but yes, it's always been in behind that backlog list, and
now that I'm deep into like horror games and stuff, I think it's a
perfect time. So every one that episode's going to happen, but definitely checking
it out in the next few months and sometime before August that episode will drop
kind of out in the air. Right now, but before we play call
together Too said he was already firing it up, so I'm not. I
have to check with him because I know he owns the game, but I
have to check with him on game Pass because if it is maybe it's cheap.
I there's a way to play. I'd like to get on there,
but yeah, lots of time, so I mean, no rush to get
to He's getting early way too, He's he's ready. He needed the excuse
to please takes notes otherwise he can go as early as it's like decades or
not. However that long that game has been out, I think he has
that many he's been waiting to talk about that game. Yeah, it's one
of those one of those ones for him for sure. Yeah, yeah,
that's yeah, a lot of fun stuff. So yeah, just stay tune
of the feet, subscribe all that stuff. You can see all it.
So today we are talking about hell Blade. Uh send you his sacrifice from
Ninja Theory, which is gonna be a very fun conversation before we do that.
Actually though, I wanted to do a very quick rundown of Ninja Theory
in their previous games because I found it to be really interesting. There's some
things I did not expect to see in there, and there's also I think
things that are gonna be important when we get back and actually talk about hell
Blade. So the studio, it's a British dudes found in two thousand.
Their first game was this game called Kung Fu Chaos, which I never heard
of it until recently, and probably someone was mentioned it in relation to the
hell Blade two coming out, but you should, Yeah, definitely look up
a screenshot of this game. It's very funny. It's got a very cartoony
art style, kind of like cheapy sort of art ish, I guess,
but yeah, box era older game probably Yeah, came out in early two
thousand and very much an action game. Their game after that was Heavenly Sword,
which I don't know. I don't know why it took me so long
to put together that Heavenly Sword and hell Blade, you know, like heaven
Hell Sword Blade. Like the games have nothing to do with each other,
but I love that there's kind of They're not even spiritual successors or anything.
There's really no relation, but I love that the names within these games,
like the studio's history, are kind of having a sort of fun note to
them. I think we talked about it on the PlayStation All Star Roster thing,
and I think we mentioned it during that. Yeah, and just that
cover it's a very scantily clad woman with a big sword. I feel like
this was talked about a lot, which is very funny because I feel like
this game is very much less so of that. It's not like this feels
like they're trying to sell it off of yes sex here, but yeah,
okay, yeah, we've definitely a couple of times has been around the geek
first area. Yeah, definitely, so once again, very much an action
game, and I think that one is in is really deep in like some
sort of mythology. Not the same like, okay mythology that we have here
in hell Blade, but it seems like maybe there's a bit of a pattern
there for them. Their game after that is called Enslaved Odyssey to the West,
which is also what I hadn't really heard of, but it's like a
post apocalyptis setting and looking at screenshots and stuff, I want to check this
game out. I think that one looks interesting. I would like to check
out Heavenly Blade or Heavenly Swords that I've already mixing it Heavenly Sword as well.
But yeah, they have some of these older games of there's actually do
look interesting and I don't know how easy it is to find them, but
they see yeah, pretty cool. I want to get all action, very
action games. Yeah, this is they are in this category. Unfortunately there
in this like I that that cover. I feel like I've seen a bunch
of times in my life but never played it, but I remember because it's
so green this cover, like it's it's very even the game when you're looking
at screenshots, lots of it's very green, which it is post apocalyptic,
but I guess it's not like Fallout post apocalypse, more like the Earth has
grown back sort of thing. So well, and that's finny because it's kind
of like what you're telling aout Furio, so like they do that Mad Max
where it's like they have like heavy oranges and blues there, So that's I
guess what they took was like, well, we're gonna do heavy greens and
teams. So and something I found interesting in looking through those games is both
Heavenly Sword and Enslaved. Obviously the West had mocap and maybe also voice performances
from the Great Andy Circus, who also is a fun fact when when this
when hell Blake came out and Malania Jurgen's won the Game Award for uh performance
in the game, Andy Serkis is the one that presented that award to her
he was at the Game Award and he did that, which, yeah,
I never realized that connection before that. He has a very deep connection with
this studio. So it's funny that for game wards that they picked him to
do the presentation to her and give her the award. But kind of a
fun fact there. And then after that they made DMC Devil May Cry,
so not the original one, but a game in that series, so once
again very character action sort of game. And then they made a game called
fight Back, which is just like an iOS looks like a two D kind
of beat him up sort of game. So yeah, jumping into the mobile
market there. And then I don't know if they were the Soul developer or
just the support stood, but they worked on Disney Infinity. I think it
was three point zero I saw. I don't know that sounds familiar, just
the name and being attached to this. Did you play that? We play?
Yeah, that three point always win because they had the original. I
think three point oh was starting to get more into Marvel stuff, but there
are a lot of action in that game, like combat. Yeah. I
never really sad those games are. It depends, like the Marvel Ones and
Star Wars were mostly all action, and the Piest Caribbean was mostly action that
had some puzzle too, but that action very basic action. But I'm not
saying that hell Blade has basic action, but to the extent, I don't
think it's anything that was out of their purview to do, so that would
make sense, Like you remember what they're doing. They it sucks. They
might have been a part of They were working on an X Men line,
but when that game got canceled, they canceled the Lions and could have been
working on that. Yeah, but there's a lot of canceled stuff, so
okay, that's interesting. After that, they worked on this game called dext
which is a VR game, and then comes hell Blade. I didn't say
they used for all these, but you can kind of piece it together from
two thousand and Helblake came out twenty seventeen, and then after that they did
two more VR games. Actually, so I never realized that they had done
a decent amount of VR, but I think with the kind of the immersive
nature of what hell Blade does, it makes sense that they had done some
of that. So next time it was called Yeah, Nico Demus Demon Advanishment,
which is a very mouthful kind of kind of name, but I from
what I could tell, it seems like more of a like a maybe Pokemon
Go sort of type of game with like I guess, maybe more ar than
VR. And then they did a game called Star Wars VR Vader Immortal,
which I had never heard of. I've heard good things about that, Okay,
I have, Yeah that I've never played it, but I heard lots
of good things just een with the story beats as well. So that's like,
I'm not big into VR, but if you're telling these people made VR,
that would make me more inclined to do it, because, like you
said, how immersive just even this game is. I feel like they could
knock out of the park. And all I heard about Vader Mortal back in
the day was good things, So yeah, I'm trying to okay. So,
and then after that was Bleeding Edge, which is that multiplayer combat game
that I think the servers already offline for it. It did not do very
well, but I think because yeah, just looking up quickly, Ninja three
was acquired by Microsoft in twenty eighteen, and I think Bleeding Edge came out
in twenty eighteen, so that was the first game that came out once they
had been acquired, though it probably started development before they were acquired. I've
never seen this game. That's interesting. Yeah, I think it's still up
there on game Pass, but like at some point the game like it was
multiplayer only, so it's gonna get kicked off there at some point, and
then there's like just quite a few years off, like that was twenty eighteen,
and then here we finally have here in twenty twenty four the release of
senuas Saga hell Blade two. Which isn't that weird that the first game is
called hell Blade Send You Is Sacrifice and the second one is called Senua's Saga
hell Blade too, Like they put the title at the front from one game
and then at the end for the other game. I don't know if that's
like intentionally some weird artsy psychosis commentary thing that they're doing or why. But
it's a very weird choice that I can't recall any other game really doing that,
especially for just a duology of games. Yeah, that's just a very
strange, like not to say it's in a native way. Other than a
few things, it feels like they don't have like a big identity, like
they're not like not all these games can really link together other than maybe some
mo cap and that sort of stuff. But like you look at that history
of games from the start of the Xbox and now that's a whole wild,
weird journey. And not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm not saying.
I like that probably sounds more negative. Don't have an identity, But
just like usually you look at some studios, some developers, it's okay,
they make these type of games, or it's this type of genre, or
this is all over them. I think the through line for me is just
like action games, like combat heavy games, that seems to be the thing.
And then in the last few years with the VR, hell Blade is
where they've maybe taken to deviation, but then like I don't there's still combat
in hell Blade. Bleeding Edge was still like a combat only game. So
it is a it is a very clectic set of games and the like,
Yeah, working with Disney, working with Star Wars, working with Devil May
Cry, and then just like a bunch of original IP mixed there and there
too, So it is strange. And then we know that there another project
they're working on is called Project Morrow, which I don't know we've got like
a teaser for it, and the only way I could describe it is that
it's like, od that's the only way like it seems like it's gonna be
to me. Yeah, it seems like it's gonna be live action thing,
maybe more movie than game, but probably still a game because it'll be on
Game Pass and whatnot. So I don't know, I don't even know how
to describe that one. But we haven't seen much of it because I think
they've been you know, marketing Senu as Saga since that's been the big one
to come out here. But I'm sure we'll start hearing about that maybe next
year or the year after. And at the time this recording today, they
said, which is May twentieth, they said that they're working on a new
game additional to that too. So cool. Yeah, so obviously, because
there's lots of fears, lots of the studios and whatnot, lots of people
brought up this this studio is like a man smaller one, like what does
it go? And they say, as right now, they're they're working on
a game additional to the one you're talking about. So and I don't think
it's that I don't think they made it sound like it's like Helplay three or
anything like that, sound like it was something different. So I think probably
Helplay three will probably depend on what happens this go around, or maybe they
don't want to who knows. Maybe the hell Blay two ends in a way
where it's just a definitive for a bit. So yeah, yeah, so
yeah, as we look through the history of this, like, I have
not played any of their games before, so it's the fun to jump in.
Well other than Disney Infinity for you, right of course. Yeah,
I did play Affinity Yeah's which once again I don't know if they were the
Soul developer onent or if they were like a support studio, So probably a
helping hand. Yeah, yeah, to some extent. But anyway, that
takes us here into hell Blade send you a sacrifice I want to hear,
I guess from you. I want to know what did you think this game
was before you went into it, and then what did you think of it?
Yeah? I think because I had seen lots of previews and I'd always
wanted to play it, and this game at first it was PlayStation and Xbox
right the very first. I think it was actually a PlayStation exclusive when it
first came out, and then an Xbox and then they got acquired, and
then now that's kind of pushed, and then I very much could see the
sequel coming to Xbox as su or sorry PlayStation those games. But yeah,
da Day one game pass of course. Yeah. So for me, I
had seen it, and I don't know why I hadn't. I think the
interest came later because I feel like, almost much like this game, the
marketing wasn't that much. It felt like it was more of a word of
mouth thing that people to keep People kept talking about the game, but I
never saw blew up and I never talked anybody either of like it's not like
oh I hear this good buzz and same thing, like the same. I
haven't dived into it, but like hell Dive Divers for example, like Kirkland
got that sold me. I haven't made that jump to buy it. I
want to, But even then, I hadn't talked to anybody that I knew
personally that would maybe talk me into, oh you got to get this,
especially maybe knowing what I like or dislike. So I'd heard really good things.
It felt like it was kind of like a sleeper hit the year it
came out as far as seeing you know, she won that performance. And
I don't know if I saw like a lot of like the game the years,
but as far as like nominees or shout out, so that was it.
It was always okay, it's on, and that's why I'm here today.
It's on the list of I want to try. And I think I
knew because all I kept hearing about was the audio design was really good.
So like of course, sometimes you hear that with a Call Duty game and
you kind of go, okay, I get that because the World War stuff
and everything with this, people just talk about how specific like audio was very
important and just the vibe went. So I thought it was more artsy.
I thought it was a bit more and this is not a negative positive probably
a bit more on the action side, a bit more not closer to God
of War, but something like that. And I think as time went on
and then I saw stuff for number two, I definitely went, okay,
it's not that type. There's probably combat in it, like kind of what
we got here is what I expected. So that's kind of what I thought
of, you know, I thought it was some sort of smaller game like
Luckily all the things I thought were this game. I don't think I knew
how kind of trippy it was gonna be and Hetty was gonna be. I
kind of figure there was a message because I felt like people talked about this
in like a Games for Impact sort of way, not in that category,
but just in a way where you know, lots of plot elements are you
could argue supernatural or dealing with mental health in a way. Right. Yeah,
So I mean the first credit as you open this game up is mental
Health Advisor or something like right. Yeah. I think even before director or
actors or anything, which was like very that stood out to me big time
because you don't ever see that in movies or games or TV or anything.
Yeah, So I think it's what I expected, but it just went't even
harder than I expected. I didn't think it was gonna be even as heady
because I think even the previews we've seen for hell Blay too, like I
think it's like there's like a giant sleeping and they gotta go past it,
like that very first showcase. The ones I've seen, it looks like there's
stuff, but I didn't think it was. As there's many times in the
game that you could argue what's real what's not. There's some sections that might
not be real at all, you know, So I didn't think it was
gonna be as much as that. So that's what's kind of my expectations.
So kind of I expected, but a little more. Mm hmm okay,
sorry, And how would you think of the Okay, I want to tell
if I liked Yeah, no, I really enjoyed it. It's funny that
you brought up the whole like, look that next game there looks like ODI
or whatnot, because to me, this is I think, maybe a little
more. But this is what I talk about anytime at Day. I was
like, Oh, we're gonna make a live at like a game new experience
combo thing. I still think this is a video game, but this is
something where I'm like, man, I feel like Odie is gonna be like
this. There's even times des Strandy is, but I feel like Destrand doesn't.
It doesn't cross the lines that this game does as far as there's literally
people that are live action or their live action animated live action. You know,
it's a it's like an Uncanny Valley sort of thing with the deep fake.
It's kind of like that. So there's lots of moments that take you
out in a good way, though nothing that like all the book's bad,
just like okay, what am I seeing here? And very trippy. But
no, I really liked it once I played it because at first I was
playing and I'm like, oh, why don't more people talk about this game?
And then I think under I think I understood as I complete air got
more near Like the third section is, it reminds me of Death Strunning in
one way, where the game plays much more of a like a gaming loop.
Right. There's lots of combat. There's tons of cut scenes, but
there's combat, and there's like puzzles and there's kind of little things you have
to do along the way. Deaf Stranding, there's sometimes that is just like
a cinematic experience. But I think because there is so much weirdness, and
there is times where it is just almost like we're gonna go nearly ten minutes
of just a speech at a cut scene, or you're not gonna do much,
I can see why I don't think this game ever blew up blew up
because at first, Oh why don't more people talk about But I see that
this might not be everyone's cup of teeth the same way, it's just stranding,
right. I think people would play this and no one would say,
oh, it's a bad game, but I could see someone going like,
you know what, you know, a couple hours in, even though it's
a short game, this is just too heavy at times. Especially I think
at the beginning it looks like a God of War Northmend type of game,
like, yeah, it could be hacking Slash, but it's way more deep
and emotional and just it is a heavy at times kind of depressing game,
especially, and there's good moments of the character's journey. But overall though I
really liked it. Kind of. I think what blew me away was some
of the visuals, and especially in the back half or maybe middle and on,
some of the visual areas we go to, because the first chunk of
the game is very not samesy, but it's a lot of you know,
wooded cement, green area, you know, and that's fine. It all
looks really good, but it's just like variations of that. So I'm like,
Okay, this looks good. But then once we get to certain like
places that look almost like hell you're going into walls are you going into swamps
like That's why I really like in the small amount of time you get a
good variety of the environments and whatnot. So I think what hit it up
for me was the more heady, kind of out there, other worldly sort
of scenarios that happen. And I always am a sucker for the what's real
what's not if they do it in a distinct way. So no, I
really really enjoyed this one. I'm very impressed by what they did, and
it's a yeah, I wish I'd played it sooner, But yeah, I
can understand the why it might not be everyone's cupati because even the combat you
do go to unlocked stuff along the way, but it is it's pretty basic,
you know, and that stuff where not that I ever got bored,
but there's times where that's where I actually wouldn't play a long chunk because there's
sounds. We do a big combat section and if you go to another one,
it is just a lot of the same two attacks perry. You know,
you'll lock a few other things along the way, but it's it's very
basic. That's not what it's there for, right, So yeah, definitely,
And so it sounds like you have the interest level to jump into the
sequel. Here, when you be jumping into one week one, I think
maybe week one. I don't know where the only thing is, like,
I'm not sure who is on side Quest next week. I'm camping next week,
So that's where I don't know what the actual plate on them to review
two weeks from now. Yeah, yeah, we could do two weeks from
now. Yeah I could do that. Well, let me just hang on,
let me just quickly having that week, I'll kick it around or yeah
but it's too Yeah no, I should be good. Yeah no, that's
uh, we got nothing planned right now. So yeah, give me two
weeks and do that one because uh yeah, just i'd want to put the
full mount because I feel like I don't know how long this one's gonna be.
Apparently about the same run, but even then, I would hate to
come in at only two hours because I feel like the beginning of the game
is going to be this one's so short that it's it's worth it to you
wait a little bit longer. Yeah, I'm like, what am I going
to be able to add for the two hours? Especially because I feel like
I'm not sure what they're gonna do are they gonna do your favorite game system
dying where they go back and you got to relearn some of those powers or
relearn some of those There's so little that you unlock in this game that I
feel like you can kind of just pick it right because it has a lot
to do with time, and it could be like, well, this is
the beginning of this story. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so but yeah,
I'll be there, very cool. Yeah. So I had a similar
experience as you, where it's like, man, this game kind of very
much slipped under the radar, and like, yeah, we talked about game
Awards back in twenty seventeen, so like, I obviously knew this game existed,
but I feel like I didn't even think about it until years later on
and hearing the mental health angle of it sounded an interesting But I never even
knew what the gameplay was. I don't even think I realized it was like
a third person game until seeing more of the marketing push for the second game
and seeing okay, well I'm seeing footage of this, so I'm sure the
first game is a lot like this. Didn't even realize that, oh,
this game has combat in it until once again seeing combat sequences in those trailers.
So somehow, Yeah, this game really went under the radar for me,
which yeah, as you mentioned, I'm like surprised about because this,
to me feels like a Sony Triple A first party game with just like you
know, much shorter. That's really the only difference though, is that it
is a shorter game. Otherwise it feels like it would fit right in with
that kind of catalog of games, which is why it makes sense as like
a PS four exclusive. It's another good one that they added to the you
know as a launch title, or not a launch title for them, but
exclusive with them back in the day. And so yeah, I kind of
came in with very little expectations. I guess I've seen more of these trailers
of the sequel now, so I had an idea of what we're dealing with
here. But I had a good time with this game. I'm definitely not
as hot on it as you are, and I think it just it went.
It really ebbed and flowed for me. There was moments where I was
just totally digging it, and there's like a couple hours in a row Whe're
like, Damn, this game's amazing and I'm loving it. But then you
know, like you can really break this game down into like i'll say,
like three sections where there's like walking around and story stuff. And even though
this is a very story focused game, there aren't too many just like super
long cut scenes where you're out of it, Like there's a lot of dialogue
that happens. In fact, most of it happens while you're just like walking
places, so you're getting that movement still, which is nice. So that's
like a big part of the game. The combat's another big part of the
game, which I really enjoyed. Really enjoyed the combat from kind of start
to finish. But the part that really really really bummed me out and dragged
down the game was the puzzles. I think they kind of suck and they
really are just there to pad the game out and make the game longer.
There were a couple sequences where I thought it worked well, but for the
most part it's kind of doing like a witness type thing where it's like,
oh, you got his witness crazy things in the environment and put like weird
perspective puzzles. Yeah, but I don't think it works very well at all.
And the way that that works for a game like Superliminal, which is
a puzzle game all about that sort of mechanic, or again like The Witness,
where there's so much other stuff you can do that if you don't see
the one puzzle in front of you can go do a million other things.
But this game' is like, no, you got to see this one very
specific puzzle or else you can't do anything. And that really dragged me.
There was a couple of moments when I just used a walk through because I
don't even want to, Like, the movement is so slow that to go
around and experiment and try and things and look for things was not a fun
experience for me. And and yeah, I think there's and puzzles too where
it's like, oh, this is a really cool idea. I like seeing
how these different trees line up and making a letter, but then it's like
okay, but then I do it five or six or seven eight times,
and by those like three or four or fifth time, I'm like, I'm
sick of these puzzles. And I feel like that was kind of the case
for everything. You could even say the same for the combat, like it's
it doesn't really change. There's very few enemy types. There's you don't really
unlock anything, but for some reason with the runtime of this game, the
combat worked for me the whole way through. The puzzles definitely did not,
so because they're such a big part of the game and this game is so
short, it definitely dragged the experience down, which is too bad because I
think if it really had just focused on the story, the narrative, then
a couple of those perspective puzzles, you know, because it ties in with
the story, and then like had the same amount of combat it had,
I think this would have been a really top tier game for me, up
in that higher echelon, but I don't think it's gonna end up there,
and it's also done. With that being said, I'm still very excited for
the sequel, and I hope that they I mean, I don't know if
this was a thought by a lot of reviewers or players and stuff that people
don't like the puzzles, so I'm not sure if that's something they're even looking
to change or if it's gonna be more of the same. But since the
game is pretty short, I can easily get through it for the other good
parts of it, So so yeah, I enjoyed the game, had a
good time with it. I'm excited to talk about it because there's a lot
of crazy, weird, interesting stuff that occurs in this shorter runtime of a
game. So I think from here on out, we're just going to crack
open the spoiler gates. This game is several years old, it's pretty short.
So yeah, from this point forward, if you don't want any spoilers,
you know, pause, go play the games. It's pretty short.
It's a game pass. Come back and join us for the rest of the
discussion here, and join us for the sequel as well. So how about
we take a quick break and we'll be right back to get into these spoiler
thoughts. Okay, we are back. I think maybe I want to start
by just talking a little bit about the esthetics of its game, like particularly
the visuals, Like such a beautiful game, even though it's seven years old
at this point, just like really top quality, and you know, because
it's a smaller scale game, they can really focus on all these environments.
But I thought it from start to finish, whether it was those kind of
yeah forest areas as you were talking about, kind of blair witchy sort of
stuff versus the like that hell sequence man, when you're going down, Yeah,
a lot of the pools, all the bodies like hands to get you.
Oh, it's so good. And then two on that either like happen
to this point, I thought I would have shot saw a screenshot or something
to look at this moment. I mean, like, just not enough Peple
played this. I don't think you know, yeah, definitely, but yeah,
sequences like that. And then when you go to like Hellheim and these
kind of more fantasy type areas too, uh, it just looks amazing from
starting to finish. And then I think they did a good job of having
trippy things with the visuals that match with that the feeling of like what's real
what's not, Like particularly the way the lights blur. There are certain sequences
when the lights are just all over the place, super wonky, like you
can still tell what's going on, you can tell where you're going, but
there's just some really cool effects that kind of throw everything off and I don't
know, once again make you put you in the shoes of the character.
Like That's one thing I love about this game is how there's no UI and
it's just very immersive. Everything's just from sensuous perspective and even if there are
UI type things, like they do it through like the characters in your head,
like telling you, Oh, someone's behind you. That could have been
a UI thing, but instead it's just someone talking to you. And so
I think they just nailed it on that kind of visual part of the game,
which that would annoy me a little bit because I had subtitles on and
when they said the watch behind you, sometimes it would pop up and sometimes
it didn't. So I was kind of annoyed by that, because man,
I cannot imagine subtitles for a game like this when there's like multiple voices talking
to you at the same time. They'll do. What they'll do is they'll
be subtimes at top or the bottom, and the top that's what'll do.
Okay, So yeah, actually I guess it sounds like that would fit for
the game though. Yeah, the words all over the place. Yeah,
there's a couple of times that children UN's like, I'm on the subtest because
there's a lot of dialogue in here. You've got Glagal with you pretty much
the whole that's what it sounds like, an evil glad real time, like
whisperinging down the story and everything. But yeah, you couldn't play this game.
It sounds like with like headphones on and doing that kind of experience with
it. I could have and I should have, but like at the same
time, still like to have. I don't like doing the one year one
year out because I just feel like so still like to have some sort of
stuff. But maybe I'll try more with the sequel there. But no,
like when you're talking about the lighting in certain situations, like there's that one
section two when you're underground and you're in the water and yeah, you're out
like that and it's like the you're in the dark, but it's like there's
still like a little bit almost like a tinker bell light every once in a
while and things are kind of highlighted that time. So Yeah, there's lots
of good sections that I think they do a good job in a seven like
they don't have to even with seven ho argame, they could have like even
held back I think some of those locations, but they didn't, and that's
what's really impressive with that. Yeah, and I liked or how did you
feel about the kind of full motion video that we got for like Causeno of
course she's Yeah, an in game animated character. But then for all the
other characters, like you're kind of getting this weird sort of overlay. We've
never seen their face directly, but you're seeing their face kind of through a
thing, and it's an actual actor's face. Did that work for you or
did that take you out of it? No? It worked for me.
Like I said, it added tode too, because it's just almost like this
is a you don't know if it's a story I send you or if it's
just because they even say may's like, oh, you've been here before,
like at the beginning the game. It's really cool when you do something or
if you die, like oh, well she wouldn't left last or something like
that, right, they'll say, oh, in a previous story. So
that's what it's almost like. Your character to me, I look like is
almost in a fairy tale memory state where it's a story being told, where
when you see the other people, that's why they look realistic because those like
real people she's seeing. So no, it worked for me. It's it's
not concerning, but it is daunting when it first happens to you, because
it's just like, especially the first guy that is live action, I can't
remember I think it is it certain that it is because I feel like he's
really big and his face is like right up to the screen. Maybe there's
a couple other ones. That's one that left the most impression on me was
sort of being really close. But no, I like it for this and
that's what I was saying, like, that's the stuff where I feel like
we're gonna see Hideo playing with a lot soon. And this to me was
like a couple a bigger budget, a couple of things, like I think
you're getting more that this is almost at times closer to a movie experiences than
a game, you know, Like you said the puzzles, which I didn't
speak upon that, I do agree with you. There are sometimes too many
to just repetition. There's like my biggest example is when you are in the
suitter Realm. I liked the idea, but how many times you had to
find the you know, locked door, find the fire thing, and then
run through fire I felt like they padded that, Like, I think there's
examples throughout the whole game of patting it like that. And I do agree
with you that I think taking it down a notch would have been better because
I do like some of the puzzles. Some of them were ridiculous. We
talked about this. I pulled up a couple walk throughs because I was like,
and some I just found accidentally. And that's one thing I will say.
It is like a negative. I think sometimes there's a little there's few
prompts on this game, so the same thing like serd Or, I really
had to look up how to beat them because it didn't tell me like the
focus thing. You know, I had the exact same experience, you know.
Yeah, it's just like there's a couple of things where I just wish
there was a bit more prompt or it's a little less confusing per se.
But maybe I'm just I'm not as good as I used to be gaming wise,
I guess. No. I mean we had the same experience with it.
I mean, I like the idea, the commitment to the bit so
to speak of having no UI whatsoever in this game. I mean even when
you are like zooming in on one of those doors, like there's there's kind
of like a glimmer or something, but it's still not like a UI.
It's not like a menu popping up. And I think they should have had
that stuff in there still, because it doesn't really take you out of it
too much if you just have a couple, Like here's the basic things you
can do with combat. It's not like you need them all the time.
Like this game is not terribly complex, So I think they should have thrown
a couple in there, or even just the once like same thing when it's
like tell give the prompt once and then now no, like, don't do
that prompt anymore, you know, but I grief you and then once you
get it, it's fine. But yeah, there's a few if you weren't
at the last point that I would agree with you on some of your critiques.
I think this, if you're gonna do that many puzzles, yeah,
speed not only just the patting of them. But I know there is a
run option for your character, and I get it because I think they want
you to soak in the experience and everything. But it would be nice sometimes
to go like just a tad faster, just just a little, just a
little bit, you know. So yeah, like if they could speed you
up during the puzzle sequences, give you an extra fifteen speed or something that's
that way you can just run around and experiment with things. Quicker, but
then during the story beats you can still have that very intentional speed to you
that would have been that would have been ideal, and even like too figuring
out the whole those things that are the circle and they have the skulls at
the bob might figuring out how those work at the beginning of the game.
That was because sometimes the reality gait type thing. Yeah, yeah, I
think sometimes the prompts are really good and they give you a sound or you
do see something moves. Then other times, because the thing's so far away,
you just have to look and like, okay, the bridge has been
drawn, you know, and and again it's I'll be curious how I feel
about that when we play the second one now, kind of having that like
that in mind now, right, there's certain things where like, Okay,
this is gonna probably they're using the same puzzles in the second one. I'm
gonna be quite I think you're gonna get some puzzle. I think you're gonna
get some similar ones at least i'd say at least fifty at least. I
mean, yeah, I think we'll see some of them again for sure.
I wanted to bring this up where like this game is so reminiscent of the
recent God of War games. I was gonna, yeah, of course this
did pre date God of Wo twenty eighteen. Yeah, but you know,
of course we're playing it after we've played those games. But yeah, it's
like many I could have, like Head Canada, this game to exist in
that universe to an extent, right, because like a lot of the a
lot of the mythology stuff is like is it really happening in this game?
And that's like a that's definitely up for debate, whereas in God of War
it's like, oh no, of course, uh Odin is in fact right
there in front of you yet that kind of thing. But no, I
mean, yeah, once again that Norse mythology, the art style of it,
even certain things like when you go and push like a big door,
that's like exactly how Krados does it in those games. Yeah, I guess
you're the fact that you have a head like attached to your belt like the
Mirror and God of Wars. So there was a lot of even like the
being in the boat so that at the beginning, which I wasn't sure if
I had to drive or not. I wasn't sure, like am I supposed
to see this or no, you're not wrong, because this made me go,
you know, like we were talking about last on the side quest like
what games are like kind of the trajectory that like bumped God of War two
up because oh, because I know it's all about that stuff. I was
like, Oh, I was digging this, I was that, and I
really wanted to rewatch the north Then again, those were the two things after
this game I wanted to do. Yeah, because they speak about Northman a
lot. I was just like I could see Alexander scars Card somewhere walking around
here. So yeah, you're I didn't even play the game, but you're
right on that. I think it just looked like all the marketing I had
seen, So yeah, no, well you've played, yeah of course,
yeah, yeah. What did you think of the combat? I mentioned how
I very much enjoyed it even though there isn't tons of depth there, But
what did you think of it? So it's tough because like, I don't
think this needs to be like a God of War where you have an axe
and that has ten different things on or this and that, because yeah,
exactly, but it's at the same time where it's like I have fun.
I think I have fun with it. The smaller the battles are. I
think I like the systems where it's kind of you fight obviously once in a
while you'll bump into a camp and it's almost like right when you get into
enemies, it feels like it gets into a circular mode where that's your yeah,
and guys are coming in and out one again. Like you said,
no different enemy types, but all the physics of the design of the characters,
the enemies very very cool, whether it is bigger bosses, whether it's
just the just the scrubs you fight, like all looking awesome, like to
the point where like they should make like a movie of this, of like,
the design is fantastic stuff. I think for me, I like the
fight a couple enemies and then get to your big bosses. I think when
there's something, especially near the back end, where it's like a lot of
enemies and it's it does get like a tad repetitive. So I think that's
where I enjoy it, and I think it's perfect for this. If this
was a thirty to forty hour game, I think that's where obviously that changes,
right, But yeah, you'd need a yeah, I think with me,
I hit the perfect max of okay at times when I being tired of
it. And maybe that's why I didn't hate the puzzles as much, because
I didn't mind a little break from it at times, because they would not
as bad but remind me of some kind of like I've bringing this up on
the cast before, like Pilots Caribby in the movie. Video game like you
got a heavy tack, dodge, light attack and a kick, and it's
just like luckily here you and lock of slow motion you get a hell blade
like shines like a lightsaber. But so to me, I think some of
the longer sequences without boss battles would get a little much. I almost wish
that maybe that would be the opposite for me, that maybe you just take
out other than the beginning when you're learning take out those just keep it primarily
to boss battles. But there's many times you'll be doing your puzzles, you
walk in a circle and you know, okay, it's on. So again,
maybe you could do a little less because it's not the most intriguing fighting,
but it does feel like got a warm one sense of and I know
you might not be able to speak this, but when you do that perfect
parry, that's really cool and like that's like really satisfying. So I still
overall liked it and it's not like anything that bogged it down. I think
it's just if you do too much of the fighting back to back or played
in a long way. Because I took like I did this in about four
and a half, I guess I would not four and a half. I
guess five sittings, but like I kind of, yeah, that's another day
maybe yeah, maybe four Yeah, but I just feel like because the reason
I'm saying four half because feel like when I did the last day, it
was very like very quick. I didn't have much much to do left in
it. So yeah, so I think that's where for me the combat.
I enjoy it, but it's nothing, uh, nothing to write home,
but I think it is what it needs to be for this game can be
a little repetitive at times. M h yeah, I you know, it's
when I was playing through it, I couldn't put my finger on Like why
do I like this combat so much? Because I'm such a picky person with
combat, like even like Shadow of More Door and like I bounced off Witcher
three because like, I don't like this combat like those I just hated the
combat in those games, and so I just couldn't stand it. And so
I'm like, why what is it about this that I very much enjoy?
And I think it kind of came more into focus pun intended there when I
went back and saw like, oh, yeah, this studio, for you
know, fifteen years before this just made action freaking games like games all about
combat, and so it makes sense that they just have it down to like
a science at this point. And I think big thing for me is like
just feeling like your hits are doing something. I feel like just the sound
effects in this game are so freaking good. The audio is of course top
notch in general. I played this one. I played it with the headphones
on so I could have the voices in my head, and yeah, just
the feeling of every slash is so good. The sounds enemies are making you
just you just wanted to feed them. The recoiled when you hit them feels
really good. I think the dodge is really fast and you kind of like
the little side step and then the actual kind of role, which feels great.
I was I was joking with you when we were talking that I did
not realize this game had a block until I was watching videos after I was
done the whole game, So totally miss that. But like the fact that
I didn't even have that one tool out of like three or frame that exists,
and the game played really well for me, Like that makes me excited
for the sequel. That's gonna feel like a new feature for me, getting
the ability to block. But yeah, like I just think the feel of
it was so good that that's what kept me enjoying it pretty much all the
way through until like the last sequence when you like when Hella is at the
very end of that bridge and you have like an arena, and then you
have the second arena, and then I think you have a third one,
and like that other one, you are supposed to die and that's like the
story thing. But like that first couple of them, like, man,
they are so many enemies here, and I'm like, I'm starting to lose
lose a little bit, and because there are a couple issues I have with
the combat, and those are most I was pretty bothered by, like the
always locked on part of the the like when you go into a comp arena,
you're immediately locked on, which is something that's nice, but I also
like in a game with a lock on that I can unlock whenever I want,
reposition, move around, switch my camera, make sure I can like
see everyone on the battlefield, make sure I see the battlefield in general.
And that was something that bothered me because, yeah, like the enemies behind
me. I like that audio cue. I like that that's in there rather
than you. I think that's cool, but it happens a lot. And
like the movement you know, with a locked on camera obviously is like very
very kind of limited. And I just found there's so many times where I
glitched in a wall and I was like stuck and someone was hitting me in
a wall, and then I couldn't move anywhere, And so I think I
just wanted the ability to, yeah, turn the lock off off for a
second, just so I could reposition. I think that, you know,
I feel weird of a lot of Christians of this game, because I think
even any negative feelings I'm feeling, I feel like they almost wanted me to
feel that. So it's like, I don't know, it wasn't this intentional,
was it. But I found like the lack of control in the combat
sequences was more annoying than it was like, oh, this is interesting from
like a story perspective, to make it annoying and phobic, if that makes
sense. But there was even certain battlefields like as you talk about with the
little arenas, mostly in the end of the game, that were so freaking
small that once again, yeah, I didn't add that fun cluster phobic like
this is intense feeling and more more just annoying because of the lack of camera
control. So I think that was really my really, my only main complaint
with it. But otherwise I really enjoy the combat like the whole way through,
which is surprising because, like I said, there isn't a ton of
variety there in theory. Yeah, I could get the idea or the complain
of wanting to see the full field. I guess I was fine that I
could just do the quickly switch to characters and usually when a new person was
coming up that there'd be like some sound effects to kind of okay, third
bad guy for bad guys, So I would just I think usually I would
do a hit and then when I had a second, if people were all
not around me, I would just quickly quick fire through the select and see,
Okay, who is around me? What do I gotta do? And
I was just always doing that. Yeah, I found that too, Like
it wouldn't always go to the guy I wanted it too. You know,
if there's like three or four guys that I would like change the selection and
would be I'd have to click it like multiple times, and then in that
time someone would be like slashing at me from behind it because I've always taken
too long, so that would happen. But yeah, Like, so there's
the basic enemy, then there's like the heavy and then there's the shield guy,
and then there's once you beat cert, like you'll start seeing like the
executioner type, which is like a simplified version of him. And then there's
like the double axe guy who's kind of like a simplified version of uh fall
Fallow Rovin foul Ravin whatever his name is, So he's like a simplified version
of that. So he'll start seeing those like two boss fights. And then
there's I guess you'll see like the dog one once you thought that boss fight
later. But I the only one that really chripped me up for a bit
was the shield guy. I was like, man, I cannot find a
consistent way to like get through his guard, and then eventually I figured,
like, okay, I wait till the very end of his attack dodged to
the left, he'll like stagger over and then I can like kick him or
just like hit him with a heavy attack and then I'm good to go.
But yeah, I think I found like figuring out the different timings of them
was satisfying, even though once again I didn't have the block slash Perry feature
in front of me. Yeah, I follow the shield guys like, I
just kick them pretty easy. Actually, I just led it with the like
with the actual kick button, the melee kick. Yeah, because I found
that it never really did much if I was like going like looking at them
facing I think it always make them stumble for me, I think, Okay,
yeah, I don't know, but like it usually worked pretty well or
like you said, the role but yeah, I was usually just hitting the
kick on them, so right, I think for the second game, we've
seen like there's a spear and I don't know if you I think you do
throw it, but maybe it's also for melee attacks, so I don't I'm
guessing you have like a sword and a spear and you can switch between so
throw. But yeah, like even like arranged attacks, like there's the double
axe guy. He does have like one attack that's like arranged thing, but
otherwise that's not really a part of the combat. Usually, like arena type
combat systems like this will have like a couple of range guys in the back,
a couple of guys chasing you down, a couple of guys kind of
just slowly walking, so that way you have to like always kind of move
around the battlefield in interesting ways. But it was interesting that they're really all
just melee types in this game. They're always just constantly walking towards you at
the same kind of slow speed. So I'm so curious with the guy that
has the double axes in the boss fight, when he goes like he's like
kind of black and airy and you can't attack him, how were you able
to attack him? Again? Focus once again? The focus okay, focus
okay for me, because I didn't know the focus did that at that time.
The only way I could do it was doing the block, and it
would if you deflected his knights into him, he would come back and that's
when you could fight him. Yeah, that's cool. I like this,
so okay, then hub about because there's also later in the game, like
the regular enemy types can also have that weird like ethereal ness to them where
they're like ghosts. And then yeah, the only way I could get to
there was by focusing. Were you also blocking those guys' hits and that's how
you broke them out of it? Yes? And no, because at that
point I did no focus did that, so I just thought what that first
boss battle, it had to be the deflect. I didn't know that then
because after Serder I was like, okay, this focus, clearly I can
use. Did you do it? Sounds like you did Serder first? No,
No, I think I did Sorder second. I think that that guy
first. Yeah, because that's why I didn't use focus, and then I
did Soder gotcha? Gotcha? Okay I did. I did the opposite.
So that's interesting. I don't think it really changes anything at all, but
that's interesting. Yeah, any anything else on the commet, I feel like
that was kind of it, right. No, I'd be looking forward to
see like what the spears. But no, like I said, I think
it, I think it gets the job done, and uh, it can
be fun at times, so like I said, nothing I would write home
about, but uh, there are, like you said, soundifying some very
satisfying things. The same thing when I would deflect one of those those throwing
dayers, Oh it was good. You get that yellow fact and it just
goes right to them. So yeah, right, yeah, I'm looking forward
to see what they add in the sequel there. They'll take the fleck down
in the sequel they oh, completely rip it up. Uh And then yeah,
so talking about more to do with the the kind of I guess puzzles
or the other sections of the game. So yeah, you went to Thaler
Ralvin. First, of course, you have the option there which way you
want to go. That's where you have the align the Ravens puzzles, you
have the reality gates. I think the reality gates were my maybe my favorite
in concept, and I think there's just like that one main one you got
to do where it's like a huge area and you have to like get through
that castle wall and then like re establish again to like open the door.
Then you re establish it. Like I lest that. I just hate how
much you have to walk to do that whole sequence. It takes too long.
But the one that I really liked was later in the game Past Faller
Robin's area is like in the swamp area and there's a section we have to
re establish a bridge, and I just thought that one there was no like,
it wasn't really a puzzle. It was more just like you just had
to do it. It was very obvious to me what I had to do,
and I just found like it was kind of like a little figure eight
movement. It was really satisfying to go through and do that one. So
sometimes it worked. I think it was just Yeah, if you were ever
stuck in this game, that's when it was like, man, moving around
these areas and like just looking at things from different like this is not fun
to do. And especially when you get into that one area during that fall
Raven section and you have to like there's like a million ravens and you just
have to go look from the very specific spots. I think it is that
same area where you have to go through that wall again, but god,
it just takes uh just takes forever. Yeah, No, I completely agree.
As I talked about earlier. I felt like the pearls, there's alerting
curve there and I think you're your statement just sums it up better in concept
than an execution. Again, the more you did it, then the more
you'd expect and the more you kind of pertain that, Okay, I gotta
do this, or I could go this way. Yeah yeah, yeah,
you know it could take a while because, like you said, yeah,
walking around that era, that was a time sink, and that's where that
was the first time in the game. I pulled up a guy and I
tried not to nowadays with puzzles, but at the same time, I still
got a retro coming up that I got to hit. You know, I
still funny. I'm the complete opposite now. I'm like, I don't have
patience for this kind of thing. If you have a very half asked,
half big puzzle in a game, I don't even care. I don't even
want to waste my time because I just feel like it. Yeah, most
of the time these days, it's like it's just there to make games longer.
Like God of War Ragnarok too, Like that bothered the hell out of
me. The puzzles suck in that game, and it's like, there's no
point to this. I understand. Their point is that, like it's more
of a pacing thing, you know, to bounce out those. You know,
there's not too much combat, as you were saying, So I get
why you're doing it, but it's like, I wish there was just an
ability to turn them off, you know, that was in the settings.
I could go turn off puzzles. I gotta prepare myself because with anyand Jones,
I want to try to not to pull up a guy at all.
I want to get in the mind of Nana Jones, and I don't.
I don't want to, you know, I gotta be him. I gotta
solve these puzzles, you know. But uh yeah, so I agree with
you on the portals. I have a love hate relationship, but cool setically
and cool idea and same thing. That's when you there's other things. But
with the puzzles, when you start to look at trees or whatnot, that
to me was different. Once you started getting portals, that was really emphasized
like, oh, we are like there's some potential supernatural magical elements here,
you know, so yeah, definitely, and then so yeah, get the
cert sequence. So this is interesting where we didn't talk about this, but
at the very beginning of the game, I forget where it is. But
they say that with each each time you die, the rot will grow deeper
in What did you What did you take from that statement when you saw it
in the game? Well, like, uh, gameplay wise or story wise,
I just either like what what did you? What did you? How
did the game change of the game? I guess well, gameplay wise,
is scared the hell of me because it said if you brought too much,
you have to start over, and I was like, I don't want to
be in that situation, like, and I don't know what happens. Luckily
that didn't happen to me, but like, I, maybe that's not a
case. Maybe you can never because I would be pretty bummed to be six
hours in and die, and then again that's as tedious and slow slow burn
as this is. To restart would be insane. So to me, that
worried me right away. Uh, And I didn't look it up, so
I should have looked at the sea. And then gameplay wise, I'm not
or story wise, I'm not sure because it's them. I think it's just
kind of magical curse element stuff because at first I thought could be tied to
this. I think it's also tied to this darkness that's in her but at
the same time, I guess she banishes the darkness at the end, so
it could just be that that it is this whatever. But then I feel
like the darkness is arguably there or not there, right because the father saying
it's there, but she's saying it's not. Dylan says it's not. So
that's where that doesn't work as well. If it was an actual oh yeah,
you're cursed, then sure, but this is someone kind of not believing,
someone that needs help mentally. And then but that would almost prove like
the dad right thing, Well, no, it is there. It's like
this is something that's I think maybe the raw is something she's put upon herself
because the way her dad has made her live internally, it's like she's kind
of rotting from the inside. So that's all I kind of check me.
Yeah, I think it's definitely a U I don't know. I guess a
parallel with depression that she can like only take so much before she's just gonna
break down and end it all that kind of thing. So story wise,
I think it makes sense. Gameplay wise is exact as you're like, wow,
that's a bold choice. I did not I've heard this game is short.
Maybe that's why, because like it's short because you can have to restart
it or something. So I think it was it was really effective of getting
in the back of your head. Now it actually doesn't do anything. There's
no mechanic at all related to it. It is a lie from the developers,
Okay, but I actually I'm okay with it. I think it's I
think that's a fine deceiving lie to my because it changed my relationship with it.
Now. I will say I died dessert so many times. In the
first couple of times, I was like, oh shit, I'm gonna rot
and I'm gonna lose. But then it got to Porm like, Okay,
well, I'm actually kind of frustrated because I don't understand how I'm supposed to
beat this guy. And then when it when the solution was to focus,
I was like, Okay, that was not really that satisfying of a solution.
But then I think by like near the end of the game, maybe
sixty seventy percent of the way through, I almost completely forgot about it because
I wasn't dying very much, but I was. I got to portum like
there's no way that the game fully ends like maybe you just go to like
an earlier checkpoint or something like that. But it I feel like it lost
its luster a little bit by the end of the game. But it actually
it did work for a few hours in terms of getting in my head in
a certain way. So I thought it was a cool idea. I don't
know how much I want other companies to take that idea of just lying to
us about how Mechanic's working game, because I think that could be an interesting
idea of you being weakened over time or something. Another thing I think is
cool is like the more you get hit in this game. Once again,
as we mentioned, there's no health bar, there's no UI for that,
but you like the screen gets like more and more fucked up as you get
hit, and then she also just like gets really defeated, Like it gets
a point where you can't do like combo attacks, like she's just like exhausted.
You can only do like one swing and then you have to wait for
her to kind of heal back a bit. And so I thought that was
cool. But yeah, I thought that was a very bold idea that I
wonder like the second game can't really do that trick twice, I mean,
they can go for it and for people who skip the first game that it
could work for them, or they could commit to it and actually do that
mechanic, but I think that would be very CONTROVERSI if they had a mechanic
like that in this sort of game, I wonder if they do it differently.
But this time it's because it looks like from the previews she has like
a few companions. I wonder if it's you could lose a not that you're
switching, but like you could affect the story and whether it's lie or this
time it's not a lie, and maybe the more you rot someone else dies.
I love there's companions in that one. I thought so because I feel
like when I saw stuff, there's other characters around her. Now. I
don't know that could be a flashback, right, but I felt like when
the very first time we saw this game with the Big Giant, there were
people around her. And if that's the case, I think you could do
something fun there of you know, rotting would take some people down, so
and that could work too, because it's like that could be just like figurements
of her imagination. So it would make sense too if they just disappear for
some way, so that that could be interesting also though, I just actually
loved the idea of the rot and the look of it. I loved anytime
you die like that growing up there. I thought that was really really cool.
So even if it that nothing for the game, I like that idea
of every time you die your character is getting more and more damage along the
way. So and I think it works too because, as we mentioned,
there's that moment when you fight Hella later on in the fight is just so
intense that eventually you're just gonna die. You're like force, it's like a
one of those fight scenes where you're supposed to die and it's like and then
it goes to a different cutscene rather than just reloading, and so it kind
of gets in your head bit too, like oh did I did I die
too many times or something? So I think that kind of works in that
way too. It's kind of like a four sequence for that to happen.
Yeah, the CERT sequence, the fire sequence was this a It sounded like
it didn't work for you. Did you didn't like the fires? And the
that part of the puzzle, which specifically storing the cert like the CERT sequences
and you have to do like the multi is that just because of how many
times you that's that's how many times. I think two would have been enough.
I think that because I feel like there's the one where you're just like
what I would pitch is one where you're running through the field, and then
one where it's like you gotta run through the house of a different direction,
like I feel like one sets you up for it, and too there was
just too many. But I liked the idea, and that's why I did
like too where somewhat earlier that sequence later on where it's another like you're in
the dark and you're seeing things. I liked that there was different versions of
a vision was just the fire all over. So I liked the idea and
the concept. I think it was just by the time I got it last
one, I was like, Okay, I've had I've had quite enough of
these fire visions. So the like the concept just too many times. Yeah,
No, I can definitely agree with that. Although the intensity of those
scenes really worked for me, especially with the headphones on and just like these
people screaming their death cries like into your ears and so loud and intense.
So I thought those sequences really those ones worked for me, but yeah,
I think they probably did it one or too many times more than they needed
to. And then we've talked about this, but yeah, like finding the
symbols in the environment, I think one thing is like I wonder, you
know, how when you get like near the sequence where you are supposed to
focus and like the symbols are sort of appearing everywhere on the ground, like
it's hinting. I wonder if those were they're always or if they added that
eventually because people were just spending too long getting stuck in these areas not knowing
where to go. I feel like that's why they were added. And then
because of that, like that almost kind of takes away from the intrigue for
me of actually finding these symbols, because rather than looking for the symbols,
I'm just walking around until I find those, until like those things start popping
up in the world, and then I'm like, Okay, well now i
know I'm in the right spot. So I think it almost worked counterintuitive,
but I wouldn't have wanted it the other way either. I think it's just
ultimately they just did too much of those or those would be fun like puzzles
for like bonus unlocks or something, but it's not really that kind of game
either, But I don't know. Good concept. Once again, done like
way, way, way too many times. Yeah, and I think you
would have been if you didn't have those letters there, you have been I
think even more lost because that you would just been definitely you just look like
where could this be? So I appreciate that they added those in there,
so mm hmm. And then zooming along, there's the the tests. I
guess what do they call them? The tests? Whatever it is. You're
trying to do all these different challenges in order to get the sword, and
you have like those four different challenges, you can go do them in any
order. So once again I like that they have that for the cert fall
Riven sequence, and then these these labyrinths so you can go and do stuff
into I mean, in this one, you don't really have any information as
to which one what each one does, so there's not really much of a
decision there, whereas they set up a little bit the differences between Faller Oven
Inserter. But yeah, here you have the labyrinth sequence where you're going through
and you're trying to break out of this endless kind of cycle. You have
the darkness one, which I like that one. I thought that one was
pretty good, the creepy little weird creatures that you're trying to sneak around,
the sound effects they make as well. The labyrinth I didn't quite like as
much. I was a bit tedious for my liking the perspective tower. I
thought that was one of the best uses of that when we're like climbing that
kind of wooden almost clock tower and you have the different masks and you have
to shape things. I thought that one worked better because it wasn't that cha.
And then there's the swamp one. I like this one aesthetically. I
like the and I like being kind of waste waists deep in the in the
thick of it and everything. So mm hmm. Yeah, so that one
worked too. And then I guess the other sequences is like these sequence where
the wolf fen rear is chasing you and you kind of have to run from
place to place keeping in the light. What did you What do you think
of that sequence? I liked it. I don't think it's it's not something
that stood out. Maybe there could have been more cinematics to that in a
way where I just felt like it could have a bigger impact. So for
me, it's not one like when I'm thinking about the highlights of the game.
It's not one that pops in my brain of oh, that's gonna be
something I remember. Like I said, it's not that it's like the most
special thing, but just even the look of it, like the swamp,
just even the colors I remember, just because I don't know, remind me
of gross Shrek looked. It looks like it looked gross. It looked disgusting,
where the other one not anything bad. But it's not I think that's
gonna stick out to me as far as when I think about back about this
in a later date. M hmm, yeah, I think I feel about
similar as you. What do you think of that boss fight? Or I
guess give me the ranking of like the difficulty of boss fights for you,
what was the easiest versus hardest? Oh gosh, So I think for some
reason, Curter is probably still the hardest, just because I'd probably died the
most, just because I didn't know the focus. But still even early on
I was finding the cadence for that. I feel like probably the Dagger guy
would Yeah, probably the bottom I think because I died a couple of times.
I think only died twice. But once again, once you got that
going on under Curd, I'd probably put the big, the big the dog
the first time you'll get to them, because that was they probably are technically
harder than Curder. But I just felt like Sourder I was still such a
newbie. Oh what else we got going on? So if we got Sourder
the dog, I mean, I think it's pretty much just those three.
Yeah, I think that'd be the way it was. But the dagger guy
I liked, again aesthetically, it's nothing bad about but yeah, the dog.
I felt a little more prepared going in and even just stuff like I
think the first time I fought the dagger guy, uh didn't know about the
health death situation where if you just even don't block for a while, you
can kind of just get back some of your stamina, Like where for a
while I just thought, oh, man, if I'm already this is like
I'm just stuck here and I would just be fighting fast and everything. But
that dog was was pretty big, so that would be my ranking. Yeah,
I think I found feller Off in the hardest. The dagger Guy,
I mean, I probably died more Desserders because I didn't know the focus mechanic
yet but he and once I figured that out, was like, it's a
very easy fight because his movies are so slow and telegraphed, and he doesn't
really combo ever, he just does like individual like maybe he'll do it to
hit combo, but just like Stag four hits in a row. Yeah,
no, actually, I think you're right, I should put shirt last because
actually, like I feel that's why I died the most. But I think,
like you said, once I knew what I had to do, like
just eat them immediately, so I doesn't just I just didn't know what to
do. Yeah, so it's not that hard. So yeah, Mango Serter
deaer guy and then the dog, and then I think i'd put the dog
at the bottom for me. I didn't find him that difficult. I don't
think I died on him at all. I don't know what it was about
it, but I think he once again was big and sluggish, and I
knew how the mechanics were at this point, even though I didn't know the
block was a thing. But yeah, I didn't yea. I didn't find
that one particular challenging. I liked it visually, like the kind of dark
room and kind of have to find him in the shadows with just like a
little bit of sound effects but mostly like the slight rumble and the controller.
I thought it was kind of a fun use of like they're using the headphones
to the max quality, they're doing interesting stuff with the controller for gameplay mechanics.
So I think it worked for me in that way. Yeah, and
plus many Day Guy wasn't as hard for me because I had that block as
well too, So I had that goal before me, so because not only
would you block the attack, you'd hit him and he'd be damaged. So
I had so if you were playing with the block, maybe he would be
different on your list as well. So mm hmmmm. And then yeah,
we talked about the Even Realm a little bit, the lava, all the
boys and stuff. Yeah, like there's you're not there for very long.
There's not much to say about it, but visually the sound effects there just
so well done. And I hope we see more weirdo trippy locations like that
in a sequel. I'm sure we will. I'm sure they got some of
that saved, but yeah, I'm very excited to see some more crazy stuff
like that. Yeah, as far as area wise, that was my standout.
I love, like I said, that wall of hands sticking out.
It was very well done from start to finish, and I definitely hope there
is something it reminds me, like jumping from sequel to whatnot. I'm hoping
like with the Arkham Asylum games, when you had the Scarecrow and you had
those sequences and it was really trippy, and then the sequel they doubled that.
That's what I want here. We're obviously not the same thing, smaller
budget, smaller teams and stuff, but same thing where it gives a bigger
sequence that give us a big boss battle in that area, you know.
Yeah, I'm excited for that giant that we've seen before. Yeah, I
thought for sure I was gonna have to fight them, but didn't happen,
so mm hmmmm. And then yeah, there's the the shipwreck era. There's
not a lot that happens there, it's mostly just walking around. I like
the look bit though, and then yeah, like the Hella section with the
final battle. I liked the I don't know, I like the like the
ground kind of getting laid down in front of you. Hella is probably my
favorite visual design of any one in this game, Like just the first time
you see her out on the bridge, and like her body is like half
intact, half like yeah, burning away. Her eyes are so fucking scary
so to me, like just also since she's freaking huge, But yeah,
I found her to be particularly terrifying. So even though she didn't really talk,
which makes sense, but yeah, I found that that part was h
was really well done. And yeah, I like the kind of fake out
death there at the end, even if there was maybe a little too much
combat in that last sequence. Yeah, I agree with that too much combat.
I love a good fake out death. Same thing about Arkham, the
same thing happen. I love games where you do that you just don't know
if that's supposed to happen, if you screwed up. And yeah, I
like tell his design here much I'd say different than what you get most times
with Hella, Like I don't recall anything like this is almost like closer,
like an alien like sort of bean and whatnot. But yeah, but no,
I enjoyed as well too. One thing I was this took me off
guard is when you're going into the final battle, one of the voices in
your head says, this is the final battle, and then Sanuel looks at
the camera and says, yes, it is, which I thought was like
I did not expect a kind of fourth wall the break there. I don't
know if that once again a commentary of like we the player are like in
her head or something like that. Anything in this game makes me I kind
of like overthink of like, oh, what could be like the multiple layers
of meaning here, But that that definitely stood up to me as being a
strange choice. Yeah, And that's why even at the end when they turned
to you and they're like, oh, there's more stories, and even at
the beginning, like I said, when they were referring to, oh,
she's done this many times, there is like a story being told aspects.
That's why the fourth wall break, I think, No, that's a big
break, But it works because it is just like almost like this could not
be the first time it's happening, or the time. If this is not
when it's happening, you're almost playing the story of what happened, like someone
relaying that information to you. So I like those moments because it kind of
reminded you, you know of that kind of aspect of your kind of you're
the viewer here, you know, and uh yeah, they're they're they're sharing
the story with you. So I liked that. Mm hmm. Let's take
our last at break here and then we'll talk more deeply about the characters and
the story. We will be right back. Okay, we are back.
I think my first my first question for you, I guess, is what
is real in this game and what is not? Oh, that's a good
question. I think for sure, basically one of the combat is actually happening.
I think all those monsters are None of those monsters are real, or
you are fighting people. But then like she's seen them as different than they
actually are. That's what I'd say. If it is real, those are
not either they're not people or they were people, and she's kind of replaying
them in their mind, like there are people she's killed before and that's why
they had It's almost like visual representation is no death. But they don't look
good, you know, there's some rock going on. There's these head you
know, masks that they wear could symbolize something. So I think the fighting
is either real and it's normal people. That's what she sees or it was
real, and it's another aspect of telling the story within a story. I
think baseline, what happened at least is the stuff for their father's real.
The stuff with Dylan trying to you know, them being in love and wanting
to help her is real. His camp and him getting killed is real.
So I think all that that stuff and even about the darkness, who knows
what to the extent that is I could just be you know, it was
obviously it is an allegory for mental health, but like I don't know if
the father actually was insinuating that she actually had some sort of curse or it
was just saying like calling her mental health the darkness, right, So I
don't know. There. I feel like just because of the time setting,
he maybe thought it was a curse. But ye know, in that time
they ye didn't really have a concept like people thought scientists were and wizards right
of like oh they did this, so yeah, so that but I would
say that is that is what is real. I don't know how much even
again, like her with Hella and like oh you could bring them back,
I think that is just like a potential bad night acid trip. You're on
in a camp somewhere where you're just trying to come to the the grips with
the death of your loved one. But I think that storyline is real.
It's just the variations of you know, what's otherworldly, what what's beyond the
mass? But I think that is real. That's stuff there. Yeah,
I mean I think with Hella, since you don't actually fight her and there's
no like physical thing being like I, to me, that seems more like
a mirror of Senua. And once again because of like the two sides of
her, the regular I mean, it's not very regular. Hell is looking
wacky no matter which way you look at it, but kind of like a
regular side and then like, yeah, like that side that is sort of
rotted away, And I feel like that's very much her, I don't know,
dealing with her own demons, trying to figure out what's going on,
and kind of envisioning I don't know this character, but I feel like that
is definitely, to some extent, supposed to be a representation of her.
And maybe that happens when she has these realizations at the end of the game
and she shrinks from being a giant down and being like a real, other
sized character. And then of course there's that moment at the very end when
Hella's doing whatever she's doing and then like the camera shifts angles and shifts back
up and then like Senya was in the place where Hella was. Right,
Yeah, so I agree with you one hundred percent when it did turn into
her, that says, Okay, what's going on here? And that's what
it's like. I think that's just her dealing with grief, and like,
yeah, Hella is like the physical representation of grief, but just physical in
her mind. So yeah, so I think she's taking these this mythology that
is scattered throughout the game and kind of using that to maybe like create these
illusions of grandeur of what this what this world is, what's going on,
trying to I don't know, justify it in some way, but even something
like how she sees her mother always as like a face in a rock somewhere.
Yeah, Like I feel like that's just her look out of rock that
looks a little bit like a face. And then like imagine like we all
do that, we all like see, oh wow, those trees over there
look like a look like something. So I feel like that's very much the
same thing going on there. But yeah, I think for me, the
bigest, biggest question is like, yeah, how much of this combat is
actually happening. I guess my prediction would be that none. Like she's not
actually fighting anyone, Like she's just swinging at the air and envisioning these things.
But I definitely could see and it be see it being something else.
Yeah, I think it could be. I don't know if she's even physically
swinging, it's just her playing it out in her mind, especially stuff like
near the end. It's could just be her visualizing like the thought of wishing
to kill the people that took Dylan and some of those people and stuff.
So uh, yeah, I do lean to what either way that she's probably
not fighting, like I don't think anything is raising these actual creatures. But
who knows. Maybe someone happened in the sequel where we look at it as
like, like you said before, in God of War, all that stuff's
happening, right these kind of characters or whatnot. So maybe there'll be up
in the sequel to lean one way or the other where they'll play it more
down the middle, and then I'll go, Okay, then is that or
there's something where it is all these things are risen from the dating. Okay,
that's what I was supposed to take from the first one, so mm
hmmm hmm. And then how about in terms of like the ruins and like
the puzzles as we're talking about there, in terms of like things physically changing
in the world, like where do you think that falls into uh? Or
like these doors, like were these doors locked and she did something to open
them? Or were these doors always technically open but she just didn't actually push
them open because of the illusions? Once again, Yeah, I think it's
supposed to because see, I don't think any of that's happen. I don't
think she'd have to do some honestly puzzles to do X Y and Z.
I think it's almost like a seven Stages of grief sort of thing or whatever
it might be your depression. So it's kind of you're unlocking and because you
get to Hell and you're you've kind of come to terms with Dylan he says
goodbye and all that, So I feel like it's just kind of unlocking parts
of your mind where Okay, this is I can't get from this point to
the point, you know, and like we said the small little choices.
I think that just shows, Okay, everybody else has a different way to
get where they're going, and hopefully you can get to being in a better
spat night imagine she is. She's still looking pretty pretty rough at the end.
I think she's gonna be hopefully in a better way. But that's that's
what I'm curious where and as where it comes into fighting. What you do
in a sequel if you feel like you've kind of resolves this trauma, right,
So yeah, I mean that will be really interesting to see just in
terms of, yeah, do we go back to her clan or what's left?
Like her mother is dead, obviously, Dillian's gone. What is the
do we know the fate of her father? Was he dead too or is
he still alive? I don't think. I don't remember them revealing the fate.
I think yeah, because I think she just kind of left after and
he was still alive at that point. Yeah, when the camp was raisy,
that could always be a loose and brought back. So yeah, we
could go back to the do that. But yeah, you're right, like
there is very much a I don't know, it's weird like this game does
close. It is a fairly conclusive ending, but there is still very much
a setup of like, oh there's more to be done. Yeah, there's
more stories. Yeah. So and like, obviously the voices are still in
her head, so it's not like she's I mean, I don't think psychosis
in that way is something that you can truly recover from, other than the
temporary relief via certain drugs or something like that. So obviously that's still a
part of her. They're still with her. So even though she's come over
like some of these demons, there's definitely more that's gonna happen. Think there's
a spider on your wall behind I can't tell if it's a spider or something
crawling up your wall behind you there. Sorry, I got very distracted by
that. It is a little bug. Yeah he's here for the review.
Yeah, it is a bug. I'm starting to like see oh no.
But yeah, it is an interesting game to get a sequel because the story
that we're telling here feels very much like a one off. But yeah,
as we just mentioned, like, they left definitely left the door open when
they closed the last game out, So I think probably the last few years
they've been developing the story where on this game, planning it going forward.
Yeah, the last dialogue is literally there's more stories to tell. And I
think that's also telling right too, because I think that's something like there's a
quote about, you know, when you're a depressed person, there's gonna be
days where you're just depressed, but you kind of have to work through.
Like it's not like you're not like cured, you know, like and that's
where anything can go through your life, right, like even just grief of
losing someone. You can it can get better, but there's always still gonna
be days. There might be a moment where a memory flash or something and
you're bummed out. You're down because X Y and Z. Right, So
it's not there's not a cure even clinically or drugs wise, it's like,
Okay, now I'm over that and they'll never affect me again. Plus there
could be other things like if the Dad is alive, I'd imagine that character
coming back or and even just the thing is, even if the dad was
dead, the character could come back in a non physical state, right,
Like some situation could reminder of X, Y and Z and that being the
Dad character. So that's where I think with more stories to tell, I
think they can even tackle different stages or different types of anxiety, mental health,
depression, whatever it may be, because there's an unfortunately, like a
big variety and it's not a you know, one fits all sort of circumstances.
So definitely. Yeah. One thing too with Senua as a character in
the actor here Malinia Jurgens, as I mentioned, it's great, like she
was a video editor at the studio and she was kind of like filling in
while they liked find someone like she was just doing the mocap stuff and like
you know, acting in that position until they found someone to be the character.
But then she did that long enough and she got good enough at it
that they just ended up casting her in that role. So I think that's
so cool. And then I'm sure she did a lot of the editing of
certain scenes too if she was still an editor as well. So I think
that's a very cool story. And then to go on to win the like
the Game Award as I think that's pretty meaningful for someone like that, So
so really really cool stuff. And then obviously she's back for the sequel.
I'm curious what her career will look like post helbut I don't even know if
she's done other acting things since then, Yeah, but I hope she does.
I mean, obviously it's maybe slightly different with an actual performance where I
mean she's doing the mo cap and stuff, but then you can change things
of course in the animation side of things. But yeah, i'd be curious
to see what she does after the sequel here, like if they let's say
they don't make help Ay three right away, if she continues to work at
Ninja Theory and is doing a video ut of stuff, maybe doing other acting
roles with different projects, or if she goes on to, uh, I
don't know, act elsewhere for other games. I'm curious to see what her
trajectory looks like. But very very cool, and she did an amazing job
of course, Oh yeah, fantastic. No, I didn't know that story,
so that's that's a fun fact. That's fun how that worked out,
mm hmm. And then also like the voices, like we've talked about them
in Passing, but all the voice acting in this game is fantastic across the
board, like the voices, and I don't know even if that's her just
saying these things as well, because I don't know her voice well enough,
but like doing all the little voices of like turn around, oh go that
way, go up there, She's not gonna go up there, and then
like the little cacan and laughing like that stuff is so good, and like
obviously with the headphones too, they like throw it to all the different parts
of the headphone as well, just to really throw you off, like it's
so well done. The the guy who does a voice acting for like all
the lower stones, and then like at one point the guy who was like
the really gravelly, like deep voice, who I think it's like your father,
but it's like a more demonified father. Like freaking amazing performances all around.
I just thought everyone crushed it in this game, that gravelly voice.
I had to look. I was wrong, but I thought it was our
new Galactus because he sounds like that actor from which like Ralph Enson. But
it wasn't. But he has a very similar voice. But that voice is
a yeah stellar so mm hmm. Yeah. What do you think about Dylan
as a character the love interest, uh, the the forgotten love or the
lost love in this Yeah, if there's any more, it's it's tough because
maybe that's something you died. In the sequel, I don't think there's much
with him, and not that it's meant to, because I just feel like
he's just like as like just a shining light, like he just almost he
almost says like an Angela's especially very cool shot in the end when she's lying
down and he's below her and he's like talking very cool imagery, like very
well done stuff. So I think it's like a little one note, but
it's not. I think because he's dead that's maybe the reason why, because
it's you know, obviously I don't know how long she also knew him,
because she knew him that was gonna run away with him dad and let him
and all this bad stuff happens, so I think for her, she just
kind of has this one image of him in her mind. So that's same
thing. I don't think there's time and it's not necessarily need to get into
the the crux of their relationship and the he he doesn't feel like a full
character himself, but I don't know if he needs to be in for her
story. So I think he works as kind of like this almost this ray
of sunshine in a way, and a lack of better words, so yeah,
he's definitely more of like a plot device than yes is a character that,
yeah, in their own personality, which once again made a good point
there of like like how much did she really know him before he died because
of the where their family and clan dynamic was set up, Like maybe she
couldn't actually spend that my time with him, so it was more like the
idea of him than anything. So she kind of has to project all these
things. And you know, we do get like that flashback sequence where she
met him in the first place, when she was watching him train and that's
where she learned all that she knows about combat, which I guess because she
did it many times watch him over and over again. So kind of a
cute scene there. And obviously not very much are you've seen like bright sunny
meadows in this So that had that flashback. Of course there's all sorts of
effects on there too, but it was a nice little change of pace,
and I think it was like, yeah, you could have done a lot
more flashbacks of other sequences, but I think we kind of got a lot
of that, Like you know, the fire sequences. You can kind of
insinuate that that's an experience ish that she had with her mother or with just
like the rest of the clan whoever else was killed during those sequences, and
so I feel like you don't really need actual flashback, but I think that
one was was well placed. But yeah, we didn't really need didn't necessarily
need more of it to tell that story with him. Yeah, I agree,
And yeah, I liked that sequence. You talk about the being like
because there's not much of it. It's always I do appreciate that lots of
times, especially earlier in the sequence, when you'll beat some bad guys,
it will get lighter out and the darkness goes away. But that wasn't like
a scene like a very happy amount, right, And I like that did
remind me of one thing. I'm not sure if it just was the main
place I had it, but it was close to one those sequences where I
had to pause the game. But unfortunately the dialogue kept going on. But
then when I'm paused, like, oh, I'm sure I'll come back,
but it didn't. And I didn't get the subtitles either, so I had
to YouTube it. But yeah, so like because I paused because I had
to go help on the kids and just gave all this up to it was
paused where she was, and then but when I went back, it was
just the music and her. So it's like such a weird glitch that played
the scene out and the music, but all the dialogue was gone. So
it was funny. I think that happened for me too, where I paused
at one point, but yeah, like the audio still goes on. Yeah,
but I found it. It's okay, I found it later on.
I don't. I don't think the music for the most like I think the
audio design in terms of like sound effects and stuff and voice acting. As
I mentioned all Stellar, I don't think the music did a lot for me.
But I actually did like the two or three songs that we got,
like right towards the end of the game, like when you're doing the hell
sequence and there's more like hopeful music that's leading up to this kind of reveal,
and then like the actual music that plays during the very like final cut
scene. You know, so much of this game is very dour and dark,
and so to have some hopeful themes is nice. But I also just
thought like that was the more creative fun music for me. The rest of
it, I can't even really recall what it sounded like. To be honest,
I agree with you. But at the same time, it's because the
sound design's so good. It's one of those it's like it's almost not needed,
right if there's something you can take the backseat in this one. Yeah,
exactly right. Like it's almost like it would I almost take you out
if you had concurrent music to the whispers and the sound design. So I
agree with you where I think it it was all right, but I it's
kind of like what it's almost like the combat For me, it's like what
it needed to be in in this situation. So mm hmmmm. Another we
mentioned some God of War similarity. Is another thing that I found interesting is
you know, God of War is kind of famous for having like this kind
of one shot element to it, or it's one whole long sequence, and
this game doesn't really have that. But during that Lower Stone or not the
Lower Stone, the sequence when you're going through the shipwreck and then you're trying
to get the sword, like when you go up to all those totems,
you like zoom in on them, and then like the screen zooms in and
then you zoom and you're in this new place. And so I feel like
parts of this game actually did a bit of that. I of trying to
make it one long, cohesive thing. She just unfortunately gets knocked out like
too many times, or like that would be a fadeable I can wake up
a new But that was kind of another funny similarity there. Yeah, the
the lore Stones, it's something I'm kind of mixed on, like it's kind
of like a collectible, it's something else to do in the games. I
think for me, like one weird thing with them was like if you walk
too far away, the audio would like cut out, and like a lot
of times it would happen when I'm not even like there's nothing else that's happening.
There's no other dialogue or sound that's happening, So it's like, why
is this fading out? Doesn't really make sense? Yes, And to me,
I didn't really find them that they added all that much like they're adding
they're just feeling in some like Norse mythology, and I found like maybe ten
percent of them felt like, oh, this is an interesting parallel or similarly
to like what's going on in the game right now. But most of the
time I feel like it wasn't it was just some other random story or like
telling me about some character that wasn't really related. And I know a lot
of these names now from just like Marvel, you know, and that they
used the same mythology and also God of War, but yeah, I didn't.
I didn't really care much for those. So yeah, I don't know.
I'm curious what they'll do for that kind of thing, and that I
feel like they might have that in the next game too, because good to
have some sort of collectible, I suppose, but yeah, I don't.
It didn't add much to me. Yeah, to me, like there's sons
where I didn't even go to them because I just I just didn't feel the
neee to you too far away. It's like I don't want to watch that
back, And I agree with you. Where if they would have played over
all the time, then sure, but the fact that was sometimes you had
to stand there, Yeah, I know it wasn't could have could have been
better done. So not anything that, I uh, not a highlight for
me. I'll say, mm hmm, yeah, I mean I and then
I guess my just last like story thoughts is We've already mentioned this, but
I just feel like the angle of the psychosis that she's experiencing is so well
done in this game, just like from the visuals connecting it with like how
the way the puzzles interact and how it interacts with the combat system, and
then just the dialogue the voice acting like they they did a really really good
job with that. I think that's like, that's what this game is kind
of all about, in that central idea, and I feel like they really
really nailed that. So it's it's cool to see, Uh, rather than
telling some really complex story, this isn't really a complex story. You're kind
of getting very basic little facts here, but it's more like just a way
it's told is why it's so interesting. So I they just did such good
job there. Yeah, any other any other points on this game? Another
notes that you had No, I just again agree with what you said the
last points there. I think they they knocked that out of the park.
I think, like you said, with the story being what it is,
I think if for me those parts and those sections aren't aren't as good as
they are, this game might not I maybe wouldn't be inclined to go back
and do the sequel or continue on. They Okay, that was fun.
I don't think it's a bad game, but with other things as far as
far as like the size of it, the combat, some other things are
like Okay, this is not worth returning to. But uh no, I
think we hit on everything. I think it was for me, like I
said, an enjoyable experience that I'm happy to finally cross off the list.
And I am curious to see what they story wise and even gameplay wise,
just in general, what do they do, what do they change or do
they keep et cetera. So yeah, you know, I think we're in
a similar boat where like in terms of story stuff like execution wise, I
don't think they need to change a thing like they just I don't know what
this next actual story is gonna be, So maybe they want to do something
in terms of that, but I think, yeah, for me, it's
mostly just like I would love if the puzzles weren't as as numerous as they
are, or if they were less tedious. But I honestly like I might
just have a guide open in the background throughout it, and if I pump
into a puzzle, just like no thanks, if I if I don't like
them, maybe they're a lot better this time around. But in terms of
the combat, like, I don't really like I just want maybe a little
bit more, to just add some variety like this, This worked for me
for eight hours of playtime, and what is maybe two hours worth of combat
or something. I think they maybe if they have a new weapon type or
one new feature or a couple of new enemy types, that's like probably all
I need. I think I'm good enough with that. But yeah, I
really just I think that would be my only request for the sequel. Any
other anything else from you that you'd want them to do, Yeah, I
think I agree with you. As far as puzzles, there's certain sequences I
get that made to make the game longer, they might do that, or
if it is puzzles, even a bit more variety of them and not just
not the same ones over and over and over. Yeah, exactly. That
spear doesn't sound too bad when you do that. And then I don't think
I would, like I said, way, we want a bit more prompts
or maybe not complete handhelding, but maybe a little more. But I don't
think that'll change. I think they'll keep it the way where there will be
times where we'll be like, Okay, I gotta go to youtubeer Pulpa Rett
and be like, oh, okay, this is what you do now.
Now, maybe with a sequel, try a bit more things right away because
I'll, like I said, I'm programmed that way so that I don't think
will change. And I guess that's kind of fine, that's that's the way
they're going. But no, hopefully, like I said, just some bigger
set pieces in some of those scary places. But no, I think for
the most part, I guess maybe there's I have faith. Maybe it's almost
like the only place they can go is down and not it's trying to sound
bad, but it's like I like to recapture some of those story beats and
the how elusive they were. Not an easy task, you know, like
the shock of what this game is, some of those mechanics and the audio
and stuff works. Yeah, you can't like we're surprised with that trick twice.
I mean, yeah, there's new tech like since the years past.
I feel like one art like one thing that has changed a lot though in
the last seven years is like the accessibility push in games. So for that
reason, I actually could see them having more prompts or like in the abruptions
the ability to select more of that stuff on there, So I'd be curious
if they if they do that. But uh yeah, any any final thoughts
strugs. You want to throw a number on this, I would give it
about a nine. That's right, b I think it's yeah. For me,
it's definite. As usual with the games, I come down to the
story, and I think this story, like you said, is very basically
I think it's well done and it's just takes you on an experience. I
like that. It feels very kind of almost a twenty four trippy at times,
which I always appreciate when it's well done, because that stuff, when
not well done, can I think, make something a failure, because then
it's like it gets too confusing. The imagery is just imagery for the sake
of imagery. Like you gotta be careful when you do those dream like scenarios.
If they if there's even a few things off, they become tedious to
watch. Like Okay, I already don't understand this point. I don't have
all the facts. And now there's this like you know, what's this huge
monster or a huge like why is this big guy right up to my face
talking to me, but it all worked and it's a I think they take
a lot of risks with this one, but overall, no, I had
a great time with this one, and I'm interested to see where it goes.
And uh uh, yeah, kudos to this team. I haven't played
those other games, but I would venture to guess I don't know if any
of the other games are on the quality that I would enjoy to this extent,
because I don't think they're doing any of these type of stories. They
definitely leveled up with this one. Yes, that's what it feels like.
It feels very much kind of like well maybe actually I think I for good
things about that Devil may Cry game. Maybe they true Yeah that one too.
Yeah, it feels very much like it just based off what they looked
at or when I looked at it feels like Gorilla when they did like kill
Zone to Horizon and we're like, okay, this is a big this is
You've You've evolved so good on them. Yeah, yeah, no, I
I'm We've got a lot of the same thoughts. But I'm very glad I
finally played this game, finally played any game from this studio, and I
think they they did the most exciting thing for me, which is that after
I was done with the game, I just couldn't stop googling their history and
like looking at their older games and be like, Oh, this is going
on my backlog, this is going my backlog. I can't wait to check
out some of these older games. I'm excited for the sequel, but yeah,
I like I I when I was thinking about this in terms of my
rating, I was somewhere between like a six and a seven point five.
I think I'm gonna even it out to it just an even seven on this,
and I think it's because like, yeah, this's some of that puzzle
stuff and just the designer and that really dragged it down for me, and
then like the other stuff is all really solid, but it's still like it
was never really like that ten caliber. So I think it's that's what it's
going to balance out for me. But yeah, very excited for the sequel.
Like, like we said, will probably be a couple weeks out from
Side Quest, not next week's episode but the one after, but when we
do talk about it, we will both probably have beaten the game so we
can have a full spoiler discussion on it. So I'm excited to do so.
Travis, this was very fun, kind of one episode retrospective. Thank
you for joining me, Thank you everyon for listening, and we will see
you again next time. Bye bye,