I'm making the most out of the fact that the PS5 is backwards compatible with PS4 games to catch up on a whole generation of games I missed. BACKGROUND:
This game was a big deal when it came out, so I've naturally heard of it. Somehow, I've managed to only see very little of the game despite it being out for several years now, but the stuff I have seen (like the unique setting and the bow-centric combat), I am very interested in. PLOT: The world of Horizon Zero Dawn seems like a unique universe, but it's actually set on Earth several centuries in the future. It's clear at first glance that some apocalyptic event took place, and that the human civilization we're familiar with today was wiped out completely as a result. The present generation of people who exist instead live in tribes with simple ways of life and much simpler technology. However, that doesn't mean the technology of the last civilization (referred to as the Old Ones by the characters) isn't present anymore. While regular animals do exist in this new world, the most prominent creatures are actually not creatures at all; they're machines with animal-like designs. The people of this world hunt them like our ancestors would hunt animals, but recently, the machines have become more hostile, and more dangerous ones are starting to surface. The game follows the story of Aloy, a young woman who was branded an outcast by the Nora tribe due to the circumstances of her birth. She is raised to adulthood by Rost, who himself is an outcast. Early on, Aloy deals with a lot of harassment and discrimination from the Nora for her outcast status, which eventually compels her to seek answers as to why she was branded one in the first place. Aloy demands answers from Rost, who can't really offer any, but he does say that she can earn the right to demand those answers from the Matriarchs of the Nora if she wins the Proving (a competition that will also make her a member of the tribe). Determined, Aloy trains throughout her childhood in preparation for the Proving, eventually becoming a skilled huntress. Aloy's adventure kicks off proper when she participates and wins in the Proving, which ends up being attacked by soldiers in masks. She narrowly avoids death, and during her recovery, one of the Matriarchs reveals to her why she was branded an outcast. It becomes apparent that the secrets of Aloy's past is tied to the Old Ones (a subject that Aloy has always been curious about), and thus she is sent by the Matriarchs to find answers (as well as avenge the attack on the Nora). After this point, Aloy sets off to explore the world (well, some of it, anyway), where she interacts with and learns about other tribes like the Carja, visits many settlements, helps all sorts of people, and learns of various historical events like the Red Raids (a massacre perpetrated by the Carja's previous king). Most of what she learns here is expanded upon in the game's many side quests, each of which feature a neat little story and other characters. You also learn more about the old world as you play, as optional collectibles reveal all sorts of details (from aspects of daily life, the sociopolitical climate of the time, big events like environmental disasters, and more information about the derelict ruins you explore). The main storyline eventually reveals a lot of bombshells, like the cause of the apocalypse, why the new world is the way it is (with machines existing and all that), and even how Aloy fits into all of it. I wouldn't say any of the reveals are shocking, but I found it extremely satisfying to piece everything together. The secrets of the Old Ones play into the main conflict as well, as the machinations of the villains involve them harnessing long-dormant technology for the sake of conquest. Here, what Aloy learns of the other tribes and what she discovers about the world's past converge. I'm glad that these two plot threads were connected and not just two completely separate storylines. I quite enjoyed Aloy as a protagonist. She doesn't take shit from anybody, she strives to do the right thing, and I felt for her struggle as someone who was treated horribly just because they were arbitrarily labeled as "other" based on complete nonsense. She also has a sense of humor as well as a strong desire to understand the world (something I can relate to). Overall, I enjoyed her journey to discover her place in the world, and there was something satisfying about seeing her earn the respect of people from everywhere after a childhood fraught with discrimination. Interestingly, you can choose how Aloy responds to certain situations, but these choices don't affect the outcome of the story and instead let you decide which aspect of Aloy's personality shines through (her strong will, her compassion, or her intelligence). The spotlight on other characters can vary depending on their role in the story, but most NPCs had something interesting to offer even if they only have a few lines of dialogue or a short side quest. The standouts for me are Rost (whose relationship with Aloy is the beating heart of the early game), the mysterious Sylens, and certain characters from the old world (whose stories live on through recordings and transcripts that Aloy recovers). Admittedly, I didn't really care for the main villains, but the context surrounding their actions is fascinating. Throughout the course of the game, Aloy learns of the history of the Carja, which includes the aforementioned Red Raids (which affected pretty much every other named tribe in this world), the ousting of the king responsible, and the efforts of the present monarchy to make amends. Granted, most of this backstory is told and not shown, but all this history comes across in the emotions conveyed by the people Aloy interacts with. The cultures of each of the tribes are fascinating as well. From the Nora's matriarchal society (and disturbing penchant for shunning outsiders), the Banuk's worship of machines, Carja deifying the sun, and the Oseram mostly being steelworkers, every tribe feels distinct from one another. It's also interesting to see how they view each other, and how aspects of the old world influence their religion and daily life. While the world you explore here has a lot to offer, it's very clearly a small portion of the Earth. Discovering where in the real world the game takes place was quite fun, but that naturally had me wondering how things were elsewhere. There are only hints of what lies beyond, and part of me wants to get on with the second game for some answers. The aspect of the story I enjoyed the most may just be everything surrounding the Old Ones. The eventual reveal of what happened to the world and what people did in response was such an enjoyable experience for me, and it perfectly (and creatively) explains why things are the way they are in the game's present day. Stuff like why machines exist (and even why they're designed the way they are) make perfect sense with the provided context, and I was surprised at how they made characters from this bygone era compelling simply with audio logs and transcripts that describe what they're going through and how they're feeling about the events leading to the apocalypse. Since I played the Complete Edition, I also got to play the Frozen Wilds expansion. The story here sees Aloy explore the Cut, a snow-covered land in Banuk territory, where she discovers a similar phenomenon of machines becoming more hostile as well as an ominous mountain spewing smoke. You meet a new cast of interesting characters in this expansion, and the main quest line expands upon the reveals of the base game while also building upon the past of this region and exploring the culture of the Banuk. I thought it was a worthwhile side story that adds a lot to the overall experience. PRESENTATION: It's no surprise that a game such as this looks great given it leans hard into the AAA graphics. Apart from weird hiccups like small objects blipping in and out of existence and stuff like corpses freaking out when they end up on uneven terrain, this game is quite polished between its realistic textures, lighting, and effects, smooth animations, and incredibly detailed models and environments. Speaking of environments, I enjoyed the diversity of the locales you explore. Most of the world is wilderness, but there are distinct biomes, as you can explore forests, deserts, snowcapped mountains, and lakes/rivers. The settlements of the world's tribes are scattered throughout, and the architecture is unique for each. The highlights of unique designs are obviously the machines, which strike a balance between having the natural form of the animals they're inspired by and being obviously robotic in nature. The Grazer, for example, has the natural shape of an antelope-like creature (as opposed to just being a Zoid), but you can clearly see that it's a machine with all sorts of wires and canisters poking out and their glowing robotic "eyes." Although the machines take inspiration from a wide variety of real-life animals, they do have a lot of similar design traits (white external parts, clearly metallic innards, bluish glow), which adds to the feeling that they're manufactured. While the people of this world have mostly unique outfits, aspects of their overall design reflect the tribe they are from (like the color of fabric, the types of headwear, and face paint). I also liked how their armor incorporated bits and pieces of machines, which shows how prominent hunting is in this civilization. Also peppering the landscape are the ruins of the old civilization, and the imagery is quite inspired. There's something both fascinating and eerie about seeing entire skyscrapers reduced to partial skeletons, old houses completely overrun with plants, and stuff like cars and road signs completely rusted over. The game leans more into the ambient sounds of the environment when you're just exploring, but it does have its fair share of music for cutscenes and combat encounters. A lot of the tracks sound like something I'd hear from an epic action blockbuster, but with noticeably more percussion in terms of the instruments. Pretty much all of the voice acting was great, with even minor NPCs delivering solid performances that convey a whole host of emotions well. My only gripe is how the facial expressions of the characters (which, to be clear, are phenomenal in terms of their natural-looking animations) don't always match the delivery of the dialogue, but apart from that, I think the voice cast did an excellent job. GAMEPLAY: Horizon Zero Dawn is an open world action game where you explore, take on quests, and battle both machines and hostile people as Aloy. There's a lot to discuss, so I'll talk about each main aspect bit by bit. The game's world is quite big, though a lot of it is wilderness. Most of what you'll see here are gathering nodes for resources as well as herds of machines (the map helpfully keeps track where certain machine types live in case you need to specifically hunt them). Strewn about the world are campfires which are both save points and fast travel points, as well as settlements where you can find merchants and a lot of the NPCs who give quests. There are also special areas like the Cauldrons, which are the equivalent of dungeons that give you a special reward when completed (more on that later), various ruins and bunkers (which are also dungeons, but are more often than not associated with major quests), Hunting Grounds where you can take on time trial combat challenges and get item and XP rewards, and bandit camps that you can clear out to unlock new fast travel points. Sadly, there are only a handful of each (even taking into account the DLC area), and I would have loved a few more given how interesting each one was in terms of the challenges they provided. At the start, the map isn't fully revealed, and in order to reveal more, you'll need to climb colossal machines called Tallnecks. You can think of them as the equivalent of Breath of the Wild's towers, except they move, and you have to find an elevated spot from which to jump onto them and climb on their radar head. Again, there are only a few of them, but they each offer a unique challenge in order to get close enough to climb (like a bandit camp or a herd of dangerous machines). Most of your exploration takes place on the ground (or underground), but there will be many sections where you do some on-rails platforming/climbing in the style of games like Uncharted. As is common in many modern games, the points Aloy needs to grab onto have a specific color, though I will commend them for making the visual language here more subtle than what is usually common, as they strike a balance between being clear to spot and blending seamlessly with the rest of the environment. It would have been neat to have more involved platforming (especially given that Aloy has a grappling hook that is never used except for automatic rappel points), but that's just a personal wish. Aloy has access to a highly advanced piece of tech called a Focus, which functions similarly to mechanics like Detective Mode from the Arkham games or Eagle Vision from Assassin's Creed. Their main use is to provide information on the enemies you're fighting (like general location, weaknesses/resistances, and weak points), but they're also used in quests where you highlight tracks and investigate points of interest, as well as interact with datapoints that provide additional lore. There are also a variety of optional collectibles hidden around the world aside from the datapoints, and in addition to the bits of lore they also provide, special merchants will take them and give you useful rewards in exchange. Finding them with no help is quite difficult, but you can purchase maps from certain merchants to reveal them on the map. Now, you still have to look for them, as these don't reveal the exact location of the collectibles; instead, they show you a specific area where they might be found. I thought this was a neat approach that strikes a balance between having you work for it and not making the search miserable. I thought the fact that the Focus was more augmented reality as opposed to some sort of complete filter change for the game was novel, but apart from that, it's a mostly standard take on a mechanic that's become more common in modern games. It does take away from the thrill of stealth (which is a play style I enjoy) because you can easily detect enemies, but that's more of a general criticism of the mechanic than a specific issue for this particular game. Speaking of stealth, factors like the sound of your movements, environmental features like tall grass, and the ability to lure enemies by whistling or throwing rocks can be leveraged to your advantage. It's quite fun to take down whole herds of machines or an entire bandit camp without being spotted, though the inconsistency of the AI keeps it from becoming a perfect experience. There are neat behaviors like enemies going on high alert when a corpse is spotted or enemies with projectiles aiming at tall grass that they saw you hide in, but at the same time, I found that enemies give up on looking for you too quickly, immediately forget where you just were, or just have terrible peripheral vision. Most quests involve a mix of talking to NPCs, investigation, navigation to new locations, and combat, with the occasional gathering of resources and NPC allies fighting alongside you. A lot of the investigation portions aren't that exciting (just follow the trail until you get to the action), but thankfully most quests culminate in some sort of combat encounter. Now, we get to the combat. Aloy's preferred weapon is her bow, but as you play, you'll unlock different kinds of bows (each with different sets of ammo) and entirely new weapons. You can equip four weapons at a time and switch with the weapon wheel at will (with the additional ability to select the specific ammo you want), and the variety of weapons allows you to do a lot of fun stuff when it comes to swapping quickly to get the results you want. I found it odd that the arrow types are split across three bow types instead of having one bow and a simpler way of switching between the ammo you want, but the game at least makes it so that these bows have different properties (like variation in aim and reload speed, plus the damage output of their respective ammo). The other weapons include the Ropecaster (an extremely useful tool that can briefly incapacitate machines with ropes), the Tripcaster (which can set tripwires), Slings (which can lob elemental or explosive bombs), and Rattlers (which is the closest thing to an automatic weapon). The DLC also adds powerful elemental weapons like the Icerail, Stormslinger, and the Forgefire, which are all fun to use. They all have their niches, and it's fun to switch between them depending on the situation. Each weapon has a variety of ammo, from regular damaging ammo (standard arrows and such), ammo that can inflict status effects if you hit enemies enough times (elemental arrows and bombs, Ropecaster ammo), explosives, and ammo that specializes in Tear damage (which can destroy machine components effectively). It's the variety here that makes swapping between weapons a ton of fun, because if you play your cards right, you can bully even the most powerful machines into submission with judicious use of your arsenal to deal damage, incapacitate, and exploit weaknesses. While you can buy ammo from merchants, you'll likely be crafting them more often than not using resources gathered from the environment and looted from downed machines. Many ammo types make use of Metal Shards, a resource that also doubles as currency for merchants. I never really ran into the struggle of running out of Metal Shards for either purpose, as you can sell resources you don't need easily on top of the shards you can harvest from machines naturally. Where you may struggle are the specific resources for particular ammo types, as that will typically require taking down specific machines for a chance to loot that resource. Thankfully, you can buy these resources from merchants as well, and failing that, some ammo types can be purchased straight up. If ranged combat just won't cut it, Aloy can also use a spear with a light and heavy attack. Unfortunately, that's as deep as melee combat goes, but the heavy attack does have a niche in that you can stun enemies briefly if you hit them with it enough times. You can also acquire or craft traps that you can lay down so that enemies trip on them, though I never really used them apart from one or two situations. I found that the Tripcaster accomplishes the same thing but with more flexibility since you can set the tripwires from afar. Aloy can also purchase and equip armor that provide different resistances to certain attack types, but that's as deep as it goes for most of the selection. Only very few actually offer unique passive effects like health regen, and I'm pretty sure most of them are locked behind the DLC. Both armor and weapons can have modification slots where you can attach mods that increase stats like resistances or damage output for specific types of damage respectively. You can acquire a lot of mods by chance when looting downed enemies, but you do get some as quest rewards, and you can buy treasure boxes from merchants that give you a random selection. Healing damage is accomplished one of two ways. You can either keep things simple and craft/buy potions that heal damage instantly, or you can gather special medicinal plants that you can use to heal damage over time. The former is useful in fights since you get your HP back in an instant, but the latter is also useful since all you have to do is forage a bit (which is faster than gathering the resources needed for crafting or buying potions), and your medicine pouch can store enough healing that can keep you going for a while. Inventory management can be a bit of a pain given the limited slots and how a single resource can take up multiple slots because they only stack up to a certain number. You can craft additional slots for both your inventory and your ammo capacity for each weapon, but again, acquiring the materials can be tricky, and in the case of your inventory, it won't be enough if you have a compulsion for looting. Thankfully, there's a way to salvage unwanted goods into Metal Shards if you're pressed for space. Most of the combat will be against the world's machines, of which there are a decent variety. Each one has unique attack patterns/behaviors, some can inflict status effects, and often, you'll have to deal with multiple ones at once. Even the most dangerous machines are manageable with proper use of your arsenal, but the challenge mounts when you're surrounded by more than one machine. Every machine has specific elemental weaknesses you can take advantage of, but the key to taking them down is analyzing their weak points. You can target these weak points for big damage, and if you do enough, you'll break off these components and get the loot later. Special weak points can also deal massive damage to machines if you set them off (like explosive barrels), disable machine abilities (like radar scanning or elemental attacks), and even force them to drop their most dangerous weapons (like turrets or cannons). In the case of the last point, you can even pick up these dropped weapons and use them against enemies. Once you've taken down your fair share of machines, you'll find that each one has a specific set of drops. You can use these drops to craft your ammo or to trade with merchants for specific items, though some drops are rarer than others. There will be a point that you don't need the rare drops anymore, at which point you can sell them for plenty of shards. Human enemies are less complicated, as all you have to do is shoot them in the head to deal massive damage. While I enjoy fighting the machines far more since they pose a bigger challenge, taking down bad guys is a fun break since majority of the situations you encounter them in can be done stealthily. You can also hunt regular animals for their meat, bones, and skin, which are all valuable crafting materials. They're not going to put up a fight, though, and compared to machines, they're a little harder to farm since the map doesn't keep track of where they hang out. You'll eventually unlock the ability to override machines, which can convert machines to your allies. Having them fight for you is highly situational, as ally AI is not very smart and you can't issue orders, but some machines can be used as mounts that you can ride around for faster travel. These overrides are what you unlock when completing the Cauldrons, which I think is a worthwhile reward. Defeating enemies and completing quests reward you with XP, and leveling up rewards you with skill points (as well as an HP increase). Yes sir, there's a skill tree in this game. You can unlock all sorts of useful skills, like improved foraging, enhanced combat abilities (like a slowdown mechanic for aiming, or better spear damage), and stealth capabilities (sneak attacks). If you take your time playing through optional quests, getting to the level cap and getting all the skill points you need will happen naturally, so there's no real need to grind by just picking fights with every machine you see. You can choose from a variety of difficulties to determine how you want your experience to go, from Story (which significantly tones down combat) to Ultra Hard. I decided to play on Hard this time around, which made encounters less forgiving since things do a lot more damage, but I didn't notice a significant challenge in terms of enemy behavior or anything like that. If you want more game, you can take on New Game+, which has all your usual trappings. This is the only aspect of the game I did not mess with, but it appears to be standard fare. VERDICT: Horizon Zero Dawn was a blast from start to finish, so much so that I ended up getting every trophy outside of the New Game+ achievements. From the unique world with a creative take on a post-apocalypse situation, a great protagonist in Aloy, and fun combat with a diverse arsenal and interesting machines to fight, it was a delight to explore the world, learn its secrets, and face off against its threats. If Forbidden West offers more of what I enjoyed and improves upon other elements, I definitely will play it soon. This is definitely an essential stop when it comes to the PS4's greatest hits, so if you have the means, go and play it. It's a solid open world experience that isn't overwhelming to navigate, you can choose a difficulty level depending on your experience with action games, and I think the story is well done between its world-building and its characters. You don't need to go out of your way to get a PS4/PS5 to play this, as it's been made available on PC! Here's the Steam page: Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
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Here I am with my final read of 2023. Rest assured there'll be more to come in the new year! BACKGROUND:
I did not know about this manga at all until it was suggested to me, which prompted me to look up the synopsis. Said synopsis sounded interesting, so here we are. SUMMARY: Saint Young Men follows the story of Buddha and Jesus Christ (yes, the religious figures themselves), and instead of some divine crossover epic, they're simply taking time for themselves and living as roommates in a Tokyo apartment. They don't really do much other than try to experience normal life in Tokyo, but there is a lot of humor in them trying very hard to hide who they are (and their divine powers) and learn about Japanese society in the 21st century. Examples of the duo's adventures in this volume include going to the public pool and sauna (and making an unexpected acquaintance), dealing with everyday people commenting on their appearance (the two very much look like their traditional depictions here), checking out a tourist spot, struggling in a packed subway train, going to the equivalent of Disneyland, enjoying themselves at some sort of fair (which ends with them becoming an impromptu comedy duo), trying to get through a rainy day, and the two exploring different ways to express themselves artistically. A big part of the humor in this manga involves Buddha and Jesus actually retaining their divinity in some way and not being able to control it in some way. For example, Buddha straight up glows when he happens to say something sagacious, or Jesus can accidentally perform his classic miracles (like turning water to wine) when he's genuinely pleased. It's quite amusing to see them scramble to not out themselves with these stunts in public, and as someone who spent years of their lives learning about Christianity, some of the gags involving Jesus were hilarious references that I appreciated. Speaking of references, a lot of the established history of both characters is shown to be true here, as both Jesus and Buddha talk about each other's previous lives prior to their little sabbatical. My knowledge of Buddhism is mostly limited to the basics, so the book is equal parts refresher and new info when it comes to Siddharta Gautama's life before his enlightenment. In Jesus's case, most of his past is perfectly in line with what's told about him in the Gospel, so a lot of what's shown of him in this regard is quite familiar to me. Both their backstories are often referenced in some humorous fashion, like Buddha urging Jesus to turn rocks to bread when the latter got hungry, or Jesus becoming alarmed at Buddha trying to spin something as an act of ascetism. While the personalities of both leads are mostly consistent with what's been established about them in their respective religions (Buddha doesn't get too worked up over material possessions, Jesus is a kind and loving person), they do get their own amusing quirks in this manga. Buddha, for instance, is quite the penny pincher, and he often chastises Jesus for his penchant for impulse buying. In one chapter, Jesus is shown to be afraid of swimming, and they use this fact to provide a hilarious alternate explanation for his baptism at the River Jordan. They each also have their own uniquely modern interests (like Buddha being a manga fan and Jesus running a popular blog online), and along with their remixed personalities, these further add humor to otherwise everyday situations. Now, what I described above may sound rather sacrilegious to some (not that I would care; I personally think blasphemy is given too much weight as a "sin"), but the manga doesn't even really make any sort of commentary on Buddhism or Christianity (let alone be critical of them), nor does it proselytize or explore actual differences between the two belief systems. I suppose the most the book does at times is have the characters comment on certain quirks of modern society, which is interesting given outside of Shinto, Japan is a largely secular population now. Perhaps more could have been done in these regards, but honestly, I was having a blast with the simple yet funny narrative that I feel like any sort of serious exploration would have taken away from the enjoyable humor. The art is largely simple for the most part (the most notable visuals to me are just how Jesus and Buddha look like their typical depictions), but it really shines when it comes to visual gags, which themselves are hilarious references. I've already mentioned the glowing Buddha example, but some chapters also highlight Jesus's stigmata, and the two characters often wear shirts that are references to either Buddhist doctrines/stories or Biblical characters/events. VERDICT: Saint Young Men shines as a slice-of-life by having two universally recognized divine figures be the ones enjoying said slice of life. Between the two having strange personality quirks on top of retaining their most iconic traits, seeing them do ordinary human things (while trying to hide the fact that they're more than human), and all the clever references both visual and written to their respective faiths, I was entertained all the way through by Jesus and Buddha's adventures. I would absolutely read more of this just to see what other normal people things they do. If you're looking for a comedic slice-of-life story, I would say this is one worth checking out. I think the novelty of the two main characters being who they are is worth the price of admission by itself. - end - The year is just about to come to a close, but there is one more of these I gotta do. THE THEME: Like I said near the beginning of the month, this is the latter half of the two-parter theme where I revisit themes from throughout 2023. You probably know how this goes, so let's get right to the meat and potatoes. THE COMICS: ![]() THE UNBELIEVABLE GWENPOOL (2016-2018) #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Christopher Hastings Artists: Gurihiru, Danilo Beyruth Gwen Poole (that is actually her name) is a regular girl from a version of the real world who ends up in the Marvel Universe, but despite this, she manages to eke out a living as a mercenary. Armed with her encyclopedic knowledge of Marvel, she fourth wall-breaks her way through baddies, but her latest mission ends with unexpected consequences that show how she might actually be in way over her head. [Five Comics theme: Leading Ladies (Marvel Edition Vol. 2)] ![]() THE LONE RANGER/GREEN HORNET #1 Publisher: Dynamite Comics Writer: Michael Uslan Artist: Giovanni Timpano In this bombshell of a crossover, it is established that the original Green Hornet is a descendant of the legendary Lone Ranger. However, Britt Reid here is yet to become the Green Hornet, and it is the former Ranger himself (now an old man) who pushes him to become a symbol of justice like he was, especially in the face of rising Nazi hate in the late '30s. Features a fun tie-in with real-life historical figure Eliot Ness. [Five Comics theme: Vintage Vigilantes] ![]() RELAY #0 (FCBD 2018) Publisher: Aftershock Comics Writer: Zac Thompson Artist: Andy Clarke An explorer lands on a primitive world and helps its people prosper, but it becomes clear that he has his own twisted agenda for arriving on this planet: establish the eponymous Relay to force its inhabitants to conform to a singular culture. I was hooked on the premise just from this issue alone, and I want to read more to explore its rather dystopian premise. [Five Comics theme: Free Comic Book Day (2023 Edition)] ![]() JOHNNY BOO & HAROLD IN TRICKY TREATERS Publisher: Top Shelf Writers/Artists: James Kochalka, Jess Smart Smiley This short comic features two all-ages stories (both with adorable art). The first features the young Johnny Boo hiding the ice cream from the monsters because it's Halloween, while the other focuses on Harold the vampire panicking over forgetting Halloween (and his utter frustration towards his bat companions' horrid preparations for the special day). [Five Comics theme: Trick or Treat!] ![]() WONDER WOMAN DAY SPECIAL EDITION 2021 Publisher: DC Comics Writer: Greg Rucka Artist: Liam Sharp In this preview of The Lies (a Wonder Woman graphic novel), Diana journeys to a remote forest to seek answers from none other than her nemesis Cheetah. Why would she do that? Well, she's desperate, and it's because she can't get home to Themyscira. Meanwhile, Steve Trevor is on a military operation nearby (under command of Etta Candy, no less) to deal with some sort of dictator/warlord. [Five Comics theme: Leading Ladies (DC Comics Edition Vol. 2)] I know I haven't done a lot of these this year, but rest assured that I have more themes lined up for next year, and they will not come at the expense of the manga excursion I plan to continue through 2024. PANEL(s) OF THE WEEK: - end -
We have yet another inspired choice for the Switch Online Game Trials this month. BACKGROUND:
I learned of this game through a friend of mine who streams on Twitch, who learned of it through the VTubers they follow. I ended up looking into it and it seemed to be a classic case of a game suddenly exploding in popularity thanks to streamers/YouTubers playing it. I ended up trying a browser-based version and seeing the appeal of the game, but further reading revealed that what I played was not affiliated with the game people were playing on the Switch (which used to be exclusive to the Japanese eShop until the aforementioned surge in popularity, which prompted the international release). I also learned of the interesting background of the game, from the concept being based on a Chinese browser game, and the original iteration of this being a built-in game for a digital projector. Super interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to see this be the latest Game Trial, and I went to check it out immediately. PLOT: This is one of those games where you just shoot for a high score, so there's no story to worry about. PRESENTATION: The most prominent aspect of the game's visuals are the fruits you'll be dropping in the game, which are colorful, cartoony, and feature cutesy emoticon faces. It's certainly charming, but my brain eventually tuned out the aesthetic and only saw them as the game elements they are. In this sense, the designs do their job in being distinct from one another in terms of size, shape, color, and patterns, which naturally matters in games where the whole idea is to match similar pieces together. The game has the one catchy, upbeat tune that I really enjoyed. I think it really fits the cheery vibe that the fruit with happy faces exude. GAMEPLAY: Suika Game, on the surface, functions largely like falling-block matching puzzle games like Tetris, where you drop different pieces (in this case, fruits) on the board/matrix. The basic idea is to earn points and keep the board from spilling over by having two of the same fruits connect, but the difference here is that instead of clearing these fruits completely from the board, the two fruit will combine to become a different, larger fruit. The game technically has no end goal, as you just play with no time or score limit until you end up getting a game over. However, the game implicitly challenges you to keep matching fruit until you manage to create the largest one possible (the watermelon). There are eleven fruit total in the game, and getting to the watermelon is a long chain of combining two fruit starting from the bottom of the food chain. This challenge of getting to the watermelon is quite reminiscent of the core objective of 2048 (the hit number tile puzzler from the mid-2010s; play a browser version of it here if you don't know what I'm talking about). In both games, the beginning is simple since you're just combining low-value pieces on a mostly vacant board, but the climb becomes increasingly complex as you need to combine more total pieces to get the higher values and the board fills up with the low values that you need to maneuver in such a way that you can eventually combine them to get the highest value you can. It's a challenge (or problem, if you want to frame it in a more scientific way) that anyone can understand intuitively regardless of how it's presented, but Suika Game adds a couple of wrinkles that make its take on this kind of puzzle unique. What makes this game stand out from other similar games is what you have to play around in order to not fill your board and get a game over. In Tetris, it's the gradual speed increase of the blocks. In Puyo Puyo Vs., it's your opponent sending garbage blocks to your screen. In Suika Game, your greatest enemies are physics and geometry. Pretty much all the fruits in the game are round in shape, and when you drop them, they will behave like any spheroid object would when affected by gravity. Fruits that don't match will collide with one another, and depending on what space is available and where the fruits collide, they will roll around, bounce off each other, or precariously rest on top of one another. The size of each fruit is also crucial, as larger fruit will take up a ton of real estate, smaller ones will slip through gaps, and if you're particularly unlucky, you'll end up with arrangements where fruit are sticking out in very awkward positions that don't let you drop more fruit neatly. These elements make a game with an otherwise simple premise deceptively difficult. Whereas you can narrow down a general strategy with games like Tetris or 2048, the physics in this game do not lend themselves to such kinds of planning ahead apart from the very early game. Although the overall behaviors of the fruit with respect to gravity are consistent, the way you drop them isn't, and since most of the fruit are round, the way stuff rolls around after collisions can subvert your expectations. Fruit may even bounce all over the place, and you can absolutely game over if even one crosses past the top of the board. The bigger challenge to me is playing around the fruits being different sizes; unlike your Tetris blocks, they don't stack neatly, and it is incredibly tricky to clear out boards where the distribution of the different types of fruit are all over the place. Examples include small fruit that have squeezed through such narrow gaps that you can't possibly drop more fruit in, or ending up with a board where the largest fruit are on top and you don't have space to combine the fruit necessary to create a matching pair. If you're looking for alternate modes or some sort of multiplayer, you may be disappointed. All you can really do is play as many games as you want, and the only other thing the game does is track your high scores. The leaderboards are split between local scores and online rankings, and it also keeps track of high scores per time period (daily, weekly, monthly). VERDICT: Do not be deceived by Suika Game's cute exterior: within lies a deviously tricky puzzle game with an easy-to-understand objective, but incredibly challenging (yet fundamentally simple) mechanics to play around. It is mind-blowing how three simple elements (round pieces, gravity, and pieces with different sizes) all come together to make the goal of matching fruit to make the coveted watermelon a formidable challenge. It legitimately took me a couple of hours of trying to eventually match enough fruit to get that damn melon, and the fact that this game didn't need convoluted mechanics to deliver that level of challenge is highly impressive. It's probably too early to say for sure, but I would concur with any arguments that assert that this game is already an instant classic. Given the sudden, viral nature of its popularity, I think this game has that instant mass appeal that games like Flappy Bird or Among Us had where practically everyone who saw the game immediately understood its appeal just by watching, and many who gave it a try got hooked. Plus, I'm already seeing clones of this game floating around; that's a solid sign that you've made your mark in the gaming sphere. If you want to see for yourself what the fuss is about, here's a link to the browser-based version I tried before I played this one. One important caveat, however: the physics in this web game are quite different from the Switch game, and I feel that the former is much easier than the latter. I recommend trying the Switch game if you have the means, though I'm going to hope that the developers capitalize on their popularity and make it available on other platforms (a mobile release would be monumental). - end - Here's my penultimate manga read for 2023, and it's probably one of the most interesting ones I've read all year. BACKGROUND:
I only know the basic premise of this manga thanks to Comixology promoting the English translation as an exclusive on its digital platform. I was interested in reading it based on that alone, but I never got around to buying it. SUMMARY: Drops of God focuses on Shizuku Kanzaki, a young salesman for a beer company who also happens to be the son of renowned wine critic Yutaka Kanzaki. From a young age, Yutaka trained his son in bizarre ways all in the service of understanding the nuances of wine, something Shizuku eventually grew to resent (going as far as to never have drunk a single drop of wine and taking a job at a beer company of all places). The book introduces Shizuku in an interesting way, as he saves young sommelier-in-training Miyabi Shinohara from customers giving her crap for her wine selection. It's here that he displays his natural gift brought upon by his upbringing, as he skillfully decants Miyabi's wine to the delight of the customers. The story kicks off proper when Shizuku receives news of his father's death. Not given any time to really process his feelings, he is read the will by Yutaka's lawyer and learns that he won't inherit his father's fortune (primarily the super valuable wine collection) in a straightforward manner. Instead, Yutaka made it so that Shizuku has to correctly name 13 of the most highly prized wines in his collection, with the most important one being nicknamed the eponymous Drops of God. Shizuku is initially quick to dismiss his father's games, but the plot thickens when he learns that a young wine critic named Issei Tomine is vying for Yutaka's coveted wine collection. Thus, a rivalry is born, and while Shizuku's senses are sublime (and his ability to describe what he senses eloquent), he'll need actual knowledge to have an edge in this unique contest. For this, Shizuku reaches out to Miyabi, who is more than eager to help the son of the critic she idolizes. Miyabi is perhaps the perfect partner Shizuku could have for his journey, as while she's still an apprentice sommelier, her encyclopedic knowledge of the history and aspects of winemaking is utterly impressive. That said, she herself has a lot to learn, as her time with Shizuku reveals to her that there's so much more to wine than how much they are and where they're made. The rest of the volume sees this new dynamic duo get into the nitty-gritty of wine-tasting, from sampling the goods of Mr. Fujieda (a bar owner and Miyabi's mentor), Miyabi demonstrating the function and effects of a decanter on the flavor of wine, and the duo seeking out an eccentric connoisseur named Robert who has what I can only describe as a wine-tasting riddle. The last few chapters up the stakes a little bit as Shizuku and Miyabi combine their skills and knowledge in an attempt to replace a wine they accidentally spilled, but the volume ends before the resolution. I always enjoy the "naturally gifted versus book-smart" dynamic in stories, and the pair of Shizuku and Miyabi are just that, covering each other's gaps in knowledge well as a team. It's fun to learn about the complex world of wine alongside them, and with how in-depth this book goes into various details (many of which I knew nothing about, as someone who spends 99% of their time sober), I have no doubt that the writers of this manga are as knowledgeable and passionate about wine as some of the characters they've written. The duo's relationship outside of wine is still developing, but I'm enjoying their friendly banter so far. Shizuku naturally would stand out as the character who has the most layers so far, as his whole journey here has a deeply personal stake. Here he is using skills he didn't realize his father helped him refine to pretty much fight for his legacy, despite having unpleasant memories of his childhood and thinking Yutaka cared more about wine than his family. I'm interested to see if later volumes explore more of his past and Yutaka as a character. Issei is being set up to be the typical snobbish rival, but given the circumstances in which he is introduced as the main conflict, there may be something more to his character and backstory than just "I am kind of a jerk and I'm only concerned about the material gain I get out of this." For most panels, the art style has a solid amount of detail, a variety of shades, and prominent use of textures. There are instances where the art style goes the simpler route, and this is usually for more light-hearted moments where the characters get to have sillier facial expressions. Where the art truly shines is when characters smell or taste the various wines talked about throughout the book. To go along with the poetic descriptions the more knowledgeable characters have about what they detect in each glass, the manga takes it a step further by illustrating these descriptions. If that's not enough, the art style for each depiction is a dramatic change from the usual interior art, making them more impactful. This approach does wonders in communicating nonvisual sensations in a purely visual medium, and every instance of these illustrations really made me feel like the wine the characters are drinking taste and smell incredible. VERDICT: I found The Drops of God to be an incredibly engaging deep dive into the world of wine. This first volume alone is packed with a ton of interesting information on the many intricacies that go into the making and consuming of wine, and it was all fascinating to me. I also found that the writing and art of the gifted wine-tasters perfectly sold the nuanced flavor profiles of wine, and as someone who only drinks on extremely rare occasions, I'm curious if I could manage even a fraction of what Shizuku and Issei can do and find a deeper appreciation for what I'm drinking. The only thing I feel is missing is the whole aspect of pairing wine with food (I've always been curious about what goes into that), but this is just the first volume, so it may come up as a subject later on. Also, pretty much every wine shown here is (to my very limited knowledge) French, so I do wonder if they'll cover ones made in other countries as well. As for the actual story, the idea of what is basically a wine-tasting contest to find a baker's dozen of god-tier wines ended up being more exciting than I thought it would be. With all the nuances and variables that they present in the manga, Shizuku and Issei's imminent battle is going to be an absolute test of skill and knowledge, and the time-honored clash between the experienced king of their field and rookie genius with raw talent adds to the tension. I'm also interested to see how the characters grow as this contest continues (especially as Shizuku and Miyabi work together and learn from each other), and of course, I want to see who wins in the end. I definitely see myself reading more of this, and if you're the least bit curious about the subject matter, you should not hesitate to pick up this book. I was hooked on learning more about all the ins and outs of wine, and I think that speaks to how well the manga presents all the relevant information. - end - There's a couple more of these waiting in my backlog. BACKGROUND:
Here's another game I picked up for free from the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway from No Gravity Games. PLOT: In this sci-fi world, you play as John, a Federation pilot who's in the thick of a war against the Rebellion. Does this setting sound familiar? Don't worry about it. The opening mission feels like a standard third act of a Star Wars movie, as the Federation and the Rebellion are in a huge space battle with the fate of the galaxy in the balance. The battle ends in a rather familiar way, but what happens next is quite the departure, as John (sent into hibernation by his ship AI Ellie) wakes up many years after the battle with no clue as to what happened. John then spends the rest of the game trying to figure out what happened, running into trouble along the way. I can't say that I was invested in any way, however, as the battle at the beginning didn't seem to mean anything (the two sides are still at war even after all the time that's passed), I knew nothing about why the two sides are at odds (so I didn't care who came out on top), and the ending (which is meant to be the answer to the initial mystery at the beginning) was completely out of nowhere. Plus, the story is ridiculously short, so there was very little opportunity to even explore any of these questions. It's a shame because most of the story feels like a generic space opera until the ending, which has an interesting idea behind it but falls flat on execution. Throughout the story, you're occasionally presented with Telltale-style story choices that, in the game's words, can completely change the course of the narrative. Curious, I checked out both sides of the fork in the road for these choices, and I'm disappointed to say that they only slightly change the story. I was initially annoyed that the game's mission select doesn't separate the branching story paths in any way (I had to replay the exact same level just so I could make the alternate choice), but with how few changes actually occur, I'm actually fine with it. I can't say I connected with John, either. Apart from his cheesy quips and banter with his AI Ellie, there's really nothing going on with him. I have no sense of his allegiance to the Federation, and when you get to the player-selected story choices, there's hardly any reasoning on his part as to why he decides to pick one side over the other. Again, it's a real shame that there's no meat to this story's bones. PRESENTATION: Overall, the game looks.... fine? The visual fidelity isn't going to knock anyone's socks off, but I think the graphics are decent overall (I'd say the backgrounds look pretty good, and the visual effects are flashy). I also enjoyed the frequent use of dynamic shots to show off your ship's movement. I can't say that the designs of elements like the ships or the space stations stand out in my memory, however. The music isn't half bad and accompanies the space dogfighting action adequately. The voice acting, on the other hand, is highly questionable across the board. Save for one or two exceptions, the overall delivery of most of the voice actors sounds almost completely monotone. It makes certain lines (like someone screaming "NOOOOOOO!") hilariously bad, but for the most part, the voice acting is just a bunch of people emotionlessly reading lines out of a script. GAMEPLAY: Star Horizon's gameplay is that of a rail shooter where you control a spaceship and shoot down enemies while dodging their fire. Much like Star Fox (the game it most emulates), you don't worry about moving through space to get to the objectives; the game takes you where you need to go automatically and all you have to do is shoot and dodge. In terms of movement, all you really have is a dodge roll, which works well enough. There's no way to boost, which makes some levels or sections feel like a slog since you have to fly through the entire goddamn thing even if you've already cleared the field of enemies. The cinematic camera shots during these moments look cool, at least. As far as armaments go, you have a rapid-fire laser shot, a homing missile swarm, and a powerful torpedo shot. Aiming is a bit weird, as all you have to do is maneuver the ship such that your target is in front of the designated auto-aim area and their health bar is highlighted. Problems arise when multiple targets are onscreen, as the auto-aim makes it impossible to prioritize targets (making missions where the objective is to blow specific points up annoying as hell). Otherwise, aiming is pretty mindless, and there are many sections that you can clear without having a single thought in your head. Enemies are as generic as they come, as you'll blast enemy fighters, armaments of larger ships, and hazards like torpedoes and mines. There are moments where you deal with annoying bullshit, like laser attacks you have to move around but prevent you from aiming at enemies properly, or an overwhelming swarm of torpedoes that delete your health if you miss. Apart from those moments, combat is trivial as long as you keep moving and spamming your attacks (especially the homing missiles, because that requires less thought). Blasting enemies gives you credits that you can spend at the shop. The upgrades are for your ship's health and better weapons. Getting the last bit of upgrades may require you to replay levels, but if you want to further trivialize combat, these upgrades are worth it for their increased damage and reduced cooldown. Other than the grind, it's fun to be able to beef yourself up. VERDICT: Star Horizon didn't really do anything for me overall, but I think its turn-your-brain-off rail shooter action works fine enough as a serviceable diversion. I suppose if that's all you're looking for, the game is a good enough casual experience, but if you want a more fulfilling space shooter or want an alternative take on the classic space opera formula, I really don't think this is that game. You can get this game on the following platforms: - end - My friends and I have decided on a new game to buy as a group. BACKGROUND:
I've known of this game since early demos of it went up a number of years back (which I learned about via a YouTuber I followed). The game looked like a blast with friends, though I ended up forgetting about its existence until earlier this year, when it finally got a release date. Fast forward to a few days ago, when one of our friends endorsed this game as something the group can play. A lot of us were all for it, so we each bought a copy. Everything I'll be talking about here will be based on our time playing it together for a number of sessions. PLOT: No, not that kind of game. PRESENTATION: The 3D style is quite cartoony, with colorful environments and adorable-looking animal characters. It's probably the latter where most of the charm is at, as the game has a diverse roster of critters (from dogs, cats, and inspired choices like sharks and bats) and lots of cute costumes for each. As for the environments, some of the choices are inspired, like the surface of a sub and a stealth bomber. The music is quite upbeat, which perfectly fits the frenetic action that takes place in the game. In practice, though, I don't really get to listen to it much, as my friends and I are too busy laughing and yelling to really hear anything else. GAMEPLAY: Party Animals is a multiplayer brawler with goofy ragdoll physics (similar to something like Gang Beasts). The idea is simple: beat the shit out of and throw your opponents to their deaths. Controls can be hit or miss when it comes to games that lean into wacky physics, but I found that this one was consistent in its weirdness (which makes it quite enjoyable and not at all frustrating). What you can do is straightforward: you can jump, punch, kick, headbutt, dodge roll, sprint, grab, throw, and climb in order to inflict or avoid an ass-whooping. The bread and butter of the game is the last man standing mode, where you try to outlast your opponents by throwing them off the stage before they do the same to you. You can choose to simply duke things out with straight fisticuffs, but a variety of weapons will also spawn that you can use to your advantage. This ranges from melee weapons that pack a wallop, various guns that are hard to aim but are quite dangerous in the right hands (like stun guns, freeze guns, and crossbows), and even power-ups like an invisibility potion and what I can only describe as Popeye's spinach. Don't worry if you are eliminated in this mode early, as you can add to the chaos by chucking fish, banana peels, and bombs to mess with the survivors. There are plenty of shenanigans to be had when you're in the middle of the action, but this mechanic has led to equally hilarious moments in our sessions. A lot of the maps will have some sort of gimmick or hazard to contend with, like a hanging bridge that's falling apart, poison clouds that will kill you in seconds, or freezing to death in the winter maps. More often than not, however, it's a mad scramble to climb back up onto the stage after being thrown off (or in my case, sending myself into the abyss after a whiffed dropkick). You can choose to play this game exclusively with friends via the custom lobby system, but you can also queue up for quick matches with your friends for some team-based action against other players online. Either way, there's fun to be had, whether it's delivering an ass-whooping to your friends or working together for a hard-fought win. There are other maps with specific objectives to keep things fresh if you want something other than just brawling. These include silly sports maps where you scramble to guide something to the opponent's goal, more involved maps like launching bombs towards the enemy team or fueling a train with coal. While I personally feel like the simple brawling is where it's at, these alternate maps have their own appeal and are most enjoyable when playing against random teams online. While there's plenty of fun in the game itself, one of the most entertaining things you can do is the photoshoot of all the players at the end, where you can beat the shit out of everybody to photobomb the final screenshot. It never fails to make me laugh. The game rewards you in various ways simply by playing, from accomplishing achievements, earning player XP, and accomplishing weekly objectives. You can unlock all sorts of things, from in-game currency, customization options, and most importantly: character skins. For skins in particular, you can choose to pull for random ones gachapon-style using the game's premium currency (which you can earn just by playing, but you can pay real money for), or spend either the premium or basic currency in the item shop on a selection of rotating goods. Mercifully, these cosmetics are as far as the monetization goes, and what's nice is that you can earn neat skins without having to spend a single cent. Ideally, however, I would have preferred that microtransactions weren't present at all, let alone a luck-based loot box system that oddly allows for duplicate skins. VERDICT: Party Animals is a blast to play with my friends. It's simple to pick up, and it has a decent enough variety in terms of maps, modes, and items that allow for both competitive and cooperative brawling chaos. I feel like this game is only getting started in terms of being a full package of an experience, and there's definitely room to grow in terms of adding new maps and modes to keep things fresh. Either way, this is a game my friends and I will likely enjoy for months to come. If you're looking for a silly party game that even the most casual of players can enjoy, this is a solid choice for your friend group. The available options allow for either co-op or free-for-alls, although I'm not sure if this game allows for local split-screen action. I'm not sure this would be as much fun if you don't have friends playing with you, though, so I'd be wary if you plan to play solo. Check out the game on Steam: Party Animals on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - For this week, I'm tackling another friend recommendation. BACKGROUND:
I've heard talk of this series before, and with a title like that, I couldn't help but wonder about it. I didn't really look into it all that much, but I read enough to know how the story kicks off. SUMMARY: Satoru Mikami is a regular salaryman working in Tokyo with a pretty average life, although he laments the fact that he's single and a virgin. Satoru's life changes forever when what was supposed to be a casual day out with his coworker ends in tragedy, as a mugger draws a knife on them and ends up stabbing him. In his dying moments, Satoru hears a strange voice that's saying things that sound like prompts from an RPG, but he can't really make sense of it. After a while, Satoru regains consciousness, and after dealing with bizarre sensations, he realizes that he's been reincarnated as a slime. What's more, he's in a strange world, and due to his nature as a slime, has a very limited perception of it. As he wanders around in boredom, Satoru finds that he can communicate to the mysterious voice he heard before he died, and he learns that he has access to RPG-like skills that let him perform specific actions. Satoru stumbles upon a powerful storm dragon named Veldora, who has apparently been imprisoned in the cave he's in by a powerful heroine. Veldora helps Satoru gain his bearings, and the two agree to become friends. Having sympathy for Veldora's situation, Satoru resolves to help him break free from his imprisonment and uses his newfound skills to consume the dragon until they can figure out a way to free him. In the process, Veldora christens Satoru as Rimuru the slime. Armed with newfound knowledge, Rimuru makes his way out of the cave, and ends up acquiring more skills by defeating and devouring enemies. His power is sensed by a group of goblins who immediately deify him out of fear. Rimuru decides to befriend the goblins as well, and he learns that they have been dealing with direwolf attacks. In addition, he learns that the attacks are happening because of Veldora's disappearance (which implies that despite being imprisoned, Veldora's mere existence is some sort of deterrent that protects the land). Rimuru demonstrates his mastery of his newfound skills by defeating the direwolves with superior tactics, but the direwolves end up aligning with him instead of going down in a fight or fleeing. Both the wolves and the goblins continue to treat Rimuru as divine, and he decides to continue helping them establish a better life. During this, Rimuru names each of the monsters he's befriended (in this world, monsters do not have names), but apparently, bestowing names on monsters makes them stronger. This action drains Rimuru of his strength, and when he awakens the next day, he's shocked to find that the goblins and the direwolves have essentially evolved. The last few chapters of the volume see Rimuru (accompanied by a few goblins) journey to the Dwarf Kingdom in hopes of finding a craftsman to help with construction in the goblin village. Their time is a bumpy ride, as they end up imprisoned after humans tried (and failed) to instigate a fight, but Rimuru manages to get out by helping some of the dwarves with a problem of theirs. The grateful dwarves decide to help out Rimuru by referring a blacksmith named Kaijin, whose business dilemma is also solved by Rimuru using his abilities. Kaijin treats Rimuru to a party in gratitude, but a scuffle with a mean-spirited official gets them in trouble. The volume ends on a cliffhanger, as Rimuru and co. are put on trial with the king of the Dwarf Kingdom himself presiding. Naturally, the world of this manga raises many questions, all of which I am super curious about. How and why exactly was Satoru reincarnated? Who or what is the voice guiding him? Where or what is this world he finds himself in? What is the significance of the dream he has at the beginning of the story? I don't know if later volumes ever address these questions, but the whole mystery of what's going on is exciting in itself to me. As the volume progresses, the story drops in bits of world-building for the strange land Satoru/Rimuru finds himself in. None of this is substantial, but they inspire a similar kind of excitement for me in terms of wanting to read more to find out. These lore details include Veldora's backstory (as well as the implications of his disappearance), the apparent existence of a demon lord, and a glimpse into Rimuru's future courtesy of a crystal ball. Although Satoru/Rimuru has the occasional selfish or horny thought, he generally acts for the sake of his newfound companions. His diplomatic and generally selfless approach is met with surprise and admiration by fellow monsters and humans, which naturally goes against the typical status quo of fantasy worlds where many races are hostile towards one another. The way this story is going, it seems like Rimuru's nature is earning him many allies; I'm interested to see how the various races in the land respond to what seems to be a growing faction led by a humble slime. Most of the other characters don't quite have arcs yet, but there's something amusing about the monster characters revering and serving him. I also found it surprising how the non-monster characters quickly gain respect towards Rimuru after he helps them with their problems, even to the point that they'd stick out their neck for him. That speaks to Rimuru's nature as a person (er, slime). In particular, the most interesting character outside of the protagonist is actually Veldora. Despite residing within Rimuru and not being able to communicate or interact with the world, the manga has a section at the end that functions like Veldora's journal. Here, he shares his thoughts (exclusively in text form) about Rimuru's actions in the main manga, and it's fascinating to see the contrast of his thinking. Veldora is very much the archetypical "I am a supremely powerful monster who only cares about wreaking havoc and domination, and seeing him go from being confused about Rimuru's kindness or diplomacy to seeing the merit and fulfillment in not just indiscriminate killing. It's also interesting to see his various thoughts on other things, like his fascination with humans, his curious observations about Rimuru's hidden power, and him analyzing Rimuru's knowledge from his previous life (including learning about manga, funnily enough). Overall, I'm curious to see how his outlook changes over time, and what would happen if or when he breaks out of his prison. Perhaps the aspect of this story I enjoyed the most is Rimuru showcasing his power. Throughout the volume, Rimuru acquires various either through him using his creative thinking or by defeating a variety of monsters. It's a ton of fun to see these skills in ingenious or badass ways, and I hope that Rimuru acquires more interesting skills. The art style is pretty solid, featuring a wide variety of shades and a respectable amount of overall detail for most elements. In contrast, Rimuru's design is as simple as it gets, and it's funny to see the contrast as he hangs around next to more detailed characters. The comedy is at its peak during the well-drawn action scenes, as the juxtaposition of the dramatic composition and dynamic depictions of skills next to the principal actor just being a simplistic blob is hilarious to see. VERDICT: I had a blast reading through the first volume of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. I already saw humor in the subversion of what's typical in isekai stories by reincarnating the main character as some jobber creature, but the book takes it a step further by making Rimuru this insanely powerful being who can do all sorts of cool shit. Between the delight of seeing Rimuru get stronger and use his growing skillset in interesting ways, my curiosity towards this world's mysteries, and the storyline possibilities surrounding Veldora as well as Rimuru's band of allies gaining more renown, I have plenty of reason to keep reading. If you were immediately drawn to this story just going by the title, I'd encourage you to indulge your curiosity. In my opinion, the first volume alone has a lot going for it, and I feel that many would be as hooked as I was when I read it the first time. - end - It's almost the end of the year, and while I made an effort to make 2023 the year of manga when it came to my reading, I did not forget about my Western comics. THE THEME: Like Five Comics rewinds from previous years, I'll be representing themes from throughout 2023 with a single comic and collecting them as the usual unit of five for a single entry. As I said in the intro, the bulk of my reading this year has been manga, so my selection this time around is quite limited, but I have enough for a two-parter for 2023. THE COMICS: ![]() GUARDIAN OF FUKUSHIMA (FCBD 2022) Publisher: Tokyopop Writer: Fabien Grolleau Artist: Ewen Blain This book tells the true story of Naoto Matsumura, a farmer who deals with the disaster at Fukushima in 2011 (which, if you remember, was a nuclear disaster caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami in the region damaging the reactor). In this preview, we see him and his family deal with the immediate effects of the earthquake and tsunami, all while comforting his young nephew with Japanese folk tales. I definitely want to hear more to read about Naoto's story of remaining in the area to take care of the animals. [Five Comics theme: Even More Manga] ![]() SKULLDIGGER AND SKELETON BOY #1 Publisher: Dark Horse Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Tonci Zonjic Set in the Black Hammer universe, this spinoff follows the story of a young boy who watched his parents get murdered, as well as the vigilante Skulldigger arriving to brutally kill the murderer. This begins what appears to be the boy's journey into becoming Skulldigger's protege, as Skulldigger comes in to recruit him. The end of this issue hints at the fact that the boy and Skulldigger eventually come into conflict (along with other plotlines like a cop obsessed with Skulldigger and a big villain escaping prison), and I want to know more. [Five Comics theme: Hammer Time] ![]() SORE THUMBS #1 Publisher: Keenspot Writer: Chris Crosby Artist: Owen Gieni This webcomic follows the story of Cecania, a young woman stuck working with her brother Fairbanks in a video game store. Their whole dynamic is that Fairbanks is a caricature of a super conservative American and Cecania is a caricature of a more progressive one, and the writing is all about leaning hard into those caricatures and all sorts of non sequitur nonsense happening. I'm typically easy to please when it comes to media, but I legitimately couldn't stand the writing of this comic. It's trying quite hard to be political with its setup, but not in a meaningful or naturally humorous way. [Five Comics theme: Leading Ladies (Keenspot Edition)] ![]() ETERNAL EMPIRE #1 Publisher: Image Comics Writers: Jonathan Luna, Sarah Vaughn Artist: Jonathan Luna Set in a strange planet called Saia where the Eternal Empress has been waging a century-long war in hopes of global conquest, a woman escapes the cruel conditions of the imperial workforce in order to follow strange visions that potentially reveal a different destiny for her. There seems to be a fantasy element to this, so color me intrigued. [Five Comics theme: Leading Ladies (Image Comics Edition Vol. 2)] ![]() INFINITY COUNTDOWN #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Gerry Duggan Artist: Aaron Kuder A prelude to the Infinity Wars event back in 2018, issue #1 of this series sees the Infinity Stones brought back to existence (and everybody wants 'em). Drax teams up with a Nova Centurion to defend the Power Stone (which has grown to be quite massive) from all comers, but he's going to need backup. Unfortunately for him, the other Guardians of the Galaxy are too busy fighting the Gardener (a powerful Elder of the Universe related to the Collector and the Grandmaster). Meanwhile, in Madripoor, Black Widow finds herself in quite the pickle. [Five Comics theme: Marvel in Space] Stay tuned during the last week of the year for Part 2. In the meantime, I'll keep reading more manga volumes to close out this year. PANEL OF THE WEEK: - end -
Checking out more games via PS Plus Extra, and this is one I've had my eye on for a while. BACKGROUND:
I've heard a fair bit of praise for this game, but apart from knowing that it's some sort of card game, I don't know much about it. Now, that is partially by design, because I've seen people say that new players should come in with as little information as possible. This led me to believe that there's something interesting going on story-wise, and that added to my interest in the game. PLOT: Bear with me. This might be a tough one to explain. Your unnamed character wakes up in a cabin, where a mysterious individual basically forces you to play a card game until you win. It seems like you're stuck in some sort of loop, but as you keep playing, some.... truly unexpected allies give you hints as to how to break the cycle. With their assistance, you fiddle with the objects around the cabin while also humoring your captor with games, and eventually, you find a way to break the cycle... or so you think. To talk further about what happens next is major spoiler territory, but let's just say that things get wild as the narrative gets meta, starts incorporating rather surprising storytelling elements, and it becomes incredibly clear that the first act is just the tip of a massive iceberg. Hell, the first act alone had a lot of inexplicable goings-on, and it stands out from the rest by leaning the most heavily into the horror aspect. In all honesty, I felt like the first act was the most engaging part of the story. I felt like it struck the best balance when it came to the whole "what the fuck is going on" vibe of the story, whereas the succeeding acts hit you with all sorts of lore tidbits that take some time to parse while also throwing you for a loop by completely changing things, as well as dialing back the horror vibe that I enjoyed. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy the rest of the game; piecing together the true nature of Inscrpytion within the context of this universe (which has so many layers to it) was a wild ride that I enjoyed. PRESENTATION: The game's visuals vary quite a bit between the acts (from dark, low-resolution visuals for the 3D segments that add to the creep factor, a retro-looking 2D portion and overall UI that both evoke a sense of nostalgia, and even completely unexpected bits that incorporate live-action elements), which makes the whole experience a trip. Adding to that vibe is the frequency of intentional graphical hiccups, like portions of the screen glitching, things popping in and out of existence, stuff changing at random, jarring inclusions of photos in the game environment, and all sorts of other weird stuff. Even the way some characters and scenes are presented had a distinct horror vibe to them (with one particular technique really standing out to me), but to discuss any further would take away from the surprise. Regardless, all these dissonant elements help create a vibe that you are not in control at all, and that there's something strange and possibly sinister lurking beneath the game's surface. As for the music, the tracks keep instrumentation to a minimum, and the overall vibe for most of the soundtrack is haunting. It's quite unlike any soundtrack I've heard for other card games; whereas the ones I've played either keep things chill (letting you think) or lean into the action with upbeat tracks, the music here adds a sense of dread to every encounter. Of course, the overall audio is not neglected when it comes to the more surreal parts of the game; you also have your fair share of jarring static, eerie sound effects, and voice acting that feels out of place by design. GAMEPLAY: Describing Inscryption's gameplay is a bit tricky since its structure changes as you progress through the story, but the common thread throughout all of this is the deck-building card game action. The basic idea is like many card battlers: you play monsters, have them duke it out, and try to find opportunities to directly damage your opponent. The most familiar comparison I can make is Yu-Gi-Oh, where the goal is to knock the opponent's Life Points to zero. The board is either 3x4 or 3x5 depending on where you're at in the story, but regardless, the first row is where you place your cards. Your "monsters" can be played on any one of the spots, and barring certain exceptions, they will damage any opposing monster in front of them. If there's nothing in front of them, you deal direct damage to the opponent. Your goal for each round is to deal enough damage such that the difference in damage dealt between the two players is equal to or greater than five (signified by the scales; basically, make the opponent's side of the scales tip all the way). While the goal is simple, the cards themselves are anything but. Every card has an HP and attack value, both of which should be easy to grasp. Where things get tricky is all the extra stuff you'll see on each card. Many cards have a specific summoning requirement, and there are many different kinds of requirements. The first kind the game teaches you is sacrificing a particular number of monsters you've already summoned based on the blood counter on a card (a simpler take on Yu-Gi-Oh's tribute summons), but there are other ways like spending a specified number of Bone Tokens (a resource generated when any cards of yours are destroyed for any reason). The first act keeps things manageable by only working with the two summoning requirements I just mentioned, but later parts of the campaign add more to think about. A lot of cards also have Sigils, which you can think of as the card's special effect. There are way too many Sigils to talk about in one blog entry, but all I can say is that the variety provides plenty of room for strategy. Some effects are straightforward (do damage across multiple spaces, deal retaliatory damage to monsters that hit you), while others lend themselves to trickier strategies (cards that warp in front of opponent monsters about to deal damage, "airborne" monsters that will always deal direct damage outside of one specific scenario, monsters that return to your hand when destroyed, and so much more). The first act of the game is structured like a roguelike, where you can choose your own path and encounter different sets of events every time. There's plenty of variety here as well, like places to trade in resources for cards, various ways to modify or empower the cards you already have, opportunities to add cards to your deck, special battles with unique conditions, and even chances to acquire game-changing items like single-use consumables or special Totems that add Sigils to a specified class of monsters. In between encounters, you're able to get up from the table where you're playing cards and interact with the objects in the cabin while in a first-person view. Through various clues (some found in unexpected places), you'll find ways to open safes and other locked containers, which will reward you with stuff you can use in the game or provide more context to the story. I loved this escape room aspect of the game, and it felt satisfying to uncover secrets or figure out the significance of certain items or elements. Plus, this added to the feeling that I, as the main character, was trapped in whatever purgatory the game is meant to be, and that I'm desperately trying whatever I can to get out. Don't worry if you die at any point at this phase of the campaign. Unlike most roguelikes of this kind, you don't have to start from scratch; your deck will be fully intact unless you chose to remove cards in any way during a previous run. You will have to run through a whole gauntlet again and possibly get lucky/not as lucky with the randomized paths, but that's the genre for you. Once you beat all four bosses of the first act (each of whom have tricky gimmicks to play around), the latter portions of the game eschew the roguelike structure for something that feels a bit more like Pokémon TCG for the Game Boy. Instead of going through a series of random encounters, you explore a small world map (which manages to hold a surprising number of cleverly hidden secrets), solve simple puzzles, and fight a fixed number of opponents. At this point, the game will introduce even more cards and mechanics to mess around with, but there's more room to experiment here since you keep a lot of your story progress even if you lose a battle. After clearing the latter acts and finishing the bonkers finale, you unlock a game mode that makes the first act of the game a fully replayable roguelike that you can play as many times as you want. I'm glad this is a thing, because I enjoyed the first act's gameplay so much that I felt sad when the story moved on and presented a different structure (to be clear, I liked the adventure game style just fine and was happy that the main card game was fully intact regardless of the change). It's also not just a rehash of what you've played before, as you're obligated to use challenge modifiers that tip the scales against you, and completing runs unlocks more lore to read if you're into the story. Fret not if you enjoyed the main campaign itself, as the game lets you replay from the start of all the major sections of the story. This may be worth doing if you're looking to uncover all the secrets or unlock all the achievements, as there's definitely stuff I completely missed on my first playthrough. VERDICT: Inscryption's first act was everything I could have wanted and more: I enjoyed the core card game plenty with how deceptively deep its otherwise simple mechanics are, but I was also engrossed by the horror vibe and entertained by the escape room aspect. While the latter acts did not hook me as much due to switching out of the roguelike structure and the fact that it leaned into the horror relatively less, the narrative taking me for a rollercoaster ride with its presentation and lore was still a fantastic time overall. I'm quite happy with my time with this game, and I may just buy it outright just so I can keep playing the roguelike mode as much as I like. This game is a prime example of how unorthodox you can get with storytelling in a video game, so if you're into that, Inscryption may be up your alley (whether or not you end up actually liking the story itself is for you to discern). As for the gameplay, I think folks like me who enjoy deck-builders will have fun experimenting with creating a deck, though you'll have to go through the entire campaign (which switches up the roguelike structure) if you want to sink your teeth into the actual replayable mode. You won't be able to play around with the additional mechanics introduced after the first act in this mode, either, but if you ask me personally, I think the roguelike mode functions perfectly fine without them. I normally don't recommend specific platforms since it usually only matters when avoiding inferior versions, but in this case, I would say the PC version (Steam link below) is the way to go. Some of the presentation choices made in the game would be more impactful if you're playing on PC, but I'll note that the console version that I played is not inferior in any way. Inscryption on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - I'm doubling up on manga this week because I shuffled some uploads around last week. BACKGROUND:
Once again, I don't know what I'm getting into here, but it seems like it's another music-centric story based on the name and the synopsis. SUMMARY: Most of the story's events in this volume takes place in the Momogaoka College of Music, where we follow two students in particular. First is Shinichi Chiaki, one of the most gifted pianists in the school. Though undeniably talented, he does have an air of arrogance about him, and his perfectionism gets in his own way more often than not. His abrasive behavior causes his piano teacher to let him go, leading him to get transferred to another instructor. The circumstances lead Shinichi to meet fellow student Megumi "Nodame" Noda, who also happens to live next door to his apartment. Nodame is quite the strange character, choosing to play however she wants, steals food from her classmates, and has an unbelievably messy room. All these qualities vex Shinichi, but for whatever reason, he's compelled to help her (from cleaning out her apartment and cooking for her). The rest of the volume explores this new dynamic, as Shinichi constantly questions why he's helping Nodame, while Nodame very quickly falls for Shinichi. It was easy to dislike Shinichi on the outset, but I did find his motivations and backstory interesting. It turns out he isn't even that interested in piano, and is simply learning as many instruments as his true goal is to be a conductor. This dream of his was inspired by that of his childhood hero Sevastiano Viera, whom he met through his father's (an accomplished musician) travels and taught him everything he knows. He also wishes to play internationally, but his fear of traveling by air or sea keeps him from leaving Japan. Not much of Nodame's backstory is shown in this volume, but she is easily the most prominent character outside of Shinichi in the book. Although she is quite eccentric (with her messiness and penchant for swiping food being quite concerning traits), she has her own brand of musical talent (one that takes Shinichi a while to appreciate given his perfectionism). It's a little odd to me that she falls for a guy like Shinichi as quickly as she does, though I can hardly blame anybody who is smitten by someone who cooks for them. Shinichi and Nodame's developing relationship is the core of the story, and seeing such personalities clash is quite entertaining. I'm curious to see if Shinichi matures as he spends more time with a person that he seemingly has no patience for, if Nodame's... unique charm will eventually get him to feel the same way as she does, and how their time together as a whole will progress their respective musical careers. The two also represent two clashing ideals in music (playing one specific way vs. being more spontaneous), which is explored in multiple chapters as well. As far as art goes, the style is largely on the simple side in terms of textures, shading, and overall level of detail. It honestly looks a tad plain for most panels, but I don't really mind. VERDICT: Nodame Cantabile has the potential to be quite the romantic comedy with its leads, as Shinichi and Nodame's personalities could not feel more incompatible. I wouldn't mind reading more of this manga to see how the two change and grow as they spend more time with each other, as well as how that time influences their musical careers. Most of the music-focused manga I've read so far are more on the dramatic side, so if you're looking for something with a bit more levity, this might be one to check out. - end - Here's another week of me arbitrarily picking what manga to read from my library list. BACKGROUND:
As you can probably guess from my intro, I don't know anything about this manga going in. I just thought the title was interesting, because it sounded like a band name. SUMMARY: Yozakura Quartet is not a band with four members, but instead refers to four teenagers who protect and help the residents of Sakurashin as part of the Hiizumi Life Counseling Office. Sakurashin is no ordinary town, either, as supernatural beings and phenomena are commonplace, making the work of the main characters more complicated than just simple law enforcement. The main characters are Hime, a superpowered girl who also happens to be the mayor of the town, Ao, a telepathic satori, Kotoha, who's basically a spellcaster that can manifest or conjure anything by emphasizing her words, and Akina, who is both the only guy and regular human of the group. They also introduce siblings Kyosuke and Toka (big brother and little sister respectively) as part of the group, but they serve more of a minor supporting role (at least for now). I felt like the book didn't do a great job of introducing them, because they were just kind of in the background until the story suddenly began featuring them as if the book had already properly showcased them. This volume takes its time to set the stage by establishing the status quo and showcasing each main character. Each member of the quartet gets their own chapter centered around them, but in general, the formula is the team working to solve problems around town. This naturally includes fighting dangerous foes like criminals and demons, but they also try to solve other problems like helping regular citizens, improving the town, and training with each other. Each character is given a bit of time to establish their quirks and personality, though a lot of their backstory is still shrouded in mystery at this point. The only one who gets a flashback in this volume is Hime, which shows a tiny bit of her life before she became mayor. Overall, there's not a lot yet to each character to determine the trajectory of their respective arcs as the series progresses, but these early chapters lay down a few foundations that may lead to something later on (particularly for Ao and Hime, who get chapters with a bit of emotional weight to them). So far, the overall tone of the book is comedic (especially with the goofy dynamic between the characters), though as I mentioned, some characters have chapters where the events are a bit more serious or heavy. It's hard for me to tell this early on if the series will maintain a fair bit of levity or eventually transition into a more serious tone as conflicts are introduced. There isn't a lot of world-building in this volume regarding the whole thing about the supernatural not being out of place in the town, apart from the existence of a protective structure referred to as The Seven Pillars. I'm hoping later chapters flesh out the world a lot more. As of now, there's not really an overarching conflict, but this volume already teases a villainous character plotting to wreak havoc on the town (though the specifics are not discussed at all). There's also a hint that this mysterious fellow has a personal connection with one of the main cast, which is bound to add further intrigue. The art style is largely simple in my eyes, between most things looking flat in terms of shading and textures and not boasting that many intricate details. As such, more dynamic or detailed panels really stand out (like fight scenes), though if you're looking for the bulk of the art to have a striking appearance, this volume doesn't really accomplish that. VERDICT: Yozakura Quartet has an interesting setting and a solid main cast right off the bat, but this volume is mostly just laying the groundwork for whatever story is about to take place. As such, I had a bit of trouble getting into the book, but I can definitely see the potential of what they have here. I hope later chapters flesh out the supernatural aspects of the world, build upon the solid foundations of each main character (and challenge/evolve their current team dynamic), and get the big conflict going. I'm not sure I can really recommend this book based on the first volume alone, but I'm confident that later volumes have more of what I'm looking for. On that note, this might be worth checking out if you like stories with yokai or the supernatural superhero team vibe the story is giving off. - end - Thanks to PS Plus Extra, I have the opportunity to play a game I was interested in, but couldn't because I didn't have a decent machine. BACKGROUND:
I naturally heard of this right when it was announced, and I was curious as to how it would be different from the Square Enix Avengers game that came before. Like I said, I didn't have the means to play it until now, so hooray! PLOT: Though this Guardians roster is one-to-one with the MCU version most are familiar with, this is by no means a rehash of that. Like the Avengers game, this is kind of its own thing and can be interpreted as an alternate universe. At the beginning of the game, we see that this incarnation of the Guardians is only getting started, as they aren't yet recognized across the galaxy as heroes. While that raises questions on as to what circumstances led them to referring themselves as the Guardians of the Galaxy, that's not really the focus of the story. Instead, we're jumping right into one of their hero-for-hire missions as they try to make a name for themselves (and some cash). It unfortunately goes awry, which draws the attention of the Nova Corps (who have criminal records on everybody), angers their client (because they end up not delivering on their promise), and accidentally releases a mysterious and dangerous entity. The story starts out with the Guardians just trying to get out of their jam (trying to get out of the Nova Corps' radar, escaping their client's wrath), but as they do so, a powerful cult known as the Universal Church of Truth amasses their power and gradually starts brainwashing entire planets for galactic domination. While it takes a bit for everyone on the team to come around, the Guardians face overwhelming odds and take on the threat to save the galaxy. I love that the conflict features an antagonist that hasn't really been featured in any high-profile adaptation, and I really enjoyed how their method of brainwashing (preying on the grief and loss of their victims) leads to compelling character moments. Exploring the consequences of not letting go of grief isn't a new theme for stories (and I appreciated their tackling of it), but the novelty of that being the cause of interstellar danger (and that our heroes can go through the same thing) made for interesting stakes. Most of the characters are an interesting mix of portrayals, blending traits many would recognize from the movies, elements I know from the source material, and bits of original stuff sprinkled in. Star-Lord, for example, mixes his MCU origin (kidnapped as a child, taken in by Ravagers) and disposition, retaining the fact that his father is J'son of Spartax and not Ego, and provides a unique explanation for his name's origin. The proportion of what stuff they blend varies per character, and that ends up making these versions of the characters distinct while still feeling familiar. While everyone on the team gets some fantastic character arcs, the standout for me is Drax. Between his messy comics origin and the MCU mostly made him comic relief, he's the one out of the MCU roster I have the least attachment to (even if I find him hilarious). This game does what none of the movies ever did and actually explore his origins (from his home planet, family, and grudge with Thanos) while simultaneously making him more than just a strong guy who says weird things sometimes. His grief is tackled front and center in one of the game's chapters, and it is compelling. The characters outside the main cast are no slouch, either. From the game's version of Nikki Gold (who is an obscure character) having the hardest struggle with grief besides Drax, Cosmo's humor paired with an over-the-top accent, Mantis actually being the Celestial Madonna she is in the comics (and being a different kind of adorable weirdo), and Adam Warlock's hilarious habit of speaking in alliterations, nearly everyone was memorable to me in some way. I suppose the only ones that don't really hook me are the cameo characters (obviously because they don't do much) and the big villain (they aren't around for too long and they're pretty one-note). This game was a delight to explore in terms of me being a massive comic geek. From characters actually having some of their comic book backstories, the use of a less prominent villain like the Universal Church of Truth, the featuring of surprising characters or locations in the Marvel Universe, cute nods to big characters like Richard Rider, deep cut inclusions like Ruby Thursday of all people, and even a whole Easter egg museum in the Collector's Emporium on Knowhere, there was so much that got me going "oooh!" Sadly, the game doesn't take the time to build on these bits of lore, but given how much I enjoyed the overall story, I'm not complaining about that at all. What I appreciate about the game is how its in-game compendium (which provides lore on pretty much everything you run into) also tells you what comic a character first appears in. I wish more adaptations did that so people who don't read comics have at least one starting point if they're curious about somebody or something. The game has plenty of moments where you get to make choices in terms of dialogue or what action to take. I don't know to what extent the story changes depending on these choices, but I have seen some drastically different outcomes in other people's playthroughs compared to what I myself experienced. That said, these variations seem to be restricted to only a select few choices, and the rest are simply for the fun of it or for callbacks later in the story. PRESENTATION: Unsurprisingly, we have another case of AAA graphics here, and the game absolutely looks impressive. Outside the rare oddity like models blipping in and out of existence or combat animations not lining up properly, the visual fidelity and level of detail is impressive. The character designs of many are similarly a blend of what people may recognize from the movies with original elements or stuff from the comics (again, with the proportion varying per character). Gamora is a good example of this, with her sporting armor similar to her outfit during the mid-2010s, having the dyed tips from the MCU version, as well as having eye makeup reminiscent of her classic design but having its own unique look. If you're not into that, you can unlock costumes for the main roster more closely based on their many costume designs over the decades. These include the Annihilation uniforms, designs inspired by variant cover art, and outfits that are more or less just the MCU costumes. The selection here is a treat as well to me, of course. While the game's score is a great fit for the action-adventure blockbuster vibe of the story, it also takes a page from the MCU movies and incorporates licensed music from the '80s in big story moments and in gameplay. It's a delight to beat the shit out of enemies to Holding Out For a Hero or Never Gonna Give You Up, and the big moment during the finale is made more epic thanks to an excellent choice of song. The voice acting is excellent as well, with everyone putting on a solid performance that helped elevate the characters further. I'm a big fan of Mantis's portrayal (who really captures her whole cute but also eternally confused vibe), that of Lady Hellbender's (who has an imposing yet alluring presence), and Nikki Gold's (whose pain and trauma really comes across in the performance). GAMEPLAY: Guardians of the Galaxy is an action-adventure game where you explore each key location per story chapter, solve puzzles to unlock the way forward, and battle waves of enemies. Unlike the Avengers game, you unfortunately only play as Star-Lord, but you are almost always joined by the other Guardians, who you can call upon as leader to help with various situations. As much as I would have preferred being able to play as the others, this setup is actually plenty of fun, and I'll get into why as we go along. Each story chapter has you explore one big area for the duration of it (e.g. Knowhere, Lamentis, or the Universal Church of Truth's ship). While they're all disconnected from one another and are mostly linear, each area is big enough to have room for bonus collectibles and secrets. These include components for upgrades (I'll explain later), the alternate costumes I described earlier (which were always exciting to find), and trinkets that lead to interesting dialogue with the other Guardians back on their ship (worth picking up if you want to learn more about the characters). As you explore, you'll often find things impeding your forward progress, like various obstructions, hazards, and more. Many of these can be navigated around by calling on your teammates to help. For example, Drax can lift or topple large objects with his strength, Groot can grow a bridge out of his branches to give you a path over large paths, Rocket can get into crawlspaces and use his engineering knowhow to deal with terminals, and Gamora uses her sword to clear out certain barriers or as an anchor to walls. Granted, nearly all the puzzles that make use of the Guardian abilities are super simple, but I still found enjoyment in actually making use of their skills to move us forward. I also liked specific story moments where your ability to issue commands is affected, like an absent member's ability being unavailable, needing to issue commands more than once because someone's being stubborn, or even members performing their actions without being prompted. It's a great way to keep whatever character dynamic's going on in the story in sync with the gameplay. Star-Lord himself is able to use his jet boots to double jump or dash across gaps, blast debris away with his Element Guns, and calls the shots with certain interactables (elevator terminals, specific doors). There are puzzles that are specific to his guns' special abilities, but I'll elaborate on that in a little bit. Combat is more or less a third person shooter since Star-Lord's main weapons are his Element Guns. Simply aim and shoot at one of the many enemies coming at you while your AI-controlled teammates do their own thing. Your guns have an overheat mechanic, so holding fire isn't the most ideal strategy especially if there are a ton of enemies. You can also fight hand-to-hand (though it's slow and risky) and make use of your jet boots to dodge and give yourself a higher position with a double jump. As you play through the game, Star-Lord's Element Guns are actually able to shoot elemental shots (something I really wish the movies emphasized, but that's beside the point). They each have their own effect in combat (ice can freeze, lightning can chain across enemies, wind pulls people in, and plasma does damage over time), certain enemies are weak or resistant to specific elements, and they are used in puzzles outside of combat (e.g. freezing geysers to make platforms, zapping electrical conduits). I'm happy that Star-Lord's weapons actually do more than just shoot generic energy blasts, and I really like that the elemental shots are used in puzzles. Guardian commands can also be issued in combat, and each teammate has special moves that can turn the tide of the battle. Rocket, for instance, is great at crowd control with his penchant for explosive gizmos, while someone like Groot can keep squirrelly enemies still by entangling them with his roots. You'll eventually unlock four abilities for each Guardian (including Star-Lord himself), and using them to completely take control of a fight is super satisfying. There's a decent variety of enemies here, from all sorts of weird aliens, evil soldiers, and more. Admittedly, the variety hardly matters with judicious use of Guardian abilities and exploiting elemental weaknesses, so if you were hoping for some complex combat, I'm not sure this is the game for it. That said, I was personally satisfied with calling on the others to thin the crowd or give me an opening, so I don't personally mind the simplicity. Certain enemies have a stagger bar that fills as you deal specific types of damage. You usually just stun them for a bit when it's full, but there are situations where you get a prompt which allows you to execute team attack moves that can instantly take down an enemy or severely damage them. Working towards this stun state is worthwhile strategy, and ganging up on a stunned enemy is as equally satisfying as mowing down an entire crowd with smart use of Guardian abilities. Objects in the environment can also be used to your advantage, as you can ask your teammates to interact with them to deal massive damage. Examples include asking Drax to hurl rocks or explosive barrels at enemies, or having Gamora cut down a cable to drop a heavy object on a crowd. As you fight, you fill up a special bar that, when full, allows you to call a Huddle. This stops combat momentarily and gathers your team together in, well, a huddle. Here, they'll comment on how the battle is going, and you'll be given two dialogue options for a response. You'll have to pay attention to what your teammates are saying to figure out the correct option, as if you pick the wrong option, only Star-Lord gets the bonuses from the Huddle (like a brief period of no cooldown on Guardian abilities). Pick correctly, however, and everyone gets the bonuses. Regardless of your choice, anyone who is incapacitated will be brought back by a Huddle, and as an amazing bonus, one of the licensed tracks will start playing for a little bit. I have to say, tearing through an entire swarm of enemies to the tune of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go is a transcendental experience. With the components you find while exploring, you can upgrade Star-Lord's abilities. Some of the upgrades are basic, like more health, a regenerating shield, a magnet for enemy drops (health, elemental shot ammo), and even a component detector. The more interesting upgrades are more involved with combat, like a Gears of War-style active reload that lets you shoot a powerful shot if you time a button press after your guns overheat, a perfect dodge mechanic that works exactly like Bayonetta's Witch Time, and a charge shot that does a lot of stagger damage. These upgrades are neat, though there's sadly not much else besides these once you get all fifteen of the available upgrades. I found myself wishing for more since the game gives you way more components than you'll ever be able to spend, but at least the upgrades that do exist give you more options in combat. On occasion, you'll run into quick-time events and even a few sections where you pilot the Milano (the Guardians' ship) in a Star Fox-style rail shooter where you fight enemy ships in a dogfight or simply fly forward to a set destination. The Milano sections are pretty simple (you only have one weapon type, have a few maneuverability options, and a temporary boost), but they're enjoyable for what they are. VERDICT: Guardians of the Galaxy was a blast to play through, especially as a longtime Marvel fan. The story was super enjoyable with great characters and the lovely mix of comics lore, movie portrayals, and original ideas, the game looks awesome, and the use of licensed music next to an already solid score elevated the experience. The gameplay isn't all that revolutionary with basic puzzles, mostly linear exploration, and combat you don't have to think too hard about, but I still had a ton of fun with it thanks to the ability to call in your teammates for help. If Square Enix wants to publish more Marvel games, I would be happy if the devs they call on took their cues from this one and worked towards improving the gameplay aspects further. If you like the Guardians of the Galaxy, I think this is well worth playing for the story alone. You'll probably be OK with just a vague knowledge of the movies, and you don't have to think about other corners of the Marvel Universe since this is standalone. There are plenty of accessibility options if you want to fine-tune the game's difficulty, which is a boon for casual players. On the flip side, more seasoned players may not find the combat or exploration that deep, so that's a caveat there. Guardians of the Galaxy is available on Steam: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - |
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June 2024
Derryck
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