analog_future
Resident Crybaby
Just finished this last night. What a breath of fresh air.
The visuals have obviously been one of the largest talking points of this game, and yeah, they've unquestionably set a new bar. Lighting, animations, textures, physics, volumetrics, scale, particle effects, you name it. Not to mention the second-to-none art direction. The game is an absolute stunner.
But it's not just that. Not by a long shot. The music is haunting and incredibly atmospheric. The performances are next level. The character development is poignant and piercing. I will say that the story itself, while serviceable, is not pushing the envelope. But I believe this is by design in order to focus on Senua's internal struggles first and foremost.
But let's get to the most common drive-by criticism of the game: "It's not even a game, you can't do anything!", "You might as well watch a movie!", "Sure it's pretty but does it even count if you can't interact with the environment?", etc..
Prior to playing, because of comments like this, my expectation for the game was for it to be a walking simulator. Something along the lines of Dear Esther or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Which would've been okay! I've enjoyed several walking simulators in my day. But here's the thing: it isn't! Not by a long shot.
Yes, there's extended walking sequences that are intended to develop the story, or to put you in Senua's mind as her voices plant seeds of doubt or fear or confusion, but there's is plenty of traditional "gameplay" as well. There's a variety of puzzles, and climbing, and figuring out how to manipulate the environment to reach your destination, and extremely visceral combat.
The combat in particular is incredibly intense. There's dodging and parrying and a charge up "mode" similar to Spartan Rage from the new God of War games. You're rewarded for perfect parrying. You need to choose and time your attacks depending on what your enemy is doing. Does it have the depth of a God of War or a FROM game? Of course not. That's not what this game is. But for those that are claiming there's "no gameplay" in this clearly haven't actually played the game, or have a very dogmatic mindset of what it means to be a "game"
Which brings me to my next point. It sure seems like gamers today LOVE to complain about how every AAA game is cookie-cutter, with no creativity. Every game has loot boxes, and paid cosmetics, and endlessly convoluted upgrade systems, and bare minimum plot and character complexity, etc.. etc.. Yet here's a game that eschews literally all of that and is truly something NEW in this gaming landscape, something that takes many risks, whether it be visually, thematically, or with how it approaches interactivity, and it's largely responded to by the gaming community with "lol wheres the guns?!?!1"
This game has also unfortunately been the target of predictable childish console warring nonsense and bitter hyperbole around what it is and what it isn't. And going by much of the commentary here and elsewhere, it's largely coming from those that haven't even played the game and have no intention to. Are we knocking Journey because of it's lack of combat, puzzles, and short length? Portal 1 & 2 because of their lack of combat and short lengths? INSIDE? The Stanley Parable? What Remains of Edith Finch?
Why are we acting like it's a bad thing for a developer to try something different within this interactive medium? For as much as everyone complains that "modern AAA games are all cookie-cutter and take no risks", we sure seem to act pissed off when someone tries something that diverts from the typical formula. Or even worse, many who are celebrating it's poor sales as some type of a win for gaming. It's like everyone complaining about Michael Bay films or the typical Marvel schlock, yet no one shows up to watch A24. Do we just want everything to be Call of Duty and Fortnite and Madden? Because that's where we're going if AAA releases like this one are responded to this way.
So yeah, 6 months into the year, Hellblade II is my GOTY thus far, just edging out the Ghost of Tsushima PC release.
Here's a few shots of my playthrough:
The visuals have obviously been one of the largest talking points of this game, and yeah, they've unquestionably set a new bar. Lighting, animations, textures, physics, volumetrics, scale, particle effects, you name it. Not to mention the second-to-none art direction. The game is an absolute stunner.
But it's not just that. Not by a long shot. The music is haunting and incredibly atmospheric. The performances are next level. The character development is poignant and piercing. I will say that the story itself, while serviceable, is not pushing the envelope. But I believe this is by design in order to focus on Senua's internal struggles first and foremost.
But let's get to the most common drive-by criticism of the game: "It's not even a game, you can't do anything!", "You might as well watch a movie!", "Sure it's pretty but does it even count if you can't interact with the environment?", etc..
Prior to playing, because of comments like this, my expectation for the game was for it to be a walking simulator. Something along the lines of Dear Esther or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Which would've been okay! I've enjoyed several walking simulators in my day. But here's the thing: it isn't! Not by a long shot.
Yes, there's extended walking sequences that are intended to develop the story, or to put you in Senua's mind as her voices plant seeds of doubt or fear or confusion, but there's is plenty of traditional "gameplay" as well. There's a variety of puzzles, and climbing, and figuring out how to manipulate the environment to reach your destination, and extremely visceral combat.
The combat in particular is incredibly intense. There's dodging and parrying and a charge up "mode" similar to Spartan Rage from the new God of War games. You're rewarded for perfect parrying. You need to choose and time your attacks depending on what your enemy is doing. Does it have the depth of a God of War or a FROM game? Of course not. That's not what this game is. But for those that are claiming there's "no gameplay" in this clearly haven't actually played the game, or have a very dogmatic mindset of what it means to be a "game"
Which brings me to my next point. It sure seems like gamers today LOVE to complain about how every AAA game is cookie-cutter, with no creativity. Every game has loot boxes, and paid cosmetics, and endlessly convoluted upgrade systems, and bare minimum plot and character complexity, etc.. etc.. Yet here's a game that eschews literally all of that and is truly something NEW in this gaming landscape, something that takes many risks, whether it be visually, thematically, or with how it approaches interactivity, and it's largely responded to by the gaming community with "lol wheres the guns?!?!1"
This game has also unfortunately been the target of predictable childish console warring nonsense and bitter hyperbole around what it is and what it isn't. And going by much of the commentary here and elsewhere, it's largely coming from those that haven't even played the game and have no intention to. Are we knocking Journey because of it's lack of combat, puzzles, and short length? Portal 1 & 2 because of their lack of combat and short lengths? INSIDE? The Stanley Parable? What Remains of Edith Finch?
Why are we acting like it's a bad thing for a developer to try something different within this interactive medium? For as much as everyone complains that "modern AAA games are all cookie-cutter and take no risks", we sure seem to act pissed off when someone tries something that diverts from the typical formula. Or even worse, many who are celebrating it's poor sales as some type of a win for gaming. It's like everyone complaining about Michael Bay films or the typical Marvel schlock, yet no one shows up to watch A24. Do we just want everything to be Call of Duty and Fortnite and Madden? Because that's where we're going if AAA releases like this one are responded to this way.
So yeah, 6 months into the year, Hellblade II is my GOTY thus far, just edging out the Ghost of Tsushima PC release.
Here's a few shots of my playthrough:
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