Was not really feeling the first two chapters beyond the exceptional art. But chapter 3 was straight fire. The music and storytelling went up a notch.
Combat is ehh. On hard the enemies are too spongy but I like the aggression and on medium its too easy, once I dialed into the custom settings to tuned down enemy damage and tuned up Hazel's damage output it was fine.
I'm enjoying my time with the game, my only gripe is that there's a lot of audio crackling issues on the Xbox. Music and dialogue are not effected but the sound effects become crackly every now and then.
You can turn off the boss fights and chase scenes too. So then it is pretty much just a walking sim. Running from scene to scene. Not worth buying. If you have game pass, then maybe run through it if you're interested in the story.
Finished Chapter 3. I did not expect the stories to go so serious and tragic. I keep floofing my way off the beaten path. Already unlocked a bunch of stuff and I'm only in Chapter 3.
Finished Chapter 3. I did not expect the stories to go so serious and tragic. I keep floofing my way off the beaten path. Already unlocked a bunch of stuff and I'm only in Chapter 3.
As I said before, like you, I was surprised by the level of tragedy and shock in the stories. I suppose such dark stories are linked to the local folklore.
Kinda think this game would work better as a walking sim focused on puzzles and traversal. While I understand why they included combat, it just feels unnecessary. I'm not bothered by the stop-motion animation on characters, I think it helps reinforce the game's distinct art direction.
I'm enjoying my time with the game, my only gripe is that there's a lot of audio crackling issues on the Xbox. Music and dialogue are not effected but the sound effects become crackly every now and then.
What a waste of opportunity not to have included a photo mode, even a simple one at launch...
It's not that it's necessary to get nice screenshots, but it would certainly add a lot more and would be a great way to promote the game and its good work on visuals and optimization.
How old is Hazel supposed to be? Because she looks in her late teens at the youngest, yet she's crying about being left alone by her mum as if she's 6. I've only had enough time to play the first chapter so far but my god she's a whiny irritant off the bat. Hopefully that changes.
The game also suffers with that character talking every single second nonsense. "The voices are getting louder, they must be close". Yeah, I understand how sound works. Just be quiet for 5 seconds and let me soak in the atmosphere.
Happy to say it was just a bad first impression. I really like Hazel. Excellent voice work from the actor.
The game is very good. The only real negative I have on it is the combat is rather weak, but that's about it. It looks great, it sounds great. I like the stories and the characters. I like searching for the floofs (ridiculous name). It's just a very solid game.
There were people who said that the characters and the story in general were not very interesting..... we have different concepts, I think the exact opposite and a good job has been done there.
Finished it. Took 3 sittings and 8-9 hours in total.
I don't get the hate at all. Yes, the game doesn't reinvent anything but at the same time it also doesn't try to. Plus, being on Game Pass and not being a full priced title always gave this impression to begin.
It very much feels like a simple PS2 era platformer and it works. It doesn't overstay its welcome, it's beautiful to look at, the soundtrack and voice acting is great and it's surprisingly fun.
I do think the combat was the worst part though, just boring and repetitive. Outside of that though I didn't think much else was below par.
I must say some of the stories in this were far more emotional and deep than I expected too.
I also loved how one of the last few chapters was reminiscent of Contrast which I did enjoy a while back I must say.
I'm glad I checked it out on Game Pass, it's the perfect title for a service like that.
Chapter 10. SoM is proving to be one of the most satisfying experiences I've had this generation.
Not because it's one of the best games I've played, but because its release coincided with a time when I needed a game like this.
A 10-12 hour game, visually stunning, simple and straightforward, with an interesting and entertaining story and characters.
Gameplay-wise, it doesn't invent anything, and the combat is serviceable, bordering on repetitive. The platforming is well-thought-out, and the semi-open environments invite some exploration and the pursuit of collectibles.
That said, I'm really enjoying it.
Rolled credits earlier today after around 11ish total playtime.
If this had been an animated movie alone, I'd easily give it a 10. It has a great style and soundtrack and a good story about managing loss and grief. But alas, it's a game, and the gameplay elements are so weak that it brought the whole thing down.
Exploration and puzzles were simple to the point of being borderline braindead. Combat is overly simplistic and enemies constantly swarming you with attacks that can rag doll you around got pretty old fast when there really weren't enough good counters. Even fully upgraded you really only have perfect Dodge and the jump attack as interrupts; I found the former to be inconsistent at best and the latter becomes difficult to use when you have a lot of enemies at once all on different attack timings.
Without spoilers, Chapter 11 felt like padding. Every other encounter had something directly to do with Hazel, her mom, or someone they were related to or regularly interacted with. Except Chapter 11, which felt like someone had written it and was looking for a place to put it into the overall story.
Had the cutscenes and the storybook segments all been weaved (no pun intended) into a film, I would have enjoyed it more. The gameplay wore me down to the point where I was happy when it was over and I have no desire to go back and clean up the few outstanding achievements I didn't get.
I'd personally give it a 6 or 6.5 out of 10. It started strong but the more I played the more it wore on me.
Just finished Chapter 5. That fight with two toed tom about wore me out. I'm guessing this was the disgusting part of the game as I have not seen anyone post pics of the pig farm with the 'fecal' sprinklers. gross.
I think this is the point in the game where I'm going into settings and switch the skip combat option. I don't think I was able to jump over the big gators tail even once during that boss fight.
As I said before, like you, I was surprised by the level of tragedy and shock in the stories. I suppose such dark stories are linked to the local folklore.
Yeah, this game is a blast. Feels very old school. Actually reminds me of Kena: Bridge of Spirits a lot in that it feels like a PS2 era game in the best ways.
Game has fantastic art direction of course as well. Looks great on PC:
+ Artistically gorgeous, one of the best looking games of the generation.
+ Musical cues and choices are pretty good.
+ A well rounded story, decent characterizations and look into southern US folklore that I've personally never seen represented anywhere before
- Combat is pretty un-challenging, clearly it was not the primary focus of the game, exploration was.
- This seems like an issue only some people are having, but I had a near-constant audio crackling issues over sound effects in the game
I'm on chapter 7 and combat is getting turned off tonight. I haven't seen any new enemies in ages, and it's the same old boring encounter every time. Absolutely nothing enjoyable about the combat at all.
Same for the chase sequences.
I will finish as I am quite enjoying the setting and the little stories, but you can't really say the game as a whole is great - 6.5/10 seems fair.
playing chapter 12. love the game as a jump and run. the story offers the expected progressive worldview, the monsters are misunderstood and the white grandmother is evil. but that might change in the end.
The art is amazing. GOTY-tier.
The sound design is great too.
The combat and platforming are mediocre.
The writing is weak (with just a few exceptions).
Hazel is boring.
7/10. With a great narrative could've been 8.5-9/10 easily.
Okay, so I did finish this up over the weekend.
Reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Infamous
Solid 7-8 out of 10 (depending on how much combat nuance you need)
1) Setting (Environment, Culture, Lore, etc. etc.) 10/10. This game has a crazy amount of detail in the environments and through each of the folk lore areas. From the music down to the scrub brush details (whippoorwills and cat-o-9 tails galore!!)
2) Music/Sound Scape - 9/10. Honestly this one surprised me more than anything else. Almost every area had something memorable from a sound perspective.
3) Combat - 7/10. This is NOT a souls-like...this is God of War (with LESS pandering believe it or not) through and through. The combat experience is perfectly fine for what they were going for.
4) Length - 8/10. Clocked in a 8.25 hours. Took me four days or so of gaming a few hours a night and overall happy with my purchase. Def worth the $39.99 or whatever it was on steam.
I am not a culture warrior or anything like that, I just like me some fun escapism and this game delivers that in droves.
I found this story to be very good, with none of "ThE MeSsAGe" that people were saying it was filled with. Didn't see it here...or I may have been enjoying the game too much to notice.
I am a sucker for a good heroes journey, and i think the deep south paint slapped on this version of it serves the purpose well in this instance. Sure it might be predictable from a "major story beat" perspective but there were enough surprises and "oh that's fucking COOL" moments that I left the experience contented! I do not feel robbed for what I paid and I don't need a sequel!
Either way it was worth both my time and my money!
If this had been an animated movie alone, I'd easily give it a 10. It has a great style and soundtrack and a good story about managing loss and grief. But alas, it's a game, and the gameplay elements are so weak that it brought the whole thing down.
Yeah, pretty much this. While playing, my main thought was "What's the point?". For example, when exploring there are spikes and other stuff that can hurt you. However once you die, you just spawn close by and continue as nothing happened. So what is even the point of having those "dangers" around. They are not stopping you at all. When exploring as the doll, then you have re-spawn and try again, so that makes more sense.
Reminds me a lot of the PS3 classic Folklore which Sony has done shit alll with the IP since which is a shame. Love these smaller hidden gems. The art direction is fantastic but the combat is totally the games main weakness.
I don't throw money away to buy licenses for things I will never use a second time, especially when there are so many new gaming experiences out there. But glad you skipped it for that asstacularly lame reason.
I don't throw money away to buy licenses for things I will never use a second time, especially when there are so many new gaming experiences out there. But glad you skipped it for that asstacularly lame reason.
I don't throw money away to buy licenses for things I will never use a second time, especially when there are so many new gaming experiences out there. But glad you skipped it for that asstacularly lame reason.
