Tag / Reviews

by DeiSophia

Pathfinder: Kingmaker Enhanced Edition (PC)

Sic transit gloria mundi

Pathfinder: Kingmaker, much as the rather unimaginative title indicates, is a game about the establishment of a kingdom. Yours. From the political machinations of a nearby Duchy that wishes to create a possible alliance against their enemies they aid in not only granting you the land but also in financing its establishment. From there in true fantasy style a new threat emerges, an old curse exists upon the lands that gathers the remains of previous empires, atoning for a mistake from the past.

Like many of the cRPGs of recent years Pathfinder: Kingmaker is the product of a crowdfunding success story that propelled the small Russian studio of Owlcat Games into the limelight. Though it’s initial release was marred by numerous bugs and balancing issues, subsequent patches largely fixed many of the issues, and the release of the Enhanced Edition incorporated a great deal of player feedback to improve the overall quality of the game.

Story

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is truly epic in scope, not only does it span multiple playing hours but in terms of the game world it explores millennia. In doing so it can elaborate on its them of civilization and barbarity, the transient nature of empire and the various ways they rise and fall. This is done most notably through the various chapters of the main campaign, each of which focus on one or more kingdoms that had once existed in the territories of the Stolen Lands. Not only is internal strife and decadence explored but also external threats, and natural disasters, whether it be plague or climate change. Accompanying these hints from the past for the discerning lore master, the actual campaign itself also expounds on these ideas, with each chapter of the campaign unfolding a new threat to the governance of yourself and your advisors (who are selected from your various companions).

Arise, Your Grace…

The choices here are unprecedented, you can recruit erstwhile enemies to assist you, (provided they have a similar ethos to governance as you), shape and change the fates of your companions due to your influence over them, and in some cases might just roleplay their influence on your character as well. And they are an interesting lot, from the grandiose delirium of Nok-Nok the goblin, to the stalwart Valerie, and erudite Jubilost, there’s a lot to uncover about each companion.

Of course, they do have accompanying side-quests to expand upon their choices and influence them, as well as the option to romance some of them. Many of the options taken in these side-quests also have additional impacts upon the fate of the kingdom later on, though they aren’t realised mechanically. The characterization of each is superlative, from the erudite, pomposity that characterizes Jubilost’s speech, and his accompanying focus on rationalism and rhetoric to the crude yet good natured banter of Amiri, each companion has their own distinct style of speech. They also might unintentionally work against you. Lindzi for instance procures some of the kingdom’s funds to assist one of her dreams. Depending on how you’ve managed your kingdoms finances this may either be an absolute disaster, or you just shake your head, and wonder why she just didn’t come and ask you in the first place since you would have happily assisted her anyway. Even with such inadvertant setbacks however the game does recompense you in some way. In the case of Lindzi, you do receive a building later that covers the cost of what you initially lost.

The kingdom itself shares a story with you, changing significantly based on the decisions you make, whether its populated with monsters, a mercantile success, or a generic tyranny there’s multiple ways to craft its story. This is realised in short excerpts from the kingdom management screen, and are known as “problems” and “opportunities”, choosing different advisors (with different traits) will have varying outcomes, not only can they fail or succeed but different individuals handle matters differently. Some of these permutations can be seen as many of the “opportunity” events are recycled (which leads to some story fatigue) but they also shape the alignment of the kingdom, having distinct outcomes for how the people are governed.

Lost time unleashed

The main story itself has a fairly generic ultimate villain, but the secondary villain is the main antagonist for most of the game, and she is rather unique, however it’s up to the player whether she will be viewed sympathetically or not. The main story is also imperative in forcing and encouraging exploration. Most of the structure turns upon a threat whose mystery must first be uncovered, then investigated and finally confronted. This pattern unfolds for each chapter. The greatest criticism I can level is that after a while this feels uninspired, but the mysteries themselves are intriguing enough and pull the player to explore the world further, which is after all one of the great joys of playing a cRPG, adventuring to uncover new dangers, treasures and above all to gain experiences (xp points too).

Gameplay

Kingmaker truly excels in its game-play. The combat mechanics are robust and adaptive to varied play styles. Characters can be built in various ways and , on harder difficulties tried and tested builds will need to be used in order to min max stats, however easier difficulties (including a story mode) allow for more experimentation in builds and are forgiving if you make a few mistakes in a build. The mechanics will be familiar to any person whose encountered a cRPG game before. From elemental to physical damage types and their relation to damage resistances, the need to create a party with multiple ability types, to work in concert together. All the normal roles apply.

Nothing is truly innovative here, wizards can work as heavy damage dealers or crowd controllers, rogues can provide debuffs and concentrated damage, fighters work as tanks, bards as buffers/debuffers. It’s all familiar and comforting terrain to veterans of the genre, but not overly complicated for newcomers to work out.

Valerie’s Confusion

General play will consist of observing the encounter beforehand, time spent buffing your party before launching into attack. Positioning of characters is important (you don’t want your wizard to land their fireball right upon your tanks head with their low reflex save) and at times controlling the flow of battle will require deftly moving your characters around. Managing debuffs upon your party is also important at higher levels, and not controlling them can result in a few rather hilarious scenarios, that leads to emergent storytelling, such as when Valerie, the noble fighter ended up slaying a unicorn, going insane from a spell inflicted upon her by the dryad who looked after the beasts, she turned upon the party… terrified by their normally steadfast and loyal companion they hid in terror waiting for her to calm down… only to witness her hit herself between drinking bouts of beer. Its moments like these that shape and make your own adventurous tale.

Ready to paint the map

Exploration occurs across a world map with isolated encounter areas (as well as random encounters when travelling between locations). At first most of the map is unavailable with higher difficulty levels being locked until you’ve expanded your power enough to access them, that is not to say that difficult encounters are not hiding tucked away in caves in earlier areas though… discretion is the better part of valour. In addition, some areas will require repeat visits, as new quests will be linked to that area. Encumbrance impedes exploration and acts as a serious hindrance, slowing travel time which affects the games overall time pressure. It’s not a huge role but is something to be aware of, if a quest timer is close to ending. The area is not free-form exploration sadly. You are confined to the paths that you find between nodes. It’s a step back from the slightly freer feel of Baldur’s Gate but not out entirely out of line with more recent cRPGS that also have limited budgets and so restrict encounter areas.

Each encounter area is filled with various side-quests or unique enemies to fight (and loot) however the major dungeons are reserved for areas associated with the main campaign. Many of these dungeons have multiple levels and distinct puzzles associated with them as well as some rather difficult combat challenges. The game also does not shy away from splitting your party on more than one occasion. The dungeons themselves are generally well-crafted experiences, with challenging encounters as well as various puzzles to solve. In some dungeons these puzzles take precedence and can be rather obtuse in their riddling, however compared to games like Pillars of Eternity and its sequel Deadfire which had very few puzzles its pleasant to encounter such riddles again. Sadly, one of the dungeons has some rather complex coding associated with its puzzle and it can be quite buggy, it’s also exceptionally late in the game so multiple saves are mandatory… of course.

The beginning of a city to rival Absalom!

The other important aspect is the Kingdom itself. The kingdom is assigned various stats, such as loyalty, espionage, military, arcane and culture that link to various domains of society. These stats are boosted by assigning the appropriate ministers to events and granting them time to complete them. In addition, you can construct villages with various buildings that provide boosts to said stats, and some buildings even decrease the difficulty for the encounters by providing bonuses. Your companions may be assigned as advisers in a vaguely nepotistic faction however there are other advisers you can assign and complete tasks to enhance their governing abilities. Who you assign is important as it shifts the alignment of your kingdom, which further determines what buildings you can include, not to mention their own allegiances, that just may result in a betrayal? The kingdom management also has certain tasks that only the player character can complete, such as annexing neighbouring lands that results in time lost for adventuring. This is where a more strategic layer of play develops, balancing the cost of assigning various advisers, (also dependent on which adviser is available), upgrading your kingdom and completing the timed quests. It’s a unique and heady blend of strategy that is utterly new for the genre. The only issue is that it can result in not being able to see some content if managed poorly, the same issue that games like Avernum 3 had as well.

Who better than dour Harrim to deal with death!

Since the success of the Kingdom also factors into the completion of the game, managing it well is a necessity. Like the keep in Neverwinter Nights 2 ruling your people (or monsters) well and looking after their safety is a necessity. Integrating the success of your kingdom to concepts such as the health of the ruler is linked to the health and prosperity of the land are born out later in the story as well. This is a refreshing change from the unimportant management aspects of games like Pillars of Eternity where Caed Nua plays an unimportant role in the games story (at least only as a cut scene as a prequel to the second game does it gain significance) and Dragon Age: Inquisition where the missions don’t really bear much impact on the overall story except perhaps to fill in a few sundry details.

To the horizon

Other things to note is that there are some keyboard shortcuts, but I didn’t find or use any party management shortcuts (e.g. for melee vs ranged members) which was frustrating. Also, the game is active time with pause so prepare for your spacebar to be abused.

Graphics

The graphics are quite phenomenal, there are some gorgeous lighting effects and there is very little issue with textures. A great amount of detail has been paid to monster designs, from the irascible mites to the gargantuan Crag Linnorn’s they are rendered with unique animations, that are particularly noticeable when it comes to combat. Combat itself is a visual feast, the array of spells and spell like effects dazzle across the screen, and make a wonderful visual counterpoint to the slowly increasing feel of power. Death and critical hit animations, have enemies (or your characters) reeling backward or stumbling, and with a well-placed heal, lifting themselves with effort to join the fray again.

Healing waters

The UI is fine on lower resolutions with lots of detail at a glance but can be slightly too small on larger screens even with the option for text scaling. Additional information such as enemy stats are not readily available with a mouse hover (such as in Deadfire) but are available using the “y” button on English keyboards, this was somewhat frustrating as I’d have preferred combat information to be available more readily.

The in game menus are pretty comfortable to view and easy to sort, however some of the icons are a little too similar, this was particularly frustrating with scrolls and some of the potions that meant you had to hover slightly over the potion to check it was the correct one, you wanted to select which slowed down combat at times, one way to overcome this is to use alphabetical sorting.

Music

I was somewhat surprised when starting to play the game and thought for a moment I was hearing Dragon Age: Origins again, because the chord structure is nearly identical. This is of course due to the soundtrack being largely composed by Inon Zur. He’s an excellent composer, however at times the similarity in music evoked memories of other games which actually detracted from the experience with Kingmaker.  What was particularly wonderful though was the kingdom having music associated with its state, a lawful good kingdom has very different ambient music to a chaotic evil kingdom, add in the music for specific areas, as well as each boss having a soundtrack designed especially for them and you’ve got hours of music to accompany your play. The music seems to draw heavy inspiration from European folk melodies and the choice of instrumentation, lends itself well to the standard medieval fantasy setting.

Additional sounds make the world come to further life, whether it’s the varying sounds of your footsteps across different terrain or the sound of magic combusting, the game is an absolute aural treat, making the animations come alive.

Silence is golden

Even the voice-acting is well done. The emotions are well conveyed, and though not all dialogue is voice-acted, most of the main campaign is. The emotions are subtly portrayed with layers of nuance, and vastly aids in making the characters more sympathetic. Sadly budget constraints meant that party resting banter is limited to only two lines of exchange which doesn’t really convey the relationship between the two companions involved, where even three lines with a second response would have done more to establish their relationships.

Conclusion

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is one of the great cRPGs, despite its rather difficult launch, the enhanced edition is generally a treat to play, despite still having a few bugs. It’s exploration of rulership and governance sets it apart from its contemporaries, and whilst it lacks philosophical depth directly in the writing, the concepts are there for the attentive player to explore. It may not have the philosophical complexity of Numenera or the verbosity of Deadfire but it is far more accessible than those games, and still incredibly entertaining to boot.

Score ~8/10~

Pros

  • Incredible and lengthy narrative that has multiple plot twists
  • Well fleshed out companions
  • Engaging combat system that offers tactical depth
  • Lush and colourful graphics

Cons

  • Rather generic in its medieval fantasy setting
  • Time management on quests creates sense of pressure and reduces willingness to explore
  • An area at the ending is rather prohibitive if you haven’t fully explored the side-quests from earlier in the game

Publisher: Deep Silver

Developer: Owlcat Games

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

ESRB: – / PEGI: –

Available from: Steam, GoG.com, Humble Store

Banner image is used under fair use. The images in the review are from the author’s own playthrough.

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by DeiSophia

Enderal: Forgotten Stories (PC)

What distinguishes a free man and a slave?

This is the opening question of Enderal: Forgotten Stories and informs the basis of the games narrative. Leading from Nehrim which challenged political and religious structures, Enderal continues to explore this concept further by focusing on alternative philosophies of freedom and slavery such as slavery to one’s own desires.

This is easily one of the most tightly knit narratives within an RPG, nearly every quests relates to the primary theme. Moreover each quest establishes and builds upon the world, from small domestic dramas that play out as consequences of the imposition of societies structures upon individuals in the early game, to the larger consequences of responsibility when one is in charge in the late game. Enderal does not shy away from difficult material and right from the outset exposes the player to its visceral drama.

The quests are organic and build naturally, escalating in importance as the tale unfolds. Seeing how the secondary and side quests all bear impact upon the main game at later stages, many foreshadowing future events is fascinating and a testament to the focus of the writing. Even quests that at first glance don’t seem related still expound upon the central themes of freedom. Ultimately though the game never quite resolves or comes to a conclusion despite having branching endings, including a secret one.

Instead the decision is left up to you the player.

The premise of Enderal is a struggle against the enigmatic High Ones, beings (or forces) that impose their will upon the world for a purpose -at least initially- only known to them. Their indirect manipulation of desires and the subconscious of their agents in the world gives them power to unfold their will over others, essentially turning their human tools into unwitting slaves. It is the player’s purpose to attempt to thwart this, and free themselves. Much of the scenario is a continuation of Nehrim’s tale (their previous mod) however understanding the tale of Nehrim is not essential as Enderal stands sufficiently on its own, those who have played it however are in for a few surprises and nostalgic flashbacks.

“From the forces that all creatures bind, who overcomes himself his freedom finds.” ~Goethe

First amongst such is the inclusion of notable characters from Nehrim, with Tealor Arantheal most prominent among them. His nobility here is shown as flawed and though he strives for perfection his very human failings set him up as the tragic hero. Accompanying him are a new cast of characters, including romanceable options Jespar Dal’Varek and Calia Sakaresh. Both have extensive companion quests that develop over time, and a new introduction to the Creation engine is displayed in building favour with them, whether to become friends or lovers. This mechanic bears fruit in other aspects of dialogue as well, since other characters have important arcs where befriending them is useful. Most importantly is the Rhalata side-quest were actually disagreeing with one of the characters leads to some significant character growth that would not be possible if you’d pleased them all the time. This break from the ‘Bioware’ dialogue reward system was incredibly refreshing to see, and sets up the idea that game dialogues are possible to more extensively develop interactions and change companion’s ideas (something I’d only really seen in Pillars of Eternity so far). This leads to far more satisfying relationships whether they are romantic or platonic.

Mysterious places await discovery

The story and background of the world is extensive, and revealed in various ways. Since the game does make use of Bethesda’s Creation Engine, all the hallmarks of the Elder Scrolls games are here. From books in the form of poetry and scholarly treatises, to notes that expound on behind the scenes occurrences, and through normal means such as cut scenes, scripted segments (which sadly detract from player agency at certain times) and of course the old staple of dialogue, the game is quite diverse in conveying it’s narrative. In addition there are various motifs and symbols within the world that have significant impact to the observant player this environmental storytelling plays a significant role here as well. After all this, the game still does adhere to the hallmarks of Western RPG’s with its large open world, and a plethora of dungeons and locations to adventure in, emergent storytelling through the players creativity is possible as well.

“Always act according to that maxim that you can will as a universal law of nature.” ~Immanuel Kant

Despite being a mod, Enderal significantly overhauls the character progression system. Not only are the classes and skills renamed, but many systems are significantly overworked. The challenge is significantly harder here, and in addition is actually scalable, selecting harder difficulties will spawn more enemies to fight you, and at times the mobs can become quite overwhelming. The feel of combat will still be familiar to veterans of Skyrim though.

Most obviously different is the progression system, experience is gained from enemies in order to level up, which increases the grind, since you can only progress to the next area once you are of sufficient level as the areas scale as well. Once you have leveled, you acquire various points to spend, named learning and crafting respectively. Reading books allows you to develop these further. These skill books can be obtained from vendors or found scattered about the world. In addition if you are a caster spells will need to be learned in a similar manner, making mages one of the more expensive classes to develop in the game.

Crafting is familiar though, many of the ores retain the same names, except for the high level ores, and you will be able to craft potions through alchemy. New to Forgotten Stories is the phasmalist class, an interesting riff on the games themes of freedom since the phasmalist captures and binds souls to amulets to summon them in battle. The enslavement of these souls is a lengthy process since they must be discovered within the environment of the game, and are invisible without a special detection spell.

“But to manipulate men, to propel them toward goals which you—the social reformers—see, but they may not, is to deny their human essence, to treat them as objects without wills of their own, and therefore to degrade them.”

― Isaiah Berlin

Magic has been divided into different schools and at first glance is more limited than Skyrim. This is compounded by the fact that in the early game caster classes are heavily penalised by the Arcane Fever mechanic which advances every time you use powerful magic and drink potions. It is only mitigated by drinking Ambrosia, and if left unchecked will cause death and a terrible transformation. Once a certain story point is reached the Arcane Fever is less problematic but it is certainly a major hindrance in the early stages. Elementalism is the most prominent magic school, as it is your primary means to deal damage, but other magic skills such as the Thaumaturge take the place of supplementary spells allowing you to enhance damage or armour values or alternatively debuff enemies. The most interesting variants are the Sinistrope fields that deal with mind control, and are considered to be a forbidden school. These are obviously most at variance with the games theme, so make an interesting counterpart to the narrative. Many of the skills create an enhanced challenge since they drain your own health, and increase damage based on how low your health is. Using them carefully is an interesting hurdle to overcome.

The combat system in Enderal is in essence not much different from that of Skyrim, but does add some new interesting elements. The weapon types are the same however there are some notable additions such as set item bonuses. Unlike Skyrim combinations of specific specializations (like great-sword and light armor) will unlock additional bonuses. These abilities take the place of Skyrim’s shouts and can be unlocked as part of the skill trees. These abilities are gained through meditation and unlocking memories. A strange ability unique to the player character that ties into their role as the Prophetess and are hidden abilities of past lives. Without them combat can become difficult, and using them strategically is important as many have cool downs. Since the enemies are significantly harder in Enderal, playing strategically and combing abilities to gain advantages is important when developing battle tactics. This is made somewhat easier by carrying a liberal amount of health potions and pausing to drink them.

The old water-works

Using these skills take place in a variety of environments. Dungeon crawling is still a staple , and descending into narrow hallways and tombs is essential for both experience and loot. Sadly these tombs, whilst visually impressive are old fashioned in execution. Many are linear and don’t offer alternative exists, meaning you need to backtrack to the exit rather than emerge at the cleverly hidden exits that Skyrim was so famous for. It does however make these spelunking adventures more realistic. There are a few notable dungeons that do break this mould, with the Ark Crypt being one such with it’s labyrinthine corridors and multiple approaches to various rooms and some do offer platforming and jumping challenges which were notably absent from Skyrim.

The monsters that inhabit many of these areas are slightly overhauled, whilst many of their attacks are the same as Skyrim, there are special boss monsters that occur in quest encounters. These are fairly significant encounters, in one scenario you choose who becomes the boss, in another there is a scripted sequence with temporary opportunities to attack. Something not usually present in Elder Scrolls games but familiar to players of JRPGs. To see this sort of battle presented on this engine is a testament to the skilled adaptation of the coding.

Ancient ruins hide untold secrets

Getting to locations is also artificially delayed. You’re encouraged to explore the landscape. Teleport scrolls are available to various quest hubs, and the large creatures known as Myrads also offer transportation similar to Morrowind’s Silt Striders, except Myrads can fly! (They are overhauled Dragons after all). This does mean the length of the game is increased since you will need to travel and get lost when climbing mountains yet it does allow you to continually enhance your skills and level, so that by the time end game arrives you are of sufficient skill to handle it. This forced exploration does lessen the feel of the grind since you are usually in pursuit of an item or travelling to an event.

The quests are fairly standard, most being fetch quests, yet the experience never feels tedious due to the well written dialogues and advancement of the story. Encounters within the quests also help to make them feel more varied despite the fact you’re doing the same thing over and over.

“Out of the crooked timber of humanity, nothing completely straight was ever made”

― Isaiah Berlin

All of this takes place in a world that is remarkable considering the age of the engine. Being a total conversion Enderal does make significant use of various graphical overhauls, that create some truly remarkable environments. Some assets used will clearly send the player into reminiscing over Skyrim, however many new objects and textures are introduced, leaving a distinctly new feel to the world of Vyn you are adventuring through. These overhauls do come at a slight cost though, as performance does suffer. I noticed significant frame drops when wandering through highly vegetated areas, whether tropical or temperate forest. It is recommended to play this on a machine that is more powerful than that required for Skyrim as the resource demands are significantly higher for Enderal.

Another notable aspect was the heavy use of visual effects. For the most part these were impressive, however at times the flashing colours and lights did create significant eyestrain and during one sequence in particular the combination of blurring and flashing brought on a headache quite quickly. There is no epilepsy warning, not that I suffer from it, but considering many games do hold such a warning it’s absence was rather notable considering the usage of these special effects.

The demesne of Vatyra

Some of the monsters are renamed and recoloured into new variants, yet there are a few new unique monsters created for the game, that showcase some of the teams creativity. It would have been nice to see a few more such creatures, like the special bosses that need specific methods to combat and defeat whilst being utterly unique to look at.

The film sequences are not used extensively in the game, and sadly do look a bit like machinima productions, which was disappointing since the opening cinematic was highly stylised and reminiscent of Bioware’s Dragon Age opening. This wasn’t used again instead transitioning to the machinima pieces, I’d have enjoyed seeing more of this type of skilled artwork,, especially since it harkens back to many classic RPG opening sequences

Accompanying the visuals is an overhauled sound system. New music has been composed for the game, and whilst it clearly draws inspiration from the works of Jeremy Soule and Inon Zur it does manage to stand on its own. There’s also some Skyrim and Dragon Age inspiration creeping in again as bards are able to play various songs that reveal more about the world and its myths. Requesting songs at taverns led to a nice counterpart when relaxing, and the instrumentation of the game was beautifully used, with even bands of musicians playing during particular scenes. Yet all of this paled when compared to the way the game introduced its leitmotifs. They blend in so well at climactic moments, and as soon as one begins to hear them, tension begins to escalate, even if the music being used is a simple lullaby. Sadly the soundtrack doesn’t quite have the large orchestral impact that other games have yet it is still superb considering the budget and constraints that a free game is made under.

Childish pursuits

The voice acting is notable as well. Having played the English version some of the voices seemed slightly poor at first, and the dialogue did not always match the written texts, but for the most part the voices matched the characters. Whether it was the strident, authoritative tones of Arantheal, the confidence of Lishari Peghast or the hidden vulnerability Calia the characters are excellently portrayed and to see this aspect blend with the characters animations at various points was incredible to witness.

Enderal is a significant accomplishment, being one of the first total conversion mods released as a standalone product on Steam, but due to the consistent quality throughout. Whilst there are many areas that show some amateur design decisions, the tightly executed narrative and new possibilities revealed in the Creation engine code make this an interesting landmark in the history of videogames. In addition to this is the fact that it released for free, in the face of Bethesda’s consistent attempts to monetize mods via their workshops. SureAI has shown incredible skill here, hopefully their passion will lead them to new success in the future.

Score ~8/10~

Pros

*Beautiful overhaul of the Creation Engine

*Tightly woven narrative

*Incredible environments to explore

*Wonderful soundtrack with some excellent vocal performances by the ‘bards’

*Different endings to sidequests as well as the main game add replayability

Cons

*Some areas can be quite linear

*A lot of visual effects that create eyestrain

*Graphics overhaul increases the system requirements, which makes for a decreased performance when compared to Skyrim on lower end systems.

*Crashes are still fairly frequent

Publisher: SureAI

Developer: SureAI

Platforms: PC, Mac

ESRB: / PEGI: Not rated (Skyrim is rated M/18+)

Available from: Steam,


by DeiSophia

Hollow Knight (PC)

Hollow Knight is a game with a lauded reputation that precedes it, including being brutally difficult but also extremely rewarding. What was striking to me is that it does live up to this reputation in every way.


A mysterious bug emerges from the wilderness to discover an ancient village, decrepit and with one sole inhabitant, who points out a mysterious ruined city far below. Compelled by this mystery the small insect descends to discover the secrets beneath.

Pros

  • Rich lore and setting
  • Gothic aesthetic that adds to the mood
  • Intuitive and flexible playstyles
  • Fair challenge that rewards increasing skill

    Cons
  • Immense amounts of backtracking
  • Sometimes frustrating pathways back to the bosses if you need to retry the fight
  • Not always clear about what to do or where to go next

Rich in archetypal symbolism, from contrasting opposing forces, to vague references to dreams and a creeping infestation and plague that results in madness, Hollow Knight explores its themes of decay and decrepitude with you the player, the Knight gathering the last remnants of civilization even as you ultimately seal its own fate, in one of four possible endings. 

The motifs that Hollow Knight uses are sometimes subverted and sometimes remain the same, even as the world descends into further chaos due to your actions (which have a real and visible affect on a certain area of the game), for instance light and illumination are here in the role of the Jungian shadow just as the darkness or void and chaos are revealed to as the substance of the Knight. In a world of ruin, anarchy becomes paramount and the swathes of destruction that you leave in your wake partially reveal you as an anti-hero just as much as the prophsized saviour. It’s a beautifully complex tale and the lore is often revealed through poetic stanzas; phrased and contextualized in prophetic forms. It’s also subtle, barely revealing the hints to the player until you’ve actually encountered it and realise what was being referred to. At times this vagueness can be frustrating, but it does lead to further impetus to explore, to figure out the mysteries that surround the environs in which you are in.

It’s this notion of exploration and discovery that drive many elements of the game. As such various motivators are used, from various collectibles, whether its slaughtering enemies to add to the bestiary or pursuing charms to gain additional advantages or unfolding the next segment of the story, there is much to explore. This is impeded by aforementioned enemies and the area designs themselves. As interconnected as they might be with multiple entrances- and two transport options- the game itself will actively limit your exploration with a variety of hazards. Backtracking after gaining a new ability becomes essential as new parts of old areas will become accessible. At times this can be immensely frustrating as you slowly wend your way back across the map praying for a bench to save your progress.

The controls to accomplish all this are fluid and responsive. I played with the keyboard that used the arrow keys to control movement and z, x, c, & d that controlled various abilities such as dash and attack. From this basic system emerges one that is far more complex. Jumping and swinging your sword in a down attack can result in a pogo like movement, combining dash with an attack can result in a new move, and the game slowly reveals its complexities. It’s intuitive and flows easily which is a direct counterpart to the games other mechanics. 

Enemies come in a great variety, all with distinct move sets to be memorized and unique strategies to defeat. The environment itself becomes a tool, defeating a flying enemy may mean avoiding it by jumping up a wall then dashing off of it to slice your enemy from the air, or dodging incoming missiles by dashing behind part of the scenery so that it harmlessly hits the object instead. Enemies also at times explode, so even a triumph might inadvertently turn into a defeat. At times I found myself also luring enemies toward hazards such as water or acid, making them dash towards me, leaping overhead to watch them drown in the depths… although this did lessen my financial reward. Notably the game does reward a more cautious playstyle than an aggressive one and this may not sit well with some players.

The bosses are where the main struggle of the game also arises. Usually located fairly far from the benches you need to first get to them then attempt to defeat them. Soul, which is used to heal yourself may be used up just before you get to them, and so trying to harvest from the enemies on the way creating a balancing act between acquiring soul from hits and using it to heal damage becomes a delicate economical affair. The bosses themselves have the familiar stages of attack patterns to them as well as unique attacks to each one. Some bosses can be faced multiple times with the second iteration a far harder battle yet offering a greater reward.

Currency takes the form of geo, which can be used to purchase additional charms or map markers. It also acts as a toll fee to open up transport options and at times even benches which serve as rejuvenation and save points. Early game I struggled immensely with geo, it was in short supply and even affording a map (which are essential!) was often a struggle. However my mid to late game it was in more plentiful supply. 

The charms become essential mid-game and finding unique interactions and boosts around them will aid in various play styles. You can boost soul intake for more healing or spell casting, or boost up your nail (sword) arts for more damaging attacks. Finding a set that suits your needs adds a slight rpg like feel to a game that doesn’t really have true rpg mechanics. In fact I began to find mid and late game to be far easier as I boosted myself with the charms and new earned abilities.

With it’s low system requirements Hollow Knight still manages to appear incredible. This largely lies in the creative art design and small attention to details. The colour palette is sombre and subdued, yet the ornate and intricate fore and backgrounds great a gothic aesthetic that is hard to compare to. It simultaneously creates the sense of decay, a mood of despair whilst still portraying the decadence of the once great kingdom. Here are all the same hallmarks of art style that games like ‘Castlevania’ and ‘Dark Souls’ also used to great effect. 

The animations are fluid and each enemy can be clearly seen to have unique aspects so essential to knowing which attack they’ll use and so how to avoid it. This combined with the creativity of the designs makes for a game that is constantly providing feedback to the player about how to react in order to survive. 

The soundtrack is gorgeous, and use of leitmotifs will occur at intervals to hint at new events as well as (obviously) each boss having their own unique track further increasing the intensity of the fight. The calmness and tranquility of a few of the ordinary environmental tracks help calm you even as the frustration and high intense concentration required from the gameplay increase stress. So this counterpoint was one I was rather grateful for!

Hollow Knight certainly lived up to the high acclaim it has received. I was immensely surprised by it, and despite the initial difficulty curve I found myself absorbed by its world, environments, gameplay and lore as they unfolded. The exploration struck a wonderful balance between the extrinsic motivation (I want that new charm) to the intrinisic (will I be skilled enough to overcome this gauntlet of traps?) It’s truly a wonderful experience and whilst it is hard, it is rewarding, immensely so!

Score: 9/10 ~Elegiac exploration~

Publisher: Team Cherry

Developer: Team Cherry

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

ESRB: E / PEGI: 7

Available from: Steam, Humble Store, Microsoft Store, GoG.com

The banner image is copyright of Team Cherry and used under a Fair Usage Policy.

by DeiSophia

Oxenfree (PC)

Oxenfree defies genres at the same time as it weaves the American obsession with high school culture into a horrific tale that is more about the loss of freedom at a time of life when young people look towards expressing new found liberties.


A young group of teens decide to spend a night on a nearby island, however rebelliously innocent this may at first appear, all is not well beneath the surface as tensions arise from the various traumas that each character bears. Grief is very much poignant in their relations and sours a number of friendships. As they explore the island and are thrown into a supernatural occurrence these dramas unfold, as each character is exposed to the stress of the situation.

Oxenfree is not only a horror game but also fits into the genre of character drama. By isolating the characters and placing them in a situation where they face an existential crisis, is a staple of literature and film, and is used to good effect here as well. 

The tensions between the characters are revealed early on in the game, however the reasons for this are only slowly revealed through the course of the game. The narrative is thus forced to carry two stories, one for the present events on the island, and another that reveals a past tragedy that shapes the present. It’s a heavy burden to bear and the game suffers as it slows the pace down heavily, which may make some players bored as a consequence. The game demands investment of your time, and though it is rewarding you will need to slog through the game to get there.

This slowness is ameliorated somewhat by the brilliant characterization. From the superb voice acting to the dialogue trees that form in response, the game deftly shapes each person through their speech. Little idiosyncrasies in the diction come to the foreground to differentiate each character and the writers have mastered the delivery of emotions through the responses. The tension, relief and fear of each character is effectively realised.

Most interesting was the primary mechanic of the speech process. You have usually 3 responses, and although it’s fairly obvious which ones would portray Alex as more sympathetic to others, or which would have her more individually focused the third also gives her a sense of humour. It’s tempting to think if you answer only a certain way you’d create a specific ending, but this isn’t entirely true as the consequences of choices (the player as) Alex makes also determine the outcomes. Add in various linguistic issues such as being able to interrupt others while speaking by making a quick dialogue choice, or just not replying at all and the speech system here is one of the most robust I’ve ever encountered in a game. It makes for excellent roleplaying of Alex, as you shape her character towards compassion for her current acquaintances or whether she is torn and guilt ridden over her past. 

The game itself will have you travelling around the island in an attempt to escape, and in order to make this more interesting the game offers small collectibles in the form of special radio frequencies and letters to discover. These illuminate more of the backstory of the island and the reason for the encounter with the supernatural and in addition to having specific information for in the game itself, they also include hidden messages such as morse code in some of the audio for the player to crack the code of. The game then slowly bleeds these messages out into the real world, referencing actual telephone numbers that make it more real for the player as well.

As mentioned most of the game will be responding to dialogue and this is fairly easy to do as it works off the mouse. The environments themselves are actually 2.5D and can be moved around using the keyboard. In addition Alex uses her radio to solve various puzzles by tuning into different frequencies when she pulls out her radio and dials it with the mouse. Finding out the correct frequency to progress, is the primary puzzle mechanic and with a stronger radio later in the game, Alex will even be able to open doors not just react to the supernatural.

A map is available to use to help you navigate around the island, and Alex will scrawl objective notes on it to help the player recall where they are meant to go. Despite how small the areas look trekking across them will take quite a bit of time, because walking and even jogging is quite slow. This is partially because dialogues will occur as you walk so the speed is artificially slowed to allow the dialogue to play out largely in full. Add in sections that will trap you in extra-dimensional spaces and memories of the past and you’ll be slowed even further. Whilst these “occurrences” or “happenings” do move the overall story forward they feel more like interruptions (which metaphysically they are). It can become frustrating but if they were not there the game would most certainly lose the element of suspense that these intrusions create.

The suspense and horror elements are subdued. Most of this is born out by the fact that the colour palette is largely composed of pastel tones, and only occasionally will move to the harsh reds and blacks that define the contrasts of worlds during a supernatural invasion. The scenes are also soft, almost appearing to be made of a velvet texture with blurred outlines, it’s actually incredibly beautiful, though somewhat stylistic.

The game often zooms out when moving drawing back to give you a larger sense of the location, however in times of stress or when moving indoors the camera zooms in to better show the characters, although when playing at high resolutions they can still seem quite small.

Audio is where the game excels, from the small ambient sounds to the orchestral pieces that build up slowly adding to the tension, and the arbitrary crackle of the radio’s white sound interspersed with old jazz and country rock. A large part of Oxenfree’s aesthetic relies on the sound. Additional elements such as the morse code mentioned before, that cries for release and a radio and tape deck puzzles all add to the games central element revolving around the radio device that Alex used to unveil the horrors of time and entrapment.

Oxenfree is a very special game. Despite it’s incredibly slow pacing it is a masterwork of character interaction and dialogue and cleverly espouses its themes of concealment, entrapment and the desire to be set free and escape, and return to friendship just as the old phrase “All ye, all ye oxen free” would amicably end a childhood game,

Score: 8/10 ~Slowly suspenseful~

Publisher: Night School Studio

Developer: Night School Studio

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

ESRB: T / PEGI: 12

Available from: Steam, Microsoft Store, Humble Bundle, EPIC Store, GoG.com, Google Play

The banner image is copyright of Night School Studio and used under a Fair Use Policy

by DeiSophia

Dark Souls (PC)

Dark Souls was originally released in 2012 to widespread critical acclaim. The spiritual successor to the lesser renowned Demon’s Souls, it carried through many motifs and ideas that Hidetaka Miyazaki and From Software had initially established. Now nearly 7 years after its original release it is one of the high points of gaming both as entertainment and art.

With widespread discussion of its lore (including an excellent series by VaatiVidya) and with a plethora of games that have followed in its footsteps in terms of mechanics and design, it has become one of the games that many others are held to in terms of standards.
To approach a game that has established so widespread a legacy in so short a time is somewhat daunting but not quite as daunting as approaching the unassuming white mist that bars the way to a boss fight.

Pros
  • Integrated area design
  • Satisfying progression system
  • Complex yet intuitive combat
    Cons
  • Frequent camera clipping
  • Still quite a few glitches (suggested to use dsfix)

Dark Souls has a Promethean premise. From its mythical opening moments, that clearly draw inspiration from the Greek myth to a more expansive view that incorporates the Arthurian romances and Christian motifs of the holy grail and sacrifice; the setting, ambience and ambiguous lore is deftly established. The root material and philosophical premise that looks at an understanding of existence and the torment it inflicts on those who are alive expand upon the western literary tradition it draws inspiration from, but juxtaposes this with a more postmodern nihilistic worldview, that challenges and subverts notions of redemption, sacrifice, chivalry and restitution.

Anor Londo and Lordran as places are equivalent to a mythical Camelot or Olympus. Set high upon a mountaintop, inaccessible by ordinary means, the passageway is only opened by the tolling of bells (that ring for birth and death). Once one reaches the heavenly city (heavenly since it exists in the sky) one finds that the gods have already fallen, and existence is tenuously preserved by the rekindling of a flame that symbolizes the age of fire. It’s only by sacrificing the Lords to a lordvessel (similar to the Holy Grail, or Black Cauldron of Cernunnos from which the dead arise) that the age might be preserved. The entirety of civilization and order is dependent on this sacrifice. As the ‘Chosen Undead’ it is your duty to either fulfil the sacred duty of preservation or allow the world to fall into a ‘dark age’.

The ramifications of this are further explored in the concept of Souls. Souls are not only individuals, but also function as currency, by defeating and acquiring the essences of people who have been divested of their own will (those who have fallen into despair). Humanity is considered separately, and it’s in humanity that one is able to realise both the best and worst of what makes the concept of human (to invade or to assist). These metaphysical elements underscore the overall narrative and create a comparison to the darkly physical yet still alluringly beautiful world.

As an RPG with action mechanics Dark Souls is viscerally satisfying. Combat is slow and heavy, even with dexterity builds you will find yourself delaying attacks to seek for the perfect opening. Played out in a 3rd person perspective, navigating and using the environment to the best advantage whilst cautiously enticing enemies into overplaying their hand before you parry, riposte or outmaneuver them for a backstab. Playing strategically is of the utmost benefit in Dark Souls, and will demand your attention; carelessness will quickly result in death.

Characters advance by collecting souls and using those to pay for attribute points. As your ‘soul level’ increases the cost to increase the attributes does so as well in a carefully scaled system. The max attribute benefit is around 45, after which the scaling levels off. As such its best to focus on the starting attributes of your class which are the standard RPG fare, with warriors, clerics, sorcerers and pyromancers (fire of course holding especial significance). Each class is viable (I usually play casters so I have both a pyro and a sorcerer, and a low level warrior) and will require different approaches to areas and enemies. I quickly found my sorcerer excelled at picking off enemies from afar, which meant I could find a good spot and launch volleys of soul arrows, the pyromancer was better at mid-range, with a combined strategy of running in and out and leading the enemy around, whereas the warrior was close range, and much more reliant on dodging and parrying.

In addition to your stats, your equipment is of vital importance. Weapons (and the right choice of weapon) are serious decisions. Various weapons scale with different attributes, e.g. the estoc will scale with intelligence whereas the great axe scales with strength, that mean you will likely choose a weapon that best fits your class. In addition weapons have different move sets, a halberd has a jabbing attack as well as a sweeping attack and great reach whereas a long sword has slashing attacks in different directions and good ability to stagger an opponent. Knowing your weapons attributes and move sets is equally vital to survival. A well leveled weapon can easily determine the difficulty or ease of an encounter.

Other equipment is more situational. Rings provide various benefits such as increased item find as well as increasing your weight limit or making sure you don’t lose your souls and humanity if you do die. I found myself switching armour dependant on needs. Armour also has weight and mobility is dependent on this. Heavy armour will make you dodge more slowly however gives you more poise making you less prone to staggering, whereas lightweight armours will keep you mobile and able to dodge swiftly.

Most enemy encounters take place in a variety of areas, from precarious cliffside paths that will send you plummeting to your doom or expansive hallways and forests. There are a range of locations to explore with unique enemies in each area. As hostile as the environments can be, from poison water to trees and branches impeding your escape, the enemies themselves are the most lethal.
Each enemy has a specific move set and will provide you with tells for their attacks. Working out ways to approach encounters, as well as having a strategy to effectively take down each enemy type is integral to the game. Some enemies may require you to stay at range dashing in for quick attacks whereas other enemies it’s best to stay nearly underfoot, causing them to twist around to attempt to hit you. The enemies are often placed in strategic locations so using the environment to your best advantage is necessary, otherwise you may just find yourself impaled.

As much as the exploration is a driving force behind the game, the other major aspect is the boss fights. Each boss is distinct, from the calm encounter with the moonlight butterfly to the intensity of the final boss, each one will offer a new challenge and new move set to learn. Observing the bosses’ tells is key to avoiding their attacks, allowing you seconds in order to counter or escape. Combat becomes a dialogue, listening to the boss before responding.
In addition you can use summons (NPC or PC) to assist with the bosses however in some instances additional party members can increase the difficulty of the boss, so whether you want a greater challenge or are looking to make it easier, is situational.

Multiplayer aspects are still available, however the player population is fairly low averaging out at 500-1000 players daily with slightly higher numbers in the remastered edition (source:Steamdb). My own observations hovered around the 400 concurrent player mark. It’s possible to find matches and duels but is not always consistent. On the plus side if you’re a PvE player you’ll have less worries about invasions and being ganked. PvP enthusiasts however will be disappointed.

The graphics are beginning to show their age even when using the dsfix mod. There was some camera clipping and I did see a frame rate drop in Sen’s Fortress (the game also crashed a few times there), but for the most part the game is holding up well. Textures are all still viable and the game worked well in HD widescreen, with no tearing or stretching.
The ambience evoked by the design is superb. Each area is distinct, and whilst they all add thematically to the tone of the game, they also contribute to the mythical elements. From forests and woods, to the soaring parapets and gothic cathedrals the elements combine to clearly showcase the inspirations.
Enemies such as Hollows or beasts are deftly animated, and whilst some are generic others are truly fantastical in their design. In particular the later game enemies that have much of the grotesque about them, that show the decay and corruption that has befallen the world.

The soundtrack is beautifully executed with an orchestral soundtrack that accompanies various moments in the game as well as faster tempo and grander tones during boss battles, with each boss having their own motif.
The environmental sounds are where the game is at it’s greatest, from the chink of armour as your move about to the clash of weapons increasing during a crescendo of attacks, the audio makes the battles and struggle to survive come to life. In addition audio can assists with hinting at enemies locations. Pausing for moments at a blind corner, you might hear the tap of armoured feet, or scuffling of a beasts claws. Running from enemies you can trace the sound of their approach. I played with stereo headphones rather than a surround system and it really was a phenomenal experience.

As much as Dark Souls is a game of skill, there is some leeway within the RPG elements to surpass areas by grinding yourself to a higher level. With some luck and above all persistence Dark Souls will slowly reveal its world. Observation and attention to detail is integral and will allow for greater interpretation of its obscure and ambiguous lore. At its heart Dark Souls doesn’t just explore how the decline of a civilization occurs, it also looks to human intrepidity and exploration as means of salvation.

Score 9/10

Dark Souls is no longer available in the standard edition

Publisher: Bandai Namco, From Software Inc.

Developer: QLOC

Platforms: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

ESRB: M+ / PEGI: 16+

Available from:

Steam, Microsoft Store, Humble Bundle

The banner image is copyright of From Software Inc. and used under a Fair Use Policy.