 |
| My, what big razor grindy thingies you have |
The combat is intense and challenging, with a few issues concerning the larger enemies hitboxes. I haven't played a game that has had me at the edge of my seat and tensed in almost every encounter since (and don't hate me for using it for reference) Dark Souls. The combination of using stealth and tactics, stalking and laying traps to ambush your prey. Then when you were rumbled, using brute force and the rope launcher like you were trying to knit a very cosy jumper over a very angry robot created such an enjoyable experience for me. While there were more than your fair share of enemies to fight, I never got bored just going for a runabout, taking down whatever got in my way. (Though you do tend to think twice when two Thunderjaws start taking a run at you) The way you're able to make one of the beasts your own was also an excellent feature of the game. Watching your robo-pet launch itself at an enemy was always an entertaining sight, especially if said robo-pet was five times larger than the target. (Or smaller, if you wanted to re-enact David and Goliath with robots)
Aloy, how I love thee, let me count the ways. She's the One. I may have said in the previous write-up for the game but I was blown away by how well written the game was, especially the character of Aloy. Briefly: having been raised outside of her tribe or any other major settlement she goes to become someone who doesn't take any stock in superstition or religion. She's a realist in a room full of dreamers. My favourite example of this is when she meets one of the people who worship the sun as God, the Carja. While the priest goes on about the Sun and His many blessings, Aloy stops him and asks why he assumes the Sun is a He. "I've never seen anything dangling from it." As this happens pretty early on in the game I knew I was in for some pretty brilliant observations from an outsider looking in. There was no character that didn't have there own unique personality, making interactions a far cry from the likes of Eldar Scrolls. (Even the most recent Mass Effect had problems keeping the player engaged enough in a conversation) |
This is Nil, he likes to kill
|
Horizon Zero Dawn was the best 60-odd hours I spent running about a massive open-world last year. There are so few flaws and the fact that it's an original I.P. gives me hope that this can happen again. The Frozen Wilds, HDZ's expansion, adds another 10 hours to this game. It gives you a massive new area with lots of side quests and other missions to keep you exploring the beautiful environments. Have you ever wondered if you could win a fight with a bear? How about a robot bear? Did I mention it can freeze you with an ice beam? Because it can. So there's that new fun to contend with. From start to finish, The Frozen Wilds has reminded me exactly how much I loved this game. (Now that I've actually gotten round to playing it)
The "Complete" edition is now available and provides you with The Frozen Wilds and everything else you could possibly need for your adventures in dino-bot husbandry.
Next up is Persona 5. Until July of last year, I hadn't touched a Persona game. (I picked up Persona 4 Golden on the PlayStation Vita for pennies) Playing through that blew me away. I never thought I would enjoy life as a Japanese high schooler, nor did I think that a ragtag group of teenagers would make a competent murder-solving agency.
Persona 5 places you in the shoes of a high school student, (insert your name here), and you've just been falsely accused of assaulting a shady yet powerful individual. This earns you a transfer to a new school for a year of "rehabilitation". There, you're introduced to a whole parade of interesting characters. First up is Ryuji Sakamoto, a troubled teen whose reputation around the school is that of a troublemaker. Various teachers and other students comment that you shouldn't socialise with him if you are wanting to do well in school. (To Hell with those guys though) Next, you are introduced to Ann Takamaki. Despite her good looks, she feels isolated. This isolation leads her to an abusive and toxic relationship that eventually you, as the protagonist, find yourself intervening in. Together, with a talking cat called Morgana (Don't question it) you create the Phantom Thieves. A group dedicated to eradicating evil and corruption from society by stealing the hearts of those who would prey on the innocent. (It's less bloody than you would imagine, though not by much) All in all, the rag-tag group you put together to right societies wrongs include some of the best-written character arcs I've seen in an RPG. Describing them here would a) do them an injustice and b) spoil them for you discovering themselves. I'm at a stage where I feet I don't have enough time to interact with everyone and help them, which is no fault but my own and makes me want to dive straight back to the start of what is already at least an 80-hour experience. |
| Here are the freaks and geeks you'll be buddying up with |
The game is a mix of a couple of genres. Part visual novel/part classic RPG. You'll spend a lot of time exploring areas of Tokyo, hanging out and bonding with your friends. Each of the characters you can create a "bond" with presents you with interesting back stories and personal dilemmas that you can delve into on a day-to-day basis. I know what you're thinking, I play video games to avoid people's backstories and personal dilemmas. You're right. So do I for the most part, but on the other hand, you find you won't be rewarded for prying into your friend and families personal problems like you will in Persona 5. This requires you to get involved in a bit of time management. Spending time with people takes time, studying takes time, improving your social stats takes time. You have to spend it all wisely as you never know what might be around the corner. (And you're only given an in-game year to get everything done)
The RPG aspects come in the form of Palaces. These are constructs created within peoples hearts when they have strong desires. As Phantom Thieves, you have to infiltrate these Palaces, secure a route to the Treasure Room and steal whatever lies within. Sounds simple enough, sure. Palaces are set up like your typical RPG dungeon, with enemies, locked doors and treasure chests. All of them are themed to whatever that specific person's desires are. The first Palace you infiltrate, the owner sees it as a castle in which he is the King and everyone else is his obedient subjects. Fighting your way through, with turn-based combat, you eventually meet with various sub-bosses and a final boss. Upon stealing the Treasure, the subject of the infiltration has a "change of heart" in the real world. Much like the "bonds" you create with your friends, these changes of heart can also be some of the best examples of writing I've seen from a JRPG in years. (Though Persona 4 also displayed some excellent scenarios) |
| Such anime, many waifu |
Stylistically, Persona 5 is stunning. From the way the characters are drawn to the transition screen between combat and exploring, it is so sleek and sexy that it genuinely seems a crime that Atlus, the games developers, still have a "No Recording/Screenshots" policy on the game. (Hence no proper screenshots)
The "Ultimate" edition is available now with a whole manner of different costumes for your characters to where. However, they don't really do much to add to the game unless you're really invested in the series as a whole so I would highly recommend the standard version. It's been on sale a couple of times and is very much worth the money if you're looking for an RPG with a lot of depth and challenge.This is a tough choice. I've sunk a lot of hours into both of these games and of all the games I played last year they were easily my favourites. (Otherwise, what was the point in everything I just wrote, right?) While I've loved all of the time I've put into living as a Japanese teenager and all the emotion-alternating that that entails, true love wins the day. Horizon Zero Dawn introduced me to a world filled with collectables I didn't find tedious picking up, robot animals I could tame and the digital woman of my dreams. All presented in a post-apocalyptic environment that isn't the usual browns, greys and darker browns of your standard end-of-the-world scenario. If we can get another game of its ilk this early in the year again, that would be lovely. Just saying. (Also, these are both PS4 exclusive. I'm sorry, but more accurately, I'm not)
Winner
 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn |
No comments:
Post a Comment