Can't wait to get 30 episodes in and have you say "this is my last one for awhile". This game is excellent and you've gotten quite good at it, it would be a shame to miss out on Rom and Logarius and friends... watching you progress and adapt (both to solo streaming and Bloodborne) has been fun!
Great review. I largely agree with your take. It's so tightly wound around a plethora of systems that it's impressive that it works as often as it does, but I still feel like there's a lack of polish and refinement permeating the game in numerous ways to the point that it would be pedantic to list it all out here. Sometimes the game is exhausting in an exhilarating way, sometimes not.
That soundtrack kicks a ton of ass though, and the Slayer gates were incredible challenges (except that penultimate gate, which got completely punitive and was derailed by the Marauder, who always seems to ruin the flow of combat). Enemy variety was strong, the tools at my disposal seemed overwrought initially but by the end of the game I was enamored by the ludicrous pace and how it forced me to improvise novel solutions quickly, something I usually see in the best character action games, not shooters. That flamethrower is really great; when that neon green showers out of a cluster of demons, it's almost better than health.
The story? Woof. I have no idea how so much "lore" can lead to so little plot, such muted humor, no characters at all. It hurts the whole experience since there aren't many memorable set pieces or emotional moments pushing me through, just a series of great combat arenas punctuated by jumping puzzles. There was definitely a way to have narrative fun with a shitty 90s PC shooter aesthetic, but what they did here was certainly not it.
It's a shooter, at the end of the day. And it does that very well. I hope we see more efforts like this in the future, the genre could certainly build from what's here.
Thanks for making me laugh really hard during an incredibly difficult time (for a lot of us), I treasure these streams. Kinda crazy how well these games simulate the beautiful, hilarious and tedious experience of cross-country driving. Looking forward to some Civ as well!
As I age with this medium I truly understand Jeff's apprehension toward spending the valuable time allotted to you in life with a product that seemingly exists mostly to mess with your notion of what a AAA game can be, rather than something that you genuinely enjoy playing.
I never really got excited enough to pull the trigger on a preorder and I'm still not sure if I should play this or not. I really enjoyed most MGS games, loved playing V even though it was unfinished in a lot of ways, but I just don't know...
Either way, this is an incredible Quick Look and I'm glad the game exists for this reason alone!
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