Folklore

Having literally just finished the game about 10 minutes ago, I have to say I'm still kind of staggered. The ending was amazing and tied so much together perfectly. This is one of those games that need to be revisited by all. Something I don't think I've mentioned at all while talking about Folklore these last few blogs is that fact that it uses Six-Axis controls. I know, everyone is probably groaning right now, but I swear, it works perfectly in this game. When you a fighting you use the SAC (Six-Axis Controls) to harvest the Folk you have stunned. Now this ranges from a simple pull up, not unlike hooking a fish, all the way to final bosses where you have to pull, shake, and balance the Folks Id to tire it out and capture it. This is the only instance that I have seen where the SAC fit. It doesn't feel like another control scheme was hammered on top of the normal, it's completely fluid and just feels right. 
 
I will admit by the time I got to the 4 Chapter (for each character separately) I started to get tired of trying to collect all of the Folk and unlock all of their Karma's. It's not the it got boring, it just got harder and harder to do. For example, there is one creature that as Keats I needed to kill 3 times with one Folk, plus absorb it's Id 5 times. The problem? This Id only appeared in one part of the 4th Chapter and it was a pain in the ass to capture because there were other Folks in the room that would stop you from collecting it. Kill the other Folk you say? Can't, this specific room had a stipulation that if you killed this one type of Folk the room would reset. Suffice it to say, I gave up on unlocking all of the Karma at this exact point. Any that unlocked on the way cool, but other wise I wasn't going to go out of my way any more.
 
Holy crap this story!!! Seriously this is probably the greatest story I have seen in game in a while. It's deep, it's meaningful, it honestly makes you think about life in general, about your mortality, your morals. It's simply terrific. Next time a Games as Art debate shows up around me, I feel I know have played a game that I can honestly say is a prime example of a game that is art. The story is told via both FMV as well as an odd choice of comic book style cut scenes. Don't misunderstand, they certainly work, but it seems odd for a PS3 game to rely on text based story telling. Also there can be some unanswered questions about certain plot points, fortunately the developer, Game Republic, put in side quests that you can complete that fill in more of story, mainly some characters motivations for their actions. 
 
Now, this is a section in my reviews that you will rarely see, but it needs mentioning. This game is freaking beautiful! From main characters to the Folk, from the tiny little room Ellen stays in to the huge environments like the Faery Realm, one word, gorgeous! When I first got to the Faery Realm (Just one of 6 different worlds you visit) I was completely blown away. That is all.
 
In the end, it has now been about 30 min of me typing up my thoughts on this game and I still am blown away at the ending. Never saw it coming. My mind is still racing through my time with the game and coming up with pieces of clues. I truly feel that everyone needs to go find this game and give it a play through. It's one of those rare gems in the sand, and deserves a second look. Go play this game ASAP, you owe it to yourself.
 

Folklore (PS3) - 4 Barghests out of 5