08/09/2024 - Pseudoregalia
I would like to preface by saying I do not consider my opinion the pinnacle of truth, (particularly not in the case of this game. I'm pretty biased on the matter lol) nor do I claim it will remain firm and unchanging. Pseudoregalia is a game I really enjoyed playing, so I thought I should make a review to help arrange my thoughts on it. I should also mention I've fallen way behind on when I wanted to write this review, so it's been a few months since I played Pseudoregalia.
Pseudoregalia is a 3D metroidvania set within a strange abandoned kingdom caught in a dream. The protagonist, Sybil, gradually unlocks new movement abilities, which allow her to explore the kingdom further.
In this review I will cover three main points: Music/Art, Story, and Gameplay. "Music and Art" refers not only to the quality of the soundtrack and art direction, but how it's utilized within the game. "Story" encompasses both overall story, as well as worldbuilding and writing. "Gameplay" refers to interactive elements, from combat to getting around.
Music and Art
While it might not look the part initially,
Pseudoregalia is one of the most gorgeous games I've played in recent memory. Let me be clear on this point: I see beauty as entirely independent of graphics quality and fidelity. What's important is not the detail, but rather the intention behind the visual design of a game. With that made clear, Pseudoregalia, wielding graphics reminiscent of the nintendo 64, has visuals which have managed to worm themselves deep into my head.
To start, Sybil's animations are quite pleasantly expressive. Each attack and movement ability pulls her into a distinct and dynamic pose, helping to solidify without words that she's a confident fighter who navigates her environment with a natural grace and ease (even if you play in a hardly graceful manner). One of my favorite animations is the high jump, which has a very satisfying squash on the slam down and stretch on the actual jump. I also quirte the one-footed pose while she stands at the very top of any pole, the wall kick, and that forward leaning jump she performs on a successful kick directly away from a wall. Such good animations mean it's just as satisfying to watch the tiny goat lady bounce around the world as it is to actually chain said bouncing effectively.
The environments are the real draw to the game for me though, and most definitely my favorite aspect.
Pseudoregalia's in an interesting place given that it's the first 3D metroidvania I've played. While traditional 2D metroidvanias are often highly detailed, able to slide complex environments into their backgrounds, the world of
Pseudoregalia is characterized by just how sparse it is. Most rooms are completely empty, perhaps holding a stray statue, enemy/NPC, table or lantern. That said, the lighting, wall and floor textures and music lead each area to have a unique identity. Some areas like Twilight Theater, Sansa Castle, or The Underbelly are entirely confined, while Empty Bailey and Tower Remains are placed in the wide outdoors. I mean it in the truest, least watered-down sense of the word when I refer to these spaces as liminal. Every location feels like a dream of itself, the impression of a dungeon, the suggestion of a theater, with the color palette and music to match, but neither the detail nor people to follow through. Befitting of the setting these places look to me like broken recollections of what they really should be.
And no location captures this feeling better than Sansa Keep.
Built from pinkish-purplish-grey brick, the floors tiled in a simple repetetive checker, the walls cast in washes of white light with no visible source, and the air humming with dour strings, Sansa Keep feels truly like a forgotten fortress. It's completely empty, one of the emptiest areas in the entire game, and yet its
music feels the most severe. Shit happened there. Royal courts met and made decisions, assassinations took place and war plans were drawn. Wine and blood spilled in equal measure. I look at the barren walls of Sansa Keep and I don't really see boundries, simply a separation between one room and the next. I see an obfuscation, an erasure, but that severe music leaks from the cracks all the same, pouring into the air in rememberance of a time long past. I imagine the walls might spit at the corners, spreading apart to unleash a torrent of jesters of all shapes and sizes, the restless spirits of the comedy and tragedy in the failure of a kingdom. I highly doubt you'll feel this way about Sansa Keep, reader, but to find something that fuels your imagination as Sansa Keep fuels mine is something to be treasured.
As evidenced by how its interaction with Sansa Keep throws me into a fit, the music of
Pseudoregalia is gorgeous in its own right. Pieces such as
A Forgotten Fortress(Sansa Keep),
Outside The Castle Walls(Empty Bailey), and
Obscure Voices(The Underbelly) each lend an incredibly distinct personality to each area, and do so significantly more effectively than just about any other metroidvania I've played, without feeling out of character for the game as a whole. The music pulls more than its weight in giving identity to each location, practically filling each empty room with clutter through sound alone. That may read as hyperbole, yes, but if your imagination's as hyperactive as mine you should know exactly what I'm talking about.
But the tracks which shine more than any other in my eyes are those for the two bosses. Each is crisp, incredibly energetic, and lends itself well to the associated boss. While I tend to dislike boss themes that sound too upbeat because they make it feel as if there was never any question over who would win (thus removing any sense of danger), the first boss theme is a welcome exception.
The Fiercely Loyal walks a fine line of embracing Sybil's quick and graceful moveset while allowing threating tones to creep in as they see fit.
Paramnesiac, the theme of the final boss, sounds light and beautiful at first, but carries a certain sadness to it as well. Both Sybil and the final boss are incredibly agile characters, and this song just demands one to imagine two people swinging, ducking and whirling around one another, both trying desperately to land that final hit as they dance. It doesn't sound inherentely threatening, because it's a song about last chances, and they are both doing their very, very best to win.
Story
While
Pseudoregalia's art direction lends surprising depth to a seemingly empty world, the same can't be said for the story. It's a game which simply leans significantly further into gameplay than anything else. Just take Sybil's line as proof. She's only got one, at the very, very start of the game. Even in the dialogue at the end of the game Sybil's own lines are left unseen as the final boss speaks a bit.
Since there's little to no story, I don't feel bad describing it here. If you'd like to avoid spoilers don't read the rest of this paragraph. So essentially, the game begins with Sybil entering the world through a mirror in the dilapidated dungeon, worried about whether she's too late. She travels from area to area, eventually unlocking enough abilities to defeat the princess, which results in a short discussion in which Sybil's name is revealed, as well as the fact that this was all a dream. My idea is that "The Princess" has simply been dreaming too long and the dreamworld is beginning to crumble, so Sybil, a dream cop sort of character, came in to wake her up. Perhaps the dream world always exists, and the NPCs are its natural denizens, but if people like The Princess spend too long in the dream world things can go awry, hence the need for Sybil to wake them.
There are actually NPCs in this world, who take the form of little goatlike people, somewhat reminiscent of Sybil. Unffortunately, very few of them have anything to say about the situation/story. The vast majority of them take the "random guy" approach to NPCs, where you walk up, they make a strange statement, and you go about your day without ever responding. This methodology for NPCs is always fun, but doesn't usually fill out the setting in any significant way, as is the case with
Pseudoregalia.
As you can see, the story isn't super developed. Basically a goat lady sets out on a mission and that mission gets completed. I don't mind this approach, not every game needs a grand story arc, but I would have liked a little more to fill out the world, and for the path to the end to be a little less straightforward, in a way I'll mention in the next section.
Gameplay
I'll level with you:
Pseudoregalia's easy. Sybil's full moveset allows you to navigate the map quite proficiently, and you can get in and out of every room quite reliably if you can find the right path. You can actually beat the game without unlocking
every ability, but there are some areas where the optional mechanics stop being such.
So, it isn't necessarily
easy, after all that word is completely subjective, but the game's difficulty is inconsistent, in some unusual ways for the genre. Once you know each enemy type (of which there's only a few, who are all spread through the map rather than being area specific), it's pretty trivial to avoid them. Even the lightning hand boyos, who are a pain and priority targets at the start, can pretty much be avoided entirely in the late game. The simple fact of the matter is there ain't much a full-powered Sybil can't run circles around, even when controlled by a player who isn't particularly skilled (such as myself).
Apart from the final boss,
Pseudoregalia's late game is pretty much nonexistent. I feel like it really could have used more challenging encounters and enemies with quicker movesets that encourage more intelligent use of your abilities. Perhaps more difficult enemies could spawn as you progress/new abilities are unlocked, similar to
Laika: Aged Through Blood? I would have really appreciated more bosses too. While the two you get are superb, the first is quite close to the game's start while the second is at the very end, with only parkour and avoiding fodder placed between. It poses a bit of a pacing issue, with you expecting there to be another skillcheck around every corner, only for it to wait until the very very end to come. I should mention as well that the first boss becomes a standard enemy in the form of weaker stone statue versions. While the stone statue angle does help to avoid the disappointment of seeing a previously
unique enemy copied and pasted into later encounters, it still lingers somewhat, especially when they're copies of the
only other boss in the game.
If I were to design more bosses for
Pseudoregalia, going off the theme of a royal guard in the Dilapidated Dungeon, I would put some kind of maddened performer in Twilight Theater, a groundskeeper in Empty Bailey, a court jester in Sansa Keep, and an executioner in The Underbelly. Not only could these serve as further skill checks, but as notable moments through your time in the game, which help to fill in the space that a story otherwise would.
I cannot forget that there are time trials which can be completed to unlock new outfits for Sybil. These provide a significantly greater challenge than anything else in the game, but they are completely optional, leaving most players to ignore them. I love me some alternate outfits but I just have zero interest in having to decipher and practice the right moves to beat each trial in time. I unlocked the Professional and Soldier outfits and that's good enough for me.
In Conclusion
Pseudoregalia is truly a fun, impressive, and surprisingly atmospheric little game. It's short and sweet, but it's a bit lacking in complexity of flavor.
Either way, I highly recommend buying it! Sometimes it's just nice to be a tonfa-wielding jumpgoat with RBF.
X
Music and Art: 9/10
Beauty in simplicity. The world is made vivid and distinct through great music and great environments.
Story: 5/10
Better to have no story than to go all in on a terrible epic. That said, I wasn't encouraged to ask many questions, nor was I given many answers. Pacing feels odd regardless thanks to the low boss count.
Gameplay: 7/10
While platforming is quite satisfying, Sybil's full moveset feels overdeveloped, with few moments later on that prove a significant test of skill.
Overall: 7.0/10
11/05/2023 - Laika: Aged Through Blood
I would like to preface by saying this is my first time writing a review for anything, really. I do not consider my opinion the pinnacle of truth, nor do I claim it will remain firm and unchanging. That said, I figure this blog should be about what's on my mind, and what's currently on my mind is Laika: Aged Through Blood
Laika is a western motorvania taking place within a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The titular Laika, the story's protagonist, lives in a small settlement named "Where We Live," and acts as her settlement's main guardian and errand runner. The post-apocalypse is not a quiet one, however, as militaristic forces known as "The Birds" (who are indeed, all birds) are encroaching on the wasteland, wiping out all unlucky enough to be caught in their path. Now, you may have been caught by something I mentioned early on. This game is a motorvania, that being a metroidvania in which your character rides a motorcycle. This will become very important in the gameplay section.
In this review I will cover three main points: Music, Story, and Gameplay. "Music and Art" refers not only to the quality of the soundtrack and art direction, but how it's utilized within the game. "Story" encompasses both overall story, as well as worldbuilding and writing. "Gameplay" refers to interactive elements, from combat to getting around.
Music and Art
I will not mince words, the music in this game is great. Uncharacteristically chill compared to the rest of the game, the score is more akin to a proper album than a game soundtrack. The majority of tracks feature lyrics sung by the artist, Beicoli, with a few being quite catchy and emotional, particularly in moments where the game fits the music. I am of the firm belief that more games should feature songs with vocals created specifically for said game, and
Laika does not disappoint in that regard.
Much like
Katana Zero, the emotional music contrasted by extreme violence in the trailer is what immediately sold me on this game, really showing that our protagonist may be committing horrible acts, but she takes no joy in them. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
I feel, however, that the implementation of the music leaves something to be desired. Each song is a collectible you gather by shooting boomboxes around the map, or by purchasing them from gas stations. While playing, you cycle through each song like a playlist, and can switch between which tape you want to hear in the menu. While an interesting idea, I find it a bit lackluster, as no song is area-specific. In other metroidvanias each area has its own infinitely-looping track, which I actually find less irritating, as it gives time for your ears to grow used to the music. But as stated before,
Laika is like listening to a playlist constantly on repeat, and it grows grating over time for songs to constantly switch.
Unfortunately for
Laika, the soundtrack lacks diversity in energy. Boss themes are my favorite part of a game's soundtrack, and I found the low, threatening boss themes to not quite be enough. They sound
tense but not like you're truly in any danger. Likewise I could have done with some more energetic songs like
The Whisper for standard gameplay. Something more fitting for when you've got to shoot a lot of birds.
When It comes to the art I can be much more brief: it's incredible. I can absolutely see inspiration from Supergiant's more recent games such as
Pyre and
Hades, particularly in the promotional art and world design. The characters are adorable, except for the few designed not to be, and all of them have a distict personality you can catch just from a glance. I. Have. No. Idea. just
how much effort it must have been to create the map. Unlike
Blasphemous or
Hollow Knight, the game world is not built from small rooms placed upon a square grid, which allows the developers to construct the world from pre-drawn tiles and setpieces (at least I assume that's how they do it). No, the
entireity of the map looks to be hand-drawn, with each individual area being its own separate, but singular, illustration. I'm not going to pretend I actually know how this may have been done, but if each area truly is an entire illustration, the time and planning required to do such a thing is truly impressive.
Story
As you may have guessed from the title, this game is, in a way, a coming-of-age story. The ideas of succession and growing older are quite prevalent in Laika's relationship to her mother and daughter, and even to her relationship with the village as a whole. It's no secret that Laika can't die. Not permanently, at least. Her family line bears a curse of resurrection, passed on from one generation to the next when the daughter "bleeds" for the first time. Laika is the current bearer of immortality, caught between her mother who has long given it up, and her daughter who has yet to take it.
Laika does a good job of telling about its world, but never too much. You learn what you need to learn and the rest is left up to mystery or interpretation. While this approach can feel low-effort at times,
Laika certainly succeeds, with each tidbit of information, from details of the world to details of Laika's curse, being both interesting and not quite enough. I think it's always important to leave some questions unanswered, as that is how just about any great piece of lingers in someone's mind for long after they've played/seen/heard/watched/read it... At least it is for me.
Laika will leave you wondering and hungering for more, which is, admittedly, a double-edged sword.
I may not be the most observant, but I found the world to be rather sparse when it came to NPC interactions. Plenty can be found in "Where We Live," but throughout the world there are essentially none until later in the game, when most sidequests are completed. I feel it would have made the world feel a little more real if these characters appeared earlier, and possibly more appearing throughout various stages of the game. I would have also liked just a bit more non-sidequest dialogue with the characters in the villiage, anything from random thoughts to telling a bit about themselves. Being someone who likes to go through every character's entire dialogue tree as soon as I see them, I found the dialogue running dry quite quickly, with some characters offering only a couple more lines later on. Some more flashbacks and a bit more buildup to the ending would have been ideal as well. The final boss' dialogue is a bit lackluster as well.
Apart from being rushed, I am mostly fine with the ending. I feel the cutscene was a bit brief through and a post-credits scene was in order, though I can't share why without spoiling.
A final note I'd like to mention is that I am in love with the naming conventions for the areas of the map. Rather than the village having a proper name, it is simply called "Where We Live." Likewise, other places are named along the lines of "Where Our Bikes Growl," "Where Doom Fell," and "Where Our Ancestors Rest." Tells you about the Laika's relationship to a place before you even arrive there.
Gameplay
Needless to say, the gameplay of Laika is incredibly innovative, at least when it comes to the metroidvania genre. Movement is entirely motorcycle based, meaning you hold W to accelerate, S to brake, A and D to tilt/flip, and hit SPACE to change direction. Traversal of the world means ramping from one ledge to another, or throttling along distant straights, or spiraling through loops. I find getting from point A to point B far less tedious than in traditional metroidvanias, and actually in some instances it can be quite satisfying. Platforming is a non-issue here, as most of the challenge comes from the birds.
The birds in question never move, and they die in one shot. However, you die in one shot too. A game without a healthbar, I feel like it's as much about the perfect run from A to B as it is about the actual missions you're sent on. A points system would have been quite at home in
Laika, encouraging you to take greater risks while navigating the world. As it stands though it's up to you to find motivation to not die. At the start of the game you face only birds with pistols, but as time goes on more difficult variations begin appearing. Once again straying from traditional metroidvanias, the same bird types are spread across the entire map rather than being relegated to specific areas. It's the combinations which make them dangerous.
One thing I find irritating in games is when they don't build upon their own mechanics.
Narita Boy is a perfect example, featuring mechanics specific only to certain areas or even to certain fights, which are then thrown away immediately after. A good game has a sense of progression, showing you something new and incorportating it into the game from then on out. Laika, unfortunately, does not give much attention to the three abilities you unlock: a jump, a dash, and a hook. Without spoiling too much, the dash essentially makes the jump obsolete, and the hook is neither a movement ability nor an attack, having no use outside of specific, rare instances. I was disappointed by this, as it leaves me feeling like there isn't a true sense of progression similar to what you find in
Blasphemous, where the map seems to suddenly "open up" with each new ability you get. There are new weapons to unlock, but not a huge incentive to use them except for the shotgun. However, I find the machine gun a good backup for the rare instances the pistol is not enough.
There is also a cooking mechanic which seems quite useful, giving you various buffs which last a generous amount of time. However, you can finish the game without ever opening the cooking menu.
Last bit I want to touch upon for gameplay is the bosses. Like their music, I wasn't too impressed with the bossfights themselves. Most of them feel like a scripted sequence of events to survive, rather than an actual proper fight. To some extent this is understandable. Since you die in one hit and have limited movement, you can't have a boss that's
too unpredictable. But something about the bosses just made them feel too easy. It's more satisfying to me to beat Crisanta's third stage with only a sliver of health left than it is to make it through one of
Laika's fights with no damage. One was a hard won fight, the other was beaten the only way possible. But I also have to ask if there was even a better way to go about it?
Laika's mechanics pose unique problems for a developer to solve when creating a boss, and I can't think of any better ways to go about it.
In Conclusion
Laika: Aged Through Blood is an innovative game which I believe suffers from its position as much as it benefits. A lot of heart and soul was put into this game and it absolutely shows, but it also faces unique issues which cannot be found in other metroidvanias. It is a
motorvania after all.
I've written more criticism than compliments for this game but make no mistake, it's good! I would suggest picking it up on sale, but they have a demo, so play it! If the demo seems your thing then pick it up full price, you won't regret it. I know I don't!
X
Music and Art: 8/10
Incredible art, music is great but needs variety.
Story: 7/10
Good characters, good world, could use more dialogue and better pacing.
Gameplay: 6/10
Innovative and fun, but lacks depth and bossfights were not terribly engaging.
Overall: 7.0/10