Nergigante Falls: A few weeks ago, I wrote about my ongoing battles against Nergigante and how they culminated in a hollow triumph as another Hunter got the kill. Nothing against the other hunter but overcoming Nergigante solo was a personal goal of mine and I was upset that I could not see it through.
After that I left Nergigante alone for a good while. Did not want to fight it, didn’t want to think about it. The disappointment lingered, and rather than deal with it I went off to fight the Elder Dragons and finish the game. Well, finished the story. Monster Hunter World is one of those games that never really finishes. But as long as Nergigante was there, never being solo’d then Monster Hunter World would always be incomplete to me.
There comes a point where all things have to be confronted. After a few successes, I figured why not, why not give Nergigante another go. Quest accepted, let’s get to it. I made a few changes this time around. The weapon remained the same, as did the charm (Rathian Long Sword and Venom Charm) but the armour got an overhaul. A lot more dragon resistance with Dragon Resistance Jewels crammed in where I could. In addition, this new armour had a health bonus, so my health bar was chunkier this time around. All set, good to go. I was still nervous, but I was doing it.
My anxiety was not helped by taking ten minutes to find Nerigante. I had got close to killing it before, failing after 40 minutes. Losing time was something I was not fond of. I finally found Nergigante, pleasantries were exchanged and we fightin’. And the fight goes well. I was more or less staying out of the way of Nerigante’s big attacks. When I was not, my cat was always there with a clutch heal or a distraction. I was careful with healing and weapon sharpening. Healing only when I knew I had an opening, and weapon sharpening only during breaks in combat. Nergigante has a habit of superman punching anyone who is doing something other than fighting it.
Iron Pineapple’s Monster Hunter World experience has a few instances of Nergigante’s punching ability.
I got its tail. I got so excited to keep up the pressure I forgot to carve it. I stayed away from the horns as best as possible – I find breaking those things with a Long Sword to be difficult – kept picking my spots and got the fight to the point when the monster limps and fails asleep – the prelude to the final phase. Now, I had managed this before and shit the bed so I would be lying if there were no nerves. But I figured as long as I kept up with what I had been doing, showed patience and aggression in equal measure then I would prevail.
There was not bed shitting on this day. And in comparison to the near miss, this quest took around 30 minutes. Which means if we take out the ten minutes of wandering around cluelessly, this kill took 20 minutes. That compares well with a 40-minute failure.
Felt good. Felt real good. I had laid something to rest. I know that I can beat Nergigante now. I still respect it as a great opponent – but now it is one I can overcome.
Gravity Rush 2 and Getting Noticed (For a bit): People still dig Gravity Rush. I dig that.
I have been doing this blog for a while. Whenever I post a link goes out on twitter. Nothing much comes from them. Often nothing at all. Lately, I have been posting gifs that I have made on twitter – just to get them out there. Some of them get the odd retweet here and there, maybe a like. Basically, a roundabout way of saying my twitter presence is almost the same as not being there.
So, the gifs go out and there are a few retweets and a few likes. These where gifs from Sekiro, Dark Souls III and other games I played a lot of – my favourite games. I start sharing gifs of other games. On one particular day I see the notification tab lit up. I click it, expecting the same 1 retweet, 2 likes. Nope. 80 odd likes, 20 odd retweets. For some people those numbers are nothing special, but for me that’s insane. The gif in question? Gravity Rush 2.
Must have been a fluke. So, I send out another Gravity Rush 2 gif. Similar results. 3rd Gravity Rush 2 gifs gots some results but nothing major. I ran out of steam (read: run out of Gravity Rush 2 gifs) no long after, but the peak was fun while it lasted. Also, I learned there is a band of folks out there still love and adore Gravity Rush (as people should.)
It’s seemingly pretty clear now that Gravity Rush as a series is not getting any more entries but Kat’s adventures left a mark on a good few folk. There are posts on this blog of me declaring my love for Gravity Rush 1 and 2, hell, I declared Gravity Rush 2 my favourite open world game – I’ll stand by that. Heksville and Jirga Para Lhao are two of the more unique video game worlds and in a world full of serious, sometimes grumpy game protagonists, Kat was something different. She was cheerful and optimistic without being annoying – all while having some steel to her. I really do dig her. Not to mention she has to date the most fun way of moving around in a video game. Finally, it helps Gravity Rush 1 and 2 have whole bunch of missions and scenarios that boil down to more than “go to a camp and kill some dudes.”
It’s good to know Gravity Rush is still appreciated by some folk.
Kat could be from a Gainax Anime: After god knows how many years clean, I have been watching anime again. I am currently watching a bunch of stuff I always meant to but never got around to. Diebuster was first on the list – the follow up to Gunbuster and a most worthy follow up at that. Then I worked my way through Gurren Lagan and that was a glorious amount of fun. Truthfully, watching anime again has been fun. Next on the list is Serial Experiments Lain – after that we will see. But, going back to Diebuster there was a moment where I was reminded of Gravity Rush.
There is a moment in the opening credits where the main character, Nono takes off and it gave off strong Gravity Rush vibes – like when Kat takes flight. In truth this was a culmination of smaller observations regarding Kat and Nono – they seemed to share characters traits. I wondered if there were any tangible connections between the series.
Turns out I was not the only person to see some similarities between the Gravity Rush series and the Buster series. Before I ran with this idea I put it through google first – to see if I was a crazy loner with this idea. Turns out no. Not by a long shot. A plethora of results popped up from reddit to gamefaqs, all replete with the similarities between Gravity Rush and Gunbuster and Diebuster. The more I think about it, there is a bit of Gurren Lagan in there as well.
The big one is Kat’s Gravity Kick which is incredibly similar to the Lightning Kick from both Gun Buster and Die Buster. Or to give it the correct pronunciation SUUUPPPPAAAAA IIIINNNAAAZZZUMMMMAAAA KIIIIIIICCCCKKKKKK!
Both Kat and Nono suffer from memory loss that clouds their true identity. Both take a while to come around to their true strength. Both of them have their heads in the clouds. Both of them come good when everything depends on them. Granted, that could describe a whole lot of protagonists but with Kat and Nono, I could see parts of each character in each other. Also, as both the discussion links mention, lots of space monster fighting. And going into space.
Beyond the taking flight, the vibe of Gravity Rush (particularly the 2nd) meshes perfectly with the Die Buster opening. The colours and the vibe – the colours and vibrancy of Jirga Para Llhao – Groovin Magic could just as well be Kat’s theme song. In the end of Die Buster (spoilers here for a 15 year old anime y’all) Nono sacrifices herself by warping away a black hole that threatens to destroy earth. Kat, at the end of Gravity Rush 2 does something similar to save Heksevile.
And in the case of Gurren Lagan (god that ended so awesomely) near the end, when all seems hopeless the hero’s get a power boost from everyone in the Universe lending them their belief in the heros cause. Similarly, in Gravity Rush 2 when all seems lost at the end the residents of Heksevile come together in song, giving Kat the necessary impetuous to push through the final obstacle.
Gravity Rush could be a Gainax anime. And that’s awesome.
Floating World of Gravity Rush 2: Both Gravity Rush and Gravity Rush 2 have floating worlds. Each place hangs in the air, suspended by anti-gravity crystals. Beyond that common feature, Heksevile and Jirga Para Llhao are structured very differently. Heksevile has four districts, each of them a solid block of land. Gravity Rush 2 has three districts, and they are much more fractured. There are still come larger blocks of land hanging in the sky, but there are many splinters of land, some holding things as large as skyscrapers and some with things as small as a single house.
My favourite part of this are the many tiny islands that hang in the air around the market district of Jirga Para Lihao. Whenever I boot up Gravity Rush 2 I find myself revisiting these places, sorely for the pleasure of seeing them. In terms of tangible reasons to visit these places, I have none. At one point they would have had gems hanging around them for buying more skills but they are long gone. There is no tangible reason for me to revisit Gravity Rush 2 with the platinum wrapped up, but moving around is so fun, bouncing around these floating places.
These islands are some of best and beautiful parts of Jirga Para Llhao’s architecture condensed into tiny spaces. The billboards emblazoned with unique language that the denizens of these places speak. And the vibrant artwork that accompanies those words. The style of the buildings themselves vary greatly from island to island. One looks like a house that has been stretched out and never went back to normal size. Another seems like a religious building repurposed for something else. Others look like regular houses that have accumulated various architectural affectations over the years and are now wonderful combinations of various styles.
Another thing I like about these places is the absurdity of their existence. For people living there they are separated from everyday life – I guessing shopping is a pain. And if they run as a business then I cannot imagine they would get too many customers. And that absurdity just makes me love them even more. Just some beautiful constructions hanging there in the sky, letting Kat bounce between them with her gravity powers. Sometimes it’s good to bin logic and common sense and all that stuff.
Fondness for the Gravity Rush series and its smaller than usual worlds: After getting the Platinum for Gravity Rush 2, I have returned to Heksevile with Gravity Rush Remastered, with the ultimate goal of getting that Platinum after never wrapping it up on the Vita. I am greatly enjoying the return – I had forgotten a lot of Gravity Rush, so there have been many pleasant surprises. But, as nice as this is there is a bittersweet tinge to this – Studio Japan (makers of Gravity Rush series) have seen a lot of departures with the majority, if not all of the creators of Gravity Rush leaving for different companies. There will probably be no more adventures with Kat and Raven. On the one hand, that is a little sad. On the other, I did think the ending of Gravity Rush 2 answered everything I wanted – so I am content from that point of view. But still, no more Kat in any capacity is…it is a bit rough. But hey, I should not cry because it’s over – I should be happy because I got some of the most fun games I ever played.
While going through my Gravity Rush renaissance something dawned on me. These two games are the only two open world games I have ever truly loved – the only ones I have any special feelings for. There are some others, but they have qualifiers (more on them later). Exceptions aside, the games I have played with open worlds are Horizon Zero Dawn, Zelda Breath of the Wild, Just Cause 3, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima – so not exactly chopped liver – far from it – but they all have giant open worlds.
The Gravity Rush series has open worlds of the smaller variety – – in the case of Gravity Rush it is a rather small open world – perhaps the smallest in an open world game – but that is why I love them. My favourite video game worlds are those by From Software, and those from Metroidvania’s. Both these worlds have a few things in common – they are both on the smaller side of video game worlds and both make liberal use of verticality. The biggest Metroidvania world will generally be dwarfed by any open world and based on my personal experience many open world games lack the verticality present in most Metroidvania’s (I probably should play games like Infamous sometime). Gravity Rush has both of these things, in spades. I have touched on the size of the worlds already, but both are full of environments with tall buildings and sheer drops that allow Kat to use her movement abilities (already talking about excessively on this blog) as much as possible. That combination of compact worlds with verticality allowing for fun traversal is one of the cores of my love for Gravity Rush.
Gravity Rush tells its story with comic panels – that I dig too
Thanks for all the fun times Kat and Raven – the whole series has been a blast.
Some Reminiscing with Gravity Rush: Since I am talking about playing Gravity Rush again with the Remastered version, I am going to talk about some memories I have from playing the game on the Vita, all those years ago. Nostalgia can have its moments.
The first time I bought DLC: The first time I bought DLC was for Gravity Rush. This was back when DLC was still a dirty word – it was with some trepidation I pulled the trigger on the (soon to be dead) Vita store and I had my first DLC. The DLC consisted of three mission packs, each with their own challenges, costumes ad missions – all of this is available in the Remastered version. There are not the most extensive DLC’s – two missions to a pack and the missions were not that long but the stories they told were fun and added to the game world (one is really off though – almost justifying being a creepy peeping Tom), the costumes are fun, more Gravity Rush gameplay was always welcome and the challenges really did demand the best of Kat’s shifting. I had a lot of fun with them. This was my first realisation the DLC was way more than just DLC is bad because of reasons – not to say there is not bad DLC but the concept never was inherently bad.
Lonely commutes a little less so: Kat and company used to keep me company on lonely commutes. Like Gravity Rush 2, I kept playing long after finishing the game because moving around in Gravity Rush is so much fun. I would just fly around, making my own paths and courses. The world of Gravity Rush has four districts linked by a loop rail line. What I would do on my way home from work is starting from Kat’s house in Auldnoir I would follow the train to each district, have fun bouncing from roof top to roof top/descending to the bottom of a place and ascending and then either working my way back to Auldnoir as my train neared the station or fast travel back from the final district if I overran my loop. I think that continued playing helped to solidify my love of Gravity Rush – because those extended playthroughs were done with no achievements in mind – I was playing for the love of it.
About the missing Platinum: A got a lot of the trophies on the Vita, but not all of them. Gravity Rush has motion controls, and on the Vita sliding (Kat can use gravity shifting to slide – like she is on a snowboard almost) was controlled by motion controls. I could never get the hang of them no matter how much I tried. Me and motion controls have never been great friends – and in this case the gulf was huge. The sliding challenges were utter shitshows and that is being kind.
Gravity Rush had some cosmic environments
But with Gravity Rush Remastered, the sliding can be done with the analogue stick and pretty much all of them are finished with gold medals. I cannot give an exact time, but that Gravity Rush Platinum is coming, and a gaming regret will be laid to rest. I’m digging that.
About those exceptions: Those would be Shadow of the Colossus and Nier Automata. I have heard of Shadow of the Colossus classed as an open world game – which does make sense – because it is an open world. But I always think of open world games having all these missions and collectables and things to do whereas Shadow is one the most direct games, devoid of anything resembling bloat.
For Nier Automata, I only realised how much I loved that game when I discarded the open world and turned the game into as linear game as I could. So, while it is an open world game, most of my joy came after cutting that aspect out as best I could.
Those are the words that Slave Knight Gael uses to guide the Ashen One through the Dreg Heap atop the fabled Ringed City, as his phantom points down to the base of a sheer drop. For anyone with any amount of experience with From Software, these words could be met with trepidation. Many a vertical drop in a Souls game or Bloodborne ended with the words “You Died”. But here there is nowhere else to go. After scouting about, the only recourse is to drop down. And the Ashen One does not die – takes no damage even. An experience bathed in anxiety and excitement which culminates in sheer relief.
The sheer drop is a beautiful thing – sorely in the realm of vertical level design. Its not just in the act of falling that the emotions are drawn forth – there is also the expectancy of what will happen on landing – what is down there? What place lies before me? Who wants to murder me down there? Will I ever land even? There are a few games, and sheer falls within them that drown me in anxiety and excitement – let’s get to them.
The many falls of Kat in Gravity Rush 2
And Gravity Rush, but I have been playing 2 a lot recently so I’ll keep my focus there. For those unfamiliar, Kat is a shifter – she can use gravity to levitate, fling herself in various directions (akin to flying but not quite) and skate around on the ground – all coming together to craft one of the most, if not the most fun traversal system in a video game.
And because Kat can pseudo-fly she can ascend to great heights. And if she can ascend to great heights she can also fall from great heights. One thing I love to do is to perch atop a tall building and jump off and free fall, only at the last second using Kat’s shifting powers to avert a rough landing. It’s an exhilarating experience. The jump into nothing but air, the fall and the ground getting closer and closer, faster and faster and the last second stop. Truth be told, Kat does not die or take damage from a botch landing (aside from a sheepish look to make sure no one saw that), but there is still the human fear of heights and falling from them that is present.
Eventually, after enough falls from regular skyscrapers I wanted something more. The world of Gravity Rush 2 is vertically stacked. At the bottom there is a shanty town, above that a market district and city, above that where the rich folk live and at the very top there is a military base. Kat can head to any of these by gravity powers alone. And as we know if you can ascend somewhere you can fall from somewhere.
I wanted this to be gif, but the fall took too long.
Nary a more glorious tumble exists than this one.
Sekiro Throws Himself into the Depths
The sheer drop is one of From Software’s bread and butters. Dark Souls has one, Dark Souls II has a few, Bloodborne also has a few, Dark Souls III as mentioned in the intro and Sekiro. Sekiro has four or five of the things, but I’ll focus on one of those – the drop into the Ashina Depths.
Will you be cast out? Or throw yourself in? is what the Faithful One asks Sekiro as he stands before a large Torii Gate. Torii Gates mark a border between the mundane and the scared so what lies beyond this gate is already stirring the imagination. The gate is in a state of disrepair, riddled with what appears to be mould – an indication not many come by this way anymore. Then there is Japanese Ghost story vibe – the still darkness, the burning incense sticks – the place is thick with atmosphere.
Walking up to the Torii Gate shows…nothing. Nothing but seemingly eternal black. No definition, no landmarks – just seemingly infinite darkness. But like in Dark Souls III and the Ringed City there is nowhere else to go – so with great trepidation Sekiro throws himself into the depths.
It is a long fall. There are still no discernible landmarks and Sekiro is still falling and falling faster still into that infinite darkness. Just when it seems the fall will never stop, an outcrop of rocks juts outs into the darkness, and a grapple point comes into something resembling focus. And before sinking into the abyss, Sekiro hangs in the air for a few precious seconds as the grapple hook latches on, flinging him to solid ground.
Exhilaration in a pit of anxiety.
Infinite tumbles in Manifold Garden
The falls of Gravity Rush and Sekiro both come to an end. Either for intended reasons – getting the landing right – or unintended reasons – fudging the landing or missing and respawning. Unless the player actively seeks to end it, falls in Manifold Garden can last forever. Manifold Garden is a puzzle game that features gravity manipulation. There are a few similarities with Kat in Gravity Rush – sticking to different surfaces and flipping the world – but not many more than that. Manifold Garden is a far less kinetic game – much more on the meditative side of things,
Manifold Garden takes place in worlds that infinitely repeat. Sometimes something that needs to be done is on the other side of structure. It can be easier to fall of the edge and fall to the other side. It is a wonderful process getting the hang of it, and then plunging without fear to solve the games many inventive puzzles. Damn sight quicker than walking – more fun too.
But that fall, unless broken by either player action or an impeding surface will never end. If you could turn off all the energy saving settings on a console and have an unlimited access to electricity you could fall forever – an eternal tumble through an infinite repetition.
This idea is more intriguing to me than it has any right to be. It would not serve any purpose. It would probably be of limited artistic value. But it could happen, and I have the idea of a PS4 in an abandoned house, left plugged in with Manifold Garden left on an infinite fall.
Just falling forever, with no player there to bring it to an end.
Tried to get this to loop – could not get rid of the hitch,
A waste of electricity, a perplexingly attractive idea.
Dreaming of Sekiro movement challenges: I have set finally solved the long running case of the missing platinum in Gravity Rush 2. Part of that involved a somewhat annoying grind to gather enough gems to acquire all of the skills. I am not the biggest fan of grinding, but even more so in games like Gravity Rush 2. Because Gravity Rush 2 (and the preceding game) has some of the best movement mechanics in video games and that leads to timed challenge courses and all that good stuff. Gravity Rush 2 has a good bunch of those, and I would rather have more of those (or tougher goals in exchange for more gems) rather than a grind, but it is what it is. Pushing Kat’s gravity skills to the limit to get the best times is a blast.
Sometimes I go back to a save file I have in Sekiro. It is in the post-game and on occasion I will make sure Ashina Castle is clear of enemies so that I can grapple hook across the roof tops uninterrupted. Aside from the sheer joy of the Sekiro grapple hook, it is also fun to try and find the quickest routes from the bottom of the castle to the top and vice versa (without faceplanting). Nothing the game intends, but a joy regardless.
After playing Gravity Rush 2 and Sekiro back-to-back I had a sudden flash. Grapple hook challenges would be amazing. Sekiro controls that well (both the game and the character) and the grapple hook is so damn snappy courses based around the grapple hook with time-based goals would be mighty fun to complete. Wouldn’t need to be just grapple hooks either – Sekiro in his running, jumping and ledge grabbing is so clean courses could a mix of grappling, running and climbing sections. No idea what the rewards would be for getting the best times – but I would be willing to do it for fun and joy alone.
None of this is ever going to happen mind – for so many reasons. I’ll always have the Ashina rooftops.
Gravity Rush and Sekiro and the joy of movement: Being back in Hekseville, I remembered how much fun much moving around is in the Gravity Rush series. The Gravity Rush games are some of those games I can play simply for the joy of movement. Whether its flying from place to place, sliding around or falling with style, navigating the worlds of Gravity Rush 2 with Kat is a blast. With the Platinum gained, there is no real reason to return to Gravity Rush 2 aside from a love of the game. And Kat’s movement is so much fun I keep coming back – it is one of the few open world games where I eschew fast travel because why bother fast travelling when getting around is this fun.
The Gravity Rush series and Sekiro have precious little in common. Combat, story, movement and a host of other things are approached in completely different ways. But one thing both games share are dynamic movement systems. Sekiro and his grapple hook, and Kat and her gravity powers can both let both characters move with verve and excitement. I can play both games sorely for the joy of moving around.
That’s pretty great right there.
Tomb Raider but not as I knew it: I’m still playing Rise of the Tomb Raider. I’m as surprised as you are. Rise is essentially a by the books triple AAA adventure game which makes the run I have had with it kind of remarkable. A run I have never managed to fully wrap my head around. A cursory look through this blog will reveal that I mainly deal in From Software games (and titles similar) and Indie games of all stripes. Triple AAA games are few and far between. Aside from Rise. I have played Rise longer than I played any of the Uncharted games, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghost of Tsushima and others – it wrinkles my brain on some level.
I initially prolonged my time with Rise by replaying the missions. Then I started going for speed run challenges. Then I began to figure out how many different ways I could beat a mission – approaching sections from different angles, killing enemies in a different order, using only one weapon – all that good stuff. And now, I am playing the game as a pseudo-Hitman game. This will need some explaining.
So, having played some missions a few (too many) times I got familiar with all the enemy patrols and started to isolate certain enemies and figuring out new ways to kill them – ways more needlessly extravagant than simply shooting them. This had led to situations such as carrying a gas can over two rooftops just so I could kill two dudes with it. I made sure everyone else was dead before getting a guy to look inside a cabin so I could kill him with exploding barrels. Dashing around a room with a shield guy so I could pick up a radio and fashion a bomb from it rather than simply using a gun.
It’s obvious the game is not meant to be played like this. This only works in a few select missions, the variety I can extract from it is limited and it may already be waning. But, it has been a fun ride Rise – and out of all the highly praised triple AAA adventures you are the one that captured my mind the most. Thanks for that.
It’s that time again. Yet another game of the year list type of thing. Same rules as always – any game I played for the first time this year counts. Except for the Redemption Arc section – got to have played something first for there to be a redemption. But everything else is first time this year. Let’s get on with it.
The (Objective) Game of the Year: Nioh 2 – Sengoku Adventure wonderland.
I liked Nioh the first. So, there was always a good chance I would like Nioh 2. What I did not expect was how much I loved (used to, still do) Nioh 2. Nioh 2 was not meant to launch on assault on my all-time favourite games but here we are.
Nioh 2 is carried by the combat, due to that combat system being other worldly good. But it is not just the combat which shows up in Nioh 2. The level design is leaps and bounds ahead of the first game, both in the mechanics (short cut placement, level construction and what not) and visually (the variety here fixes one of Nioh the firsts main problems). The boss fights were not the problem in Nioh the first and Nioh 2 builds on that platform almost perfectly. The boss fights are difficult and hard hitting but can be refined and learned as all the best can.
And while the story in Nioh 2 is not the strongest, the chances the game gives you to fight alongside famous figures and warriors from Japan’s history more than makes up for the story short falls. Battling alongside Benkei and Minamoto No Yoshitsune was quite possibly the high point of video games for me this year.
After the third boss or so I was thinking of Nioh 2 as the game of the year. After that it picked up so much pace it was undeniable. Team Ninja made a banger of a game.
Also, I need to give a shoutout to Mumyo here. One of my favourite video game characters this year. When we first met, she was intent on murdering me. Well, the player character is half yokai and she is a yokai hunter. But, through co-operation and trust we build a relationship, have yokai slaying adventures together and eventually help bring peace to feudal Japan. It was lovely to journey alongside you Mumyo.
Creature in the Well
There are times, when I am going about my day and I think to myself “Creature in the Well was well good”. Not often a game sticks with you like that.
Dungeon crawling plus pinball is not the most natural combinations but Creature in the Well makes it work. A lone robot sets out to end a never-ending storm by activating a weather machine via turning on eight submachines by using the medium of pinball and defeating a rather big and angry creature along the way. When I write that out it sounds a little silly, but it works. The concepts mesh – the dungeons are fun to explore (with lore and items to seek out), the pinball machines and the boss fights based on them are a nice test of reflexes and the artwork is in a beautiful surreal style. Add in a good story and a neat cast of characters and the Creature in the Well is one of my highlights of the year.
The Mutant Soap Opera (and gardening simulator): Mutazione
Part mutant soap opera, part gardening simulator Mutazione brought of the best cast of characters seen in a video game together and did not have them go on a grand journey, but rather showed them dealing with slice of life drama. And yes, many of the characters are mutants but they still deal with everyday troubles and traumas, joys and triumphs. Playing as Kai, a teenager coming to the community of Mutazione to take the role of her ailing grandfather as a shaman, you explore peoples lives and bring them together, and seeing everyone’s lives intersect was wonderful. In addition, Kai must also see to the gardens on Mutazione – musical gardens, where the plants sound like pianos and other instruments. All of this comes together, ensuring Mutazione always has a place in my favourite video game places and cast of characters.
About as pure an expression of video games as there is – Ikaruga
I have to confess that I had a goal of getting an A ranking on the first level of Ikaruga and I have fallen way behind on that – about when Nioh 2 started surging.
Despite that – Ikaruga would be a highlight any year I played it. Ikaruga is everything that is good and right and pure and proper about video games. Ikaruga is everything it needs to be – nothing could added, nothing can be taken away. Watching this game being played at the highest level is art – one of the purest forms of player skill in the medium. I will never be that good at it, but witnessing it is something special.
(S++ run by MrCidStyle)
Ikuruga is special y’all.
Tomb Inspector: Rise of the Tomb Raider
There was a point during last year this spot would have been taken by one of the Uncharted games (probably the 4th). But Lara Croft impaled those ambitions with a well loosed arrow. Rise of the Tomb Raider was meant to be a fun PS+ freebie. A standard 3rd person action-adventure game (brief interlude – action and adventure is quite possibly my least favourite genre title – it explains almost nothing) that would have occupied me for a week and then be forgotten about.
Except I am still playing it. And I played the whole Tomb Raider trilogy thanks to it (had fun with all of them but Rise remains the favourite). So, why has Rise lingered so long and why did it knock off Uncharted? The primary reason is the combat, and by that I mean the bow and arrow. Rise has the best bow and arrow I have used in a video game. It is stupidly satisfying to loose arrows in Rise. And the impact they have in human bodies is sickening but feels really good. Like Hotline Miami “Do you enjoy hurting other people” good (and as Lara Croft, I do enjoy hurting other people). The other thing is the level design in Tomb Raider is more fun for me. Less of the Uncharted shooting galleries and more open areas with different approaches. The Tomb Raider games are akin to 3D Metroidvania’s (not exactly, but there are similarities) and I dig that.
And the tombs are pretty neat – reminded me of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. That is always a good thing.
Before Rise rides off into the sunset, I want to give a shout out to my favourite level. Approaching Storm consists of three enemy camps. Each one has a variety of ways to attack them – stealth, guns blazing, crafting explosives and mixing those approaches up. Enemies can be killed in a multitude of orders and it is just a fun mission to replay, seeing how different approaches work and in what order enemies can be killed before Lara is discovered. Super fun time.
Whhheeeeeeee!!!!! – Gravity Rush 2
Gravity Rush 2 was sat rotting on my hard drive. Bought on a sale 2 years ago, and never played. For boredom reasons I decided to give it a run this year. I should not have waited. Kat remains the queen of video game movement. I have finally figured out why the Gravity Rush series excites me like few open world games do. Kats way of getting around is stupidly fun, and cuts of the tedious commute that can blight open world games.
Flinging herself via gravity with almost complete abandon is ridiculously fun. There is no need for fast travel here. I mean, there is a fast travel system here but why use it when Kat can move both horizontally and vertically like this?
The movement allow secures Gravity Rush 2 on this list. But everything else in the game is pretty neat, so that’s good. Combat is fun (would love a lock on button though), the story and characters are fun (nice to see a cheerful protagonist every once in a while) and the world is a joy to navigate (both vertically and horizontally – perfect for the gravity manipulation Kat uses for locomotion).
I can easily play Gravity Rush 2 for an extended period and do nothing but move around. Few games can claim that.
Redemption Arc: Nier: Automata
For the sake of fairness, The Witness could also be here. I went from loathing it to loving it. But the ending of Nier: Automata sealed the deal.
I tried Nier: Automata 2 years ago and it did not end well. I bailed (turns out I bailed 10 minutes before the end). So, I returned this year with the bad memories cleansed and resolved to ignore as many side quests as possible and push on with the main story. Best decision I made in a long time. The open world was a burden the first time around – the new streamlined playthrough let the game shine.
Thank fuck I gave this game a second chance. I mean, the whole game is something else but the ending is what put it over the top. Basically, you end up fighting the game itself (me and the game had a disagreement on how things should finish) – the credits turn into a bullet hell shooter. And eventually it gets to the point you cannot win. The credits have to much health and too much firepower. Then there is a prompt asking if you need help. I said no at first and kept soldiering on. But as the failures piled up I eventually said yes.
A choir starts up in the background. Other players ships join you in a fight against the credits. And choir gets louder and louder as more players join and you realise there is no getting through without the help of others. And it is the most god dang beautiful thing. And this is all done by game play. It’s amazing.
Then the game ends, and you are given the option of joining this band of people who help others. It will only cost you your save files. For helping people, you have to give up everything in the game. I said yes and watched as all my saves were deleted. I had no backups. And as everything vanished – everything felt right. This journey could not have ended any other way. I am never going to play the game again. I cannot play the game again. To chase trophies and a platinum would taint the whole thing. The only remant of my playing Nier: Automata is when someone reaches the end of the game, and they ask for help and maybe, just maybe what is left of my save is one of the helpers for them.
And that’s just beautiful.
That’s an Evangelion Reference: Touhou Scarlet Curiosity
I have a soft spot for Touhou games. There are not many of them on PS4, and so when I get them I can be very fond of them. For many people, their wishes for the future of gaming are of ray traced realism, immersive living worlds and the like. I just want Touhou Luna Nights on the PS4/5. That’s all.
Anyhow, Touhou Scarlet Curiosity is not the great game of all time. But I liked it. The game play is not the most special. It’s pretty standard combat by most measures but there are some moments of genuine flow when stringing abilities and combos together. And the story is not going to blow any minds but it is a run romp through Gensokyo and the character interactions between Sakuya, Remilia and the rest of the cast have their moments.
But in search of the true ending, this happens:
That is an Evangelion Unit 02 joke. That alone seals a place on this list. If this game did nothing but that I would find a place for it on here.
Surreal Beauty: Gris
I like to highlight artwork from games on this list, and this year’s standout was Gris. A beautiful meditation on grief, the game takes place in surreal, dream spaces. It’s the sort of stuff that gets words wasted on it, so here are the pictures (I’ve already written far too many words here anyway):
Getting About: Gravity Rush 2 is the best game I have played this year. Well, it is my favourite at least. I had a moment playing it last week, after finishing the story. I was messing around in the open world with all the movement abilities and I broke out in the biggest smile. It was just so much fun. That sheer, unabashed fun that is as hard to find as hens’ teeth. The sort of fun that is so pure and unattached, the doing of something for the only reason that it is fun. That right now is Gravity Rush 2 for me. And the main reason for this is the movement system that is unique to the Gravity Rush games. Let us talk about that.
Kat, the utterly adorable and wonderful protagonist of the Gravity Rush series cannot fly (technically). Kat is a gravity shifter. Basically, Kat creates and manipulates gravity that allows her to levitate and “fall” in the direction she needs to go. This means that while Kat is airborne she cannot change directions, like a bird can. She must return to a levitating state and reassign her direction. Essentially, Gravity Rush’s locomotion system is the most exciting version of falling with style. In is gloriously, joyously reckless, klutzy and when one gets the hang of it, fluid while still being clumsy. Pick a direction, get airborne and launch yourself in that direction. Stupidly fun. And the world of Gravity Rush 2 aids this. All the towns and places are floating towns, layered top to bottom. They all have enough things to see and do on the horizontal plane, and then you can launch Kat along the vertical plane to go up and down. And then you can fall from great heights. And you can walk up the sides of buildings. And you can gravity slide around. You can slide into vaulting into the air and then launching yourself across the map. God I love it.
One other thing I want to talk about regarding Gravity Rush 2 are the side quests. These play into Kat’s character. One of the reasons Kat is wonderful is because she strongly believes in helping people. And that does not just mean world altering events. Throughout my time with Gravity Rush 2 I have done such things as: Helping a dog to find its toy. Helping a father and son become closer. Stopped a child’s father from falling into alcoholism. Help a young couple explain their marriage to an overprotective dad. Helped someone move house. Delivered newspapers. Helped a researcher write about each town in Gravity Rush 2. Been a part time journalist. Raced a bird. Helped people find the perfect present. Reunited a mother and son. And many more. All these mission’s feature uses of Kat’s gravity skills and help people to be good to one another.
What a lovely game.
Learning something new: In an effort to maintain my study of the Japanese language, I have been watching Japanese videos pertaining to Sekiro. Truth be told, I have been faltering/free falling lately with the whole endeavour. I reached that point where you realise you know some stuff, and that just makes you realise how much you do not know. That combined with anxiety about returning to work has led to a bit/a lot of skid. I am not studying as much as I was. And things are slipping. But that is on me and I must push through this. Huh, that got more personal than I intended. Guess I needed somewhere to vent. Anyhow, Japanese Sekiro videos have helped me to find new things in Sekiro.
There is YouTube channel called Livedoor. It is a Japanese channel, and their videos feature an expert in a specialised subject who looks over video games and assesses them in comparison to the real-life things they are sometimes based on. There are a number of videos concerning the Buddhist artwork in Ashina, and a number of videos dedicated to the architecture of Ashina, with a special focus on the castle.
In addition to learning a few new Japanese words, I learned a bunch of stuff about Ashina. I have been into the Divine Childs room many, many, many times during my Ashina adventures. And never once did I notice the picture of Buddha on the wall behind her. Until I watched that video. And then it became as clear as day. Faded as it is, there is clearly an illustration of Buddha on that wall and there may even be two Bodhisattva’s beside him. A wonderful bit of detail, and it is a joy to still find new things in Sekiro. Another new thing pointed out to me was a detail regarding the Nio sculptures at the front of Senpou Temple. They both have snakes wrapped around them. Again, I never noticed it. And I wrote about those sculptures a while back. The snakes make sense too. Ashina has two giant snakes, and there is snake iconography throughout Senpou. Many, many thanks to that expert.
Buddha picture on the wall.
Snakes around the Nio sculptures
My favourite of the Ashina architecture videos is the one where the guide takes us around an actual Japanese Castle (Hikone Castle). She points out some similarities between Ashina Castle and the real-life castle. She also talks about the real-life castle in detail – some of it I understand, some of it I do not. Either way, she is such an enthusiastic speaker that I am listening regardless. She talks about the walls, the bridges, the main building. She goes over a map of all the layers of the castle. She takes us inside the main building and talks about how it would have been defended. And at the end (I think) she invites people to come to Japan and visit the castle. That is something I would love to do. Well, I cannot do that right now, so I am the next best thing. I am playing Sekiro for the 12th time, so that I can look at the architecture in the Ashina outskirts and the castle prior to it being on fire.
Now, all I need to do is get the studying back on track and I can then fully understand these videos. Because they are a great resource, and I do want to be able to understand them fully.
Bloodborne: I can stop whenever I want. I just don’t want to is all.
Nier: Automata: I don’t think I’ve ever been so confused by a game. As in, when it’s good it’s very good. When it’s bad it’s the very definition of boredom. I’m getting near to ending C, and it’s been good. But endings A and B, the side quests for the most part had good endings, but the game play was incredibly boring. For all the innovation with the story and it’s presentation, the game play often boiled down to go to place and talk to guy, then go to a place to talk to someone else and then go back to talk to the other guy again. If not that, go to place to kill some things and collect stuff off the floor type of side quests. And I’m not sure I can forget all that drudgery when it comes to the good stuff. And there’s crafting and gathering parts for weapon upgrades and that always annoys me. The perspective changes in game play can be good, but I feel this game overplays this and goes to the well once too often. The combats enjoyable, but unlike Bloodborne I have no urge to master it, just to get through it now.
In fact the good stuff can be so good it just makes the side quest design look even worse than it is. The side quests in some cases have genuinely great dialogue and story content, but they are wrapped in boring game play. And some of the story has been utterly great.
But like I said, there’s some ways to go so I’ll hold off before giving a full opinion. Still, I’m very conflicted about the whole thing. That full opinion will be a long time coming.
Absolute Drift Zen Edition (AKA Initial D, Minimalist edition): I wanted to write about this game this week, but I can’t figure out how to frame the writing. But it’s good. Well I like it. Your mileage will entirely depend on your fondness for single mechanic games and challenges. Absolute Drift is a triumph of minimalism. Your only aim is to drift and everything else damned. But mastering that mechanic is a wonderful feeling, and arcing a nonstop 10 second drift, ah man, it’s beautiful. There is an over world filled with challenges which is both a fun place to hone skills and a great place to chill out.
Oxenfree: This has been on the back log for a while. I fired it up on Wednesday, and I had a lot of fun. The dialogue system really stands out. It actually feels realistic, with conversations including interruptions and if you miss a prompt, the chance to make a comment vanishes. That’s great. I think I’m nearing the end of the story, but putting this off for so long has been a bit of a mistake. The characters are good, the visuals work and the soundtracks pretty great. Good stuff all around.
What I’m Looking to Play:
The Last Guardian: This is on my pile of games to play. In fact it’s right in front of the PS4. Unfortunately, it was blighted by the fact it isn’t Bloodborne. Which to be fair, isn’t its fault, but this is a curse many games are blighted with. Seriously though, Miyazaki, why is Bloodborne so good? I’ve had to stop comparing other video games to it. They just can’t keep up.
Gravity Rush 2: I had a lot of fun with the first one, so why I haven’t fired this up sooner is a bit of a mystery. I’ll try and get round to it some time.
And last, but not to be the least, some gifs I’ve made this week:
First time I’ve ever been perfect on the Ebrietas head charge. Good times.
Video Games And Things I Write About Them 