![Heroes Chronicles [Chapter 5] - The World Tree](https://images.gog-statics.com/6f1899f6a4fe4d3b29f46bb361c030b38800d74dae4356b712a2164ea74dccbd.jpg)
This chapter isn't the most exciting. Tarnum's story is continued, and the adversaries are necromancers this time around. The scenarios aren't particularly difficult. Recommended for a very relaxed HoM&M experience.
Insanely addictive after all those years
"The Journey Down" is an easy puzzle game (did not have to look up a walkthrough once). Its strength lies in the environments, the cool and relaxed afrofuturistic atmosphere and the dialogues with the side characters. The game is not going to challenge your puzzle-solving brain, and the overall story, while serviceable enough, isn't the most original or memorable. Some dialogues have the irritating habit of stating the obvious several times (in the vein of "I have to find the item X so we can advance to do Y", and several minutes later : "I found the item X that I nedded for Y. Let's bring it to character Z so he can use it for Y!", and then again, in dialogue with said character "Hey Z, I found the item X! Let's use it!", etc.) It's the sort of game where the devil (and the value) is in the details : the character designs, the backgrounds, the cool music (reggae, funk, jazz and a little bit or rock), the cute design of a house there, the pastel coloured dreamy clouds over here ...
This game is not for everyone. Clearly. You have to be able to enjoy somewhat repetitive, but mesmerizing gameplay, hours of build-up and one slip-up leading to failure, no animations or flashy visuals whatsoever, etc. The main appeal of the game is slowly solving a puzzle (how do I get to that state or place or person or ritual or ending) while dealing with random obstacles thrown your way, all the while reading A LOT and being immersed in incredible lore. If you're remotely interested in occultism, secret societies, mythology or history, have patience and like (increasingly less and less over time) trial and error gameplay, this is probably for you.
As a twenty-something coming home for the first time after a eurotrip, you have to basically snoop around and play detective in your own house, unearthing again the meaning of "uncanny" ("unheimlich" in german - when your house in not your own anymore). Between being a voyeur and honestly wanting to know what your family's been up to and if they're in danger, you're made to feel guilt, curiosity and wonder. You're like a small child again, rediscovering a house where too much has changed. The game is really clever about this. The way it tells its story through contextual clues - a crumpled piece of paper, a book shamefully hidden inside a cupboard near a bottle of whiskey - is something I wish more games would do, and it's not only about picking up and reading everything - I feel that the gamers who did this and complained about the monotony of the action missed this point - but also about observing WHERE you found the objects, and what they tell about what happened in the house. Of course, there are drawbacks. I think I've never seen a house with so many GODDMAN PENCILS AND ERASERS AND CUPS and being a conscencious gamer, you just have to pick up everything, is case there's a clue plastered somewhere. Making every cup and pencil an interactive object but not, say, plants, furniture or rugs is a strange choice and I can't really see the design decision behind it. Similarly, as in any "apocalyptic log" story (like the recordings found in Bioshock, etc) expect to roll your eyes once or twice at the convenience of finding deeply personal letters and documents just lying around for you to be able to read them. Anyway, it was, at the time, a groundbreaking game in terms of environmental storytelling and handling some difficult themes. I feel that gamers going into it thinking it's some sort of detective story with a super clever "twist" will probably be disappointed. As Sam says in one of her logs, and as it goes in most families - "I think you've always known".
The Banner Saga is a mix of text-based adventure, forcing you to make sometimes harsh choices, turn-based combat with interesting mechanics which are nonetheless pretty simple to master (everything revolving around the idea of having to both break the opponents armor and his HP-count) and a little bit of caravan managment (food supplies and morale). The last element is extremely minor , so you're left with the two biggest gameplay milestones : story and turn-based combat. I enjoyed both immensely. The story is rich in lore, inpredictability and atmosphere (you're in a dying world and everything basically gets more and more desperate until you feel total empathy with the protagonists fighting like machines just to push through another day). The choices sometimes lead to drastic outcomes, and you have to live with it. No save scumming. I like that. The turn-based combat (minus the final boss-battle, which enraged me to no end) is fair and interesting. Everything is about carefully positioning your fighters and striking just at the right moment. The audovisual aspect is superb. Beautiful stylized environments and authentic-sounding Icelandic chanting. So, embark on this little journey of beauty and despair if you feel like you're patient and contemplative enough, and if you like to make hard choices and later reflect on them!
So, we all know about hack'n'slash type of games. Gaming reduced to its simplest form - click, loot, get more powerful, then enemies get more poferful, then you have to click and loot some more to get more powerful than the enemies. A neverending cycle, a Skinner box where conditioning makes us activate that pleasure brain-circuit again and again. That's what those games are. If you don't go into Torchlight seeking something it's not (for instance, an open-world game, an engaging and thoughtfull story, deep and carefull strategies) and you take it for what it is, my guess is that you'll probably have a blast like I did. The gameplay is Diablo-like, but without the frustration that often sets in in even the best of Diablo clones. Your inventory is full? Instead of running to town several hundreds of times to sell junk, you can send your pet, and a totally needless time-wasting is eliminated. (You have to admit that giving a ridiculously small inventory and having to go in person to sell stuff in a type of game where loot is the main reason to play is nothing short of sadistic!) You're afraid that you'll have to specialize too much and won't survive in higher difficulties without a very precise build (Diablo II, I'm looking at you)? No probs, the difficulty stays on the "fun" side of the slider, and every class has versatile skills outside of their main speciality, letting you customize your character as you like. You weep because you want to change your weapon, but you don't want to lose that cool socketable that is in it? Hey, it's ok, you can destroy the weapon to retrieve the socketable! The graphics are cutesy (the "Torchligh textures" mode makes them look even cooler), and the music is suitably atmospheric and sometimes even dark (the composer is Matt Uelmen of Diablo's fame). In short, Torchlight is a very pure, almost childlike, wonderful clicking-looting experience. Not much else going on, but hey, it's fun the way it is.
More like an interactive story, with rich influences in the litterary, theatrical and philocophical spheres. Everyone talks about magic realism, and that's exactly what it is about, above all : going through a perfectly normal day and suddenly finding yourself on the Kentucky Route Zero, underground (or is it in another dimension?), being possibly dead and filling papers in buildings which have an entire floor dedicated to bears who stare at you when tou pass by. If you want to leave real life and enter a dream, where things work with symbolism, emotional logic and free association, you will find that Kentucky Route Zero is a funny, moving, tought-provoking and sensual example of such a dream. The audiovisual design is excellent and the main strength of the game. However, if you want a clearly defined novel-like story and challenging gameplay, stay away, this is not for you (and that's perfectly fine). Don't say I didn't warn you.
The Last Door gets four stars instead of five for only one reason - let's face it, it's not really a game. It's really an interactive story. TLD is a game with : * very easy puzzles (I suck at adventure games, and I was stuck only once in the entire game, and that's because I didn't notice one of the things on screen was clickable) ; * a game world with a very limited interactivity (even as adventures games go) ; * 8 bit graphics that, surprisingly, immerse you in the game even more ; after 5 minutes, you're totally used to it and thank the gods that you don't get to see every horryfing detail in glorious 3D graphics. But! TLD!Is! Also! A game with : * a great little story. It begins as an effective, but classical horror story. A bit of Lovecraft, a bit of Poe, a bit of Chambers. Then, things get a turn for the surreal, atmospheric, occult, more unusual. David Lynch will be taking the directing from now on. The ending leaves things open-ended, the mystery only got started. A second season is in the works, but you'll have to visit the develppers' site to play the several available episodes ; * the sound design is stellar. Great gothic music, sound effects that alert you as to what is happening beyong the little conforting light pool created by your oil-lamp. All in all, a neat little game. As a matter of fact, I'm a huge fan of Lovecraft, and this little 8-bit gem with a little budget comes miles closer to emulating the feeling of his writings than big budget productions such as Alan Wake.
