I really enjoyed the first half of the game where you explore the summer camp, but as soon as you get to the asylum it goes downhill really fast. The story is incredibly captivating, a summer camp for psychics is probably the most uniqe setting Ive ever seen in a platformer and the diverse cast of characters elevate it even further. The levels being the tortured minds of the characters you encounter is genius, each level feels distict and different both visually and in gameplay mechanics which adds a great layer of variety. The combat is clunky, Im not expecting devil may cry but trying to fight multiple enemies or even just locking on is very janky. The pacing is downright terrible. Once you get to the asylum you are hit with some big roadblocks in the form of the tedious level up sysytem and the cobweb duster. I just dont get why you need to grind to get essential abilities for progression it wouldve been better if you could just discover them in the levels they are needed. The cobweb duster is needlessly exspensive and only exists to pad out the playtime, you never need it for half the game but all the sudden its essential for progression which feels like a slap in the face. I also wasnt fond of any of the levels in the asylum, they steer away from platforming and focus on gimmicks(which is fine) but none of it is executed very well. The play level was just tedious and boring, the waterloo level was frustrating(platforming with enemies constantly shooting at you, hooray!), and the bull level(while beautiful) was also trial and error tedium. And the meat circus, oh my god that part with the bunny was easily the worst part of the game. I really hated the ending too, everyone basically forgives the villain and lets a bunch of unstable mental patients back into society for no good reason. I like the game but Im not gonna ignore the obvious flaws and pretend its a masterpiece.
Very dated in terms of graphics and combat but still a fun rpg set in the star wars universe. The intro almost put me to sleep but once you get past the tutorial it gets a lot better, especially when you start unlocking force powers. The story is very basic, sith are assholes and want a weapon that has unspeakable capabilities and jedi are chill and want peace blah blah dark side blah blah light side, youve heard it all before. Where the game really shines is the lore, the game goes into great detail about the events that shaped the political landscape of the universe which helps prop the otherwise bland story up. The voice acting is pretty damn good for a game from the early 2000's and the script is no slouch either, although some dialogue is pretty cringe worthy and feels like it was written by an agnsty teen. The combat was honestly the worst part of the game for me. I get that with dice rolls its a more traditional rpg experience but it makes some encounters incredibly frustrating when its coupled with the clunkyness of targeting and movement. There will be fights where you get stunned infinitely with no recourse, these fights are literally based on luck and there were a few times where I had to retry a section just because I kept getting bad rolls. Graphically the game is very dated, the enviorments are empty and forgettable(with exception of the sith temple grounds) with not much variation. In spite of those flaws I still think the game is very solid in most of what it attempts to do as an rpg and can see why so many people have nostalgia for it. I really hope this gets a remake in the future because if this game looked better it would be masterpiece material.
Its okay. when it works its fantastic(first half of the game) but the lowpoints(second half of the game) are so bad it makes it hard for me to recommend. The charm and creativity Tim Schaefer is known for is certainly present in this game. The characters, voice acting, music, visuals and writing all feel meticulously crafted to immerse you into the metal world that is Brutal Legend. Unfortunately thats where the praise ends with me. When it comes to the actual gameplay its a clunky mess of ideas that feel under developed. The game starts as a basic hack n slash action with some vehicle sections which would be fine if the controls werent so god awful. Driving feels like slogging through mud in a tank, its just so clunky and unresponsive that it sucked all the fun out of the driving sections. The combat is fun initially theres some cool bossfights but this all changes in the latter half of the game where it turns into a bad RTS. The way you command units is just nonsensical, you have to be right next to units in order to command them so it becomes really annoying to try and coordinate your team in the last few battles. Some units counter others but its not clear what unit has an advantage over the other, so its usually optimal to just spam guitar attacks.The story and how its paced is pretty bad as well. It starts out pretty engrossing but at the end it leaves you wanting more as most of the plot points are left up in the air. Brutal Legend really could have been something special, but the gameplay holds it back resulting in an experience that ends up being more frustrating than enjoyable.
Return of the Obra Dinn is a petty damn solid game but more importantly its a memorable experience that everyone should at least try. The story is not amazing and I was a little let down by the ending but I was never bored, it was gripping right from the start and will surprise you with some very carefully placed "oh shit" moments. The audio quality in general is amazing, music has great timing and is tailored to the mood of the situation(for the most part). The ques for when you go back in time are great as well, does a good job of building anticipation. Gameplay boils down to looking at a corpse and opening the watch or "memento morium" to see the exact point of death. At that point you can observe details that help determine who the victim was, if they died or escaped, and who/what killed them. Its a game of deduction and process of elimination(especially at the end) that is elevated by the stellar voice acting and character designs. The art style works for what the story is going for, its simple but charming in a rugged sort of way that gives the Obra Dinn a very distinct atmosphere of unsettling intrigue. While it may not have the replayability factor that Papers Please did it goes above and beyond when it comes to presentation and story, its one of those games where you want to erase your memories of it just to experience it for the first time again.
