Intermission 3 - 2021 Recap

'll be honest. Writing some of these posts over a year after I played them is entirely tedious and painful - especially when I had no notes (looking at you Resident Evil 1-4). As a result, some of these posts, especially in 2021 err on the side of brevity and a heavy reliance on screenshots and YouTube analysis videos to jog my memory. After moving back in July 2020 I leaned into my new console setup, retro collection and PlayStation backlog. While the challenge was always in the back of my mind, I barely touched my PC where this blog lives. Writing these 18, 12 or even 1 month after playing a game goes against the purpose of this blog - to capture how I felt about a game at the time of playing and to do so in detail; so that when my memory fades, it can serve as a guide down my nostalgic neural lanes. But also to track how I'm going with clearing my backlog. In 2022 I'll post more regularly and to do so I won't start a new game until the prior is written up. 2021 and even later 2020 had a lot of big games - so it's understandable I fell significantly behind in my game to week ratio with a goal of 1:1. So many games on my backlog and pile of shame were played. So many joyful experiences I wouldn't have played had I not started this blog and prioritised singular player experiences such as God of War, Jedi: Fallen Order, The Last of us 2, Arkham Knight, Alien Isolation and even anthology such as Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Saga, BioShock collection, and Resident Evil 1-4. I even found time for plenty of couch coop games, and the multiple megahit Valheim. Quality over quantity is an understatement, it's been a big year. And honestly I think this trend will continue in 2022. 

The recent announcement of the Steam Deck has changed a lot - I want one - and I'm willing to fork out a hefty fee to get one. Ever since the Switch came out I thought - oh wouldn't that be a fantastic indie machine. But I already have 100-200 indie games on Steam... well here it is. Previously I was viewing a lot of games I could finish in a few hours to stay on track for clearing my backlog on a weekly basis, if there was a large game that took a few weeks I'd throw in a few 1-2 hour games to make up for it. Instead my progress will lag behind until I acquire a Steam Deck and start smashing through that bucket of my backlog. I'm okay with that. Speaking of buckets, Indie games have now been renamed to Steam deck games. 

*Drools*

2021 has been a soft year when it comes to new releases. Outside of Valheim and Halo Infinite I have not played a single new game. And I'm not complaining, if this wasn't the case I wouldn't have caught up on so many stellar titles. But that's not to mean there hasn't been any intriguing releases. Ghost of Tsushima, Hades, Sable, Narita Boy, Emily is Away <3, Ghostrunner, Wasteland 3 and Outer Wilds have all burnt a hole into my psyche. It's been a year of great indies. And I'm also not complaining there either. I think it's a tell tale sign of my diminishing time if every game with a playtime of more than 50 hours like Cyberpunk 2077 bombs returns a sigh of relief. On the other side of the hobby my retro collection has made a ton of progress. Figured I'd jump on these before the prices reach ridiculous levels like some games - Castlevania Symphony of the Night is above $500 (no thanks) and my favourte childhood game Jade Coocoon cost me $70 while I got Skull Monkeys at $50 for a bargain (thanks Facebook marketplace). 

[Pic once tv is fixes - those shelves are filling out well]

I haven't posted after finishing a game since I moved in June 2020 - I plan to do this moving forward after the Christmas holiday. Additionally each year moving forward I think I'm going to do a year in review, as a nice summary of the year and to keep myself accountable for progress made and a game of the year. This year probably would have been Valheim or It's Take Two (if I played it). To round out, I think I should end with a few reminders: 

• continue my promise to not buy any games unless they're on the top of my list and a bargain I can't ignore (Death Stranding, Medieval, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 +2) 
• and only games I plan to play it right away (Watch Dogs Legion, Valheim, Doom Eternal)
• Once clear and updated, move away from the blog and just focus on enjoying the hobby again
• Stay on track after posting each game, don't start a new one until you finish your last
• Finally stop writing bloated posts, focus on the parts that made you feel, not covering every facet of the game 

Couch Coop Pt.1 - Helldivers, Laser League & more (1-5)

ouch Coop - Part 1 

I love split screen and party games. Ever since I first played Worms on the PS1, WWE on the PS2, Halo on the Xbox, controller shared GTA San Andreas and many more. In fact even today I make it a priority to regularly invite a bunch of friends over, order wings or burgers and jam our favourites and try new games. So this is going to be a regular post - with each game I'll conclude whether they're On the stack or Off the stack. Essentially will they become favourites on the stack of coop games to return to or remain on the shelf and get uninstalled from the hard drive. 

Helldivers is an absolute cooperative masterpiece. It was one of those games that I saw and knew I would enjoy it, I adore this game, it was love at first sight. I first played it with an ex-friend years ago, that was an okay experience. But it was my second attempt with three good friends where the game truly shined. The premise is simple. You're a squad of elite Starship Troopers and you need to drop on the planet, complete your objective, and get out. It's the gameplay that's so addictive though. You can equip dozens of different abilities and weapons. The weapons are standard fair with your snipers, AR, SMG, pistols, shotguns, etc. Shooting is your standard twin stick romp, but it throws a friendly fire curveball into the mix. Any projectile can kill and you'll need to call out, and work with your team to down some bugs. Luckily you can go to ground and its so satisfying when you call out that you need to reload, go to ground, and a teammate whips around and starts blasting the bugs coming your way. This only gets emphasized further when items come into the mix. There are really three types. Support - ammo, healing, barb wire, mines, turrets etc all of which are essential. Utility - typically drones that follow you around and shoot or heal, but you can also drop jump packs for example or other more powerful weapons such as mortars or rocket launchers. Finally offensive - you can get airstrikes, a delayed powerful bombardment to splatter bugs. Or you can drop vehicles, tanks, mechs, APCs, bikes. They're so much fun and add an awesome dynamic to the game. Especially in the later stage with titanic bugs that have impenetrable armour, a mech with armour piercing rounds will save your day every time.  You can't take many abilities so you'll want to work with your team to bring a healthy mix of offense and defence. Adding a degree of tactics to teamwork. Air drops, stomping and explosives all kill teammates. So callouts get even more intense when you bring these items into the mix. But inevitably someone will be crushed and you and all your friends will laugh - it's great fun. On the stack.

Laser League is an underrated hidden gem. Well this was unexpected, I didn't think much when I saw this game but this will remain in the rotation as long as we have game nights. I first tried this by myself and thought it was fun, definitely worth a try. But oh boy when you play it with friends. The premise is simple - don't touch enemy lasers and knock the other team into lasers. Capture nodes to make lasers yours. Each arena has different laser movement patterns. Powerups dot the field such as universal stun and each class has its own abilities. My favourite was thief so I could steal nodes, but popular classes included Blade to dash and laser cut enemies, Shield to bullrush enemies into lasers and Stun to drop enemies on their ass for an incoming laser and reset their abilities. When someone unwittingly runs into a laser losing the game, or you knock two enemies at once into a laser, or you capture a node that tags an enemy by an inch with the end of the laser - it all culminates in an experience that'll keep you laughing the whole night. On the stack.

Worms Battleground is a classic experience. Its just as I remember it and that's exactly what I want. Airdropped into a map you use various tools such as shotguns, mines, grenades, grandmas, exploding sheep, blowtorches, airstrikes and more to have your enemy worms pulling that TNT self-detonation. There were two items that were a cut above the rest that always led to absolute hilarity. The first was the baseball bat as a well (or poor) positioned worms can be knocked right into the water. Funny at first this does get boring and is circumvented by choosing enclosed maps. However that removes the option for the second and consistently hilarious water gun, air waterbomb and jetpack. Donning a bubble shooting jetpack, flying over enemy worms to create puddles and watching them slide into the deep depths below is pure gold. The art style is cell shaded which is pleasing to look at and has always suited worms. That classic worms experience is and forever will be timeless. On the stack. 

Disc Jam was a nice distraction from Laser League - another unexpected surprise. Pick a character and play tennis two-on-two with discs. The discs curve, bounce off walls and fly up in the air for you to catch. It's like a cross between table tennis and air hockey and is great fun. If your timing is right you can do a super throw that will have the enemy reeling and your team laughing. Characters have certain abilities, stats, body types (easier to catch) and speeds. Sliding or dashing to catch a falling disc just in a nick of time is great fun and if you miss the disc explodes, sending your player flying with fantastic ragdoll animations. While it was great fun, eventually we returned to Laser League with it's greater degree of variety in different maps. Off the stack.

Neon Chrome was a game that looked cool on paper but missed my expectations. I thought this game was a deep coop cyberpunk RPG. Instead it felt like a run-of-the-mill twin stick shooter in a cool cyberpunk setting. Even the potential of a cyberpunk coop Hotline Miami still had us intrigued as mega fans of that game - but the shooting just felt flat. The neon fidelity and gameplay mechanics ultimately didn't appeal enough to keep as playing this one. Off the stack. 

Game 60 - Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitior - Martyr - Week 104 - Dec 21

arhammer 40,000: Inquisition - Martyr is a game with a long name. It took me a few attempts to get into after reading the Eisenhorn saga. I'd given up on it once in 2019, tired of using the same old 5-7 abilities over and over. But I kept it installed as a "I just want to kill shit for 20 minutes and make progress game". I returned in April 2020 to play with a friend. The friend and I played a few times in Feb 2021 here and there but no where near as consistently as 2020, the story dragged. After tired of waiting finish it having not played it for almost a year, I've returned to wrap up the story once and for all. I suppose its only fitting that #60 is the game I have played most throughout the inception of this blog 2 years ago, starting it long before I even thought of this blog. 

As I kept returning over almost 3 years I found myself more and more interested in the story. But I don't think it was until I saw this image, that I realised how truly well the art team at Neocore Games captured the grim dark universe of the 41st millennium. 

The presentation as the above point expressed is without a doubt the most realised vision of the Warhammer 40k world I've ever experienced in a game. Dawn of War and Space Marine come close but lacked the urban hive city and space fleet feel. Enemies, environments and back drops all speak grim and gothic. Let the following images speak for themselves such as...

the enemies of man...

or grim devices and effigies...

..and the star map deserves a special mention.

The combination of presentation and great voice acted 40k characters in tandem with a mostly satisfying ARPG does a great job of making you feel like an Inquisitor. Unless we get that dream Mass Effect game that follows Eisenhorn's tale from BioWare 10 years ago, that is, I have a strong feeling my deep voiced, battle-hardened, fire wielding, Psyker Inquisitor is the best Eisenhorn/Inquisition story I'll ever get. 

And that's no shot taken at Inqusitor Martyr. The experience is seamless from your command deck to the star map and teleporting right on to the battlefield, burning away the filth that lays itself before you.

 

The command bridge of a Rogue Trader vessel is the hub where you'll chat to your crew, sell items, upgrade abilities, craft. Very BioWare-esque. 

If you have the patience to follow all the dialog and read the logs the story is a deep and rich plot threaded through the 40k tapestry. Sadly I did not have the patience to turn a 60 hour game into triple digits, and what was left was well... a typical 40k plot. Stop a new super weapon from threatening the imperium, take the fight to the enemy. The ending was actually terrible. In the last fight you kill Fabius Bile a clone and the Alpha Pariah destroys the "Dark Nexus" and disappears into the Immaterium to shape it to her will. Will she be an ally of chaos, the imperium or herself? "Nobody knows" are the last words that come from your Inquisitor's mouth before the credits roll. So basically, the story had no known consequence as you killed a clone and the Super Pariah disappeared into the void never to be seen again. Okay so not entirely true as she helped close the Dark Nexus, which could have become a second Eye of Terror. But the threat is destroyed before it has any change to be a threat. It all feels like wrapping up the story in a way that has no effect on the lore, 40k world or any consequence at all. The new Alpha Pariah is gone and has no effect on the lore. It's a shame because a Pariah, an anti-psyker that nullifies the Immaterium is one of the most interesting characters in the lore - and the idea of an Apex Pariah that can harness this anti-anti-matter of sorts to destroy the Immaterium is a fascinating plot within the 40k world.

The side missions and stories are fantastic. The Dark Eldar incursion from Commorragh is an absolute blast. To me they are by far the most interesting Xenos in the 40k world, but so underutilised because of how dark, abhorrent and immoral they are (in other words they don't sell). For me the game is worth it alone to see them get there time to shine. The slaves of the Whispering God have taken full advantage of the recent warp storms aka Dark Nexus and are using it to manipulate Guardsman, introducing alien drugs and then having the addicts police a farmable source of slaves. As the storm settles it's your job to bring the sector that went dark for years back into the light of the Imperium, and find out why everything is so 'quiet'. The character interactions are always a delight. It's a very old school Blizzard style of storytelling. Character discuss the mission. Enemies taunt you, typically extravagantly and especially in the case of the Dark Eldar. You have some not so friendly banter and then you murder them. If you know what you're getting into, this story-gameplay loop never gets old. 

The characters are well written. The Inquisitor (the Psyker for me) feels like a hardened soul who knows too much and questions everything as a good inquisitor should. From Ragna van Wynter the superior Rogue Trader with a mysterious bloodline linked to heresy (of course) to the Stormwatcher Astartes Caius Thorn who you save and help recover upon the 'Martyr'. But the Tech-priest Omicron Arkh is easily my favourite. His lines are humorous and fleshed out with his pedantic and nuanced ones and zeroes personality contrasting with the impatient to the point Inquisitor. Making jokes only a machine would get or begging forgiveness as the Inquisitor declares what he says is redundant, and redundancy is a tech heresy sin. I found myself laughing from time to time shining a line on the witty writing that only a 40k fan could laugh at. The developers are shown that they have a real understanding and dedication to the 40k universe. 

Enemy design gets a bit repetitive at the start of the story after killing cultists and nurgle demons over and over. Thankfully later you get to vanquish much more Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tyranids, and even Harlequins in the name of the imperium. 

Also the game has no companions?! Except it does....It felt a bit weird taking on 50 word bearers as a single Psyker, no matter how powerful. I understand it's an ARPG and needs to be hammed up - but having a combat retinue like an ACTUAL inquisitor would have helped alleviate that. You literally have a colourful crew on Board - why can't you take them with you, progress their skills, and enjoy a lite version of the other classes you did not select through your companions. Hell, bonus points if you can give them equipment, skills and if they have dialog. Warped bonus bonus points if they have permadeath ala Diablo II. Like customisable mercenaries. You can pay a guy to drop Space Marines or Guardsman in some missions so this could have been done. God tier bonus points if you could send them on their own missions to retrieve intel. As an inquisitor, you're meant to feel like a surgical tool managing your agents, as they cut deep into corrupted flesh to root out cancerous corrupted cells, so that the larger entities of the imperium can exterminatus the fuck outta that shit. So it would have been nice to feel like a galaxy detective using his agents to piece it all together, musing over his star map all night. But I suspect from the start the game was build, designed and balanced around coop and solo play. I just feel as though the customizable difficult could have been taken advantage of in that case.

I played maybe half the campaign with a friend. That's the way to play this game. It's a lot of fun and gives you more of that Inquisitor and acolytes feel as you round each other out. Which only furthers the point of how much better this game would be with companions in solo play or one or two to create a full squad and round out an incomplete party. I guess all I want is a Mass Effect Inquisition game... The game is too easy, especially on coop. As there is literally no penalty for dying (enemies don't even reset). Why is this not in the settings? I wanted limited lives before I have to go back to the ship, loot penalties, or something. Sometimes you literally spawn several meters from where you died and can pick up where you leave off. The gameplay ultimately becomes dull because it has no consequences to create tension, essential in my opinion to creating a satisfying ARPG. 

Last but by no means least is the Knight Titan. Oh boy. This was such a welcome breath of fresh air from melting heretic after xenos. Ambrose Caradoc pilots a Titan seconded to your efforts against the Dark Eldar. Over several missions you follow his saga and pilot the monstrous weapon of man. And it is so fun. After fighting small groups of enemies hoping in these behemoth and melting swaths of armies is so satisfying that it might even be the highlight of the game. Unsurprisingly the ignoble Ambrose is full of himself on the classical knight with etiquette and honour kind of way, but he's not without his quips as you follow him to his inevitable sacrifice to save a major hive from falling prey to Dark Eldar. 

Overall Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr is a fun faithful rendition of the 40k universe. Would I play it again? No. Would I recommend it to 40k fans that like ARPGs? Absolutely. 

Game 59 - Remnant: From the Ashes - Week 103 - Dec 21

emanant: From the Ashes is a flawed experience and one I'm not sure I would have played by myself. Recently I met a new friend, who quickly became a good friend and wanted to jump into something on PS4. I hadn't played anything online for almost a year, instead delving deep into solitary game experiences. I had Remnant from PS Plus a while back so I suggested that and off we went. What I found was an interesting experience. It's been described as Dark Souls with guns and I can see why. Equivalents to flasks, items, firepits, enemy design, boss design, level design, it's all here. But there a few aspects that set it apart. 

First and foremost Remnant is so clearly designed to be a coop experience from the ground up. The levels are much more open then other Soulsbourne games, fighting enemies often act out more in an arena then a joust or a dual. Allowing freedom for multiple players to take on mobs together or in the segregated fights. Gunplay feels tight and the weapons are cool. You can opt for sharpshooting, close up or mid range. Popping heads was fun at the start and the end. Enemies act differently depending on their faction and feel great. There are a lot of novel weapons, and you can assign an ability to each one. Some come with a built in function such as a rail gun needle poison pistol (what?) that turns into a shotgun, shooting three needles at once. Or a flower rose thorn rifle with a poisonous grenade launcher. Most weapons let you forgo those for abilities such as healing, fire bullets, a barrier that blocks projectiles, summoning skulls, or having your character float, riding a stream of lightning and calling down thunder strikes. Choosing the right abilities often meant the difference between stomping and struggling through a boss fight. My biggest issue with the game is that it doesn't give you much reason to use these guns. The start weapons, for the long range class in particular are strong and I used the level action rifle until the very end of the game. I tried every single weapon but I always returned to this starting weapon. The friend of mine got even worse - starting with a shotgun they didn't like, they were unable to find a weapon they liked for at least half the game. As a result by the end of the game I was glad to see it over and done with, sick of popping headshots, then lever, and repeat. It's a real shame because the weapons have had a lot of thought put into them, making their design unique and to fit this rugged world in their makeshift designs.

The presentation and world of Remnant absolutely stands out. The world has been taken over by mutants, monsters and aliens - utterly destroying it. You're one of the last survivors and you join the rag tag resistance in Ward 13 to find a cure to all these menaces. The design is up there with Destiny or Halo with other shooters with heavy lore emphasis on factions. The Root are cool otherworldly creatures that as the name suggest are very Dryad like in appearance, made from twisting branches and bug like eyes. They spread the root everywhere they go, taking over cities. The Buri are Mad Max meet mutants with giant claws and bone protrusions, shamans that seem to use radioactive material as magic - pretty dope and rad. They hail from Rhom, as you'd expect it's very Mad Max with the skeletal remnants of Skyscrapers and dunes on the horizon. The Pan are the jungle people. Woodland goat like biped creatures covered in fur, dressed like owls and oxen. They're tribal warriors of Yaesha, a swampy forest like planet. It has a rich world and lore for why this happened which I paid almost no attention to. There are notes scattered everywhere and a medical facility below Ward 13 used for experimentations on the "Dreamers" seemed particularly interesting. But this is a game I wanted to jam, not envelop myself in its story. 

Not all of Rhom's inhabitants are hostile. 

The story and setting did make for amazing backdrops however whether it be the complete post-apocalyptic deserts of Rhom or the dark tall trees and dank swamps of Yaesha. It's all beautiful and interesting to look at while you carve a path through humanity's enemies. 

During the story you'll have opportunities to make decisions, help the bug queen of Yaesha or the Undying King of Rhom. This inevitably leads to boss fights and new areas in the quest to help the resistance and save humanity. Some of the boss and character designs in the wasteland are just breathtakingly unique. It reminded me a lot of Warframe, character designs that are like nothing else out there and still look impressive. Each boss fight  has their own patterns and abilities. They often summon mobs, require you to mix up abilities and put your skills to the test. Each time you kill one you get an item that lets you craft another weapon. As you level up you can improve passive perks which are quite extensive; from revive speed to weapon reload speed or fire rate. Throw in the equipable items and you have a lot of room for build experimentation. It's pretty clear in the fun I had with Remnant: From the Ashes that the developers new what they were doing. The gameplay and setting is well crafted with a clear intent and singular focus on what they want to deliver. But sadly because of the repetitive nature of the weapons, it's not a game I'll be sticking with or playing again. 

Yas Queen

Allsorts 1 - QUBE, Zombie Army 4, Project Ascension & more

llsorted 1 - When I play a bunch of games that aren't worthy of a number on the list, they'll now go into a bucket called Allsorted. Expect to see a lot of free games here from PS Plus, Epic Store, Game Pass, etc. 

Portal is Sterile, fun and playful. Qube is Sterile, sterile and sterile. Maybe that's a little harsh, but this game is inevitably going to be compared to Portal and comes across as a budget version as a result. Looking at it in isolation however, the game is a fun puzzle game. You need to manipulate cubes, pushing a sphere to a key hole to unlock the next area. There are minor physics elements that mix it up. The story is forgettable - you're trapped in a cube and there's an agent and someone else who was apparently a prior agent trapped in the cube. Help the agent and save the world or distrust her as manipulative !@#$% and try to escape. Towards the end the cube begins to fall apart and you need to make or break. This leads to some pretty interesting geometric art design towards the end, but a nonsensical story climax that is best and easily forgotten. 

Zombie Army 4 is a game where you shoot Nazi Zombies. I'm not sure what else you'd expect. The gameplay is actually quite fun and novel: There's a neat little mechanic that lets you line up headshots automatically - similar to Deadeye in Red Dead Redemption. It brings the X-ray gimmick from Sniper Elite that now includes melee weapons. Cool melee options like a tesla-punch and environmental traps keep it interesting. But eventually I got sick of zombies and moved on. I can see this game being a lot of fun with friends as a casual coop game. Sadly there's no split screen. And considering the dodgy business model and microtransactions in a paid game - I doubt any of my friends will be interested in this game. 

Rocket Arena is a game published by EA that was very clearly going for that Fortnite audience. While the art style is pretty much one to one the gameplay is like a cross between Fortnite and Overwatch. You play objectives in an arena shooter, characters have personality and unique abilities. Abilities serve roles better for defence or offense but most are viable for either. Unlike Fortnite I had a lot of fun. I mostly played Leef a squirel magician. He uses his twig wand to blast enemies but also has a generous double-dash to get to and fro. This allowed me to dominate the maps for control, taking power ups at a much higher rate. The game has a heavy emphasis on map knock-outs, when your health is low enough you're blasted out of the map similar to Smash Bros. That Leef dash lets you come back in. It was fun and fast-paced game that I would have kept playing had I not absolute dominated. It's clear my opponents were mostly children, and after a while I started to feel guilty stomping kids probably a third my age. Inevitably I got bored. I tried a few other characters like Blastbeard, very similar to Roadhog, they were fun but I still returned to Leef. Jayter, rockets and jetpacks is the poster boy of the game (and most boring). All the other characters ranked very low on my radar after fighting them for several matches. The one exception being Mysteen. When fighting the enemy team she often gave me the biggest run for my money - mirror shield deflecting, throwing up decoys. She was fun to fight. A nemesis among plebs. 

Steep is high octane extreme snow sports and not much else. Ski, snowboard, glide and jetpack your way down snow capped mountains. What's there is fun, doing tricks are somewhat similar to a skating game like Tony Hawks using the sticks to perform them. Executing these is convoluted however and in the end I didn't have the patience to learn its system. In addition to this when you stack having to huff it to the next slope to kick off again just sucks. I wish it had a respawn mechanic so it didn't stop the flow of momentum. I've heard that for the recently released Riders Republic to be born, this game had to to die - and that it's an awesome spiritual successor, that includes excellent BMXing and dirt bikes. Maybe I'll give that a go at some point. 

World of Warcraft Legion is an expansion pack that appealed to me the most after Wrath of the Lich King. I fell off during Burning Crusade, never quite getting into Lich King. Cataclysm fascinated me but not enough to pull me back in. Pandaria, Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands eh. My god there's been so many expansion packs.... Don't even get me started on Worlds of Draenor and its convoluted time travel plot that fucked up the Wow lore. Legion however was Illidan returning and you are one of his acolytes, to put an end to the Burning Legion once and for all. Fuck yes - that's awesome, tying up the last threads of Warcraft 3. The story was actually a shining beacon and surprised me how much the cutscenes add to it compared to classic. It actually gives you story choice, which disciples of Illidan to follow, the renegade who questions or the acolyte who blindly (get it) follows. However the gameplay does not hold up, it's easy, sheepish, casual and boring. It lacks challenge and at no point did my character die unless I was basically AFK. I can see why people dislike retail - it's clearly designed to waste time and appeal to the masses. No thanks. Wanting for the classic experience again I saw an ad for Project Ascension. If you die you drop your loot and random mobs drop instanced level loot. Essentially my PKing wet dream from Diablo II or Runescape PvP of old, in theory.... except no one is playing it or doing high risk PvP while levelling. The classless system is cool and my Blood Elf Battle-Mage that runs in with a shield and heavy armour, popping mage shield, ice shield and AOE arcane blasts was fun - but not what attracted to me the game. Disappointing, it had so much opportunity to draw me back in.  

Game 58 - Banner Saga Trilogy - Week 102 - Dec 21

he Banner Saga characters, locations, lore, music, and striking art style have all synergised to create a fantastical world that wholly grasps and draws you in. The animation (from my limited understanding) uses a technique called rotoscoping. This was used in many older animated Disney movies such as The Black Cauldron and animated Lord of the Rings film. The technique gives it a bold, simple yet striking and impressive art style. The basic autumn colours of green, orange, yellow contrast well with the warm clothes and winter backdrop of Scandinavian inspiration. The characters and locations draw much from Viking culture; the names, the fashion, the cities and landmarks. But they still somehow feel fresh, uniquely their own. The gods are dead. And a handful of people remain as a Ragnarök equivalent event occurs. A great serpent is often seen in the background causing earth shattering quakes. 

This include the Horseborn, tribal Viking centaurs and Varl; horned oxen giants. Too call them giants is unfair, they’re more like grizzly bears. When you see them you just want a hug and their companionship; at the same time you know the risk of invoking their anger would not end well for you. They are old enemies of Man but unlike humans they are not born, rather created by their god Hadrborg. And considering the gods are dead, they are the last of their race. This sets the scene for Banner Saga. What do the people left behind in a godless frozen wasteland do in their final days? What kind of Man are you? What does humanity mean? What decisions will you make and how far will you forsake your principles to survive? It's a fantasy setting, but also a true post-apocalyptic setting that can only be described as breath of fresh Scandinavian air - and for that I love it. 

The music, oh my, the music. The brass, the trumpets, the archaic instruments and voices of Valkyries that swell up in your head and warm your soul like a Skald’s lute to your ears. As I sit here and write this, listening to the soundtrack by composer Austin Wintory; I realise just how much the composition brings it all together and breathes life into these characters, lore, and art.

I still listen to the first games soundtrack so many years later...

There's something I love about Banner Saga that makes it feel wholly its own. It doesn’t subscribe to previous fantasy tropes. Germanic mythology was developed from Norse mythology. From these two mythologies, Christianity, Beowulf and Arthurian Legend; Tolkein created The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Saga. From that point all of fantasy as we know it has drawn large inspiration from his works - chief among them is the origin of the modern RPG - Dungeons & Dragons. Stoic Studio mostly forgo all this and trace their steps right back to the source, drawing from the well for their epic fantasy. There are no dwarves, elves, or giants. No Asgard or Valhalla. Only the broken shell of a world that remains when you start the game as Rook.

Part 1

Rook lives at the edge of the village Skogr (forest) and discovers the shadows of old foes are afoot. A race of mechanical beings known as Dredge, humanity’s enemy from the second great war appear and attack, driving everyone south. Iver a Varl and close friend of Rook, and Oddlief, a strong capable warrior and leader, the widow of the previous governor, decide to take the remaining villagers and flee. They hoist the Skogr banner on a caravan and depart for Forstvellr. Along the way many refugees will join you and as they do they stitch their banner onto yours and your banner saga grows. I absolutely love the consistent imagery of your growing banner in the wind. A neat visual but also a constant reminder of how many you're responsible for. 

Rook wants something we can all relate to, to protect his family no matter what. How you do this guides your decisions. Do you protect Alette, your daughter, no matter what? Like a Varl’s shield keeping all enemies at bay. Or do you teach Alette to be self-sufficient, showing her how to use her moral compass, and what it means to be a leader. A decision that is not only better for her but all people, unity at all costs, even if it often leads to immediate mortal peril. The story is rife with great characters, and the choices and decisions have great consequences as great betrayals are afoot in the name of survival, deciding who lives and dies. Nothing captures this better than the example of Onef. After helping you get into Frostvellr and defeat his brother Ekkill – who has supposedly killed the previous governor – you depart the city gaining what you need. Not far out Ekkill begs you to let him join you. I accept, despite doubts of trust from other members of the caravan including his brother. We’re all trying to survive and if we intend to do so we must come together. This is the message I want my daughter to receive. Not long after this Onef betrays you, starting a mutiny and stealing your food in the wastes and murdering a young boy from Skogr, Egil who was courageous enough to stand in his way. Shocked, you have little time to recover in this wasteland, low on food and contemplating your pressing extinction, you move on. You wonder what you did wrong, as this betrayal seemingly came from nowhere. The signs were there. Were you too naïve to see them or is that simply the risk you take choosing to believe in the good of humanity? There are many decisions like this that guide your saga. Do you help the Varl King Jorundr defend their last fortress Einartoft against the impending Dredge, to stand with Mans enemies of the first great war, as we once did in the second great war against the common foe of Dredge? Or do you seek Eyvind's advice and sabotage the bridge, a sacred monument to Varl, to slow the Dredge down? I chose to destroy the bridge. Holding back Bellower and Varl alike, while the mender Eyvind destroyed the bridge. It was going to fall regardless, and we had to slow the Dredge. Iver, standing against the immortal Sundr Bellower, champion of the Dredge, is revealed to be the legendary hero of the second war, Yngvar. But is mortally wounded in his efforts to vanquish his old enemy. The stubborn King Jorundr (named after the Swedish King) sees the error of his ways. Destroys the bridge, sends Hakon on as the new king and makes a final stand as you press on. 

Juno a mender, and master to apprentice Evyind can read the threads of a tapestry that form the world. Reading the language of the gods, they can shape reality calling down great destructive power on their foes or mend their friends. Juno has ventured into a dream world, faces the quaking world serpent, succeeds, and realises a great darkness is coming from the north. It’s at this point I realise the Dredge are likely running themselves too. Forcing everyone else south. Initially they were pushed North by the Valka (of which Juno is one), menders, and the greatest and most feared warriors of humanity. Perhaps they were always running from the darkness, and this was the initial cause of conflict? As the caravan presses on, people are distraught everywhere to be seen, Juno is nowhere to be seen, supplies are low, morale is lower. They happen upon Dredge families, realising they’re not entirely warlike. Iver then relates the story to Raze, the spouse of Bellower known for razing Varl fortifications. She is slain by Yngvar (Iver) during the second great war. All this adds another shade of grey, to a well craft story that was already a thousand shades of grey. There’s no clear right or wrong decision. No apparent enemy. So what do you do? How do you separate friend in foe in these desperate times? How do you stab out in the darkness at an enemy you can’t see and fight back?

On the path you meet Bolverk Bloodaxe and his Ravens defending Boersgard. The enemies are at the gate and inside riots frequently occur. King Hakon reunites, accompanied by Juno and the final stand begins. Juno creates a Silver Arrow for Bellower. Allette asking to lead once again, is trusted with the arrow by Rook. Bellower is defeated, but Allette is slain. The game ends with a sombre Viking funeral as she sails into the afterlife.

Part 2

Picking up where we left off, Rook leads the character down the Orsma river by Boersgard. As the ragtag leader there are many hardships to overcome. Chief among them is putting Rugga in his place, the might I say self-interested and arrogant governor from Boersgard. Finding a chasm and crossing it via the menders great power (literally building a bridge with floating rocks), you reach Ormsdalr. Upon reaching the city the group splits. Bolverk and his Ravens, Krumr, old and wise, the second-oldest living Varl. Hogun, a warrior through and through, and Bersi another gruff and tough Varl. Juno asks Bolverk to deliver a wagon, he reluctantly accepts as per his previous contract and heads north.

Rook and the Skogr caravan move west towards Arberrang, the most southern and defendable human city. Along the way Iver consoles his friend, the importance of his leadership to these people, continues to deny Rugga’s arrogant advice (he really doesn’t like following a mere peasant villager), defends the caravans against more xenophobic Celtic inspired clansman, and encounters horseborn fleeing from the Dalalond plains, murdering them too. At Ettinbekkr village I intervened, saved and befriended some horseborn. The survivors sewed their banner into the caravans. Next you journey through the old wood. It has a strange mystique with its purple, blue and red trees. I decide against smelling the flowers and press on. Out of nowhere the serpent attacks, destroying much of your caravan and swallowing Juno. Eyvind, who is more unstable and powerful than any Valka known blasts Juno out of the serpent. The green blood drips into the bay and poisons the world’s oceans. Juno and Eyvind recognise that the serpent was after them in particular and they're putting the caravan at risk. So they leave to stop the mess they started, and against Rook’s attempts to persuade him to stay, Iver join them. But his is the path of redemption and he cannot be swayed. A few touching goodbyes later, Rook and co. sail across the now green-bay pressing ever onward. Rugga as expected, betrays you, not trusting your decisions for letting Juno and Eyvind travel with you and getting people killed. He attempts to kill you and fails. As you travel some of the clansmen sew their flag and so do another clan of horseborn later on. As you reach Aberrang it is a familiar site. The gates are locked and King Meinholf is blocking out thousands of desperate refugees now lead by Rugga. The largest city of humanity built in a fertile region, has provided much security and prosperity. However with this comes corruption, and dissenting clans put down their axes and vie for control through ink and courts. King Meinolf is the de facto sovereign ruler of all the humans. He is responsible for keeping order, using his right hand man Petrus captain of the city guard, to keep it through force. Envoys are sent to keep the peace, which is why Prince Ludin was originally sent to the Varl. None of that helped at the gates. Order nowhere to be seen, chaos in and out. Although the King offered us sanctuary for saving his son, Ludin, I choose to defend the refugees. The Varl chose themselves and the walls, so Meinholf let them stay. And just like that friend became foe.

Bolverk finds many desperate humans fleeing before he reaches a mining town in Bindal. Here another Valka with her apprentice. Zefr reveals Juno betrayed Bolverk, was executed for mind-control, and the content of the transported wagon is Bellower. The Ravens defend the inhabitants of Bindal against Dredge. Once safe Zefr and the Ravens embark to the Manaharr, home of the Valka, taking a shortcut through the underground highway. Bolverk has had dreams this entire time, bloody hands, murdering people left, right and centre. He realises his dreams are of Bellower, which are in turn influencing his psyche. The Ravens fight through dredge and their leader Eyeless a necromancer Sunder, to reach the other end of the world. Along the way you find a Stonesinger (Dredge mender) and it joins the caravan, helping you fight off Dredge that have seemingly been corrupted by the darkness. Reaching the other side they can see the skies swallowed up by darkness. Surrounded by Dredge from all sides, Bolverk declares a death march forward with the Ravens. His morality appealing to him, he decides to take the fragile mining villagers with him. They reach a small fishing village and make a last stand from all sides, slaying Eyeless and defending the villagers. Bolverk in the fight is consumed by Bellower. Zefr and Bellower leave to Manaharr. Reaching Manaharr, Eyvind is becoming increasingly unstable, losing his mind. Bolverk/Bellower confronts them and attacks Juno in revenge. Iver fights him once again, defeating him this time, but not before Eyvind completely loses his mind and the tower falls on Bolverk.

Meanwhile back at the tower the serpents begins to seep it’s blood into Bolverk’s mouth…

Part 3

So we start, 350 fighters, 170 clansman. Ready to assault the walls with Rugga, the jackal with a punchable face. The assault doesn’t last long, Rugga cuffs himself to get inside. Canary and her horseborn raided Tolir and gave us their pillaged supplies. I choose to let them stay. Humans would have done the same. We need to come together if we’re to stand a chance against the end of the world. Fasolt, Hakon and the last remaining Varl did not like us. First the bridge and now the gates of Abberang. That’s too bad, I like the cosy gruff bearlike kinship found in the Varl curled around the fire at night.

An ambush occurs, clearly Rugga’s plan. I make the obvious decision and go with Petrus, Captain of the Guard and clearly a more trustworthy man with what seems like integrity, but could be loyalty. Gundamr helps in the ambush, and his clan joins ours bolstering it to 505 clansman and 472 fighters. That’s a hell of a lot more mouths to feed, doubling our overall caravan. 

The darkness is always present and a grim reminder of the darkness on the horizon, quite literally visible from the keeps high vantage point. But never mind that. Oh.... Oddlief…. Uwu. Oh no, what’s that? Bellowers ofc. After appealing to the King we agree that I'll apprehend Rugga and quell his men for insurrection within the wall in exchange for the safety provided by perching my caravan on the black walls. What follows is many days of struggle in a last stand against the darkness. On the other side Juno, Eyvind and Iver lead the Ravens into the core of the planet. 

The final fight for Abberang. The Ravens final push through the centre of the world, the darkness, home of the bellowers inside the planet. A fallen star. Exhausted injured and battered warriors that can’t rest and must push on. This reminded me all too well of one of my favourite childhood novels, Star Warriors by Peter Beere. Lord Gaylor has cast darkness and demons upon the world. The last star, providing light and protection to the last city has fallen, ragged warriors from the wastes agree to retrieve it in return for a piece. It's a story of absolute struggle and exhaustion against insurmountable odds, the capacity for human struggle, hardship and success against the darkness. The demon within us all. 

My Final Thoughts on the Saga

There’s not much more to go over here. The story in my summary above are my decisions for the entire saga.  I last played the Banner Saga 2 in 2016, and as you can see this is a very deep, rich and extensive story. It's every bit as great as I described. It took a fair bit of extensive plot and lore reading to catch up on. But the pivotal points and characters quickly came back to mind once refreshed. Outside of how novel and rich the lore is and prior discussed points, I think there is a key element that makes the story so great. 

…..There is no good or evil. Harsh environments, harsh warlike people, that love their families. Clear evidence that it draws more from the Norse lands then Middle-Earth. A clear evil is present in the latter, where there is not in Banner Saga. This is the case in both Norseman and their gods – who like Man were not wholly good or evil – but instead often served their own interests and tribe as best they could. I still hold that Odin is the highest of eviler characters in Norse mythology – but even he who was mostly self-interested, chaotic, and self-preserving above morality seemed to care about his family. In the Banner Saga, not all heroes wear capes, in fact they usually wear cloaks. Iver & Rook, our two lovable protagonists are a self-exiled murderer and a woodcutter. What kind of heroes are they? The answer is a human one, no one is perfect. Strength of character is shown most in times of desperation, and even the greatest of us are capable of even greater evil (and redemption). Scathach the Trader, had a memorable quote along the lines of: “Your cities are made for men to walk in circles, but go nowhere.” We pursue the trivial, play social games, and neglect freedom and higher callings - an apt insight into modern society. Because there are no paragons, the story is so much better in terms of it’s agency, when comparing it to BioWare games for example. Because Stoic games are ex-BioWare developers after all, and oh boy did they jump at the right time. Cough Andromeda Cough Anthem Cough. Characters are flawed, they're relatable, they make mistakes, they're human and as a result they're real - completely immersing you in their story. 

The gameplay is just as great as the first two iterations - if it isn't broken.... An interesting combination of items and character progression in a turn-based tactics game. Items feel appropriately Viking. Decisions costing you food and morale always made the journey that much more tense. The moral choice often costed you food and morale - as you weigh up the age old question of: is bread a worthy goal for someone who has denied their values. A good friend of mine never played the second game, because the first was so tense he needed a break from the weight of decision making and never came back. What does that tell you about the agency and game design? I always found it interesting that the caravan shared renown that could be used freely to upgrade any character, but characters could only be promoted based on their raiding headcount. It was both a team effort and individual experience. Banner Saga 3 includes a final promotion that gives a character a title. The highlight for me is Oli the Death’s Messenger. Every successive hit gives extra damage, combine this with Axe Storm and the man starts sending everyone to Valhalla, no matter their size. I’m not sure if it was a coincidence but at some point Iver and the Ravens are balls deep in the Darkness, nigh the end of both their limits and the road, and Oli is about to give it all up. Iver jokes that Oli is so good at throwing Axes he must be a spellweaver, he laughs, I laugh – it would explain a lot…

But speaking of the end... A few fucking hours left?!?!? GRRRRR

Rushed. Harsh. Unbalanced. So many seemingly correct decisions just to fall apart in the end. A lot of them felt poorly designed and hard to see coming (curveballs). This is where Banner Saga fails compared to a Mass Effect that always managed to weave that final battle together so well (prior to the star child in 3 of course). Because your decisions through the game mean very little. 1000 survivors gives me 15 days? What the fuck? Not even a warning if supplies make a difference. It would have been nice to have an idea of what would play into the final death march into the core of the planet to stop the darkness, by Iver and the Ravens. I would have spent that extra renown on supplies.  But perhaps it’s unfair to compare the Banner Saga, a much more mature and hard-line approach to consequence and player choice, then the mainstream Mass Effect that has a lot more smoke and mirrors. 

Despite feeling burnt by this ending, it's not entirely irrevocable. As a post-apocalyptic medieval fantasy, I really appreciate how harsh and grim the end was. I’m going to be feeling this one for a while, thinking about it over the coming days and won’t forget it, which speaks for itself.

In fact, upon reflection I realise I actually love the ending. Hakon, Canary and the others gone – consumed by the darkness. Rook with his sunken eyes had lost so much, including much of his will to live, spurred on purely by his moral compass in memory of Alette. But now he could finally rest – rejoining his wife and Alette in the afterlife. A heart warming moment that was oh so worth it. Aberrang, like Troy is now gone and vanished. But not forgotten. Iver, Eyvind, Sparr, Oli and many others live on to recount the saga of the woodcutter who slayed two Sundr, and lead a caravan of survivors across the world, held back the darkness as they themselves strode into the core of the Earth itself, to pit Man against the eldritch darkness within. Just when I thought it had all been for nothing, everyone was gone, Man was extinct, Eyvind states he can feel life blossom across the land. Clansmen, Horseborn, Varl, huddled under the Godstones. They are all that remain, and together in their hearts they carry the Banner of Skogr on their backs. They Will Not Be Forgotten.

Let's hope they can guide the next generation to pursue higher meaning over self-interest.