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timsim26 · 7 years

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Resident Evil 7 Review

Resident Evil 7:Biohazard may be what the AAA survival horror genre has needed for a long time. Something that takes risks, learns from previous mistakes, uses popular horror tropes and allows the absolutely stunning presentation the opportunity to utterly terrify every player. Every moment of Resident Evil 7 gave me some form of anxiety, terror or complete panic and this is a testament to how amazing this game is at establishing an atmosphere and tone that so many other horror games miss. Capcom have done a terrific job listening to feedback and creating a game that appeals to long term fans of the series, but also brings in new fans that can appreciate the experience as a standalone.

Resident Evil 7 focuses on a brand new character to the series, in the brand new location of Louisiana. The swamp land already gives off an eerie feeling and Ethan, our lead, is entering into the complete unknown, chasing a mysterious video that confirms his missing wife, Mia is alive after disappearing years ago. A strict instruction from Mia is to stay away, however Ethan must look into things in order to understand what is going on. The story is very promising and maintains its intrigue and many surprises as it twists and turns. Depending on difficulty, the game will take you anywhere from 10-15 hours, maintaining a fantastic pace that always presents a threat to your survival. You have moments of safety within the game, but even then the tension of each threatening situation will have you scrounging for resources. You are presented with a fairly typical setup, however the main antagonists of the game are unique and fascinating. Ethan is drawn to an old mansion in which he is captured by the Baker family who are seemingly invincible and downright disturbing. This is an instant problem for Ethan as he attempts to escape and explore the Baker house in search of Mia.

The level design of the old house and the surrounding area is where the gameplay and environmental story telling shine. Resident Evil 7 is full of interesting environments, that are packed with fascinating details and clues as to what is happening in the story and how our location came to be. Each drawer, desk, cupboard and locked door present new clues and valuable resources. What I continued to find with the game is the fact that the developers spent a lot of time ensuring everything made complete sense. Doors connect to rooms that feel natural, the backyard and surrounding houses link in ways that are well organise and make traversal feel familar. The level design feels a lot like Dark Souls and Bloodborne as you are open to explore, but must follow a natural critical path to unlock shortcuts and equipment that help you traverse to other areas, or return to where you started. As you progress you can return to areas with new equipment to unlock doors, find items and even just check out an area that is now clear of enemies. The progression feels natural and interesting as every area presents new challenges and gear that you can pick up. This gear is crucial to your success, as Resident Evil 7 does not hold your hand at all. You are expected to use your brain, both fighting enemies and making your way through the old estate.

While the main antagonists of the game are seemingly invincible, Ethan can still fight back and the gear you locate through exploration really helps you feel more powerful the further you get. It is a natural progression from being completely unarmed to a weapon wielding psychopath. In traditional Resident Evil fashion, you can only hold so many items, utilising your space in a backpack carefully. When the backpack is full you can no longer pick up items. You are forced to backtrack to a rare safe zone and deposit your items in a chest, or use your items to make more room. Every weapon takes up a certain amount of space, forcing you to make some challenging choices. Do you load up on health, bullets, stimulants or keep a hold of important mission items. It is completely possible you don’t bring the right mission item to a critical point and are made to backtrack to collect it. The game ensures you are thinking ahead about what you need to survive. I absolutely loved the inventory management systems in place. They never felt too fiddly or complicated and created a real tension when using your equipment knowing that you could run out of health at any moment and be forced to become a pinpoint sniper taking down enemies with your limited supply of rounds.

Combat takes place against molded like creatures who feel added in to make the game in order for the experience to take a little longer. The combat against the Baker family is much more meaningful and memorable and these moments are what players will remember after reaching the conclusion. The molded are explained later in the game, however during the combat scenarios they feel a little repetitive and clumsy. They can easily swarm you if you are not aware of your surroundings and can often take a huge number of bullets to take down. The shooting feels fantastic and responsive, each shot landing gives great feedback and the weapons are fun to fire. Pistols, shotguns, knives, a grenade launcher and flamethrower are the tools of the trade for Ethan and each are useful in the right situation. Combat is never the overwhelming focus of the game however, as Resident Evil 7 pushes forward storytelling and exploration first.

As you make your way through the story and take down the Baker family in some of the most memorable and entertaining boss fights of the current generation, you begin to see exactly where the game is heading and how well it has been put together. The game gives you so much to think about and consistently looks and sounds absolutely incredible. The first person point of view, is the major change to the series and it would not have worked at all if Capcom didn’t nail the presentation. There are many times, in which Resident Evil 7 looks utterly incredible. The detail in the character designs and the feel of the old house is fantastic. The weapons look great and the environment surrounding the house looks very well polished and realistic. This calibre is matched by the quality of the sound design. Every good horror game has to have great sound design and this is not exception. Creaks of wood, consistent bumps in the night and the incredible change in volume when an enemy bursts out of nowhere to frighten you, is phenomenal. The attention to detail really enhances the overall experience.

Resident Evil 7 steers the franchise back to where it needs to be. Scary, tense, full of fantastic puzzles that make you think and a narrative that is intriguing, a little ridiculous, but ultimately interesting. All of these and the brilliant characters combine to make an experience that is a must play for fans of horror and first person experiences.

9/10

Reviewed on Xbox One.

#video game #xbox one #review #gaming #game #games #horror #resident evil 7 #the baker family

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operationrainfall · 4 years

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Title Indivisible Developer Lab Zero Games Publisher 505 Games Release Date October 8th, 2019 (other consoles), April 28th, 2020 (Switch) Genre ARPG Platform PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One Age Rating T for Teen – Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes Official Website

I’ve been not so patiently waiting to review the Switch version of Indivisible for more than a year. I’ve been a fan of the game since I demoed it twice at PAX West, and was drawn in by the stunningly lush artwork, haunting music and dynamic gameplay. Though I already knew about developer Lab Zero Games, I hadn’t yet played their other game. And that’s despite me owning Skullgirls. Nevertheless, I was bound and determined to cover Indivisible for the oprainfall site, and now that time has finally come. After putting in significantly more hours to beat the game than I was told it would require, how did I feel? Was Indivisible on Switch worth the wait? Or did Ajna’s heroic journey disappoint?

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Indivisible begins with a climactic battle against some god-like entity. You join the action and control a mighty group of four heroes as they battle the creature, suffer damage, and seemingly manage to defeat it. Two of them are romantically drawn to each other, a man and woman, and after limping away victorious, the story cuts forward to 16 years later. The city of Ashawat is a small yet scenic one, unspoiled by modernity and populated by hardy citizens. One young girl is getting ready to train with her father, and that girl is our hero. Her name is Ajna, and simple deduction tells us she might be the child of those two heroes. After all, she’s a teenager and her father is a grizzled older man that is obviously that same male hero. Here we learn the basics of defense, which Ajna’s father insists is integral. Ajna doesn’t take well to direction, and they get into an argument. She questions his authority and past, and her father stomps back to the village. After fuming for a bit, Ajna realizes she should apologize, and follows after him.

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What should be a calm scene suddenly erupts in fire and bloodshed. Ashawat is burning, and her father has been fatally wounded by a stern young soldier named Dhar. As he draws his last breath, Ajna erupts into violence, and battles the young soldier. They reach a standstill, until something unexpected happens. Somehow Dhar is drawn into Ajna’s mind, where he is trapped. Uncertain what is happening, Ajna is nevertheless eager to find the man behind this murderous calamity. See, Dhar is a soldier in Ravannavar’s army, and they are marching about laying claim to land and killing any who don’t subscribe to their beliefs. Confused and not sure about what’s happening, our hero nevertheless is bound and determined to find Ravannavar, slay him and avenge her father. If only things were as black and white as she suspects. Cause unbeknownst to Ajna, there’s a lot more at stake than she could possibly imagine.

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The journey that follows is one that contends with the mystery of Ajna’s powers, as every main character she encounters is likewise drawn into her mind. She finds she can summon them at will to fight with her, and grows stronger the larger her crew becomes. Though I promise there’s some explanation for such an uncanny power, I won’t spoil anything about the main arc of the plot. I can say that the primary themes it addresses are the following – power without purpose, chaos, nature vs nurture and what defines a hero. The first half of the story involves Ajna cutting a violent swathe through all that opposes her, becoming more and more powerful. By contrast, the second half is all about learning from your mistakes and helping right the wrongs that plague this world. I will say, the first part of the story is probably my favorite. I found Ravannavar a sinister and compelling villain, and his scheme to awaken a god and get resurrected following the destruction and rebirth of the world really interesting. I fully expected him to go full Wesker, plaguing Ajna and company with ever more powerful forms as the game progressed. Imagine my disappointment when I realized he was a one and done foe, and the big bad was far less compelling. That’s not to say the final boss isn’t interesting, it is, but I feel there was a missed storytelling opportunity here. Thankfully, what Indivisible missed with the story it more than made up with its cast of characters.

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As the title might suggest, Indivisible is all about the group of misfits Ajna literally draws to her throughout the course of the game. It’s a very eclectic crew, from a pyromaniac tiger mage to a cute little botanist to a woman-loving pirate to a devout archer and many, many more. There’s more characters than you’ll know what to do with, since you can only have a team of 4 at a time, with the others sitting patiently in reserve within Ajna’s inner realm. I really liked many of the characters, as they are bursting with personality and quirks. Though my favorite is probably Razmi, the smack talking, deranged tiger mage, but there’s others too. Take Thorani, a beautiful and sultry Deva who sprays healing waters from her hair. Or Qadira, a steadfast warrior searching for her kidnapped brother. My main complaint with regard to the characters is so few of them get any real development. Surprisingly, the one that gets the truest arc is Dhar, the same soldier that murdered Ajna’s father. While the others all have interesting personalities, none of them have anywhere close to as significant of a story. Which is a shame, since there’s more than a dozen playable characters, including some you have to hunt for in optional side quests. Luckily, the one area that every character can shine is during battle.

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Combat is both incredibly complex and well streamlined in Indivisible. There are no items whatsoever in the game, other than weapons, so all your healing is done via character abilities. Gameplay kind of reminds me of a mixture of Guardian Heroes and Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier. Meaning the art is beautiful and you have a lot of control over how you juggle and interact with foes, though your team does have specialties. Dhar can charge up and then unleash earthen attacks, while Ginseng & Honey can mash foes and then heal allies with a mortar and pestle. Attacks are mapped to whatever button the character is set to, either A, B, X or Y. You can deal basic attacks with a single press, or use up or down for different attacks. By holding R and then pressing your character’s button when your Iddhi meter is charged enough, you’ll unleash powerful super attacks, such as Dhar wielding a giant column of stone or Razmi healing the entire team. You also use character buttons to block enemy attacks, which can replenish your super meter with Iddhi if you time it right. And if a foe is blocking, a successive input of an up and then down attack will break their shield. Most important of all, if you have downed teammates, pressing L and R simultaneously with a full Iddhi meter resurrects them all, even Ajna. Or if you’re in dire straits, pressing L has your entire team block at once, but at the cost of Iddhi. It’s all pretty intuitive, and despite the complexity becomes mostly second nature. Though you can use any team you want, I quickly learned to go with the crowd control type characters. The reason for this is that by weaving together successive attacks, your combo meter gets higher. The higher it gets, the more damage you’ll inflict to foes. As such, I settled on a team of Ajna, Ginseng, Tungar (AKA Sikh E. Honda) and Zebei, since they could deal tons of rapid fire attacks, as well as knocking down aerial foes with arrows. Once I got a foe grounded, I could juggle them mercilessly for 200 hit combos, dealing tons and tons of damage.

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Though the combat is fantastic in principle, there were some issues with it. One is that the game never really told me I could do different levels of super attacks with more bars of Iddhi. I was using my Level 1 supers the entire game, which probably made progress more challenging than it needed to be, especially when I was in the Iron Kingdom, full of shielded knights and poisonous slime monsters. It can also be hard to see the button prompts on screen when they’re covered by foes. And on the topic of my unused reserve characters, I really wish that I could tag in characters who weren’t in my active party (similar to games like Marvel vs. Capcom). That would make it so I wasn’t only using the characters I was most comfortable with. Or even some sort of ability grid for each character to help individualize them further. Cause as I got into the groove of fighting battle after battle, I just wanted a bit more nuance to liven things up. The most you get is using red gems called Ringsels to upgrade your team’s attack or defense, but that was a bit underwhelming. Which isn’t to say the combat isn’t fun, it’s quite enjoyable. It’s just not perfect.

Divide your attention to page 2! ->

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Part of what drew me to Indivisible was that I initially thought it was a Metroidvania. It very nearly was, but instead of finding items in specific areas to gain new exploration abilities, you get handed them from characters at set points in the story progression instead. Hell, you even have a mini map, but not one you can view properly. You can only see where you are currently, instead of being able to view the entire map at once. Though I did like exploring the game’s lush environments, there were too many wide open areas and dead ends for my liking. You get a lot of different ways to explore, such as bouncing off dangerous surfaces, clinging to walls with an axe, smashing through floors, air dashing and much more. At one point you get a pirate ship to sail in, and even then you have to go to the right areas at the right time. Otherwise you’ll do a lot of backtracking, which happened to me repeatedly. And while I spent a lot of time methodically dashing about trying to unearth every last corner of the world, the game really forces you to explore when it tells you to. Which was kind of frustrating, especially since it was so close to being a proper Metroidvania. Though if you like a good challenge, the final platforming gauntlet in the game was so difficult it made my hands sweat.

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This next section can be called the “I wish” part of the review. These are areas that if they were just tweaked a bit more, would have made the game so much better. Late in the game you gain access to artifacts called Chakra Gates, with one in each major area. You can warp between them at will, which is amazing in theory. In execution, you’ll find the Gates take a while to reach on foot, and sometimes even warp you to an impassable section that needs to be reached from a different vantage. What’s infuriating is there are TONS of save points littered throughout the map. If you could warp from one of these to another, the Chakra Gates would be a cinch to reach. And while I loved using Baozhai’s pirate ship to travel, in the second half of the game it’s absent except to take you back to the Iron Kingdom. Which I only discovered using an online guide after I got stuck. I also wish that the combat had more distinct audio cues to tell you when to block attacks, especially ones that require perfect timing. And this next comment is one I always have for beautiful games like this. Given how much stunning art is in Indivisible, why is there no art gallery or bestiary? I would have given my left foot for pictures and details on the many creatures and characters in the game, even the color swapped foes. Lastly, though I enjoyed all the challenging boss fights in the game, I’m surprised there weren’t more of them. Not including mini bosses or optional ones, there’s less bosses than recruitable characters, which is odd in a game as devoted to combat as this.

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On the topic of aesthetic design, Lab Zero has done a tremendous job here. Which isn’t a surprise given their pedigree, but still worth a pat on the back. Indivisible has stunning artwork and sound design, with awesome voice acting for every main character. Sure the volume can be somewhat low at times playing handheld, but I still really loved listening to the characters converse. And the art kept me invested from the beginning til the end of my 75 hour playthrough. Perhaps the most impressive visual feat of Indivisible is how well it runs on Nintendo Switch. It runs silky smooth with tons happening on screen, which can’t even be said for less visually complex games like Bloodstained. It’s truly remarkable, and I’m beyond curious how Lab Zero and 505 Games managed such a feat. If I were scoring Indivisible solely on how it looked and sounded, it would have easily nabbed a perfect score.

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Sadly, I can’t just score a game on the things it does best. The following are an assortment of glitches or unfortunate quirks I encountered as I played. I had one audio glitch happen when talking to a robot man called Eurynomos, with his speech doubling up and racing past itself. Also, since combat can occur anywhere on the map, I had some strange stuff happen. I was in a few battles, only to fall off a platform mid battle, causing it to abruptly end. I also would often die in battle, and instead of respawning at my latest save spot, would do so at the one before it. And this last complaint is also a PSA to fellow Switch owners. I’m not sure if this is an issue in the other versions of the game, but it certainly came up for me. The very final battle strips you of all your attack abilities and forces you to play defense as the final boss hurls tons of hurt your way. The problem is, all the typical buttons I used for blocking during the game suddenly didn’t work. I looked online, and saw that I could indeed block, but for some reason the standard block buttons have inexplicably been remapped to the last resort L block. Suffice to say this was beyond irritating, least of all since the game didn’t warn me. Oh and lastly, this isn’t really a complaint, but I’m unclear why Ajna’s pet Roti is in the game. It serves no gameplay or plot purpose, and just kinda weirded me out.

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Ultimately, it was still worth the wait to get my hands on Indivisible. Sure it has some rough corners that could use some smoothing, as well as some irritating glitches, but none of that prevented me from having a blast. For $29.99, this is a tremendous ARPG that any fan of the genre should pick up. I just hope it’s not the last we see of this universe. Lab Zero have the bones of a great adventure here, and it’d be a shame for it to end with just one game. It’s not perfect, but it’s still highly recommended.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″]

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REVIEW: Indivisible on Nintendo Switch Title Indivisible

#505 games #ARPG #Indivisible #Lab Zero Games #nintendo switch #oprainfall #PC #PS4 #Xbox One

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vgblast-blog · 6 years

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The Product at Launch

https://videogameblast.com/?p=1681

We Happy Few is an undoubtedly one of the most anticipated titles of the past five years.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign followed by a publication by Gearbox; the narrative-driven, Orwellian-style, action/horror game would not only deliver on the presentation that captivated us all during its announcement back in 2014 but through extensive “Early Access” testing (even on the Xbox One through their Game Preview service) it would exceed expectations. This, unfortunately, could not be further from the truth as We Happy Few has been met with incredibly heavy criticism. My own review detailed in my “The Month Ahead” post earlier in August will be hitting the site soon, so consider this a first impression of sorts. Though make no mistake, this isn't simply a sneak peek at my opinion of the game.

Gaming culture is one of many interests, niches and ideologies.

Though I believe one such virtue can be held true in all of gaming, which is one of artistic integrity. As early as 2006 in France and 2011 in the United States, games have been legally recognized as artistic expression. Though a controversial topic, one can agree there are many different artistic qualities combine to video games such as music, storytelling, visual design, and even implementation of mechanics are all forms in this art. When considering the entire package of a video game one cannot deny that in today's market a video game is less of a toy and more of an outlet for a fantastic and interactive experience set in a world that may, at times, emulate our own, but never truly feels real. Much like cinema, a video game has the ability to deliver meaningful social commentary, rich and fantastic storytelling, or an engrossing thrill ride of action and valor. Knowing this, one would assume that the industry may hold the value of such a virtue in a somewhat high regard because after all, it is the vision of a team of creators who are trying to deliver the best experience they can.

Games like We Happy Few, No Man's Sky, and Street Fighter V all show that this virtue is not upheld.

Missing features, game-breaking bugs, unfinished narratives, and an overall lack of polish can truly hurt not just the player trying to enjoy their brand new game, but the integrity of the art itself. It also breeds a consumer culture that is wary of the business practices of the industry it supports, creating a dichotomy which breeds a culture of distrust between consumer and creator. I cannot presume to know the underlying problems within the industry, but a simple observation could lead the everyday consumer to perhaps wait on buying their most anticipated release of the year. Ideas such as the mega patch of No Man's Sky or one of its most famous predecessor ideas, the “Story Mode” update that hit Street Fighter V post launch, along with inevitable “Complete” or “Definitive” editions which follow sometime after the equally inevitable Season Pass all seem to cross one's mind as they peruse the inventory of their favorite game retailer. These ideas are counter-intuitive to not just Pre-Order culture but may kill the desire to buy a game day one in fear of not getting the full product.

This idea can especially harm the multiplayer-centric experience, as launch day is when you will see the most people playing a new multiplayer-focused game like a Street Fighter title,

and missing features, terribly balanced competitive gameplay, and server issues can truly make one question why they bought the game in the first place. In the case of Street Fighter V; the game infamously launched in an incredibly underwhelming state with its online features unable to be accessed due to server issues on Capcom's end while the game itself offered no true way to test oneself against the main selling point of the game, its player-vs.-player dynamic. Unless you had a friend right there at your house with your controllers of choice you didn't even have a traditional “Arcade Mode”, which was until this title a standard option of play in the fighting game genre, to sink your teeth into. The closest thing to such an idea were laughable slideshow style “Character stories” which notoriously offered no challenge and was seen as a slap in the face to the genre's pedigree. This goes double for No Man’s Sky, a game which was said to be so vast and expansive that the creator claimed that it would be nearly impossible for two people to meet in-game, but the multiplayer aspect did indeed exist. This was proven untrue by two people who met in-game but were unable to interact with one another, which made both claims of an infinitely expansive universe and multiplayer interactivity seem incredulous.

We Happy Few is just the latest in this new trend and it is an incredibly disappointing development.

The game narrative and aesthetic brings forward a world with a unique presentation that begs you to be lost in it and while I don't want to spoil my own review, I feel as though I need to confirm the criticism regarding the overall polish of the game. The game had a rough development cycle and is clearly ambitious in its goal. Though when playing the game you can't help but feel the injustice as if it is walking next to you while you traverse the locales of the game world. While this may be considered a “finished product”, I can't help but to feel the artistry weeping under the flaws of the game that are in no way the fault of the overall vision and seeing as Gearbox saw this as a product worthy of its 60$ price tag (or closer to 100$ for the Deluxe Edition, which gives you access to Season Pass content). This, ladies and gentlemen, is your product at launch.

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