#honestly i have no clue what i'm expecting out of tears of the kingdom

[ranger-kellyn]

i think one of my favorite things about age of calamity is how it made breath of the wild even more harrowing for me. when i restarted my botw play through all i could think about while up on the great plateau was all the different areas for the plateau missions in aoc, and just how empty the world as a whole is. the town below the plateau just being completely gone, opposed to the huge town that was there in aoc, full of homes and plazas and just...life.

when i unlocked the central tower it was nostalgic since that's the. main tower for age of calamity, and i just....botw was already a very lonely game. aoc made it feel desolate

[zachsgamejournal]

COMPLETED: AER: Memories of Old

Another of my type of games. It's got the essential elements: exploration, platforming, puzzles, and story. As much as I enjoyed it, though, it was a bit shallow. Not really in a bad way, just--I want more!

I will say--this is essentially what I expected from Skyward Sword. So void filled.

Let's start with what I love about the game:

Open World

Exploration

Great Mood

No Combat Necessary

Story

Graphics/Style

No so great:

Short

Nothing to do...

Graphics/Style

Starting in the rear here. I dig blocky graphics, so I was very accepting of this game's style. But to be hyper-critical: it wasn't blocky enough. Most of the environments are fine, but I think the characters still had too many polygons. Closer to PS2 than PS1. I would have preferred PS1.

But I found it really intriguing how they don't really use textures. Similar to classic, early PS1/N64 games--every polygon is a solid color. The character faces lack eyes or any detail. I don't mind it, and I'm impressed with how they make it work. There are a few patterns, when necessary--but not in a way that looks out of whack.

But even with the blocky, no-texture graphics--the animations are great. And the camera work, when on the rare occasion there's a "cut-scene", is perfect for the tone and project. While the graphical style was to minimize resources required--it's pulled off expertly.

Open World/Exploration

The game world is quite impressive. It's a series of floating islands amongst the clouds and there are A LOT of islands of varying sizes and shapes. Immediately I was like YES--this is what Skyward sword was supposed to be! In truth, some of the islands feel nearly as large as the playable "ground" areas of Skyward sword--so obviously it can be achieved. The game also cleverly uses clouds to hide sections. Maybe this hides loading, but at the very least it helps makes sections feel "isolated", like how Disney World's Magic Kingdom somehow makes each "kingdom" feel...I don't know. Isolated. Not able to describe it well right now.

The game is actually quite linear, but they let you "discover" where to go--much like Ocarina of time. The clues are pretty direct, but there's always a little mystery that can only be resolved through genuine discovery.

But sadly, only about 5-10% of the game world is used (or at least required). And that's the biggest sin of the game. It's so interesting and well crafted, but the majority of the world just goes to waste. I wish there was some sort of collection mechanism. It would be...silly, but at least it would have inspired exploring this awesome world.

Actually, what they should have done is had several characters that send you on side questions. Maybe a map-maker wants you to find certain landmarks and report back. Or there's an archaeologist that wants you to unravel some history and what not. This would allow the game to stay focus but also inspire the player to explore the world with purpose.

Did I mention you can turn into a bird and fly. It's pretty awesome. Just like in Skyward Sword, you flap around--but it actually uses airplane controls, thank god!

Story/Mood

The story is pretty straight forward but interesting. And honestly, it's up to snuff with most AAA games that are basically just self-indulgent 20 minute cut scene fests meant to cover up their lack of depth and originality with "production value".

Maybe that's harsh.

I think this game is, potentially, tearing down christianity a bit. Basically there was a creator and then there multiple gods and talking animals. But then a group of violent extremist decided there was one god-king and that all other gods were trash. Then they started going around murdering people and burning sacred texts and stuff.

Also, I think AER is supposed to be a resource of power, or something...I don't know.

There's a bit of sadness in the game. Moral seems to be that there's not really evil, but that mankind can develop a void that corrupts their view of the world. And a lot of the immortal beings that offer their help have to essentially die to give it. So interesting.

Short

The worst part of the game is also a strength. It's short. Really short. I probably spent 2-3 hours playing and that included getting lost a few times. It doesn't bother me, I like short games if the experience is "full". And I think this game succeeds in that. But with as large as the world is--it could have had much more. I think that more should have been optional, but to have nothing...that was disappointing.

Dungeons

The dungeons are ok. They're VERY large--like, why do they need to be this big. I think some of the layout could be confusing, but I figured it out without much trouble. I think for younger or newer gamers, these dungeons would be too advanced. But for an experience user it wasn't so bad.

No Combat

Mad respect for excluding combat. I think I briefly read this was a complaint, as it would have filled out the experience--but it truly would have just been filler. Combat should be meaningful, and I thought it was great not to have it. Not everyone wants to fight their way through an experience. Like, they cheaply could have hidden weapons and equipment around the world and had enemies of different levels requiring the player to grind and level up, and suddenly the 3 hour game would be 9 hours and all that empty space would have been filled in. But at the same time, it would have just been filler that added time more than value.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed it. And I could totally see myself playing it again one afternoon just to enjoy the magical simplicity of it. I'd love to see these game devs make more projects that are similar!