Welcome to the Void
Welcome to the Void
A certain Someone often engages with different forms of media. Often he wishes to share this information, so I will relay those opinions to you. Do with this information what you will.
"Electric Boogaloo"
None of the reviews have been as difficult to write as this one. This particular review has went through multiple rewrites, often sputtering and out and getting dropped due to my emotional reactions augmenting my criticisms of the game into a form that I could not objectively agree with. If you know any context surrounding this game, you know that the ending and the dissatisfaction of the plot get under the skin of a lot of players, as it did mine. After watching the developers commentary on both Everhood 1 and 2, I think I have the mental ingredients to wrap my head around this game that has haunted me for a good while. The most important thing to remember in this regard is that this game was still made with love and intention.
Riding off the high of Everhood 1 (Here's the review for EH1: It's amazing. Go play it now.), my first initial reaction to the Everhood 2 trailer was, "Wow, how could they continue a game that entrenched itself so firmly in the finality of its own ending?" Either Foreign Gnomes had some strong ace up their sleeves, or it was going to flop hard. What I got was neither.
Everhood 2 drops you into the game as a seemingly "newborn" soul that found itself in a metaphysical multiverse of spirits, glitches and gods, all immortal. The place is ecclectic and senseless. You encounter a strange shadowy being who attacks you before being saved by a mentor who primes you with the task of destroying the said being, whom the mentor labels as the "Root of all Evil". From there, your journey through the world of Everhood 2 and its characters, mini-plots and goals becomes this miasma of just following the natural progression of the game. Every time you think some character is going to pick up the initiative of the plot, they're dropped from the story and maybe make another cameo later.
That's really what it boils down to: aimlessness. There's bosses and an ultimate progression, concluding with a boss fight and an "ending", but there is no grand purpose served, there does not feel like there's something to walk away with aside from this sense that the devs just trolled you.
The closest the game comes to with a plot and catharsis of plot resolution is the "Dragon". Killing this boss felt rewarding and gave closure to an interesting story. Then the cohesion of what you're supposed to be doing simply fizzles away afterwards. No further development of any characters or circumstances occurs. Funny enough, the Dragon almost feels like an omen of warning to the rest of the game. The Dragon is our metaphysical need to constantly engage in conflict and suffering, and it almost feels like that need deepens severely as the game continues. The dragon does not die or become weakened. In fact its chokehold over our behaviors becomes more domineering.
The devs, in some fashion or another, seem to be aware of this nature of dissatisfaction. And, as their retrospective video states, they may have not been able to get enough player feedback on the ending to smooth it out before showtime. In the end, I think the thesis of denial of satisfaction could have worked. Our villain, Shade, really knew how to push our buttons. Emotional manipulation had some prime real estate to teach us some good lessons, but the lesson never comes.
Chris Nordgren seems to have worked out the plot as the game was built, and knowing that, he sought to teach a lesson that surprisingly fell on deaf ears regarding the nature of play and the entertainer who must always give you the next evolution of your existence and purpose. But as is apparent, the execution of this idea did not fully succeed. I think a lot of players felt betrayed from the game's anticlimax.
In this light, I think Everhood 2 stands as something greater than what the creators intended, genuinely. The devs dropped mentions of Jungian philosophy, and while potentially not intentional, Shade becomes an amazing analogy for the Jungian concept of the Shadow: the darkest and most undesirable corners of our psyche.
Carl Jung asks us to look at our undesirable parts of our mind. Such undesirable parts may be of selfishness, impatience, foolishness, naivety or weakness. Often we reject these components of ourselves, but they invisibly betray us with outbursts. Jung proposes that we instead approach these parts with analysis and understanding. Our ugly sides of the mind often can be thought of as signs or indicators for our own purpose and strengths in life, or allow us to improve ourselves in ways that we never considered before, if only we gave them the chance to be understood.
Shade, weirdly enough, fits this bill. Shade, and the story by extension, drew out my (admittedly) childish expectation that I deserve satisfaction out of this metaphysical mess of existence. He made fun of that expectation. And by the time I was done with the game, I was in denial. How could Everhood 1 blanket me with the bittersweet and deeply meaningful ending, while 2's ending just kicked dirt in my face and called it a day? I started digging for the "true ending" for a good while, as other players did as well, but to no avail.
Well, while I'm unsure if it was the intention, I feel that perhaps this WAS the lesson. Weirdly enough, Irvine and Sam (your equally aimless companions) might have had the right idea all along. They just want to get to pandemonium and party for eternity. No grand scheme or goal was really in their cards. Meanwhile, I wanted to see the end. I just wanted to get to the end- in the game that hammers over your head that "It never ends in Everhood". Shade almost laughs at you for wanting something that doesn't exist.
So here I am, made the humble fool. Still bitter, too.
I think after sitting on this game for a year, I can look back on this one bittersweetly. If this game was anything, it was a stimulating adventure. There were interesting concepts, deepened mechanics and even moments of quiet understanding that the world is far bigger than we could ever imagine. While it didn't leave me happy, I left with something profound. Everhood 2 has been quite the stone to turn over in my head. Both infuriating and charming, I don't regret having played it.
It's not often that we get to experience the kinds of feelings that Everhood 2 can give if you give it some genuine heart. While I'm still left desiring something more, it is better that I've played this game than never having played it at all.
The game mechanics were certainly an upgrade from Everhood 1. If you like perfecting a fight, there's a surprising amount of depth to its combat system and a fight retrial system at the end of the game. The technical improvements go far beyond the original game as well, but these components often become accessory to the story and the resulting "why" we want to play the game, which can cloud the player's judgement of these improvments from the base game.
There are many people who I would not recommend this game to. If you cannot approach this one with an open mind, I would advise against playing it. For those who want an adventure, to lose themselves in a novel world, I would recommend this game for you, with caution that you hold no expectations. You can find the game here. And play the original Everhood here as well!
As for my judgements on Foreign Gnomes as creators, I am extremely confident in their ability to make something that can top off even the original Everhood. Whatever your next project is, I will look forward to it with optimism.
Here's to the nihilists who can party on in the face of oblivion. May you never stop joking around.
(And here's the retrospective BTW. Spoilers for both Everhood 1 and 2)
Is it better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all?
An ageless girl, fleeing the conquering of her ageless society finds herself stranded in a world of people whose lifespans are tremendously shorter than hers. Alienated and with no reason to continue living without her people, she finds an orphaned human baby. To cope and comiserate, she resolves herself to care for him, and discovers the beauty of having someone to nurture and love.
In terms of aesthetics, this movie was beautiful. Every animation of the characters felt full of life. Every scene was distinct and fascinating. The lore of the world is subtle and veiled. The pacing and the compositions are expertly executed. But the real strength of the work is in its writing of characters. Every action and motivation felt real and genuine. Ariel and Maquia's stories were compelling and thoughtful. Their struggles and and compassion for each other unfolded into a series of heart-wrenching events.
The movie finds itself contemplating the ceaseless progression of time. History, relationships and circumstances are always changing. For better, or for worse, these are concepts that we, too, must contemplate. The effects of time discriminate for no one. Perhaps, even as mortal humans, we should do as the Iorph (Iolph?) do and take great care of these memories of events passed.
This work really digs into your sense of sentimentality and empathy. If you want a good heartbreak, I would highly recommend this movie.
When you first load this visual novel game, you'll be greeted by a menu solely focusing on a strange rotating satellite object accompanied by a vaguely haunting piano melody. You'll see that paragraph's worth of text sitting under the logo warning in broken english about the universe, wisdom, ruin and the speed of light. Really, this was all I needed to be intrigued for a game about time travel.
Though, it's important to state that Steins Gate does not take you very far. You won't be travelling any further than the year 2010. Depictions of the future and past are only spoken of. Steins Gate, more than anything else, is a character drama and not an adventure, and this choice serves its purpose extremely well. The gimmick of time travel serves two purposes, to act as a violent faceless force of nature, and to pry open the tragic nature of the seemingly mundane characters. With confidence, I can say this is a good story.
Okabe Rintaro is an aspirational guy with a severe case of main-character syndrome. He often runs around injecting himself into people's lives roleplaying as a mad scientist hellbent on destroying a fictitious world order ordained by the equally fictitious Organization. With the help of an extremely talented (and perverted) programmer, Daru, and the pleasant company of his childhood friend, Mayuri, he concocts strange, ameteurish contraptions in a cluttered lab. However, his life is irreversibly altered by the meeting of Kurisu Makise, a famous academic prodigy. Finding her corpse at one moment, and then finding her alive a day later spins into motion a series of events that will have Okabe questioning the nature of time, reality, his own morality and the tragedy of "attractor fields".
It's best to note this now, the beginning of Steins Gate is very, very slow. The game will spend roughly five chapters out of ten engaging in a slice-of-life plot with a splash of sci-fi. On top of this, there are dark and innapropriate moments in the game. There are a few disconnected and brief moments of SA as well as an optional ending where a mentally rotting Okabe fights away violent intrusive thoughts including SA. For context, the game never portrays these moments as desirable or morally correct. There are also a couple of tasteless moments of fan service, which likely wasn't as controversial 15 years ago as it is now. Despite all this, and despite certain rough moments of execution, you'll find that everyone who completes this story walks away with a profound experience.
The second half of Steins Gate presents itself as a moral gauntlet that constantly tests Okabe's humanity and his compassion for his friends. He must reconcile with the consequences of toying with a god-like power, of which includes an inevitable fate that he absolutely refuses to let happen. In the face of a strange cosmic nihilism, the characters that seemed rather one-dimensional in the first half reveal a deeper and often tragic nature to their lives in the second. Seemingly alone in remembering worlds that never happened, Okabe will have to sacrifice more than he ever could have predicted to make things right again.
This is one of those games I had a hard time mentally walking away from. Once that second half kicks in, the buildup of the first half catalyzes everything into moments of realization. The music is beautiful, and you'll find yourself sympathizing deeply for those caught in the jaws of fate. It seems for some, the fascination of Steins Gate's world, characters, philosophy and fantasy never ended, and I can see why.
This game won't be for everyone, but if you want a unique take on the drama of time travel (with surprisingly very scarce plot holes) I would recommend this game to you. Even with its age and references to what is now a bygone era of human history, this game still stands greatly on its own.
P.S. Keep in mind that this game WILL lock you into an ending if you do not use your phone at specific times. I recommend using a spoiler-free ending guide if you want to actually experience all ?ten? chapters. Also, this game is rated Mature as well.
El Psy Kongroo
A top down cosmic survival horror with dystopian sci-fi aesthetics encompassing a romantic tragedy.
That's quite the description honestly. If there's anything to praise it by, it's the conceptual depth. There are many, many layers to what is going on in this game, and the story hits the sweet spot where the average joe player can understand the basics of what is going on and what needs to be done, but past that there is so much obscurity and disconnection between the implied lore of the world.
You are a robot- a cyborg- a cyborg of cloned human biomass and mind also known as a Replika attempting to find someone within the depths of a industrial mining facility, and you're going to find that person at any cost. Pretty much any further details beyond that become hazy as your own identity and sense of self is effectively ephemeral at this point. The fact that you are playing as a mass-produced clone means that there are countless other clones of you who are at play in this story as well. On top of that, there are also split and recursive timelines in this plot!
You'd think that saying all this would constitute as spoilers, but there's about 50 other concepts that I haven't even touched on yet. The King in Yellow, sacred geometry, cognito hazards, predestination, number stations, the weave of reality, existential crises, immortality, incomprehensible gods, war drama, extra sensory perception, hexagons, indescribable objects, personality degradation, lovecraft references, nationalistic censorship, radiation sickness, nihilism, ?birds?, forbidden rituals, grandfather paradoxes, tarot, nature vs. nuture, east asian mythology, surveillance states, german societal and miltiary structures, synchronicities, pareidolia and shape decomposition. Could you meaningfully piece together what this story is about based on those pieces? Even then there are still more topics you could probably bring up.
I'll reel it back. In the beginning of the game, your objective and sense of obstacles is actually rather straightfoward. You will meet a variety of clones of other people, and come to learn how and why they operate as they do. You will learn about empires and rebellions. You'll learn how to survive in the hellish landscape you're in. Ration your ammo, maximize the use of your limited inventory space and solve metaphorically (and metaphysically) significant puzzles while surviving disfigured infected masses of flesh blooming from your clone brethren. You will find a myriad of notes to assist you in grasping the circumstances, as well as critical information to solve puzzles. Expect to get lost in the mazes and expect to feel despair as your resources dwindle against undying bio-machines.
All things considered, this game is intense. It's definitely possible to beat this game, and its mechanics are reasonably easy to accomplish if you know how to put your wits right, but it IS a challenge.
And why do all this? What's the light at the end of the tunnel? Well, you made a promise, and you will keep that promise. It's a promise you must follow through on. The cries of suffering ring out through the cosmos and you can hear them. Every version of you can hear them.
The story for this game honestly scratches an itch that many games do not. Everything has a logic to it. You can feel the creator's logic behind everything, but you cannot know it all. I personally love when the scope of the story is beyond me, but that my part as the player is still crucial anyways. On top of that, the art is great with its cold and apathetic aesthetic. The music and sound effects have a strong identity that can easily get into your head and make you feel exactly what you need to feel. The gameplay is fairly par for the course, but very polished. The puzzles are definitely unique, but expect to collect a lot of items and then juggle inventory management. All in all, I would heavily recommend Signalis for anyone who needs a strong dose of depth and thought, and is a sucker for tragedy and love.
While I'm here, I'll include my favorite explainer with a white board and his 7 1/2 hour long presentation on what even happens in this entire game. I strongly recommend you play the game yourself before watching this, as the game is best experienced with naivety and confusion.
By Porter Robinson
I would like to start this review by providing context for my relationship with Porter Robinson's music. Back in middle school, I actively recall loading up Pandora and playing the radio that progressively transformed from C418's serene Minecraft music to hard bass EDM. Among this list of EDM artists, was Porter Robinson. Pandora really enjoyed feeding me his song "Spitfire" and "The State". I thought it was alright, but later on I got floored by his album, Worlds. I won't go into Worlds for this review, but initially I didnt even know that the artist behind Worlds was the same one behind Spitfire. You could tell he was a person of rising standards.
It was a bit strange to listen to Nuture when it initially released. Worlds seemed to explore fiction, the internet and existentialism. Nurture on the other hand is a sort of genre on its own, or at least it feels like a genre that I do not know the name of. It's softer, including acoustic instruments blended with kinder synthesizers. It dives into what I can only describe as the highs and lows of being a human with passion, dreams and nostalgia. As with most music albums that I listen to, I did not fully appreciate the album on the first listen to it. but what hooked me first was the song Wind Tempos.
I remember being furious about some lemons life handed me. I won't go into details, but upon playing a mashed playlist of songs I threw together while working, Wind Tempos came on. Even with how burned out my head was with bitter thoughts, the song was able to slowly pick up my mind and carry me away to somewhere more beautiful. To me, it's rare for a song to have that kind sway over me. It caused me to realize that this album was made with a serious heart. So I sat down and listened to the album with real intention.
This album is one of the more powerful forms of music I have come across. As someone who struggles with stress, anxiety and the slew of other things life puts in front of happiness, I realized Nurture is an ode to the pursuit of remaining genuine and appreciative of life. There is a song that has made me cry multiple times, and there is a song that I danced to with my wife for our wedding.
You can tell by the timing between Worlds and Nurture that the album is a product of Porter Robinson's transformation and growth as a person. I will refrain from being parasocial, but I'm glad that there is someone out there that made the decision to be honest of their pain, and to make something beautiful out of it.
Porter Robinson is a successful musician. My recommendation for his music would be marginal for his own success at best. Instead I recommend this album for anyone who is reading this review. If you feel like you are struggling to remain genuine in a world that does not nuture such behavior, and you feel your ambition warning, this album understands that struggle, and it might just help you a little bit.
By Neal Shusterman
I picked up the first book of this series because of the striking cover art, as shown in the image.
The hook summary on the back describes of a futuristic utopian Earth that has gained ultimate peace and prosperity through the guidance of a "perfectly" benevolent AI. Death by age, disease, or injury is no longer a concern to the people of Earth. All is well, save for the fact that the AI cannot allocate enough resources to keep in pace with the exponential growth of the population.
To counterbalance this, a group of a select few people are assigned to be "Scythes", who are obligated to kill (or Glean as they say in the books) a portion of the population.
I found this premise very interesting, and the book rewarded my interest. It follows what it is like to be introduced to the Scythedom society who are treated as fearsome elites.
In honesty, when I first got the book, I was hoping it would reflect on the more existential parts of death. You would imagine that killing people for a living would have you often questioning what it even means to die. Neal Shusterman somewhat dodges these questions, and for good reason.
Writing about the experience of death, the meaning of death, and the afterlife deals with such an unknown, yet touchy subject that it can easily cause more problems for reading than it's worth. Rather, the Arc of a Scythe series often deals with the morality of killing and the general power struggle dynamics of an elite society.
Regardless of my expectations, the story of the first book was so engaging that I ended up buying the other two books. The pacing and twists of the series are where Shusterman's strength shows. Though certain elements are the standard twists that have been used among stories a little too much, but in all, he is a very good writer. I found the end of the series very satisfying.
As with the other entries in this review series, I recommend reading these books. These books are good if you're into character drama, action, political drama and a dash of sci-fi.
I suspect that many people, like me discovered Picayune Dreams through AndyLand's Youtube Channel.
Truthfully, I did not pay much attention to this game at first. I have a high filter for internet noise, but after seeing Steam eventually recommend the game, I took a good look at its trailer, its reviews and its $5 price tag and thought it wouldn't hurt to try.
I'm glad I did. This game drops you right into action without even knowing how anything works or why you're even here.
The mechanics are rather simple, and after your first few failures (this has rougelike elements), you'll get the gist of how the game works.
What really strung me along was the story. Through repeated runs you can begin gathering that your circumstances are not as senseless as they seem to be.
There's a rather tragic and personal story that develops as you progress through the game.
I'll say that the true ending of the game (which requires some jumping through difficult hoops) leaves some things to be desired, but overall I'm very satisfied with Picayune Dreams.
Had I known what was in store, I would have gladly paid double for what I got the game.
I actually enjoyed it so much that I've scrawled together some fanart for the game that you can see in the Gallery.
If you want to check out Picayune Dreams on steam, click here!
They have a free demo for you to try!
(PS: Don't enable the "Amnesiac" upgrade from the main menu of the game if you wish to actually see the story)
I feel like this is a good way to start off this category of the website. The Fox and the Bird is a metal fusion album from the band, Ok Goodnight. The band has made some singles and EPs but this appears to be their first fully-fledged album, and it's a great album at that.
The album is one of those story-focused types, which seems to be rarer than I'd like them to be. It follows the titled Fox and Bird as they embark on a journey to end the drought that is plaguing their home. Lyrics for the songs can be found on Genius Lyrics, and I advise following them to understand what is going on. There is some debate on the YouTube comments about what the lyrics are, and the different interpretations have a large impact on how the story is affected by it.
The metal fusions of jazz, fairytale and folk make this album very unique, and Casey Lee William's vocals definitely shine through during key moments. Overall, this Album is an adventure of hardships, despair, and the tragedy of kind creatures in an extremely unforgiving world.
PS. If you ask me, The Bear and The Crocodile ought to be swapped in their order on the album.
Here is the first song of the album: