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princessamericachavez · 5 years

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Let’s talk about Fjord

This has been a long time coming, especially given how most of the fandom tends to overlook the depth of Fjord’s past and current trauma or downright vilify him for it... but I’m not here to talk salt, I’m here to talk about all the sweet little tidbits about Fjord we learned tonight in Talks.

So let’s review:

a. Fjord feels more comfortable in the City of Beasts than in the Empire/Menagerie Coast:

Now, hey, let’s take a break and consider this, yeah? Because Fjord has spent all of his life fighting and denying the “monster” side of him, to the point of self-harm. He’s crafted himself to look and act as an exemplary human (when he doesn’t even know if the non-orc part of his blood is human at all). Only in the past few months with the Mighty Nein has he started to accept himself. Letting his tusks grow —under Jester’s gentle watch— has been a huge step for him and his self-image.

And yet. When they were traveling across this other lands, we never really saw Fjord complain. He never brought up that he felt watched, that he felt judged, that he felt out of place. That’s just how good his mask is (and part of his “no one cares” mentality that we will touch in a moment).

He might not even fit in here entirely either —he’s destined to be forever a half-blood no matter where he goes— but the fact that he feels more comfortable here than he ever did before talks about just how deep-rooted his trauma is. As Travis put it “it’s having an interesting effect on him” and hopefully it will be one of further self-acceptance. We already saw him comment to himself that the stubby tusks had helped him intimidate Umanon. The very same thing that ostracized him as a child, is a powerful asset here.

b. Fjord is desperate to connect with his bloodline.

Now, we’d seen hints of this longing before. On a meta-level, there was Travis complaining that Fjord didn’t get to meet the lonely half-orc on their way North, but we’ve also had several IC hints. Consider how Fjord found an orcish tusk in Lorenzo’s bag of teeth and kept it. Think about the value he puts into family. Think about him saying, of course, Jester would want to meet her dad. Think about the weight and importance he puts in the family. Think about how set he is in reuniting families —be it Jester with her mom or Nott with her son or even Beau with her estranged parents. Think about him choosing to name himself Captain Tusktooth of all things and despite his lack of them.

The way Travis put it tonight, though, wasn’t just curiosity, it was desperation. It was the need to sit down and ask “are you a monster, for real? Am I really a monster, too?” It’s just the need to be acknowledged. It’s the need to understand what it is in his blood that has made him a target all of his life. It’s getting some damn answers for once. It’s being a part of something.

And how heartbreaking is it that his first proper encounter with his own species had to be this three drunken assholes that tried to hurt his friends and disregarded him as a weakling? And, yet, how satisfying is it that he got himself and his friends out of that problem, not by force but by outwitting them? By taking this side of him that he’s carefully crafted through his painful youth and using it to get the upper hand?

c. Fjord’s “tough love” and understanding of the world.

Listen, as much as the two previous things were sad, I think nothing broke my heart as hearing Travis talk about Fjord’s perspective of the world. It makes sense, though. Of course, it does. He grew a nobody in an orphanage where he suffered at hands of other children and was probably never aided or defended by a single caring soul. What does it do to a child, to grow knowing no one is going to come to your rescue? That no one cares? That no one will?

And then Vandran, the one person that has apparently shown Fjord the most kindness in his life, reinforcing this idea, telling him “yes, no one cares, no one is going to care about your problems, so you just deal with them and keep pushing forward”. Of course, Fjord grabbed that ideology —that already aligned with his perspective of the world— and held on to it, turned it into a shield with which he could face an uncaring world. As “tough love” as it is, Vandran gave him a tool to turn his pain and anger into a way to keep moving. Was it the most emotionally healthy advice? Probably not, but it kept Fjord alive.

We’ve seen the side effects of this attitude come and bite Fjord in the ass, though. From not sharing his Uk’otoa dreams at first because they are his problem to deal with, to taking in the responsibility to deal with Avantika and the whole pirate deal... it’s made his allies distrust him, thinking he withholds information out of shadiness rather than a sense of sole responsibility for his issues. Like, think of being sure that the M9 would not come and rescue him from the slavers. After being rescued, he tells Beau and Caleb that he did not expect them to come. Why would he. No one ever has. No one has ever cared. He tells them he expects better of himself because that’s the only person he’s ever really been able to rely on.

Until now. Until the Mighty Nein. After being rescued, he tells them that he hasn’t had many kindnesses directed at him in his life, and as much as it sounds like a “cool guy” line, really, really, really think how real that is, how much pain there was in Fjord’s shaky breathless laugh as he said it. I don’t care what anyone says or thinks, Travis is fucking BRILLIANT roleplayer that has been planting the seeds and hints of Fjord’s trauma and pain, playing the subtle long game, really thinking deeply about how his past affects him and it’s all slowly boiling to the surface and it’s perfect.

Going back to how the M9 have changed Fjord’s perspective, though, think about how much they care. They do care, and they show it, and they help, and show up, and go out of their way to help and protect Fjord in a way no one ever has before.

Jester bribing someone to get Fjord a recommendation later just because he said he wanted to get into a super fancy magic academy. Beau, Caleb, Nott and Molly risking (and giving) their lives to rescue him and the others from the slavers. They spent months out in the open see and surrounded by pirates and death threats just to help him get answers about his powers and his mentor. Jester yelling “don’t worry Fjord, you’re going to be okay!” or “I’ll protect you, Fjord!” and assuring him “I’ll heal you if you start to hurt”, keeping his secrets about his past, constantly asking about how he feels and what he wants and what he needs. My dudes (forgive me as I get momentarily shippy) but when Travis says Fjord is in awe of Jester’s light and happiness, how he’s never met anyone like her, how her light is contagious... the more we learn about the shadows in Fjord’s past, the more apparent it becomes how significant her light is to him (platonically or otherwise)

And speaking of light, fourth and final matter

d. Fjord is looking for an out.

And not just any out. Fjord is looking for a higher power to help him stop Uk’otoa or, at the very least, break his connection to the serpent.

And here is where I throw a huge HAH to anyone who claimed Fjord to be evil, shady, power-hungry or willing to betray everyone or some shit.

My guys, Fjord is willing to give up the very power that —for the first time in his life— has allowed him to defend himself and those he loves, just to do the right thing. Fjord is actively thinking of ways to fix his situation. Fjord is step by step turning his back on the dark promise of rewards and reaching for the light like a drowning man.

How will that look, you ask? Well, Travis did bring up a significant word tonight: Paladin.

From a purely ttrpg point of view, all Fjord needs to multiclass to Paladin is a couple extra strength points that he could easily get the next time he can up his stats.

From a narrative point of view, though, how wonderful would it be? This boy, this man, who grew up being shunned, hated, attacked, disregarded as a monstrosity... This kid who everyone called an evil shady monster, who people distrust on sight, who didn’t think himself important enough to be helped by anyone...

I would KILL for paladin Fjord. Like, shutting up every single person (in and out of game) that called him evil or a monster by becoming a god's champion, a paragon of good, literal knight in shining armor, tusks and all. TUSKS AND ALL.

Jester seeing Fjord in full armor, shining like the sun with a light of his own, blessed by a deity of his own, tall and proud... and her just being filled with pride, telling him “see, Fjord? I told you, you’re just like a knight in shining armor!”

I’m curious as to which god Fjord would choose to follow, though.

The Wildmother might seem like a far fit given how different Caduceus’s approach to, well, everything is to Fjord, but reading up on her she’s “the goddess of wilderness and the sea. She watches over nature, good harvest, grants protection from washing away in storms, guides the passage of ships, and protects smaller folk” which seems like SUPER fitting given Fjord’s backstory.

The Moonweaver would be an interesting nod to Molly’s faith, but also a good fit to Fjord’s tendencies towards hiding his true self behind a perfect mask since she “is a chaotic good deity of moonlight and the autumn season, as well as the patron of illusions and misdirection [...] she is largely considered to be the deity of love and protector of the trysts of lovers. Those who work in secrecy and trickery often ask for her blessing.” (also Fjord needs all the luck in love he can get)

The Changebringer is an interesting option too, I think, since she “is the goddess of freedom, trade, travel, and adventure. She encourages her followers to venture into the unknown” and we all know how curious and impulsive Fjord can be, it’d be fun for him to have a deity that encourages his thirst for adventure now that he’s enjoying his new life and getting to know and do more than he ever dreamed.

The Stormlord is a weird mix since he’s the god of war and fighting but also worshipped by sailors of the Menagerie Coast, which Fjord could feel closer too.

(also either the Stormlord or the Wildmother might have some kind of direct interest in Uk’otoa not rising again, so they seem likely to help)

I —for one— would love to see Fjord as a paladin of the Traveler, just because the idea is hilarious and I have no idea how it would work.

Either way, though, Fjord has a super interesting road ahead. His past and present are coming to the surface and this arc his subtly giving us a lot of what will shape his future.

Tl;dr: Fjord is a good boy who has suffered a lot and I will fight the next person that calls him evil.

#fjord #travis willingham #talks machina #meta #critical role #sofia's nonsense #a little bit of #fjorester #too

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dunkalfredo · 7 years

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Im in love with your vision of Infinite and Rookie and i want to hear some of your sweet headcanons about their time together. If anyone asked something similar, refer me to this post, please. Thanks!

alskdjnsjklnljkls tysm!!!! yeah sure ill share some headcanons. i did a post on a similar topic about a month ago but that’s more their individual personalities/aesthetics than actual relationship material so ill go ahead and add on some stuff here.

i should note that portions of this are based heavily off of the idea that they grew up together so prepare for some au territory at this point. my backstory for them is becoming so intricate jfc;;;;;; i really hope ur not disappointed with this answer i have like an entire pre-forces narrative planned out in my head at this point OTL if u were hoping for more general stuff just lemme know i can give you some more hcs for that (there’s already some but there’s also Backstory stuff that i can’t really explore through oneshot format)

this is entirely self indulgent tbhhhh anyways click that mf Keep reading button

there’s a lot of like. casual touch. lotsa hugs and leaning on each other and resting their chin on the other’s shoulder (or top of head depending on who’s who bc height difference) while looking over them at what they’re doing and its really rooted in their learning early on how much Gadget loves that sweet sweet Physical Contact (if u scratch behind his ears he will melt, guaranteed, you’ll have yourself a Boneless Gadget with a two-liter coke)

if it’s raining out gadget will insist on doing something that’s not just sitting inside all day but snugglin w/ infinite ends up tempting him into doing Exactly That lol

there’s a lot of companionable silence between them when it’s just Them Alone in a Room. sure they talk and chat and joke but there are so many times where it’s just,,, being Together,,, and enjoying being in the other’s presence as they each do their own thing

sorta going into childhood/backstory stuff but uhhhh:

starting freshman year of highschool they started just bein each other’s dates to school dances even though they were “just friends” for like half of that timespan . i love cheesy stuff like that im sorry bro i had to include that tidbit i know it’s super specific and particular to my own backstory for them but just, they’re best buds and they gonna have a good time at homecoming lol

please imagine: those cute pre-dance pictures that parents take at the stairwell or front porch or somethin right before their kids leave, but with gadget and infinite. gadget’s got braces and they dont really fit in his mouth and his lenses reflect the light in the photo and oops infinite blinked and his shirt is too big and tbh their suits in gen just don’t really fit them right, gadget’s shirt is untucked and infinite’s tie is crooked but it’s okay, they’re both smilin reeeeaaaal big (and besides they figure out how to look Aesthetically Pleasing by junior year)

summers were hot in their hometown (note: i grew up in the north so i know nothing of True Heat, bear with me on this one.) most evenings were spent out on gadget’s fam’s back porch, cold towels resting on the backs of their necks, sweat in and under their fur, and they’re melting into the wood of the deck, fan plugged into that one weird outlet on the outside of the house that’s really more a fire hazard than anything else but the cool air is nice. they’re just lounging around reading comic books and listening to music on infinite’s old zune (lots of mid-2000s punk rock bands bc what else were u expecting) and in later years when they’re in that teen puppy love stage they’re trying to cuddle but it’s TOO DAMN HOT OUTSIDE so they resort to like, gentle hand holding, infinite reading some pretentious literary work or whatever and gadget spacing tf out next to him

when they graduate and are assigned a partner to walk down the aisle with they still end up w/ each other even though technically the partners are chosen according to alphabetical order and they’re on opposite ends of that list whOOPS how’d they do that? (hint: last minute shuffling in line)

when they move outta their small lil home town and into The Big City (im gonna say that would be Sunset Heights to tie in some canon plot relevance) they move in together and share a flat. a) its more financially manageable to just split housing costs like that and b) it’s been a dream their entire lives to live together when they’re older so oh!!! they’re older now!!!!! time to live together

(okay that’s all for backstory stuff back to reg hcs)

neither can cook but its ok

it may seem like they bicker a lot but it’s usually either the like, joke argue of “what do you mean craft mac n cheese is gross take that back” or reprimands like “it’s one a.m. time to sleep u Fool” (self-care is important, lads). they actually communicate really well so high-stakes arguments aren’t super common (and when they do happen they dont tend to explode. i wanted to have them be the type that argue for understanding and not to prove they’re right, so that greatly affects the outcomes of their disputes.)

infinite loves to hum while he’s doing things, or just in gen, and his voice is very low and smooth and gadget looooooves it, so much. they’ll be, i dunno, doing some mundane thing, like maybe they’re out getting groceries or doin dishes or something (i love me that domestic content) and he’ll start humming quietly and it just, it really grounds gadget in a way that sometimes he doesn’t even know he needs till infinite does it.

anyone here ever played bayonetta? any a yall remember those bits where there’s a woman in bayo’s memories singing and/or humming ‘fly me to the moon’ all quiet and low? think that but just,,,, pitched down,,,, yeah,,,

the tunes are usually very slow and while not so much melancholy theyre just? i dunno melodic in the same lax, smooth-tempo’d way a lot of melancholy songs are? i dunno i like quiet, introspective infinite and aesthetics that reflect that

here’s a long one: about a month before infinite “goes missing” and forces happens, infinite lands a job at a local news outlet as one of the column writers and even tho he’s more into prose than journalism he’s so fuckin pumped. it’s mostly just excitement over not doing cashier work and having a money-makin outlet he’s at least somewhat interested in lol …aaaaaand the way ship headcanon works into this bullet is that when he finds out that he landed the job he so excited that when gadget walks into the room (it’s morning and gadget literally was just gonna get some coffee, he’s still in his pajamas, he’s got bedhead) infinite sees him and whoops he tackle-hugs him and then whoops he knocked them both onto the floor but its cool gadget kinda let it happen and when infinite tells him what happened and apologizes he’s now also super excited and happy for him so now there’s two (2) people screaming inside (and out) about this awesome development

here’s a short one: they wear each other’s clothes a lot

gadget’s v cuddly in his sleep so he gets really clingy w/ infinite when a) it’s early morning and they’re just waking up b) it’s Late o’ clock at night and they’re chillin at home or c) he’s Actually asleep and within like three feet of infinite

i dont really know how to end this lol i dont really wanna just start repeating myself and i might think of other stuff later but for now pls consider the following: when they sleep whoever’s big spoon ends up resting one hand over the other’s heart and it’s super sweet

oh and they smooch a lot (i told you this response was self indulgent)

#sonic forces #sonic the hedgehog #sonic forces infinite #gadget the wolf #rookinite #gadginite #buddinite #avanite #infidget #alsbdjslnjsknkds GOD #i keep adding new tags each time #anyways

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla reshapes the series’ RPG storytelling by giving you a Viking settlement • Eurogamer.net

Ubisoft knows what you think of Vikings: their reputation in history as bloodthirsty invaders, interested in Britain only to pillage its riches. And so, in today’s reveal trailer for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, this version of history is addressed head on. You see Vikings and their families spending some quiet, quality time together back home in Norway, where Valhalla’s saga begins, and that things weren’t so (Alfred the) Great in Britain either – where the majority of Valhalla actually takes place.

Of course, this first trailer barely scratches the surface of the game – and indeed how its portrayal of Vikings, Saxons and various other groups living in Britain will actually look (though actual footage arrives very soon). Will good old King Alf really be a moustache-twirling pantomime villain? No, lead producer Julien Laferrière assures me, as we settle down to talk Valhalla in detail. Will all Vikings be good guys? No, again. But what seems certain is how Valhalla has been entirely shaped by this principle Vikings were not only invaders but settlers as well. They were ferocious warriors, yes, but also a group of people with a rich culture, living gods and huge mythology – all of which Valhalla will explore in detail. Central to all that will be a new village settlement hub – a home for main character Eivor and their comrades, a familiar starting point for adventures and a place you’ll see your decisions play out.

Loot and village.

It’s another adjustment for a series well past its early transition into RPG territory (Origins) and already able to boast about real mastery of the genre (Odyssey), one which feels like it will fill some of the few remaining blanks in that latter game’s formula. So, instead of embarking on a never-ending journey to defog all the map, Valhalla’s narrative is being built around your settlement, and through it. “It’s your own Viking village you’ll see prosper and grow, and which your clan mates will live in,” Laferrière tells me via video call. “It’s at the centre of our quests and the centre of the decisions you make. We want players to see the consequences of their actions.” Big story arcs will begin and end here, the impact of your decisions rippling through your growing community. You’ll see the effects of alliances – such as weddings to forge relationships between clans – and the consequences of “harsh choices you have to face”. It’s also where you’ll see some of the game’s romances play out (if you choose to indulge in those).

“It really changed the shape of the game we were making,” Laferrière says. “Instead of exploring one territory, then moving on to another and having no real opportunity or reason to return, the settlement changes the structure. So you’ll go on an adventure and then be encouraged to come back to your settlement. It changes the way we’re playing the game we’re making – at least, that’s the bet we’re making.” It’s not an entirely new concept for the franchise, but it’s been a long time since Assassin’s Creed tried to give players a proper home (boats and trains aside, AC3’s rather basic Homestead is the last good example). It’s also a tried and tested idea for the genre. As Laferrière speaks, he describes the settlement as a place of importance in Valhalla reminiscent of Skyhold and the Normandy, which players returned to time and again.

Eivor the Bearded.

Yesterday’s artwork strongly hinted at Valhalla’s focus on Britain – something made clearer by today’s trailer – and this is where Eivor’s new home will be founded. But you can’t have a Viking game without seeing Scandinavia, and Norway is the setting for the start of the game. “You have to understand where these people are coming from,” Laferrière explains. “You’ll feel the harshness of the lands, the political pressure there at the time. You’ll feel all that and hopefully you’ll understand why you have to move to England where most of the game takes place.” Britain will then make up the bulk of the game’s map, Laferrière adds, but “a few surprise areas” will also feature.

Looking cross.

It’s in Britain, of course, you’ll eventually meet King Alfred, who the trailer paints as the villain of the piece, complete with some Templar-looking artefacts in the background. But Laferrière assures me that Alf will be more of a complex character when you meet him in-game. “He is shown in that [villainous] way in the trailer but over the course of the game you’ll see there’s a lot more nuance to him,” I’m told. The game looks set to cover the Viking campaign against him (the one which led to him being on the run, burning cakes) and his eventual success at pushing the Norse back and unifying swathes of England. “Alfred the Great is a very important historical figure we want to treat right,” Laferrière says. “And to do so it’s all in the subtleties and nuances you’ll find.”

We haven’t touched on Valhalla’s main character Eivor in great detail, though partly this is due to Ubisoft avoiding plot spoilers and partly because, more than ever, I get the feeling we’ll be crafting our own version of this hero as the story progresses. One thing the trailer doesn’t tell you is that Eivor can be played as either male or female, and that your choice of gender is only part of the customisation you’ll get. Beards, tattoos and war paint options will be available to pick from. Your gear will also be customisable, Laferrière says, as will your Viking longboat. (Oh, and you get a Viking longboat.) Why does the trailer focus on the male version of Eivor only, I asked? The answer, as was the case with Odyssey’s Kassandra and Alexios, is that the marketing will “showcase both at different points”.

That’s so raven.

The other character in the trailer is the mysterious hooded figure which Eivor seems to associate with Norse god Odin – hanging around with a raven, the animal he is commonly linked with. Odyssey let players meet characters and creatures of Greek legend – and it seems like Valhalla will continue in this fold. “We’re obviously using the mythology,” Laferrière says. “We have found a cool way of integrating that with our lore which for today goes into major spoiler territory. But what I’ll say is their gods were part of their daily life. They were believed to be roaming the earth, involved in fights – that was part of the Viking spirituality. And that’s how we treat it in the game, which is true to beliefs and practices at the time.”

Naval gazing.

As for the raven, as many players have guessed, it will be your animal companion in Valhalla, just as eagles were in previous games. “We have a bunch of new abilities for the raven,” Laferrière teases. “We used it as a reason to re-explore the way players can explore the world so it is less reliant on UI. If you notice a distraction somewhere it’s probably because there’s some content there.” And if you thought having a home might mean less exploring the unknown this time around, it sounds like there will still be plenty of that too. “We want to make a world that rewards players for their curiosity. It links in with Vikings being great explorers – so the world is meant to be meaningful.”

Once again, you’ll be exploring both on land and on water, though it sounds like the naval battles of the past have been dialled back somewhat. There’s no sitting and firing cannons at other boats – Vikings just didn’t do that. Instead, your longships act as your fastest means of travel through the English countryside, along waterways which were the main roads of the era. Boats are also your fastest method of escape after launching an assault on a waterside fort. “Any military location you encounter on the rivers of England is fully raidable,” Laferrière explains. “We want you to be playing the ultimate Viking fantasy, so you’ll get to have your Viking buddies going with you on a longship. Sometimes you’ll get resources to take back and upgrade your settlement, or maybe additional firepower to help take down higher level bandits in the region.”

Blade’s back.

This mention of having friends along for the ride makes me wonder if there was any truth to rumours Valhalla might dabble with co-op play (which has not returned after a shaky effort in 2014’s Unity). Ubisoft has confirmed to me this isn’t the case – although some kind of interactivity seems to be on the cards. “Valhalla is a single player game,” a Ubisoft spokesperson clarified, “with many online components, encouraging players to share their progress and creativity”. One thing Ubisoft is willing to pin down for long-time fans is a continuation of the franchise’s overall arc for those engaged in that – meaning more backstory on the First Civilisation, and a third outing for present day character Layla (whose story suddenly got interesting in Odyssey’s final expansion). “We’ve found a way to blend the present day into a new type of experience for players,” Laferrière concludes. “And present day is playable – I can confirm that.”

For more than two and a half years, Valhalla has been in development by the Assassin’s Creed Origins team at Ubisoft Montreal. Led by Ashraf Ismail, creative director of series standouts like Origins and Black Flag, it has also had the support of an eye-popping 14 other studios worldwide. It’s a monumental project, designed from scratch to debut on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later this year (along with versions for PS4, Xbox One and Stadia). And it looks ready, again, to redefine what Assassin’s Creed can be.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/04/assassins-creed-valhalla-reshapes-the-series-rpg-storytelling-by-giving-you-a-viking-settlement-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=assassins-creed-valhalla-reshapes-the-series-rpg-storytelling-by-giving-you-a-viking-settlement-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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garrettdoeseverything · 7 years

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In Which Our Hero Gushes About His School De-stresser

I’ve been a big fan of video games, but I’ve never really dived into the indie scene until now. I really wanted to broaden my horizons with these games, and this goal certainly did that. As I’ve become an adult and matured in my approach to media, I’ve noticed that you can actually get a lot out of video games. If you have the right mindset, they can be just as enriching an experience as Literature, Visual Art, or Film. I could probably ramble on and on about these games, but for the sake of time, I’m just going to give you a brief overview of my experiences with each game. So let’s get started!

Since there’s no official ending to this game, I decided to call it “finished” when I reached the end of my second in-game year, when all of my goals had been reached. It’s dangerous that this game has no end, because I could easily play this game indefinitely. Stardew Valley has made it to a lot of Top 10s and favorites lists, and this game earns all of those placements. This game is one of the best examples I’ve seen of a new developer taking a good idea from the past and building it into something better.

Stardew has a heavy Harvest Moon influence, for sure, but also incorporates elements from RPG games, Animal Crossing, and Minecraft. There are so many things I love about this game: the leveling up in different skill areas, the time-management challenge, and the character / play customization, among others.

The most compelling thing for me, however, was restoring the town to its old glory and befriending the NPCs. I fully went into this game expecting the NPCs to be these flat characters, but boy was I wrong. It’s a diverse cast with poignant backstories. They have their own cliques, their own goals, and their own conflicts with other NPCs. Stardew covers a variety of issues we see in our modern-day society, including PTSD, depression, disability, poverty, the environment, and race, just to name a few. There are aspiring artists, conniving corporate managers, and rebellious youth. I found myself making spreadsheets of what gifts everyone liked, just so I could unlock more backstory.

I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing games.

This game is arguably the most beautiful pixel art game you will ever play. I want to hang screenshots of this game on my freaking wall. From wide photogenic vistas to minute details, this game is visually impressive. And the soundtrack only heightens your sense of immersion.

This game also gives a lot of challenges. I'm referring not only to the challenging difficulty, but also to how Hyperlight Drifter challenges typical storytelling. When speaking to NPCs, all you get to decipher what they’re saying is their body language and some pictures to illustrate a narrative. Think of those children’s books with just pictures and no words – conversation in this game is exactly like that. As you interact with the world, you create the narrative. I’ve seen people take issue with this, but I really enjoy it. It was exciting to fill in the gaps yourself and make some theories about what happened to the worlds' various inhabitants.

Gameplay-wise, you mostly fight monsters in fast-paced combat that is the epitome of the phrase “easy to learn but hard to master.” Even in the late game, when you have lots of upgrades, the game demands that you stay on your toes. You pay for every careless move. You also do a lot of exploring and looking for secrets, but I felt like the game was a little too inscrutable with these at first. I eventually figured out that the game left you clues, if only I could have had a hint at it during the early game.

I’ve heard people say that this game is similar to the Zelda games, but the cryptic Sci-Fi setting, the searching for secrets, and the upgrade system make it feel more like a Metroid game to me. I have soooo many things to say about this game, and not enough time to say it. I may even come back to this game at a later time and give you guys my extended thoughts on it.

If games were food, then Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is like a nostalgic & comforting grilled cheese sandwich. It deserves all the praise it gets. I’m going to break down this review into the different campaigns, since each one is so different:

Continuing with food metaphors, Shovel of Hope (2014) is the vanilla flavor of the campaigns. I don’t mean that in a bad way, either – this game is one heck of a good vanilla. The level design quality of this game is on par with the classics that it tries to evoke. Using only a few simple controls and attacks (with some cool spell upgrades to boot), you progress through more and more intricate platforming challenges. The soundtrack is catchy, the retro-ness is spot on, and the characters are all memorable. It feels like all the NES games packed into one unique super-platformer experience.

Plague of Shadows (2015) builds upon the foundation Shovel of Hope made in ways I did not expect them to go. At first I was worried, because I struggled with Plague Knight’s controls and level design, and I wasn’t really sold on the story. But the more I played, the more this alchemist villain bombed his way into my heart. Speaking of which, Plague Knight’s bomb crafting system is one of the most unique gameplay mechanics I’ve ever seen. You mix and match powders and casings to change the way your bombs explode, which in turn changes how you fight and jump around. Your play style changes from Shovel Knight’s straightforward jump-and-pogo to a more calculated, experimental, methodical approach. Your gameplay eventually begins to match Plague Knight’s character. And that, my friends, is good game design. By the time I came to end of the game, I could finally handle his controls decently, and the story even ended up better than I anticipated. My only complaint is that I wish Plague Knight got a level or two that were totally unique to his campaign. The small changes made to each level were good, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Specter of Torment (2017) is probably the one campaign that I will keep playing and replaying the most. Specter Knight is just so cool. I picked up with his controls the quicker than the two other games, and from then on the game was just one jumping, slashing, sliding joyride. The sense of momentum and the complex platform challenges make you feel like a ninja, zipping this way and that. Best of all, Specter Knight has his own unique levels in the form of flashbacks. Maybe I’m just a sucker for tragic backstories, but to me, the story is far better than the previous two installments. It really moves you by the end. Add in the quirky hubworld of the Tower of Fate, and you have a game that, for me, is the best installment of the series yet.

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor is a quirky game that deliberately breaks a lot of video game conventions. It’s gutsy to develop a game like this. You are the cursed janitor of a spaceport, with hopes of someday leaving to go to a better life someplace else. But you have to break the curse before you can leave. You roam around the spaceport picking up trash, praying to various shrines for luck, and keeping a few valuable things you find for yourself, all the while avoiding the mysterious police that like to bully you and steal your money. You can sell what you find at the various markets, or incinerate it for a cheap buck from your employer.

The game embraces the fact that you are not a hero. All around you are these warriors, wizards, pilots, and other big-shots that are all on their way to some epic quest, while you are the NPC that is there in the background, adhering to a day-by-day schedule and taking in the world around you as you go.

The routine was calming, almost meditative, for me. I don’t think it may be for everyone, especially those who like fast-paced games, but I enjoyed spending an in-game day or two after homework was done to help relax. There’s always something new to see, or something new to pick up.

Furthermore, it’s not afraid to talk about important social issues. It depicts poverty without being condescending or preachy. Every now and then the game works against you in acquiring your goals – prejudice of NPCs, bad luck, and oppressive social systems all begin to weigh on your character. Just when you’re feeling frustrated about a certain thing that happened in the game, you have an “a-ha!” moment where you realize people in poverty might experience exactly the same. It’s simultaneously cute, weird, and poignant. If you approach this game with an open mind, I think you will enjoy it.

Fez was one of those games I had heard about for a long time and never got around to playing, and was one of the reasons why I wanted to do this challenge in the first place. Being a newcomer to the indie scene, Fez for me appears to be a game that has aged pretty well and is still a compelling one to pick up.

Fez is a 2-D platformer, with the twist that the main character, Gomez, has a fez that can shift dimensions and alter how the terrain appears. In reality, his world is 3-D on a cube, but can only be seen in two dimensions at a time. I think I explained that well enough?

Anyway, lots of clever puzzles ensue on this premise. If you ever played Portal, think back to when you first saw how the portal mechanic worked and thought, “Wow, this changes everything.” That’s kind of how I reacted to Fez. The dimension shifting took a bit of getting used to, but once I did, I quite enjoyed myself. I love a good puzzle game, and this one delivered exactly that. I also think how fitting that the game is based on cube-to-flat dimensions, and the game espouses pixel art to match that mechanic. Quite clever. There’s even lots of secrets and background lore to find out, but some were even more enigmatic than Hyper Light Drifter. Really. Setbacks aside, there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of solving a good riddle, and Fez delivers this quite well.

Congratulations, you made it to the end! Thanks for humoring me as I gushed on and on about these games. If you want to talk more about them, feel free to pick my brain! I only scratched the surface with these games. We haven’t even covered the themes I found in them! But that can be for some other time.

Goal 3 complete!

#indiegames #stardewvalley #hyperlightdrifter #shovelknight #diaries of a spaceport janitor #fez #dayzeroproject #101list

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