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acquired-stardust · 5 months

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Game Spotlight #12: Nioh: Complete Edition (2017)

Acquired Stardust's latest game spotlight is here! Join Ash as she takes a look at the most recent game featured on the blog so far in 2017's Nioh: Complete Edition! Often misunderstood and mislabeled, let's examine the game and see some of what makes it such a standout title. As usual from an Ash piece there's a long read ahead, so buckle up!

Larsa and I are big fans of Koei-Tecmo's work and are naturally huge history nerds, with two subjects that we love being frequent settings for the company's games. Hearing that they were finally releasing a new IP that was set in a familiar period for the company and its fans definitely had us interested. Rising from the ashes of a decade-plus stint in development hell, Koei-Tecmo's Nioh began development before the two companies had even merged. Starting all the way back in 2004 Koei sought to develop a game apparently based on an unproduced Akira Kurosawa script which meandered through several incarnations before ultimately being handed off to Tecmo's Team Ninja and entering real development in 2014. The resulting project caught gamers by surprise in its evolution of the portfolio of a company often labeled as releasing 'the same game every time' by those largely outside of the fandom. Although it stuck to familiar territory of flagship franchise Samurai Warriors in its setting of late-Sengoku era japan, the tone and gameplay had changed drastically from what had been traditional Koei-Tecmo territory. Gone was the romanticized heroics and melodrama, and KO counts that could be racked up well into a thousand enemies by playable characters that were essentially superheroes. In its place was a dark, ominous, sinister tone that was decidedly more grounded. Although character design remains impressively strong as is tradition for the company, Nioh features a less anime aesthetic than the company is known for for the most part with fairly realisitic depictions of its historical cast. Just as well the game veers significantly into appropriately bloodsoaked horror territory given its setting of turbulent late-Sengoku Japan, a stark contrast from the bloodless battles of Warriors games.

Alongside this tonal shift was a shift in its gameplay. Warriors games are something of a comfort food - they are relatively simple and easy, often described as 'button mashers'. It's true enough that they tend to allow you to coast through them doing just that, though there is a depth to the combat systems that often goes unexplored. Nioh's gameplay mechanics complement its horror very well and have taken a shift towards a style that emphasizes its reframing of the Sengoku. Players are able to select two weapons from an array of seven melee weapons as well as two weapons from an array of three ranged weapons as they take control of William Adams and take their first steps into Japan in 1600.

Gameplay is, at first, a slow and deliberate experience. Attacks are able to inflict fatal damage in just two or three hits, so attention and patience are not only rewarded but demanded on a base level. Players quickly learn the value in blocking and dodging enemy attacks which often come in combos of multiple blows as well as from range. Managing William's stamina meter, in this game referred to as the ki meter, is also important and more involved than one might expect with the 'ki pulse' mechanic in which the player is able to restore a portion of their meter immediately which enables further attacks and dodges with less downtime. Enemies are a wide array of human and demonic yokai who must be fought differently both as individuals (as in, for example, what weapon each may have) as well as a species with the universal stamina ki system functioning differently between human and yokai enemies.

If any of this is sounding familiar to you, you're not alone: Nioh is often referred to as a 'Soulslike', a genre of games that take deep inspiration from From Software's Dark Souls series which itself has roots in From Software's earlier King's Field series. Nioh often lives and dies by this comparison and most players come into it with a lot of preconceived notions of what exactly 'Soulslike' is and either fall in love with the differences or can't get over them and put the game down. That being said, there are indeed differences and despite its similarities Nioh is not a simple Dark Souls clone.

Nioh is most certainly a result of Dark Souls' success, and that much is indisputable. Dark Souls is responsible for reminding the world just how much it really liked cryptic, tense, unforgivingly difficult experiences so much so that even updated ports of things like the 2017 Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was discovered by a generation of gamers and labeled "the Dark Souls of platformers" for its difficulty. In many ways after years of obscurity From Software has fundamentally changed the way we look at and talk about video games as a whole, with even games released well before their Souls series being compared to it.

Although Nioh owes its exit from development hell into the hands of gamers to Dark Souls insofar as its tone and difficulty being inspired by it, Nioh actually owes much to two games that are compared to it far less: Koei-Tecmo's similarly brutally difficult series of Ninja Gaiden games and Blizzard's Diablo. Combat is significantly deeper than Dark Souls' even from the jump with each of the seven melee weapons each having three different stances players can switch between on the fly, each with their own strong and weak attacks and combos. As players explore the RPG mechanics (also a Soulslike staple) they also discover a long list of abilities to unlock for each of the game's seven melee weapons that add new abilities and moves to the combos. The result is a game that almost feels significantly more like 2008's Ninja Gaiden 2 on the Xbox 360 than Dark Souls, with fast paced and tense action that results in either bloody dismemberment for your enemies or a swift death for the player.

Just as well there are also several classifications of armor with many different individual pieces within those classifications, some of which can give the player a bonus when assembled together as a set. Alongside this are countless different weapons within the ten total offensive weapon categories, with gear (all of which have their own levels of quality and stats) frequently being dropped by enemies upon their defeat. Needless to say the loot aspect of the game, itself not entirely unfamiliar for Souslike games, is significantly expanded upon in Nioh especially postgame to the point it much more closely resembles classic PC release Diablo 2.

There are a staggering number of ways to play the game as in addition to all of the gear, weapons, builds and stances there are ninjutsu and magic skills, items and 30 different spirits the player can equip with various different effects, all of which can be summoned as part of Living Weapon mode which sees William manifest the spirit into his weapon for a brief powerup that allows him to devastate enemies. Just as well there is a vast array of clans the player can join, all historical powerful factions of Japan's Sengoku which provide different bonuses and is one layer of the game's multiplayer component. This variety is served well through the base game's brutal difficulty as well as its three DLC scenarios and its equally staggering three additional difficulty levels of new game plus.

Aforementioned multiplayer component comes in multiple forms. Players leave graves where they die which can be summoned as fightable AI-controlled revenant that can drop their gear and glory, a currency used to trade for items or character models of Nioh's vast array of characters that the player can transform into, replacing William in normal gameplay outside of cutscenes. Glory also contributes to the faction wars - a race between the White and Red factions to see who can earn the most in intervals with the winning side awarded discounts in glory-accepting transactions. Players can also face each other in direct player-versus-player combat, and are even able to tackle the entire game together cooperatively.

You might've noticed that the player character I mentioned earlier, William Adams, is most certainly not a Japanese name. And that's because he isn't (duh!). William is a relatively obscure historical figure who was one of the first non-missionary westerners in Japan as well as one of the few and earliest western samurai. William is an Englishman chasing alchemist Edward Kelley across the pacific ocean to reclaim William's personal guardian spirit, stolen in an encounter with Kelley in the game's opening stage. After his search takes him to Japan William finds his familiar tangled web of influence and power between England and Spain has become all the more complex with the addition of Japan's own political turmoil of the late Sengoku period.

Through the course of the game William finds himself eventually aligned with the Tokugawa forces by way of Hanzo Hattori, a bilingual ninja in service of Ieyasu Tokugawa. Nioh's campaign and DLC takes the player through several highlights of the late Sengoku period which are the game's absolute highlights. Although featuring a wide variety of stages set in varying locales such as cave systems, shipwrecks and ruined temples, it is these recreations of historical battles that the game truly shines with. The base game's recreation of the Battle of Sekigahara is one of my favorite parts of any video game for its melding of historical accuracy and dark fantasy elements. For us history nerds there is nothing quite like the haze of that morning's battle and the show-don't-tell approach much of the game takes with its environmental storytelling. One way this is achieved is through the largely unsubtitled gameplay segments (though the cutscenes do feature subtitles), with NPCs uttering Japanese phrases to William who naturally does not understand them. It's a fun little thing that helps convey the fish out of water elements of the story and rewards players who can speak the Japanese language (of which I am one). Another small moment is in the aformentioned Battle of Sekigahara where a small band of men clad in Kobayakawa-clan emblems charge up the battlefield without stopping to tell the player who they are or explain that the momentum of the skirmish has definitively swung in the direction of the Tokugawa forces. It's a small but memorable moment rewarding big history nerds like myself and Larsa that have memorized much of the intricate tumult of the Sengoku that has stuck with me well into my 200-something hours spent with the game in its various levels of difficulty and gear grind.

The trend of the game's highlights being the recreations of historical battles is never more apparent than in its DLC scenarios Dragon of the North, Defiant Honor and Bloodshed's End which follow the post-Sengoku struggles against the Date clan as well as the winter and summer sieges of Osaka respectively. Winter's Osaka siege stands out as perhaps the best depiction of war in a video game with the level design and gameplay elements lending itself extremely well to portraying the sheer horror that must've entailed battle in the Sengoku with exhausted enemies surprising each other with their presence in the stage's tight trench corridors before engaging in quick and bloody battles to the death. Defiant Honor's Winter siege of Osaka culminates in a battle against legendary samurai Yukimura Sanada in another particularly memorable moment, featuring a more grounded design than his Samurai Warriors counterpart (although his armor is based on his real historical suit which was also featured as an alternate costume in Samurai Warriors 1), Yukimura wields his iconic traditonal Japanese jumonji spear as featured in Samurai Warriors and even has a few moves reminiscent of his moveset as a playable character in that franchise.

On the subject of further historical matters Nioh furthers the trend Koei kickstarted by reexamining Mitsunari Ishida with his moral fiber and his place in history, featuring a touching moment with retainer Sakon Shima monologuing about him. Nioh was also the first popular modern media, to my knowledge, to feature the obscure historical figure Yasuke, a black samurai associated with legendary daimyo Nobunaga Oda who was recently featured in his own Netflix anime. It was, sadly, also the beginning of Koei-Tecmo's slightly understandable but disappointing nonetheless deemphasizing of historical figure Ranmaru Mori, a popular and enduring cultural icon also featured and beloved in Koei's own Samurai Warriors games.

The game works very well on the level of a slowly paced Soulslike or a more action oriented Ninja Gaiden style action game depending on the build and play style of the player, which is a great testament to its strong gameplay and level design. Just as well the game becomes significantly less hostile with another player in coop, and is a very satisfying exercise in teamwork. Larsa and I decided to play the base game in its initial difficulty level solo before teaming up to take on subsequent difficulty levels, and we can vouch for the fact that it makes an excellent game for gamer couples especially since the nature of coop allows the player duo to help take the load off of each other. It is as excellent an exercise in teamwork as it is a bonding experience thanks to the tense nature of its gameplay.

Nioh also introduces new mechanics consistently through its entire run even into the final difficulty level of new game plus where there is a whole new tier of gear with its own additional abilities which is a very impressive feat. For as much good as there is to say there is a big asterisk which may deter players as health recovery items are a finite resource not indefinitely restored unlike in Dark Souls, and players must conserve and find more lest they wind up with only limited guaranteed healing. This can gate lesser skilled players out of progress without hope of making it through the game without a lot of practice or getting help from a friend. Another small complaint is the minimap which is a featureless circle in the top right corner of the screen that only provides very minimal information to the player without having an ability such as 'kodama sense' attached to their gear, which displays hidden collectables scattered through stages that provide bonuses such as ultimately 25% more experience or a 5% increase in drops to weapons or armor as a green dot on the minimap.

Nioh indeed has much to gush about, and in many ways it represents the maturation of Tecmo-Koei's library of games. A fun alt history romp through the Sengoku that the company is very familiar with coupled with a fresh coat of paint in its action-horror dark fantasy elements that hearkens back to a little-remembered in today's zeitgeist game in Ninja Gaiden as well as megahit Diablo, the old meets the new in so many satisfying ways making Nioh a joy to have 100%ed (taking roughly 100 hours to have unlocked all achievements). It may owe its existence as a finished product to Dark Souls, but it is far less of a Soulslike than you may have heard or expect and has so much to offer on its own and as an extension of some of the gameplay featured in Ninja Gaiden. It is a joy to play on its own or with a friend/loved one and rewards your time spent with it considerably even far later into the experience than one might expect.

Nioh is immediately available via Steam and the Playstation Store on PC, PS4 and PS5.

A gem hidden among the stones, Nioh is undoubtedly stardust.

-- Ash

#gaming #video games #acquired stardust #ash #game spotlights #gaming spotlights #nioh #koei tecmo #ninja gaiden #samurai warriors #soulslike #team ninja #ps4 #playstation 4 #ps5 #playstation 5

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aurelion-solar · 3 months

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Artist Spotlight: Julia Shi

Roles: Art Director, Storyboarding, Visual Development & Illustration

Twitter - ArtStation - Instagram

In light of Riot Games laying off 11% of their staff globally, I want to make a series of posts highlighting the portfolios of those affected, so that we can appreciate their contributions to the world of Runeterra and continue to support them. You can find a full list of those known to be affected here.

HEARTSTEEL visdev (source)

Star Guardians - Everything Goes On visdev (source)

Arcane Jinx - TFT Cinematic Concept Art (source)

Spirit Blossom Promo Illustrations (source)

Eternals Key Art (source)

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nelkcats · 10 months

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Captain Phantom

Since the ghost invasion of Amity stopped, Danny had become close to many of the ghosts he was once enemies with, so it was not uncommon to find him attending Ember concerts or competing with Johnny.

Then, it was also not uncommon to find him playing with Youngblood, who was always up for playing pirates. The halfa knew that the ghost boy was lonely and not all ghosts paid attention to him, so he made sure to play with him whenever he could.

Of course, he and Youngblood noticed that they could no longer play in his home dimension (too much risk; as much as the adults didn't see Youngblood, Danny preferred not to risk creating a second GIW), so they chose a random dimension to play pirates. The halfa even invited more ghosts to be each other's "crew."

When everyone agreed to the proposal, they traveled through a natural portal to the new dimension, they wouldn't stay too long for it to matter.

Happy with the arrangement, no one noticed how the people in the "new" dimension freaked out at the sight of two pirate ships floating in the sky, everyone on the ships were too busy having fun to notice. Batman grunted at the thought of another magical stupidity in Gotham.

Determined to explore the strange phenomenon, Red Hood and Nightwing offered to use the Jet to get to one of the ships, to which Batman agreed. When they reached the first ship, they found a fierce fight between...aliens? spirits? None of the brothers were sure, but they all glowed in a familiar green. It seemed that the pirate ships were clashing.

Jason was about to speak to draw the attention of the people in the battle, but before he could a boy with bright green eyes, white hair and a Captain's hat on his head came, he immediately noticed them and shouted, "Argh! Intruders!"

Dick swore he saw a boy in a Captain's hat (the rival ship?) pouting and about to complain about something but he couldn't pay any more attention to the event because the "crew" circled them and before he knew it they were tying them up with ropes (also glowing?) and calling them "prisoners". Dick wondered if he would have to jump off the plank, while Danny hesitated about what to do with his "prisoners", Youngblood didn't appreciate people interrupting their games.

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gazkamurocho · 5 days

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“The year is 1988. The young Goro Majima is a prisoner in Sotenbori and is forcefully working as the manager at the biggest and most successful cabaret in the city: The Grand.

During his captivity he discovers a way to momentarily forget his predicament. By freeing himself as ‘The Queen of The Night’, Goromi.

Together with his new-found love, Kazuma Kiryu, the two of them have fun and enjoy each other’s company as much as they can because their time together is limited and it’s almost coming to an end.

Kiryu will make sure to give Goromi and Majima a night they will never forget.”

It's finally here! The first look on the opening sequence of 80s Goromi doujinshi ❤ (title still in the works~)

More info about this project under the cut!

Different from my usual comic strips, this is a long doujinshi and the total page count will be something around 40~50 pages. Besides Kiryu and Majima, we will also have characters like Sagawa, Yuki-chan, Youda and the Sunshine Club girls making an appearance. The plot, script and scenes are all ready and I’m storyboarding and drawing the pages as I progress through the script!

This is also a R-18 adult doujinshi. There’s a lot of fluff, angst and fun interaction with the other characters but a good chunk (mostly half) of the comic will be dedicated to hentai (so rejoice you horny ones fdsjkfhdj). (For those who are curious about the spicy parts, it’s my established 80s Goromi and Y0 Kiryu’s dynamic: Goromi is the top and dominant one and, as a good and obedient boy, Kiryu will obey all of her orders and will do anything to please his queen. 👀 So basically, Goromi will destroy Kiryu dhsfksd)

I’ll be sharing the first 4 pages and then some random ones to the public, but after those, all new pages will be exclusive to my patrons on Patreon! I’m gradually posting over there WIPs, behind-the-scenes and new pages as I make them. I’ll always let you guys know on my social media when I post a new finished page on my Patreon!

I expect half a year or a year for the whole doujinshi to be finished. But the more support I have on Patreon, the faster I can make this doujinshi!

Once finished, I’ll make the complete doujinshi available for purchase in one of my online shops! Yes, this will be a paid comic. I’m pouring all my love for Kazumaji and 80s Goromi in this doujinshi but it also takes a lot of time and dedication to give life to this project so I hope you guys understand that decision. ❤ Of course, all the patrons who support the comic on Patreon will have the whole doujinshi available to them from the get-go.

It will first be available as a digital PDF but I’m also planning to release it in physical format down the road.

Making long comics has always been my true passion, ever since I was a little kid. And I also have other long adult doujinshi planned. If everything goes smoothly, this comic will be the first one of a series of Kazumaji doujinshis! ^^

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lovesickeros · 5 months

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☆ even the gods bleed [ pt 4 ]

{☆} characters arlecchino, furina, lyney {☆} notes cult au, imposter au, multi-chapter, gender neutral reader {☆} warnings blood {☆} word count 3.7k {☆} previous [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]

Fontaine was bathed in darkness, not even the moon daring to illuminate where the common man fears to walk. The streets were bleak and empty save for the constant, rhythmic ticking and clanking of machines marching on endlessly, dauntlessly wading where even the bravest dared not to venture. Not even the sharp click of the Gardes boots followed the occasional hisses of steam as they walked the barren streets.

It was haunting, and it'd been like that for days now. It showed little signs of stalling in the slightest, too. Every inch of Fontaine was practically crawling with Gardemeks– like a swarm of rats skittering about.

Arlecchino had secluded herself in the Hotel Bouffes d'ete for days at this point, waiting– biding her time. Her nails clicked against the wood as she tapped at the table in a stilted rhythm, the subtle click of the clock mixing into the clanking outside, weaving in and out of earshot as the patrols slipped by. She reached forward after a moment of thought, reaching for the white king.

She leaned back against the chaise, tilting her head just enough to catch a glimpse of a patrol of Gardemeks as they vanished behind the rows and rows of buildings. It wasn't enough to keep her attention for long, however, her features twisting in disinterest as she glanced back to the chessboard– and the letter neatly resting beside it. The seal was unmistakable and a sobering sight, demanding her attention– the soft hues of blue etched into the shape of a dragon stared back at her in a way that almost unsettled her.

She had already parsed through it's contents hundreds of times, but she was met with only vague, flowing script that only served to irritate her more then anything– it filled the page top to bottom yet managed to say nothing at all. Her hand reached out again, but instead of reaching for the letter she plucked the black rook from the board, setting it down with a soft click.

Arlecchino had all the time in the world to sit back and observe her prey, but all that time would be useless if she lacked the information to act.

And he was quite tight fisted about it, evidentially. None of her inquiries or attempts to decipher any potential codes in the letter left her empty handed. She could not act without even knowing the reason for his summons– it was almost worded like a personal affair rather then one would expect for a foreign diplomat. In truth, she'd expected a scalding report on her operatives, but it lacked any mention of anything of the sort.

She was no stranger to people masking hostility behind pretty words and compliments, not that it was ever unwarranted per se– the Fatui did not create connections through honesty and genuine kindness. They have strong armed more then their fair share of people into cooperation to the point distrust is all the Fatui are met with outside of Snezhnaya. Every word was meant to conceal the deceit, every action meant to conceal the price later paid.

So she had been..skeptical of the letter, to put it lightly. She doubted the Iudex of all people would offer a hand to the Fatui without a price attached– a trap, perhaps, meant to lure in the most powerful piece left on the board. Her eyes narrowed, reaching for a white rook and moving it to the right.

Or he was hiding something. Something that he simply couldn't risk getting out to anyone, not even the Divine themself. A tempting prize, whatever it was.

..A dangerous prize, too.

She'd considered burning the letter and forgetting it all together– the risk was great, and she couldn't risk getting caught up by whoever else the Iudex may have on his side of the board. But she could hardly pass up the challenge and the prize that he fought so hard to keep from prying eyes and ears. Even her agents came back empty handed each time. She lazily picked up a black rook, sliding the white pawn aside.

"Lyney," Arlecchino drawled, crossing one leg over the other and turning her gaze to the door as it slowly creaked open. The pale visage of Lyney stepped through, though his siblings were noticeably absent. The weariness that weighed down on his shoulders was apparent in the slightest furrow of his brows and the subtle creak of leather as he clenched his fists behind his back. "Father." He choked out, the title dragged out by the sharp inhale and shaky exhale.

He looked out of breath, she noted.

The silence that lingered after the small exchange was punctuated only by the click of another chess piece being moved. She sets aside the black rook, letting it sit among the dozen other pieces that had been wiped off the board. She can see the conviction glinting beneath the fog of exhaustion, but if he would utilize it was another matter all together.

He had seemed to make his choice quickly, at the very least.

"Our contacts and operatives within the Fortress of Meropide have gone silent– all we have is their final confirmed missive.." His voice is confident, but it is rigid as the words spill from his lips. He takes a sharp step forward, unfolding his arms from behind his back and opening his hands– the small, water stained and messily folded note catches her eye, plucking it from his palms with a half hearted interest. "They believe the Duke left the Fortress of Meropide..and that he may be coming to the Court of Fontaine."

Her eyes narrow dangerously, nearly crumpling the thin paper in her hands– yet just as quickly, she collects herself.

But she cannot get rid of the bitter taste on her tongue, lingering as she sets down the note and slides it to the side, her lips pursed into a thin line.

So the Iudex had shown one of his pieces..she tightly grasps a black rook, tipping over the white rook, letting it roll against the board.

If the Duke was involved, things were much more complicated then she expected– he would be a problem, she was certain. She couldn't blame the lamb for fearing the wolf, either. Whether her agents had been killed or captured by the man mattered little. He had his ways, and he was a force that could instill fear in even them.

Which meant the possibility that her operation was already compromised was far too real.

What had the Iudex so concerned he had gone through the trouble of bringing in the Duke and herself? The Fatui was one thing, but to specifically request one of it's Harbingers..

The Prophecy? The thought had her clenching her fist, but..no. If it were to rear it's head now, the Iudex could simply not afford to waste time on his contacts deciphering his nonsensical script– If the prophecy were to be the issue, there time would be limited to mere minutes in the worst of cases. Which meant it was worth biding his time in order to ensure absolute secrecy.

So if not the prophecy, then what?

Her next moves were..limited. She was already walking on eggshells considering her position and the reputations of the Fatui– especially with a Harbinger in the midst. If they caught wind of her operations, they'd weed out her operatives and be on guards for any snakes that lingered in their garden.

She reached for the chessboard again, picking up one of the white rooks from the board with a scowl. The sharp click as she sets down the white rook and sets aside the black pawn draws a shaky inhale from Lyney as she moves another black pawn, the dull click of the pieces drowning out the distant clinking of machines.

..A draw, perhaps.

The pieces were all falling into place– the players of this game were slowly being revealed. Whether she could secure her victory..she was unsure.

She wasn't even sure who her opponent was. Only that the Iudex himself was but another piece in their game.

Arlecchino reached for the board again, yet this time she hesitated. Perhaps she could still swipe the win from beneath them, if she played her cards right.

She would simply have to capture the king– or, if need be, let it end on a draw. Either way, she would not concede. She could not afford to concede. Down to the last piece, she would drag out this match until she was in a position to force their hand into the outcome she desired.

She stood slowly, picking up the king piece and observing it for only the briefest of moments before she set it down on the table, taking measured steps around the table and across the room. She was hunting a much more dangerous quarry today– it would be no simple runaway traitor this time.

"Do you remember the directive?" She inquired coldly, her hand lingering on the door for that long, tense moment. "..Yes, Father." Lyney faltered, taking a hesitant step back and bowing at the waist. "Then do not stray."

All that was left was the silence and click of the door shutting behind her as she disappeared down the hall, her boots clicking harshly against the floorboards. The rest of the agents knew better then to linger in her path as she stepped down into the lobby, adjusting the cuffs of her sleeves. She barely even acknowledged the Fatui agent standing at the ready by the heavyset doors, their gloves hands held out with her cloak held loosely in their palms. She quickly snagged it from them, tugging it over her board shoulders and clasping it around her throat.

With a quick tug, she brought the hood up over her head to conceal her sharp features, lifting her hand and placing a neatly folded note within their waiting hands. She had only one chance to make the right moves and secure her victory– no matter the cost.

Each piece had it's purpose.

Oft, that purpose was a bloody and horrible end– but for the grand goal of the Fatui built on the backs of the dead, it was an honor.

She didn't bother speaking a word as she dismissed them with a wave of her hand, pushing open the heavyset doors and stepping out into the barren, damp streets. The rhythmic clink and whir of Gardemeks was still distant– she needed to move. Her boots clicked and splashed in the rain soaked stone of the streets as she slithered between the buildings, ducking through the openings in the patrols.

It was almost too easy.

She tilted her head back, taking in the towering Palais Mermonia with a scowl, her hands clenched into fists. The final moves were being played– the king was within her reach, yet she felt no more confident then when she began.

The air carried a sense of unease, thick and heavy, filling her lungs until she felt her breath still in her chest– listening to the empty, bleak night that seemed so..quiet.

She'd done her fair share of research, had more then her fair share of her agents try to peer into the Iudex's office or the Archon's supposedly hidden chambers, but every attempt was a failure. She had to give them credit, they were quite elusive when they wished to be. Though now she only thought about it bitterly– this was all a risky gamble, in the end, and only time would tell if it paid off.

With minimal effort, she'd managed to pull herself to the flat, tiled roof, eyeing the massive tower peaking out of the center cautiously. At least here the wandering patrols down below weren't likely to notice her..she could hear them passing by the spot she'd been in only a few minutes ago, just beneath her. She pulled the hood further over her face, peering through the sheer darkness of the night for any oddities, but it was almost impossible to see in the dark.

Her boots clicked softly against the tiles as she approached the tower jutting out from the Palais, her hand gliding along the smooth stone, pressing against odd indents or crevices. If it was for the Archon's chambers, she doubted they made it very difficult– she'd only met the woman once, but she doubted the Iudex make it all that complex just from a brief glance. And it surprised her little when one of the stones sunk into the wall, gears whirring as the walls split open to reveal a stairwell straight into an inky black hall. Only the barest hint of light peaked under the door at the bottom, but it's occupants must have heard her, considering it went out not a moment later.

She cautiously stepped down into the small crevice, her breath visible in the bitter cold air– her shoulders tensed at the subtle sound of muffled footsteps behind the door, her vision flaring with a molten heat between her shoulder blades as she reached for the worn handle of the door. The heat of her vision was enough to just barely heat the metal, her vision flaring like a quickly building inferno.

Arlecchino was prepared for a fight, if it came down to it.

The door creaked as she pressed against it, shoving it open with a grunt of effort and surveying the room with narrowed eyes and a biting remark on the tip of her tongue– the lavish opulence was expected, she supposed, but the lack of the towering figure of the Iudex was not.

Yet before she could get a word in or even take in her surroundings properly, the light flickered back on and she had to squeeze her eyes shut with a hiss at the sudden brightness. She could hear the door being shoved closed behind her, the hurried footsteps retreating just as quickly as her eyes adjusted to the light.

..This was a joke, wasn't it? It had to be.

She'd expected the Iudex, perhaps even the Duke if she'd been unlucky, not the Hydro Archon. She had half the mind to test her worth as an Archon then and there, her temper flaring like an uncontrollable blaze, barely kept at bay. It took all her self control to force herself to smile politely at the woman rather then snarl.

"Miss Furina," She sneered beneath her hood, x shaped pupils locked onto the startled, trembling Archon with thinly veiled contempt. "What a..pleasant surprise. You'll have to forgive my manners, I assumed I was meeting with the Iudex." She observed her body language carefully– the way her eyes darted about like a frightened rabbit seeking escape, the slightest tremble of her lips..

Arlecchino opened her mouth to offer another scathing remark, but her jaw audibly clicked shut as her entire body seemed to lock up. Even her vision went cold against her back, a chilling feeling creeping up her spine as someone, or something, crept up behind her. Their footsteps were almost silent, the slight rustling of their clothes the only thing she could hear over her heart pounding against her ribcage.

Arlecchino had always prided herself on being on the other end of that sensation– she was the monster, and her target was the prey frozen like a deer between the hunters crosshair.

It was a chilling feeling to have the dynamic shifted on it's head.

She couldn't even swallow, her jaw clenched so hard she could hear it creak as she tried to reason with her quickly splintering mind– a futile effort, her joints locking up almost painfully. Black spots were quickly swallowing her vision from the lack of air in her lungs, the sound of shuffling behind her barely audible over the ringing in her ears.

For a moment – a moment too long to have only lasted the seconds that it did, yet so quick it gave her whiplash – she thought she would hit the floor dead before she could even glimpse her assailant.

And then it was gone. She came crashing back into reality with a startled inhale, her lungs burning and her knees nearly buckling under her. The instinct to lash out and kill whoever had done it was intense, yet she couldn't bring herself to move even a finger– it would be so easy to twist around and ignite them with searing flames, but her feet were rooted in place.

She almost didn't notice the surprisingly gentle hands unclasping her cloak, tugging it off her shoulders, if not for the sheer intensity of the presence still lingering behind her. Her mind was still fractured, struggling to right itself after the ordeal, and it had her seething.

"..Are you certain you held back enough?" Furina croaked, the normally soft lilt raspy and almost hoarse. "Not– not that I doubt your capability, most Divine!"

Arlecchino felt her nails dig harshly into her palms, heat swelling beneath her skin– Divine? Had she lost her mind? The Divine was..

The Divine was upon their throne where they belonged. She'd seen them!

"Hm. Well, maybe? Sorry, I didn't think it'd affect you too." Their voice was sickeningly soft as they stepped around her like she wasn't even there, focusing their attention on the Archon who seemed more then delighted about it. "What gave you that impression, most Divine? Aha, I..was completely unaffected, as you can see! Perfectly fine."

Furina let out a small squeak when they pinched her cheek, but the almost affectionate smile that tugged at their lips revealed the lack of malice behind the action.

"You're a bad liar, Furina. You might want to sit down..please?" They didn't take her protests for an answer, gently pushing her to sit on the bed before abruptly turning to face Arlecchino once more, a forced smile on their lips. "Oh, good, you're..uh, not dead. That's good. I thought I fried your brain. Sorry?"

..Had she hit her head on the way here? The Divine should still be on their throne, yet she couldn't shake the weight of their stare– it felt tangible. She felt like she was standing face to face with the stars– galaxies and constellations bearing down upon her.

She grit her teeth and clenched her hands until she felt the sting of her nails against her palms, grounding herself in the pain through the sheer overwhelming nature of their existence.

"You.." She croaks, reaching out with a shaky hand and grabbing them by the collar of their shirt, lifting them up until their feet left the floor– she pays no mind to the startled protests of the Archon. Arlecchino would crush her like a bug before she even got the chance to intervene and they both knew it. "You shouldn't exist– you aren't them, and yet you..you're the imposter, aren't you?" Her grip tightens yet they face her without an ounce of fear, meeting her unyielding glare with a pondering look.

Arlecchino wanted to make them bleed just to see if she could, the urge to sink her teeth into skin welling up in her chest to the point she visibly snarled, her mask of politeness long . "You're the imposter." Her expression falls for a moment before she schools it into one of apathy, setting them back down and holding them there for a moment, finally releasing them after a tense moment. "Or you were supposed to be."

Hers brows furrow– she wants to demand answers, to throttle them for damning them to being nothing more then dolls for the supposed Divine to break at their whim, but none of the words come to her.

"..Why now? The current Divine has been in power for years, yet you descend now?" Her shoulders tensed, lips pursed into a thin line– it's impossible to ignore the truth that lay before her. The Divine is a fraud and this..imposter is the true Divine. How many years had they been in power, now? How many years were they waiting? Why did they wait? Was the suffering of Teyvat not enough? Was the blood that painted the steps of their stolen throne not enough?

She'd personally been on the wrong end of the Divine's wrath– she wonders..had they watched? Had they seen the cruel hand of their imposter and turned their back on Teyvat?

"I.." They hesitated. It made her seethe, her hands clenching into fists at her sides– her vision flickered, flames swelling within it's casing just to be smothered by the presence of the Divine. But once that spark had been lit, she refused to let it go out. "I didn't know."

The answer does not satisfy her. There is an itch beneath her skin that she cannot scratch, a fire that burns in her chest so hot it scorches even herself.

"And what about now? Are you content to cower like prey in the safety of the Palais Mermonia?" She snapped, taking a step forward, her brows furrowed and her glare intense– she can see the slightest bit of worry in their eyes. She revels in it. "Will you let them use your acolytes like pawns? How many more need to be broken on the steps to your throne before you act?"

Again, her vision flares and dims– it refuses to be used against the Divine that created it.

"Have you no answer?"

The room is silent. They do not speak and neither does she.

Even the world itself seems to quiet in the face of her accusations, fury boiling to the surface so hot it incinerated all it touched.

"I will kill them myself."

Their words are quiet, but they are not soft– there is a vindictive, searing anger that explodes out like dying stars within their eyes. The sight of constellations replaced by a void that would not be . The smell of ichor grows stronger– to the point she feels almost lightheaded.

"..I am aware that I have failed in preventing this, but I had no choice in the matter. Still," They muse, their voice like the tolling of bells. A solemn melody that stills the swelling fury burning in her chest, if only for a moment. "I will rectify it– I will tear down their throne of lies and let not even the earth tarnish itself by burying their corpse among it's soil."

They pause for a moment, holding out their hand– scarred and bandaged by the weapons of the devout, yet still they take upon the burden of dirtying their hands to save those who did not save them.

"Do you trust me, Arlecchino?"

Did she?

"Will you help me?"

She exhales heavily, meeting the starry iris' of the Divine with a scowl still tugging at her lips. Arlecchino trusted no one but herself.

"..Yes."

#sagau #genshin sagau #self aware genshin #genshin impact sagau #self aware genshin impact #fic tag #imposter au #genshin cult au #genshin impact cult au #arlecchino #lyney #furina #you do NOT wanna know what i got put thru writing this fic #trying 2 find out where arle was in the few times we DO see her and going down a rabbit hole of fuck fontaine and its layout actually!#I spent like 3 hours looking it up and checking in game it gives me a migraine thinking abt it. ew #anyway trying to write a really smart character is surprisingly difficult when ur as dumb as rocks #also used an actual chess match for this and gave myself an even worse migraine trying 2 make sure i didnt repeat moves or smth #furina doesnt get a spotlight yet just imagine her sitting in the corner trembling like a wet kitten you found on the side of the road #arlecchino goes thru a crisis more at 11 #shes a tired single dad shes isnt getting paid enough for this okay #hands u a fic over half the length of the other THREE PARTS #ehe :]#is arle actually on ur side??? is she gonna double cross u???? who knows!!!!!#shes unpredictable she might stab u for funsies #anyway im gonna go nap in a ditch now this took SO LONGGGGG OH MY G-D #also just think acolytes who arent buddy buddy w reader and even resent them is so tasty #bc how r they supposed 2 know reader was a human vibing 5 minutes before their got eebied 2 teyvat..#reader gotta roll up their sleeves and get 2 WORK sometimes murder IS okay #they gotta fix some shit around here and that means committing several crimes all at once. sometimes more #a group can be g-d (just got here) their dragon (neuvi) their cat (archon) their dog (wrio) and their wolf (arle)

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myymi · 1 year

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HE'S LITERALLY A BABBYYYYY AHHHWHSHDBDB

#HE'S SO CUTEE #THIS GAME IS EVERYTHING TO ME #YOU DONT UNDERSTAND!!!!#HE GOT THE SPOTLIGHT AS HE DESERVES #this is tails' world fr #we're all just living in it #miles tails prower #tails the fox #sonic the hedgehog #sth #sonic #the murder of sonic the hedgehog #spoilers #ig??#it's just tails sprites but #better safe than sorry

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gmzriver · 11 months

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Rachel McAdams as Jessica in “The Hot Chick” icons

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anonymocha · 6 days

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Bluepoch gave us the gift of barely-subtext tragic sapphic-centric media do NOT throw that away.

Context regarding PJSK and Undertale under cut.

Project Sekai cast is dominated by female characters but mlm is more popular, meanwhile Undertale has canon wlw rep and oh my god they’re at the bottom. I have nothing against these fandoms or media (I’m literally currently/was in them) but yeah. I just HOPE r99 doesn’t end up in a similar state.

#mochagaming #if r99 ever gets even more popular and people somehow manage to out-yaoi the yuri i may actually buy a gun #‘write more yuri then’ I AM <3 AND LETS KEEP WRITING YURI R99 NATION #this is an irrational fear btw #especially since the fandoms i previously in kept fixating on the men in women-centric media #which is not bad #good for them #but its alienating for me LOL #thankfully rn r99 fandom is still diligent woman appreciators so thanks guys #keep it up #I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST MEN OR MLM #I JUST REALLY NEED THAT SAPPHIC SPOTLIGHT #LET THIS DESPERATE LESBIAN DREAM THAT HER FAV GAME STAYS YURIFUL #(because fandom activity genuinely affects the game itself so…)#reverse 1999 #I am not trying to discourage any form of fandom content #But if I see someone complain about ‘lack of men’ in this game I… I genuinely dont know??? what to say???#we dont even have enough lesbian rep. it is always cast aside.#it should be prioritized (by bluepoch) i think #like to charge reblog to cast

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babsvibes · 5 months

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Character Spotlight! 🎥✨

You know those “get to know my ship in five minutes” sheets? I thought it would be neat if there was one for characters that were a little less ship-focused. The incredibly talented @drawthethingdoppelganger helped put this cute sheet together! Feel free to interpret the questions however you like, I promise you won’t be graded. People could do the same character and have completely different answers after all. Mostly though have fun!

#babsbles #fandom game #fandom games #character sheet #character spotlight #I’m tagging my fandom because I love them most but you can do this for anyone really #bob’s burgers #bobs burgers

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wizzsp · 1 month

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vampires your masquerade

// don't repost or use as your own character //

#vtm #vtm oc #vampire the masquerade #clan nosferatu #vtm nosferatu #ghost draws #art #drawing #aka a character that was meant to be an spc for a different solo game i've been tinkering with has taken the spotlight in my fixation brain #would love to play her in a proper game one day #oc: briar

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bbnibini · 3 months

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It's late at night and I'm really tired and consumed with thoughts of Solomon being such a...lonely existence. Alienated from humanity whom he continues to protect despite the way they treated him. Clinging to said humanity despite being told by almost everyone that he doesn't act "human-like" at all. Lacking social awareness because of his limited interactions with others.

Being forced to learn things on his own to survive, practically raising himself and filling in the gaps of his whole being by mimicking what he sees in others to feel even a semblance of what he thinks a person is and should be. Like a patched-up blanket with scraps of fabric he'd taken from different mosaics of people he made connections with over his long life. He's a reflection of humanity and what being a human is despite barely feeling like he was human in the first place.

An unwilling observer, wanting a place to belong in the very domain he protects. By that I mean he doesn't merely want to watch over others, but form connections with them. But because his experiences are hard to relate to, he's easily misunderstood. He's doomed to a life of people just barely tolerating him for being who he is. For being born the way he is.

I guess that's why I get even sadder when I see him smile. Had he learned to smile to be more approachable to others? To be more friendly? Did he become so accommodating and eager to please because of that? Why does it feel like he always seems like he's on the verge of giving up or had already given up even before he expressed his willingness to be closer to MC? His learned helplessness really hurts. He only fights back and shows anger and intense emotions when it's for the sake of others. He's incredibly attentive and thoughtful when it comes to others but could barely even prioritise himself.

#sighing rn delete later #idk i was so excited abt the spotlight event but got disappointed again #this is me just rambling cause i want him to get closure on so many things but even for the brothers #closure is hard with #how the game is structured so I'll just psychoanalyse him from the distance #obey me solomon #blurbs #these are just random unorganised thoughts in the middle of the night cause i can't fall asleep lmao

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acquired-stardust · 8 months

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Game Spotlight #7: Snatcher (1994)

Acquired Stardust's next game spotlight is here! This time Ash takes a look back at the first title in Hideo Kojima's portfolio that one would probably call a 'Kojima game' in the Sega CD port of Konami's Snatcher, a traditional Japanese-style adventure game, with an examination of some of the history and culture around its American release!

Popular wisdom recalls that the ESRB was founded in 1994 in response to the moral panic surrounding the earlier 1992 release of Mortal Kombat, but this collective memory is missing a few details - namely that it wasn't Mortal Kombat alone that created the panic. It was a trio of games, all released in 1992, that caused the mainstream American culture to pay attention to the medium, which had begun to enter its edgy teenage phase, and it did not like what it saw.

Sega CD classic Night Trap was one of the most prominent releases in the then-popular Full Motion Video field, essentially an interactive campy d-tier horror movie that tasked players with protecting the residents of a house besieged by bumbling, uncoordinated creepers with the timely use of trap doors via security camera operation. It was vaguely sort of voyeuristic in the way that likely titillated the senses of teenagers in 1994 before widespread access to the internet, but otherwise mostly unremarkable and had little redeeming qualities. Konami's own Lethal Enforcers was the third game in the trio, a fairly standard arcade shooter featuring a realistic revolver-type handgun for players to use as a controller along with Mortal Kombat style digitized actors for its visuals.

Long before Columbine at the end of the decade, these three games were singled out as essentially the harbinger of the doom of a generation of American youths, allegedly promoting violence and sexual assault against women, prompting a series of US senate hearings the following year best summed up by Democratic senator from Wisconsin Herb Kohl's stern warning on the industry needing to reign itself in: "If you don't do something about it, we will".

It's certainly true that the video game industry had begun to experiment with new, different and edgier games that would increase in their edginess in the years to come (Duke Nukem for example was released a mere 3 years after the senate hearings), but it was abundantly clear to anyone who was paying attention (and indeed anyone with a brain) that this was largely a shallow echo of the ongoing satanic panic which had the country collectively clutching its pearls since the 1980s. Night Trap was certainly not endorsing sexual violence against women (and its content was far more tame than was asserted even by the standards of 1993), and Lethal Enforcers was simply a very standard arcade shooter following the digitized graphical trend with a realistic (though brightly-colored) peripheral. However, the industry responded to the hearings in relatively short order with the creation of the ESRB (that's the Entertainment Software Ratings Board) in September of 1994, meant to advise consumers on the content of the video games they were buying in an effort to help police the perceived wild moral decay corrupting America's youth. It was somehow in this climate that Konami decided that it was time to bring Hideo Kojima's PC-88 adventure game Snatcher (originally released in Japan in 1988) to the west for the first time with an upgraded port.

While the video game scene in America had begun to show signs of maturing into its teenage years, Japan had at this point a well known pop culture machine churning out plenty of violent and sexual content (not without its own local controversy I might add), and was no stranger to content not meant for children. Typically when an American thinks of Japanese adventure games they think of Capcom's popular later Ace Attorney series, and might consider Snatcher the direct predecessor of it, but the genre has a very long history on Japanese PCs with a large number of games, often of a pornographic nature, released. It's a chapter of gaming history that is poorly preserved, particularly in the west (where it is often unknown that Enix, famous for its Dragon Quest series, started with releases of erotic adventure games in 1983), but is an important link between the two games.

Particularly foundational for the Japanese adventure game genre was 1983's Portopia Serial Murders, a game by future Dragon Quest creator Yuuji Horii, responsible for popularizing the interface and style of virtually every game in the genre to follow. Of particular note it was a young Hideo Kojima, future creator of the Metal Gear franchise, who took heavy inspiration from Portopia, seeing the adventure game genre and their cinematic nature as his pathway into doing the next best thing to what he'd always wanted to do: creating movies. And so Snatcher was born.

Snatcher is set in the fictional Neo Kobe city, a cyberpunk dystopia heavily inspired by Blade Runner, and while the video game industry may have been maturing into its teenage years, it is incredibly striking how adult Snatcher immediately comes across. Opening with a fully-voiced narration about a catastrophic Russian biohazard that killed 80% of the populace preceding the appearance of what are essentially Blade Runner's replicants (the titular snatchers), main character Gillian Seed bids farewell to the wife he recently underwent a separation with and sets off to join Neo Kobe's JUNKERs, a special police force tasked with hunting down and eliminating snatchers.

Snatcher stands head and shoulders above its contemporaries in not just the content of its story but the sophistication with which it is told. It boggles the mind that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Donkey Kong Country, incredible games in their own right, are some of the big mainstream releases of 1994 while this was also on store shelves. Immediately obvious through its incredible opening cinematic is a hallmark of creator/writer/director Hideo Kojima's titles all the way to the present day: they are incredibly dense and feature an almost overwhelming level of worldbuilding. Arriving at JUNKER headquarters only hammers the point home, with the player able to research a number of in-world historical topics that play out across multiple lengthy encyclopedia entries. While it is not necessary to fully explore these (the player does receive a few answers to later characters' questions in two entries), it goes a very long way to making the world feel very real which is an effect that the game achieves very well out of the gate with its flawed protagonist picking up the pieces and attempting to rebuild his life after a failed marriage with or without his former wife, itself a very realistic struggle that many can relate to. Another hallmark of Hideo Kojima titles is present in the form of abundant easter eggs and meta humor, with just one example of such easter eggs being that the player can use a phone obtained early in the game to call one Taeko Hayasaka (then a spokeswoman for Konami) as well as the localization director Jeremy Blaustein and receive some special dialogue.

Playing out across three acts, the player follows Gillian's investigation into the snatcher crisis gripping Neo Kobe city which threatens to spill over into the world at large all while grappling with his own amnesia stemming from a mysterious incident before the start of the game. It's worth noting that another hallmark of Kojima video games was present in the original 1988 release of Snatcher in the form of deadlines cutting his project into dramatically shorter form, where a planned six acts was cut to a mere two. Ending on a severe cliffhanger up until this generation of ports where the final third act was added in an attempt to wrap up the ongoing storyline as best as possible, the third act was somewhat controversial at the time due to its linearity in comparison with the rest of the game which is rather open in its accommodation of player sidetracking.

Though toned down in its Sega CD port to the west, Snatcher features a very surprising level of gore and sexuality (all while somehow only achieving a rating of T for teen from the ESRB) that can catch people even today unprepared for it. A clearly defiant Konami takes several shots in-game at the then-current moral panic around video games and the senate hearings that resulted in the creation of the ESRB, and it's hard to deny that had the game received more contemporary attention that it probably would've been hugely controversial in the mainstream for its violence and sexual content (much of which is based around the absurdity of being able to investigate people you meet, leading to everyone from JUNKER chief Cunningham to daughter of fellow JUNKER Katrina thinking you're an unhinged lunatic). The game does have a reputation for allowing the player to behave in a creepy manner towards female characters, itself an oft-criticized element of Hideo Kojima's works, and while that is true in some respects I found it of particular note that Gillian is able to 'investigate' every single character in the game regardless of gender (much to their dismay) and that not only is this never actually required to progress in the game, there are instances where being creepy towards female characters can result in the player being actively punished. Just because Gillian can doesn't mean that he should - a good lesson to all you people struggling with self-control out there.

All the things one typically associates with a Hideo Kojima title are present in Snatcher, including heavy inspiration from cinema, self-referential elements such as Gillian partnering with a very familiar robot sidekick appropriately named Metal Gear, to dense narratives told with an astounding level of worldbuilding and flavor, all through the style of using familiar concepts such as a setting very inspired by Blade Runner to get its foot in the door before making a hard left turn into original wonderful sci-fi insanity that culminates in what can only be described as 'a very Hideo Kojima' third act, and if you're familiar with his work you likely know exactly what that means.

The graphics and storytelling are excellent, featuring some incredible writing and localization for the time. Thanks to the Sega CD's disc-based nature the game boasts very good quality music and even a shocking level of voice work which is also similarly surprisingly high quality for a release from 1994 (though there are a few lines which fall flat), as many wouldn't consider the golden age of English voiceover dubs to start for another several years. Extremely ahead of its time in a year when we were still playing as giant gorillas jumping on crocodiles, the incredibly intricate story of Gillian Seed won't be something I forget and has held up remarkably well, serving as a great early example of the depth of experiences that gaming would come to host, particularly in the indie game scene which produces experiences often very relatable and impactful to players with a similar 'art from the artist' vibe.

In a time where the industry was beginning to reflect the sensibilities of a teenager, Snatcher largely feels very adult and manages to impress with its content and sophistication even to the present day. Hideo Kojima's freshman effort laid the groundwork for an incredible portfolio of titles and is worth experiencing for anyone who are fans of Japanese-style adventure games, visual novels, cyberpunk, or just plain good stuff.

A gem hidden among the stones, Snatcher is undoubtedly stardust.

--Ash