Rest In Peace

Jeanette Masus R.I.P.

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and

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Michael Andrew Nash R.I.P.

The Dark Souls of Resident Evil

It definitely feels like a design split has occurred with regards to Capcom's long running Resident Evil franchise. While both approaches can be considered part of the survival horror subgenre RE7 and it's soon-to-be-released sequel have distinctly different styles when compared to the remakes of RE2 and RE3. Which of the these two lines of development better represent the IP? Let's dig in and find out.

Probably the single most noteworthy distinction between new Resident Evil and older/remake Resident Evil is the use of a first-person perspective.  It definitely has advantages in terms of emersion (particularly if one happens to have a VR headset).  In truth though the basis for this existed in rudimentary form as far back as Resident Evil Survivor 1 and 2 (followed by Dead Aim and the Chronicles games).  The big change here is FPS Resident Evil becoming the mainline series entries rather than just some spin-offs.

Looking back on Resident Evil Zero to 6, the gameplay was built up around a variety of third-person perspectives.  Starting with Resident Evil 4 the series began to adopt an over-the-shoulder viewpoint.  This obviously changed gameplay in fundamental ways.  It was no longer possible to use fixed camera angles to hide scares or create a moody cinematographic feel.  Another major shift was in the setting material.  Specifically, the zombies got smarter.  Instead of a bioengineered virus, the threat comes in the form of mind-controlling parasites.  Overall, the infected felt like they had more in common with John Carpenter's "The Thing" than the George Romero zombie movies that initially the inspired the franchise.  Once again, a shift has taken place; from RE6 to RE7.  Perspective, gameplay and the nature of the threat, have all changed.  The source of inspiration now feels like a mixture of found-footage horror films and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."  So, how does Resident Evil Village fit into all this?  Not being released yet makes it hard to say, but because the engine is the same I can't help wondering whether it will be more like RE2 to RE3 or RE4 to RE5?  It's also possible the game will simply be superior all around in terms of quality.  At the very least it looks like what one would get if they were to combine Resident Evil with Dark Souls 3 (or possibly Bloodborne).

Of course personal preference ultimately being the deciding factor and, while I'm normally all for innovation, I have to admit that I enjoy the RE2 and 3 remakes more than RE7.  I guess I'm more on team Leon Kennedy than Chris Redfield.  Even so, I'm glad Capcom is exploring new ways to keep the franchise fresh.  As much as I like survival horror, the subgenre has a unfortunate tendency to stagnate.  Even new IPs like Dead Space and The Evil Within were pretty derivative.  There's an old saying that goes, "what's one man's trash is another man's treasure."  When it comes to horror, "what is scary to one person is prosaic to another."  Are werewolves and vampires a potentially refreshing new direction for the franchise?  We'll just have to wait and see.

Attack of the Zelda Clones

There has never been a better time to be a Legend of Zelda fan.  More specifically, fans of the top-down entries in the series have a lot to look forward to.  Currently, several indie studios are hard at work making games that look and feel a lot like the Zelda titles of old.  Here are three in particular that caught my eye.

Radio the Universe has an weird sounding name, but very relatable gameplay.  It's basically what would happen if the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past were moved forward in time from a mythical past to dystopian future.  Don't worry though, it's still quite fantastical with quasi-medieval architecture and monsters being replaced by harsh industrial spaces and killer robots.  If you've ever played Hyperlight Drifter then just tone down the color palette and you'll know what this game is like.

Garden Story has players take the roll of an oversized sentient grape.  The gameplay appears to be pretty similar to 2D Zelda games, with some crafting/building mechanics sprinkled in to help differentiate gameplay from the iconic Nintendo franchise it draws inspiration from.  Aside from exploring the island world and dungeons found underneath, the player can befriend NPCs who are also pieces of fruit.  Incidentally, the opposition in this game is referred to as the "rot," which I suppose makes sense given the circumstances.

Tunic (originally known as the Secret Legend) has been on my Steam list for a long time.  So long, in fact, I'm not sure it will ever come out.  Like the two previously mentioned games it is a Zelda clone albeit from a more isometric perspective that tilts to a more overhead view in combat.  This 2.5D approach makes the game feel a bit like the Nintendo Switch remake of Link's Awakening.  The protagonist is a an anthropomorphic fox and a mysterious one at that.  In fact, all characters in this game communicate via a mostly indecipherable language.  "Mostly" being used here because a few worlds will be written in plain English for the purposes of providing hints to the player.

Anyway...there's a trio of games that will hopefully come out in 2021.  No guarantees though, but considering these three projects are being made independent of each other chances are at least one will be available this year.  That is unless the Epic Game Store decides to snatch them up at the last minute...         

The Perfect Siren

Siren, or Forbidden Siren (depending on where you hail from), is a trilogy of survival horror video games.  Siren and Siren 2 were released on the PS2, while the third installment (Siren: Blood Curse) was a PS3 launch game.  For the most part the gameplay is standard over-the-shoulder fare.  The one outstanding mechanic is the "Sight Jack" system.  Basically this mechanic allows the player to switch between different character POVs.  It's the only video game I can think of that makes significant use of the second-person perspective.  I've already talked about Siren before here, so rather than recap I want to focus on how one might fuse the trilogy into a single quintessential experience.

While interesting and unique horror games in their own right, all three Siren titles suffer from the same fundamental problem - none of them are able to achieve their vision.  The first game has the best storyline and characters.  To elaborate on the original game a bit more, the ensemble cast all have distinct character arcs.  It also has some aspects to the design and plot that qualify as fridge brilliance.  The strange holy symbol (featured prominently on the box art) being the arrangement of wood planks that were used to carry the "Datatsushi" (the eldritch abomination responsible for everything) to the village is one example.  Sight Jacking being the result of the Datatsushi's hive mind, and insect-like growths on cursed villagers being manifestations of it's physical form are two more.  One small detail that Siren: Blood Curse does improve on is making the "Uryen" an alien artifact rather than an ancient clay figurine.  The third game takes it one step further too by having the power of the Uryen infused into the katana "Homuranagi."  Before there really wasn't any explanation as to why these two objects were seemingly magical, but now both have some kind of explanation for their supernatural properties.

Siren 2 has the best gameplay thanks to a number of small, but cumulatively noticeable quality-of-life improvements.  There's more variety in terms of enemy designs, and playable characters run the gambit from a defenseless secondary school student to a soldier armed with an assault rifle.  The result is a lot of different scenarios that help keep things fresh.  Some of the characters have unique abilities such as being able to control whoever they are sight jacking, or seeing visions of past events.  One character (like Miyako in the first game) is blind, but has a guide dog that they have to literally see through in order to navigate certain areas.  

Meanwhile, Siren: Blood Curse is a remake of sorts and tries to trim down the cast by merging or making composites out of the original characters.  A smaller cast means more time to develop each character in theory, but it practice the characters are more erratic.  The originals were sometimes a bit one note, but at least they were consistent.  Another swing and miss is the thematic concept of strangers in a strange land.  All but two of the major characters in Siren: Blood Curse are Americans meaning that language barriers and cultural differences could be an interesting way to play up the horror, but it really isn't used effectively.  In fact, the English localization of the original Siren tweaked certain characters in weird ways.  Miyako Kajiro is a lot more sassy in Japanese than English, and Tamon Takeuchi is much less of a jerk.  The professors assistant asking if he is armed with a real gun might sound like a silly question to an American audience, but it makes sense in Japan since it's a country that doesn't allow private citizens to own side-arms unless they are fake.

There's are some other changes that are neither better nor worse, but simply different.  The final boss in the first Siren is the Datasushi, a cross between a crustacean, sea dragon and a dogū.  In Blood Curse this end game foe is replaced by the "Kaiko," an ever-changing collection of insect parts.  The roof and floor of the boss arena are made up of kaleidoscopes, a mesmerizing effect that lacks the simple elegance of the original's reflective three-sided pyramid shrouded in mist.

Sorry if this blog post comes across as a scatter-brained mess.  Much like the Siren series itself though it's hard to explain in manner that isn't a convoluted mess.  Even so, I stand by my assertation that this IP has some serious discrepancies between concept and execution.  I suppose that can be said for a lot of games, but in the case this franchise it's painfully clear when certain aspects of the design failed to really come together in a satisfactory way.  Because of that, I feel there is still an ideal version of Siren waiting to be made.  Then again who knows how many would answer the call once more...

Elden Ring

The Game Awards Show (or as some like to call it, The Game Advert Show) has ended and sadly there was nothing new to be seen with regards to Elden Ring.  Despite that, it won an award of sorts for "most anticipated game."  So, given all the built up anticipation, what do we know about this upcoming title?

From Software's latest project was announced at E3 back in 2019 and has actually been in development since 2017.  However, a large amount of resources had to be diverted to finishing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in a timely manner.  According to the head of the company, Hidetaka Miyazaki, Elden Ring is the studio's most ambitious game to date with a more open-word structure than previous Souls games.  Conversely, it will not have the classic town hub area populated by NPCs.  Instead merchants and quest-givers will be tucked away in places; waiting to be discovered.  The game sounds like it will have a greater emphasis on non-combat encounters, as well as more pronounced RPG elements.  Character creation and variety will be greater than ever before.  Because of the non-liner world design and large areas to explore, horse riding will be an important aspect of the gameplay.  It will even be possible to engage in combat without having to dismount.  Regarding the fundamentals of combat, it will be third-person and in real time.  Dungeon delving and epic boss battles will return in a form similar to that found in previous From Software games.

Overall, it sounds a lot like Dragon's Dogma meets Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.  What might make Elden Ring standout from other fantasy-themed games is the background material written by G.R.R. Martin mixed with the signature action RPG gameplay that the studio has become famous for.  There aren't many details story-wise aside from the catalyst for events being the destruction of a powerful magic artifact instrumental in maintaining the fabric of the world.  I imagine that means we will be seeing a lot of apocalyptic vistas and crumbling ruins.  To sum up everything we know thus far succinctly, it will almost certainly be recognizable as a Souls-series game, just with a bit of a different take on the setting material.  Given that nothing was shown at the Game Awards though, I think we still have a lot more waiting to do.