I was interested in this until the Edge [5] took the wind out of my sails. I never played Heavenly Sword, but I did enjoy Enslaved, which struck me as a Beyond Good & Evil type deal, in that it was such a likeable effort fans allowed themselves to mistake its charms for greatness. I was prepared to back Hellblade at launch because the double A triple A digital download thing is a terrific idea imo - I've been championing a mid-tier pricepoint for non kitchen sink, modernised throwback gaming for ages. Up with this sort of thing. Anyway, as mentioned the Edge review was enough put me off until it started creeping into various GotY lists, while creeping down in price. I grabbed it at £15.99, which is bargain territory if the slightly odd backwards thinking gameplay clicks. Anyone who craves the possibilities offered by a Horizon: Zero Dawn should steer clear, unless they're fully prepared for a game that offers pretty much zero possibilities for anything other than the rinse/repeat nature of puzzle-fight-puzzle-fight progression. I'll applaud Ninja Theories' attempts at taking puzzle solving in an unusual direction, but it'd just be a polite golf clap as it doesn't quite work. The fun drains away pretty quickly when you find yourself shape matching for the 6th time in 20 minutes. The fight system is also an acquired taste, but something I definitely appreciated. Don't expect Bayonetta, or even God of War. Or even Conan on 360. It's a hefty, slow paced chunky hack 'n slasher, but light/heavy attacks, dodge, slow-mo, guard break and run are pretty much the limits of your abilities. The fights are usually brief so by the end the simplicity isn't quite over-milked, but it wasn't far off and I could see some people absolutely despising the combat. I thought it was great, but I don't mind repetition in games if I enjoy what I'm doing.
*Spoilers ahead*
*/end spoilers*Spoiler:
The inner voices/split personalities thing is well done to a point, but the whole thing is pretty heavy handed so just about everything ends just as it threatens to outstay its welcome. There's about 5-6hrs of game here. I didn't want more but I wouldn't have wanted less.
There's more to say - visuals and audio are striking - but this review's a bit windy already, so I'll recommend it to anyone who enjoyed something like Ryse or The Order and occasionally finds themselves dreading the 35hr runtime of the next big thing. Definitely the strongest [7] I've played for years, but not for everyone.
Moot_Geeza wrote:Overboard the PS1 game?
hylian_elf wrote:Ah, Midnight Suns. I got that in the recent sale. Looking forward to it, hopefully will enjoy it.
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