A Night To Forget... - Until Dawn

Hello beautiful people of the Internet! And not so beautiful ones... hehe. It's that time of the week again at last! And this time we're actually going to do a post because REN just plain forgot about it last week. I did n- Oh fine you can have that one... ugh.

Anyway we're back and ready to preach, readers, so here's a little look at Until Dawn.

Until Dawn is Supermassive Games' take on the Survival Horror and Interactive Drama genres and a much more spooky game compared to other similar titles such as Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain. A take on the typical 'trapped in a secluded area with a maniac' plot, Until Dawn sees eight (very intelligent) college friends venture up to a snowy lodge on a mountain in the late evening for a party. One year ago two of their friends disappeared at this very same lodge. Great place for a party, right? Anyway they get trapped there and there's a psycho maniac trying to kill them because the lodge is built on sacred ground or something... There's a lot of mysteries to discover but we'll get to those later.

Ren's face in the morning is the stuff of nightmares
Hey.

Imagine if all the horror games got together for a party. Resident Evil and Silent Hill are the hosts, they know what they're doing and have been doing it for years, everyone loves them. Corpse Party is the new kid on the block, looking cute but desperately trying to fit in. And then there's Until Dawn, running around screaming "Look what I can do!" and trying to show off all it's 'unique' features to make everyone love it, which works on some people but not others.The way I see it, Until Dawn is a game that is so far up it's own arse it can see the light. The game prides itself on how your decisions and quick thinking influence the story, and it can't go more than ten minutes without shoving that fact in your face. The game is all about the Butterfly Effect, a principle from chaos theory which states that a small seemingly inconsequential thing, such as a butterfly flapping its wings, can have a huge influence in the future. Like making a hurricane.

Until Dawn makes use of this effect all throughout the story, in varying extremities. From causing petty arguments to... oh I don't know... flat out leaving one of your so called friends for dead. It's all in there. Take for example the early option to show off by shooting a squirrel instead of a bell. Shoot the squirrel and later on nature is out of balance and will conspire to get you killed as a consequence even hours later. The game loves to show you the consequences of your choices. There's also a strange scene between each chapter where you spend time with Dr Hill, who is presumably some kind of psychiatrist. Those parts are pretty damn surreal, but it get's you thinking about things you wouldn't exactly think about,  and at the same time hints at other, more sinister things. When you tell him your fears they'll appear in the story, and a picture he shows you in an early encounter, shows up in the main game a bit later. the game does a pretty good job of raising lots of questions.

Considering all the choices are made by you, these personality traits hardly matter since you basically bend them at will anyway.

There's a lot of clues littered throughout the various areas of the game that come together to reveal a number of conspiracies, from events 50 years ago to the truth about the missing girls and the identity and motives of the maniac, there's a surprising amount to discover in a game that lasts less than ten hours at best, but it all comes together very satisfyingly.

The game falls flat in some places of course, falling victim to silly flaws of the interactive movie genre. Interacting with items is done by pressing X to get close then R2 to hold them, and various other combinations of movement to do other things. Now why these games feel that the action of grabbing things has to be done by holding a button just feels silly, I'd say it was part of the whole immersion thing by making you grab when the character grabs, but it never really had that effect. Camera angles vary dramatically and change to complete different perspectives all the time. It can make controls hard and has received a lot of criticism from other reviewers. I actually like it though. It's revealed that there are hidden cameras around the area and the maniac is always watching the characters' actions. it would make sense that these often unusual camera angles were the eyes of that madman's cameras. Just let that sink in for a second. 

Girl in the bath, naked, listening to music... and you steal her clothes instead of killing her. Well they don't call you a madman for nothing. 
I dunno, I'd probably do that too you know...
You pervert!

Oh but no matter what you say, the way the characters walk around is beyond horrible. It's slow, the controls are relatively unresponsive and no matter what is going on, even when going after a potentially kidnapped friend, or following a trail of blood, they JUST. WALK. SLOWLY. EVERYWHERE. Like seriously, you're in danger of dying or losing a friend right here do you think you want to act like it at some point!?

Regardless of all that Sin has to say here though, we did enjoy Until Dawn. It is a very good example of horror game and there's a reason it won so many awards. It executes all it's tension well and has a cool way of manipulating the story in that any and every character can die through the course of the game, or none of them can, it's all about the choices you make. There's that god damned selling point again. The only real problem is that the game is best served up fresh. Once you start learning the consequences of various actions you'll know what's coming and what has to change in any future playthroughs, and the impact of the game is completely lost on any subsequent playthroughs as you know how to save (or kill) any of the characters. Of course, the whole time the lives of these 'kids' are in your hands... You psychopath.

So... We're finally all done with Until Dawn Sin! You uh... Can let go of my hand now...
S-Shut up Ren! I was just making sure you didn't poop yourself again.
What? I never- Oh whatever, the readers all know what's up anyway. Until next time friends!
We love you all!

Ren Score: 8/10
Sin Score: 6/10

A Tale That Overperforms - Undertale

Hello beautiful people of the Internet! And not so beautiful ones... hehe. We're back at long last! We've really been waiting for this moment! Finally! Ren and Sin are back to bring you more reviews! Would you just shut up a second? My god you're so loud. But aren't you happy Sin? I know you've been eagerly thinking up ideas for this review... Sh-shut up Ren! J-Just start telling our adoring fans about Undertale already!

Okay so... Undertale is a game that utterly defies description. In fact I would even go so far as to say it's less of a game, more an experience which you have to try for yourself before judging it. To the untrained eye, Undertale looks like a generic old RPG from the days of the NES, but there's something a whole lot deeper in here. You play as a small androgynous child who has fallen from their home into an underground world known as The Ruins, where there are a number of quirky and unique monsters, and your sole goal is to find a way back home. Battles execute in a standard turn- based RPG fashion, but it's not a case of selecting fight and seeing how much damage you do. When you attack you have to stop a series of bars moving across the screen in the right place to deal damage, and when dodging attacks gameplay takes place in a bullet hell style dodge-fest as you maneuver your soul (a little red heart) around to avoid countless projectiles being fired at you in different ways. Dodging can be very difficult but it makes the combat all the more difficult and rewarding.

Knight Knight? The Good Morningstar? Seriously?
(Hysteric laughter)

 But of course that's the combat, and while it's a big part of the game, it's really not the thing that makes this game so amazing. It's a strange kind of moral adventure really, and though it doesn't outrightly tell you so, the game wants you to beat it in one of two ways. The choice it expects you to take is as standard, killing everything you fight. Your kills reward you with EXP and LV (or Love) and you level up like regular RPG progression. Alternatively, Undertale's combat system gives you the opportunity to 'ACT' instead of 'FIGHT'. 'ACT'ing will give you a number of different options all dependent on the enemy you are facing, certain animal monsters you may be able to pet, for example. Doing the right things with all the enemies will allow you to 'MERCY' them, granting you no EXP or stats, but you get to be happy knowing they're still living a (mostly) happy life. That is the other way to play, kill nothing. Between that you get just a mediocre and somewhat disappointing ending. But the genocider and the pacifist endings are where the real glory is at, and for a story written by basically just one guy, it has one hell of an impact. I mean the writing is great, Sin here was doing the genocider run and was in tears within the first ho- S-SHUT UP. I was fine okay? I-I just had something in my eye the moment I struck that girl down with one last... almighty... oh.... oh god... (sob)

Ah... The human... Bask in that deep, indifferent, unchanging stare... But is it the stare of a murderer? You decide.

Ah... Uhm... Okay so as I was saying! All the elements of Undertale come together to make something great. Although it only lasts at most around 5 hours there's a lot more to see than you'll probably discover in more than one playthrough. Certain items found early on, for example, can have nasty repercussions if you accidentally eat them in a fight and don't have them later on. There's a shocking amount of thought and detail that has gone into this short gem, and it shows in every pixel.

Boss fights all adjust the game mechanics a bit and are really exciting and unique to play.
They also get lots more silly... Especially this guy...

Though you don't get to see particularly much of any of them, many of the characters also have a surprising amount of depth to them, take fan-favourite comedic duo Sans and Papyrus who... well, their dialogue is written in Comic Sans and Papyrus respectively, for starters. The two least serious fonts besides Wingdings, but we don't need to go into that. Basically it means you're not supposed to take them seriously either, but I'm sure you intelligent readers got that. Papyrus' goal is to kill a human and join the Royal Guard. (Ahem) S-Sorry uh... Papyrus' goal is to kill a human so he will finally be allowed into the Royal Guard and have friends and be 'cool' like he' always wanted to be. The joke there being that he's about as uncool as you can get and he grows to really like the Human, especially when you use the 'Flirt' option while you fight him, but you can enjoy that for yourself. All throughout the game there's all kinds of wordplay and humour the mock different kinds of people and tropes yet also endear you to them. And of course there's a LOT of really bad jokes too. Very well executed bad jokes, mind  you, and if you're about an hour in and not laughing your soul out then Undertale probably isn't for you. But if you do try it and don't like it... It probably says something about the kind of person you are... You know, like a total bore or a some studious nerd that doesn't find anything fun except next term's upcoming Quantum Algebra Within Electromagnetic Cells exam. 

Oh look it's Sin!
Oh come on Ren is that supposed to be a joke? Everyone knows I'm not a plane. This is a new low even for you.
... You're kidding right?

It's hard to explain what it is that makes Undertale so special. It's just something that is. Something you feel within you when you play. It's a charming mix of serious morality and quirky comedy that just gets you right there. Whether it's the running theme of pure determination and facing what's ahead A-HEAD on- Ow! (Don't do that.) Orrrr... the beautiful varied soundtrack which really adds to the feel and atmosphere of every fight and location, Undertale is nothing short of a gaming work of art.

So... Sin... Did you uh... finish your run yet?
H-huh? Oh uhm.... Yes! Yes I did!
... You're still stuck fighting S-
YES. YES I AM OKAY SHUT UP. It's my punishment for being a genocider, okay!? That fight is impossible and it's all YOUR FAULT anyway! It's not like I wanted to kill them all or anything!
My fault? You're the bitch that killed 'Goat-
Ah... D-Don't... (Sob)
Oh uhh... Whoops! Until next time everyone! We love you all!

Ren Score: 9/10
Sin Score: 8/10