I'm a Viking Failure

I've been striking out with games lately--I've been trying to play through several games from my wishlist that I snatched impulsively (they were on sale...you know how it goes) and I just haven't found anything that has managed to grab my attention in a big way.  The best of the batch has been Valheim, a Norse mythology/Viking themed survival game.  It has been a surprise hit, but I'm still feeling a bit on the fence about it.

There's not much of a story in Valheim--you play as the resurrected spirit of a fallen Viking warrior whose task is to rid the world of some corrupted, boss-kind of spirits.  Find baddies, kill baddies--got it.  The real magic of the game lies in the survival and exploration aspects.  Your character starts off barely clothed, with no weapon, and no shelter (and no idea what you're doing).  Fortunately, the controls are intuitive and easy to figure out (and you get some helpful tips from your raven guides).

Check out my impressive Viking home!

My first task was to figure out how to craft literally anything.  Once I had built a work bench, I got to work trying to cobble together an impressive Viking abode (see picture for the ultimate "impressiveness").  I learned quickly that my little Viking house needed ventilation so the smoke from my campfire had somewhere to go (makes sense).

Now that my character had some shelter, I decided to focus on trying to get her some upgraded gear.  This entailed a lot of running around, picking up flint, and tracking down wild boars for leather scraps.  Getting enough leather scraps to create a new leather tunic, leather pants, and a leather helmet was a bit of a chore.  I had several moments of genuine frustration (finding wild boars means trekking all over the map and locating roaming individuals or small packs--if you're lucky).  I also discovered that some gear would require deer skins--killing deer with a melee weapon was rough because they run away, so I had to figure out how to craft a bow and arrows.  More leather scrap hunting.  Finally, I had my bow...and I couldn't hit anything!  I had to Google why that was happening and found out that you have to aim ABOVE your target because the arrow flies in an arc.  Sheesh....

I spent some time penning and taming some boars (which turned out to be pointless in the early game...you can't kill them until you've crafted a butcher knife which requires components in a different zone that I couldn't access yet) and was still hesitant to go after the first boss.  If you die in Valheim, you lose all your gear (your character is resurrected with nothing--but can retrieve all items by corpse running back to the marker where you died) and suffer a small skill loss penalty.  Once I had upgraded my gear a little bit, I decided it was time--I summoned the first boss, a giant, evil looking stag that charges and can summon various lightning attacks.  I managed to defeat it (mostly by running away and shooting it with arrows from afar--plus, it sort of got stuck and I could just stand and shoot it--a bit on the cheese side, but it counts!) and got the message that I was ready to head into the next zone.

The Black Forest biome has been quite an adventure, there are burial chambers scattered throughout the zone which are filled with skeletons (who hit pretty hard).  Exploring these chambers is necessary to find materials required to utilize metals that you can mine (if you can find them...I've found some tin, but no copper so far).  I've managed to die a lot in those chambers (but I've figured out the evil bone piles) and spend too much time trying to fetch my corpse and fend off skeletons.  I also had a tragic run of bad luck--while running from a pair of starred skeletons who were kicking my ass, I managed to run straight into a troll who smacked me dead.

I've been feeling a bit torn by Valheim--I've had moments of genuine frustration (farming leather scraps), but I still find myself wanting to continue exploring and upgrading my potato-faced Viking.  Maybe someday she will be worthy of Valhalla?  For now, I'm content just to survive the latest trek into a burial chamber.

A Smokin' Hot Cyberpunk Take...

I juuust stumbled across this article (Link:  "What if I Told You Cyberpunk 2077 is a Better Game than GTA V?" ) and daaaang, I hope this journalist is prepared for the entirety of the INTERNETS to ruthlessly mock him.  If there's one thing that the gaming community on the internet enjoys, it's shitting all over Cyberpunk 2077 at any given opportunity.  I gotta say though, I love confirmation bias and this article completely confirms everything I feel about Cyberpunk.

His first argument Night City > Los Santos--I mostly agree with.  I think Night City has a bit of an edge automatically just because of the cyberpunk genre--it's gotta have the neon, the grittiness, and the corporate overlords perched on their shiny towers.  That's always going to be more interesting than a fictional city that's a thinly veiled stand-in for a real location.  Night City is gorgeous though and I would choose it over Los Santos any day.  I do wish there was a bit more variety in some of more urban areas.

Los Santos definitely has a greater variety of activities for players to pursue (I think Rockstar is really good at making open worlds) and feel like that's a part of Cyberpunk that is severely lacking.  We need a gwent equivalent in Cyberpunk!

Who's breathtaking?  It's V.

The second argument he makes is V > Franklin and Michael.  For sure, but I feel like that's a bit like comparing apples and oranges.  GTA V is completely scripted and players don't get to choose dialogue (or really make any major story decisions) and are merely playing through their story.  It's much easier to feel invested in a character who players get to actively shape through choices.  I actually liked the switch between protagonists in GTA V--you get three different stories that weave together.

He also brings up something that I hadn't thought about at all--the main characters in most first-person games are usually very underdeveloped in terms of character.  They're simply a gun (or *insert random weapon*)-toter whose job is to slay the baddies and get better through the course of the game, but who players don't really learn much about.  V is definitely a great exception.

The argument about Cyberpunk supporting cast > GTA V supporting cast is a most definite winner.  CDPR is great at writing characters--I think Rockstar has gotten better at it (Arthur Morgan in RDR2 is pretty awesome and the Van der Linde gang is memorable), but that their strengths lie in making great worlds.  Beside the three main protagonists in GTA V, I couldn't even begin to tell you who the other supporting characters were (I also haven't played GTA V in quite awhile).

His final argument--Cyberpunk combat > GTA V combat--is also a bit problematic.  You're talking about two games with different gameplay--first person vs. third person--and also two games that were released years apart.  I would definitely agree that Cyberpunk's combat is better, but I wonder what it would be like if the game had stayed third-person.

I think GTA V definitely beats Cyberpunk in several different categories--driving, chases, and anything vehicle related is always a ton of fun.  I wish there were more high stakes vehicle-related activities in Cyberpunk.  I've always really enjoyed the heist missions in GTA V-picking your crew, having to make choices about how to carry out the heist, and then the high-stakes of the actual event and think that's another major strength.  (I actually did have the thought about how awesome it would be to have GTA-style heists/missions in Cyberpunk--like you have to pick a crew and then do a mission--how cool would that be!)

This journalist wins brownie points for choosing a title (and topic) that will get him plenty of clicks (particularly from the aforementioned folks who seem to emerge from their dens at any positive mention of Cyberpunk).

It's Like Uber for Spirits--Spiritfarer

Lately I've been feeling a desire to play something new and not just re-play some of the ol' tried and trues.  I've been keeping a keen eye on my wishlist to see when something goes on sale and trying to grab it.  I managed to grab Spiritfarer on sale and have been mostly enjoying its indie charm.

What is Spiritfarer?

It's a casual game about taking over the spirit-transporting reins from Charon--yeah, the creepy boatman has decided to move on to other opportunities in the spirit world.  Your character, Stella, a young girl, and her cat friend, Daffodil, are now in charge of tracking down and transporting lost spirits to the great beyond.  Not every spirit is ready to move on though, and part of your/Stella's task is to get to know the spirits and fulfill their last wishes.

What is the gameplay like?

It's a blend of light platforming and management.  Stella is fortunate that she receives a new ship rather than Charon's rinky-dink boat, and trying to locate lost spirits means exploring the various islands and locations in the spirit world.  The platforming comes in when you navigate the world and also for certain events and in traversing your own ship as it grows much larger.

Once Stella locates a lost spirit, he/she will agree to join the crew of the Spiritfarer.  Each spirit has their own story and requires a certain level of care--they still have to eat and they need a place to live while they're aboard.  The management part of the game involves building resource producing structures aboard your ship and also gathering materials from the various islands that make up the spirit world.  Stella is constantly busy with cooking food for passengers, trying to fulfill their requests, and also upgrading the Spiritfarer.

I've been playing for around 30 hours and I still have a few spirits to find, so you can count on playing for a decent chunk of time (if you're wanting to be somewhat completionist).

Over the course of the game your ship gets quite...enormous.

Pros:

+ It's a relaxing game with only mild pressures to worry about--a good choice for someone looking for a casual game.  You can't really die and even if you mess up and forget something (like feeding your sheep) there aren't any serious consequences.

+ Getting to know each spirit is fun.  They each have their own personality and backstory--some are fun and goofy and others are sadder and much more poignant.  Each has their own food preferences and it's enjoyable to figure out their likes and dislikes.  When it comes to housing, each has their own style and seeing the final product helps provide some insight.

+ The music is pleasant and fits the game well.

+ It deals with a heavy topic (death) in a touching way.  Once Stella has helped each spirit accomplish his/her final wishes, they decide when they're ready to go through the Everdoor.  The same sequence of events plays out--the ship arrives near the Everdoor, all the spirits aboard will wait near the life boat while Stella accompanies the spirit travelling to the door (it's like everyone is saying goodbye), and then Stella rows the spirit to the door.  During the short boat trip, the spirit will discuss their life and struggles--many of them are very relatable.  Once they arrive at the door, Stella will give the spirit a final hug and then the spirit will head off to the other side.  The music, the discussion, and the sense of sending them off is very well done and you do get a sense of sadness and loss (many reviews describe it as tearjerking--I didn't find it to be quite that strong, but if you have experienced loss recently, it could be very emotional).  ADDED 9/13/21:  Okay, so I hadn't played fully through the story...and wow, did cry...a lot at the ending.

+ There are several different categories of collectibles for those people who like to 100% stuff.

+ Exploration is a key part of the gameplay.  Many of the islands have chests and hidden areas which are only accessible once you've acquired various upgrades for Stella.

+ Building and managing structures aboard your ship is a bit like playing Tetris--maddening and fun.  You start off with a relatively small amount of buildable space but can upgrade your ship to add more.  The crazy part about adding more space is that only a small amount of it is horizontal--much of it is vertical.  Toward the late game, your ship is unrealistically stacked with structures (it's the spirit world though...so who cares about reality.)

+ Side missions and shenanigans offer up other opportunities for exploration and activities.

+ Special resources are gathered through random activities located at multiple places around the map.  These activities usually involve a short bout of platforming to catch flying jellyfish, bottle up some lightning, or many others.

Cons:

- Can feel grindy and repetitive at times.  You're often doing many of the same activities to gather resources and take care of the spirits aboard your ship.

- I had moments of feeling lost and not sure what I should be doing.  The game does give you a mission log, but there are times when you might need a resource that you haven't encountered yet and you have no idea how to find it (Google-ho, basically).

- Keeping track of required materials can be a bit of a pain.  Many of them require multiple steps to make a finished product (like smelting ore into ingots or cutting wood into planks) and it's easy to forget all the materials--this can get annoying as you have to return to the blueprint table to check and then back to the crafting building.  I mostly wrote things down, but I wish there was a slightly better system for tracking the needed materials.

Recommendation:

Spiritfarer is a cute, relaxing indie game that can feel a bit grindy at times.  It's good for players looking for something they could play in shorter bouts or for something that's not high-pressure.  It deals with death and loss in a touching way that anyone can relate to.

Wildermyth is Hero Building Fun

After finishing up my outlaw adventure in Red Dead Redemption 2, I decided it was time for a vacation from the triple A titles.  My summer has been filled with Cyberpunk and cowboys and I need something decidedly different.  It was time to take a gander at the ol' Steam wishlist and try to pick my next excursion into an electronic fantasyland.  I landed on Wildermyth, a turn-based, procedurally generated, RPG that has glowing reviews.  I've gotta admit, those reviews are spot-on too!

Pros:

+ A number of different campaigns to choose from.  There are five story campaigns (which have a set storyline that you play through) or players can choose to play a procedurally generated campaign.  Campaigns are made up of chapters--basically a certain set of objectives that must be completed (in story campaigns this means the story missions) before you move on to the next part of the story.  Each campaign plays out on a procedurally generated map and involves facing off against a different type of enemies.

Zyndolf--one of my legacy heroes.  Check out the pet!

+Freedom to craft your characters (or not).  The campaigns start with you choosing your squad--the first campaign has you pick three random characters (the number of characters varies by campaign for story reasons).  You can create custom characters and handpick their appearances and traits or you can use the randomizer.  The traits you choose for your characters can impact how they react to different events that happen throughout the story and each character has a short description of their personality (for example, my character Zyndolf is a "cowardly peacemaker").  At first, your characters are generic,  but the first time they level up you can choose which class they will be.  There are currently three classes--warrior, hunter, and mystic.  Once you pick a class, you can choose a single class ability.  Each subsequent time a character levels up (you earn points for defeating enemies to complete map objectives) you are presented with a menu of 4 abilities (which are randomized)--you can choose to improve an ability they already have or pick a new, additional ability.  Some abilities are specifically tied to a class and some are general improvements like more health.  Since everything is randomized, there's also the chance that there might be some abilities that suck (like getting a ranged bonus for a melee character).  In that case, you can opt to use special "legacy points" to re-roll your options (I will explain Legacy Points later).  This system might sound a little wonky, but it means that no two heroes are exactly the same.

You can also choose certain other traits that can have an impact on the story.  Some characters (generally those with a "romantic" personality) will fall in love with other characters--you can choose who they're attracted to (there's a handy "attracted to men/women" box that you can check/uncheck).  Characters can also form rivalries with other characters.  This doesn't have an impact on the story, but it does have some impact on combat because the characters will sometimes try to one-up each other (there's some sort of buff that I still haven't figured out).  You can also choose whether or not they will form rivalries.

Characters can have children (or not--it's something that can be toggled on/off--it also doesn't mean that they ALL have children) and when a hero retires, their child will join your party.

My tier 2 legacy heroes.

+ The Legacy Hero system is a unique way to save all your favorite characters.  One interesting aspect of campaigns is the fact that your heroes age and will eventually retire (the age at which they retire is actually a stat that can vary based on factors like in-game events or injuries).  This means that you need to keep recruiting to bring in younger heroes to fill the void.  The nice part is that your heroes are added to your "Legacy" and can be brought back in other campaigns (at a younger age and at a lower level--basically they will level up through the new campaign).  When you complete Legacy campaigns (a procedurally generated, non-story campaign), you also have the option to promote 1-2 heroes (or more depending on the number of Legacy points you accrue) to the next Legacy tier.

A half-explored map itches to be uncovered.

+ Procedural generation offers almost infinite replayability.  If you decide to replay a campaign, the map and events that you encounter (other than the main story missions) will be different.  There are also various difficulty levels to choose from as well as the option to choose "calamities" which mean that enemies start with a certain number of buffs. 

+ Ton's o' strategizing.  Combat is turn-based, so of course you'll be picking and choosing the best ways to fend off all the baddies, but you'll also need to make decisions about how and when to attack, taking time to explore various character related "opportunities" that periodically appear, whether to take time to explore or build outposts (building outposts gives you resources that can be used at the end of the chapter to improve your gear), whether you should take chances in certain special encounters....there's a lot to think about.  The enemy gets stronger the longer you take...but so does your party...so it's a balancing act.

Molelle is sporting some Morthagi legs.

+ Writing is solid and offers up great stories and nice moments throughout the campaigns.  Every time you move your party to a new tile and scout it you get a new event.  The events are illustrated with a series of comic-like panels.  Most events offer some sort of choice for the player than can have an impact on the characters--you never know exactly what will happen or what the outcome will be, but they're lots of fun.  Some events result in your character undergoing some kind of visible, physical transformation.  (For example, Molelle encountered a strange statue that turned half her face into stone.  She also lost a leg due to an injury, but through a chance encounter found a machine that offered to "fix" her pegleg by installing a Morthagi--a species of strange necro-robot hybrids--leg.)  The nice part about the transformations is that you can choose how much they progress (sometimes they can be beneficial, but other times they can impede a character's abilities).

There are also unique, character specific opportunities that will present themselves at random and play out through a short mission.  It's another one of those tactical decisions you have to make--to divert the group for awhile, but the rewards are worthwhile (they add +10 years to retirement age, usually result in gaining a level, and possibly could involve some gear).  Or, you might get lucky and find a pet--cute critters will join your group if you choose.  These critters are mostly just for fun, but if you find the right one, it grants a special combat ability (plus, your pets show up with their chosen characters on the legacy screen).

The overarching stories in the story campaigns are fun and well written.

+ Combat is relatively simple, but can be challenging.  Warrior and hunter skills are pretty standard--melee combat and shooting stuff.  Playing as a mythic (the spellcasting class) takes some getting used to.  You don't simply fling spells, but instead must "interfuse" with different objects in the area.  The type of object that you interfuse with determines the type of spell that you can cast.  For example, if you interfuse with a tree stump, you can explode it using splinterblast--a sort of AoE attack that does low damage, but is good for shredding enemy armor.  Once you get mythic abilities figured out, things get much easier.

There are several different types of enemies (and you can face most of them throughout the campaigns even though there is generally a specific type of enemy tied up in the story)--Gorgons are a race of corrupted animals (and actual snakey-petrifier types); Morthagi are a sort of necro-robot hybrid; Thrixl are insect-like; Deepists are tunnel-dwelling cultists; Drauven are a race of giant, intelligent lizards.  Part of the enjoyment of combat is learning the abilities of the various enemies and effectively strategizing.

Combat itself is turn-based and has an almost tabletop game sort of look and feel.  Occasionally, combat can feel a bit repetitive, but then you look up at the clock and realize how long you've been playing--it has a way of sucking you in.

+ Includes editing tools and workshop support for all the creative types out there who want to design their own stories and campaigns.  I don't fully understand how any of it works because I have none of the requisite skills when it comes to programming/doing game-designey type stuff, but it looks kind of awesome.  You can make your own comic panels, design the combat missions, and create unique characters.  There's a very helpful how-to Wiki to get people started and the devs even made a YouTube video explaining how to use some of the tools.

+ Very family friendly.  There's minimal bad language (there might be a "hell" of "ass" in there somewhere), the violence is low, and there's no sexual content. It's definitely something that would be safe for older kids to play (mechanics might be a bit complex though).

+Legacy points system.  For completing certain story tasks you earn special points.  These points can be used to fill in the gaps if you're short on materials (at the end of each chapter you have an opportunity to use the materials you've accumulated from assaulting and fortifying map tiles to upgrade your gear), they're used to recruit new characters, and they can also be used to remove calamities (special cards that get added to the the enemy deck--it can be a new type of enemy that will appear or buffs to the enemies you're already facing).  The system offers another strategic way to aid your heroes.

Cons:

- Only 3 playable classes.  Even though the randomization of abilities does help give each character a unique feel it would be nice to have a bit more variety.  Hopefully future plans include adding more classes.

I've been very pleasantly surprised by Wildermyth--a game that I hadn't heard anything about, but has turned out to be absolutely great.  If you like turn-based RPG's, the randomness of procedural generation, and the ability to watch your heroes grow and evolve, you should grab it.  I paid full price and am glad I did--I would gladly support the devs of this great, gem of a game.