Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 95

Resident Evil 2 Remake is a True Return to Survival Horror

The Resident Evil 2 remake (officially titled Resident Evil 2 and affectionately known as RE2make) was one of my most-anticipated games of the year after Capcom convinced me it would actually be survival horror.

Over the weekend, I finally finished it.

And it has all the puzzle-solving, door-unlocking, area-exploring survival horror gameplay I love.

They did it. They really did it!

The over-the-shoulder camera doesn’t detract at all from the survival horror feel, and RE2make is one of the few games I’ve played that successfully adopts classic survival horror gameplay without feeling like an old game.

Playing it brought back so many memories of the original Resident Evil 2, from nostalgia when I saw certain locked doors to anxiety when I remembered dying in a particular area many times. I don’t know if I’d consider it quite as good a remake as the original Resident Evil’s “REmake,” but RE2make is pretty much everything I hoped for it when it was announced.

Now, it’s not perfect. Finishing one campaign unlocks the other character’s 2nd Run, but while it’s set up as though it’s their side of the story, the two runs don’t fit together as cohesively as the original game’s A/B campaigns.

It feels almost more like the first Resident Evil, where the two characters each have a separate story, rather than two halves of the same story. I suspect Capcom didn’t intend to include the 2nd Run at all, only each character’s main scenario, then decided to implement it after seeing how much fans wanted it.

RE2make also really dislikes music for some reason. Most areas have no music, and several themes only play once. My favorite song from any Resident Evil game ever (“The Second Malformation of G”) was also replaced with a less epic version, which disappointed me. The later boss battles had suitably epic music, though, so I’ve forgiven it. Mostly.

(I went months not looking up the soundtrack solely because I wanted to hear that song in all its remade glory for the first time when I played the game, in case you’re wondering why I’m so fixated on this one particular song being gone.)

Anyway, moving on from the lack of my favorite song, let’s talk about the horror itself. I still don’t care about the gore, but RE2make is tense. I’ve seen a lot of people say Lickers are much harder in the remake. I actually died to them less than I did in the original, but I died to regular old zombies so much more. Zombies are a legitimate threat in RE2make, and killing them is difficult enough that I quickly learned it was better to take out their legs and run around them.

Then there’s Mr. X, who is also much more intimidating than in the original. He also demonstrates how great the game’s design is.

Click for RE2make gameplay spoilersMr. X is a persistent stalker in the police station this time, but the brilliance is that by the time he shows up, you’ve already unlocked enough rooms that you rarely end up caught at a dead end.

When I heard about Mr. X in the remake, I worried that he might be a constant threat where you couldn’t properly explore and would have to rush.

Instead, it becomes a matter of fleeing through the station while figuring out the best path to take to loop back around to whatever you were trying to do when he found you.

Running panicked circuits of the police station with Mr. X in pursuit was some of the most fun I had with the game besides its core gameplay loop.

I loved the Resident Evil 2 remake. It’s a great game, and it proves that this sort of survival horror is still viable for Resident Evil. It also left me excited for a potential RE3make. I hope Capcom remakes Resident Evil 3 in the same style, and I hope Resident Evil 8 adopts this kind of gameplay as well.

Classic survival horror never died, and now it’s here to stay.

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Yakuza, Kingdom Hearts, and More Coming to Xbox

Yesterday was X019, an Xbox-centric event, and while I didn’t watch the stream live, several exciting announcements came from it.

The Yakuza series is coming to the Xbox One. Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2, which are all currently available for the PS4 and PC, will be available for the Xbox One in early 2020.

They will also be included in Xbox Game Pass, both for console and PC.

In possibly even more exciting news, the remaining Kingdom Hearts games are coming to the Xbox One in 2020 as well! It never made sense to me that Kingdom Hearts III, the conclusion of a story-driven saga that all but requires you to be familiar with the previous entries, was available for the Xbox One and yet they never brought the remix collections.

Now, Xbox One players will finally be able to play the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and experience the series properly.

2020 will also see Final Fantasy VII, VIII (remastered), IX, X and X-2, XII, all three XIII games, and XV added to GamePass. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy XIV is planned for Xbox in the future, although it isn’t ready yet.

Those are some exciting announcements for Xbox players! If you have an Xbox One, will you be picking up any of these games when they come out next year?

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The New Yakuza: Like a Dragon Trailer Ends With a Surprise

(No, it’s not the return of action combat; it’s still turn-based.)

Yakuza 7, or Yakuza: Like a Dragon as it’s known in the West, has met with its share of controversy since the reveal of its turn-based combat system, and now the latest story trailer has revealed another divisive surprise.

This massive 11-minute trailer is in Japanese and doesn’t have a translation yet, so I can’t tell you a lot about the included story details. It shows a lot of what we’ve seen before about the story premise, but there’s a fair amount of new content, too.

Even without understanding it, however, I can say the story trailer is exciting and makes me want to know what’s going on.

Then there’s the end of the trailer, which shows Ichiban facing off against a familiar face. Without context, it’s hard to say if this is a spoiler or not…

Yes, Ichiban prepares to fight Kiryu, the protagonist of the previous Yakuza games.

Kiryu’s story officially ended in Yakuza 6, and he was expected not to appear in the next game at all, so this reveal has been met with mixed opinions. Some fans are happy, because they’d been hoping he would at least get a cameo.

Other fans are disappointed, because they feel his story was wrapped up nicely. Then there are fans who are concerned they’re including Kiryu simply as a hook to keep people interested who might have been turned off by the switch to turn-based combat.

And of course, there are people worried about how it will feel if new protagonist Ichiban is able to defeat Kiryu, although it could be an unwinnable battle.

(There are even theories that Ichiban is just hallucinating him, but that’s a topic for another time.)

Meanwhile, a Yakuza: Like a Dragon demo is available now in Japan, so if you have a Japanese PSN account, you can download it to try out the new combat, mini-games, etc. for yourself. Reception of the demo seems pretty positive so far.

How do you feel about Kiryu appearing in Yakuza: Like a Dragon? What sort of role do you think he will have? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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What If “Dexit” is Canon to Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Story?

I haven’t said too much about the controversy over Pokémon Sword and Shield’s removal of the National Dex, or “Dexit” as people began calling it.

This is partly because I’m in the middle. I can understand why fans who care about collecting all the Pokémon or carrying their Pokémon over from game to game would be upset, but I have no real stake in it myself.

(I’m more disappointed about them removing the option to turn off Exp. Share.)

But today, a crazy thought came into my mind: what if “Dexit” is actually canon?

Game Freak has been pretty adamant about their decision not to include all the Pokémon in Sword and Shield, not even as DLC (which would have angered some fans, but probably pleased others). A variety of reasons have been given, but what if it actually plays into Sword and Shield’s story?

Some people have suggested that the Galar region has restrictions on what Pokémon are allowed in. There’s also the possibility that something cataclysmic has happened to remove so many Pokémon.

The missing Pokémon could end up being not only a controversial issue for players, but something significant within the game’s story, either part of the main plot (and the plans of the true villains, perhaps?) or something that would come up in the post game (I could see Looker investigating this). It would be an interesting twist on what has been a divisive situation.

Do I really think the National Dex was removed for the sake of the story? Not really… but I wouldn’t have guessed they’d make both the original games and remakes canon due to multiple timelines, either, so anything is possible.

(There’s no Mega Evolution in Pokémon Sword and Shield, so does that mean they’re in the old universe, not the newer one?)

It’s a crazy thought, but what do you think? Could the decision to remove the National Dex and not allow you to have all Pokémon in Pokémon Sword and Shield actually be related to a plot point within the games themselves? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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More Details About Summons in the Final Fantasy VII Remake

Around the same time Classic Mode was revealed for the Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix also showed a battle in which Ifrit was summoned.

At the time, they explained the basic details about Final Fantasy VII Remake Summons: each character can equip one Summon Materia, attacks will fill up the Summon Gauge, the Summons will appear on the field and fight alongside you automatically, and you can expend your ATB bar to use its special abilities until the Summon Gauge depletes and the Summons uses its ultimate attack.

Now they’ve tweeted another explanation about Summons, and it looks like there might be a little more to it.

In this explanation, producer Yoshinori Kitase says the equipped Summon Materia “resonates when fighting bosses, or certain powerful enemies, and special conditions are met.” While the Materia is resonating, you can use the Summon command.

Unlike the original description, which made it sound like your Summon Gauge would fill in response to your attacks, this suggests you can only use it under certain circumstances, such as boss fights. Since the Summons fights alongside you, this is probably to make sure there aren’t issues with summoning one in a narrow hallway or something else that could cause issues.

Here’s hoping it won’t be too restrictive.

What do you think about the latest details on Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Summons system? Do you think the “special conditions” required for Summons will feel restrictive or natural? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Possible Final Fantasy XVI Concept Art and a New Square Enix IP

It’s been known for a while now that Naoki Yoshida, the director of Final Fantasy XIV, is working on a new game for Square Enix as the head of the Third Development Division.

Ever since it was announced, fans have speculated that it might be Final Fantasy XVI, especially since Yoshida had previously said he would like to see the next mainline Final Fantasy game to be more traditional fantasy.

Now, we might have gotten to see the first concept art for his unannounced new game. The Third Development Division’s recruitment page now includes a piece of art next to the description of the “new core project” that has now entered the full-scale development phase.

Some fans have noted similarities between the concept art and areas in Final Fantasy XIV, but it appears to be a different location and most likely related to the new game.

While we still don’t know if it’s a Final Fantasy game or not, much less Final Fantasy XVI, it’s still exciting to think of the possibilities.

Meanwhile, Square Enix’s First Development Division also has a new project listed on its recruitment page, this one being a new IP and an action game.

Will either of these new games be announced anytime soon? Maybe not, especially since the second project is so new, but since Square Enix is hiring for their development, we should have exciting announcements to look forward to in the future. Meanwhile, what ever happened to Babylon’s Fall…?

Are you excited for Yoshida’s mysterious new fantasy game? Do you think it is Final Fantasy XVI? What about the new IP in development? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Resolving the Sinister Mysteries of The Last Door With Season 2

Celebrating All Things Spooky 2019 is now over, and we had three winners this year: Moombit in first place with 28 points, Ellie in second place with 20 points, and Ludwig in third place with 10 points.

The winners have received their prizes, aside from the one who picked the game review. That will be coming up soon!

But although October is over, we aren’t quite done with horror yet.

When I reviewed The Last Door, I mentioned my interest in playing the sequel to see the rest of the story.

Well, I recently picked up Xbox GamePass for PC to play The Outer Worlds, and what else happens to be included with GamePass but The Last Door: Season 2!

The Last Door ended with the protagonist’s psychiatrist, Dr. Wakefield, setting out in search of him. Season 2 follows Wakefield as his attempts to learn what happened to his patient draw him into the same growing darkness the first season established so well.

It feels a lot like its predecessor, being a wonderfully atmospheric and Lovecraftian point-and-click adventure game with pixel art graphics and an orchestral soundtrack, once again split across four episodes.

The episodes are a bit longer this time around, although it’s still a fairly short game. Each episode also features multiple locations this time, but they still feel self-contained. The puzzles are a little trickier and sometimes a bit more obscure, but it’s worth getting through them for the story.

While the first game largely set up the mystery, the sequel brings answers (while leaving some things ambiguous). This gives it a different tone, but it still feels horrific and entrenched in the darkness and madness its predecessor set up. I could see them eventually returning with a Season 3 set in the same universe, but as it stands now, Season 2 wraps up the story with a satisfying resolution that brings things to a close while holding true to its atmosphere and style.

I’m happy I played both The Last Door and The Last Door: Season 2. Interestingly, the developers went on to make a game that looks completely different, so maybe someday I’ll try that.

But if you’re in the mood for a short bit of cosmic horror, check out The Last Door and its sequel!

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Announcing Horror Visual Novel “Not It”

What’s this, two posts in the same day?

That’s right, because I have a special announcement this Halloween!

This year, I worked with a team from Party Tales participating in the Spooktober Visual Novel Jam, which challenged people to create a horror or otherwise spooky visual novel during the month of October.

Now, the visual novel we made for the event is available from itch.io: Not It.

Not It is a choice-driven horror visual novel about a town plagued by a curse every Halloween… and the group of people who end up trapped at the inn on Halloween night.

I was the writer for Not It, so if you check it out, be sure to let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween!

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Shadow Hearts

Happy Halloween!

For my longer horror game this year, I held a poll on social media to pick a game, and readers chose Shadow Hearts!

Shadow Hearts is one of those games I’d wanted to play for a long time and finally got a copy this year. It’s a turn-based JRPG set in 1913, where a young man named Yuri who can transform into monsters rescues a young woman named Alice, who is being hunted by a warlock for unknown reasons.

It has a very Gothic horror tone, with curses, vampires, demons, and similar supernatural phenomena. Without spoiling it, the story was exactly the sort of thing I love.

Click for Shadow Hearts spoilersBy the time the plot brought in the Inquisition, which secretly still existed, I was starting to feel like this story was tailor-made for me, and that was before it took a decidedly Lovecraftian turn near the end.

It’s also a spin-off/sequel to Koudelka, another game I’d like to play someday. I expected its links to Koudelka to be just a few minor references, but the connections are more important than that. Several moments left me wanting to check out Koudelka, although Shadow Hearts still stands on its own perfectly well.

I generally liked all of the main characters, even though by the end I settled in on a single group I preferred to use in battle, and the villain wasn’t as one-dimensional as he first appeared. Overall, it has a pretty good cast.

While it’s a turn-based RPG, the combat system has a twist due to the “Judgment Ring.” The Judgment Ring system requires you to hit certain indicators on a ring when it’s your turn, not just to make your attack more powerful, but to attack at all. This adds additional tension (should you try for the more powerful attack and risk missing entirely?) and makes the combat feel unique even when compared to similar systems.

Now, I messed a few things up and missed some stuff that would have made my life a lot easier. I intended to have this blog post up yesterday, except I didn’t successfully beat the final boss until about 10 minutes ago!

Since I enjoyed Shadow Hearts so much, however, maybe someday I’ll start a new game and this time take care to avoid those mistakes – and also get the good ending, since Shadow Hearts has two endings.

Shadow Hearts is an excellent horror JRPG, and I’m so happy I finally got a chance to play it. I’ll be looking forward to play its sequel sometime in the future… maybe next October?

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: The Last Door

A few months ago, I picked up several games in a sale, including The Last Door.

The Last Door is an adventure game split into four episodes. The first episode begins with the main character receiving a strange letter from an old friend and then traveling to his manor, only to learn that things have gone terribly wrong.

From there, the remaining three episodes deal with his attempts to find out what happened and the consequences of his investigation. I don’t want to go into too much detail, because it’s a pretty short game. It took me about 3 hours to finish the entire thing, with roughly 45 minutes per episode.

It’s a point-and-click adventure game, but since it’s divided into episodes, each episode has its own self-contained area and puzzles to solve. Some parts are tricky, but overall it’s not too hard since each episode is so small.

And the story is wonderfully Lovecraftian. The first episode is creepy on its own and really sets the stage for what is to follow, a story of people who delved into a world they should never have touched and now are paying the price as an ancient force stirs.

It also has a great atmosphere, especially due to the soundtrack.

Some of the episodes are better than others, but overall I enjoyed The Last Door a lot. It ends on an ominous cliffhanger (or you could view it as a dark ending with a sequel hook), so I’ll definitely pick up The Last Door: Season 2 to see how the story ends.

And don’t worry – my review of Shadow Hearts is coming soon as promised! In fact, I played The Last Door after realizing I wouldn’t be done with Shadow Hearts in time for today’s post…

In the meantime, don’t forget that you have until the end of this month to get my horror stories The Book at Dernier and It Came Back for $0.99 each, as well as to earn points and win prizes just by posting here on the site!

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