Noah's Reviews

Check out my video game review of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart!

And by that, I mean to say everything in this game appeals to a wide target audience for better or for worse. But don’t worry, this is a positive review. (Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Review)

Finally! The wait is over! Ever since seeing the unexpected return of Ratchet & Clank on that first PlayStation 5 State of Play, I’ve been craving to play Rift Apart. And let me just start off with reassuring you, it was well worth the wait. As someone who grew up playing Ratchet & Clank games, Rift Apart feels like coming home.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart succeeds as a shining monument of what the PS5 can do visually and tangibly by offering an explosively fun space adventure with new and returning characters. There is nothing notably bad about this game, but there are things that are just okay. And that is because of Rift Apart’s need to pander to the widest number of players as possible resulting in generic storytelling and unexplored side characters. Strap in, and also, spoilers ahead.

The Good Stuff

Let’s start off with the new characters. I have never been a huge fan of Ratchet & Clank as characters myself, always finding them a bit one note. The introduction of Rivet and Kit feels like a breath of fresh air, with both of them adding complexity, humor, and nuance. I secretly hope Ratchet & Clank retire and Insomniac Games reboots the series as Rivet and Kit.

Everything looks and feels incredible. The levels really glisten (especially with ray tracing), the characters feel believable, and the guns really pack a punch. Rift Apart takes the Ratchet & Clank games in a more action-oriented direction rather than focusing on platforming like previous titles. While there is still plenty of great platforming sections with the Omniglove wall run and the loveable Swingshot, guns and gadgets take center stage. With the PS5’s DualSense controller, each trigger pull feels realistic to the gun, especially for my favorites The Enforcer double barrel shot gun with two pulls of the adaptive trigger and the Blackhole Storm mini-gun bouncing the adaptive triggers with each sporadic shot. Firefights scream chaos from the tv display and from the controller itself both audibly and physically.

Something that can grow stale really quickly in adventure games, especially if the overall plot isn’t too engaging, is level design. This is not a problem with Rift Apart. In Rift Apart, the approach taken is linear with nine different planets serving as chapters in the story. Each planet feels completely different and fresh, offering unique elements to spice up the experience. For example, when Rivet and Clank journey to Blizar Prime, there are blizon crystals that instantly shift the dimension from a lava infested miner operation to a torn apart void of a planet-once-was. Another of my favorite examples is when Ratchet travels to Savali, meeting Kit and using the Hoverboots to traverse the most open and detailed terrain in the game. The levels throughout Rift Apart are truly breathtaking and constantly offering something new to enjoy.

The Okay Stuff

For being a story centered around multiple dimensions, most of the characters in Rift Apart are very one-dimensional. Characters like Gary, Captain Quantum, Pierre Le Fer, the Fixer, several service bots and chief engineers, and even Emperor Nefarious himself never receive a fulfilling introduction or backstory, and most of them don’t hang around long enough for me to care. These characters are presented with a comfortability like they’ve been in the franchise for a very long time, which comes off as awkward and disjointed. I really wanted to get to know these new characters, but that’s just one disappointing part of Rift Apart. Instead of creating dynamic, possibly contentious characters, they generalize all of them to appease to the masses.

I might get some flak for this but my favorite Ratchet & Clank game is A Crack in Time. The main reason that A Crack in Time is my favorite Ratchet & Clank game (besides the open-world, immersive space exploration areas that I desperately wanted in Rift Apart) is the absolutely incredible storytelling. I can recount every sequence of Ratchet’s quest to find his best friend while learning of his legacy and Clank’s own personal awakening as he discovers his true origins. A Crack in Time was filled with memorable missions, shocking twists, and epic conclusions. With Rift Apart, it feels like the developers had a lot of great level ideas surrounding dimensional gameplay that would highlight the PS5’s abilities, and then subsequently had to create a whole Dimensionator plot as an afterthought to support those levels. There weren’t many opportunities for engaging twists or turns in Rift Apart as the main drive of the game is to hop planet to planet as Rivet or Ratchet and collect parts or information in order to create the Dimensionator and make things right. Again, Rift Apart is built with the same purpose as a Disney movie: to make the vast majority of people happy. So, the plot isn’t going to be anything new or overly exciting, and that is just okay.

Conclusion

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart succeeds as an interactive experience, not just another 3D video game. Thanks to the PS5, the character’s voice acting and animations feel believable, the worlds are littered with beautiful detail, and the combat delivers a tangibly fun and refreshing sensation. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a great game that stands as a monolith of what the PS5 is capable of: immersive experiences. And that is really exciting.

8/10 : sensational adventure

Check out my album review of Nurture from Porter Robinson!

“…let me explain…” (Nurture Review)

Porter Robinson burst onto the electronic scene and carved out a new lane with 2014’s Worlds, all about celebrating virtual, fantastic worlds and how they inevitably end. As someone who’s never really been into EDM music, this album opened a new world (literally) for me. It reeked of artistry. And with Robinson’s new album that we’ve been anxiously waiting seven years for, Nurture, music might suddenly be ruined for me… And by that, I mean I loved Nurture so much that I want everything I listen to to sound like it. Nurture is Porter Robinson’s grand return to music, but instead of fanfare and fireworks, Nurture invites the listener through a portal to an introspective, vulnerable, never-ending green meadow filled with tiny lightning bug details, emotionally warm lyricism, and naturally wondrous sonic colors.

Lifelike

The aforementioned portal into Nurture begins with “Lifelike”, an instrumental track that softly invites listeners to a new chapter, a new adventure. When this album came out, almost every day I packed a day pack, hopped on my bike, and tried to get lost in nature. This song will always sound like tying my shoes, checking my wheels, and heading out to soak in every detail life has for me.

Look at the Sky

A breath of fresh air. And my forever anthem when I look at the sky. “Look at the Sky” is an energetic opener and stands as a simple symbol of hope to take life breath by breath, ground yourself in the present, and know you are special. The comforting melody and the driving drum and bass guide listeners to their feet to actively “be much better”. As the little emotional flower that I am, there was a time when during the second verse, I heard “I don’t feel it anymore”, and it absolutely destroyed me upon every listen. I eventually learned that Robinson says “I don’t fear it anymore”, and all my longings for the past and the future subsided and I could confidently stay in the present to soak in all that life has for me now. A common theme throughout Nurture is to embrace real life, and with “Look at the Sky”, the stage is set for Robinson and his listeners to move forward and grow together.

Get Your Wish

A deeply personal song for Robinson about the negative implications of fame, “Get Your Wish” is a vulnerable (yet still groovy, don’t worry) look at external validations. Like many Nurture tracks, knowledge comes within the second verse. “Get Your Wish” is no different, with my favorite line being “But don't you waste the suffering you've faced / It will serve you in due time”. When the pocket switches to the swing feeling during the first repeated chorus to the underlying bossa nova piano hook throughout the track, “Get Your Wish” cloaks an important message within an absolute banger.

Wind Tempos

Pause. Reflect. Let life seep in. “Wind Tempos” is a surprising instrumental refresher early within Nurture offering a steady piano cadence, silky strings, vocals floating here and there, and random wilderness field recordings chopped up and sprinkled throughout. Time sort of feels irrelevant within the first half of “Wind Tempos” as all that seems important is feeling what your hearing, being moved by the wind. Right around the middle section, a robotic high pitched vocal sample breaks form, uttering what we’re all thinking: “It’s so holy”. The melodic piano ballad that follows feels like the most sacred part of the entire album, leaving me with no words. The familiar “It’s so holy” begins again, this time severed, manipulated, and reorganized, intent on leading us back to reality. I’ve heard it before and I can’t think of a better way to describe the last section of “Wind Tempos”; it sounds like a robotic lifeform having a spiritual experience.

Musician

Just as quickly as “Wind Tempos” created a calm, relaxing environment, “Musician” sparks to life, motioning the time to dance. This marks the true moments where Robinson realizes that he himself is a musician hungry for the next exciting emotions that will stir creation. “Musician” is my favorite realization for Porter Robinson, as what sets his music apart from other EDM artists for me is his art, purpose, and meaning. Incredibly pop focused, “Musician” holds some of Nurture’s most earnest lyrics: “Oh, it's calling / I just can't stop, I'm sorry … But sincerely / Can't you feel what I'm feeling?”. Mixed with an unstoppable rhythmic pulse, the sonic energy of “Musician” is parallel to the lyrical objective. It’s just magnificent.

do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do

As if things couldn’t possibly get cheerier, they do with “de-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do”. Another absolute sonic treat complete with bustling percussion, feathering synths, and one-off jitters. This song makes me feel like a kid again, wide-eyed and wondering, discovery waiting right around the corner. To me, this song is a reminder that when life is too much, remember the simple things like your “do-re-mi’s”. If “Musician” is magnificent, “de-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do” is delightful.

Mother

Closing the first half of Nurture and entering the second, things begin to get sentimental and sweet starting with “Mother”. This song is self-explanatory, with, again, some of the most endearing lyrics I’ve ever heard on the chorus: “I'm on your side for the rest of your life / You'll never be alone, don't you worry, my child”. No matter who you are or where you’re raised, everybody has a motherly figure in their life. And if not, myself being a religious person, this song is an echo of truth and love sung by our Heavenly Mother. With all that in mind, and the instrumental prowess to match, “Mother” is a tender moment of warmth and connection that kinda goes hard.

dullscythe

Another instrumental respite within Nurture, “dullscythe” takes a different approach, focusing on disorientation and keeping the listener on their toes. The asynchronous rhythms stabbing in and out of the track paired with digital mayhem definitely accomplish that goal. If there was a weak moment on Nurture, it would be found within “dullscythe”. That’s not to say that this instrumental disarray is unwelcomed or substandard, it just feels a little rougher like an unfinished idea (especially on the back end of the track) compared to the rest of Nurture’s polished gems.

Sweet Time

“Sweet Time” takes its time, literally. Slower, and harder to warm up to, “Sweet Time” is nevertheless beautiful, soul-touching, and one of my favorite tracks off of Nurture. I feel like I’ve said it a couple hundred times so far, but I just can’t stress enough how perfect Porter Robinson’s lyrical decisions are throughout Nurture with some of the most tear-jerking ones existing here: “So take a long time / Oh, the world is lucky to be your home, I know / I need a next life / Not satisfied to know you just once”. This sentiment lives unspoken within every honest partner’s heart, but with Robinson’s “Sweet Time”, those unspoken words and feelings have a home. The instrumentation isn’t as flashy or exciting, but it doesn’t need to be, and there are still some special sounds within “Sweet Time” to accompany the pleasant tempo.

Mirror

Consistently my favorite song off of Nurture, “Mirror” is ethereal, fun, introspective, dancy, and larger-than-life. The message of “Mirror” is about our critical inner voices that cripple our forward momentum. Welcoming with its opening piano chords, invigorating with its bass filled chorus, transcendent with its exceptionally diverse bridge, and inspiring with its final message, “Mirror” has it all. This is the kind of song you sing your lungs out to for nobody but yourself, and in those moments, you find healing. “Sometimes, the inner voice is encouraging / Calling for you to run those final few yards / You're nearly there, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going / It will all be okay in the end”.

Something Comforting

Something transformative happens between “Mirror”’s final message and the opening melody of “Something Comforting”, as if these two songs are related, sharing the same core. “Something Comforting” was one of the only song ideas Robinson wrote and held onto during the seven-year stunt between Worlds and Nurture, as fans can easily tell right from the ear-wormy Worlds-esque synth hook in the chorus. Another bombastically beautiful track, “Something Comforting” accomplishes the impossible by simultaneously being a certified club banger and an honest, emotional cry for help. Traversing from loud, energetic passages to quiet, intimate questionings, “Something Comforting”, much like “Mirror”, contains a lot of sonic diversity. The chord progression change in the second chorus, the drum break down before said chord change up, the final stripped back piano at the end and the echo of the chorus, its honestly just perfection.

Blossom

It’s hard for me to put into words what this song makes me feel, but I’ll try. “Blossom” is a really special, warmhearted love ballad Porter Robinson wrote for his girlfriend, Rika, all in one sitting. When I was listening to Nurture for maybe the third time the day that it came out, I let this song fully sink into my heart, and I began to weep because of how pure, virtuous, and beautiful it is. It is now one of those songs that I play less often in order to preserve the feelings that it gives me. “Blossom” is lovely.

Unfold

Just as we’ve learned how well these songs accompany each other one after another with “Musician” to “do-re-mi” and “Mirror” to “Something Comforting”, its no surprise that “Blossom” to “Unfold” is magical. “Unfold” feels like the moment in Nurture where everything felt and learned come to meld together into one last emotional burst. As the high-pitched Porter Robinson voice folds with featured artist Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs in the chorus, the result is indescribably heavenly. “Unfold” feels like the end of an emotionally arduous road, where light and darkness become known and the flow of time threatens collapse. “Unfold” makes me write poetically. It’s an unutterably solemn ending to Nurture, but it isn’t the end entirely.

Trying to Feel Alive

“Trying to Feel Alive” is the goldy locks track to end Nurture with. It is gentle, yet lively. Wistful, yet passionate. Where “Unfold” feels like winter, “Trying to Feel Alive” feels like spring. When the vocal melody finally culminates, the feeling unironically tapped into is one of a Disneyland commercial, leaving listeners with an inspiring last sonic taste. As Robinson and subsequently his listeners look back on Nurture and everything learned within it, the questions surrounding life, purpose, and present motivation remain: “Do you feel better now? … Are you satisfied?”. And during the track, Robinson confidently concludes that the quest to constantly chase new things, to constantly try to feel alive is a gift in and of itself. In his words, he realized that “it’s actually a precious gift to be dissatisfied, because that keeps you moving forward. I always want there to be another mountain to climb – I feel purposeful when moving forward, even if I know no destination will ever truly satisfy”.

Porter Robinson’s Nurture is a musical journey fueled with personal struggle, confronting insecurities and triumphant realizations that are rarely found within other bodies of music. Sonically, the details laced throughout each track feel meticulously crafted and purposefully placed, making every track feel well thought out and fresh. Lyrically, my faith in “cheesy” lyrics has been restored; some of the most honest, sincere, gut punching lyrics I’ve ever heard bless numerous tracks on Nurture. Although also true for the sonics and lyrics, that aside, Porter Robinson’s Nurture might have ruined music for me because I want every artist I ever listen to to take me with them through what they’ve felt and poured into their body of work and allow me to feel that too. Nurture is an adventure that taught me to enjoy the view, not only the past sights or the future destinations. And its an adventure that I’m happy to take again and again.

9/10 : wonderful; well worth the wait (but please don’t make us wait seven years again, if you can help it)

Check out my album review of Moral Panic from Nothing But Thieves!

Check out my commentary on IT!

Nothing But Thieves, a 5-piece from Essex, England, uniquely blend rock with indie expressionism while incorporating pop-like elements to deliver memorable and passionate songs about mental health, love, the state of the world and politics. In 2015, their debut self-titled album, compact with bold, confident songs such as “Wake Up Call”, “If I Get High” and “Trip Switch” broke the Top 15 on Billboard Alternative and Rock charts. Their sophomore album, Broken Machine, featured stadium anthems like “Amsterdam” and “Particles” while ear-wormy slow ballads like “Sorry” and “Broken Machine” juxtaposed the album in a beautiful way, earning NBT the number two spot on the U.K. charts. With their third album release, Moral Panic, the UK rockers scramble around the junk yard in an attempt to create a coherent, yet straightforward album all the while reaching for a wider audience with easily digestible beats and dialed back tones, ultimately concluding in a disjointed album with a few hidden gems to add to their discography.

Unperson

The difficulties to recreate the familiar alt-rock sounds of earlier records while pushing new electro themes on songs to entice more listener’s ears are ever present on Moral Panic as context to what Nothing But Thieves have done competes with what they are trying to do. Starting off the record, “Unperson” serves a simplistic, but heavy beat with Twenty One Pilot-esque literal lyrics, creating a weak opening compared to Broken Machine’s “I Was Just a Kid”. “Forever & Ever More”, if held onto instead of released in the band’s 2018 EP What Did You Think When You Made Me This Way would have performed as a fitting and welcomed opener where “Unperson” invites the listener to Moral Panic in a spastic, bland sort of way.

Moral Panic & There Was Sun

The elements that hold “Unperson” back are evident on other tracks laced throughout Moral Panic: “There Was Sun” a forgettable pop-electro-rock experiment and the title track “Moral Panic”. The four-on-the-floor type dance beat mixed with progressive guitar rock found on these songs make for upsetting repetitions that never really stick. “Moral Panic” incorporates an interesting time change a third of the way through the song leaving the same beat and lyrical patterns which leaves the impression of somebody pressing fast forward on the entire track, feeling tacky and forced.

Phobia

This same tempo transition is executed well on “Phobia”, a brooding song that feels monstrous, stuck in a dark corner, lurking its way out of the shadows. “Phobia” excels, combining electronica and rock cordially, spiking the tempo towards a big rock finish that satisfyingly delivers.

Real Love Song & Impossible

Songs that display Nothing But Thieves’ famous emotionally catchy approaches are discovered in “Real Love Song” and “Impossible”. On both of these love tracks, passion is embedded in each charged vocal and every comforting melody, working on every level to compliment NBT’s writing style and song structure.

This Feels Like the End & Free If We Want It

“This Feels Like the End” is a hyperactive song that works surprisingly well, connecting hybrid drumming, driving basses through the verses and a soaring chorus that is hard to forget. “Free If We Want It” is a moment of clarity on the album that, while expressive, leaves a dissatisfied, vanilla after taste, making it hard to stand by itself.

Is Everybody Going Crazy? & Can You Afford to Be An Individual?

Both “Is Everybody Going Crazy?” and “Can You Afford to Be An Individual?” are Nothing But Thieves at their absolute best, presenting attitude, groove, sticky melodies and bombastic instrumentation. “Is Everybody Going Crazy?” rips into life as fuzzed guitars and the familiar NBT’s triplet rhythmic pattern invade the paranoid mind of the present-day human while offering the catchiest hook on the record.  As the album spirals down towards its close, “Can You Afford to Be An Individual?” takes one more confident Rage Against the Machine-like jab at the current political and social landscape through the album’s most riotous lyrics and brazened instrumentation. The punk infused guitar riffs, Conor’s combatant lyrics and the electronic black-out breakdown result in a breath-taking culmination of rambunctious dance alt-rock. This is Nothing But Thieves at their undeniable best.

Before We Drift Away

After such a grandiose, explosive track, “Before We Drift Away” offers the listener a breath of fresh before closing the album. On vocal passages that feel as if they could feature Billie Eilish, the verses swim between delicate keys and plucked guitar only to reach a chorus of violins and pleasant guitar melodies that ultimately feel like the ending to a cheesy 2000’s movie where the protagonist finds that love was inside of him all along.

Although not without its flaws and unpolished songs, Moral Panic attempts to push Nothing But Thieves’ sonic pallet into a more dance-friendly direction while remaining grounded in their well-established rock territory, succeeding in gifting their discography with unforgettable power ballads and socio-political rock anthems. While Moral Panic will be remembered as the shadow of super giants Broken Machine and their self-titled release, the message, rocking out at the end of the world, will remain as a monolith for these strange times.

6/10 : ambitiously flat

On the rainiest of days in Derry, Georgie Denbrough meets his fate after meeting IT just before chasing his paper boat down a storm drain. As Pennywise introduces himself to the appetizing Georgie, an elderly woman steps out onto her porch to let her cat out, noticing the crouched yellow-hooded boy. Ignoring the child, leaving him to the tempestuous rain and whatever else, the old woman returns moments later only to be greeted with an ephemeral puddle of blood sinking towards the sewers. The elderly woman doesn’t react horrified, quickly dialing the police to report the accident or curse herself for not calling the boy inside earlier; instead, she walks away as if nothing’s the matter. As an adolescent youth, relying on parents and adults for protection, care and compassion is critical for emotional, mental and physical survival and well-being. In the classic film IT from 2017 (created 27 years after the original 1990 IT), a fear-feasting clown festering in Derry pales in comparison to a town of negligent, malicious and sinister adults.

From the beginning of the film to the end, the adults of Derry are ultimately perceived as the real monsters. While the opening credits roll, an eerie piano medley invites us to Derry. As this uneasy melody rocks and sways through introductions, Georgie goes to the basement, passing his mother who is currently playing the piano ballad. Not only is this the first, last and only time we see the Denbrough’s mother, after discovering what happens to Georgie, her song begins to morph into a sort of death cadence, ushering in Georgie’s demise. A year after Georgie’s disappearance, Bill and his friends Richie, Eddie and Stan run into Henry Bowers, the town bully, while they’re leaving school. The cop nearby observes Henry, making his authority known as to cripple any attempts of Henry hurting Bill and his friends. Until realized, this act is noble and expected from an officer of the law; however, after understanding that the officer is Henry’s abusive, alcoholic father, this façade is much less about defending innocent children and more about warning his son of the potential beating he would receive. Cornered later by Henry and his gang in a more secluded part of town, Ben is pinned to the side of the road as Henry cuts his own name into Ben. In a fury of panic and desperation, all activity halts as an old couple drives past the scene, clearly observing and willingly ignoring the vile crime. All of these select moments of the film involving adults always make manifest their careless and sinister nature- but it doesn’t stop there. When in the local pharmacy to pick up supplies for their new cut up friend Ben, Beverly uses her teenage “womanly charm” to distract the pharmacist so the boys can escape with the supplies they didn’t have the money to pay for. The pharmacist actively flirting with thirteen-year-old Beverly goes without saying as horrifyingly pedophilic. Easily the most shocking and disturbing monster of the film is Beverly’s dad. Undoubtedly evil, Beverly’s dad sexually abuses his own daughter as shown through the numerous times throughout the movie where he menacingly observes, comments and ultimately fights to keep Beverly under his iniquitous control. When we first encounter Bev’s dad, he is blacked out drunk watching the only program ever aired in Derry: a hypnotic school of children standing on bleachers around a single adult, who later is revealed to be Pennywise. This brainwashing tv show broadcasted to every adult’s home in Derry confirms the connection that Pennywise the Clown, the source of all evil, is synonymously linked to every malicious adult citizen of Derry. Time after time, the adults of Derry prove to be nothing more than useless monstrosities.

Whenever any adult is featured in this film, they are portrayed as coldhearted, wicked beasts. Bill’s dad aggressively shutting down Bill’s hopes that Georgie is alive instead of carefully and lovingly consoling that Georgie is gone, Eddie’s mom smothering him with remissed, imprisoning care concealed as protective love, the librarian in the back of the scene creeping closer and smiling devilishly as Bill discovers more and more about the Easter explosion that killed 88 children causes by IT, the butcher mindlessly asking if Mike is okay after almost getting run over by Henry. The list is endless; the consistent monsters that aren’t afraid of the light are masked as the adults of Derry.

After the Losers Club’s battles have been found and won, their fears haunt them no more. Pennywise is defeated- at least until the next 27 years. All that remains are their memories. So, which was scarier? A hungry, fear-transforming clown that lives in the sewers, or an entire town of secretly insidious, negligent adults that at best disregard your cries for help and at worst malevolently pursue you? I’ll be choosing the clown.

Check out my Hades review!

INTRODUCTION

Deep below the swirling white clouds of Olympus and the green vistas of Earth lies the Underworld, home of Hades. Here, our hero Zagreus, Son of Hades, wallows away every waking moment, longing to join his family in the heavens and finally understand who he is. Unfortunately for Zagreus, between his freedom and his seclusive solitude from the halls of hell lie relentless shades, grudging servants, monstrous beasts and Hades himself. Fortunately, Zagreus has good godly cousins and uncles on his team, aiding in his eternal escape. Hades perfectly balances engaging, deliberate combat with meaningful characters and conversations, creating a perfect game loop of constant learning, experimentation, growth and enjoyment.

GAME STORY & MECHANICS

Throughout the many levels of hell, progression is the real hero. Whether it is through meeting your relatives upon receiving gracious boons -- gifts from the Olympians that enhance your fighting abilities -- such as Zeus’s lightning, Artemis’s critical strikes, Hermes’s speed boosts and Poseidon’s waves, or through your inevitable return to the House of Hades, chatting with Cerberus, Nyx, Achilles and Dusa, there is an endless amount of dialogue, each commenting on the state of your current run or budding relationship. Learning every lovable character’s story provides levity to this action-packed game in an interesting, charming and often comedic way. Unlike in other rogue-likes, as Zagreus progresses through the varying layers of the Underworld, Darkness, Gemstones, Nectar and Titan’s Blood are permanent rewards that can be spent in a myriad of ways to enhance your experience, some of which include interchangeable perks to Zagreus, designing the Underworld to fit your personal style and unlocking powerful weapons. Each thwarted attempt to reach Olympus doesn’t feel like a waste because of the people you met, the boon and weapon combinations you tried and the many types of currencies pocketed that will increasingly boost your chances for successful future escapes. The potential for progression is multi-faceted yet never overwhelming, making for purposeful outbreaks instead of lackluster leaps of faith.

Another reason Hades rocks the rogue-like genre is experimentation. As you gain experience with Tartarus, Asphodel and Elysium’s diverse enemies, the necessity and desire for more calculated boon decisions paired with distinct Infernal Arms will increase. Each weapon has advantages and play styles that suit different boons and scenarios- so one run you might be dashing, creating doom vortexes while turning around and spreading an array of frosty, critically damaging arrows from your Heart-Seeking Bow while the next you might weaken magnetized enemies towards you with Twin Fists while calling down a shield of deflection to block incoming spells. Getting bored of continuous, grindy runs isn’t an issue because of the variety of weapon and boon combinations that can be mixed for endless fun. The possibilities are innumerable.

CONCLUSION

Finally, after defeating everything Hades summoned against him, Zagreus walks alone and exhausted yet victorious, determined on the snowy mountaintops of Greece. Hades is an exceptional feast of fury and innovation that beckons for “just one more run” through progressive internal and character story, a collection of currencies for upgrades and boon exploration. Although far from figuring out the mysteries of his past and who he is today, Zagreus is filled with renewed vigor to fight and fight again for every chance to bask in the Sun’s golden rays and to learn the elusive qualities of family and selfhood. Hell’s gates subside; Zagreus is home- for now.

Check out my A Short Hike review!

 GAME STORY & COMMENTARY

Driving through dusk towards Hawk Peak Provincial Park, Claire is awaiting an eminent phone call, a scene very reminiscent of personal family trips which disconnected teenage me and my then new, months-old budding romantic relationship. Upon arrival, Aunt May informs Claire that the only place with reception is the top of Hawk Peak. Thus begins Claire’s short hike.

Without a map, guide or an in-game golden arrowed path to follow, you trek as Claire whose goal is to reach Hawk Peak’s summit. But, just as the island’s winds shift and flow, Claire’s attention fluctuates from that important phone call to living in the moment, disguised as talking with locals, helping new friends, learning the patience of fishing, soaring over beautiful vistas, racing parkour-style to lighthouses, playing beachstickball--- overall, getting lost in the journey.

As I progressed further and further up the mountain by collecting golden feathers (which serve as Claire’s growing stamina), I found more and more ways not to reach the summit. I wanted to soak in every second of Claire’s short hike by letting Mark Sparling’s enchantingly cute musical score seep in and out of each enticing lagoon, plateau and cave that I discovered. Each step I took and every conversation I had felt grounded in real life moments of spontaneity, creativity and life. The characters I met all spoke with conviction and charm, leaking light and joy into every minute of gameplay.

Upon summiting Hawk Peak, the feeling of cherishment for all the new experiences that led me here was delicate and breathtaking. The moments that follow Claire’s arrival at Hawk Peak’s peak flip the script in ways that are simple, yet profound and deeply touching as Claire, the teenage bird I thought I was playing as, shook her feathers to reveal who she really is.

GAME MECHANICS

WHAT I LIKED

A Short Hike has a minimal approach to style, story and graphics that extent to direction, HUD and menus. This approach fed to the simplistic, laid-back feeling of the story and gameplay in an engaging, present way. The camera angles take a few moments to get used to, but are handled in a way that the player doesn’t have to fuss with “am I looking the right way” or “why can’t I see that right”. Instead, the game offers angles that compliment every side of Hawk Peak Park for you. The hoping, climbing, running and gliding that improve with the collection of golden feathers play into who Claire is to the player. At first, I was hesitant to glide and climb, not knowing the island and still being unfamiliar with Claire, but as I grew more comfortable and collected more golden feathers, I was able to spread my wings and soar all over Hawk Peak Park with ease and pleasure, fully acclimated to my location and Claire’s character.

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS

Upon completion of the game, the map of the island that I had in my head was well built, but I wish there was an in-game map that could be used to better navigate undiscovered sections of the world as they were found. Also, I would have loved to have dug up an old camera or have Aunt May give me a camera (with old pictures already on it possibly) at the end of the game. It would have been really special to pull out the camera while in a particularly scenic section and see what the world looks like through Claire’s eyes. Plus, it would make for a great photo mode.

CONCLUSION

Like all hikes that I have been on whether short or long, the joy is not in the destination, but in the journey. A Short Hike is a lovely reminder to take life breath for breath, step by step. Go at your own pace and enjoy the moments of escapism around you. This is a game that I will always have in my back pocket if I’m ever in need of a little short hike.