What Are You Playing: 9 Years since the Last Dragon Age

[Zevox]

I've been having fun with stellar blade. I'm not very far into it. Just at the Syringe Horse and I'm just starting to get ahead on the combat. They are offering me an intriguing enough mystery with the whole transhumanism aspect making me wonder what EVE actually is.

I don't get the impression that there's supposed to be any mystery about what Eve is? She's exactly what she seems to be: an android, sent by that Mother Sphere thing to kill the Naytibas. Pretty cut and dry there, really. It's everything else that seems set up for "twists."

Spoiler: Based on what I've seen so far (after 2nd Alpha Naytiba).

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After seeing the lab in the wastelands, it's pretty clear that the big "twist" will be that the Naytibas are what became of humanity after their war with the original androids, which the humans lost. Not sure if the transformation was intentional or not or who caused it or why, but it clearly happened, and that's all that'll really matter. The thing you recover before the Tachy fight backs this up, saying Mother Sphere was created by humans, and it was only after she (it?) created the first androids that she decided she no longer had any reason to keep humans around; pretty obvious that would've been the cause of that war between the humans and androids. Based on this, it seems Mother Sphere is basically using everyone for her own ends, one of which is wiping out the Naytibas - either because she just can't leave the job of wiping out humanity incomplete, or because the Naytibas will never stop attacking her and her androids as long as they exist and she wants Earth specifically to be hers for whatever reason. Or both, could easily be both. In any case, I pretty much expect Mother Sphere to be the final boss in some way.

The only thing I'm not feeling too clear on is how the prophet fellow in Xion that you're working with plays into things, but I'll bet he's revealed as a villain by the end too, given the implications about Mother Sphere and him being a figurehead of her religion. Also because that room he's in is more than big enough to serve as a major boss fight room, and is mostly empty as it stands, which felt like kind of a giveaway from the moment I first set foot in it.

I just finished Stellar Blade.

It’s not a groundbreaking story- not by any means. I don’t believe they were aiming for top notch storytelling.

I don't know, I definitely get the impression they want you to care about this story and this world. They're obviously not aiming for a DMC/Bayonetta style game that shuttles you from one action setpiece to another, even though that would play much more to the game's actual strengths. They're giving us all these side-quests, the hub city, and tons of (stiff, awkward) dialogue and scenes for a reason.

Spoiler: 2nd Alpha Naytiba

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To say nothing of trying to make Tachy's actual death scene dramatic and emotional even though you barely knew her and Eve seems almost incapable of expressing emotion...

However, combat is the highlight of this game and it that regard, it excels. I am thankful for playing Sekiro awhile back, since this game requires you to get in their face and perfect parry & punish. The counters can get tricky- knowing when to dash forward or backward depending on the glow to punish the enemy with a counter. Later on, a few bosses will mix both moves back to back, so quick reflexes are a must.
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I did enjoy hunting for cans, oddly enough. Their design is really good and some are cleverly hidden.

I don't know if it changes later on (again, I'm only just past the 2nd Alpha Naytiba), but thus far I've found the color-coded forward/back dodge attacks by far the easiest to deal with. They're so telegraphed it's almost a test of patience to wait after seeing the initial flash for the one on your sword that lets you know when to actually do the counter move. It's everything else, where you want to parry or perfect dodge, that I need to learn the timing on and can mess up. Combat is definitely the game's strong point, no argument here, but I'd by no means compare it to Sekiro, it feels simpler and much easier than that game.

I did recently get Burst moves though, and should say I do greatly appreciate Eve getting to learn Judgment Cut End. A little Vergil flair is a very welcome addition to any action game's repertoire.

I kind of like the cans too personally, but it's more because it feels silly to me, particularly with the pose Eve strikes when you find one. Feels like the kind of thing that would fit in the more Bayonetta-esque version of the game that I'd assumed it was from the first trailer. I don't expect to actually try to track them all down though, I just enjoy when I find one.

Edit: Okay, question time for folks. Apparently, Solasta: Crown of the Magister got a Playstation release in early March that I hadn't heard of. It not being on my main systems has been the only reason I haven't picked it up, and it's now also on a pretty steep sale, so I'm probably going to grab it, I just need to decide which version. Standard edition is an enticingly cheap $9, but "Lightbringers Edition" (which lists off a bunch of what I assume to be DLC that's included with the game: Lost Valley, Palace of Ice, Primal Calling, Inner Strength, and a Supporter Pack) is also discounted at $34. Would the latter be worth the almost quadruple price tag, or should I just grab the base game?