Status LordEnglish Oct 26, 2020
Mature and well-paced but uneven in its execution. It was perhaps a bit too far ahead of its time. The pixel art shines at times, but New Orleans feels a bit too empty for my taste. The park, most notably.
I've heard it said that Jane Jensen writes more interesting female side characters but chooses to focus on her asshole …
Mature and well-paced but uneven in its execution. It was perhaps a bit too far ahead of its time. The pixel art shines at times, but New Orleans feels a bit too empty for my taste. The park, most notably.
I've heard it said that Jane Jensen writes more interesting female side characters but chooses to focus on her asshole male leads. I don't think it's quite fair here. Gabriel's main story arc is about coming to terms with his family's legacy and their mistakes. It would not have the desired impact if he weren't so flawed. My issue is that he's just a bit too static. His transition from author to monster hunter is a bit too sudden, and his perspective is obscured at key moments in the story. The sequence in which it happens is very memorable, but it feels more like something he just stumbles into than a logical consequence of his previous decisions and experiences. He's a bit too static for the story, and by the end it starts to feel more like wish fulfillment than anything else.
The writing is, on balance, good. Funny and tense at the right moments, and some of the flavor text is fun. It isn't a bad time, and I can see why it has its admirers, but I do encourage you to use a guide if you play it, primarily because you can permanently lock yourself out of the ending, five minutes away from it, if you don't pick up certain items.
I learned that one the hard way.
