This kind of game analysis is a rare treat! The journos won't and can't offer anything close to this depth of insight.
All too often modern nihilists write their medieval settings as if the clergy and the powers that be are just as cynical as they themselves. If anything, the clergy and the nobility were often the most devout, and had the deepest and most involved interactions with the Faith. A nihilistic medieval setting is a contradiction in terms, because the heart of the medieval ethos is anti-nihilist.
I would be very interested in hearing similar story/writing analysis of games you play through. Usually elements such as the themes and their treatment as well as the story mechanics and character motivations are left completely untouched when game writing is discussed.
I've always done game reviews but they don't get a ton of attention. Maybe I should do more. The problem with discussing story is that it most video games don't do it well, but I find that tolerable because the story is usually not the point of the game.
I get that, it's tiring to be negative. Though sometimes analyzing badly executed stories is very worthwhile, particularly when they have some interesting component parts which are ill used and potential that's left unfulfilled.
Seems to be the case with Diablo 4, which had interesting thematic material really badly utilized.
Then there are some games which have really well done writing, like how Ace Attorney combines really well built murder mysteries with an overarching plot and solid character development. Or how a game like Yakuza 6 carries the theme of fatherhood and pro-natalism on multiple levels, both through the main story and in the side content.
I found 3 horrifically dull so I figured this would be an extension of that. Looks like my instinct was correct. As for the cosmology, it isn't that surprising. Every entertainment industry still runs on the same outdated tired "spiritual but not religious, church bad" vapidity they have for the past three decades. It's what makes so much of it ultimately hollow. It's all as dumb as the terrible Neflix Castlevania people tried overselling.
I can't believe anyone liked the Netflix Castlevania. Besides the boring, antimoral themes, it was just terribly written. Every line of dialogue was pure cringe, especially anything from Belmont.
This kind of game analysis is a rare treat! The journos won't and can't offer anything close to this depth of insight.
All too often modern nihilists write their medieval settings as if the clergy and the powers that be are just as cynical as they themselves. If anything, the clergy and the nobility were often the most devout, and had the deepest and most involved interactions with the Faith. A nihilistic medieval setting is a contradiction in terms, because the heart of the medieval ethos is anti-nihilist.
I would be very interested in hearing similar story/writing analysis of games you play through. Usually elements such as the themes and their treatment as well as the story mechanics and character motivations are left completely untouched when game writing is discussed.
I've always done game reviews but they don't get a ton of attention. Maybe I should do more. The problem with discussing story is that it most video games don't do it well, but I find that tolerable because the story is usually not the point of the game.
I get that, it's tiring to be negative. Though sometimes analyzing badly executed stories is very worthwhile, particularly when they have some interesting component parts which are ill used and potential that's left unfulfilled.
Seems to be the case with Diablo 4, which had interesting thematic material really badly utilized.
Then there are some games which have really well done writing, like how Ace Attorney combines really well built murder mysteries with an overarching plot and solid character development. Or how a game like Yakuza 6 carries the theme of fatherhood and pro-natalism on multiple levels, both through the main story and in the side content.
I found 3 horrifically dull so I figured this would be an extension of that. Looks like my instinct was correct. As for the cosmology, it isn't that surprising. Every entertainment industry still runs on the same outdated tired "spiritual but not religious, church bad" vapidity they have for the past three decades. It's what makes so much of it ultimately hollow. It's all as dumb as the terrible Neflix Castlevania people tried overselling.
This is just more of the same boring grey goo.
I can't believe anyone liked the Netflix Castlevania. Besides the boring, antimoral themes, it was just terribly written. Every line of dialogue was pure cringe, especially anything from Belmont.