Making a villain (Part 1?)

 I'm the bad guy.

I've had villains on the mind recently. I can't really nail the reason down to one recent experience in media because, truth be told, the very concept of villainous characters is just utterly ubiquitous with storytelling in general. Particularly in video games. We yearn to have some sort of foil to overcome, typically a humanoid one with sharp teeth and a scowl, But what are the ingredients that go into making the kinds of villains that we remember and harken back to time and time again, and what are the sorts of villains that end up as duds? Well, it's a topic that stretches back as far back as stories, to and likely beyond that famous Mesopotamian poem: the epic of Gilgamesh, and as such I doubt I'll be able to nail down the exacts in a single introspective blog here and now. But taking some baby steps, I want to talk about recent villainous character that I've experienced to ruminate over the things that work and things that don't. (I'll put spoiler tags at the beginning of each relevant paragraph.)

(Puss in Boots: The Last Wish spoilers) So The Bounty Hunter in Puss in Boots is a great example of a supremely effective villain, even as he shares that role with two others. Though he's not the most present bad guy on screen, he's the instigator, the motivation and ultimately- the closer. All this is achieved very clearly despite the fact his true intentions are cleverly concealed until the third act- and that's because of a very clever framing device. You see, spoilers, The Bounty Hunter is not actually a simple hunter gunning for the price on Puss' head who just happens to be more skilled than him in every way, he's literally Death. Hunting after Puss to to snuff out his last life because, as classical depictions attest, he hates little more than being cheated out of his prize and cats cheat death more than most. (And Puss does it so disrespectfully too.) This isn't a simple bait and switch, it's a switch up and escalation where the magnitude of the trouble the main character is in blossoms exponentially- skyrocketing the stakes. Death is also a fantastically rounded antagonist, making the most of his scenes to spur on the plot, drive at Puss' fear, and then symbolise his overcoming of the narratives conceit with his, particularly poignant, 'stalemate'. He only retreats because Puss has discovered a respect for the one life he has left, thus satisfying Death's clearly stated ethos, as disgruntled as the Wolf is to admit it. As far as villain writing goes, Death must be one of the most efficiently complex in modern storytelling.

(Also, Puss in Boots) Jack Horner, on the otherhand, is delightfully one-note and proud of it. An heir to a pie business he would turn into a empire, 'The Last Wish' is very clear to establish that Jack has absolutely no excuse baked into his backstory to explain his homicidal and utterly loyalty-free being. The man callously chases the last wish for an utterly selfish, and beautifully narrow minded goal- (literally just "I want to control all magic in the world") he spends the entire movie accidentally, but gleefully, murdering his own staff; and by the time his comeuppance comes even he seems unsure as to which one of his laundry list of crimes he should be getting punished for. Jack embodies all the ways that writers are traditionally conditioned not to write a villain, but these writers commit fully to the see-through villain concept in celebration of his utmost transparency. What results is a villain utterly pure in his intention and thus able to be enjoyably villainous- which makes a stark contrast to all recent Disney movies and their running theme villains of "My generation sees the world differently to how your generation does!"  

(Hogwarts Spoilers) If you want an idea of what happens when the Horner route isn't committed to fully, look no further than Hogwarts Legacy's Ranrok. Everything about that goblin is villainous, from his South-end gangster voice to his pointy teeth and evil eyes- but Hogwarts Legacy can't decide on whether they want to make him cartoonishily evil or darkly sympathetic. On one hand, he seems driven by nothing but a vague desire to be more powerful than wizards- which sounds mostly indistinct as far as plans go. On the otherhand, he's lionized a movement based on generations of perceived wizarding oppression, which itself feeds into the natural sympathy of the underdog. Neither angle is delved into significantly, which makes the entire characterisation feel very wafer thin. And wafer thin villains tend to verge towards the forgettable before long.

(FromSoft Soulslike spoilers) Every FromSoftware Souls-Like game pretty much has the same final villain who, naturally, serves as a microcosm of the narrative and/or game world. The biggest commonality in all of the Souls games is that they almost always depict a once grand kingdom that has fallen past it's prime and is, or has, collapsed(ing)- with Dark Souls specifically revolving around the idea of perpetuating the dying kingdom or letting it pass with grace. Which is probably why almost every Souls Games ends with a battle against a frail old man who was, at once, the stately king of that world. Even as his power and skill surges up to be that final game challenge, they always wear on their design the embodiment of their disrepair. Gwyn wears his charred robes and desiccated skin, such that he looks more a walking corpse or hollow than a once proud king. Ishin is reborn young, but we can see it's just a shadow of the broken body which had just a while ago passed on. In the Shura ending, you do fight that old body with it's boney limbs and brittle white hair. Even Nashandra from Dark Souls 2 sheds her healthy body in favour of puppeteering her marionette of bones- a personification of decay itself. In this way, FromSoft turns the tackling of the boss into a higher confrontation against the core conceit of the narrative itself. Higher conceptual ideas indeed.

(Spiderman PS4) Which brings we around to one of my favourite villains in a game I recently played, Otto Octavius from Spiderman. Now anyone with a passing knowledge of the Spiderman mythos knew exactly who Dr Octavius was within the lore; but the Spiderman PS4 reimaging of Peter Parker's world recontextualized the doctor as a brilliant confidant and mentor for the scientist and researcher inside of Peter. The writers devoted quite a lot of attention not just to establishing how indebted to the doctor Peter is, giving him a job when he had nothing, but also how much Peter looks up to the good doctor, as a personification of the underdog who rejects the easy sell-out route in favour of striving to the betterment of mankind. All this backdrop and contextualisation makes the inevitable moment where the doctor goes mad, from pushing too fast on his own experiments, all the more tragic- like a Greek play: you know what's coming and the only question is how high the play will raise the characters before their fall. But there's actually one moment which I think cuts deeper than all else. From the moment things start going wrong, the developers offer a softening olive branch to ease the pain of the doctor's betrayal. "It's his neural chip frying with his brain: this isn't the same man that Peter looked up to!" 

Whilst simultaneously playing both sides by hinting this darker side was always part of Otto, all the chip did was override his reservation and ability to self-mediate. This is that balance between committal and backtracking which I think a lot of writers get stuck within in modern storytelling; presenting ambiguity and confusing it with complexity. Not that there's anything wrong with such a set-up, indeed some of the best confrontations in fiction are the one's where you still can't decide who was in the right 10 hours after you put the book down; (Like with Huey from MGSV) but the greatest hit to the gut will always come from full committal. That's why I rate so much that moment, in the very last encounter of the game, where Spiderman is stopped just a few seconds before the seemingly inevitable 'rip off my mask to show you who I am and appeal to the human inside' trope scene which almost every major Spiderman story attempts at least once. He is stopped by the reveal that, Doc Ock already knew he was Peter. He always knew. And everything he did, brutalising and victimising Spiderman, he was knowingly committing on Peter as well. What a simply fantastic way to crash the worlds of Spiderman and Peter into one, which is again one of the running themes of that game's entire narrative. And a cold break from the expected into the cold truth of the stark and haunting. That moment, in print and in performance, might be one of the most powerful scenes I've personally experienced in Superhero media- all because the writers knew where to commit to really dig the dagger deep and twist the handle!

From this brief glance at some of the most interesting badguys of the past year (at least for me- I know Sekiro and Spiderman reach back quite a bit further) I think one general consensus we can draw is that the most effective villains marry the core conceit and theming of the story into themselves and commit to one extreme or the other. Whilst realism would demand the more mediated two-sided approach, our simple dopamine-craving minds respond much more to that clearly defined, cut between the lines, villain. (With a full stop) There is nuance, of course, for mediums, genres, themes and styles; but the talent of the storyteller is to recognise what works and figure out how to brew that same dish with different, sometimes wacky and bizarre, ingredients. Maybe unravelling these concepts will help enrich us, both in how we consume and conjure stories in the future. And maybe I'll try some similar investigations in the future, depending on how I feel about the topic.

Burn your expectations

 Kill them, if you have to

Expectations are a natural part of life. From the moment we're throw into that sick pool of consciousness abroad this hellish floating space rock, we're affixed with expectations and hopes that will systematically be stomped out of us and wringed dry as life proceeds to mock and disappoint us to greater and greater degrees until it ends with tragedy. (Hmm? I'm bringing down the mood, am I?) Whilst everyone has their own way of approaching the world around us, it's an unshakable fact that expectation will play some major role in practically every part of our lives. Whether you hope for the best and flitter on the sleeve of your heart, or assume the worst so that you'll never quite be disappointed. It's part of the human condition to anticipate what hides behind the next sunrise and prepare for that eventuality. As such, it's only fair from a marketing sense to exploit those expectations.

For that's what marketing really is at the end of the day; expectation manipulation. An effective advert will worm it's way not just into your mind but also your perception, either changing your inbuilt priorities to convince your mind that you need this advertised product, or arranging your own sense of happiness to manufacture some internal gaping maw that can only possible be filled by an X-product. One of the most famous exercises in marketing, "sell me this pen", hides it's secrets not in conjuring up some false cornucopia of magical application that said-pen is apparently capable of, but by ascertaining the intended client's supposed needs and warping those to a preferred reality within which a purchase of your pen is merely a formality. "How long have you been on the market for a new pen"- is the typically accepted first question in such an exchange.

When we approach the ideas of games and expectations, we play out this same dance once more with the face of the interactive medium. Hopes and perceptions piled onto of one another and balanced in a game of 'Jenga' where the higher you stack the more you win- which I guess is only really circumstantially like Jenga now I think about it. Pile them too high, however, and the consequence can be brutal; a total crash of marketing or overabundance, or maybe you'll just start telling fibs. We've seen from Cyberpunk to No Man's Sky to Fable how a great vision can be tainted by a skewered marketing cycle, and even great final products may still be hampered by the marketing scars still just too present. I still can't bring myself to actually go out and play Cyberpunk because I remember all of that fervour and chaos we were led into. Also, I am absolutely lacking the free time what with everything else going on in my life right now.

Yet what of the titles to which we hold no expectations but which pleasantly surprise us nonetheless? Despite coming to it more than a year after the fact, I had totally ignored all content on Death Stranding and was determined to treat it as neutrally as I could, ascertaining what I would and coming away with only a solid understanding of the game. I ended up totally loving Death Stranding for all of it's weird idiosyncrasies, without trying to match it up either to other games of the age or even previous Kojima works. (Which is nice, because Death Stranding's gunplay and stealth action is total pits next to 'The Phantom Pain') I also remember approaching Hollow Knight with a similar sense of "I have no idea what to expect but I'm going to take it as it comes." And being knocked for six with how brilliant that title was. Expectation is not, therefore, a necessary ingredient in a great game.

But what about a successful one? Because how often does the great simply balloon to the top of the pile purely by the merits of it's own quality? I mean it's happened, sure, but sparingly... more and more so with the proliferation of new titles and the accessibility of development tools. Doki Doki Literature Club pretty much blew up from reputation alone, before being carried on the backs of streamers to immortal super stardom. There was also that incredible Dragon Ball Z fan animation from last year which glittered with creative ingenuity. And that's... man I know there's other examples! I'm sure there are! But when it comes down to it, the gift of the gab and mastery over the intangible world of marketing really lacks a substitute.

The very idea of an 'expectation' can be a writhing snake cutting off the lifeblood of surprise as it is, simply by the way it taints that virginal experience when embarking on a game. Jump up to the first boss of Elden Ring (Yes, I know I invoke the name of Miyazaki too much, I can't help myself!) expecting the speed and deflection mastery of Sekiro to infrom the playstyle of that newer game and- well, you're going to be disappointed; aren't you? That's no fault of the game in question, but the baggage you've brought to the experience. I skimmed over the screenshots of 'Tower of Time' and bought it very much expecting an isometric CRPG and getting a puzzle RPG game. My bad for not paying more attention, but it also ruined by attempts to genuinely give the game the chance it deserved because, at the end of the day, it just wasn't what I expected.

So how exactly can we be rid of our expectations, if we want to revert to our apparent innocence of baby youth? Well, unfortunately that is patently impossible as living human beings because that is simply the lot the human condition. But perhaps the fairest possible way to approach a new game is with a light 'cleansing' of expectation. Similar to how you are taught for yoga to dispel all thoughts and focus in the moment, an exercise which does honestly nothing for me even if I can respect the intent within it. At it's heart a product of entertainment should be judged purely for the product that it is, and all the evils and woes swirling around it are mere inconsequential set-dressing laying outside of the magic box of the world of escapism. Consider the whirring engine of your console switching on to be synonymous with the blasting pistons of a full-speed Isekai truck roaring towards your face, and the experience thereafter a world all of it's own. Divorce yourself from the world around yourself.

However, we can't really do that; now can we? To this day my Father finds it deeply confusing how it is I can be such a rabid fan of the work of H.P. Lovecraft despite the fact that the man was a deeply pseudo-scientific racist who would probably have seen someone of my complexion and immediate heritage as a degenerative abomination of phenology. Some can switch off like that, others just can't. And I won't pretend I still don't turn up my nose and sniff huffily everytime a well-known game agency commits the sin of reviewing a modern sports game with a largely favourable score, further propagating the poisoning of our industry. Objectivity is an ideal, and a goal to strive for, but just as world peace and a satisfied mind are ephemeral phantoms forever dancing out our grip, we can only strive to be the viewers that we want to be, and to give everything and one the chance deserved.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice' Review

Hesitation is defeat

The prophecy has spoken. FromSoftware released Elden Ring which means that I had to, given the curse of being a guy always one game behind the times, rock up to Sekiro at some point; the only Souls game within the franchise to take a unique fundamentally story centric approach to the formula of the Souls-like whilst still keeping the core gameplay loop we've come to love with this franchise. Coming into it, I was expecting to get more of an experience akin to Ninja Gaiden, and ultimately I do think the game was kind of a mass-up collaboration between several conceptuals to deliver a Souls game both very familiar yet still distinct from what we've come to know. And in terms of Souls games having the reputation of being some of the 'hardest games to complete'- Sekiro is sometimes considered the single hardest because of it's distinctions. I have some thoughts on that I'll touch on at the end.

The composite of a Souls-like game is becoming quite whittled down given the rise in similar style games recently, as such we can define the subgenre thusly: A game wherein death is tied to some sort of punishment mechanic, which is usually recoverable. Yeah, that's pretty much the most we can nail these style of games down to at this point. Although if we're to compare with the grandfather's of 'Dark Souls' and 'Demon Souls', Sekiro naturally has a lot more in common them than mere happenstance of a single shared idea. Sekiro borrows the limited healing items idea from Demon Souls, Bloodbourne and Dark Souls 2, but intermingles that with the more static 'improvable and refillable healing items' concept from Dark Souls 1 and 3. Sekiro also features a non-linear world that is defined by routes, although given the new and unique traversal methods of Sekiro, jumping, climbing and the grapple hook, you'll find the lines of those routes softer than they've been in any other Souls-like up until now. Also, boss design is one of the key-most pillars of design and still the vast highlight of the gameplay experience; although the players relationship with those fights is fundamentally altered, again, within the peculiarities that only Sekiro boasts.

To start, Sekiro is the first Souls like game to really introduce itself in formal terms, not just with an esoteric intro cinematic designed to lay out the basics of the world in as vague terms as possible (Thank you, Dark Souls franchise for setting that precedent). For Sekiro we instead have an entire prologue intro section presented to explicitly lay out the important figures of the world of Ashina, the stakes at play with the dangers for Sekiro and the motivation of protecting the Divine Heir. Of course this is standard for a typical narrative, but very atypical for FromSoftware's previous games like Dark Souls. Previously FromSoftware revelled in titles where the exploration of the player's very surroundings is at the heart of the narrative experience, even if that isn't always mechanically obvious. (Which is why a lot of people barrel through those games with no idea what the main plotline even was) But by heading on a more traditional path, Sekiro makes it's story much more accessible to the casual observer.

This approach extends to Sekiro's genre-unique but industry-traditional approach to adventure game action. You no longer play a custom created RPG pawn built to the fighting standards of your whims or a list of archetypes. There is no 'spending 5 hours re-specing your desiccated hero to use magic because The Nameless King just won't die' there is the relatively static character of the Wolf and later the player-dictated set of tools he picks up and uses in his journey. Of course, narratively that does mean the man, later crowned 'Sekiro', has some more immediately noticeable stakes in the unfolding events in and around Ashina- but don't mistake this for a character driven protagonist focused drama plot: at it's heart you're still playing a Souls game, just one with marginally clearly and laid out plot parameters, which some might like. Personally, I'm a fan of exploring with a fine-tooth comb through an intricately laid out procession of in-universe clues uncovering the reality of the explored area, but then Sekiro's approach to it's world and characters were designed with enough 'uniqueness' to draw my care and immersion anyway, I suppose.

Because everyone who plays Sekiro adopts the same shoes as the One-Armed-Wolf, that means every player is going to have to get intimately familiar with the new sword combat which is the spine of all combat in Sekiro. This is fortuitous given that this combat is perhaps one of the most masterfully designed that FromSoftware, or any sword-focused game for that matter, has ever come up with. The key to Sekiro swordplay is speed and relentlessness wherein "Hesitation is death", to quoth the great Lord Isshin: Glock Saint. When striking, the player and enemy are beholden to two bars, their health and posture. Health is pretty self explanatory with the only change-up being the inclusion of 'deathblows' which act as additional health bars (and switch-up points for Boss attack Stages in the later game) but 'Posture' is where the genius lies. Acting like Stamina, posture builds up whenever an attack is deflected and releases slowly when not attacking or quickly when the guard is dropped altogether. If the posture bar should ever fill entirely, either the player loses their guard entirely for several crucial seconds, or the enemy is rendered vulnerable to a 'deathblow' attack that instantly drains the current health bar no matter where it is currently at; so you can see the appeal to deplete posture bars.

As such, Sekiro is designed around the types of encounters where the player needs to be attacking the enemy constantly, meeting each attack with a counter instead of backing off, in order to pile up that posture bar and hit a deathblow. As even enemy deflections add to the posture meter, no landed attack feels wasted and the advantage needs to always be pressed in a tense dance of 'question' and 'response' speed striking. But the health bar is no silent partner to this dance. Just as one might imagine from real injuries, the amount of health that either fighter has left in their current bar is directly correlated to the speed at which posture regenerates, meaning that if you've pressed the advantage and managed to sneak in a few nicks and cuts here and there, you actually can back off for a bit without watching your posture-bar progress vanish entirely. Of course; the same will happen to you, so keep on top of that health bar!

However what makes Sekiro a Souls game isn't just it's combat. (In that regard Sekiro actually lacks a traditional stamina bar system, which is godsend for sprinting about as much as you want and whacking like a lunatic.) It's the death system, and as the title might imply; Sekiro has some... interesting ideas here. As I explained with the 'deathblow' mechanic, although Sekiro can't be one-hit killed by any attack specifically, he does technically own multiple health bars thanks to the 'die twice' mechanic. Everytime you die, the player has the option to expend a 'deathblow' counter on a revive so they can get back up, with half their health, in about a 30 second grace period. (Wait any longer and you die for good and have to respawn at an idol.) This really works out as more of a 'last gasp' mechanic more than anything else, because you can't really surprise this AI by getting back up and slashing them from behind, aggro lasts too long for that.

Also Deathblow counters vary from valuable to frivolous, the basic type of counter is refilled everytime you rest at a shrine, the secondary counter is only refilled after you've slain a crazy amount of enemies. And even then, after you die for the first time you need to unlock the right to use a second token by either killing an enemy or hitting a deathblow on a boss; making it not just three extra health bars you can call on to win any fight. I was slightly worried the 'DieTwice' mechanic would turn out to be an 'auto win' button like Nioh's ultimate states (in the early game) but of course FromSoftware are characteristically discerning with their design. Ultimately, these death counters allow the player to experiment with getting killed checking out some minibosses moveset whilst not robbing the actual life-or-death stakes of reviving for the second time at a crucial moment in a climatic boss fight. But what about if you actually do let yourself die for good? What are the consequences from here in order to fully fulfil the 'Souls-like' mandate?

Well there's actually a gameplay consequence and a narrative consequence this time around. As it turns out, fully dying and coming back has the potential to inflict NPCs with a 'Dragonrot' plague that renders them into fits of coughing and can actually pause some questlines. No one can actually die from this Dragonrot, however, so you don't need to fret about how many times Lady Butterfly is turning you into a pin cushion. Within gameplay, however, death is a bit more brutal. In Sekiro you can expect to lose half of all your money and XP perk point progress with every death, which is about as eye-watering as it sounds. There are ways around this, filling an XP bar grants a perk point which is essentially 'banked' and cannot be taken away, and you can buy money pouches and bags to 'store' your gold away in the event of death. But sooner or later you're going to stumble into a surprise fog gate arena against a boss you weren't ready for and thus end up losing something valuable. Unless the game's 'Unseen Aid' random percentage save chance procs; but don't worry about that: It never procs when you need it to. (30% rate, my ass...)

Ah, but we briefly touched on Perk points, did we not? Another new concept for the Souls-like team. Perk Points work in your typical RPG tree of skills only with many of the unlockable abilities being slot-able special abilities (Arts), some of which have some devastating punishment potential in combat. These slot alongside the 'Prosthetic arm' upgrade mechanic, more money and material based, which slots special 'shinobi tools' that Sekiro can deploy. A few of which, when used correctly, have the potential to totally trivialise the right fights. So there's your 'magic path' for those who say that Sekiro has no combat or gameplay options, which is what makes it so unrelentingly difficult. It absolutely does, you just need to pay more attention to the tools it gives you. Of course, there are consumables on top of that- and new to FromSoftware are mini bosses designed to be nearly invulnerable unless attacked whilst under the effect of  a rare consumable item. (Imagine Dark Souls 1 Phantoms, but as the bosses of their area.) This is perhaps the one design decision I think is actual bunk by FromSoftware and was regularly upset by. (At least make Divine Confetti drop more often if you're going to do that!)

Speaking of 'options' did I mention the game has stealth? It's not the greatest stealth system you've ever encountered, but it does permit for a single Deathblow from a stealth attack- even on bosses if you can get around them unseen! This opens up some unique approach concepts with some of the more difficult bosses, wherein you can zip around the battlefield before alerting the big boss, taking out their trash mobs, opening up the chance to start the fight with a major blow instantly eliminating one of the boss' health bars. Juzou the Drunkard is a great example of a mini-boss where you can take this approach, which can end up turning a painful slog into something akin to a puzzle stealth hybrid gameplay moment. Although these alternative routes are only possible in certain free-form locations- FromSoftware would never so much as consider giving you the chance to cheapshot one of their carefully crafted major bosses.

Which brings us around to the sparkling jewel of any Souls game; the boss battles. FromSoftware are largely considered the kings of boss fights and it's no idle crown that they bear, Sekiro's bosses feature some of the most interesting and creative designs that their studio have ever produced, and I think that is because of FromSoftware's approach to a largely set-in-stone protagonist. Unlike with other Souls games where FromSoftware gives you the mould to make a protagonist in whatever image you so choose, requiring the gameplay design team to create bosses that can theoretically be taken down by any playstyle with enough dedication and elbow grease- Sekiro's bosses are tailor-made to challenge the player's specific selection of abilities, opening up the team to focus on creatively stretching mechanics and pure unbridled spectacle. 

Battling Lady Butterfly in a burning temple which gradually catches more fire as the fight grows more intense is a sublime image, as is the dreamy cloud-top duel with a literal Chinese Dragon later on. But some of the most memorable fights can be those that don't even play out as you'd expect, such as the Horse mounted soldier who plays more like a classic Souls boss simply because of his sweeping attacks and movement patterns that just don't provide enough substantive windows of opportunity to wail on his posture bar. Or even the Armoured Knight who is impervious to all damage, which leaves you having to figure out how to overcome his challenge by paying attention to how your attacks actually do affect him. And if we're talking pure amazing set-pieces, does it get any more grand than the pale albino snake who stalks you throughout the game in several moments of 'cat and mouse' before you can finally get your own back?

Of course, there are some hang-ups in the boss department. For me, the repetition of some bosses really started to grate, specially the more challenging ones. The Guardian Ape makes for a spectacular, and frustrating, display during the first fight, but proceeding battles take place in less apt and cramped arenas. Even though he was a miniboss, the Shichimen Warrior fights were mostly utterly asinine in their placements, with the boss often being placed in odd location arenas where you're inevitably going to suffer from an attack made through a solid piece of environment. And the less said about the Headless the better. Screw the Headless. Still, then you get a breath-taking battle like the Demon of Hate and all the annoying points so seem to fade away and you're right back in the heat of an amazing Souls-style showdown. Being the David to a giant, burning, Goliath wondering how in the hell you're going to slingshot this one!

The world of Sekiro is itself another wonder of FromSoftware design, a Sengoku period fort set in the snowy hills that unfurls out into a lavish mountainous valley in one direction, a poisonous swamp in another (of course) and even the tops of the heavens nearer to the end. Of all the worlds we've seen From depict, Ashina has to be one of the least decrepit and dying, as rather than picking through the rotted corpse of a kingdom past it's glory you're traversing a fort teetering on the edge of an explosive collapse that you will be there to see. And of course, this world is populated with a mixture of period-themed humanoids sometimes with twisted and elongated proportions and straight fantastical creatures dotting the higher paths. Actually, I think Sekiro might have the most human swathe of enemies that the Souls franchise has ever seen up until now.

If there's one disappointment I have with the world, it's the severly underserved plot device of memory exploration. Once again we have a Souls game where one section is mired in a deeply unclear method of time travel or memory recovery (See Dark Souls III and II and the DLC for I) only this time I felt a bit cheated by the potential. My belief was that this was going to serve a neat way to explore the history of the various founders of Ashina, but as it turns out the entire section I witnessed was merely a one-off optional area purely for the benefit of Sekiro and his inexplicably spotty memory of the night where everything started going wrong. I understand you get to go back there under some very specific circumstances for the late game, but I just wish there was a little more done with that plot device.

Other than that I found the narrative of Sekiro surprising conventional and straight-forward for a FromSoftware game, albeit peppered with curious elements of world building here and there, and not all of it I can say I properly absorbed. I figured out some of the secrets hidden in backstories, but beyond that some of the more obvious story elements, such as who the Ministry even are, eluded me. The only point at which the game did a typical Miyazaki and left me feeling utterly bewildered was the final encounter. Firstly chucking a brand new McGuffin in the final encounter is a bit cheap; (I know it was referenced in one throw-away side document, but for the significance it played in the ending, that final 'tool' could have done with a bit more explanation) and what is done with that McGuffin is... I'll be honest I think it makes no sense whatsoever. The very reason for the final boss (of the normal ending) being the final boss makes no sense to me. I've read countless superstitions and fan theories, but the base game didn't do it's job in justifying that story move, which is kind of a strange note to end your narrative on if you ask me.

Finally, and though it's not relevant to understand for this review so much, I want to talk about the final boss. (Of every route apart from the bad ending. Because this game actually features consequential ending selection, surprise surprise!) I cannot, in good conscience, sanction a finale in which you are forced to fight a preliminary boss before the final boss every time you die. I understand the intention of reinforcing mastery, but dammit I need to learn move patterns. Move patterns make up the entire rhythm of a Souls game, especially for Sekiro; but as if to attack that specific subset of players Miyasaki decided "No- give them a pre-boss to trip them up." That final encounter wouldn't have been nearly as frustrating if I was focusing on the actual final villain.

Summary

Sekiro is considered the hardest Souls game for a few reasons, the manner in which it side-steps a lot of the core rules and movement lessons taught by the franchise and the fact that you can't just go off and grind to 'out level' the problem. There's one route to increased strength, and it's the critical path. But I actually find that tailor built balance to be the reinforcement I needed to stick out any challenge in the game. I was never left feeling totally helpless, because I knew I was supposed to be able to beat whatever foe I had wherever I was. Which of course meant I had to put my trust in the designing talents over at FromSoftware; but if one video game company has earnt the benefit of the doubt, it's them. And even when the game was at it's most tough, the fun of throwing about that robust and masterful combat system made even the most bitter failures fun.

In it's length Sekiro seems to expend every clever idea you could picture with the toolset available, leaving no ability under served or untested as you topple one creative obstacle after another. I think the world was very solid in it's Japanese fantasy whilst remaining staunchly grounded in that dour world-at-the-precipice style that Miyazaki loves, and the story which spurs us through that world is entirely serviceable. And after finishing the game, once again, I was left breathless in the glory of a game which equals up to another firm masterpiece under the belt of the FromSoftware team. In fact, I would consider this perhaps one of the most accessible FromSoftware games for it's relative sub-genre peculiarities, which makes it an easy recommend even for people just curious about Souls-likes trying to get into the spirit of the genre. It won't be an easy play, but it won't leave you feeling isolated or lost either. Which means that I'm going to come around to a pretty solid A+ Grade on my arbitrary grading system, brought just short of a legendary rank by my own personal hold ups with certain decisions made. Although I wouldn't at all be surprised if others consider it their best in the franchise, because as a robust game Sekiro really is just that good. Honestly, I came away slightly bummed out there was never any post-launch-DLC; guess I've got to wait for another 10 years until FromSoftware come back around to sequel this spectacular game.

The Games Awards Winners

Give him his crown.

Here we are a full day after the events of 'The Game Awards'. A show which, in the UK, streamed from 1:30 AM to 4:00. (So thanks for that Geoff.) Personally I have to admit that I really expected a more low-key show coming out this year than we actually got. Previous years were blessed with only a couple of brand new announcements and a plethora of DLC showcases, whilst this was still kind-of the case this year, the sheer volume of companies who wanted to co-opt the Game awards stage was incredible. (It's as though people started to realize that gaming makes more money than any other entertainment medium today.) Over the show we got to see brand new games, a grand reveal of two Next gen titles, a next gen console unveiling and a re-announcement that had me literally bouncing out of my seat.

Small disclaimer, there was a grand amount of noteworthy events that the team pulled off for the game Awards. So many that I cannot, feasibly, go through them all in this one blog if I expect to survive. (Yes, I know my prediction blog was 90 paragraphs long, but that almost ended me and I don't want to go through that hell again.) Luckily, this means that there will be a lot of content for me to explore in depth in the days to come, which is also fitting as that is likely when details will start to leak out about these titles, allowing for me to ensure that this blog remains as well-informed as I always aim it to be. So without further ado, let's get into the events of the day.

The show kicked off with another performance from the Game Awards Orchestra. Once again I felt that the showing wasn't as strong as the 2017 performance, which I think set the bench mark for eclectic video game medley performances, but I won't knock them for doing what they were told. (Which was sticking to music from titles that were directly related to this year's events.) After that, however, things started off very strong as we went directly into a brand new trailer for the 'Final Fantasy 7' Remake, which allowed us to get a good purview of some of new voice actors (who are really starting to grow on me) as well as the new remix of the classic FF7 Battle theme. (Which I instantly adore.) I'll get into specific details at a later date, but damn you Game awards more making me nostalgic/emotional from the first trailer!!

Things really kicked off in earnest here, as we got straight into announcing the very first award already, bear in mind that this was all still happening in the pre-show. Due to the influx of advertisers and game reveals that Keighley had managed to drum up, the team didn't even have the time to revel in the usual pageantry that the Awards show likes to. The Award for best Community Support, therefore, was relegated to a quick-fire award announcement. The kind that is obviously already rehearsed, given the fact that the award recipient is always just off the camera shot and ready to come on and give a small speech the second that their name is announced. For this award, the honor went to Destiny 2, which is exactly what I predicted by-the-by. Fans just love Bungie for the way that they made the choice to split from Activision, and it was no surprise that they all showed up in force to display support for Bungie in the voting polls.

The next couple of announcements were relatively small, but that actually made it all the more special that they managed to pick up as grand a stage at the game awards. I always respect the way that Keighley's show gives a voice to the unheard, and it is one of the things that really sets the Game Awards apart from E3. That trade show is more of an advertisement for the industry, and thus you are unlikely to see any smaller titles there outside of Devolver Digital's booth. (Which is typically situated outside due to the exorbitant fee associated with renting space in the hall itself.) Although one might not think of a title like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 as small, the fact that all we saw out of it was a character DLC is the kind of small announcement that likely wouldn't see the light of day on the typical E3 stage.

What is much more commendable for the Game Awards, is the way that they go out of their way to connect viewers with small prospective developers from regions that one might never have expected them from. This is something that was quite dominant throughout the show, and yet there was only one part of these 'promos' that came attached with a actual announcement. That went to a prospective Facebook game called 'Salaam', which was envisioned by a refugee as a way of depicting the struggles of a refugee for gamers across the world. Although we personally saw little of the product, one interesting dynamic was the way in which the game's in-app purchases all went to charities that help real refugees. I.e. when you buy medicine in the game, you're also technically buying it for real folk who need it. Which is certainly a generous concept.

Next up came another big event that was relegated to a quick-fire round as the show would rather spend it's time speeding through announcements. This time the award in question was for the best score and music in gaming. An award which I predicted would go to 'Cadence of Hyrule' due to how that entire game shapes it's play around rhythmic action set to some of the most iconic music tunes of all time; The Legend of Zelda musical catalogue. Seems that I was alone in my thinking, however, as the award ended up going towards 'Death Stranding' Instead. To be fair, folk often say that the music of Death Stranding is the kind that can only really be appreciated once you play the game, so I guess I was unqualified to asses this award in the first place.

Here's a fun little side effect of being bombarded with so many announcements on the night; I can't remember what half of them actually were! Looking at my notes, I see that now was the 'World premiere' of a game called 'Maneater' and I'm racking my brain to remember what- ah. Right, so this was the title that looked like it belonged in a the bargain bucket in the best possible way. This was essentially a 'Jaws' simulator that decided to go the extra mile and allow players to turn their sharks into super powered death machines. This sort of 'silly fun' game actually looks a lot more fun than it sounds and I was pleasantly surprised with the energetic feel to the whole thing. Maybe not the kind of game for me, so to speak, but certainly a cool addition to someone's library out there.

You can tell that the team decided to relegate all the categories that they didn't care for (or couldn't feasibly get all the nominees for) into their Quick-fire segments. Point in case: the Esports categories which were all smooshed together into a whole list of 'who gives a crap'. Which isn't to say that I didn't bother to make my own predictions, I just put absolutely zero effort into picking them out. The best Esports Coach of the year went to 'Zonic', who's name alone justifies the award over my choice in hindsight. The Esports event of the year went to 'League of Legends', which is an absolutely travesty against taste. (How would they actually award the entire game show anyway?) Host of the year went to 'Sjokz', proving that I absolutely should not take up betting in the future, and Esports team of the year went to 'G2 Esports' because there is no justice in the world.

After that painful slog, the game awards decided to award those who stuck it out with a Game premiere for a title that no one was expecting; 'Humankind'. Just to be clear, this isn't 'Ancentors: The Humankind Odessey' and was apparently announced beforehand. (I feel like someone should sue.) The prevailing takeaway that everyone had for 'Humankind' was "This is the poor man's CIV", and honestly that was a hard feeling to shake. The entire trailer revolved around a tribe that evolved into a huge modern metropolis whilst being narrated in a decidedly more casual manner than one might expect from a Civilization title. The only noticeable difference that I managed to pick up is the way the civilizations are apparently not based on real-life societies but rather completely unique to the player. Meaning that people could design their own immortal leader for their civilization. Whether that would ultimately be enough to shake the 'Civilisation' association remains to be seen.

Our next reveal went for the good-old bait and switch, just like how last year Netherrealm cut through all the festivities to announce Mortal Kombat 11. This one was a little more sneaky however, with the team in question actually producing a whole deceptive trailer to throw people off the scent. We see a studio-Gibli style animation sequence with VHS stylings in order to imitate the whole '80's aethetic'. Storywise, we saw a small child and their alien pet part from each other as children before being reunited in the future wherein the alien is now buff and slightly foul-mouthed. He announces that he's a 'Goddamn hero' which is then accompanied with a title screen. Eagle eared viewers might have recognized that irreverent style, but suspicions would be confirmed once that title screen ripped away in order to reveal Travis Touchdown. That's right, this was 'No More Heroes 3' all along. (Nicely handled guys!)

The last of the pre-show awards to be handed was in in a category that I was very passionate about not very long ago; Best fighting game. This award boasted nominees from all over the shop due to the fact that there weren't enough fighting games to warrant a full list. This left us in the embarrassing scenario wherein we had to nominate 'Jump Force' in order to get the candidate number up to 4, which is so damn insulting to all the other games that were actually made with same quality assurance in mind. Be that as it may, at least the award itself went to the only title that could feasibly win it,  Super Smash Bros Ultimate. (Which was my prediction, once again.)

At this point the show kicked off in earnest as we got to see that Orchestral performance that I mentioned earlier. To be fair, I may not have enjoyed this performance as much as previous years, but that doesn't mean it wasn't any good at all. 'Chvrches' came up on stage to perform a heavily 'Death Stranding' themed show with one of the key songs from the game. (I'm told.) So I didn't like the song in question, having no context to tie it too, but I will admit that it was pretty cool from a practical level, particularly in the way that they simulated 'rain' on stage and the singer went the extra mile of decorating her eyes with the 'black substance' that we see on 'The Soldier' from 'Death Stranding'.

Finally the show reached the stage that they were allowed to devote the actual stage to announcing awards, and just in time for the 'Best Narrative of the year' award. This one was hosted by the first big guest of the night, famous screenwriter Johnathon Nolan, known for his work on movies like 'Momento' and 'The Dark Knight triology' and shows like 'Westworld'. He was surprisingly complimentary to the gaming medium, considering I don't believe he has ever worked on a game himself. (I can't be bothered to do a quick IMDB search, so I could be wrong.) He shared how he believes that the best narratives of the modern world often debut in the video gaming world, and even mentioned the way that gaming influenced 'Westworld' and name dropped one of my favourite game characters of all time, Elizabeth, in reference to their Westworld star: Dolores'. Oh, and the award went to 'Disco Elysium', meaning I was wrong and I definitely have to play this game. (Okay, I get it.)

The next event was a surprise unlike any other, as Geoff managed to snag one of the biggest reveals of the year. We saw a trailer that had absolutely everyone guessing with the way that it shifted from dreamlike visuals to recognizable characters like Master Chief. Only then did it all come together, this wasn't a 'game' at all, but the debut of 'Project Scarlett', the next-gen Xbox system that no one had seen yet. Not only did we get a look at the actual box, which looked like a desktop computer, but we got to see the name that would presumably accompany the console. The 'Xbox Series X'. (Personally, I feel that's a couple too many X's for me.) This surprise reveal was followed up by a beautiful look at a title being made specifically for 'Series X'; 'Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga'. It's fair to say, the fidelity was high enough that folk in chat honestly thought this was a live-action trailer for a good portion of it. (That's some darn high praise.)

After a bombshell like that, it makes sense for the show to wind down with a whole bunch of smaller announcements. One of which was Mortal Kombat 11's newest DLC, which bought back a fan favourite character into the mix, Joker from the DC universe. (Although the VO was certainly odd for this version of the Clown Prince of crime, and I can't quite put my finger on exactly 'why' just yet.) There was also a quick showcase of the 'Expedidtions' DLC for 'Control', which looked to add a whole bunch of challenge scenarios to the game. (Which is sure to annoy the crowd who remember the cliffhanger that the main story left on.) And the awards quickly ran through the E-sports player of the year; (as announced by everyone's favourite walking embarrassment, Ninja) Bugha. Yes, I guessed him too. Bow down before my predictive might.

The next premier was one that particularly tickled me for how comparatively low key it was when compared to it's competitor. 'Godfall' is a title that was remarkable in it's ability to leave very little in the way of an 'impression' upon the viewer upon first viewing. It was your typical showcase of a variety of hero-looking folk in excessively spiky and over-detailed armour wielding swords that just seem ungainly. The scene then moves onto a giant Hydra on top of a tower that they presumably are prepared to tackle, before fading to a title screen. So far so forgettable, right? Except right there, in the corner of the screen and easy to miss, was the logo for PS5. It was so low key, in fact, the Geoff had to point it out himself in order to keep people excited. (At least it's a more sensible title than 'Series X')

The next part of the ceremonies was dedicated to three award announcements that were all handled in the 'quick-fire' style that they love so much. Best Audio design was completely stolen from RE2 and handed to 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare', an alright game but one that doesn't wield it's sound design like a weapon in the manner that Capcom did. Best Strategy Game went to my personal pick, 'Fire Emblem: Three Houses', a well deserved win. And content creator of the year went to 'Shroud, just like I predicted, because the Game Awards weren't woke enough to nominate the actual biggest gaming channel of the year, Pewdiepie. (He literally got the most views of any channel on Youtube, you can't just ignore that.)

Once more we were gifted a 'World Premier', this time by the same team behind a particular darling of the RPG world; Octopath Traveller. That was a title that was heavily commended for it's incredible visual flair, endearing characters and gripping narrative; so any new RPG title from them was sure to be well received. Initial reactions to this reveal were similarly positive as folk commended the graphical style and wondered if this was the long awaited sequel to the DS classic; Bravely Default. Which, funnily enough, it actually was. Bravely Default 2 (Which I guess is a sequel to the 2013 original and not the 2015 'Bravely Second') will be another Square Enix RPG and Nintendo Exclusive due for 2020.

A fan favourite company stole the show from here, as Warframe's community lead (Who is affectionately known as 'Spacemom' amidst the fandom) came to announce the release of the expansion that they had teased earlier that E3, 'Empyrean'. This is the expansion that would allow for real-time space ship navigation and combat through a manner that is honestly remarkable to behold for a free-to-play title. (If only I actually liked ninjas, then I might actually be into this title.) 'Spacemom' managed to steal the wind out of the Game Awards' sails by announcing that this expansion was out that very moment, at least on PC, which I'm sure cost the event a few thousand viewers in the excitement.

The next couple announcements were very niche titles that one would either become immediately enamoured by or find ultimately boring. There was the latest 'Magic: The gathering' CG trailer, which I welcome purely so that I can stop seeing that same melodramatic trailer from last year everytime there's an ad on YouTube. Only, this trailer is every bit as melodramatic in a way that it particularly eye-rolling when you have no idea who any of the characters are. The other title was a bit more vague, as we saw a fellow alone in the woods with, what sounds like, a camera. Most immediately sighed and said "Oh god, we're getting another 'Blair Witch' game already!?", However, this was actually an incredibly vague title called 'Prologue' which is touted as a game from 'Playerunkown', which is sure to have some people scratching their heads. I'm not sure what to expect from that team, but I'm intrigued enough to keep an open mind.

The next award up for grabs was Best art Direction of the year, which is a section that featured more than a few indie titles that revolved around their peculiar art styles. I remember noting, at the time, how I felt such an award was owed to 'Sayonara: Wild Hearts' before concluding that is should likely go towards the remake of 'Link's Awakening'. Seems I was wrong on both accounts as the award ended up going towards 'Control', which was a title that I had completely discounted. In hindsight, I can certainly see where the title gets some it's love in this department, due to the weird stylings and visual approach, although I still think that 'Wild Hearts' had 'Control' beat in the 'outlandish' category. Still unsure how I feel about this one.

Fortnite's Epic games took to the stage next to showcase their relationship with Disney once more, through their upcoming Star Wars event, in which a small scene from 'Rise of Skywalker' would be shown ingame at the movie theatre. (Seems like the perfect way to line up a bunch of people for a good old-fashioned rocket launcher strafe, but then that's just me.) Epic's representative also took time to express how they want to make Fortnite a nexus title for 'all IPs' to work alongside; basically admitting that they have a lot of money but want all the money. I give Fortnite a hard time, but I guess this event is kind of a cool way to drum up excitement. Also, it was cool to see J.J. Abrams come on screen to big up the whole affair, even if it all did stink of corporate. (Put me down as 'not coming' for this event.)

I was actually quite surprised with how this next Premiere went over so many people's heads. This was a sequel to a small Steam early access title that became quite popular over it's years in development; The Forest. The game basically revolved around attempting to survive in the wilds after a plane crash whilst being besieged by an island that proved to be ever more weird than you initially thought the further that you go in. This new title 'Sons of the Forest', seemed to improve upon the fidelity of that first title immensely, to the point where even I had trouble picking up that this title was even related to the first game. Of course, only time will tell if that trailer is even remotely indicative of the final game product.

From here came an announcement that had actually been rumored for a number of months leading up to this point. You see, League of legends has remained one of the biggest online games of all time with some of the most indepth and varied lore of any online game despite only having one actual game to it's name. This was a trend that was broken at the game Awards wherein Riot Game announced their very first extended universe League game, a single player title that goes by the name  'The Ruined king'. It's unclear, as of yet, what sort of game this will ultimately end up being, but seeing as how I never liked the whole 'MOBA' game type, I'm interested enough to devote some attention to this alternative foot into LOL lore.

After that the ugly commercial side of the Game Awards reared it's, sadly necessary, head with the debut of two unwelcome adverts. The first featured Margo Robbie in her ridiculously exaggerated Harley Quinn voice, performing a mildly unfunny skit before the reveal of a brand new teaser for 'Birds of Prey'. I have no idea what that movie has to do with the gaming space, and thus am mildly perturbed by the whole affair. Then came the first in a series of Adverts directly aimed at the 'Vaping' culture, with intent to kill. Personally, I realized that the concept of 'Vaping' had got a bad rap this year, but I had no idea that things had gotten to the point where advocacy groups were forming campaigns on the matter. I mean, I've heard of a few vaping relating deaths but I was under the impression that they were down to bad vape juice rather than the act itself. Whatever, I don't vape so none of this effects be anyway, move on.

Next up came a look-in from that one title that's on everyone's 'most anticipated game' list; Cyberpunk 2077. I knew that they wouldn't miss the chance to advertise on the last big gaming show before their release, and I was right, although we didn't actually get a gameplay trailer like I was expecting. Instead CDPR opted to put together a showcase video boasting about the plethora of talented artists who were willing to work on the game and bring their own flavour to this title. (For which the soundtrack is said to be entirely Original content, by-the-by.) This was followed by a cyber-punky performance by Grimes, who managed to drag her boyfriend Elon Musk to the show, so that's another famous face that Geoff Keighley can tick off on his 'collect 'em all' quest.

Next up, one of the nominees for best performance, Norman Reedus, took to the stage in order to host the award for Best Action Game of the year. This was a decision that I actually agonized over for a while as I switched between the brilliantly cinematic action of Devil May Cry 5 and the intense immersive environments of 'Metro Exodus'. In the end my own personal preferences leaned me towards the latter and that cost me the 'told you so' point here as DMC ended up winning. I'm not too peeved about this one, as I feel that both titles were worthy of the award for entirely separate merits. I only lament that the fantastic 'Metro' franchise couldn't get the recognition that it deserved.

Back to the premiers for the time being, as we got to take a look at the tonally confused trailer for 'Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance'. A title that the developers described as being created to "Put the 'action' back into 'action adventure RPG'". If that means out-of-place rock music, ugly head-tracking camera shots and a reveal that viewers charitably described as 'crap Vermintide', then I suppose they're on the right track. We also got to see Respawn embarrass themselves and Roger Craig Smith with a cringe-worthy Christmas event announcement for Apex Legends and our bi-annual look at the still-stunning 'Ori and the Will of the Wisps'. Still looks great guys, now you're just got to bring it out!

Next came the announcement for 'Games with Impact' as announced by Beaker and Honeydew from The Muppets. (Still better than when 'Crash Bandicoot' turned up last year.) This was a title that I was a little bit dismissive off last blog, a fact that the Muppets made me feel particularly bad for this year as they announced that the award would be awarded for 'Progressive and inspirational' game making. (So I'll admit I was a little grumpy last time around and apologize.) This award did not end up going to 'Sea of Solitude' like I predicted, but to 'Gris'. A title which I guess is equally as deserving, even if I think 'Sea of Solitude' did it better.

The next award was one that I found particularly amusing given the fact that every title was published by Nintendo. Best Family game of the year boasted such contestants as 'Super Mario Maker 2' and 'Ring Fit adventure', proving that Nintendo is completely unmatched when it comes to supplying the family market. Even Geoff Keighley had a little laugh when it came to this award as he joked about how he "Liked Nintendo's chances for this one." Unfortunately, the title ended up going to 'Luigi's Mansion 3' despite how that game features a truly abominable co-op mode. (Something you'd think would be detrimental in a category built for 'family' games.)

After that there was the award that had to combine sports and racing games due to the lack of decent sports games this year. Anyone could tell that there was no way the sports titles would win as, despite Fifa's dominate numbers this year, none of the folk who settled with FIFA could muster the mental capacity it took to vote online. (Okay, I'm being mean now, I should move on.) This was really a race against the racing titles (see what I did there?) and I felt that it should go to anyone other than Crash Team Racing, due to their abominable polices when it comes to microtransactions. Of course, that means that Crash Team Racing was the only game that ever could win, and they did. (Once again, there is no justice in the world.)

Our next award was awarded in an equally as contentious category; Mobile gaming. For a very long while, mobile Gaming has earned a reputation for showcasing the worst of the worst when it comes to overbearing anti-consumer practises and their corrupt nature has started to leak into the AAA market in the worst possible ways. The Best Mobile game of the years award was supposed to showcase those mobile titles that buck the trend to deliver a worthwhile experience to the player without gouging them for everything they're worth first. And yet, 'Call of Duty mobile' ended up securing the award for it's trophy cabinet over actually innovative and intriguing titles like 'Sayonara: Wild Hearts'. Truly a shame to mobile gaming everywhere.

Working as something of a palette cleanser, the next premiere involved a whole bevy of key words that succeeded in piquing my interest. Devolver Digital, the publisher renowned for supporting creative and cool indie products, The co-creators of 'Prey' and 'Dishonored', two fantastic stealth games, and RPG, the best genre. Bring all those together and you get the top down adventure title 'Weird West', that looks to capitalize on mythology and camp side stories to depict a supernatural cowboy tale. Needless to say, this is definitely a title that I'll be keeping my eye on in the coming months.

Next up was a CG Premiere that did very little in explaining what the actual game was. Once again the folk behind 'Magic: The Gathering' proved their talent at constructing elaborate looking trailers with no substance behind them. Luckily, there was a press release around about the same time clearing things up so I could confirm that this title 'Magic Legends', is actually an upcoming MMO set in the 'Magic' universe. Because that's what we need, another MMO in a market full of MMO's and 'Live-service-MMO-wannabes'. I won't hold me breath for this title turning into anything particularly special.

Once more the age of adverts descended upon us and were greeted by the absolute worst things that humanity has to offer the world. Point in case; that absolutely abominable Google Stadia advert from a couple of weeks back made an appearance. Regardless of being an incredibly hard watch, which is something I very much expect from any gaming-related advert nowadays, the advert itself is woefully misinformed and straight up lies to people on some points. Namely, the fact that Google Stadia runs 4k 60fps, which is something that the actual service does not deliver for the majority of its newer titles. I could dedicate the rest of this blog to picking apart this advert, but I don't want to give it the time of day.

Back to announcements, we received an announcement about one title that is exclusive to the VR realm, and that would be; 'Path of the Warrior'. This trailer started off by mimicking the 'Streets of rage' pixellated style in a bar room brawl, before devolving into a much more unappealing cartoony visage as the perspective shifted form 2D beat 'em up to first-person action. Despite my hang-ups on visual design, I will admit that the title looked pretty fun, especially in the way that the environment played into the fighting, like how the player could pick up and chuck a board dart at his foes. Whether this is an actual full-blown game or just another VR 'proof in concept' remains to be seen once reviews start popping up. (Which should be soon as the game just launched.)

Back we go to the awards part of the event as we moved onwards to Best multiplayer game of the year. This was a selection that had a variety of high-profile titles, all of which were some form of a 'live service'. Once again, I allowed by distaste for developer antics cloud my judgment here, as I gave my prediction to Borderlands 3, figuring it was a title that did well enough with critics to earn a commendation. What I failed to account for was the fact that Apex Legends caused quite a storm when it launched and secured a decent fan base ever since then, regardless of their greedy machinations in the time in-between. Of course, 'Apex Legends' got the title.

I needn't remain upset, however, for the next reveal was of a title that has earned sufficient hubbub in the last year; Ghost of Tsushima. This was a title that boasted an enviable setting, feudal Japan, an exciting premise, grounded samurai combat, and a mouth watering visual appeal. The game practically oozed with it's classic Japanese film inspirations from the field of falling grass lilies from 'Hero' to the 'epic showdown' appeal of 'Enter the Dragon'. It doesn't just 'pay homage' to these titans either, nor does it decide to do some ropey send-up, rather it stands proud as it's own incredibly exciting looking product. One thing in particular I noticed was the way in which the model of the sword cut into people was actually outstandingly stable. (a credit that I don't often award for an impressive feat that I don't often see.) This game is certainly one to watch in the next year.

A couple more 'premiere's came up next, although one of these titles was most definitely announced all the way back in E3. 'Gears Tactics' is the title through which 'Gears of War' which to expand their series into the genre of tactical turn based combat, a genre that I whole heartedly support. It was a bit strange seeing that familiar Gears action taken at a much slower pace, but I know how much more it will lend to the intense reverberance of each decision and so I wasn't put off. We also got a quick glance at what appears to be a competitive action title called 'Raraka Bladepoint' which was created by a studio from China. (Yes, the chat immediately devolved into anti-China sentiments once this game came up.) This was a game that looked similar to 'Ghost of Tsushima' in concept, only in a more stylized and fantastical manner. Despite the country of it's origin, I found myself intrigued.

Back to the awards of the night and we found ourselves met with a decidedly divisive choice in best Ongoing game. Typically this award goes to the game which made the most sweeping change to it's overall structure in that year as it is a sign of the health of that game and those developer's willingness to take risks. (Providing that those updates don't break everything, Battlefield and Fallout 76.) With this in mind, I opted for Final Fantasy XIV knowing of their incredibly well-received shadow bringers update which reintroduced that most beloved of Final Fantasy Story points; a warrior of light. But this is a reward that could have just as easily have gone to Destiny 2, for their switch to free-to-play, or the game that it did ultimately go to; Fortnite, for their 'Chapter 2' update.

The next premier was 'affectionately' labelled 'Furry Fortnite' by fans at the time due to the way it showcased a army of obnoxious bunny rabbits waving guns at each other with blaring music over it all. Unfortunately, that incredibly arresting introduction was only the 'bait-and-switch' for a really dull looking military shooter called '9 to 5'. (The Dolly Parton video game is finally becoming a reality!) The Developer elaborated a little bit by explaining that this game would be a tactical online shooter (so 'Rainbow: Six Seige') built around the 'increadibly original' concept of a world that has become so entrenched in cooperate influence that warfighting has become an everyday job. (Hence the '9 to 5' title.) Let's just hope these developers never find out about 'Borderlands', 'The Outer Worlds', or 'Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots', or they'll be really put out.

The next three awards were quickly rushed through in another quick-fire segment. Which is not the kind of treatment that I was expecting for one category in particular. The Best Esports award ended up going to 'League of Legends' for any number of reasons that I don't understand, never played the game and never will. Best VR game of the year was one I was really interested in, wherever or not the award would end up going towards the title that was of higher quality or the one with more a cultural impact. Things seems to land in the latter camp (Which was where my prediction laid, incidentally) as 'Beat Saber' won the award. Much to my shock, however, the final quick-fire award was dedicated to 'Best Performance', which is an award that typically invoked much fanfare from the crowd. My working theory as to why it was demoted stems from the assumption that they perhaps couldn't lock in some of the actors that were nominated, such as he who won; Mads Milkeson. (My choice.)

Then came the award that had been constantly teased throughout the night and was the only award which I wasn't aware about before the show. I'm talking, of course, about the 'Player's choice' which I can only presume would be rewarded to the title that fans feel is the best the year has to offer. But then, isn't that what the entire voting process is for. Which also brings into question the job of all the reviewer outlets that sign up to the game awards. I don't quiet understand this award, nor it's implications, but I guess that fact that it ended up going to 'Fire Emblem: Three Houses' is commendable enough.

The final musical performance of the night (Excluding the annual 'game of the year medley') was one that Geoff Keighley clearly wanted to tick off of his personal bucket list. And so we all received a performance by Green Day as they shot through a couple of their songs and managed to get the crowd on their feet. (Quite the achievement, I must admit.) Green Day also managed to prove themselves rather unjustly foul-mouthed, which really highlighted the lack of f-bombs that I heard compared to previous years. I even remember hearing one Dev actively mention watching their language. Is Geoff attempting to clean up the awards to bring in more advertisers? Big if true. Oh, and Green Day were here because their newest album was releasing on Beat Saber via an impending song pack. So there's your gaming connection, folks.

Our next premiere was an intriguing title from Amazon Game Studios that seemed to deftly defy common classification. First we saw Romans rendered in such high quality that people immediately assumed it was Ryse 2, then we saw zombie Romans fighting 17th century soldiers in a manner that invoked For Honor 2, and then we saw typical English adventurer/colonizer garb that made us all think of Greedfall. This title was obviously none of them, but a brand new title called 'New World' that promises to be Amazon's first MMO. (Yikes, that's one heck of an undertaking there for your first big budget game. Good luck, guys.)

For the next slate of awards Reggie Fils-Aimé returned, fresh from retirement, to read out a slate of games related to the indie scene. Reggie expressed his personal love for the Indie scene, and expressed how they are the backbone of the industry, a sentiment with which I agree. The Fresh Indie Game award, which is an award delivered to a Studio rather than an game, went to 'ZA / UM' for Disco Elysium, whilst best independent game went to...Disco Elysium. (Goddamn, just what am I missing out on having not played this game?) That team received so many awards tonight that they reached the point where their acceptance speech became little more than 'Thank you'. What more is there to say, honestly.

Once more we brushed past another terrible Stadia advert, this one Christmas themed. Although it was interesting to note that they amended their language in this one by telling us that Stadia offers resolutions 'up to' 4k 60fps. (Way to cover your ass there, Google.) This was followed by two Premieres, one covering a second League of Legends game on it's way; 'Convergence', (Wow those guys are really working at pumping those out, huh.) and Surgeon Simulator 2. The long awaited (?) sequel to the YouTube darling game about having terrible control of your hands and attempting to perform surgery. Only this one is an Epic Exclusive. Yay, for needless exclusivity!

Finally we come to the stand out moment of the night. Oh sure, 'Xbox Series X' got it's unveiling here, two MMO's were announced and we found out that A$ap Rocky is making music for Cyberpunk 2077, but there was only one announcement that had me out of my seat in disbelief. Or should I say, as Geoff did, 're-annoucement'. For right there, as the night was coming to a close, the lights dimmed as we were reintroduced into a familiar faintly-neon penned world, with a familiar voice addressing a familiar detective. This was the night that THE WOLF AMONG US 2 was bought back from the dead! I'm still in shock and cannot express my adoration, but I'll likely need an entirely separate blog to properly process this amazing announcement.

The next category is one that I described as having been made with Death Stranding in mind, and that is an assertion that I very much stand behind. Best game direction was never an award that was going to go to any of the 'tradtional' games due to it's very nature. It has to go to a title that decides to buck the trend, and so the 'Death Stranding' win here was nothing short of inevitable. Of course, the real situation of note was Kojima's acceptance speech and the way in which his translator managed to keep up with one of the longest stream of consciousness that I have ever seen. (He probably made most of it up.)

As we were coming to a close it seems that the Game Awards suddenly realized that they still had a couple bits of fluff to fill in the gap, and so they finally revealed their selection for 'Tweet of the Year'. That ended up going to the "I regret nothing" tweet which accompanied a run through the notoriously difficult Mario Marker 2 map 'World 1-1 with a twist'. there was also a little cinematic for 'The Elder Scrolls Online' which was followed by a brief teaser of next year's expansion, which promises to delve back into Skyrim.

The last world premiere ended up going to honor the two final guest hosts of the show, Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel. They popped up to briefly talk about their love for the gaming scene, which was nice, whilst Vin took the time to reveal that he had seen the trailer for the upcoming 'Fast and Furious 9' (Kind of a derail there Vin, but you bought us 'Assault on Dark Athena' so I'll let you off the hook.) Together they debuted 'Fast and Furious: Crossroads', which is a game that looks... rough. Not exactly the showstopper reveal that you want to go out on.

Finally came time for the big award of the night; Ultimate Game of the Year. (Which comes accompanied with Best Action Adventure game of the year as those awards often go hand in hand.) This was the one award for which I had no inclination where things should end up beyond that 'Death Stranding' shouldn't win it. (It shouldn't have been nominated, but here we are.) You may remember how I made my case for 'Resident Evil 2' to win the award, but lo-and-behold my baby was snubbed as the award ended up going to 'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice'. No real losers here, as both were obviously deserving titles. Still though... should have gone to RE2.

And that, in a nutshell, was the entire Game Awards night summed and wrapped up nicely. Of course, this won't be the last time that I talk about them, all those premieres that I mentioned deserve their own look-over, but I'll give myself space for them as I feel like that's when I'm at my sharpest. As for the show itself, I was rather happy with how everything turned out. I already know that some folk considered it to be boring and to them I ask "What were you expecting?" This was an Awards show, it's a miracle that we get any announcements during it at all. Plus, I'm a lot more excited about seeing the 'Series X' than I would have done if I saw it at E3, and I'm not sure why. Probably because it didn't come attached with a full list of features and a price tag, allowing us all a full 6 months of speculation. I feel that Geoff did a good job this year, and hope he keeps it up for the future, I've come to enjoy this yearly tradition a whole lot more than Christmas.