Monday, May 1, 2023

Honkai Star Rail : A f2p game that feels so story focussed!

Well, just popped by to express how delighted & surprised I feel playing Honkai Star Rail! It is a supposedly free to play gatcha game which shouldn't be fun at all, at least to my sensibilities, which have become jaded farming the materials in Destiny for almost a decade. These days I tire of games that even remotely ask of me to invest my neurons in keeping track of too many materials/currencies. It has reached a point where I don't even read the fictional names of the myriad materials games throw at me now.


However, Honkai Star Rail is throwing all those gibberishly named materials at me and every treasure chest opened pops so many things my mind attaches no meaning to, I am still enamored by it! I am still waiting for every little 10 minute break to spend a little more time in it. All this while the character designs are not speaking to me either, even though I love JRPGs otherwise.



So, what is it that is bringing me back to it repeatedly and making me write this post here? The answer is its total and complete commitment to telling a story and building a mysterious and curiosity-inspiring world! Regardless of its gatcha based hook systems the game is first and foremost committed to telling a story. This focus on telling stories is so refreshing in the mobile-game space that it has hooked me. Prior to this the last game I experienced which was completely riding on its stories was Nier:Reincarnation by Yoko Taro. In fact that game felt so new, unique and fresh that I was in awe of it at that time. I could not fathom how a seasonal model or service based game could rely on a supply of interesting short stories all throughout the year. Apparently, people can write compelling stories faster than I imagined or there is a very talented team behind that game.


Since Nier, this is the only other time where I have a pull to play again just to see what happens next and not for any other gameplay hook or reason at all.

Going forward I hope Honkai StarRail can keep up this commitment to story and it would be super interesting to witness and learn how a stroy based game thrives or plans to thrive in live service model.

As of now, I am just happy to explore the world. Looking forward to see it evolving and delivering compelling stories ahead!

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

The song of life!

 


Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Moments from a journey of a lifetime: The Last Guardian- Part 1

Some beautiful moments between the Boy, Trico and me during my first few hours in The Last Guardian !


  

 


Stay tuned for part 2 as my adventure continues ! I hope it keeps going on forever!

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Battleborn Early Review: Unabashed Fun for all !

Battleborn being a MOBA like game with long progression system, I am calling this an "early review" as I have spent around 15 hours in it by now playing mostly the PvE mode. Such games can take a month of play to see it all and I will update this review if my thoughts change during the course of further play.


"Fun ! 
Unabashed, 
carefree, 
mindless fun ! "

:^)

That is how I feel about Battleborn after spending a good few hours in it !


......and if you, like me, like fun games then I implore you to try this game out ! It seems to have enough depth to keep you glued for quite a while, while also doling out immediate fun in dollops as soon as you begin ! While it looks pretty intimidating from the far, what about its 25 characters you can play as and multiple levels of progression and completely new modes of PvE and PvP play, once I dived in, I realised it provided instant gratification while promising fun for a long haul ! 

Honestly , I am not yet sure how long it can last with the kind of content in there, but if there is one thing I am very sure of now is that the game is hell of a lot of fun :^) ! ! !  In fact, so much that I am currently totally hooked to its PvE co-op missions and it has consumed all of my leisure time ....and weaned me away from Uncharted 4 Multiplayer, which by no means is a small feat !

Play it the way you want :

I think what sets Battleborn apart from other FPS games is the fact that you can play it the way you want. Although the introduction puts you in the shoes of a character with a gun, you can play this game as a brawler, a magicians spellfest or as a sword and sorcery fantasy title  !

How, you may ask ! 

Well, thats where the splendid cast of 25 playable characters comes in ! Each character has its own special unique play-style and you can choose any character in each game session you play, no holds barred !
The fun starts when you realise that every character is not a shooter in here and in fact, my favourite of them all is a dual-katana wielding Vampire named Rath ! How cool is that ! His move set is completely melee based, as the description suggests, and he can unleash a katana tornado attack where he just spins with his swords spread out decimating any hapless minion unfortunate enough to be caught in his vicinity !


Similarly, there are characters that can fly about, characters which can shoot missiles, characters with a sword and shield, characters with Bow n Arrow, etc. etc. You name the kind of character you want to play and I am pretty sure one of the 25 heroes will fill that part ! This is very refreshing when playing the story missions as just the choice of character can change the flow of the mission in new ways and make the same mission feel new, slow, hectic or tactical ! 

So, How do I unleash my Heroics! 

The game has a dedicated PvE and a PvP aspect to it. PvE offers 5 player co-op in about 8 missions and the PvP offers about 3 modes which range from Capture-the-Flag like mode to proper MOBA modes. Personally I have not played any PvP in this game yet and wouldn't comment on that, but have spent more than 10 hours in the PvE. Each match, whether co-op or competitve, has the common element of levelling up your character as the match progresses and gaining new abilities making your character grow within each mission. This progression is reset upon the end of a mission or match and it might feel new or weird to see your character restart from Level 1 in each mission, but trust me, that feeling goes away pretty soon and you feel the rush of you character gaining power with each kill in every match !

 That lends a very action focussed, gung-ho feel and thrill to each mission you play and with 25 different characters to play as, with each character having multiple combinations of skills you can choose according to the situation,  things stay fresh and in fact require quick tactical thinking each time you go for an upgrade in your skill tree.

This also makes sure you are not stuck with a particular choice of skills and can re-spec and try out different skill combinations each time you play. I found this system very engaging and very rewarding while upping the thrill of the missions as decisions need to be made in thick of the moment and can alter your character completely.

Its Mayhem, ma co-op Mates ! :

The PvE story missions let 5 people play together and thats where I have found myself spending most of my time. Missions have a unique flavour to them with wide open areas and a mix of hectic frenetic in-the-face gameplay intermixed with resource collection and tactical tower defense like elements.


Whether you are a lone wolf who gives no damn except to cause some mayhem or you are the worrisome one who develops sweaty brows at the sight of a mismanaged team, the game welcomes you all. In a group of five, there is enough space for that one or two guys who are there just to blow baddies up ! Just choose a tank-ing hero and go crazy in the wide levels designed to gratify your need for carnage.

Lone wolf be doing his own thing ! 

...and the team-player kinds can always be the support, the snipers or the healers backing up the carnage with tactically placed turrets, well timed super abilities and a constant supply of health and armour. The Tower-defence like mechanics really satisfy the tactician inside me and the currency used to build those traps and turrets is found all over the battlefield. So, if you like to be the sneaky guy who is hard to catch but causes trouble all over, just run around, get them shards and place traps and turrets all around the bad-guys and revel as your hard work pays off !
You will find you He-Man style cartoons time and again; Very refreshing !

The shards are also required to activate or power-up the gear that you have equipped on your character. So, do remember to collect the shards in between the action and , honeslty, the game does a good job of guiding you around shards during the missions. My strategy always seems to rest on activating all of my gear first and then focusing on spending shards on defensive placements.

This zeal of the game to let each guy have his own fun is very very appealing and very effective to create a order in the chaos that ensues in each of its missions. Just know what your role is or what your hero specializes in and go do your thing ! The team will automatically get the help they need and the characters will balance off each other to keep the guns going even long after the "missions successful" screen has flashed :^D!

Multi pronged Progression system: 

This game makes you feel rewarded, no matter what! Just look at this mission failure screen,even a failure is celebrated with fanfare here :^D

Jokes aside, the game has multi threaded progression system where you make progress one way or the other as long as you are playing, and , like I mentioned before, the game rewards you for whatever you do.
There are multiple ways you progress in this game like:

  • The overall Commander Rank of your profile which leads to unlocking more characters, loadout slots, etc.
  • Each Hero you play as also has its own individual rank which can be earned playing more often as that Hero. This leads to unlocking new skills within that character's skill tree and are very useful. Also leads to unlocking cosmetic items for that character.
  • Challenges: in game challenges can make you earn bonuses or can lead to early unlocks of certain characters.
  • In game Gear Drops: Defeating major enemies or finding loot-crate-thingies can drop Gear for your characters which can be equipped for another set of bonuses. Gear have a rarity system like any good RPG and higher quality gear can make a difference in higher difficulty missions.

During my playtime, I have seen that there is always something to look forward to and you keep feeling that urge and a constant nudge from the game to play another match, just one more before you retire for the day :^) !

Verdict:

If the initial 15 hours are anything to go by this is a very fun shooter/RPG/MOBA hybrid game which can be played for a daily dose of adrenaline rush or for an evening of tactical play sessions with friends. It has that quality of letting you enjoy the mayhem with randoms or plan a meticulous victory with your friends. Its a balance not many games have been able to strike ! Battleborn does it a confidence that comes from Gearbox's previous co-op outing with the Borderlands series.

If you are looking for a fun stress-busting action game which is unique and has tons of variety then look no further. Battleborn is here at your service ! Whatever you do, do not play it alone ! The game is made for co-op, and just like The Division before it, it is most fun in co-op.

Pros:

  • Super fun, super rewarding gameplay
  • Splitscreen co-op !!!
  • High-octane mindless action
  • Tense Tactical Action
  • Play it the way you want
  • Multi pronged Progression system
  • More content promised by Gearbox

Cons:

  • Lag can affect melee characters more than a ranged ones
  • Missions are selected by voting in PvE, which can lead to repetition