Minor spoilers for collectibles in Horizon: Forbidden West
Butch:
Mopped up flying quests and all that. Found the raiders who were giving tide's reach a problem and killed them. Found the compass for the quen folks. I really liked, at the end of that, that the person I did it for gave Aloy a huge hug and a thank you. So many times, we get the whatever we get and they are all "Thank you champion." That show of emotion, that "You helped me and now I can see my wife" was really different and really great.
But most of what I did was that viewpoint.
THAT viewpoint.
Took me the best part of forever to realize that the solution wasn't something you got while you were flying. "Land" was not a concept I figured out for a while. Then, once landed, fell to my doom approximately 3498573485 times. Got stuck in one of those "you're stuck in the building" places, etc. Once, I fell, and, as I was falling said "Fuck it, I'll just die and reload," fell, landed, and was still alive by SEVEN hit points. SEVEN! And I was trapped in a nook in the map I couldn't get out of! I couldn't even die correctly doing this viewpoint.
Took. Forever.
But I did it, eventually. I found it interesting that the reward you got was a message from Elisabet. I found that interesting. This is twice now where the "reward" for collectibles, something usually seen as padding, if not a waste of time, in games was something hopeful or something beautiful. Interesting they tied hope and beauty to something gamers usually roll their eyes at. Hmm.
Feminina:
I did kind of like that the reward for all those viewpoints, which we've been doing automatically because we do everything, but with no expectation of it actually having any relevance...actually tied back to the main game! Both in a personal sense -- the message from Elizabeth was meaningful to Aloy -- and in a general "hey, people, look out for the planet, we could be losing our own gorgeous views" way, which is something the game is not-subtly (yet, I think, not overly heavy-handedly either) pushing.
Butch:
Yeah! Stupid collectibles with theme! That's new. Usually, you just wind up with creepy heads. Even Stemmur there brought home the themes of misunderstanding the past but still trying, still finding beauty. The black boxes were similar, though more about respecting the past, even when the past was a mess.
Hmm.
Nicely done, game.
Even if that last viewpoint SUCKED.
Feminina:
That last viewpoint was an interesting challenge. Being up so damn high, trying not to fall off...trying unsuccessfully to fall off in a fatal way when we did fall...
Butch:
They really should've mentioned there was a place to land. I flew all around with the focus on. Sigh.
Feminina:
One of my favorite things with the sunwing...there's a hidden trophy called 'long glide' for gliding uninterrupted for 60 seconds, and there may be some mountain peak you can jump off to get it on your own, but I just rode the sunwing up and up and up until Aloy said "I can't go any higher" and then leaped off midair and man, it was a long, fun glide down. Very peaceful and scenic.
Butch:
Dude, I've been trying to get that trophy forever, and it only occurred to me last night, after I was finished playing, that jumping from the sunwing was the way.
I'm not smart when I play.
Feminina:
The sunwing is the way!
We don't have to be smart WHEN we play. We're smart AFTER we play, and can sometimes deploy that smartness at a later time.
Butch:
Our blog really should be called "Be dumb, be smart later."
Or "Be dumb, be smart later, then derail and be dumb."
Feminina:
I like both those options!
I appreciate how they incorporate the inevitability of our being very stupid at some point.
Butch:
There's a very fine line between stupid and stupendously witty.
In other news....
MAN my mother has some weird shit. WEIIIIRD shit.
But did she keep the old Commodore 64 games? Some of which are worth up to 400 bucks? No. No she did not. Why?
"Oh, come on, computer games aren't worth anything."
Her words.
Grumble.
I could have wine money and some fun researching old computer games. I had some weird ones (of course). I took care of them, too!
Grumble.
Speaking of computer games.....
Time to think on "What should we play next?" I think I might finish Horizon someday.
I, for some reason, have "Plague Tale: Innocence" in my library. It's supposed to be good, and, now that crushing despair has been replaced by ambient anxiety (which, let's face it, was how I looked at the world from 1976 to March 2020), might be worth a play.
Thoughts?
Feminina:
I vaguely remember talking about that one, but I don't remember if I got around to adding it to my library. But if I did, sure! It looks moderately interesting. And timely, but perhaps not in a way that will crush our souls TOO much.
Not like TLOU2, which I still have no interest in ever playing.
Butch:
What? They made a sequel to TLOU? If they have, I have erased it from my reality.
I don't think you have Plague Tale. I think, now that I think about it, that that was one that was a PS+ freebie just for PS5. I remember you looking for it and not finding it or something.
Whatever. Your call. I'll play whatever. You've been patiently waiting for me to move ahead.
Feminina:
Oh yeah, that does sound familiar. Well, it's 20 bucks on Amazon, I can get it now.
I'm in! Can't get enough plague-themed entertainment, really.
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