rolandstones
Novice
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2023
- Messages
- 11
Joe Richardson's Death of the Reprobate just came out today so I thought I'd post a review of his two prior games Four Last Things and Procession to Calvary. They are two interesting point and click games whose initial draw is that all visuals and sounds are composed of a patchwork of renaissance era paintings and music. The animations, scene composition, blending, etc. feel chaotic but it somehow works surprisingly well. The rest of the game's components are at worst competently made. The puzzles, which are never too obtuse, simple or annoying. In fact, in The Procession to Calvary you play as a knight, which in Richardson's mind and world means that you are (or at least can be) a murderous psychopath who can stab anyone, thereby being able to skip most puzzles. The dynamic cursor in both games eschews verbs but reflect the limited method of interaction with the world that the two protagonists can conceive of, and the setting, which obviously complements the art.
That being said, the overall plot and the scene by scene dialog is where the games shine but as with all games which try to be funny your mileage will vary. The games are littered with little quips, references, character humor and situational humor. As someone who resides in a country which is still deeply rooted in its own version of catholicism, I would say the games are obviously irreverent but never snide or condescending. The work simply reflects the mind of someone with a double art and computer science degree who grew up in the reddit atheism phase of the internet and is weird enough to make AGS games and eventually put together his own kitbashed engine for a game like this. Publishing these games is him baring his soul to the merciless world, and the work and the vision is good enough that I can only respect it. I, too, grew up in that headspace, playing shitty AGS games.
Now because this is the Codex I feel obliged to append a small DEI corner. It was a long time since I've played these games, but from what I remember if you are not repulsed by the concept of sassing angels and dealing with devils there is little to object to in this regard. I will confess I am probably much less attuned to the presence or absence of brown people in games, being a brown person myself, but I don't recall any in either game. These things are never the focus of any scene or overarching plot element. However I do have to warn you that women exist in this game.
Now if you look up any reviews of these games you probably will hear Pentiment as a point of comparison but I assure you that this is the result of the common laziness of video game journalists who despise their lot in life, who don't even play the games they write about, and are content to parrot the prevailing opinions of the other golems in the office. The two are alike in that they are set in a vaguely renaissance era setting, but that is where the similarities end. There are no seemingly important but ultimately useless background/skill-check system. There is no fake CnC. There are two endings and you choose which one you get at the end, after saving, just as God intended. There are no fake choices between the bread first or the cheese first. The maps are small and tightly designed, such that there is no abundance of backtracking. The focus is comedy, of being a vehicle about some guy's [non-ideological!] philosophy and interests, not ((historicity)). Most importantly, one game is developed by a semi-rich semi-famous guy in california with a big team funded by xbox, with all the baggage that such things entail, while the other(s) are made by one guy in his basement with help from randos on the internet which he found by trawling adventure game forums and whose input amounts to coding advice, which is reflected in both Pentiment and Richardson's work, especially in the art and animation. Just look at the trailers and you will understand.
Four Last Things
The Procession to Calvary
Death of the Reprobate
That being said, the overall plot and the scene by scene dialog is where the games shine but as with all games which try to be funny your mileage will vary. The games are littered with little quips, references, character humor and situational humor. As someone who resides in a country which is still deeply rooted in its own version of catholicism, I would say the games are obviously irreverent but never snide or condescending. The work simply reflects the mind of someone with a double art and computer science degree who grew up in the reddit atheism phase of the internet and is weird enough to make AGS games and eventually put together his own kitbashed engine for a game like this. Publishing these games is him baring his soul to the merciless world, and the work and the vision is good enough that I can only respect it. I, too, grew up in that headspace, playing shitty AGS games.
Now because this is the Codex I feel obliged to append a small DEI corner. It was a long time since I've played these games, but from what I remember if you are not repulsed by the concept of sassing angels and dealing with devils there is little to object to in this regard. I will confess I am probably much less attuned to the presence or absence of brown people in games, being a brown person myself, but I don't recall any in either game. These things are never the focus of any scene or overarching plot element. However I do have to warn you that women exist in this game.
Now if you look up any reviews of these games you probably will hear Pentiment as a point of comparison but I assure you that this is the result of the common laziness of video game journalists who despise their lot in life, who don't even play the games they write about, and are content to parrot the prevailing opinions of the other golems in the office. The two are alike in that they are set in a vaguely renaissance era setting, but that is where the similarities end. There are no seemingly important but ultimately useless background/skill-check system. There is no fake CnC. There are two endings and you choose which one you get at the end, after saving, just as God intended. There are no fake choices between the bread first or the cheese first. The maps are small and tightly designed, such that there is no abundance of backtracking. The focus is comedy, of being a vehicle about some guy's [non-ideological!] philosophy and interests, not ((historicity)). Most importantly, one game is developed by a semi-rich semi-famous guy in california with a big team funded by xbox, with all the baggage that such things entail, while the other(s) are made by one guy in his basement with help from randos on the internet which he found by trawling adventure game forums and whose input amounts to coding advice, which is reflected in both Pentiment and Richardson's work, especially in the art and animation. Just look at the trailers and you will understand.
Four Last Things
The Procession to Calvary
Death of the Reprobate
