and it threatened to be interesting for a bit there, which gets my goat. When the thru-line for alot of the NPCs was they got screwed over by the gods and then come full release, it was all window-dressing. They'd lead to more complicated questions but the game just shrugs at you about them too

Your failures in Pyre were another beat in the journey and the way it was structured made them feel more meaningful. And to reiterate, I really do think the presence of a conclusion made all the difference. And a rogue-like doesn't allow for that

Definitely. I remember in the lead up to Pyre they talked a great deal about wanting to create a game where the story continued whether you succeeded or failed and both Hades games feel like that concept taken to the point where it did more harm than good.

*was willing. I guess I might have to say, depending on what comes next

Maybe it's extreme but I do think I'd skip their next game if it was just Hades 3. I miss their more original stuff and I had a lot of respect for a studio that's willing to do standalone stuff when sequels and reboots are so common

Hades being looser was mostly fine cuz the stakes were smaller more personal but in Hades 2 where it's these huge stakes with interesting friction between the MC's worldview and the NPCs she encounters? Nothing ultimately came of it. And they kinda couldn't because of the gameplay loop

I couldn't agree more. Both Hades games are fun to play but I do miss the writing quality that I saw in Pyre (Bastion and Transistor too), they benefited from having a real conclusion but also there was more of it? It felt like someone was asking how they could put LESS writing in the story

have you seen how crazy they're going for leon kennedy. if you reveal 48 year old milf lara croft you would have the world in your palm

What stuck out to me was how Gwen herself is promoted as the "monarch of Park Planet," and we have that montage with quite a few defaced images of her, plus the graffiti'd statue Andi flips off. She is as much a scapegoat as she is an icon for the company, much like how Disney treats their media

I was just thinking of Dungeon Meshi and how it's part of the tension that they don't know how long Falin has before she's (REDACTED) and all the things Touden Team have to do to survive to get to her.

Especially when everyone thinks Laios isn't taking it seriously but we get to see it from his POV

Got linked to some of your excellent critiques of that c/ritrole ttrpg that weren't just worshiping the ground they walk on (for once) and decided to stick around

Trying to defend the future for everyone except himself. He's human but still beholden to Piltover and especially his patrons. I wonder, does he ever envy Viktor? Alone and stigmatized but independent?

Oh he totally is! He just would rather nobody knew that, especially Jayce (Jayce knows. It's half of why he's not willing to give up on Viktor yet)

This is getting into headcanons but imo Viktor was a very emotional person pre-augmentation but I think, particularly while studying in Piltover, he kept himself from ever being too vulnerable or open. The sole exception was Blitzcrank's unmoving chasis while he was building him

Sorry I keep using your posts to yap but I like finding people to talk about classic vikjayce with hehe