Video games

Song of Horror (Review): A Rock n ‘ Roll Horror Experience

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I remember reading somewhere before the release of Song of Horror that Protocol Games wanted to make a true survival horror. My initial thought at the time was let’s see if they can genuinely make a good one. Personally, I haven’t come across that many horror games I considered great by indie developers (maybe I need to play more). The ones I liked were Detention and Soma, but even then, they didn’t leave an everlasting impression on me. And so, I was pleasantly surprised with this game. Not only did the developers achieve in building a suspenseful, tense horror game, but they also weave a good story into the gameplay without making it convoluted. The gameplay is also highly addictive.

Synopsis

On one Friday evening, as soon as Daniel Noyer comes home after a long day at work, his boss from Wake Publishing phoned him on the whereabouts of Sebastian Husher who happens to be an acclaimed, historical fiction author, and the shiny star of the publishing firm. Not only is the author missing but his manuscript has passed the deadline!  Daniel, annoyed being as the errand boy, has no choice but to pay a visit to the Husher’s residency. From there, he finds the place abandoned with an eerie music box playing in the background. This mysterious tune will determine his fate. Will he find the missing author and the manuscript? Will he get his promotion that he so deserved?

Daniel is driving up to the Husher’s Mansion to retrieve the manuscript.

Gameplay

There are four difficulty settings: E.T.A. Hoffmann, M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft. Even though the game recommends players to start on Edgar Allan Poe, I switched over to the easiest so I could learn how to play the game. Once I become comfortable with QTEs (also referred to mini games) and the puzzles, I move up a level. The reason is because on Edgar Allen Poe, the player will experience more permadeaths and encounter more QTEs than M.R. James mode. It can get annoying fast when you are trying to progress the storyline. With the easiest setting (E.T.A. Hoffmann), you could restart at a checkpoint without losing a character permanently.  However, if you pick Daniel, you will have to restart the episode regardless of the difficulty settings because he is the main character. So, be mindful on which characters you choose to play on the harder settings. Not all characters are created equal, but they balance each other out.

If you look at his serenity attribute, he is not good at staying quiet when facing The Silence in episode II, but his strength is strong for blocking the doors.
blocking door from the fearful presence from getting in.
Daniel has an overall balanced attribute, but even playing as him, I struggled blocking the door from the menacing entity.

As mentioned earlier, I take baby steps first until I familiarize myself with the structure of the game. The game will punish impatient players. Making loud, stomping sound will trigger QTE, which means potentially dying and losing game progress. As for the puzzles, some of them are difficult. For instance, the description to break the code in episode V is vague. All it has are some doodle drawings and a sentence that reads: “From highest to lowest, the seven numbers in the photo.” At first in my mind, I tried to match 7 numbers to 5 drawings. Now that I think about it, I can see the thought process. There are 7 people total, 6 in white suits, 4 standing up, 3 sitting down, 3 wearing glasses, 3 with mustache, and 1 in black suit. The code is 7643331.

Creepy doctors!

I was surprised that I didn’t need to complete the game on the reccomended difficulty setting. Once I completed the game on M.R. James mode, the H.P. Lovecraft mode becomes available. It’s there for those who want a challenge. Indeed, it’s challenging. Pressing the button to control your breath, heart rhythm and block the door will leave you panting.  If you are hardcore, go for it, but it’s going to require a lot of patience.  

SOUND

Speaking of sound, a horror game wouldn’t be horrific without the special sound effects. There will be times when I have to press the character’s head against the door to listen if there is something behind it. Failing to listen will kill the character. I died many times because I had the volume on low.  So, I recommend playing the volume on high or with a headset.

Erica is listening to what’s behind the door.

I could hear the rumbling, whispering and the slithering sound coming from the mysterious evil entity also known as the Presence with the headset on. The funniest part is the jump scare moments. I found it quite funny when Daniel screams. Apart from the haunting sound effects, there are moments where I could relax and breathe normally.  Occasionally, you’d hear the characters exhaling and making disagreement noises when something doesn’t work out such as trying to open a blocked door or failing to combine two items. It’s comforting. I also appreciate Dr. Berenice Prestegard’s calm and intelligent voice. Exploring the mental asylum is frightening, but she makes everything feels okay.

Dr. Berenice is terrified of the dark, but she is brave enough to sleep alone. What an oxymoron.

Visual

All the stages (episodes) are well designed and nailed the horror atmosphere to an extreme. Can someone please explain to me on what is the obsession with mannequins in horror games? Is it the secret ingredient to a good horror? I find that it’s becoming a cliché more than a tribute to classic horror games.

René Artigas in apartment b standing next to mannequin
You can’t see it in the picture, but behind René Artigas there is a door chained up. One of the easter eggs. It’s a reference Silent Hill 4.

Anyway, there is the Husher’s mansion, the antique shop, the archive, the abbey, and the mental asylum, which have straight forward objectives if you know what you are doing.  My favorite part of the game happens to be the antique shop in episode II. Whenever I feel threatened, I want to rush outside of the building into the rain. The sight and sound of the rain is soothing and it gives me the impression of fresh air. I like how balanced episode II is compared to other episodes.

Erica standing in the rain
The light shining on the rain is very pretty.

Conclusion

Do I recommend this game? Yes! Is this game perfect? No! They could have toned down the jump scares on Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft mode. Secondly, some of the puzzles are difficult and don’t make any sense. Hard for hard sake is not my cup of tea. Thirdly, the H.P. Lovecraft mode is insane at times. There are moments I literally tiptoe in the game to minimize random QTEs. Lastly, the game freezes quite frequently on H.P. Lovecraft mode. It starts to feel like obtaining the platinum is more of a gamble than based on effort. Despite the flaws, I still enjoyed the game. What I love most is the thought process behind the gameplay, atmosphere, sound, story, and characters. All the playable characters have diverse, interesting backgrounds. I enjoyed the game so much that I shoot for the platinum trophy! That should say a lot about the game whether it is worth your time.

The Horror Game and the 3 Demos I Am Currently Playing

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I know it’s 2025, but I keep daydreaming about replaying my favorite games when I have a backlog to get through. Called it a video game freeze. I don’t like spending money for the sake of hoarding, especially when the economy is shaky these days. But that’s half the truth though. As my mother once said, you can’t eat video games. For more about my philosophy behind my small backlog, you can read it here: Rambling on Why My Video Games Backlog is Small.

Before introducing you folks to the demos I am currently playing, I’d like to express my gratitude for the cooler weather. September is a nice month. Summer is coming to an end, and that means I can drink hot tea. I am just excited to drink tea and play games! Without further ado, I introduce my list:

Haak

I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this game. Oh, wait, I remember now. I thought the artworks looked cool, so I watched the trailer and found out that I can try the demo. To my surprise, I enjoy the gameplay. It feels fluid. But I am not sure if I will purchase the entire game. There’s one pet peeve I can’t stand: the text’s sound effect. Perhaps I can mute it or lower the volume. Despite that little annoyance, I don’t mind playing a good metroidvania game, especially one that takes place in the wasteland.

Strange Antique

I enjoyed Strange Horticulture. It was a relaxing game to play at the end of fall about two years ago. I found the sound of the rain in the game quite soothing and enjoyed the gameplay. The game did progressively get harder, but it was not overly difficult. Likewise Strange Antique has a similar vibe. I don’t own any antique but I do admire those who collect them. There is a lot of story in an object–from the person who crafted it and to the person who owned it. As an art lover, this game is going to be a treat for this upcoming fall. This is one game I will eventually purchase but not on launch day!

Crow Country

My brother brought this game to my attention. In the past, my brother was the to go person for video game recommendations and his recommendations never failed me. So far, I enjoy the demo but found some minor flaws in the game design that could use some improvements. Trust me, I don’t enjoy finding errors. My job was a nightmare…Despite those little user hiccups, the game is still worth checking out. I will potentially purchase the full game when I am in the mood for old school survival horror.

Bonus Game

Before I forget, I do want to mention I picked Song of Horror to review for the Halloween tradition on this blog. Each year, I pick one horror game to review. It’s a fun way to celebrate Halloween and be festive. So far, I am enjoying the game. It’s creepy. I love the exploring the abandoned mansion and learning about the characters through their inner dialogue. I completed the prelude and started on Sophie’s episode as of Sept. 9, 2025. I can tell it’s a quality game that I am going to appreciate and would definitely recommend it to horror fans because I am currently hooked!

Hope you found something interesting in this list!

DS3: Wrapping Up

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My journey is coming to an end. I defeated the final boss (Lord of Cinder). Also, I have defeated Slave Knight Gael, the final boss of the Ring City DLC. The lore is very interesting, so I decided to go on a 2nd journey to unlock ‘The Usurpation of Fire’ ending. There are three endings total, and I have already seen two of them. One was from my old playthrough.

In my previous blog post, I said I would discuss the Painted World of Ariandel lore (particularly Sister Friede) but by doing so, you must have some knowledge of the Painted World of Ariamis in Anor Londo, where you face Priscilla in DS1. The painted world in DS3 is linked to the Hollow realm of Londo. Similarly, Sister Friede is like Pricilla except harder. She represents death. So just imagine a cold world without warmth. It’s not very pleasant. I personally did not enjoy the snow area, and it wasn’t because I hate the level design, it’s because the bright light from the snow hurts my eyes!

It’s not bad. At least there are flowers.

Anyway, Sister Friede is one of the maidens of the Primordial Serpent and one of the sisters (Yuria and Lillian) who founded the Sable Church. The Sable Church offers salvation to the hollows who led unsavory lives. And what does hollow mean? It is when the undead eventually lose their minds. Just like Sirri’s grandfather, who became a madman. Another important point is that Sister Friede is ashen like the player. Her duty was to link the fire to prevent the world from dying; however, she chose rot over flames along with Father Ariandel. In other words, they want the Painted World of Ariandel to rot. If you have played Demon’s Souls, does she remind you of Maiden Astraea, a pure soul that turned to an Archdemon because God was cruel for abandoning the Valley of Defilement and its inhabitants to wither and die? It’s female compassion backfired, but oddly maternal. Can a good mother ever abandon her children, even if they are monsters? So, when a player defeated Sister Friede, the painted world became engulfed in flames for the better. The action I took as an intrusive player messed with my conscience a bit because I empathized with Sister Friede’s decision to choose rot over flames, but I also know it’s not right to choose death. What she wanted was a world that rot away eternally. Is that what you call peace for the hollows? It kind of sound like hell to me. In her circumstances, compassion was her weakness, and therefore, she was no champion of life at all.

Dragon Path Gesture emote after defeating sister friede
Sorry, Sister Friede, for burning your sanctuary.

Instead, a “cold, dark and very gentle place” might be better. And that where the Ring City fits in, which is different from the hollow realm of Londor and which I won’t go into detail. I do want to mention that I really like Yuria and Sister Friede as characters but I don’t agree with their worldview–the hollow way is not the right way. I guess that is why I like Sirris of the Sunless Realms and Shira, Knight of Filianore. I rather live in a world full of warmth than a cold, sad one even if I am bound to selfless duty. What can you gain from a selfish world?

Painter sitting on a chair getting ready to paint
A “cold dark and very gentle place” for the hollows I suppose.

There are some Elden Ring references I noticed in DS3, which led me to believe this game is a prequel to Elden Ring. In Elden Ring, rot is the cycle of birth and decay–like how flowers bloom then wilt. Whereas flames, it’s light, the source of life. We are dealing with polytheism with a mixture of animalism here. It just shows how complex the narrative is in the game, leaving room for a lot of interpretation. But I can theorize that the story of DS3 is about allowing the fire to fade for a new world order. So everything in the game is mournfully sad. Apart from the theme, I feel sympathy for these NPCs and may have to go back and explore their questlines. I accidentally killed Ringfinger Leonhard, who has a sad story. Well, everyone in the game is sad and broken.

Meditating in the storm. It shall pass.

I am not sure if I want to platinum the game. For your money’s worth, this game is timeless, on par with classic books. Unfortunately, not everyone will ever get to experience the story because it’s a challenging game that requires some dedication. Maybe one day, FromSoftware will make a Dark Souls novel? I heard there is an Elden Ring movie in the making. I am not sure how effective the story will be, though. Video games as a medium for storytelling are a unique and one-of-a-kind experience. It just makes the story so much more personal and definitely more rewarding to get through. I must confess that this game is so hopelessly dark. The next game I am going to play is definitely something lighter and cheerful. Hmm… or maybe I will go back and reread Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a book that reminds me that adults have it backward when it comes to living.

DS3: Thoughts on Sister Friede

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Before I start the boss fight with Sister Friede in the Painted World of Ariandel, I want to mention the bosses I defeated previously. These include Dragondslayer Armor, Oceriros the Consume King, Champion Gundyr, Ancient Wyvern, Lothric, Younger Prince, and the Nameless King. I did this before starting this DLC because I was no match for Sister Friede at level 45. I suppose there is a reason why players can access the DLC midway through the game. It was placed at the Cleansing Chapel Bonfire, which I still do not understand. I do, however, think there is a flaw in this edition. I cannot summon Slave Knight Gael (will do a separate post on story) during the boss fight. I have already summoned him for the battle with Prince Demon and progressed his questline. So, if you are playing this edition, I suggest you skip the DLCs. Return when you are at a higher level. Make sure to play the DLCs in order. It will save you time because the extra help from Slave Knight Gael is greatly appreciated. Of course, you can summon help if you play online. However, I couldn’t do that because I don’t have a PlayStation Plus subscription.

Oh boy, like Prince Lothric and Nameless King, those boss fights took me several runs. Sister Friede was the cherry on top!  I guess never underestimate the power of the cold nun.

Sister Friede walking coldly
Is that Priscilla Scythe from Dark Souls? I love Priscilla!!! (phase 1)

The first phase was fine. The second phase was easy. The third phase was the most difficult. You can summon Slave Knight Gael. However, he will only appear during the second phase of the boss fight. As I mentioned earlier, you can summon him if you have not defeated Prince Demon in The Dreg Heap. I wasted so many embers because I kept running out of estus flasks in the third phase. In the end, like always, skill helped me beat the boss. I knew its pattern and dodged like crazy. I am not going to lie. It feels so rewarding when I beat her. I have been trying for several days! Of course, I do feel shame for invading her world. She did politely ask me to return to where I came from. But I am just so curious. A world without flames? What sort of world is that? Death? The curious cat in me has to know!

Sister Friede getting angry
My curiosity pisses Father Ariandel off… (phase 2)
Instantly got killed by Blackflame Sister Friede side swipe
The image is a bit dark, but there were several moments like this when I almost killed her, but she got to me first (phase 3).

I won’t talk about the strategy on how I won the battle in detail. There are some good ones on YouTube: Gentle Needle and Loreena are ones that stood out to me the most. It was hard to avoid her when she goes into invisible mode. She swipes you with her scythe, taking a big chunk of your HP. What I did differently from other players was preventing her from going into invisible mode. I blast her with the Great Soul Spell before she even gets to disappear. Doing this helps conserve estus flasks for the final round. She was so quick and fearsome in the final round. My heart was pounding!

Lastly, I will mention the optional boss: The Champion’s Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf. This post is mainly about Sister Friede. The boss fight took me a few tries, but it wasn’t too difficult. By defeating it, you will unlock Undead Match. Perhaps this is where ‘PVP creed’ came from, where players are not allowed to use estus flasks during a duel. I like how the developer added this gaming mechanic. If players want to do PVP, there is a section for that. This is because not everyone wants to duel. Not everyone wants to fight to the death.

I burned the Painted World. Now all I have left is the final boss and the Ring City DLC. But first, I stop to smell the flowers before I go on a killing spree.

stopping to smell the flowers

Rambling about Dark Souls III (The Fire Fades Edition)

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As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I decided to replay Dark Souls III, but I did not mention of all the games in the series why I chose the third installment, which happens to be my least favorite (at the time). The reason is that it’s the finale of the Dark Souls series; I would like to finally piece the story together and give it another chance. Plus the Fire Fades Edition include the DLCs, which will sate my “dark souls-craving fix” since I have not played the DLCs! And I must confess, 27 hours of trial and error, I am enjoying it more than I did back in 2016 when I first played it. Apart from the interesting NPCs’ questlines, the looting and exploring are one of my favorite things about the Souls game (If interested, you can read more about my thoughts I wrote a few years ago: Dark Souls: Exploring Is an Achievement).

So far, I have completed Cemetery Ash, Firelink Shrine, High Wall of Lothric, Undead and Settlement, Road of Sacrifice, Cathedral of the Deep. However, I decided it’s best to restart the game. I was not aware that giving the Pale Tongue to Rosaria (Mother of Rebirth) would cancel Sirris, The Sunless Realm questline, who happens to be the most interesting character that I feel most connected to. I don’t know why. Maybe I admire a woman in armor who has a purpose (This sounds like a potential topic for a blog post). I remember liking Selen Vinland from Demon Souls (PS3 version) too.

Selen Vinland (image credits: Fandom)

By now, you might speculate that it is one of my favorite video game franchises. I have so much to say about it. And no, I don’t like it because it’s difficult. Quite the contrary, it’s a fairly challenging game, which involves strategy. When I realized the flow of Dark Souls III (memorizing enemy positions and level layouts), it took me about 9 hours to reach the part where I had to restart the game (Cathedral of the Deep). I knew what I was going into, thus making the experience seamless. This game was always meant to be played multiple times. You will fail, and that is all right because there are multiple ways to meet your objectives. You will begin to see patterns. You will learn how to dodge. You will utilize the items in the game to survive. Most of all, you need to have good reflexes, and incredible amount of patience. I think it’s a fair game once you know its rhythm.

From the time I started drafting this blog post, I defeated the Deacons of Cathedral of Deep boss, the Abyss Watcher, and High Lord Wolnir. It took me about 24 hours compared to my first playthrough which I was doing horribly because I spent hours trying to hop into the Butcher’s cage to get to an area that allowed players to join the Mound Makers Covenant. I couldn’t initiate the sequence because I entered the boss fight with Curse-rotted Greatwood before speaking to the NPC located below the area of the boss fight. Pretty much starting the battle caused the ground to collapse and kill the NPC. It was so worth it to restart the game because my first playthrough was a bad run. If you follow the natural flow of the game, progressively you will get better at navigating its world. In addition, the guides available on the internet help, if you use it as a reference.

Apart from the gameplay, one thing I love about souls games is that it feels as if I am playing inside a fantasy book. Like reading a book, I became self-aware of my own actions. I remember after beating Dark Souls II (my favorite out of the series), I felt odd sitting on a throne. I started my character as a fairytale-like human, but it ended up looking like a monster.

I beat DS2
I claimed the Throne of Want. Now what?

The realization of losing sight of humanity made me more humane in real life. A game that does that is not all that bad despite its dark theme. If you think about it, that’s why it’s called Dark Souls.

Reflecting on Souls Games

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I have been daydreaming about Elden Ring (2022). Reminiscing about the adventure, the looting, and the side quests. The land in between is beautifully brutal. Then I remember writing a blog post about Malenia which I gave her a nickname: the Beautiful Rotten Flower. I was so consumed by finding ways to defeat her that, for a while, all I could think about was Malenia. I remember after beating the game, I felt drained. So when Shadow of the Edtree was released last year, I didn’t feel inclined to purchase the DLC. I am still on the fence about buying it because these games are becoming increasingly designed for cooperative play, which is a turn-off for me.

I remember my experience with Dark Souls III (2016).  It is a pretty game but I didn’t like how fast the enemies were and there were more of them compared to Demon Souls (2009) Dark Souls (2011) and Dark Souls II (2014). All the later editions seem to gear toward the “git gud” PVP crowd, and that is just not my forte. I remember playing Bloodborne (2015) and some invader got mad at me for using healing potions. This person was expecting me to follow some PVP creed that I was not aware of. I just laughed it off. The person invaded my world and was expecting me to play by some external rules? That sounds so ridiculous. I was always more interested in the creative design than the social aspect of the game anyway. That’s why I am so grateful that you can play Souls games in offline mode on the console version (I am not sure about PC).  If you were to ask me, my least favorite thing about the Souls game is the invasion. I don’t think I have ever invaded anyone’s world or voluntarily helped anyone defeat enemies. Well, there was one time I was automatically summoned to someone’s world in Dark Souls II because I was in The Way of the Blue Covenant. It’s an interesting gaming mechanic, and I learned that not everyone is an uncivilized brute.

Honestly, I miss the quietness of the earlier Souls games.  That is part of the reason why I have been hesitant with FromSoftware’s latest installment Elden Ring Nightreign, which I heard is designed for cooperative play. Finding the right skillful people to play with feels too daunting. That’s why I shy away from multiplayer games and lean towards games like Dragon’s Dogma (2012). The pawn system fixes that issue. You can use other players’ pawns to assist you without having the actual player control the pawn in real-time. It’s an ingenious idea for those who want to play multiplayer games but don’t always have the time to find the right people to play with. Even if you do have the right people to play with, we all have lives and different schedules outside of gaming. As I am writing this, now I am curious about Dragon’s Dogma II.

Writing down my thoughts made me realize…oh why don’t I just give Dragon’s Dogma II a try despite the negative reviews? After all, I am an atypical gamer. So this game may be the antidote that will cure my adventure ailment. In the meantime, I am replaying Dark Souls III because I’m looking forward to capturing pictures without the HUD. It’s the beautiful flowers in the game that captivate me. A mixture of adventure and flowers is exactly what I need.

Looking at the beautiful moon
My playthrough in 2016

The BookWalker Game Review (PC)

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I finished the Bookwalker, developed by Do My Best, and published by tinybuild. It’s a narrative, point-and-click game. I would only recommend it to those who want to play something light. Play it for the art, the sound, or for the puns. That was the only thing that kept me going because there was nothing mind-boggling about the plot. It tells the story of a writer experiencing some severe form of writer’s block. Having to write what the publisher wants you to write is imprisonment.

Etienne Quist, the protagonist, is arrested by the Writer Police Department. To remove his writer’s block, he has to undergo a job where he dives into books, stealing unique items to write off his sentences. There are 6 books (chapters) in total minus the epilogue. They don’t take very long to complete. My favorite books were the last two: Timeless Mansion and The Heart of Sand.

Regarding gameplay, it reminds me of mini-quests where the player completes tasks in each book. That part I like. I didn’t like the random battle occurrence. For instance, in the first book, a spider crawled out of nowhere and I had to fight it. Like the character in the game…I wonder what was the purpose of the spider.

It’s an ink eater…[you shudder] they’re found in books, but they’re not part of the plot.

First battle encounter scene

I suppose gamers are used to killing things that if there’s no battle then it’s not a real game. Now that I think of JRPGs, I often kill cute animals without any real reason. At least, this game tried to put things into context, but like many players, I did find the battle system out of place. So, I wonder what the developer’s intentions were when developing the game.  I feel like the game was more about self-expression against the business practice of publishing works that have been done over and over.

Nowadays every jackass with some cash wants to recreate something.

I can sense the frustration…

This is just one quote. There were several more. If you are an elitist indie gamer, or an elitist game developer, then you might find yourself nodding with the game’s message: Yeah, the new generation of writers lacks originality, and the audiences who choose to escape into fantasy books stopped living in reality. I just wanted to argue: What’s the purpose of entertainment if you cannot offer an escape? The game would have been decent if it removed those writer’s inner monologues. It makes the writer of the game sounds like an arrogant, pompous. Why should we play games that insult the audience?

a desk with and opened notebook and crumbled paper.
Writing for an audience is challenging…

For my final thoughts, as an artistic form of expression, it’s a pretty atmospheric game with a great soundtrack, but it is too short. As I mentioned earlier, one of my favorite books in the game was The Heart of Sand because I thought the stage level was interesting. I was expecting the game to pick up after going through several bland stage levels, listening to the characters bashing booksellers, fantasy readers, writers, and the entire entertainment industry for robbing creativity out of creative individuals. Overall, The Bookwalker could have meant more to me if only it was a good game. I suppose Do My Best gets a cookie for trying to be clever with the book metaphor.

Death Mark 2 Review: “Eww, Eww, Eww!” 

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The monsters are grotesque, and the artwork is enthralling. But the impression I had of this game after obtaining the true ending (happy ending) was eww, eww, eww! I would love this game if I had the brain of an insect. That statement alone should pique your curiosity enough to pick it up because I will not spoil the story for those interested in playing the game. Let’s say the plot is creatively perverted, and I don’t even know if that’s a compliment!

Departed approaching
It’s trying to bite

In terms of gameplay, for a visual novel, it’s kind of out of the ordinary to level up your skills so you can take more damage from your opponent (spirits).  It seems like the developer put the gaming mechanics because it makes it more “gamey”. You can also collect lost souls which come in the form of a decaying tooth.

tooth of the departed
I suppose a tooth tells a story

You use the tooth to trade for charms to level up your spiritual gifts which help you reduce the damage taken during the Suspensive Act which relies heavily on deduction and memorization. However, the logic behind the amount of damage did not make any sense to me as to whether I made the right choice or not.  You see, to survive a confrontation with the spirit, you need to pick the right action based on the evidence you gather during your investigation. Each choice has a percentage success rate. So even if you ignored the story, you can still guess at the expense of your health points.  For example, let’s say selection A has a 77 % success rate, you know it’s likely the right answer compared to selection B which has a percentage rate of 52%. But of course, if you keep guessing wrong, you will die. Another important point distinguishing the gameplay from its predecessors is that it’s a harem game. The unnatural way the underage school girls gave attention to the protagonist made the experience cringey, but it’s not a bad thing because there is a creative logic behind it.

This brings me to the topic of the title itself: Death Mark 2 (2024). The title is misleading and a bit of a false advertisement. 1) Death Mark 2 is not nearly as good as its predecessors and 2) this is the third installment from the franchise.  It’s just my speculation, but I think the publisher thought the first game was more well-received than Spirit Hunter NG (2019), so they decided to bring back the old cast from the first game without giving them any real depth other than saying to the fans, “Do you remember me?” From a creative perspective, bringing back characters from the first game for the sake of making a reentry seems like lazy game design to me. Don’t get me wrong, there is still some real talent in the development of the game (i.e. art direction), but the overall package of the game was missing substance. I suppose this is a type of game you play for the artwork and the bizarre story. The artworks were so grotesque that I could not avert my eyes away from the screen.

Departed and the protagonist
girl with scissors coming from the inside out
Decent game, but you have to have the mind of an insect to truly love it.
So over the top

For my final thoughts, I still recommend this game even though it is my least favorite from the franchise. The political ideology toward women remains the same: when facing adversity, strong female characters such as Ms. Sakamoto, the Chief of Academic Affairs, are proven to be the weaker vessel. I find that quite disappointing.

Tales of Symphonia Review

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“”As long as you have the will, you can study anywhere.” -Raine

What seems like a fun kid’s game is actually more than meets the eye.  Tales of Symphonia asked some big questions. So big that it cannot contain in a classroom. After all, I was warned by the mysterious character Kratos that assisting the Chosen One is no school field trip!

kratos with a smirk on his face
Kratos looking serious

Indeed, the plot was hardly meant for kids. Why do we have to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of society? Don’t all life forms have the right to live? Why do we discriminate those who are different from us? So, when the game indirectly asked me, “Don’t you sometimes think that what we’re doing is meaningless?” The answer is absolutely no.

I felt like I was part of the conversation.

You have to be a bit of a genius to like this sort of game because geniuses like to think outside the box. Simply put, this game was quite clever.

Genis’ wisdom

I wish I had the time and energy to give a thorough and detailed review because I enjoyed it that much. I highly recommend this game if you are a JRPG fan who appreciate wholesome humor. I know I laughed a lot. I will leave you folks with one of my favorite scenes in the game. Enjoy!

P.S.

I might make more gaming related videos and short blog posts like this. It’s kind of fun and to the point.