Two Games

I dove into my pile of games and pulled out two that have stuck with me for the past two weeks. I can't believe this but I'm at a point right now where I'd rather write than play games. What miracle has happened to me? Anyway, the games are "Stellar Blade" and "Ball X Pit." These two games couldn't be more opposite of each other but the differences in their gameplay is what I wanted to talk about. Stellar Blade tells the story of Eve, an android that ventures to Earth with her fellow angels to rid the planet of an alien scurge. The plan quickly falls apart and Eve is the only one left standing. Having to purge the world of monsters by yourself is a daunting task but she gets some help along the way from surviving humans in the last city on Earth. The gameplay is the focus here and it's wonderful. You are given a sword and a gun in the form of a drone that floats around you. Players would be forgiven for thinking this game is a knock off of the Nier series which also features a similar combat. What strikes me is how the game teaches the player how to play. You can swing your sword at random with light and heavy attacks but you can also build in combos between the button presses which give you special attacks. Eve can also dodge and block enemy blows which opens up weak points she can shoot. But the core comes from when you level up. There are some instances where the game makes dodging and perfect blocking easier but a lot of the action depends on the player reading the situation. Like many souls like games you're given only a few healing items and going to rest spots respawns the enemies. You're encouraged to block and dodge to the best of your ability which you can do at anytime including during combos or while getting your ass handed to you by an enemy. Enemies give off flashes of light with their attacks telegraphing their next move which gives you a chance to make a choice. Do you dodge and hope the next attack misses or do you put up your sword and try to block the blows? The game rewards you by filling a special attack bar that lets you unleash moves that disrupt the enemies' combos. Of course, this applies to you too which means that final attack might have to be sacrificed for a dodge roll. Most of the upgrades give you longer chances to perform this trinity of attacks, dodges and blocks but the best ones encourage you to use what you already have. You don't really need to shoot the enemies with the limited amount of bullets. It's just an option of attack that almost overwhelms you with the amount of variety. I'm facinated at how I've not just become stronger in game but I've been encouraged to master the controls. I've become a better player the way the game wants me to, not just stronger. In many games, you can level up to the point that you can ignore what the game is trying to teach you and push through those obstacles with sheer will power.

On the other side, we have Ball X Pit, another fun game created in the style of "Breakout" and "Pong." You choose between a baker's dozen of characters, each with their own backstory and reason to visit the titula pit. Each victory grants you gears you can use to upgrade the lift into the pit to go deeper to new levels and each run on a level grants you supplies and gold you can use to upgrade the local town. Of course, divers into large pits and dungeons need a town to give them supplies. You discover blueprints in the pit that build structures that affect your character's stats and items. Like Pong, the player tosses (spits) balls at enemies that bounce back with various effects from fire, ice, spike, and charm along with a half dozen other effects. These effects change your strategy as you dive into the level. Such as using the charm ability on one side of the field to make your foes attack each other. Or you can use the spike ball to cause them to bleed to death while dealing with another row of enemies. While the game offers a lot of options and tools, the RPG elements make strategy almost pointless. If you're powerful enough, you can push through the enemy lines without a plan. Some of the stranger characters available require more nusance but the right upgrades make the levels a breeze. That isn't to say the game isn't fun. I love mowing down enemies. But I feel I would have been better serviced if I wasn't given a handicap with all the powerups and upgrades. Each level is split into three sections each capped with a boss. By the time you get to the final boss you'd think that your strategy would have changed with the powerups but instead it becomes easier to power through them. Which is a disappointment because I love the feeling of mastering a game's mechanics. It's like understanding what a book was trying to tell you within the plot rather than having it explained to you. Like understanding the meaning behind a Shakespear play when you were in Middle School. You likely felt exhausted but so smart for deciphering the message. Instead, Ball X Pit devolves into getting the best powerups to avoid tricky situations. Even many of the characters play so similarly that your strategy barely changes. If there's a sequel, I would prefer that the game make me master the mechanics.

Anyway, that's the long of it. I wanted to express how I felt about these two different games.