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[djcube1701]

The Singularity: Album & Graphic Novel Review

Release Date: 2024

Album Composer: Bear McCreary

Album Publisher: Sparks & Shadows

Novel Writers: Bear McCreary & Mat Groom

Novel Publisher: Image Comics

Bear McCreary is one of my favourite composers, known for his work on TV shows, movies, and video games. My first experience with his music was the wonderful soundtrack of Battlestar Galactica, but he’s also composed for Black Sails, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Defiance, Outlander, and The Rings of Power. On the film side, he has worked on smaller projects like Knights of Badassdom and The Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, but has also contributed to larger films such as 10 Cloverfield Lane and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. His video game work began with Dark Void, but his most famous compositions are for the newer God of War games.

McCreary’s style is epic, yet incorporates unusual and unique instruments, giving each piece of music a distinct flavour. He certainly loves to experiment — one Defiance track is made entirely from insect noises, while his ReVolt soundtrack features the sounds of hard drives working. Another standout feature of his work is his use of diegetic music, which refers to music that exists within the universe he’s helping to create.

Much of this experimentation involves vocal songs. This began when McCreary used tracks from his brother’s band, Young Beautiful in a Hurry, as background music in Battlestar Galactica. Bear’s brother, Brendan McCreary, also performed “All Along the Watchtower” early on in the show. Later, with Caprica and Defiance, Bear (along with his wife, Raya Yarbrough, and his brother) began creating original songs, some of which were even sung in fictional languages.

While McCreary’s songs span many genres, rock and metal have been the most prominent, with metal forming the foundation of the Knights of Badassdom soundtrack— both vocal and instrumental. It’s clear that McCreary enjoys experimenting within this genre. The Singularity is his opportunity to fully embrace this, collaborating with a variety of artists to produce a wide array of metal and rock songs. Additionally, McCreary worked alongside Mat Groom and several comic book artists to create a visual novel that complements the album.

Here, I will be writing about each song and the relevant parts of the visual novel.

1. Overture

Album Artist: Bear McCreary

Comic Artist: Helena Masellis

The album opens with a soothing, calming instrumental introduction, gradually building as the orchestra swells and transitions into Incinerator, the first song. There’s a sense of calm and hope that slowly fades away, replaced by creeping dread and fear, culminating in a defiant and powerful ending.

In the comic, we learn about the experiences of the main character, Blue Eyes. They are on their 532nd life (at least, the 532nd one they can remember), and each life ends either with their death or the destructive force of a mysterious red energy tearing their world apart. After each death, they are reborn in the midst of a new life in a different universe. Ultimately, Blue Eyes resolves to fight the golden woman they encounter as the red energy comes to claim yet another world.

2. Incinerator

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Serj Tankian

Comic Artist: Marco Locati

The album bursts out of the gate with a bombastic track featuring a captivating melody. Serj Tankian’s talents shine, particularly in the fast-paced section towards the end, which has a distinct System of a Down energy. This builds into the oddly beautiful moment when he sings, “Be my guest, please, come burn down my garden,” followed by a brief, haunting guitar passage before the explosive finale. Throughout most of the song, aggressive drumming drives the intensity, building up to the powerful chorus. It’s an electrifying track.

As Blue Eyes is reborn into a powerful new form, he begins attacking the mysterious golden figure, expressing his grief over the loved ones lost in his previous lives. However, she proves far too powerful, allowing him to strike until she’s had enough. She then declares that if he seeks a fight, that’s exactly what he will get.

3. Event At The Horizon

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Esjay Jones

Comic Artist: Riccardo Robaldo

While I enjoy metal, I’m not the biggest fan of screaming metal, so the main chorus of “War! Gimme more, gimme more, gimme more!” doesn’t quite align with my tastes. That said, the verses feature some energetic fast-paced moments, along with one slower section. The song exudes a sense of pure chaos, and the instrumental elements are strong. It’s my least favorite track on the album, but I don’t dislike it enough to skip it during subsequent listens.

As promised in the previous chapter, the golden woman attacks immediately. Blue Eyes, now a fighter pilot, launches an assault but watches as his wingmen are blown away before he is killed himself. This figure – known as Yellow Eyes – has declared war, and both the comic and the song vividly capture the chaos and devastation of battle.

4. Redshift

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Lorenzo Colangeli

Redshift has an infectious energy to it, with Brendan McCreary’s vocals having a frantic pace to it, leaving me wanting a third verse. The song has a perfect, high-energy yet edgy vibe that would suit Shadow the Hedgehog (who has had some great songs made for him already). The music matches the intensity of the vocals, incorporating video game chiptunes for a dynamic and effective touch.

The comic portion is short but impactful, offering a glimpse into the randomness of Blue Eyes’ existence. It shows how some of their lives are fleeting and meaningless, with Blue Eyes appearing in the midst of a crisis and dying almost instantly. It serves as a poignant reminder of the unpredictability of his life cycle.

5. Type III

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Rufus Wainwright

Comic Artist: Rod Reis

Beautiful. So many elements come together to form something wonderous. Rufus Wainwright’s calming voice blends seamlessly with loud percussion, a soft orchestra, and a guitar that gradually intensifies – each component woven together perfectly. The result is a piece of music that feels unique, yet not distracting. It evokes the feeling of an epic, defining moment of realization in a person’s life.

Blue Eyes is reincarnated on a stunning space station composed of multiple rings, where he finally has a chance to speak with Yellow Eyes. The narrative also ties in with the next track on the album, seamlessly connecting the music and story.

6. Blue Eyes

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Lee Pace

Comic Artist: Rod Reis

This is one of the three spoken word tracks in the album. Lee Pace (whom I know best as the Piemaker from Pushing Daisies) delivers an incredible performance, capturing the raw emotion of Blue Eyes’ journey. He lists some of the ways Blue Eyes has died, the sorrow of losing loved ones, and his unwavering determination to find answers. The music is subtle, yet it beautifully complements the emotion in his voice, amplifying the impact of his words.

In the comic, the same dialogue is extended, with Blue Eyes uncovering some clues but gaining even more questions. He begins to realize there’s more to his existence than he ever imagined.

7. Antikythera Mechanism

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Raya Yarbrough

Comic Artist: Simone Ragazzoni

This track explores the search for answers to the universe’s complexity and mystery, filled with a sense of awe and wonder. However, the persistent ticking of a clock serves as a constant reminder that time is running out. The calm, caring vocals create a stark contrast to the ticking, suggesting that, despite the looming pressure, there is still hope.

In this chapter, we begin to uncover more about Blue Eyes’ true nature and learn that the Red is a separate entity from the golden woman. The challenge for Blue Eyes, however, lies in accepting that he is more than he has believed himself to be.

8. The Automaton’s Heart

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Matias Bergara with Patricio Delpeche

This is an incredibly fun song about a robot who sees a girl walk past his window and falls in love with her, hoping to catch her attention so he can confess his feelings. The music is bursting with energy, filled with robotic sounds, and carries a distinct steampunk vibe. The turn at the end of the song is especially brilliant. It wraps up the narrative in a way that feels like a complete story on its own.

This is another one of Blue Eyes’ futile lives, this time inhabiting the body of an automaton. As he starts to move to ask someone questions, he gets identified as a defective unit and fights to reach someone that he things can give him his answers.

9. Industrial Revolution

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Asdru Sierra

Comic Artist: Stefano Simeone

This track features a distinct Eastern influence, with the Hurdy-Gurdy taking center stage in the chorus, creating a captivating and unique sound. It feels like a powerful call to arms, urging listeners to rise up against their oppressors. Though it’s one of the more subdued tracks overall, it works exceptionally well within the context of the album.

This mirrors the comic, where Blue Eyes is with a group of slaves who have to work dangerous conditions. He inspires them to fight alongside him in an effort to prevent the destruction of each universe.

10. Tartarigami

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Federico Bertoni

This song captures the feeling of being backed into a corner and realizing you’re ready to fight back. The vocals, combined with the intense throat singing in the background, convey a sense of preparedness that aligns perfectly with the lyrics. The track takes a moment to build, with Brendan’s calm delivery at the start gradually escalating into more aggression as it leads into the chorus.

This is combined with Blue Eyes getting attacked by people in their new universe and discovering the extinct of his powers before deciding to take on the Red, full of confidence.

11. Exiles

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Griogair & Billy Boyd

Comic Artist: Eduardo Ferigato

I absolutely love this track. It’s a metal-rap fusion featuring bagpipes, with vocals by Billy Boyd (aka Pippin from Lord of the Rings). What makes it even more unique is that half of the song is sung in Gàidhlig, or Scottish Gaelic. It may sound bizarre, but it absolutely works, with a fantastic rhythm to the rap and a catchy, powerful chorus. The bagpipes blend surprisingly well with the metal instrumentation, creating a truly memorable sound. The song speaks to the loss of Scottish language and identity at the hands of the English.

The connection between the album and the comic is subtle but significant. This is the first universe where the inhabitants are aware of their impending doom and choose to fight back on their own terms. Instead of letting the world end, they decide to take down the Union mothership, defying their fate.

12. Midnight Sun

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Helena Masellis

The chant “Midnight Sun, Midnight Sun, Burn bright, Midnight Sun” is repeated throughout the song, creating a sense of acceptance and embracing the inevitable. It reflects a choice to celebrate rather than succumb to sadness. The tune is highly enjoyable, maintaining its energetic momentum from start to finish.

The people in the current universe of the comic have similarly accepted the impending end of the world. They perform a final ritual, chanting the same words as they prepare for what’s to come.

13. Red Eyes

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Ryan Hurst

Comic Artist: John J. Pearson with Lola Bonato

This is another spoken word track, as the red energy manifests itself in the form of Red Eyes. Ryan Hurst delivers a commanding performance, his voice perfectly capturing the menacing power of such a force, all while a dark, intense instrumental track supports him. His calm, almost detached demeanour as he declares his unstoppable nature adds an unsettling depth to the character, a tone that’s reinforced by the visual novel.

14. Last Stop

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Helena Masellis

This energetic metal track captures the essence of defiance, yet also the uncertainty of how to move forward. It embodies a sense of helpless defiance, with the softer, more introspective main verses gradually building into the fierce, angry declaration of “we will not surrender” in the latter half of each verse.

In the comic, Blue Eyes comes to the realization that vengeance isn’t what matters. The challenge lies in understanding what truly does.

15. Roko’s Basilisk

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Jens Kidman

Comic Artist: Matias Bergara with Patricio Delpeche

This intense metal track features the lead singer of Meshuggah, though it’s not as overwhelming as you might expect. The main verses offer a solid melody that contrasts sharply with the raw aggression of the chorus. The instrumental introduction is particularly striking, evoking a sense of Battlestar Galactica. I never thought extreme metal could be poetic, but this track proves it can be.

Blue Eyes finds himself in another futile universe, one with a captivating sci-fi setting that leaves you wanting to explore more. The life forms in this world are confined to tubes and deemed a threat to the environment, adding a layer of intrigue and tension to the story.

16. First Day Out

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Mega Ran

Comic Artist: Valeria Favoccia

A hip-hop rap track wasn’t something I expected from this album, but defying expectations is a hallmark of Bear McCreary’s style. This song tells the story of someone about to be released from prison, filled with hope – and just a touch of doubt- about turning his life around once he’s free. The instrumentals effectively mirror this journey, capturing the optimism, the underlying worry that things might go wrong, and the eventual acceptance that a new chapter is about to begin.

The comic, though short, is impactful. Blue Eyes, now a prisoner, is taunted as weak, yet in this moment, they come to understand the true extent of their own power.

17. Rage Child

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Eleonora Carlini

The drums in this song are absolutely fantastic, providing a driving, relentless energy that propels the track forward. The guitar riffs add a rock-inspired edge, giving the song a dynamic blend of intensity and power. Together, they create an atmosphere of awakening, like someone who has been backed into a corner for far too long suddenly realizes they have the strength to break free. It’s a moment of realization and empowerment, where the choice is made to embrace that newfound power, instead of remaining trapped.

In this chapter of the comic, Blue Eyes reaches a critical turning point. After enduring countless cycles of senseless destruction and loss, he finally understands that he has the power to change his fate. No longer willing to passively accept his circumstances, Blue Eyes becomes determined to escape the cycle.

18. Syzygy

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Riccardo Robaldo

I absolutely love the sound of this song. Its energetic tempo is infectious, making it nearly impossible not to tap your toes along to the beat. At first, I thought “Syzygy” was a made-up word, but it actually refers to the alignment of multiple celestial bodies. Interestingly, as I write this, a stunning planetary syzygy is forming in the skies above. The song itself strikes a perfect balance between upbeat energy and defiant spirit, creating a dynamic and exhilarating vibe.

The comic introduces a fascinating universe, where robots seem to live in harmony, coexisting peacefully with one another. Despite the calm and friendly atmosphere, Blue Eyes remains focused on his own mission. He’s unmoved by the serenity around him, driven by a singular goal that pushes him forward, regardless of the world he finds himself in.

19. Escape From The Machines

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Slash & Joe Satriani

Comic Artist: Federico Bertoni (Part I), Danilo Beyruth (Part II)

This track is entirely instrumental, with the guitars doing all the talking in an epic duel between Slash and Joe Satriani. The interplay between their iconic styles creates an exhilarating musical exchange, supported by powerful drums and additional instruments. It’s a masterful showcase of guitar work, where two musical titans collide to craft something truly special.

In the first part of this chapter, we’re thrust into a high-speed hovercar chase as Blue Eyes desperately tries to escape. However, as the story progresses, he comes to a stark realization: he’s been manipulated into desiring this escape, forced into a path that was never truly his own.

20. Rallying Cry

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Eivør

Comic Artist: Eduardo Ferigato

This Norse-inspired song, performed in Faroese and backed by the haunting sound of a hurdy-gurdy, creates a unique and ancient atmosphere. The music evokes the image of a fleet of ships crossing the seas, driven by a noble purpose to save others. Its rich, atmospheric quality captures both the past and the timelessness of legend.

The Norse theme carries over into the story, where Blue Eyes is persuaded by Viking warriors to join their cause. Just as Blue Eyes is about to accept that there’s nothing he can do to stop the red, a Viking woman delivers a powerful message: you should never accept defeat, no matter the odds.

21. The Last Of The Old Gods

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Sigurjón Kjartansson

Comic Artist: Eduardo Ferigato

Shifting to a different aspect of Norse influence, The Last of the Old Gods serves as the powerful finale to a fantasy epic. The scope of the piece is grand, with striking Icelandic vocals and commanding instrumentals that elevate its intensity. It’s a piece of music full of weight and energy, fitting for a climactic final confrontation.

In the comic, this chapter mirrors the music’s epic scale, with some of the most metal imagery I’ve seen. The battle is as monumental as the music itself, capturing the raw power and intensity of the moment in vivid detail.

22. Leviathan

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Corey Taylor

Comic Artist: Danilo Beyruth

Featuring Corey Taylor from Slipknot, this track delivers a raw, heavy metal sound, amplified by a bombastic blend of drums, guitar, and orchestra. The song moves through dramatic ups and downs in both the instrumentation and vocals, crafting a truly electrifying track that builds to an explosive climax. It’s a bander of a track.

After one final, intense battle, Blue Eyes uncovers the truth they’ve been searching for. Their journey is nearly at its end, and the moment of revelation signals the close of their long struggle.

23. Yellow Eyes

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Danai Gurira

Comic Artist: Danilo Beyruth

The album and comic differ slightly in how they place Yellow Eyes’ speech within the narrative. In the comic, Yellow Eyes appears near the end, delivering a heartfelt speech filled with apologies and outlining the next step, a decision that will determine whether everything or nothing happens. The moment is accompanied by serene, mystical background music that enhances the gravity of the journey, guiding us through this pivotal moment with quiet intensity.

24. The End Of Tomorrow

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Slash & Brendan McCreary

Comic Artist: Simone Ragazzoni

A ten-minute epic that embodies the hopeful possibility of something good emerging from the darkness. The song centers on people coming together in peace as everything comes to an end, with more voices joining in as it progresses, creating a powerful sense of unity. It’s a beautiful piece that maintains a lively, uplifting energy throughout, offering a sense of optimism even in the face of doom.

In this chapter, the remnants of a once-great civilization choose to embrace their final moments together. Rather than succumbing to despair, they focus on the memories they’ve shared and the lasting bonds they’ve forged, finding solace in the joy of one last shared experience.

25. Tears For The Dead Life

Album Artist: Bear McCreary feat. Morgan Some & Buck Dharma

Comic Artist: Danilo Beyruth

The best way I can describe this track is “serene rock”, a song that speaks to renewal and hope. It’s a beautiful piece, enriched by a choir and a deep, resonant sound that swells in the chorus. As the final track, it carries a sense of closure, filled with optimism and promise for what lies ahead.

This is mirrored in the visual novel, where the vibrant colors are contrasted with black, creating a striking visual experience. Brief flashes of unseen lives add an extra layer of mystery, hinting at the untold stories that remain just out of reach.

The First Life

Album Artist: Ramón K Pérez

Throughout the comic, we follow four chapters that explore the first life Blue Eyes remembers, offering a grounded and realistic narrative. The story is rich with emotion, providing a poignant glimpse into the joys and sorrows that even a single life can hold. It’s a clever way to illustrate the mindset that comes with living countless lives, capturing both the beauty and the burden of such an existence.

Verdict

While some tracks took a few listens to fully grow on me, this is an album I’ve found myself returning to regularly since the first time I heard it. Each listen offers a new experience, and it works brilliantly as a cohesive whole. There’s a unique magic that weaves through every track, demonstrating how collaboration can yield truly extraordinary results.

The graphic novel, while leaving me wishing for more focus on certain lives and occasionally leaving me a bit confused, is still a remarkable tale, told with depth and care. The varying art styles effectively capture the essence of different universes, yet they all feel interconnected, with nothing out of place.

Both the album and the graphic novel are exceptional works of art, and I highly recommend experiencing them for yourself.

[djcube1701]

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Platform: Switch

NA release: 26th September 2024

EU release: 26th September 2024

JP release: 26th September 2024

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

N-Europe Score: 8/10

The first mainline Legend of Zelda game that features Zelda herself as the main character, while also taking some inspiration from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and incorporating aspects of those into a more traditional 2D Zelda, with the style of the Link’s Awakening remake and a map heavily inspired by A Link to the Past. It’s quite an amalgamation of different Zelda concepts, but it all blends together to form a lovely package.

As Link falls into a dark void after saving Zelda, Zelda teams up with a mysterious entity called Tri to try and fix these rifts that are tearing Hyrule apart. Together, they have two main powers, Echo and Bind, with the Echo system being the core concept of the game – hence it being part of the game’s title.

Zelda can scan various objects and any non-boss enemy (after defeating it) to add it to her collection of Echoes. After this, she can then summon it at will, with a certain number being “active” at any one time – summon another and the earliest one you summoned will disappear. There’s no recharge timer, so which opens up a lot of possibilities for how to use them – in ways, a few too many.

Hold right on the D-pad and you get a colossal list to scroll. This was one of the big problems in Tears of the Kingdom and it doesn’t get any better here. It’s potentially even worse as Echoes are the main way you interact with the environment. There’s a few ways to sort, but they really don’t help.

What Echoes of Wisdom really needed was to let the player create their own lists. For example, there are a few echoes such as the Strandula, Bombfish, a Carrot and a Wind Cannon which are more or less vital items that you’ll use every so often. If you play around with Echoes, they can end up quite a way down the list, which is not only a pain, but you can also easily forget their use. I would have liked to have made separate lists for attacks, platforms and items.

Once you get used to the frustrating system, though, then they really are a joy to use and you can adapt them to suit your playstyle. Some people prefer to summon a few monsters and sit back, while I like to be a bit more active. If you’re targeting an enemy, your Echoes will start off by launching an immediate attack. With the more powerful Echoes, you can keep summoning new ones and have the old one vanish after one hit, making it feel more like you’re more active in fights.

But at the same time, the openness of the system is also a bit of a flaw. It’s easy to get stuck into habits (especially as experimenting can make it a pain to scroll the ones you like) and some tactics just work a bit too well. On top of powerful enemies, some platform objects can make it easy to get around obstacles and the beds let you rest and recharge your health, even in the middle of boss battles. I found myself often tanking damage as environmental hazards are quite weak and just sleeping afterwards, a tactic which renders the smoothie creation fairly useless.

The dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom take a more traditional, structured approach, with a few instances where you can go through a couple of dungeons in any order. I really enjoyed the dungeons in the game, as they provided some fun puzzles that make use of the Echoes as well as the Bind move, where you can grab and object and move it as Zelda moves (or reverse it so Zelda follows the path of the object). Some of the platform challenges can be cheesed, but there are still some good ones to be found.

Bosses are one area where I use another one of Zelda’s abilities: being able to turn into Link for a short time. It starts out as just using a sword, but you add a bow and bombs throughout the game. Their tricks are easy to figure out and they usually don’t last long, but they’re enjoyable. You can use this ability at any point, but outside of bosses I just preferred using Zelda’s other abilities – it seems a waste to just resort to using Link’s abilities.

The overworld itself is adorable, being based on the map of A Link to the Past but much bigger, with locations from that game now being ruins. There are a lot of things to find and a lot of people to meet, and the side quests are enjoyable to complete. This is especially important because the rewards for the side quests are dreadful, usually rupees or smoothie ingredients, which aren’t really needed that much.

There’s a lot of charm and character throughout every moment of Echoes of Wisdom. It’s in the graphical style, the animations, the dialogue and the many enemy designs. It’s hard not to be smiling the entire time playing the game. There are lots of little details and touches all over the place and everything just works together really well.

Despite some flaws and annoyances, I had an absolutely lovely time with Echoes of Wisdom. Everything about the game is adorable and there’s just a wonderful atmosphere. The Echo system does lead to some issues with letting you break the game and resort to some easy options, but the freedom is also amazing, especially in combination with the more traditional structure of the game.

If I were to change some things about the game, it would be letting players categorise Echoes themselves, and add a few more accessories and clothing as side quest rewards. Overall, Echoes of Wisdom is an immensely cute and happy game.

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Overworld: 4/5

Dungeons: 4/5

Sound: 3.5/5

Style: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

[djcube1701]

Secret Level: Each Episode from Worst to Best

Amazon’s Secret Level is a collection of shorts based on various video games. For the most part, they’re alright, but many don’t work that well as shorts, feeling like something chopped out of a larger piece. A few do stand out as great pieces of work. Here’s some quick reviews of them in order of worst to best.

15. Playtime: Fulfilment

This episode was marketed as a big PlayStation crossover, with many (myself included) presuming that the makers of Secret Level accepted making an advertisement for Concord in exchange for letting them ust PlayStation characters. 

Playtime follows a bicycle courier in a world where mobile games with lots of noise and grinding have become augmented reality as a way of life. A stranger offers her a package when she starts getting attacked by PlayStation characters. First are some armoured goons (my only guess is Killzone) then a colossus from Shadow of the Colossus, which turns out not to be a huge threat, then the courier just drives past Kratos. Eventually, Sackboy just drifts past. Not only have they no relation to the story, but they’re not even obstacles. 

The main villain is actually the courier’s assistant bot, which hates the Courier cheating and having fun in a different way. At the end the lesson seems to be “don’t forget your nostalgic PlayStation memories”, yet there’s little nostalgia to be had in this. This felt like one of Sony’s old strange PlayStation adverts, although even then it would be a poor one.

14. Warhammer 40,000: And They Shall Know No Fear

One thing Secret Level has in many of its episodes is that it doesn’t do enough to get people invested in the characters for the events to matter. I can only presume that the main character is an existing character elsewhere in 40K lore. 

For the most part, this is mindless and meaningless action. It’s full of gore and violence to the point that it has zero impact. The second half has the marines face some kind of fear demon. There are some stunning looking visuals, but nothing really made a connection to me. The narration talks about a life of war and conquering fear due to this, but none of this is shown in the short.

13. Armored Core: Asset Management

Keanu Reeves is a tough, grizzled mech pilot that feels unattached to everyone else as he was connected to his mech in a way that has now been lost. Part of the core of the mech has somehow joined him and speaks to him.

The problem with this one is that the episode is mostly comprised of unnatural exposition. We’re told things instead of getting shown them, and this suffers the same issue as many in that it feels like we’re jumping into the story at the wrong place, only in this one, the exposition reminds us that this is the first time the audience is seeing this character. 

The battles are also poor as we’re only told of the dangers and limitations of what is going on. 

12. Crossfire: Good Conflict

I know nothing of Cossfire, but the ongoing theme from everyone involved is “we’re not the bad guys”. It takes place as someone is escaping an abandoned city (I have no idea why there’s nobody else there) and hiring a squad to take him. He has a mysterious briefcase he needs to take with him as he escapes something unknown, and the only thing we find out is that it could be dangerous in the wrong hands and is warm.

It’s just two small military squads attacking each other, each believing that they’re the ones doing the right theme. This is certainly a potentially interesting thing, but without any information on the motives of anyone involved, it doesn’t carry much weight. 

11. Sifu: It Takes a Life

This certainly has a nice visual style to it, but is another one that has no substance to it. The twist of Sifu is that each time you die, you come back to life as an older version of yourself, so this is about one afternoon of revenge turning into someone wasting away most of his life 

The big problem is that the episode doesn’t really have time to dwell on the questions it has of “was it worth it?”, and the fact that it tries to be philosophical kind of takes a lot away because it just doesn’t work. The audience feels like nothing has really happened, especially as the fight with the guy the main character was hunting for is skipped.

Was this supposed to create an unsatisfying ending so that the answer to the question is that “no, this episode was not worth the time”?

10. Spelunky: Tally

This episode also plays around with video game respawning, as the main character of Spelunky 2, Ana, dies again and again. Although, with the main character being a child, we’re spared the gore and are shown implied deaths. This game talks about roguelike mechanics of respawning and how each “run” is different, but you could easily replace Spelunky with any other roguelike and nothing would change.

The message is also confusing. The “mentor” character, Liz, talks about Ana being too lighthearted about everything and not caring about dying, and that death should have a much bigger meaning. Then when Ana breaks down from one too many deaths, Liz then talks about how the deaths don’t matter, as you get to enjoy a whole new adventure. 

9. Exodus: Odyssey

Exodus seems to be a game that doesn’t even have a release date yet. It’s from “some ex-Bioware” staff. From this, I’m quite surprised that Drew Karpyshyn is involved as the world in this short is incredibly bland, less interesting than the world of Anthem. 

The main gimmick seems to be focusing on time dilation, with the story focusing on a father searching for her daughter (who has gone into space searching for adventure), with him spending years of time dilation as his daughter ages. The big problem is that it seems to ignore the daughter’s own travel, as they go the same route for most of the short. The logic of this one just falls apart.

8. PAC-MAN: Circle

The Pac-Man episode actually turned out to be a secret trailer for an upcoming metroidvania called Shadow Labyrinth. It shows a strange man falling out of a tube of liquid, having the urge to consume other beings to survive and being pushed even more to do so by a mysterious yellow orb. 

The stranger eventually realises that the maze they’re in is actually a prison for this orb, and refuses to let it out, where it tries to take over his body to force them out the door. It ends with a new being being released from a tube as the process starts again.

It’s intriguing for its strange take on Pac-Man, but somewhat feels less unique now that it’s the prequel to an actual game.

7. Dungeons & Dragons: The Queen’s Cradle

This episode creates an interesting cast of characters, but doesn’t give us enough time with them. It even focuses on the least interesting character, leaving you wanting to know about the others even more. It portrays the world of Dungeons & Dragons well, and has some amazing visuals.

But it all feels like you’re watching it out of context. It seems to be written as though you’ve already seen these adventurers on a previous journey, like jumping into a series in episode 4. It even ends abruptly and in the middle of a fight. It did leave me wanting more, though.

6. Mega Man: Start

Just like Dungeons & Dragons, this feels like something cut out of something even bigger. In particular, it feels like the last part of a pilot episode for a new series. 

It’s a shame, as the snippet we see is really good. Dr Light’s inventions have been taken over by Dr Wily and are ransacking Mega City. Dr Light’s robotic son, Rock, wants to help but Dr Light refuses, before Rock is forced to combat Light’s last robot as it gets hacked inside their lab. 

It’s a fun fight making use of a few powers, and Rick is immediately likeable. The short ends up feeling unsatisfying as you want to see more.

5. Honor of Kings: The Way of All Things

I had to google what this game was after watching the episode. It’s some boring looking colourful MOBA game. Luckily, other than using a few place names, this episode isn’t really based on the game. Even the main character is someone created just for the collaboration.

Instead, this is a very artistic short that adapts the board game Go (also known as Weiqi). It takes place in a city that moves around, but has been having issues. Anyone can face the computer controlling the city for control, yet anyone that tries ends up insane.

The young hero we follow ignores the danger and tries to conquer the machine, not just to fix the city, but also for revenge as the city killed his parents. Throughout the short, we see (instead of just getting told) pivotal movements and the emotions the hero went through to become so determined to break fate. 

It’s a really solid thing that works really well as a standalone short. 

4. Unreal Tournament: Xan

The main character of this short, a robot called X4N, manages to portray more development and emotion with a single light than most of the other shorts combined, and our connection to him is what makes this action-heavy short actually work. The snippets of the world we see gives us enough story without the need for exposition, as well.

It’s an enjoyable and meaningful tale, and you don’t need to know anything about the source material for it to work.

3. Concord: Tale of the Implacable

Considering it took less than two weeks for Sony to completely abandon Concord and delete it, it’s somewhat ironic that the Secret Level episode for Concord is one of the better ones. Even more so when the big reason the game failed was its immensely boring cast of characters.

In this short, we follow a new group of characters, who are a group of misfits that are part of a crew trying to save their captain for the oppressive guild. One really fascinating thing about this particular short is that it feels like you’ve watched an entire film in just a short timespan, with plenty of twists, turns, funny moments and emotional moments. 

This shows that the world of Concord is actually an interesting one, it’s just a shame they couldn’t turn it into an interesting game.

2. The Outer Worlds: The Company We Keep

The Outer Worlds felt like Firefly with a bit of Fallout thrown in, and this short portrays that vibe beautifully. The short is a little snippet of the universe, following the journey of a garbage worker trying to follow the girl he loves, who left to become a scientist. He gets a job as a test subject for the company she works for, suffering a ton of hardship as a result.

It’s a well told and emotional story, with amazing visuals and plenty of dark humour and violence that actually works with the short. It works both as a new story in the world of the game and as a standalone short. 

1. New World: The Once and Future King

I have no interest in this MMO and I still have no interest in it, yet this short was highly entertaining. It’s about a king who loses his army as he tries to conquer a mysterious island. Despite this, he’s still determined to take on this new land for himself. He soon discovered that everyone on the island, including him and his servant, is immortal and comes back to life when they die (although reset to the beach they landed on).

The king is a kind of incompetent buffoon who is baffled that other people are better than him at absolutely everything, and Arnold Schwarzenegger does a wonderful job with this character and heightens the uselessness of the character. No matter how many times he fails, he’s still determined, yet it has a surprisingly emotional ending. 

It’s highly enjoyable and rather humorous, its only failure is that it doesn’t make me want to check out the game, the short works fine on its own.

[djcube1701]

Raiders of the North Sea: Big Box Edition

Release: 2015

Designer: Shem Phillips

Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski

Publisher: Garphill Games

Raiders of the North Sea is the second in a trilogy of games from Shem Phillips. It’s a worker placement game where you have to build up your crew before going out on raids. The pictures depict the game along with expansions Hall of Heroes and Fields of Fame, plus the neoprene playmat which incorporates the new boards from the expansions in a more streamlined manner, as well as looking absolutely gorgeous.

Overview

In Riders of the North Sea, you will start off by collecting resources such as silver and provisions which will enable you to hire crew from the cards in your hands and go on raids. The raids are the main way to score points, but they also get you plunder that can be spent on upbraids, raids, or given away as an offering for more points.

The bottom half of the board is where the main worker placement element of the game takes place, with an interesting mechanic for how turns take place. You start each turn with only one worker that has to go in an empty space. Once you take the action from that turn, you then pick up a worker from a different space and perform that action, meaning you get to do two actions on one turn.

The actions are quite simple: draw cards, play cards for their ability, hire a crew onto your chip, gain resources, increase your armour, gain resources or make an offering for points. The actions taken can change slightly depending in the colour of the worker, with only black workers on the board at the start of the game.

Crew are an important part of Raiders of the North Sea. You can go to the Town Hall to discard them to use their one-use power (depicted by a play icon), or – more importantly – go to the Barracks and pay their cost to place them into your crew. Here, their passive power comes into play which can boost certain actions, gain victory points in the right circumstances or improve raids. The top corner also depicts their military strength, which comes into play when taking raids.

Instead of taking your standard two actions, you can instead go on a raid, as long as you have enough resources. For the starting harbour raids, you simply gain your rewards and a single point (picking up the worker from the raid space to go to our supply as your one worker). Your plunder consists of gold, iron and livestock, but there are also skull tokens, called Valkyrie tokens. If you raid one of these sections, you will need to kill off a crew member for each token. It’s not all bad, as you’ll also move up on the Valkyrie track, which can be a good source of points.

For the more complicated raids, military strength comes into play in order to score points. These raids will have a number of targets in order to score an increasing number of points. The total strength of your crew is combined with the armour track and any additional bonuses (usually crew abilities), along with the roll of one or two dice (depending on the spot you are raiding). As the lowest number on each one is two, it can be handy.

There’s a really nice flow to Raiders of the North Sea, as it builds up throughout the game yet you occasionally need to dip back into resource collection-mode. The end of the game – usually triggered by all but one fortress being taken out – can go from feeling like it’s quite a way away to being close really quickly, and the different tracks and ways of scoring makes it difficult to tell if there is a clear winner mid-game. There’s a really nice flow to the game that makes me coming back for more.

Hall of Heroes

The Hall of Heroes expansion adds a new section to the map alongside a couple of new mechanics. The Mead Hall lets you choose to add one of three face-up cards to your hand, alongside the resources on them (which encourages the cards to be cycled). One of these resources is a new one: mead. Mead can be spent to increase your military strength, although only before you see the result of the dice roll.

After a raid is performed, a quest now comes out. To complete a quest, you go to the Mead Hall and discard cards from your hand matching or exceeding the military strength of the quest. These get you resources and provide more points the more your collect. This provides another use for the cards in the game, and multi-use cards is one board game mechanic that I really love.

The player boards are also really handy to have, with a place for your crew, a reminder of resource limits and a spot for your worker so you know you need to have one at the end of each turn.

Field of Fame

Field of Fame adds a new danger to the plunder mix: Jarl tokens. If any of these are in the spot you are raiding, then you must face a Jarl after your raid. You draw a Jarl card and must choose to kill, subdue or flee.

To kill the jarl, you need to dish out wound tokens amongst your crew. These don’t kill your crew, but reduce their military strength and makes them less effective. Your reward is fame, as you move up the new track (which provides victory points). Subduing a Jarl requires taking fewer wounds, but you must also pay the cost to recruit them into your crew. Fleeing will result in losing fame or victory points.

The Jarls have powerful abilities, often end-game scoring, so while you take a lot of damage, it can be well worth pursuing. The expansion also adds a few new raids and optional dice which adds a Valkyrie mark for some unexpected deaths.

Overview

One great thing about this package is that it feels like a complete game and not something with extras bolted on. The expansions compliment the current systems and add a few more angles you can take for scoring points, while also not complicating the game too much. It’s one of the few game where I would easily play all the expansions with new players.

Raiders of the North Sea is not just a brilliant game, but also looks beautiful, from the lovely artwork to all the nice wooden pieces. It’s one of my favourites from my collection.

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