thesmumbo

[thesmumbo]

How Pinwheel revolutionized my Dark Souls experience

Before I ever played Dark Souls, I knew the game was infamous for its difficulty.

When I played Dark Souls for the first time, I wanted to complete the game without any form of guidance, and so when I first arrived at Firelink Shrine, I somehow missed the stairway up to Undead Burg, and ended up slogging my way through the graveyard and the catacombs. I thought that the tanky, regenerating skeletons were just supposed to be like that - just another part of the game's trademark difficulty. I pressed on until I reached Pinwheel at the bottom of the catacombs. I had a hell of a time fighting him at my low character level, and low level of experience with the game itself - he was the second boss I ever fought, after all. We had a legendary struggle, and I lost several times, having to get all the way back down to him through the catacombs; this was on the Xbox version, before the Vamos bonfire was added in the remaster.

After finally defeating him, I ventured even further into the Tomb of Giants, and felt even more out of my element with the extremely strong giant skeletons and oppressive darkness. I continued ever forward, and imagine my surprise when, after all that effort, I came across the golden fog leading to Nito which I could not pass. Finally, I decided to look it up, and I realized that I had played through an entire endgame area immediately after starting the game. The whole time, I thought it was just supposed to be that hard.

That's why I've always been amused at how people perceive Pinwheel to be the weakest boss in the game. Because for me, Pinwheel represents an incredibly difficult milestone that I overcame on my first playthrough. I think that going through that entire ordeal gave me a good perspective on the difficulty of the game, because after all of that, I was prepared to handle anything it threw at me.

[thesmumbo]

Battlefield 2042's soundtrack is amazing

Please remember that this is all just my opinion, and that I speak as a fan of the soundtracks to Battlefield 4 and Battlefield 1.

When I heard about the disastrous launch of Battlefield 2042, I basically avoided the game entirely and didn't know anything about it besides some of the pre-launch hype. It wasn't until this year when season 4 released with a free trial that I decided to finally give the game a shot.

I was immediately hooked when I watched the introductory story trailer, which revealed a terrifying glimpse into the world of Battlefield 2042: a world devastated by rampant climate change, where all but two global superpowers have crumbled, whose refugees have all but been absorbed into a desperate war to control the last of Earth's fleeting resources.

When I was faced with this story premise, I was shocked. For one, just at the fact that a major gaming franchise like Battlefield had created such a strongly political story premise. But also, that the decision was made not to have a singleplayer story campaign, despite how incredibly inspired this story was, especially when compared to the mediocre stories of most of the other Battlefield games.

When I loaded into the main menu, I was again surprised, this time by the music. It was much grittier and noisier than in any Battlefield game I'd played before. It fit perfectly with the subject matter at hand. I was instantly immersed into the world of Battlefield 2042, and I would continue to be astonished by the game's soundscape as I played through the free trial.

After hearing what was in the game, I later listened through the full original soundtrack. The harsh electronics and industrial noise so strongly evoked the themes of apocalyptic climate change, and the desperation of humanity hoarding what little resources were left to survive.

I was amazed that such a big franchise (with its fair share of iconic, if a bit traditional music) made such a sharp turn into such visceral uncharted territory, both in terms of the soundtrack itself, and the world it had brought to life.

To talk more specifically about some of the tracks, what better way to begin than by discussing the Battlefield 2042 theme itself?

Every Battlefield game has had its own take on the original Battlefield theme, and this game is no different. I've always loved Battlefield 4's heartbeat-esque, bass-pounding Warsaw theme, as well as the Classic Theme present in Battlefield 1 - a triumphant return to an iconic classic. But Battlefield 2042...it completely dismantles any semblance of a traditional spin on that theme that goes all the way back to Battlefield 1942. No...it's one hundred years later, and Earth is an even more broken place. Battlefield 2042's theme is a profound statement on the ultimate futility of war: a mangled and atonal cavalcade, it is a complete reversal on the very same theme which once represented the heroism and valor of soldiers on the frontlines. Much like the Earth itself which mankind has fought over for thousands of years, the music itself is tired and broken as humanity enters (possibly) its final battle. It's brilliant.

Some other highlights on the soundtrack include The Observation of Beautiful Forms, Between the Bows, and 5 Degrees of Warming, which I've written some light analysis about below.

Observation is a forlorn yet uplifting funeral march featuring scratchy strings, echoing sirens, shaky static, and unmistakably industrial horns. To me, Observation conjures a heartbreaking image of humanity's incredible technological progress contrasted against its own role in destroying the very world it was born to.

Between the Bows is a riveting and intense noise jam that keeps building and building until a very cathartic release partway through the song, followed by another short passage of intense noise. I interpret this to be an illustration of the uncompromising and destructive manner that man established himself in the world by, until finally faced with a demise of his own making, leaving a peaceful, yet still fundamentally broken world.

5 Degrees of Warming is an insanely oppressive and heavy track that starts with what sounds like some kind of alarm or sonar ping system, followed by these dreadful and terrifying strings (I believe it's called a halldorophone, if it's safe to assume that Hildur Guðnadóttir composed this soundtrack with a similar instrumental palette to Joker). The track continues relentlessly, with each stroke getting heavier and louder, the repeated alternation between the two notes generating an extremely aggressive sound, reminiscent of an alarm system blaring at maximum volume. This is the sound of our world screaming for us to stop, but we just keep making it worse.

Unfortunately I didn't play during season 2 or 3, so I don't know about any of the specific tracks that were added during those seasons. I know the soundtrack was received very poorly from most Battlefield fans, so it must have been difficult to create more music for the game that was more pleasant while still complementary to the other tracks. But I still think the newer music present in the game is a nice progression of the same themes anyway. Like I mentioned before, the season 4 main menu theme is great. It really instills that sense of urgency and hopelessness of the battle at hand.

Even the song titles are thematically resonant! Irreversible, Load Bearing, When does a country stop being a country?,  Hourglass, Tipping Points...I could keep going on about how great these tracks are at establishing the atmosphere of Battlefield 2042's world, but I think you get the idea.

I know there are some people who enjoy the soundtrack, but still don't believe it fits into the game, because games are supposed to be fun, and Battlefield especially can be very lighthearted in its multiplayer gameplay. There's definitely something to be said for that, and I definitely agree that it would make for an even better film score (I would love to see the movie that Battlefield 2042 clearly wanted to be). Regardless, I still thought it was very effective at instilling a sense of dread and importance while playing, similar to the ominous airship horns in the music for the opening mission of Battlefield 1.

Anyway, I should probably conclude this way too long post about a heavily disliked soundtrack that probably nobody will even care about lol.

In my opinion, Battlefield 2042's soundtrack is a misunderstood masterpiece of purely instrumental storytelling, and Hildur Guðnadóttir & Sam Slater did an incredible job composing it.

It perfectly encapsulates the themes and aesthetics of the world that was crafted to be the background of Battlefield 2042, and the fact that it was so effective in that makes it all the more tragic that there will never be a singleplayer campaign for the game. Maybe the theoretical campaign or movie that Battlefield 2042 could've been is infinitely better in my head, but I'm still sad that this setting will probably never be fully realized in a linear narrative.

I hope that if you've read this post, you now enjoy and understand Battlefield 2042 and its soundtrack at least a little more than you did before.

[thesmumbo]

Smumbo's top 10 games he happened to play in 2022

Not necessarily games that were released in 2022, just my favorites that I played for the first time last year.

10: Night in the Woods (2017)

by Alec Holowka, Scott Benson, and Bethany Hockenberry

Peak fall vibes game. Night in the Woods features a compelling mystery and some great spooky moments. The setting and characters really resonated with me, so I got a lot out of it.

9: The Pedestrian (2020)

by @skookumarts

Pleasant puzzle game inspired by the signage that surrounds us in our day-to-day lives. Some of the puzzles were quite difficult, and I kind of dislike the direction the game took in its last act, but it was still a very fun and unique experience.

8: South of South Mountain (2022)

by @colorbomb

Cute & hilarious visual novel with a fantastic art style. I could not stop laughing throughout the whole experience.

7: Portal Reloaded (2021)

by PORTANIS

From a pure gameplay standpoint, this was a very satisfying sequel to Portal 2, and it's possibly the closest we'll ever get to a Portal 3. Portal Reloaded introduces a third portal which allows you to travel to the same place at a different time, so certain things have been moved/removed. It gets really complicated, and I’m amazed this was able to be created as a free standalone mod for Portal 2.

6: Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (2022)

by Grace Bruxner and Thomas Bowker

Approximately 3-4 hours of pure, unadulterated joy and whimsy. I can’t believe it took me this long to play Frog Detective, but I’m so glad I did. Everything about these games resonated with me strongly.

5: OneShot (2016)

by @girakacheezer, @nightmargin, and Eliza Vasquez

A transcendent experience. Explores the unique ways in which video games can tell stories, and the nature of free will. Features some interesting meta game mechanics which require you to interact with files outside of the game. The visuals and soundtrack are spot-on as well. Weird how there’s so many great RPG Maker games which work so well in spite of the engine.

4: Scorn (2022)

by Ebb Software

An incredible audiovisual experience. I liked the gameplay too, even though it seems like a lot of people were disappointed by it. I'm amazed that a game like this even exists. Absolutely oozing with atmosphere and symbolic meaning. The story spoke to me on an incredibly deep level despite lacking words, or even any semblance of humanity.

3: What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)

by Giant Sparrow

One of the greatest games ever made. All of the vignettes and set-pieces throughout the game are flawlessly paced, with a wide variety of gameplay and visual styles. Packed with detail, made with love, and so emotionally resonant. I loved this game.

2: Bloodborne (2015)

by From Software

For years, I would try to play Bloodborne whenever I had access to a PlayStation 4, but I wasn’t able to do a full playthrough until 2022. It lived up to the hype. This is my favorite From Software game, and it’s already one of my favorite games of all time. I really hope this gets a remaster/PC port some day. It’s a masterpiece.

1: SIGNALIS (2022)

by @rose-engine

One of the greatest horror games I’ve ever played. Amazing visuals and atmosphere, fascinating world and lore, and a captivating, mind-blowing cosmic horror sci-fi story. I especially loved the evocative UI designs throughout. Highly recommended if you like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Dead Space, PS1 style games in general, or if you have even a passing interest in survival horror. This is my #1 game of 2022.

[thesmumbo]

I will never be enough for her