Recent reviews by Chainsaw lad

A love letter to Chinese mythology and media.

Taking place post journey to the west, we take control of the destined one in this epic, deeply inspired take on the evergreen pillar of Eastern media. The passion the developers have oozes through every cut scene, design choice and piece of dialogue.
Many of those who are familiar with the journey to the west and its many adaptations will revile in the attention to detail taken in crafting this master work. Even small things, such as the framing of a cut scenes to harken back to the Stephan Chow's adaptation, or the whole thing with the headless monk statue and the British museums inspiriting the story in chapter 2 only goes to show the care that's gone into crafting this amazing game. As someone who is vaguely familiar with these, I was only told about some of the soruces of inspiration and could not share the excitement that many Chinese fans of the game felt when seeing these nods and references. Though, I did share in the amazement at how much care has been put into this game.

From a game play perspective, the game is comparable to a combination of God of War and Dark Souls, with how it can be difficult but a lot more forgiving than dark souls. You're not playing as Sun Wukong, but the destined one who's on a quest to collect Wukongs 6 relics. Thus the game play evolves as his journey progresses and you unlock spells and moves inspired by Wukongs many abilities. What makes it constantly fresh and engaging is that evolution and the variety of enemy designs both from a visual and mechanics perspective. I found the combat to be challenging with a few select bosses but generally not too difficult. The boss designs are so interesting that I found myself enjoying encountering them and filling out my journal. Each boss encounter had me also eager to see their journal entry art, an ancient Chinese style depiction of the boss you've defeated.
While boss fights are the highlight of the game, this is not a boss rush game, and it has a lot of secrets to uncover and exploration. The level design is generally linear but still has many paths that branch off. The decision to not include a map is an interesting one, and one that will take some getting used to initially. While this may initially make exploration daunting, the level design and checkpoint system elevate the need for one. Exploring in this game (especially in the early days of release) felt amazing given the uncharted waters we were all entering and the beautiful visuals of this game.

The world is breath taking. Taking place in a mystical ancient environment dominated by nature. The graphical fidelity of this release and the style is gorgeous. I played on high settings on a mobile 3070 and yet I was blown away when I first launched the game. Over time, I got used to the visuals however I still found myself amazed at the level design, the palace in chapter where you fight the yin yang monk being a highlight for me.

I don't have the context to really compare character writing to the source material, but the impression I'm getting from others is that it's spot on. Not uprising given the attention to detail the game displays in other areas. I really enjoyed the writing in this game. Scenes with Bajie are a real highlight. His dialogue is very enjoyable and fun, however endearing when it calls back to his journey to the west and his friend Wukong. The game also has tragic characters which it writes with respect. Chapters 2, 4 and 5 were rather emotional. Bajie has a big presence in the story of 4 and 5 (love life and old comrade). I appreciate how ch 5 and what happens to Ox and his family elaborates on why Bajie made the decision that's behind the story of chapter 4. Also 4th sisters side story :.(......

The secret cutscenes you can unlock are amazingly animated, and beautifully add context to the story. I loved each one of them, but 4 ,5 and 6 were a highlight for me. 6 being the most epic while 5 was emotionally heavy. I loved the choice of stop motion animation in 2. damn.. 5 hit hard... Ox brooo :.(......

My only real criticisms for this game are the fact that certain items require farming which was annoying. Though none are necessary and only for 100% completion. As well as the shift in level design in chapter 6. Chapter 6 takes more of an open zone design which makes sense with the introduction of the flying nimbus. This isn't too bad as the chapter does have points of interest to orient you, however the shift in level design will be initially jarring. I've seen many mention invisible walls as an issue however I didn't find them to be too annoying personally. btw.... he's monki, monkey no climb tree?? also, why is everyone bri'ish in eng dub, same with stellar blade???

I called this game a love letter to Chinese myth and media primarily because of how you can actually feel the passion that the developers have for the source material in this game. I really want to emphasise this. China is a country that deeply loves it's mythology, still adapting stories such as Nezha (appears in cutscenes btw), white snake and ofc Wukong. Their telling of these tales live on to this day and are entrenched in many of their childhoods. I'm very happy to see this adaptations coming to the west, and hope that we can get more at this level of quality. The excitement Chinese fans have for this game and it's attention to detail is infectious. I love hearing about it from them and seeing the love and care they have for these tales. The game journal does help give you more context to understanding who and what characters or things are, but I can only imagine how amazing the feeling of seeing the stories you grew up on adapted in a high quality way that pays deep respect to the material your culture treasures.

Now that I'm done with the story, I'll be watching ppl talk about the lore on youtube.

Stellar blade dethroned as favourite game of 2024. Wukong new best game.

Thank you game science :)
(also thanks for reading my yap session)
这个游戏没有多样性，简直就是对中国古典名著的侮辱。我买这个游戏就是为了告诉大家这一点，都去买《星刃》！

No longer burn my bread, now disturbing the peace.



(p2 remake when?)