I know some of you are thinking that maybe this game hasn't gone up in scale compared to the previous game, and that this was phoned in. I agree in some aspects, but this is, visually speaking, amazing to look at. And adds so much depth to the story as well.
It does disappoint me that Ninja Theory, people known for making Enslaved: Odyssey To The West, Heavenly Sword, and DmC, delivered a game that is nothing short of a cinematic walking simulator. Phoned in. Hence, why I decided not to write about it, but I can't argue its storytelling through amazing environment design, and strong production value.
I managed to upgrade my CPU, with the GPU still around (6700 XT), even with FSR 3 enabled at quality settings, at the highest possible setting, I'm so playing in the uncanny valley. Though FSR does make everything look a little jittery, do take note if you look closer.
Surrendering herself to the Northmen was a strategy to take her to somewhere in Iceland. In an attempt to free her people from slavery. But not everything seems to be going right. Her boat crashed, all passengers lost, and the Northmen killing anyone they can find.
The voices in her head continue to drown her with misery and down talking. Despite the pain her body is going through, she pushes on climbing on the cliff to get out.
As the deep voice she heard becomes clearer this time, it's revealed the man in the distance is her father. A lot of overwhelming amount of psychological schism is at effect here, from the voices of the sisters in her head, to her seeing things, including of her father who also looks down on her.
A body of a woman, seemingly butchered, came across her path. Adding more to her deteriorating state.
The game somehow moves a little too fast, because understanding to some degree that some of the slaves are her people, seeing them slaughtered is traumatizing, and only adds to her feeling of not living up to her moral standards trying to save them.
I wish it added at least 10 minutes of context, with everything coming at me from the voices, her father, the signs, Northmen slavers, dead people, and so on, it was overwhelming. She finally did get out of the beach head, the rain stopped, and yet the misery trip didn't end. It prolonged even further. It was all a little too much.
She passes through a broken house, there's no telling what the slavers have done. Kind of this historical remnant of the 9th century dark ages recreated in realistic rendering.
Her adversities grow increasingly, to the point of her delirium taking over again, and only way to move forward is to solve some relatively easy symbol matching puzzle. Sigh....
The death call to her, this was actually a scary and intense sequence, because the amazing audio hauntingly captures the suffering, pain that these lost souls have gone through. I wish I got a better angle, there was so much to look at, it would encapsulate the scene so well.
She's strong enough to fight back against her aggressors, despite the sheer differences in body strength, her resilience managed to get her a sword and finally fight back.