Re: RE: Indivisible

I think I’ve found the perfect way to describe my feelings on Indivisible as of…huh.  Right around Halloween time.  Fancy that.

It’s like this.  You know those trust exercises they have you do with someone else?  The one where you fall backward, and count on your partner to catch you or whatever?  If Indivisible were that partner, then you’d fall flat on your back -- but instead of hitting concrete or dirt or tile or carpet or whatever, you’d just take a little spill onto a cushy mattress.  Yeah, you were let down by someone you trusted, but it’s fine.  You’re still in a good enough place regardless.

I can’t bring myself to hate Indivisible, or even dislike it.  I’m glad it exists.  I’m glad it got crowdfunded successfully.  I’m glad it’s pushing against the grey goo apocalypse that is the modern AAA game industry.  The problem is that, simply put, it has problems.  I’m not one for game development, but I’m not confident that the issues are solvable with patches and updates down the line; it seems like the sort of stuff that’d take a complete overhaul, if not a sequel to start fresh.

I talked about the story last time.  Now for the gameplay this time.  And let me say this to start: it was a mistake to play Tekken 7 in the same timeframe as this.

RE: Indivisible

So, Indivisible, huh? 

Hmmmm.  Hmmmm.  Hmmmm.

I’ll be real: I don’t really know how I feel about this game right now.  I’d say that I need to put more time into it (and I do), but I get the feeling that it’ll only help so much -- and maybe even hurt in the long run.  Having gone all in with an impulse buy on release day, I owe it to the game, myself, and my wallet to go as far as I can with it.  That said, I also owe it to all of those (and the devs on top of that) to give an honest report on my findings.  If someone asks me “Is Indivisible any good?” then I want to give them a straight answer.

That’s…pretty hard right now.  This is a weird game -- a weird game that’s fun, frustrating, charming, plain, deep, and shallow at the same time. But we’ve got to start somewhere, and it might as well be with an anime intro.

BRB Playing Indivisible

I’m not going to spend a bunch of time or write a lot of words about Indivisible right now, partially because I’ve barely had it for 24 hours as of writing and haven’t even played it for a fraction of that time.  Maybe like, six hours at most?  I had a toilet to take care of, after all.  Anyway, as a sub-reason, it’s partially because I feel like I’m not equipped to talk about the game in-depth until I learn exactly why it’s called Indivisible. 

I mean, I could hazard a guess, but I’m pretty sure I’d be well off the mark.  Wouldn’t be the first time, really.

So instead of scrambling to write a “review” or give (abbreviated) early impressions, let’s talk a bit about impulse buys. Because this is mine.

Selling Out and Going Indie

The crux of this post is going to depend on whether or not you consider Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night to be an indie game.  I do, basically, since Kickstarter helped it exist (resoundingly), and it’s not as if it’s the product of one of the big companies like EA or Activision.  I mean, it’s here specifically because a well-known company in the industry (Konami) either would have rejected it preemptively, or actively resented its potential existence to the point where the heads -- in their unfathomable wisdom -- let Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi escape from their employ.

Mostly, I just want to call it an indie game because it’d give me the chance to lump it together with some of the other games I’ve been playing (not named Smash Bros. Ultimate).  Namely, Katana Zero and VA-11 HALL-A.  Also, it’ll be easier for me to use it as a paddle with which to whoop the backside of the modern, big-budget, AAA game industry.  As if they weren’t whooping themselves already.

So How Good are Indie Games, Really?

EA.  Ubisoft.  Activison.  WB Games.  Square-Enix.  Capcom.  Konami.  If you know any of these companies by anything even a half-step beyond their names, then you probably know that they’ve each done some less-than-savory things over the years (either that, or you’re so filled with rage that you’re puking blood into the nearest receptacle you can find).  Whether it’s shady business practices, hamstrung games, or business decisions that a sleeping toddler would advise against, those companies and more have all done something to earn the ire of the gamers they cater to.  But what are we supposed to do about it?

I’ll contend that Capcom’s Street Fighter V is a very good game, but it hasn’t gotten off to a good start in the eyes of many -- and for a lot of legitimate reasons.  Things are looking up, but players have had to suffer -- and they’ve got no choice, when you get down to it.  What can you do when a company’s effectively holding that glowing new installment or beloved franchise hostage, especially when said company’s done some nasty stuff in the past?  Further, what can you do when you have to count on the big companies or pretty much be denied of video games, period?

Well, good thing we’re not living in such a bleak dystopia.  Indie games are here, and they’re saving the medium…well, probably.  Ostensibly.  Hopefully?  Eh, let’s just talk about indie games for a bit.