Tag Archives: Aion

Gaming Round-Up: What Horrors Await

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Time for another rundown of what I’ve played over the last few weeks. By purest happenstance, a lot (though not all) of this has been games that are at least horror adjacent.

A dread vision in Scars Above.Path of Exile:

I did finally get around to finishing the story in Path of Exile. My final judgment is that playing PoE on ruthless mode felt about equal in difficulty to my first playthrough of Diablo III on normal difficulty. I only really struggled on the final bosses of acts five and ten, mirroring D3, where I only struggled with Belial and Diablo. I’ll also note again the act five boss was mostly so hard because it was bugged out when I did it. The statues I was supposed to hide behind never spawned.

I only briefly sampled PoE’s endgame offerings, doing one “map.” It was a complete faceroll until I got to the final boss, at which point I was one-shot halfway through the fight by I have no idea what. The whole thing felt like the perfect microcosm of the PoE experience, and I decided I’d had more than enough at that point.

Some will say I haven’t really experienced PoE without getting into its endgame properly, but if you think you can’t form a fair opinion of a game after finishing a fifty hour story campaign, I think you’re a silly person.

Scars Above:

This is a horrorish sci-fi shooter I picked up for 90% off on Steam. Scars Above is pretty much your standard 7/10 AA jankfest, and I do mean that as a compliment.

A screenshot from sci-fi shooter Scars Above.Pretty much every part of the game is rough to some degree or another, but overall I had a lot of fun with it. I quite enjoyed the main character, Kate, who felt like a great example of competence porn. She shows enough vulnerability to feel human while also meeting every challenge with courage and wit.

There’s an interesting combo system around elemental status effects that can be triggered by both your weapons and the environment. It’s simple, but satisfying, and it helps strengthen the fantasy of Kate as a character who fights smarter, not harder.

The game’s greatest flaw is probably its difficulty. I’d read in the Steam reviews it was a very hard game, so I played on easy, but even so I almost gave up in the first hour because it was such a slog. However, once I leveled up a few times and unlocked some perks, it became a pretty effortless journey.

I was also a bit disappointed the final boss is just a buffed up version of a standard mob you’ve been fighting throughout the game, but otherwise, Scars Above was a good time. Given its apparent lack of recognition, I doubt a sequel is forthcoming, but I’d probably buy one if it does get made.

The Chant:

A screenshot from survival horror game The Chant,Another low to mid budget horror title I got for 90% off, but a less impressive one. I found the character movement, animations, and combat all felt painfully sluggish. Maybe authentic to the classic Resident Evil style experience they were going for, but certainly not for me, and the story was also less compelling than I’d hoped, so I bounced off after about an hour.

Amsterdam 1666 and other Summer Game Fest news:

One of the previews that most impressed me during the Summer Game Fest show was Amsterdam 1666. When they said it already had a demo live, I downloaded it immediately.

Unfortunately the demo ratcheted down my hype for the game considerably. The camera and character movement felt extremely awkward. That might be fixed before launch, but even more concerningly, the story didn’t seem that good. I kind of checked out when the father’s letter to his daughter started waxing poetic about his weird freaky BDSM sexscapades. Awkward…

It’s also concerning how little actual gameplay was in the demo. From the trailers, there will be combat in the main game, but the demo had none, which feels like a bit of a red flag.

A screenshot from Amsterdam 1666 (Prologue).Aside from that, there were a few other trailers at SGF that caught my eye, but nothing that immediately blew me away, more just things that might be worth keeping an eye on. Crossfire, Last Harbor, Haex…

I thought that the trailer for the Stellar Blade sequel looked really cool until I realized it was a Stellar Blade sequel, and now I just feel deeply conflicted and slightly gross.

Aion 2 setting a Western release date was probably the biggest news for me. Given my long history of bouncing off Korean games, my expectations are fairly managed, but it’s still probably the game I’m most anticipating, at least in the near future.

While not part of the main SGF show, around this time we also got news of the next expansion for Age of Empires IV, Raiders of the North. I’m disappointed by campaigns being neglected once again, but the expanded Crucible mode at least means there’s something for single-player, and I do think both the new civilizations look fun. It’s frustrating they’re calling them “Vikings” instead of something more accurate, but otherwise what we’ve seen so far seems like a fairly accurate and historical depiction.

A campaign cutscene from Age of Empires IV.Overall I’m looking forward to the DLC. I’m definitely rioting if the next civilizations aren’t from Africa or America, though. Those are way overdue for more representation.

Tides of Tomorrow:

I’ve already covered this on Massively, so I’m just adding it for completionism’s sake. I mostly enjoyed Tides of Tomorrow, and I would recommend it, but it wasn’t as special as Road 96, and I did have an issue with the ending (spoiler-filled elaboration on reddit for those interested).

New World:

I dipped back into New World a little bit. I made yet another alt, as I wanted to replay Monarch’s Bluffs (thankfully the game cooperated and landed me there). Since I feel like my time in New World has contributed to my success with Brigitte in Overwatch, I decided to make a character modeled after her. Made her look as similar as I could and gave her a flail/lifestaff build.

Funny thing: New World’s character limit for names isn’t big enough to fit  “Brigitte Lindholm.” It cut me off at “Brigitte Lindho.”

My Brigitte Lindholm doppelganger in New World.WELCOME
LINDHO

I ended up going with “Brigitte Lind.”

Had a lot of fun revisiting Monarch’s Bluffs, but wasn’t sure what to do after that. I do want to play more New World while I still can, but I’ve always struggled to motivate myself in games without clear goals to chase. I’ve already done all the stories in the game, often at least twice, and I don’t really need better gear on my high level characters, especially with the shut down looming.

The Secret World:

My returns to TSW are becoming ever shorter and less frequent, but I did pop in for a couple hours recently. The Dragon alt I have been very slowly leveling since the maintenance mode announcement is closing in on the end of Transylvania. She’s already super OP from all my GM perks, so I’ve started skipping most missions outside the main story.

I did have to do Last Dance of the Padurii. Wasting a gear manager slot on a hinder build you literally only use for one mission is an essential part of the TSW experience.

I'll show you savagery...When the maintenance mode news first came down, I thought the servers would be shuttered before too long, and for whatever reason one of the things that made me saddest was the thought this character would never see Tokyo. I’m now within striking distance of achieving that goal at long last, which feels kind of surreal. There’s still a decent chunk of Transylvania left, but maybe one day soon.

World of Warcraft:

I wasn’t planning to be back in WoW until the next major content patch, but I really wanted the May and June Trading Post stuff, so I ended up burning a WoW Token. I’m not treating it as my main game, though. As this post attests, I’m still playing lots of other things.

There just isn’t much for me to do in WoW right now. I’ve done all current content, and I don’t like most of the tier sets this time around, so there’s not much transmog to chase. I am still enjoying my characters at least. Rogue, monk, and paladin all feel great right now.

Once again I lament WoW’s forced subscription. I honestly quite like having it as a background game I can just pop into now and then, but with the sub it’s just not financially justifiable long term.

My warlock shows off a recent Trading Post outfit in World of Warcraft.Overwatch:

I continue my love/hate relationship with Overwatch. My problem is I really do love the setting and the character design (in all respects — lore, visuals, gameplay), but I’m just not much for competitive games. I don’t really mind losing as long as I don’t feel like I’m the main cause of the loss… but I very often am.

It’s especially frustrating that most of my favourite characters are the ones I’m bad at. After a strong start, Ramattra seems to have turned out to be another character I’m no good with, with my win rate on him having fallen below 50%.

The weird thing is unlike other characters I’ve struggled with, I don’t feel like I’m doing badly when I play Ram. I get lots of kills, don’t die that much, am frequently the MVP by Stadium cash, and get PotG often. The other day I hit 80K cash by round five, which is by far the best I’ve ever done with any character and near double what most of my teammates had (we still lost). By every metric other than the win rate, I’m doing great with Ram, but I guess the win rate is all that matters.

Weirdly I have the opposite issue with Vendetta. I feel like I do nothing but flail and die when I play her, but I have a win rate well above 50% with her… though admittedly I haven’t played her enough to have a strong sample size of matches.

Ramattra busts a move in Overwatch.I may still try a few more matches with Ram to see if I can turn things around, but I’m not optimistic.

I’m still over 65% win rate with Brigitte after around 150 games, which seems absolutely insane to me. I never had anywhere near a win rate that high after so many games on any character in Heroes of the Storm. I usually settled around 52-55% for my mains.

As much as I like Brig, though, I don’t want to be stuck just playing her. I do have good win rates on a few others, but they’re usually characters I’m just not super passionate about. It’s fun playing Sigma now and then, but I’d much rather be D.Va or Ramattra if I’m going to tank. Doesn’t seem fair to my teammates, though, when I have win rates around 48% with those two but over 60% with Sigma.

Het universum zingt voor mij, I guess.

WHAT IS THAT MELODYYou’d think after a year I’d be getting better at this game, but no. It’s hard to get excited about new characters when it’s so unlikely I’ll be any good at them. Shion looks awesome, but gods know when she’ll make it to Stadium, and when she does I’ll probably just suck at her, too.

At least I’ve still got faithful Brigitte. If no one got me, I know mace to the face got me.

Aion: Awakening My Legacy

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As long-time readers may know, Aion is a game for which I have long nursed a special affection, despite its significant flaws and the fact I’ve spent relatively little time playing it. Even so, it had been so many years since I last played I had thought my time with the game done… until I heard of the Awakened Legacy patch, a Cataclysm-style revamp of the entire game.

IT'S SO PRETTYAwakened Legacy is not without its controversy, and I fully understand why, as it not only changes but also straight up removes large swathes of content, but it seemed like an excellent opportunity to give Aion one more chance.

Trying to jump in on my level ~30 character after so many years and so much changes sounded like a recipe for headache, so I decided to start over with a new character on a new server. That said, I was also attached to my ranger, so I took advantage of a very convenient feature that allows me to easily export and import character appearances. I therefore started over with a new ranger who was almost* an exact clone of my original.

*(Since I was back on the character creation screen, I did make some very subtle tweaks, most notably a new hairstyle, but she’s still very recognizable as her old self.)

I have to say I was surprised by how intensely the nostalgia struck me as I returned to the cold woods of Asmodae to familiar music and hearty cries of, “Azphelumbra!”

I’ve said it before, but there is something special about Aion that most other games lack. There is a character to the world, a sense of place. It’s hard to put your finger on, but I think it’s some special alchemy born of the dreamy and colourful environments, the rich backstory, the surreal cosmology, and many small touches that add personality to the experience.

My Asmodian ranger enjoys the snow in AionFor instance, at one point I ventured into an area with heavy snowfall, and my character spontaneously began trying to catch snowflakes and generally frolicking. It was a delightful little vignette, and it makes other games seem terribly lifeless by comparison.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. While much was familiar upon my return to Atreia, it was immediately clear that much had changed.

At some point the starter zones got a complete graphical overhaul, so while Ishalgen is still recognizable as its old self, it looks much, much better. I mean, it was always pretty, but now it’s downright stunning.

I think there may have been some general graphical updates since I last played, too. The lighting seems more dynamic, and I don’t remember there being hair physics before. Low level gear has also been completely redone, and is now almost too pretty. All told, Aion is aging very, very well.

The cosmetic updates are the least of the changes, though. Awakened Legacy has truly rewritten the game.

Aion flightpaths are best flightpathsI’ll say off the bat that I think Aion needed some trimming. It was a slow game with a lot of filler content, a product of an older school of design that has long outstayed its welcome.

That being said, even I balk a bit out how heavily the game has been streamlined. Copious amounts of content have been completely removed, even including entire zones. Leveling has been sped up to an almost absurd degree. I already find myself much more advanced, in both levels and content, than I was on my old character, despite only playing very casually.

Again, I think Aion did need some trimming, and it did need to be sped up. It was much too slow before. But it’s been taken to such an extreme that a lot has been lost in translation.

When I played before, I recall there being a lot of internal intrigue in the Asmodian faction dealing with their oppressive government. It added a lot of depth and nuance to the faction, and it was one of the things that attracted me to the game off the bat.

That’s all gone now. The story is now greatly simplified. As someone who played before and remembers much of that depth, it’s not a crippling flaw, but newcomers to the game will be missing out on a lot of important world-building.

Combat in AionThere are also a lot of gameplay features that seem to have been removed or downplayed. It’s a bit hard to say because I can’t quite tell what all is gone, and what’s just changed. It took me until yesterday to realize that changing gear appearances was still an option but had simply moved from an NPC to a UI menu you can access anywhere. That’s actually a great change, but nothing tells you the feature is there.

By that same token, I honestly can’t tell if crafting and gathering have been removed, are now exclusive to high levels, or if I’m just missing them somehow. I still have an essencetapping skill in my character sheet, and I found some nodes in the housing zone, but they only seemed to drop housing-related currency. Meanwhile the crafting facilities seem removed from cities, and I can’t find gathering nodes in the open world zones I’ve been adventuring in.

Methinks this update may have been a bit rushed.

Group content has also been massively downplayed, at least while leveling. Group quests used to be commonplace (frustratingly so), but as of now I’ve yet to encounter a single group quest, or even a group dungeon. As a mainly solo player, this is no skin off my hide, but even I must admit it feels odd to be level forty in an MMO and not even have the option for group content.

From what I can tell PvP is still crucial to Aion’s endgame, but I haven’t encountered any enemy players while questing so far, despite spending a lot of time in zones that are theoretically contested. I haven’t been prompted to raid Elysea yet, either. Supposedly the new server is a bit under-populated at the moment, so that may be lessening the PvP aspect.

My Asmodian ranger takes flight in AionSome changes are entirely good. There’s now an easy to use waypoint system to port you between quest hubs, which is a massive time-saver. You can also now vendor items directly from your inventory, which took me longer than it should have to realize.

Beyond that, it does remain recognizably Aion. The combat is much as I remember it: the best example of the worst style of MMO combat. It’s a standard tab target system with unchanging rotations, but the animations are flashy and incredibly satisfying, there’s little to no downtime in the rotations, and the chain skill system is oddly compelling to me for some reason.

It’s still too early to say if Awakened Legacy will convert me to a serious Aion player, or whether this will just be another brief flirtation. The grind of kill ten rats quests holds little appeal for me these days, but I don’t have a lot else on my plate, and as I’ve said, I do adore Atreia as a setting, whatever other problems the game may have.