that was cute, honestly! loved it!
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oh my God. I dont even know if I can put every incredible moment I just read into words. I can't help but just sit here, astounded.
chapter 2 spoilers/////
It's so difficult to even start with anything specific because there's just so many scenes that really just have everything going for them. Scenes where the music manages to not only set the mood for the moment, but also heightens those really intense emotions. I tell you, when Riley got into Graham's car, I was just like, "Oh, he must be giving him a ride home or something. Clearly. Obviously." and then the music kicked in and my jaw Dropped. The music made the scene feel electric, visceral almost. Another scene that really uses the music to it's full potential is absolutely Eliza's intro. The pure dread of seeing that red-cloaked figure at the top of the stairs with this almost chase-like music slowly fading in. Boy, That Makes You Feel Things. Finally seeing this character, who you've only seen as a kid or mentioned in conversation before this scene, be such an incredibly imposing figure is such an intense moment. Honestly, just such an unparalleled character intro. When she threatens to take off the rest of Riley's hand and leaves the reader wondering what she means, only for Riley to later show off exactly that when he gets angry at Ranzo, such a good reveal honestly. After that happened, the speed of which I went searching through every earlier cg or any character portraits with Riley's left hand in it before this scene was so fast. That entire thing is just such a good reveal. To get back to the music, anytime that the Keles track (I hope whatever happened at Keles Rock was worth the fireworks and fingers.) comes on makes that scene about 10x more powerful. That absolutely haunting choir or the spine-chilling gurdy makes whatever scene it's on feel like it's life or death, and whenever core/inner Riley talks during these moments, man, that's when I really get chills. God, I haven't even talked about how much I love ward, exile, and scorn yet (Another quick mention is when you finish reading Ranzo's Dad's journal and Riley has to quickly cover his tracks with Ranzo right outside the door, that music makes you Tense).
One of my favorite games is Disco Elysium, easily one of the best written games that I've played Ever, and the Riley Mind Kids just scream DE with every line. You can never have enough DE in your writing, I say. The addition of these specialized inner thoughts elevates the writing by so much. That might just be my bias speaking, but I love whenever a piece of media really lets you see into the protagonist's mind, giving you front row seats to every little conflicting thought they have. Exile showing off Riley's yearning to keep in contact and stay close with his friends, that want to just have fun and be happy, pulls at my heartstrings so badly. Ward being this kind of protective thought, the part of your mind that warns you to stay out of trouble as well as the reassuring thoughts, the calm moments where you say to yourself that you know you can get through this. A kind of self-preservative logic. Scorn being this voice of scrutinization, always second guessing the intents of other people and criticizing Riley's own actions. what a dickhead. Then there's core, man, do I love core. Core reminds me the most of DE, specifically those short, bone-chilling, quick statements from the emotions like Inland Empire or Shivers. These small, cryptic, foreboding ideas that leave you wondering what the Hell they mean. A favorite moment of mine is when, right before Riley blacks out, it says, "Too close." like it's recalling something, an all too familiar memory. Probably the most memorable line from it being during the argument near the end, where it practically screams "Don't talk to me like that!". Christ. That entire scene is just, so, so good. This is already so long, but I can't help myself from mentioning the scene where you essentially choose your route. The way Scorn tells you to make a connection right here, right now, or it's essentially over, leading into Ward asking you who you're gonna choose, feels absolutely gut-wrenching. It's like Riley is reaching out to one last person, trying in a last-ditch effort to keep somebody, anybody, at least one person, close to him, like he's at the end of his line and needs a life raft. I'm already writing my own novel here, so I'll keep the next bits short and get to my main point here.
The art's pretty! Really pretty! Every background feels like a place I've been to before and somewhere I'd love to visit again. The character portraits are mythical almost, like they're the way Riley envisions a person's face in his mind's eye. The sprites are expressive and lively, the drunk sprites being a really cool addition that really makes all the scenes they're in pop and makes them memorable.
The characters feel like real people! It's obvious they have years of memories together just from the way they talk and banter with each other. They clearly have more to them than just what they show to their friends as well, like Ranzo's bad feeling he gets that makes him feel like he's causing all these terrible things to happen (Is this an actual, real, kind of psychic feeling or is it just Ranzo looking back at traumatic moments and feeling like he should've done something? I dunno! And that's fun!) or his abundance of family problems, red riding hood included. Basically, can't wait to see all the little intricacies and problems all the characters have. Lovely stuff!
Riley is an artist who doesn't see any value in his creations. He says they're nothing special, rubbish, even. I think the point I'm trying to get at here is that Dawntide is like... really good art. Incredible, even. Not even two updates in and this game's writing, art, and music has blown my mind every step of the way. I haven't even talked about how much I love the incredibly vivid, poetry-like observations of the surroundings or the setting, that of which feels like it's in the middle of collapse, with countless shops going out of business, yet still feels like home. I already have to zoom out to see my entire post, so I won't go on any further. Really good game. keep up the good work <3