Ruminating on Reminiscence

Last time, on Active Time Event Z!(?)


Guys, my post about hell related activities was two posts ago…

My intent in breaking down a flashback/retrospective into multiple parts mid-story was not entirely hellish in motivation, but is exactly the kind of nonsense anime would in fact pull. I want to say Naruto did it so infamously, I seem to recall them referencing the very same episode they were still in *with a fucking flashback*.


Anyone want to break the news to him?

Having a healthy sense of self-awareness is key in the creative process I find, and I didn’t mind splitting my reflections between two different posts. Firstly, because I was already happy with the amount of content I got out of part one, but secondly, I did in fact wait too long between writing the piece, and editing and formatting it yesterday, finding me essentially running out of time to get the post up before midnight. The whole thing worked out in the end, but let it never be said that sometimes, no amount of crunch is going to help you finish the fight in time.


*Sets alarm to go off for three years later*

So I push on into part two of reflecting on further extrapolation involving recent gaming fumblings and writing endeavors abound.

Next up on the list was a piece entitled “Rhythm and Flow“, and like many articles I’ve “keyed”, the final product in no way, shape, or form resembled what I had set out to do. My introduction and very title of the article itself was suppose to be a ramp up and direct reference to my time with Necrodancer, which I will be getting to here shortly. While I did touch upon Multiversus again (I’ll spare you the indignities of smut related Scooby Doo photos this time around), I more or less just discussed writing about games…in my writing about games, the article not really focusing on anything but itself and the process. Kind of a self-referential nothingness that made up the core backbone of the concept at hand.


That something of nothingness, as it were

Which is fine enough, as I love talking shop and the behind the scenes involving the process…and beyond the very ideas of the games themselves. I guess my only surprise is the articles I have written this year, which have kind of more or less detailed the process of writing about games, and the personalization of the matter through a more active voice in the process, have ended up being more popular, which comes as a pleasant surprise. I think even outside the insanely twisted world of narcissistic intent or the demented trappings that may drive an egoist, one still remains keen on hearing their work is of worthwhile pursuit, or at the very least of some relevantly entertaining quality.


Which doesn’t always turn out to be the case, I hear

Which finally does bring me to my thoughts on Necrodancer, which definitely were amongst some of my more complex imaginations involving my recent gaming musings. I haven’t played a game in a grand while which kind of had me rethinking the very essence of my being, in a sense, which is downright mad in some ways, as the game isn’t really intended to be a thinking man’s gaming. Not to say it’s a dumb experience at all, I gave the title props overall for it’s sense of solid decency in paying tribute to the gaming giants of yore that had inspired it. Necrodancer is just a very gamey game, in a sense. You really have to feel it instead of think it, the title possessing a strong sense of what I refer to as “finger feel”. If you’re familiar with the idea of “mouth feel” and how that relates to one’s personal experience, you get a sense of what I’m alluding to.


Though I understand why the phrasing may evoke more illicit
connotations for some

All of that and more is why I felt utterly compelled to discuss the game at greater length, as I was just so baffled at how a game, which I accredit as possessing what I feel has an objective kind of quality about it, ends up being one I am seemingly not particularly fond of, but then felt the need to play for over a hundred hours across the last five months. So many mixed messages, and to what point and purpose am I so perplexedly wrapped up in this paradoxical web Necrodancer has so superbly crafted with which to ensnare me?


Tootsie pop levels of existentialist dread is what we are
confronted with here

I’m still not entirely sure how to distill the essence of my issues involving Necrodancer down to their finer elements, but I was lucky enough to happen upon a passage from Being and Nothingness that helped in assisting me make sense of it all. The tome in question details many thoughts relating to existentialism from philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, and the example he gives that relates to Necrodancer and I is essentially a process of becoming: the self continually having the freedom in how it will define itself, and that is through the essence of moments and projects one could even consider a mission of sorts. Nearly a compartmentalization involving a process akin to self-actualizing, which I quite like. Cause whether it be a concept like Necrodancer, or a sentient entity like a me, we aren’t ever all good or bad at any given moment, but we are always becoming more of the what-we-end-up-being, which is indeed a continued intensification of the greyest variety.

Though, such an abstract take away likely wouldn’t fly for what would be in consideration as a “legitimate” game review, let alone a fetching splash quote you emblazon on the metaphysical back of the box with.


“The ideal experience for any gamer who wasn’t sure whether
or not they were.” ~Pashford Murano

I realized I’m speaking about a couple of different articles here interchangeably, so apologies for the confusion. My series of articles entitled “Fire in the Disco“, “Existential Elegy“, and “Radical Hyrule Rhythm” all kind of represent distinct structural attempts in terms of writing approach, in making up some faux trilogy of Necrodancer inspired thoughts. “Disco” being my usual ranty off the cuff Op-Ed where the goal is improvisationally charged, gonzo fueled deconstructionist madness, “Elegy” being a more straight faced dressing down of analytical nature, and “Radical” being the most basically structured piece of traditional gaming journalism. I realize “Radical” is indeed detailing Cadence of Hyrule and not Necrodancer itself, but you can see the relation as to why something with so much rizz was included in the grand scheme of things.

That screenshot is not even from the right Zelda game!
Who’s editing this?

I did also write a buffer segway entitled “Legend of Being Tired“, which was a result of me genuinely not knowing if I wanted to publish “Elegy” without any jokes or attempts of humor imbued in the piece what so ever, as I really had never done so before (intentionally) with any of my other writing. I therefore had to write a quickie in order to meet my currently working quota of a write up a day, without spoiling the idea of finalizing an article without the need to crutch on jokes, and see if the piece stood by itself sans punchlines or visual gags. The final pieces all help to flesh out some great ideas in a fashionably multi-dimensional kind of way, so I remain happy at the execution there after.


A surprisingly common happening when the Legend of Zelda
is involved

While I am not done discussing the complex inner turmoil Necrodancer has spawned within me, we will put the matter to bed for the present time and forge on to other recent reminiscences. Some of my last write ups were of a briefer nature; my quickie on The First Descendant underscored just how blatantly uninspired GaaS experiences can be, with the barest of bones bog standard looter shooter title that wants you to cough up dough on it’s fugly design and mind-numbing tedium without giving you absolutely any motivation to do so. I was wondering if I would even summon the energy to force myself into justifying another moment of energy wasted on the ill-conceived monstrosity, but considering I basically struggled to make it through even the first hour of gameplay upon my initial test drive, I think this flop is as good as parked.


Pictured: Somehow related

I did originally report on a new trailer for a Doom 1+2 bundle that was showcased at Quakecon recently as having a load of new features being available, including a new chapter: Legacy of Rust. I was operating under the impression all of this was going to be retroactively patched into other versions of Doom 1 and 2 ports already available, but I may have been incorrect about that assessment, as my digital copies of both remain unaltered. I will happily purchase the bundle if need be, as there are few delights in gaming life that match the splendor and smell of fresh hell to liven up the morning.


These guys know what I’m talking about

Wrapping up, I did indeed provide another update on my thoughts involving Multiversus, but I feel as if we’ve covered the topic as extensively as need be and or as much as anyone would want…outside of the sickened machinations and indignities involved with the perversity of the Scooby Doo fandom.


Scooby, Don’t

Leaving us with my last article I wrote that we can reflect on, entitled Reflecting on Reflection…


(Kidding)

~Pashford

Reflecting on Reflection

My writing output as of late has been one of a satisfying nature. I’m usually of the mind to better source old adages and or provide anecdote involving idioms of relevant worth in context, but as of this moment, my historical frame of reference fails me entirely. However, I feel as if my return to creative form reminds me of the notion that one may begin, but that does not mean one has truly started yet.


Always have an inside horse

With all of that said, while the creative faucet is certainly turned on, that does not mean it is always flowing full blast. To that point, since my writing is so heavily contingent on the games I play or the ideas I may have of those experiences there after, I am always on the hunt for worthy contenders of conceptual consequence, as not all games are created equally on the battlefield of intellectual endeavor. A further addendum to such an acknowledgment involves the generated excitement I may have when I’m able to get a little more mileage out of already played titles, as I may take another look back at what has been, in possibly new and interesting ways.


Probably for the best I keep putting off my replay of Desert Bus

I will now take a moment to reflect upon my reflecting, as I look back at the past week or so of gaming engagement, and see what distance and time has done in the name of my own attentive efforts. I’ll start off by apologizing for immediately lying to you, as I am reaching back as far as late July instead of just the past week, as I took a lengthy hiatus between my Pokémon “museum and paradox” article pairings, and returned with a non-technical review of a game named Wallachia: Reign Of Dracula. Which, as I felt the need to emphatically remind the reading audience of, was not in fact, a Castlevania game.


And if you can’t fashion your own pikes for mass impalement, store bought is fine

All in good humor of course, as I ended up enjoying the title quite a lot, inspite of Wallachia having very little to do in terms of gameplay feel with it’s apparent inspirations. Overall, a weird myriad of glitches, lack of QoL features, and a shallow variety of gameplay hurt the title, but not to the point of being irredeemable. I also find it very bizarre after the fact, and still randomly think about how you can’t quit to the title screen from the pause menu in Wallachia, you kind of just have to lie down and…slowly die to do so.


No worries guys, this is the fastest way home, I swear.

I was curious what the developer of Wallachia (Migami Games) was up to, and according to the platform formerly known as Twitter, they have a trailer for a new game coming out called Chronicles of the Wolf. The trailer looks decidedly way more Castlevaniaey, and one which you can view here:

We invite you to try a little demo of our upcoming game Chronicles of the Wolf on steam! Please try it and wishlist! Thank you so much! 🐺♥️

Download here:https://t.co/G1BxaYWL5h

We really appreciate it!#steamnextfest #Steam #SteamDeck #metroidvania #indiegame #RETROGAMING pic.twitter.com/wzxTGv79s3

— Migami Games (@Migami_Games) October 13, 2023

I also put forth the notion of whether or not in the wake of the whole Wallachia affair, in which the game doesn’t involve any actual vampiring to speak of, whether or not the vampire genre as a whole hasn’t at this point just fallen into the same stylistic trappings of either needing to be camp or parody in order to survive. Think in the vein of the B-movie paradox, where the more idealized a B-movie in quality becomes the worse it gets which makes it better?


I’m smiling just considering the absurdity

I happened upon Alisa next, and was quite happy with the luck in doing so, as I remember thinking just the day prior I should perhaps mosey on back to Raccoon City for some good old fashioned ADA, WAIT!-ing, which was the style back in the day. Alisa was a died in the wool Resident Evil clone full stop, and I loved every minute of it. Unlike Wallachia, which I did end up loving enough to get all trophies for just recently, I have yet to pick up the full copy of Alisa after my psuedo-preview of sorts, but that is solely a financial issue, and not one of resistance to the game itself, despite some fairly fucking horrific faux pas in voice acting.


Alisa’s VA work being a truly strong reminder that god is dead

The games tongue and cheek awareness is nothing short of divinity, truth be told. Looks like the developer, Casper Croes, is still releasing updates to the title via Steam, and generally has an energetic online presence in discussing the development process. Perhaps when I finally get my hands on the full game, I’ll write a follow up. If nothing else, I’m positively psyched we have arrived at the moment where 90’s era titles fall comfortably into the camp of nostalgia, and continue to do their due diligence in reminding the new generation of what games were like way back in the 20th century.


Seen here: The average age of one of my readers, likely sharing
an old story about an ancient piece of tech called the N64

Next up I stumbled upon the star-studded crossover known as Multiversus, in all of it’s unfortunate fixation on a financially fueled foundation. While I will defend the title in being of the more attractive outings during Sony’s “Free to play Festival”, the title at it’s core is a bog standard GaaS experience, and the grind wall that comes with it. I won’t go on too much more about the game, as my post from yesterday (which dlightly of inspired this one, actually), kind of broke down the nitty gritty of how you can have a fun game, but if you’re forcing your players to endlessly grind to unlock or purchase even the most basic of elements of said game, you’re going to make the player base feel like they’re choking down on what has been served to them.


Not unlike the gagging that goes on between Scooby and Shaggy
when they share a deep throat together

Shaggy is a playable character in Multiversus, by the way.

Overall, it seems as if the game has received a mostly positive response, which I tended to lean towards as well, so I feel as if everyone is kind of on the same page; not totally in love with the story beats, but has kept reading along anyways. Player First Games is still doing regular news updates over on their site as well as with new content for the game, and with it’s free to play nature, it would be very easy to pass your own judgements with no money down…just don’t expect much of an easy, bump free ride thereafter.

It’s going to be a real grind.


They really screwed the pooch on the financial aspects of Multiversus

This will now be the second time I’ve had to apologize for lying to you. Not for the attempts at implicit softcore Scooby Doo porn mind you, but in reference to my own machinations involving leaving the audience desiring more and the delightfully impactful contrast that an abrupt ending brings with it.

To be continued.

~Pashford

Dollars to Downloads

I’ve been feeling gratified of my writing output recently, maybe more so in reference to my abysmal output years prior, in what seemed like a misplaced attempt at an early retirement. If not that, then it at least seemed like due to my lack of activity, I had embraced the notion of what others had done before me, and join the the Hutt Palace Collection as my new aspirational goal in trying to get out of the game.


It really ties the room together

While my goal to write consistently was true indeed, it was certainly *not* aiming to the lofty heights of the every day, which I have successfully ended up doing so. I am, more so than most, deeply aware of just how untenable this schedule will be in the long run, and represents a laughable effort in terms of continued sustainability, but I will keep on striking while the creative irons are hot, and until I completely run out of Steam.


Speaking of which…note to self: writing ideas=Valve?

Since I have recently reacquired a laptop after an embarrassing amount of time of not being computer capable, even going so far as to having written posts earlier this year on a phone and a Bluetooth keyboard like an absolute mad lad, it was clear to me then at that point the writing hunger had grown monstrous, and the beast needed to be fed thusly. Since ATE has always represented a bastion of a gaming variety, the fuel to my fire is indeed gaming itself, in all of it’s humdrum glory. Not every game nor lived day can be an absolute banger though, so we have to take the good with the bad as they come…


Word on the Gotham streets ain’t promising these days, I hear

Also coming to terms now that since this isn’t a compensated gig anymore, obtaining titles is all on me, and could be quite the schlep, in terms of finding new titles to play and write about, especially when one is flat broke. The PS4 has had a mini-fest of sorts to that point, which has shined a spotlight on many of their free to play titles, which has helped ease the burden of finding some interesting writing material in which to be inspired by. The first of which was attempting to get invested in the Warner Bros backed game Multiversus, which was kind of a Smash clone involving big name characters beating the ever loving crap out of each other.


It’s always Rabbit Season when you’re playing Multiversus

The game had a predictable pedigree about it, as the gameplay ended up being competent, if not a touch too floaty. Inspite of that, the design machinations of the moment to moment were fine enough however, enjoyment of Multiversus was mucked up more so by the the GaaS proclivities that ended up being the biggest wedge of enjoyment, as most of the unlockables, including the majority of the roster, were hiding behind a grindwall, and only a load of hours or money poured into the experience would net you new goodies. I realized after my write up I hadn’t done too much of a follow up to Multiversus, which is essentially required in this day and age for a myriad of technical reasons, especially those of the GaaS variety, as what was true at launch may no longer be true down the road. Hell, even a major update in some instances can completely morph the entire experience into something wholly transcendent, GaaS game or not.


Speaking of a game that greatly benefitted from
a good old fashioned phoenix down…

Which is a double edged sword of course, as it allows devs to get product out the door more quickly, which cuts down on crunch and improves quality of life for them as well, making the triple A model of gaming somewhat rational in the idea of possibly sane sustainability. The downside is games often launch in an incomplete fashion, or limp from launch to only a competent crawl in the first six months, to mostly polished but somewhat rough around the edges by the end of year one in a lot of cases. Other factors prop up as well, as rotating content and updates can change the very nature of the title at the drop of a hat. For example, even the starting roster I wrote about when initially playing Multiversus just a week ago has already changed it up, which could very well affect a person’s decision to even touch the title, based on their biases and preferences there in.


Rotating rosters=head spinning

That last note of concern is a big one, and certainly a point of contention I hope Player First Games irons out sooner than later. Even aside from the unfortunate amount of time and or money involved just getting the base level of content for the game, they haven’t a snowballs chance in hell in being a viable alternative to Smash as long as they let their overbearing transactional nature rule their player bases day. Even something as simple as having considering buying the Iron Giant last week, now to get to try him for free and realize I wouldn’t have liked him that much as a playable character is just one of many follies that comes with a roster hidden behind a grind wall.


EA: Record holder for most downvoted comment of all time

Even Nintendo has jumped on the bandwagon in some fashion, with many of their free to play titles coming in the form of multiplayer only iterations of some of their biggest hits (F-Zero 99, Tetris 99, Super Mario 35). Of course, they’re still doing it in Nintendo fashion, so the titles core gameplay is left intact, with no need for battle passes being involved, nor digging deep into your pockets for skins and the like to milk you like the cash cow you are just to have a cool looking fucking hat or something. Though I maintain that Nintendo remain cowards for having taken down Super Mario 35 some time ago, which remains baffling to me to this day. The server costs to keep it up couldn’t have been that grandiose, could they? Hell, that was one example of a free to play game being so good, I would have happily coughed up some dough to keep that whole project going, and I’m not even saying that because I did the impossible and even one once.


Why do you hate money sometimes, Nintendo?

There is no ultimate point I was trying to make here, whether it be free to play games, or more transactional heavy GaaS titles, the gaming industry keeps evolving, and has to continually find new ways to refine the market, as it were. Whether it be from the quarter swallowing machines from the arcade yesteryear, to mobile games and their micro transactions, to season passes to unlock the newest updated content, we as consumers will always have to navigate the minefield of intolerance, to see where the traps lay hidden.

~Pashford

Rhythm and Flow

I’ve been making a concerted effort of writing on a more regular basis as of late, as I feel the need to clear my head while putting my feet to the fire in some abstract attempt at appeasing an amorphous, other worldly force that demands writing sacrifice to keep the cosmic clock ticking.


Even if that sometimes takes the form of making dick jokes
about Hanna-Barbera characters

To that point, I have been enjoying my time with Multiversus, which I wrote about recently. I casually referred to the write up as a “preview”, due to a couple of contentious factors that left me not knowing how else to refer to the article all together. The game is free to play, and always updating, so what I even experienced and wrote about may not even be 100% accurate in the future with more changes inevitably to come. As mentioned, the title is free to play, also making needless the goal of attempting to help consumers make an informed decision with their wallets, as trying the damn thing is free for fuck sake, leaving me kind of riffing on what is essentially a no-risk stakes battle of curious proportions.

It’s a shippers wet dream up in the Multiversus, honestly

That is where things get hard for me (err, not about erotic fan fiction, just to clarify), but about writing output after the fact. Back in the old days, when I use to get paid to do this, it was more just pushing myself to report news and forge through product on a regular basis with the idea of topicality and deadlines to follow. Now that I’m just writing for funsies, it’s a bit more difficult to churn through game after game, kind of changing the rhythm and flow of the whole dynamic. Not only am I not receiving product on a regular basis to go through, I’m also flat broke, so the stuff I’m going to play is free to play stuff like Multiversus, or games I’m probably already interested in, which will make the deconstructionism involved the experience probably a bit more safely optimistic, leading to possibly by the numbers outcomes of predictably obviously uninspired conclusions.

Wow, the mid-thirties something gamer is a fan of Gen 1 in the Pokémon series?
Shocking I say!

More my point than anything is that keeping a steady pacing on this kind of output can be challenging, all things considered. Where I thought by playing smaller experiences or doing previews, my hope is that I would have some kind of quicker rapport with the experience before moving on. That intention ended up being the complete opposite of what has occurred, as me not wanting to make my replay of Let’s Go Eevee “a thing”, ended up having me play multiple games to finish the Pokedex, my review for Wallachia (which is definitely not a Castlevania game) has me now hunting for all the trophies, and my quick preview of Multiversus turning into a daily jaunt of looney tunesesque proportions.

*Sweating* Gonna have to start turning tricks like it’s a back alley in Albuquerque to afford
all of the alternate skins for Mulitversus characters at this rate

More to my point, my write ups on ATE in recent days have been with the focus on something more digestible; not everything has to be a near five hour video essay on the ethical indignities involving the Sonic the Hedgehog series or a twenty six part series on the possible sexual proclivities of the Kingdom Hearts series.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that

I just don’t think I have that kind of energy within my being, truth be told. Shorter form affairs keep me well enough engaged, which ends up being a good thing, as the only way I’ve been able to make all of the writing work recently is with more free time, which is a happening that is soon to come to an end. It all works out, as I’ve been wanting to do more impromptu and decisive thoughts involving gaming, which makes the process of sharing thoughts less daunting than say, pouring fifty plus hours into a title, spending hours after that thinking about it, hours more yet writing it, and then hours afterwards lamenting I simply don’t have the time for anything except bitching about not having more time.

If only LEGO Doctor Who…if only

So yes, expect more brilliance ahead, albeit in bite sized format. I’ve tossed around ripped from the headlines as a regular go to for awhile now, and there are yet games I’ve been enjoying which I’ve been bafflingly mum about. I also teased a write up forever ago teasing Resident Evil 4, which I never got to, and since I am as if Sisyphus rolling the rock known as RE4 forever up the hill till time immemorial, I have little doubts I will refuse to struggle the steep ascent once more…

…cause you got to keep on rolling.

~Pashford

Fighting the Urge to Cash In

As previously mentioned in my last post, my appetite for gaming far outweighs the contents of my wallet, which has made me seek refuge in questionably viable locations of sanctuary.


Like next to these guys, for example

With that in mind, I have been forced to rely on more accessible means to get some fuel to keep the gaming fire roaring, so I have recently had to consider some titles within the spectrum of the GaaS (games as a service) variety to keep nice and warm. One such game that I had forgotten existed, but had some interest in based on my own gaming proclivities is Multiversus, a free to play Warner Bros backed Smash clone that prides itself on the insane crossovers found within.


Christmas came early for Rule 34 artists

Alright, and that was the preview for Multiversus, which is now available for digital download on various gaming platforms. Enjoy the looneyness!

~Pashford



























Of course, I jest. I did feel the need to be sassy however, as I grapple with the reality of so many different facets of writing a preview (of sorts) for what is ostensibly a free download that is indeed a Smash clone. Most of the information of what you’d need is purdy much right there, but in this day and age of gaming, things are just a touch queerer than they use to be, for better or worse.


Thinking back, forget I said anything about queerness being a topical affair

A lot of what makes this game tick is indeed borrowed, but I’m not necessarily chastising the title in any fierce way about it. In the spirit of it taking cues from Smash Bros, the only way it could have gone wrong was hyping itself up as the Smash killer, which was some popular go to shit talking back in the days of more heated console wars. Just because games like Street Fighter 2, GTA 3, or Halo 1 struck gold with a successful formula, doesn’t mean others are banned from having a crack at it. But, in harkening back to an old adage, if you aim for the king, you better not miss.


Or at least miss so bad you become the king of doing so

With that said, Multiversus’ aim is true, even if it isn’t using the highest caliber ammo. Much like Smash, you want to inflict damage upon opponents to increase their HP, in which you can then progressively send them flying farther and farther until finally you launch them careening of the screen. Simple gameplay mechanics, but effective ones. Part of the alluring charm of the Smash Bros approach has always been the bare bones basic mentality of easily approachable gameplay, and Multiversus stays true to this mentality.


When theory and execution join forces, it’s simply smashing

Much like Smash, you have a cast of characters coming equipped with their own personal flair involving move sets. Bugs has got the power of the toonforce, Batman is Batmanning, Jason Vorhees has hilariously over the top and totally inappropriate moves if you know what movies their referenced from. Since it’s WB, you have a pretty awesome stable of characters to choose from, with some pleasant surprises in the form of the Stripe from Gremlins, Samurai Jack, Stephen Universe, and even the Iron Giant.


Multiversus would have immediately garnered an M rating if they were scene accurate in recreating some of Jason’s moveset.

Though, if you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’re wondering why did X character get picked and not Y character? C’est la vie, though i’m sure there is no reasonable world between development time, voice actor cost, and game balance could you ever get a fully fledged roster WB would be able to back. The mind reels trying to conjure the selection screen.


Though Mugen does an adequate job in showcasing what a WB fighting game character selection screen would look like if they offered the full breadth of variety from their entire cinematic backlog…Multiversus 2: now featuring Chariot Racing Horse #7 from 1959 adventure classic Ben-Hur

So the core gameplay loop is pretty much Smash in a nutshell. I know I seem to be on a kick of comparison as of late, but I can’t help but feel it to be an easy bridge of communication to shorthand what you will be getting into. I think the irony of the methodology in doing so is telling in so far as what it ends up doing in reference to the qualitative purposes of propping up the game in question, and I think strictly speaking, Multiversus actually gains more than it loses in terms of good will to be mentioned in the same breath as Smash, truth be told.


They definitely have the quality of star power to compete with Nintendo at the very least, unlike the quality of this image that is trying to convey that very point

With the ability to do all manner of solo, team, or free-for-all battles, either through couch co-op (local only), single player bot matches, multiplayer online, and even a light story mode thrown into the mix to try and present some kind of narrative hook, the game has a relatively varied set of gameplay options for being a free to play game. The catch of course with GaaS is that to unlock the majority of the more interesting content, you’re going to have to pony up some dough.


A reminder of what Chariot Racing Horse #7 looks like from 1959 adventure classsic Ben-Hur in case anyone was still thinking about it from two screenshots ago

As with any fighting game, you’ll be wanting to unlock characters to expand your roster, and like most GaaS titles, it will come at a cost. Whether it be a hefty amount of grinding in-game missions (stuff as simple as wining matches), or dropping some cold hard real life dosh, any character among the several dozen will need some spit shine to attain. I will say I was able to purchase my first character (with in game currency, not real world money) in what felt like only a couple hours of play, which was a little relieving, as each character by themselves cost about 5 real world bucks to obtain. Yes, there are bundles and the like that help subsidize the cost by having multiple characters included, and the real world currency equivalent for the game, gleamium, is usually thrown in to sweeten the deal to get cosmetics and the like, but no one in the multiverse is going to be psyched to hear they would have to drop more than $100 just to get access to the core content of the game, and a greater selection than just the five initial fighters to choose from (Black Adam, Bugs, Finn, Jason, and Shaggy).


Cause we all just live in the Memeiverse now, apparently

I suppose I should mention that like other GaaS games, there is a battlepass you can buy for 10 bucks, which gives you an unlockable character to start, a chance to access a whole host of unlockables through mission awards during the current season, and what looks to be the equivalent gleamium to get the next battlepass for free, which means you can get the ball rolling on unlocking some of the more interesting bits which will eventually feed into unlocking the battlepass for the next season without charge. Definitely a mix of grindy gameplay tactics vs financial strife involving content which would be included for free with other fighting game titles from the start, so it does feel like a lot to swallow in a less than palatable manner.


Like the greasy equivalent of sucking down a load of wieners

So predictably, I like most of the gaming bits of the GaaS experience, but none of the transactionary nature involved with the progress. One of the big hooks as to what makes GaaS titles so viable is there ability to become viral enough to want to urge players to opt in, like having your friends join you in your quest to dominate the online playing field or showing off your cool event SWAG as you rock faces online. Multiversus needs to tighten up it’s progression system/financial machinations to have even a shadow of a chance at trying to wear the same crazy mask of success Smash has enjoyed all these years.


Not all of us have the power to be possessed by a god and rob a bank to afford life’s little pleasures, you know

Having said all of that though, I ended up enjoying what was on offer, which as a GaaS detractor, Smash enthusiast, and general cynic in terms of shallow commercialistic cash grabs, kind of shocked me. You’d think I would be more than happy to drag the game through the mud for it’s wanton display of financially aggressive behavior, completely disregard the core content for it’s floatier imitation of Smash’s tighter controls , and be repulsed by the cheap usage of pop culture references to make a buck. But you know, the whole things ends up actually kind of working, in a fun, fast-casual charmingly engaging regard.

And while at the end of the day, it may not be Smash, it is ultimately some free entertainment.

~Pashford