// / 115294517413912425
Tags:
2020s,
collection,
fantasy,
horror,
review,
video games.
I finished Wrath: Aeon of Ruin yesterday and have mixed feelings on it. Some thoughts:
It's a really impressive game. I like the visual and sound design a lot, the dozen-and-a-half monsters are unique and easy to read, the weapons are well-animated and satisfying to use. The soundtrack (by Andrew Hulshult) is great and fits well with the game, all guitar drones and synthesizer.
The level design is both excellent and frustrating. The levels are large - something I like - and often ornate (especially in the first episode / hub). There were a lot of fun arenas and corridors to fight in. The levels all worked as intended, as far as I could tell; I didn't experience any bugs.
I have two big problems with the level design.
1: there was some all-time bad monster placement. In my 20 hours with the game I think there were a half dozen times where enemies appeared around me and instantly killed me, with little possibility for survival. Spawning a high-tier enemy directly behind the player can be amusing or scary the first time it happens, not so much the sixth.
Problem 2: some of the maps punished the player for finding secrets. I can remember one instance where I was low on health and found a secret that gave me health and armor - cool! - only to then die to enemies teleported in around me because I had triggered the secret. What that taught me is to not search for secrets, to avoid exploring the maps.
Wrath is a game made by developers, mappers, and modelers from the Quake 1 singleplayer modding community. The problems I have with Wrath are problems I also have with many Q1SP community maps.
I really, really want to like the game more than I do. The player is fun to control, the arsenal is fun to wield, and the enemies (when placed well) are fun to fight. It's a fun game to to play. Unfortunately it crosses the line from challenging into frustrating one too many times for me.
I think I would enjoy the game more on a second playthrough. Like many games like this once you know where the instant death hazards are it becomes more fun to play.
