Update Two Hundred: 22 July 2018
The Sexy Brutale
6.9 hours, 18 of 18 achievements
7.5/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Oh my god, hey, it’s been 84 years.
Okay, okay, more like two weeks. But it’s FELT like 84 years. Full-time work is still something I’m getting used to, I’ve been in an out of the doctor’s office multiple times in the past month (ohhh I just want it to be over, but there’s more aggravation to come), AND we’ve only just finished renovating the inside of our home. That’s the meh news.
The great news? This new computer is the shit. Thank you so, so so so so much to BLAEO users Formidolosus, MsKotor, and Fallen Kal in particular for not only getting me more up to speed about hardware, but helping me find a computer I’m in love with. The switchover was lightning fast, and the difference is staggering. I love my new laptop!
Beyond running FF12 like a dream and making me notice that apparently my old laptop couldn’t even run VNs like SeaBed without lagging, my girlfriend and I could play the Sexy Brutale the way it was meant to be played, with no hanging and no problems. We finished it today!
I’m going to be up front - I don’t think I would’ve finished the game if it weren’t for my girlfriend. She was the one playing it this time around, and I took up the navigator’s position, keeping track of collectibles and having guides and vids open in case she got stuck (which was rare). I really disliked the timing component and that made the game un-fun for me to play, even though I knew I could just restart again and again. It goes to show, though, that you can get something out of a game even without playing—especially if it’s a genre or gameplay convention you dislike. Watching Madison bob and weave through rooms and madcap dash through areas, exploring the hell out of everything let me enjoy it along with her, without me having to experience the time pressure.
It took me a while to get into the game, but by the later stages I was about what was going on - I was getting into it. I was putting the pieces together and finally starting to care about the teeny tiny big-headed people I had a hard time seeing. And then, uh… the final… twist happened. Let’s just say I didn’t care for it when BioShock: Infinite did it, and I don’t care for it now. It was a moment of stank-faced ‘yeah? Okay….’ that soured the final experience.
That seems to be my biggest takeaway from the game - everything ALMOST good, ALMOST coming together, and then just… not. The animation is fluid, and the art design is wonderful, and the character design is unique and expressive… but the isometric perspective has it as such a remove I have a hard time parsing things, and everything becomes visual noise. The story is layered and subtle and finely interwoven… but the repetition of trying to find it all becomes too trying. I’m rating it as high as I did, though, because I think a lot of what I dislike about it is a ‘me’ thing, if that makes sense?
God this is so disjointed. This is what happens when I don’t write reviews for two whole weeks!
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Since dear, sweet Madison was actually playing the game, I wanted to give her column space to write her own review. Here she is:
“Heeyyyyyyy friends of BLAEO! I do indeed have my own account now but that’s only really to comment and interact with you lovely folks, I’m not a big Steam gamer (I am currently, for instance, occupied with Octopath Traveler for the Switch!) so I ain’t gonna post much, if at all.
BUT ANYWAYS I helped my wonderful girlfriend finish Sexy Brutale and we both wanted to type up somethin’ for you! So hey!
I give Sexy Brutale a 7.5/10! I almost, ALMOST want to go to 8, but there are things holding me back. But let me assure you that it is indeed really good! I’ve been hearing a lot of hype for it, and the hype is well deserved. Cool mechanics, a really neat aesthetic, fun puzzles, goodies to collect, a story that actually begins and ends, it’s good shit!
Some people would say that exploration isn’t a puzzle mechanic, but I would DEFINITELY say Sexy Brutale proves them wrong! These aren’t ‘puzzles’ in your traditional round peg–>circle hole sense, these are puzzles about logic and timing. To get through this game you need to understand how the environment works, how the people within it move and act, and in what ways you can best change the scenario that you will see played out time and time again!
The characters you interact with and save are varied and interesting indeed, and I admit I did really like Trinity, Willow, and Greyson and Redd. (Greyson/Redd 4 lyfe, they are such boyfriends)The heart of the story was…. something indeed. Honestly, the story is what is holding me back from giving this a higher score– anything that ends with it was in your head all along! Oooooh! doesn’t inspire total confidence in me.
And while I liked the aesthetic overall, the way they chose to render human faces was… Hhrrrm… It reminded me of like, clay stop motion dolls and not in a good way.
But like I said- it’s a good game with fun puzzles, a nice difficulty spike, and really trippy, mind-bending moments. Definitely check it out if you have the chance!”
Ain’t she somethin’?
Next up: I’ve been playing this game for two weeks but here’s the official announcement. Who’s thrilled? I’m thrilled!
See you soon!
Congratulations on the upgrade. Can you see sounds yet? :v Maybe not that technologically advanced yet. I have seen a few people enjoy the Sexy Brutale, but to be honest I don’t even know what it’s about .-. Glad you two were able to enjoy yourselves. Always happy to hear another’s review even if rare and through another user :3. I am quite interested in Octopath, and hope it is as enjoyable as it looked (kind of like an old school Final Fantasy, but slightly modernized.)
I am thrilled as well! A little sad, because I never finished FFXII myself, though I suppose it is always on Steam awaiting me ^_^. Hope your enjoying it so far. I know I did. Good killing, assassin. :D
Actually, that was one of the things I’m less thrilled about - the speakers are off to the sides rather than above the keyboard, so I had to get used to less ‘direct’ music output.
Oh, damn, I probably should have included that in the review, huh? Sexy Brutale is an isometric stop-these-murders stealth games, where you go around this behemoth casino mansion hotel and undo deaths. Time moves as you do, and you can restart the day over and over again to accomplish your goals. It’s pretty interesting - just mechanically not my cup of tea.
Madison doesn’t like html, so she doesn’t want to format posts of her own (insert eyeroll here). She’ll just keep cribbin on mine… unless she twists my arm and has me format the posts for her. I just might! She’s currently loving Octopath - perhaps I can use you as an nudge to get her to write and post a review!
Ohhhhh I love it! Replaying it (and having replayed FF10 not too long ago) solidifies it - FF12 is my #1 favorite Final Fantasy game. The remaster is out of this world, and I’m having a ridiculously good time. I hope you get to revisit Ivalice soon! o7
I was wondering where you were but then I saw your FF screenshots and I figured that was taking your time :P
Glad you enjoy your new computer. Switching to a computer that runs games feels like a breath of fresh air.
Oh yeah. I haven’t even reached Archades yet. I’m looking at another few weeks still. Also, I never really GOT why people took so many screenshots… but now I actually have a computer that make screenshots worth taking!
It’s the whole damn atmosphere, that’s for sure! <333
Hey glad the computer was worth the money. Sometimes after an upgrade you want to go back and replay some of those games that were lagging just to see how much nicer they look. I don’t usually go big on graphics, but it’s nice when they don’t get in the way of the game.
I did think you probably wouldn’t be crazy about the sexy brutale based on the other games you’ve enjoyed. I know the central mechanic and viewpoint is not for everyone and even I was expecting a bit more from the ending, but overall the unique mechanic and style let me enjoy it and for that reason I’d recommend it to people who enjoy a (slightly macabre) puzzle-adventure, and are looking for something that’s a bit different. So obviously I also got all the cards and saw the ‘alternate’ ending, and I take it we’re supposed to surmise that everyone is alive again in real life, but I hoped it would carry on for a bit longer and make it clear that we have now escaped this purgatory for good and that we’d redeemed ourselves ultimately.
APPARENTLY that alternate end is supposed to symbolize Lucas falling back into his gambling addiction instead of coping with his grief or punishing himself. At least, according to TV Tropes- and I can see that, the dealer talk about how good it is to just forget, play, to not move on and not keep torturing himself all at once. It’s kinda sad.
Well then it sucks even more, but I guess it also does make sense then why they didn’t make it ‘happier’.
Yesss yes yes your help was absolutely invaluable! I still think about your ‘i’m not sure if you’re serious but that shit absolutely CAN run Far Cry 5’ comment and laugh. I’m not a huge huge huge graphic hog, but, you know? After having potatoes for all those years, I’m ready for some super-hyper filet mignon-level graphics.
After sitting on it for a day, and having Sexy Brutale still stick with me, I think the exquisite torture is in that ‘almost’. It was SO CLOSE to being mad cool, but the ending just was a big let down. I think if Lafcadio hadn’t been Old Lucas all along, I would have liked it WAY more.
I still remember when I built a PC back in February. I ascended from a laptop which ran FFXIII in half speed (yes, on that piece of unoptimized junk, at 15 FPS everything is half speed) to a rig which can handle anything recent at high settings, 1080p 80 FPS. Suddenly everything felt buttersmooth and I couldn’t go back to my laptop lol. Grats for your upgrade btw.
It’s unfortunate to hear you didn’t enjoy the game as much. From what I hear the time rewind mechanic seem pretty interesting and it reminds me of this DS game called Ghost Trick, in which you can prevent murders by possessing inanimate objects. I guess it’s one of those games where if you like it, you’ll like it and vice versa.
Ohhh my god I know that struggle. For YEARS in every single 3D game (and some 2D games!) I’d have to sit as it tried to open the game at full options, then slowly navigate over to the settings and turn everything down to its lowest available setting. The textures were abysmal, no lighting effects, and I got to practice being patient waiting through long loading screens and lag.
I’m the same now! I won’t ever go back. I feel very lucky to have gotten everything I wanted in a laptop - minus the, uh, ‘rad gamerrrr’ aesthetic which I need to plaster over in cute stickers.
I DID end up enjoying myself, but I just couldn’t be the one to play it. I liked Ghost Trick (though Madison liked it more, natch) but the timing mechanics didn’t bother me as much then. I think because it was more focused and less urgent? idk. Sexy Brutale and Ghost Trick feel like the difference between having active time combat and turn-based combat, if that makes sense.
Wow, you’re in a much worse situation than mine. I can play some 2013 and below 3D games but probably on mid to low graphics settings. It doesn’t help how my laptop monitor broke late last year due to loose cable connection and I have to plug a monitor to it 24/7; effectively killing the ‘portability’ factor of it (or whatever is left lol). In any case, low graphics settings, long loading screens, lags, and stuttering: you’ll not be missed.
I’m glad I built a PC though. I was never a big laptop fan anyway, they throttle over years and I’d rather tear apart and fix my own machine rather than replacing the whole damn thing. **winks at Apple**
Do The Sexy Brutale not give you an option to pause time to give you time to think? I like how you can just enter the possession mode in Ghost Trick so that you can pause. I can see why not giving you that freedom can impact the enjoyment though. I have to play the game to have an opinion of my own I guess.
It does, but it still didn’t feel enough. Sure, you can look through your map and your brochures, but to me it still felt too closed in.
I’d still recommend you play it - even just to get an opinion of your own. It’s a unique, interesting game.
I loved Ghost Trick!!! Super fun game, much like Sexy Brutale, all about saving people from death through exploration and affecting the environment. Damn, now I want to play it again….
Then play it again! I probably played Ghost Trick two or three times already, along with the entire Ace Attorney library. I love these games.
Oh my god, hey, it’s been 84 years.
Feels more like 85 years…but on your new computer everything runs much faster, so I guess that explains the 1 year difference.
Soooo, are you planning something special for #200??
Ha! Lightspeed, babey!
Hm, you know? I don’t know. Entry 200 will be either FF12, Black Mesa, or SeaBed, most likely. tbh I wasn’t planning on it…
Why? Got any ideas? c;
No, not really. FF12 would surely be a great #200, but I guess that’s the game you’ll prob finish last ;)
You know? I think it would make a great 200, too. Perhaps that can be arranged…
Welcome back! Sorry I’m not up for writing a detailed reply, but meant to msg a couple days ago + wanted to say loved both the reviews. Glad you had a lot of fun playing co-op together, it’s great when it can help make a game shine that wouldn’t otherwise. Enjoy your new comp that’s so awesome!! :D Fantastic that people here were able to help out and everything fell into place.
<33333
It similarly took me a few days to get myself together, and I always love it when you touch base. I hope to keep playing more games with her (and convince her to maybe write a review or two, too!)
Will look forward to reading ‘em! Seeing both of your opinions combined really makes the reviews special.
p.s. I finished Never Alone with my brother and I did like it more than my initial thoughts, but def one of those better with someone else too. He made the experience really shine. The floaty controls, plus one of the polar bear encounters early on, is what gets me but it was stunning + the last couple hours was genuinely a blast. got to be the ghostie!! Thanks for giving the push to give it another chance. :) Gonna play the DLC soon.
Yes! We got to have similar experiences - the presence of another making an ‘okay for us’ game shine where they wouldn’t have.
Enjoy the DLC!
I am indeed something!
Welcome to BLAEO (after a fashion) and thank you for your write-up! How great it must be to play these games together. Thank you for being such a positive force for Tsuper!
Honestly, she’s the positive force for me! I’m really happy to be able to share experiences like this with her. :)
/clutches chest
YOU’RE GOING 2 MAKE ME CRY