Hello everyone, Simptaz here with a VERY late edition of the monthly reviews. Apologies to everyone, I am, as of writing this, a couple of weeks into a Tabletop RPG Game Jam run by Rat Bastard Games, so I got a little distracted. As for the games I’ve played in March, the lineup is a little out of whack.
Half of March was spent finishing Persona 3 Reload. When I was done with that, I was playing Helldivers 2 while I waited for Dragon’s Dogma 2. So since I only have a little exposure to everything, I will talk about the ending bits of P3R and my experience with Helldivers 2 and DD2. I’m not treating this like my usual review, but I still wanted to write about what I played so far. Also, I will be talking about spoilers.
So without further delay; the game for March 2024!
Persona 3 Reload (cont.)
Helldivers 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Persona 3 Reload (Cont.)
I just wanted to do an update on my experience of Persona 3 Reload after beating it. A big thing I wanted to talk about was the changes and inclusions they made. I think the scene where Chidori is brought back is interesting. I am aware that they added this scene in earlier versions, so this isn’t new to Reload, but this was the first time I saw it, at least I can’t remember if I saw it before.
While I love seeing Junpei get a happy conclusion to his personal story, I couldn’t help but feel like it goes against the theme of the game. Persona 3 is a game about death and the many forms it can take. I’ve been bouncing back and forth on this scene cause it shows someone coming back from the dead, but with their memories erased, which you can interpret as a form of death. It doesn’t help that Chidori is then just no longer involved in the story, probably due to all of this being missable if you don’t perform the correct actions. I feel like this scene could have been expanded since that was one of the main things they wanted to include for the members of Strega, like exploring Chidori and Junpei’s relationship after she came back with no memories and the possible thematic implications. I feel like it’s a missed opportunity.
The changes to the Elizabeth fight are wild. They turned a secret boss fight into a puzzle, where you can’t just reflect damage, you must follow some unspoken rules to defeat her. I had to look up a guide cause it just made no sense to me. It’s an interesting idea when returning to a secret boss fight but I feel like this might need a little more time if they want to add challenges to their secret boss fights. They did it for the DLC of Persona 5 Royal, but those were treated as challenges and were not the recognized secret boss for P5R.
Finally, I want to talk about the final scene and the plans for the DLC. I thought the final scene with the main character was great. I love the more cinematic approach to it and it made me tear up, knowing how it all plays out in the end. The fact that the DLC costs $35 is fucking outrageous. To enjoy the whole story of Persona 3, you have to spend $105. As someone who enjoys this series, I would not pay $105. It gets odd when you think about how P3R is on Xbox Game Pass, and how you have to have a premium subscription to it to get access to the DLC. To make things even more confusing, with this higher-tier subscription you get to keep the DLC, even if your sub ends, but you would lose access to the base game. To make things even MORE complicated, I didn’t like the expansion when it first came out, so I have no reason to look at this and think “Yeah, this all makes sense and it going just like Atlus/Xbox planned”
At the end of the day, I still recommend Persona 3 Reload, especially on Game Pass. I would recommend that you look at the DLC and consider if all the weird pricing stuff is worth it, which I can tell you now that it’s not.
Helldivers 2
I played very little of the original Helldivers, the twin-stick shooter was fun but it didn’t hold my attention for too long. Helldivers 2 has gone the extra mile of not only changing genres but also going hard into the Starship Troopers vibes it presents, so much so that there have been numerous arguments online asking how can people play a game with pretend fascism in it. Despite some of these “intriguing” conversation’s best efforts, the game has been on a hot streak ever since it came out in early February, and it’s easy to see why.
The game feels pretty good to handle, I like how they handled how the equipment feels. It felt like Monster Hunter to me, where once I got the hang of each weapon’s reload time, I became more adventurous when the team got attacked. Getting closer to Titans to blow their head up, taking down drop ships in the middle of a firefight, all these moments started feeling more and more cinematic each time someone on the squad pulled off some stunt. These moments help keep us motivated in-between all the times we get killed.
I tend to have an issue sticking with live-service games, cause the stories they are telling aren’t very interesting due to the dynamic of telling players they are involved in some major plot, but you won’t see progress until the next expansion. This game has an ongoing Dungeon Master-like approach where they are acknowledging the accomplishments of players and making it canon to the game. A perfect example is when they set weekly goals to save planets, players decided to liberate an unrelated planet because it had been repeatedly captured by an army of robots. The devs even made an event out of it and this helped cement the fanbase.
The constant weird events also make playing the game a treat, where you will suddenly see new enemies and get told it’s propaganda, having the devs pop into the game and grant gear that isn’t available, and the memes they push out encouraging “democratic actions” like napalm strikes. The whole thing helps get players into the right mindset and encourages insane ideas, which feed back into the hype when they work out. A nice gameplay loop that I enjoy.
The best part is that the game is cheaper compared to most AAA games, so instead of spending $70 on some decent open-world game, you can spend $40 on a guaranteed fun time and have an extra $30 to get food or gas or whatever. I recommend this game, cause your friends probably already have it and missions take 30 minutes at most. They do suffer from the occasional server loss, but they have been getting better so keep an eye out for the updates and fight the good fight Helldiver.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
The first Dragon’s Dogma was an odd gem from Capcom. It felt like a game that should have emerged during the Playstation 2 era. Half the quest won’t show a quest marker that tells you where to go unless it’s to report back to the quest giver, you couldn’t fast-travel outside of specific locations, and NPCs could be killed and stay dead. It earned the moniker of “a great 7/10 game” and after 12 years, Dragon’s Dogma 2 has improved upon everything and has become a perfect “7/10”.
DD2 is pretty much a second attempt at the first game but it aims to improve on the systems that are there while adding more experimental features to help it stand out from all the other games in the genre. The amount of things you can do in combat with abilities given by your class and abilities that are universal is impressive; climbing enemies, riding enemies, using enemies as a bridge, throwing allies and enemies, and tripping enemies to name a few.
The game also includes some mechanics that will sway some players away from playing; no essential NPCs so anyone can die, a long-term side quest where if you screw up answering a riddle you are locked out of the reward on your save file, having only one save file, a disease that your companions get that make them kill everyone in a town. While I love these ideas (cause they help me focus knowing there are some permanent consequences if I screw around) but this could be a major deterrent for more casual players.
With the amount of freedom this game gives you, I think the perils are worth it. I did wish there was a greater variety of enemy types though. I am not too far into the story so there may be different kinds of critters I have yet to face, but it’s been the same kinds of guys for a while now. Outside of the enemy stuff, I’ve still been enjoying my time with it and recommend giving it a try when it’s on sale.
There is a concern about the DLC that is offered and here is my advice for it; ignore it. It sucks that they are selling items that can be found in-game but that’s it, they’re still in the game and you find them by playing the game. Like I said, I recommend the game but it might not be for everyone. Hopefully, this little piece gave you some insight.
Ranking for March 2024
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Helldivers 2
Persona 3 Reload
Well everyone, thank you again, and sorry for the delay. When my project is finished I’ll be sure to include it in the next blog. Until then, be safe and see you next time!
Frantz Reports 