so incredibly tasteful and different and literary while staying indulgent and campy!!
SPOILERS
the prose completely blew me away, it carried me through the chess sequence on vibes alone, though I’m sure I’d enjoy it even more if I knew chess better. the way the bond between Panz and Algie developed in parallel with Algie’s awareness of reality is beautiful, I loved how play and interpersonal connection are presented as something so intertwined and growth-inducing and simply satisfying. I think it represents the game’s balance of indulgence and intelligence very well. Katurian seeks this indulgence-intelligence too but in the opposite way, a chessboard mirror way.
it was all so cinematic and dynamic and unpredictable and fun. fun the way seeing your first movie is fun when you’re a child. the soundtrack choice is perfect and creates a very unique and immersive atmosphere along with all the collages and inventive (and very aesthetically pleasing) UI. the ending………… it felt absolute, a total declaration, a victory of bringing your mind back from the forced dumbness, an innocence lost, an agency gained. so gorgeous, the text appearing, the composition, the art, the sound. it felt like seeing someone eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and then saying a huge fuck you to god and taking revenge on them by making them go through all the mortal suffering. it also felt more “fairy” than any other modern piece of fairy-related art I’ve seen in a while.
also…. all the powerplay was, indeed, hot 😭
thank you for such a great game!