To parry or not parry an enemies attack…that is the question.

Really puts practice into perspective, as it becomes an exercise in negating regret

As I effortlessly glide through the enchanting wilds Expedition 33 (E33) continues to conjure for me, I find it quite hard not to take a moment in soaking in the sights and sounds that wash over me on a constant basis. Developer Sandfall Interactive have already made quite the name for themselves with E33, and based on the ridiculous fanfare to the titles debut, no shortage of a rapid base of excitement with which they spawned, based on the top shelf offerings of what E33 seemingly has in store for me. But, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, and clinging to the speculative hypetrain (a bit too readily) that has brought me to the foot of the mountain that is E33, when the hike has only just begun. The trek ahead of me is winding no doubt, though my initial hours with the game thus far already hold incredible promise for what lies ahead, based on the account of so many heaping praise upon the experience.

As a quick recap of what we’ve already covered thus far this week, I opened with the observation that this game has a not so subtle macabre flirtation with more solemn subject matter, with the overall narrative energy and general atmosphere rife with both somber whimsy, alongside grim hope, as so much of E33 is predicated upon acknowledging our own mortality, where ever we go. I then proceeded to comment on how more so than maybe any other franchise in recent memory, E33 is heir apparent to the turn based rpg throne that Final Fantasy (FF) lost the privelege of sitting in a lone time ago, with E33 doing a magnificent job of so ideally recapturing that same sense of empowering adventure one felt when playing any of the classic 90s, early aughts FF games from that nostalgic, bygone era, and then followed up with a minor explication on how ins pite of being faithful to an old school sensibility where design is concerned, E33 has mindfully mixed in some modern day trappings borrowed form other genres and styles of gameplay, including a dodge and parry mechanic that Sekiro helped light the world on fire with, which goes a long way in spicing up the combat in E33 a considerable amount.

I will take this moment, amidst my warm notions of praise I hoist upon the title thus far, for so much of what it brings to the table, and counter balance my own earnest positivity with a devil’s advocacy of sorts, and it is just more so in the name of holding myself accountable in the realm of the factual. While I find myself thoroughly impressed with the overall package of what E33 represents, I will reference back to a reality I have cited in the past, in that I generally don’t play many rpgs these days, so when I consider the heights E33 does reach, I much concede I have little to compare it to in terms of modern day contemporaries, as I haven’t touched a similar rpg from the same design method approach in some time. My only angelic cross examination to that very devil’s advocacy of honesty, is that based on the number of game of the year awards E33 has won, I am guessing that few others in its purview are able to reach such levels of quality, but we begin to meander into the territory of circular speculation at this point, so aside from acknowledging the reality already presented, it is likely for the best to put the matter aside, and continue to discuss more relevant matters of what I have firsthand experience with.

I think, something that does stand out to me about E33, is something I’ve touched upon in the past, most recently in my deconstruction of what makes Metal Gear Solid: Delta so remarkably engaging, and it is what I refer to as a majestic metagame, in creating a multi-tiered approach to design engagement, in that both newbies and the most hardened of gamers alike, will find equally engaging risk/reward ratios with the gameplay at hand, which is definitely a hard line to balance upon. E33 does maintain a similar standard, further adding credence to a quality that makes the game stand out above the rest, in terms of turn based rpgs, and this is due to a number of systems in play thay create a far more dynamic style of combat.

While I did mention the parry/dodge system in a different article the other day, I really only had time to extrapolate upon the notion that they in fact exist within the metaphysical space of E33, but did not further expound more specifically about how this mote positively contributes to the minute to minute. Now, as I begin to reference a majestic metagame, and bring up other realities contingent upon multi-tiered design approach in conjunction with varying player skill levels, truths behind what the parry and dodge mechanics entail become far more abundantly clear. I think, in borrowing another idea from a past article, in detailing the “trolley problem” of choice that happens when developers don’t give players a much greater choice of approach in how to solve games, E33 mindfully implements the systems one can utilize to their advantages which does transform the minute to minute, in empowering any player that wishes to grapple and eventually learn the system in their road to Mastery, but the game does not either require it to progress, or even directly punish the player as a result of ignoring the system. This is in stark difference to when a games system is completely contingent upon a particular design functionality at play (the parry in this example), ala Sekiro, and very much in line with another game that follows in that games oarry focused footsteps, that being Doom: The Dark Ages to that extent, where not engaging with the parry mechanic is basically a death knell for the entire experience, with the player almost negating the point of the experience entirely with the refusal of utilizing said system. In a fun comparative example of what this brings to mind, it would not be unlike someone wandering around a laser tag arena with no laser tag equipment at their disposal. You seem to be within the context of the experience in question, but you’ve now negated a sense of belonging in refusing to engage in the systems available to you, which almost makes you a bizarre form of conscientious objector, at least in the realm of what combative innovation is concerned.

I take this moment now to iterate upon another relative but important factor to the dodge and parry mechanic, that I don’t think I have more explicitly detailed thus far, not only in how it can only help the player succeed, and not punish them if they choose to ignore it, but that both the dodge and parry have differing levels of difficulty adjustment built into them inherently, with dodging not requiring as much accurate timing to pull off, and the parry having the downside of a much tight timing window, but offering a higher risk reward, as the damage involved with the counter following a successful parry being considerable. On top of all of that, one can do perfect parries and perfect dodges, with room left for sloppier timed inputs, furthering the notion that it is a system that is very much in service of enabling all players of varying skill levels to have a chance at not only grappling with them, but providing a genuine encouragement of standard in practicing with them too, with what I would consider an immensely forgiving system of qualitative standard.

Much more to discuss, and so little time with which to do it…never a dull moment, at least. We will pick it up where we left again tomorrow. Cya then.

-Pashford