(The tl;dr companion video to this article):

There’s a fine line between hedonistic perversion and gluttonous debauchery…


…and that line may in fact be self-loathing. Just a theory, though, once I’m done hating myself I’ll let you know my findings on the matter

Yesterday’s post was a return to form, albeit one that took the shape of a struggle bus careening through clumsy town, as it was my first article in weeks, due to needing to take a well needed hiatus from…err, life, as it turns out. This place is a bit mad from time to time (existence I mean), and one needs to pace themselves, and occasionally take a breather to regain their bearings. Though I am of the “work hard, play hard” mentality, I conquered my woeful indoctrination of the deceitful dogma that comes packaged in the guise of the “virtuous” pursuit of what one refers to as the “protestant work ethic” long ago, which in and of itself is an outdated mentality from a bygone era, but one so wrapped up in the exploitative measures that entangle all within the grip of the capitalist monster, and a delusion that makes fools of any who have not defined themselves beyond their 9 to 5…or know how to differentiate themselves beyond the worth of a paycheck, at the very least. I am still of the mind that contentedness comes from the act of challenging oneself, sacrifice, and pushing oneself to sometimes absurdist limits, but safely aside from any of the dogmatism that comes part and parcel with any sort of mass indoctrination usually associated with ideology or any major belief systems, as both are far too problematic within the realm of restricting critical thinking and personal autonomy to be worth a damn for anyone looking for a chance at genuine human flourishing.


Pictured: the likely face some readers may have right now after reading the opening paragraph, thinking they were clicking on a link to a lighthearted blog about video games

I often tend to write as if shooting from the hip, stream of consciousness just leading the charge, so randomly mighty tangents with which to begin my video game analysis with is par for the course. I will say in this particular case, the intro bears relevancy for the game I am planning on discussing, though for other pertinent reasons as well, the stern sense of social sentimentality tracks at the moment, as anyone who is familiar with my writing here on ATE, knows I am an ardent advocate of philosophy, and attempt to inject my deconstructionism of the gaming zeitgeist by en large through the lens of practical wisdom and continental philosophy where possible. To that point, I just finished reading the Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, which had been on my “to read list” for an era and a half at this point, as it is considered one of the heaviest hitters within the realm of philosophy itself. Hence, my riff on what may or may not contribute to an individual making wise decisions in the name of cultivating “a good life”, as it is largely what the book is focused on, through the efforts of finding the “Aristotelian Means”, which is always the sweet virtuous spot betwixt two vices. To that point, I think it does tie in nicely with the idea of a work/life balance, as most people completely lack one, usually as a result of not being given many obvious choices in the matter. Others still, whether subconsciously or not, kind of sacrifice their better judgement, and never question whether there is indeed “something more” to life than slaving away for a minimum wage for the grand majority of their lives.


If Disney had their fucking ducks in a row, this is how Inside Out would have kept it real god dammit

On the flip side, you do end up having a lot of individuals who perhaps indulge in leisure a bit too recklessly, often sacrificing every other possible priority in their life in the name of hedonism, thus becoming true gluttons of an electronic age (See: the NEET lifestyle), and cultivate a lifestyle ill befitting anyone with better means and greater potential than sitting on a couch every waking hour of every day. I don’t think any of this is malicious, mind you, I happen to concur with the turn of phrase that goes something like “don’t attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance”. Not to say, (at least the cynic within me says this), that one should live through the crusty eyed, dream induced delusions of thinking people won’t get away with absolute murder if you allow them to, but in many cases, someone “getting away with murder” is usually binge watching Netflix, as they are doom scrolling on their phone, while completely obliterating their junk food of choice. There are worse social crimes, is my point.


It’s intensely frustrating moments like other drivers abject failure in using their turn signal do I find myself on the fence about capital punishment

Hmm…already more than half way to my word quota in such little time. I will take this moment now, to derail myself from espousing anymore against the ills of society so explicitly, so that I may finally bring up the newest game I played today, one which is not Vampire Crawlers, which I detailed in yesterday’s article, but a game called Luna Abyss, a title I had read about recently in…I want to say it was Edge magazine? The screenshots looked like a magnificent kind of space horror, and the phrase “3D bullet hell” came up, and my interests were sufficiently peaked. The games themes, fittingly enough, do tie into my mentions of the ever present threats involving the dreadful overreach of both dogma gone awry and ideology run amok, as there are strong undercurrents involving a futuristic version of what I could describe as a sort of techno-divinity, as if Hal 9000 from 2001 a Space Odyssey created a cathedral of his own and started preaching the power and glory of the black hole divine. There has been multiple asides in reference to low paying workers in diary entries left behind in the environment, who end up suffering the short end of the stick, in having to navigate between the dangers of existential space demons, the terror of cyborg belief systems, and the most horrifying of them all; corporate mandates and middle-management.


“Yeah hi…I’m going to need you to go ahead and just …surrender your mortal soul to our malfunctioning, cybernetic, space deities, and then come in this weekend, so you can lose your grasp of reality by staring directly into the darkened abyss too long as your body contorts beyond imagination. That’d be great….mmmkay?”

This is of course all a backdrop for what feels heavily inspired by the grimy futurism evoked by the first Alien film, and how a far grittier version of what a Metroid Prime would feel like if Nintendo was feeling truly daring to buck their own status quo. Strangely enough, I get kind of a weird “Through the Looking Glass” vibe (the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), as not only is the main character and supporting cast voice acted by a smattering of voices hailing from the United Kingdom, but they all take positively mad forms, in what may be described as a darkly whimsical foreboding, mixed up with a sense of the curiously and queerly demented on whether or not they’re truly all there or not. All of this is further cemented by the notion that the character you play as Fawkes, is quite disoriented at the beginning of their journey, as they are sent on a mission that feels mostly like a death sentence, and one that has them “stumbling down a rabbit hole” of sorts, as they make head and tales of a seemingly endless, and darkened labyrinth called The Abyss, which comes off as one part prison for some, one part religious institution to others, and other parts a hellish way to make a shit paycheck while nearly avoiding dying everyday. The future looks ever brighter, no matter which dystopian rock one peers under.


*Crosses fingers* come on far flung failed future where mankind is enslaved by giraffes…

In any case, the game is from a first person perspective, and to call it a traditional shooter is perhaps disingenuous, as previously mentioned, the enemies you fight do mimic those of attack patterns from “shmups” (a portmanteau of the phrase shoot-em-ups) or “bullet hell” games. I’ll think I’ll amend my statement only slightly, in respect to what one may think of when I use the term “bullet hell”, very much for the same reason one distinguishes classic metal with modern day sub-genres, as comparing a band like Black Sabbath to say, Dying Fetus, would be a massive, disingenuous stretch to the creative efforts of both entities, even though they are technically both of the metal variety, needless to say…there are definite differences. To that point, I am course correcting, in acknowledging I am using “shmup” and “bullet hell” a little too lazily in an interchangeable way within regards of synonymous exchange.


Just to provide a visual comparison here for the difference: Shmup (left) vs Bullet Hell (right)

Differentiating something like Gradius or Radiant Silvergun as more of a shmup, with a bullet hell like the Touhou Project or DonDon Pachi being of the true heirs of the latter genre, which are just psychotic acts of difficulty made digital. Luna Abyss would constitute more as aping the combat stylization of a shmup realized in 3D…though again, I take a moment to posit that maybe one should just pay tribute to the idea in regards to a spectrum of variety in which these games exist within in, cause as I further think about the subtle differences, Silvergun is kind of on the line of distinction, maybe even in a consideration of being a proto-bullet hell. Seems silly, but sometimes pedantry is worth the time for the sake of avoiding linguistic licentiousness. I also more so wanted to clear it up, as referring to Luna Abyss in such a haphazard way may come off as making the game sound too immensely intimidating and turn off players who think it’s tough as nails. The enemies do use similar patterns, where they will fire a load of large projectiles that come fast and continuously, and one must obey the pattern or suffer as a result, so the game definitely is mindful that the genre it seeks to pay tribute to is a deeper cut for most gamers, and therefore approaches things with more mindful difficulty curbing henceforth.


Luna Abyss won’t have you aggressively squinting from moment one, is what I’m trying to get across here

So with all that said, between the dark and erie corridors one must traverse, where the silent tension and feelings of isolation heighten a sense of claustrophobic loneliness, to the chaotic, neon lit battlefields that occur when enemies finally do attack, making you dodge and dance your very own bullet ballet, the contradistinction between the two modes the game oscillates to and from help to craft an interesting dynamic that keeps one on their toes at any given moment. Combine that with the dark whimsy I mentioned, with a supporting cast of characters that feel as if from a neighboring dimension of twisted fantasy, and an ever oppressive air of despotic woe that fills the air, and more bullets to dodge than if one was stuck in No Man’s Land during WW1, and you have yourself Luna Abyss, which acts as a breath of fresh air in terms of an original IP that hits all of the right notes it aims to.

I might stick with this one…y’all will be the first to know if I do, of course. See you then.

~Pashford

P.S., I realize I end up using visual gags throughout my article, which ends up negating the space for me to show you some screen grabs from the experience, so here are a a handful to give you an idea of the atmospheric vibe Luna Abyss is going for. Cheers.