Indie | Korsakovia

Fraser: Absolutely, they’ve really nailed that. The white flashes as they attacked were what did it for me. I just wanted to get away from them, and oftentimes I’d just try to sprint past them.
Lewis: Often you’ve no choice.  I’d have liked to have more access to a weapon.  But it’s probably good that I didn’t, as the sense of vulnerablity is hugely effective.
Fraser: It’s a sensation terribly underexploited in games.  Male power fantasy a la Gears of War this is most definitely not.
Lewis: Yeah, it’s the direct opposite.  They really are pushing boundaries in FPS gaming.  Okay, so I think there are a few key areas we’ve not touched upon yet.  Firstly, the story.  What did you make of it?
Fraser: I’m not sure. The way it was communicated was fascinating. Almost Portal-esque, but without that tangible gameworld presence.
Lewis: It twists admirably.
Fraser: What I gathered initially was that you’re a guy in a hospital bed who is losing or has lost his mind, not to mention sight. He attempted suicide days before. Perhaps he ate his eyes.
Lewis: But it’s simultaneously about the apocalypse.  Or, your character thinks the end of the world is happening.  Your doctor’s unsure.  Then towards the end everything goes utterly mental.
Fraser: Ah yes, The End Of The World. It was also interesting that a lot of the facts about the player character – Christopher – arrived indirectly. As in, the doctor was informing her workmates of his state and this filetered through to his consciousness. What exactly happened at the end?
Lewis: Well I guess we shouldn’t spoil, but abstractly, I took it to be that the characters had in some sense swapped places.  But maybe only in Christopher’s mind.  The things Dr. Grayson was talking about at the start as if Christopher was inventing them ended up actually happening.
Fraser: Yes, good point. It still seems very open to interpretation, but I’d like to think that he did in fact devour his own peepers. He often spoke with a clarity of worldview that the doctor lacked.
Lewis: Dan Pinchbeck is a tremendous writer, considering his focus is in academia.  The script is one of the best in any game I’ve played recently.
Fraser: I’d certainly agree. Christopher’s utter conviction in the face of such startling evidence against his case must have been incredibly hard to convey in writing. The voice acting, too, it must be said, was superb.
Lewis: Shall we move on to the art design? I think there’s a lot to be said there.
Fraser: Use of lighting more than anything was what got to me. Oh, and the batshit crazy final level.
Lewis: The highlight for me was the bit in the middle, which I totally won’t spoil, but which actually made me feel properly ill.  Not for any gruesomeness – though there is a lot of it – but for the completely insane distortion of the architecture.
Fraser: Blood splatters are all over the place, but there were a few moments that my jaw just dropped. A mark up job has been done of reusing a lot of Half-Life’s objects and textures but integrating them into the experience so they feel fresh.
Lewis: See, that’s where it fell down, for me.  Parts were too Half-Lifey.  The crowbar, for a start.
Fraser: Yeah. Did you notice it was actually Gordon Freeman’s arm?
Lewis: Yep.  The mod cost over £10k to make.  I appreciate much of that will have paid their wages as, essentially, full time developers for that period.  But I’d still expect a little more polish for that cost.
Fraser: Well, to be fair, it doesn’t get much more shoestring than that. It certainly does enough to compensate for it, but there’s no doubt it’s a little rough around the edges. I’m sure a new arm couldn’t have been that hard to model.
Lewis: I guess it’d need an extra person on the team.  No doubt it remains so focused because it’s the work, mainly, of four people.
Fraser: I’d love to see what they could do with a proper budget.
Lewis: I think there are really intimidating things to be done.  The problem is that they’re working with concepts that aren’t in any way commercial.  That’s why it’s exciting – the research mandate means they can create things that are totally offbeat.  But at the same time, it’s sad that they can’t do it commercially.  Maybe – hopefully – some of the concepts will filter through.
Fraser: I doubt it, there are too many bloodthirsty thirteen-year-olds for Activision or Microsoft to have a pop at something this original.
Lewis: True. But even on the indie scene but actually made commercially… I mean, all this said, we had The Path earlier this year, and The Void releases next month.  They’re pretty much pure art games.  Korsakovia really isn’t: it’s a traditional game wrapped in an enormously weird world.  So I think there’s totally room for it.
Fraser: I see what you mean now. You’re right in that it messes with FPS tropes rather than create something entirely new, but all the same it goes some way to exploring uncharted waters. FEAR could learn a thing or two.
Lewis: Certainly.  Most games could. I just wish it were a little more polished, but that’s a minor criticism in the grand scheme of things.  It explores some really fascinating ideas, and I like it a lot, and think everyone should absolutely try it out.
Fraser: Yep. I’m always an advocate of sticking it out with an artisitically accomplished experience even if it’s at the expense of a few less important elements. That said, platforming should never be attempted with Source.
Lewis: Oh yes. I think most will be in agreement that the last section is abominable.  I fought through it due to the narrative getting really interesting then, but I think that finale was a misstep. It looks unthinkably brilliant, though, which saves it from disaster.
Fraser: The aesthetic and writing are worth it, but that was some insane design. I did appreciate the fact it had the player attempt to accomplish tasks whilst being upset by a barrage of sensory interruptions, but it was cripplingly difficult.
Lewis: At one stage, literally impossible for me.  There was one jump I attempted about twelve million times before noclipping past it.  A shame.
Fraser: The bit with the bannisters?
Lewis: That bit, yeah. But, just to round off, I think we’re both certain this was a worthwhile experiment, and a hugely interesting game.
Fraser: Definitely give it a download if you’ve got the Orange Box verison of Source lying around, and I don’t think we’ve mentioned it, but you can chalk another one down for “strong female characters in a videogame”. That must be, what, five we’re up to?
Lewis: I think it’s just strong on character generally.  Impressive, since there’s only one that isn’t you, and we never meet her.  Anyway, yes.  It’s out on Saturday.  You should all totally download it.
Fraser: Don’t worry if you get stuck. It’s a bit hard, but stick with it.  It’ll fuck with you, that’s for sure.
Lewis: Yep. But in an utterly superb and memorable way. Exquisite. Right. Will that do? I could definitely do to go to bed.
Fraser: I have to be up in approximately four and a half hours, so yeah.
Lewis: Splendid.  Enjoy your nightmares…
Fraser: Oh shit…

Korsakovia will be released on Saturday 20th September.  You’ll need a copy of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 installed to play it.  Keep an eye on the website for more details.  We’ve also since been told that Gordon Freeman’s arm will be changed by then, as will the evil bannister-jumping section.

Pages: 1 2