4/2/2023 0 Comments Infinite undiscovery pc![]() ![]() Infinite Undiscovery also took some risks in its gameplay, and I consider it a gamble that paid off. Too many games these days focus on the gritty and morbid, so it’s refreshing to see a game with some charm and a healthy dose of heart. This depth of character development plays a critical role in the story, and it means that when the game inevitably tries to pull at the heartstrings, the player feels it, because they have reason to care. ![]() He just tries to be himself, and in most cases, that’s good enough. He knows that he isn’t perfect, but he never tries to be. The player sees the very extremes of Capell’s personality, from weakness to murderous rage, and almost everything in between. While the story is ultimately about his development into a leader and a hero, he never becomes the perfect, infallible hero like Sigmund. He’s weak, but it makes him a very human and relatable character. Capell pulls some eyeroll-inducing stunts at the beginning of the game, as he makes a habit of avoiding danger and responsibility. ![]() The characters are endearing thanks to some surprisingly strong personality development, particularly in Capell’s case. I definitely wasn’t expecting that from the game (Tri-Ace’s storytelling style is usually more serious), and while I can see why it would be a turn-off to some people, I think the story is better for it. One of the most surprising aspects of Infinite Undiscovery is its quirky charm. Infinite Undiscovery presents several original ideas, but it handles itself admirably even when it’s walking down the road that’s already been traveled. It’s what fans of the genre have come to expect, and we can overlook it much more easily than those who don’t “get” JRPGs. There are definitely some JRPG tropes here, such as humanity playing with a power they can’t control, but while I was playing the game, something occurred to me: To a fan of JRPGs, saying a game has those tropes carries about as much weight as saying that it comes in a box. The player follows Capell, a hapless flute player who bears a disturbing resemblance to a heroic figure known as Sigmund the Liberator, who has been traveling the world to sever the chains. The game is set in a world where humans have enjoyed prosperity by harnessing the power of the moon, until some twits took that phrase a little too literally and decided to chain the moon to the planet, setting the two celestial bodies on a collision course for destruction. Tri-Ace is fond of making games that pertain to the theme of establishing a personal identity, and Infinite Undiscovery unsurprisingly follows suit. Yes, it follows the lead of some other games in the genre, but it has a style all its own. Maybe the reviews served me well in that they’d significantly lowered my expectations, but no review I’d read could indicate what a pleasant surprise playing this game would be. Turns out that the majority can be totally, totally wrong. I managed to get a brand new copy from Amazon Marketplace for $20, figuring that was a fair price to pay for a game that the majority had dubbed mediocre. It was one of the reasons I wanted a 360, actually. Being a fan of developer Tri-Ace’s earlier works, such as Valkyrie Profile, I wanted to give Infinite Undiscovery a shot. Since so many reviews labeled it as formulaic and unoriginal, I resigned myself to the idea that there must be at least some grain of truth to their criticisms. While I don’t trust individual scores too much, seeing a trend can be more telling. While the law of averages dictates that there are some positive reviews, the majority fell into the abyss of mediocrity. A quick search of Metacritic or Gamerankings reveals that Infinite Undiscovery’s average review score is 68%. My experience playing this game strongly reinforced the fact that game criticism, in its current incarnation, should largely be ignored. ![]()
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