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Greek gods in the modern world and some good singing | Review - Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical

2K View2023-08-13

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical

9.3

RPGMusic

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Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical fuses urban fantasy, Greek mythology, and musical elements into a captivating experience that resonates with both the heart and the senses.

🟩Pros
+captivating hand-drawn cartoon art style
+impressive voice acting, both for the dialogue and songs
+engaging narrative that explores themes of life, loss, and the unknown
+branching paths and choices that matter
+the interactive gameplay is blended with musical aspect very well

🟥Cons
-slow pacing
-sound mixing is questionable
-save file and performance issues

In Stray Gods, players embark on a journey as Grace, an aspiring musician who unexpectedly inherits the powers of the Last Muse, due to an unexpected circumstance. Set in an urban fantasy world where myths and monsters intertwine with normal, modern life, Grace becomes entangled in a murder mystery that demands her musical prowess – enhanced by the powers of the Gods. The player's choices shape Grace's path as she navigates the intricacies of Greek deities, uncovers dark secrets, and harmonizes her way to justice.

Stray Gods embraces a captivating hand-drawn art style that resembles animated cartoons, effectively immersing players in its fantastical world that oddly reminds me of the game Hades in both the art direction and the greek-inspired characters. While not extensively animated and more like a slideshow of storyboard elements, the visuals offer scene-setting backdrops, subtle storytelling through animated moments, and an alluring comic-book aesthetic that enhances the overall experience. The art direction evokes a balance between the mythical and the contemporary, beautifully complementing the game's urban fantasy theme. However, at times, I find myself wishing that the character mouths were a bit more animated and lively, especially that the core elements of this game are in the dialogue and the songs.

Stray Gods challenges the conventional definition of gameplay, the pacing might be a bit slower than I had preferred, but nevertheless it offers an interactive narrative experience that explores themes of life, loss, and the unknown, and is entirely driven by player choices — similar to games like The Wolf Among Us or As Dusk Falls. These choices are seamlessly blended with and are infused by the musical aspect, allowing players to shape the story through their decisions and even influence song lyrics and melodies. This unique approach transforms the game into an musical adventure, where players guide Grace's path through the power of music. While it may not align with traditional RPG games and look more like an interactive movie, the game's engaging narrative and innovative interactions create a wholly distinct gameplay experience.

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical provides players with three distinct options to shape their own path through both the music and the story: Charming, Kickass, and Clever. The personality you select will determine a unique path with its own set of choices within the game.

Even if you decide to opt for a different personality in subsequent playthroughs, the choices associated with the unselected personalities remain visible, albeit greyed out. This feature can encourage players to embark on multiple playthroughs to see the outcomes of these greyed out choices, enhancing replay value a little bit.

There are also moments of investigation, but instead of the usual point-and-click adventure gameplay where players need to click on certain points of interest on the environment to investigate them, the process here is much more simplified and just presents the players with all the possible options from the get go.

Behind Stray Gods' interactivity lies exceptional character development and impressive voice acting, both for the dialogue and the actual songs. The diverse cast of characters is expertly brought to life by a star-studded ensemble of voice actors, including Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, and Ashley Johnson — the biggest names in the video game voice acting industry. These talents infuse emotion, depth, and authenticity into each character, captivating players with their performances. My only gripe is the actual sound mixing, in which the actual dialogues aren’t properly balanced with each other, some dialogues will suddenly jump up or down in volume, and some songs will sound raw and dialogue-like instead of the usual studio produced sounding output.

The incorporation of music as a central gameplay element sets Stray Gods apart from its contemporaries. The interactive and time-limited song choices, where players shape the direction of the music, provide an engaging layer to the narrative. This innovation transforms the game into a harmonious experience, making each playthrough distinct and personalized. While the music might not be groundbreaking, its role in storytelling and player agency deserves recognition.

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is an unorthodox gem that marries urban fantasy, Greek mythology, and musical storytelling into a harmonious journey that will take players around more or less six hours to complete. While it challenges traditional gaming norms, its innovative narrative and artistic execution offer a fresh perspective on interactive experiences. An exceptional addition to the interactive storytelling genre, resonating with those who appreciate both musicality and immersive narratives.

In terms of technical performance, despite the game's light 2D graphics and relatively simple gameplay, I actually experienced some slowdowns, particularly during scene outcome transitions after the players have chosen a decision. Speaking of transitions, skipping lines doesn't work really well either and skips more than a few lines each instead of just one at a time to speed up the dialogue, there's no viewable conversation history to help as well.

There are also reports from other players about crashes and loss of saved file progress. I've personally experienced the latter issue as well. So, for those who are considering jumping in early, be cautious for now until the patches expected to hopefully address these concerns are out.

Conclusion:

If you're an avid fan of interactive movie-type games and also happen to have a penchant for immersive musical experiences, Stray Gods is undeniably a game well worth the $30 price of admission… IF the save file issues are fixed. It firmly establishes itself in the top tier of its genre, in terms of quality, storytelling, and novelty. On the other hand, if you're the type who tends to stumble upon and play these games only during sales, you’re not really losing anything and I’d recommend waiting until the price drops to around $15 or less.

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Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical

9.3

RPGMusic

Get

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In Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, players embark on a journey as Grace, an aspiring musician who unexpectedly inherits the powers of the Last Muse, due to an unexpected circumstance. Set in an urban fantasy world where myths and monsters intertwine with normal, modern life, Grace becomes entangled in a murder mystery that demands her musical prowess – enhanced by the powers of the Gods. The player's choices shape Grace's path as she navigates the intricacies of Greek deities, uncovers dark secrets, and harmonizes her way to justice.

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